Modern rock concept albums that tell a story

Submitted by condog1035 t3_zwizsn in Music

Hey Music folks,

I'm looking for some modern rock concept albums to add to my rotation, specifically albums that tell a story. I wanted to share some of my favorites too, to get the ball rolling.

>The Near Future - I Fight Dragons

>We Don't Have Each other - Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties

>Phantoms - Marianas Trench

>I'll Be Fine - John Louis

>I Hope You're Happy - Blue October

There's something about the flow of these kinds of albums that is really fun to listen to and visualize the story that is unfolding behind the lyrics. Curious to hear your thoughts on this style of storytelling.

Anyone have any they like they care to recommend?

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rondonjon t1_j1uwvj0 wrote

Coheed and Cambria have multiple albums that carry through a common storyline.

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TurdPhurtis t1_j1uzsgq wrote

They were my choice too. I love Claudio's voice.

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zorton213 t1_j1v21va wrote

Two of my favorite bands fit what you're looking for:

  • Coheed and Cambria - 9/10 of their records follow an ongoing Sci-Fi story. The most recent two albums just started a new chapter in that story.

  • The Dear Hunter - Like Coheed, the bulk of their Discography (The Acts) are one story. The just started a new, unrelated story with their latest record.

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GRVrush2112 t1_j1wfrgc wrote

The Dear Hunter closed out the “Acts” series and started a new one with their last two releases (an EP and a full release), “The Indigo Child” and “Antimai”. Both fantastic.

“Antimai”, conceptually, is kinda funny. It’s not even a narrative. The album is more or less a Tolkien appendix describing the setting of where The Indigo Child saga will take place. Still a fun record.

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xeeblyscoo t1_j1uxwcs wrote

Teens of denial by car seat headrest

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kht777 t1_j1vevk9 wrote

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade album

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m4xr3b0b4nd t1_j1v3c7e wrote

Have you ever wondered what an album by a washed up lounge singer with no fucks to give and a residency on the moon sounds like? Check out Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys.

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onemoretwat t1_j1v6ntf wrote

Butch Walker - American Love Story

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onemoretwat t1_j1v9et5 wrote

He wrote it as a rock musical, but it never came to fruition. However the album is great as a standalone piece. With a well thought out story, and catchy songs.

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TheFriffin2 t1_j1v92ej wrote

Texas Jerusalem Crossroads has a terrible album cover but it’s an incredibly executed concept album with a lot of narrative moments

Indie/prog/psych/shoegaze vibes

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therefreshening t1_j1v9dem wrote

Pink Lemonade by Closure In Moscow is fantastic. It tells the story of The Fool, who is attempting to find enlightenment through hedonism and drug use. It’s got wizards, time/dimensional travel, talking dinosaurs, multidimensional super computer gods, existential anguish, and a ton of insanely cool riffs. It sounds a fair bit like a more upbeat Mars Volta album. I can’t recommend it enough.

If you’re more metallically inclined, I have a few more recommendations:

Kezia, by Protest the Hero is a brilliant prog metal concept album that covers the execution by firing squad of a woman (Kezia), from three perspectives: the priest in the prison where she’s kept, one of the guards that makes up the firing squad, and Kezia herself. It’s full of complex imagery, and a tremendous album overall.

Apex, by Unleash the Archers is an epic power metal concept album about an immortal being, awakened for the ?th time by an evil queen. Some great Iron Maiden-esque vocals, and ripping instrumentals.

You also can’t go wrong with literally any Between The Buried And Me album from Colors onward (Colors, The Great Misdirect, The Parallax Hypersleep Dialogues, Parallax II: Future Sequence, Coma Ecliptic, Automata parts I and II, and Colors 2). Some of theme albums and characters are connected through three or more albums, and both the stories and music are unbelievably complex, by a band at the peak of their craft that also manage to consistently improve.

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Prestigious_Toe2151 t1_j1xiea0 wrote

Unleash the Archers, 2 part story.

Apex album for part 1. Abyss album for part 2.

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PopularBell518 t1_j1uyusu wrote

Not necessarily “modern” (depending on how you define that term) but check out Planet P Project’s “Pink World”. Prog rocky concept album from mid 80’s by former Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey… a little known gem… tells the story of a boy who couldn’t talk but had telepathic / telekinetic powers, and his rise and fall…

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blnts4jc t1_j1v3xa1 wrote

Local H - Pack Up The Cats

Tells the story of the rise and fall of a rock star.

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timeads t1_j1v75x0 wrote

Don't pay back

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freeject t1_j1vgh9e wrote

Kezia by Protest the Hero & Phantom on the Horizon (or Ghostship Demos) by The Fall of Troy

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ragnarok62 t1_j1vn7z2 wrote

The entire A side of Rush’s 2112.

Tells the story of an oppressive society that outlaws musical expression, but the leaders are overthrown at the end by the enlightened ex-patriates of the planet who return to assume control.

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Comicsans1007 t1_j1weykw wrote

Starting with the second song, American Idiot is a concept album that tells a story. Might not exactly be easy to piece together the overarching story on the first listen though.

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Jeremyd2 t1_j1x63hq wrote

Many styles, many singers, many stories...

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CGDunc t1_j1y0r19 wrote

Anything from The Mountain Goats

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Apprehensive-Tree48 t1_j1yh72y wrote

Grand Unification by Fightstar is a loose concept album based off of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

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purpdrank2 t1_j1ymx4y wrote

Deloused In The Comatorium - The Mars Volta

21st Century Breakdown - Green Day

American Idiot - Green Day

Planet Zero - Shinedown

Attention Attention - Shinedown

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mekonsrevenge t1_j1yozp8 wrote

The Coolies - Doug. The dong titles tell it sll. Coke Light Ice and Crack Pipe (Burnin' My Hand) are typical. Great comic book included with LP version

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99songsabout t1_j1ysy2w wrote

Dream Theater - The Astonishing

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HStache t1_j1xbf04 wrote

Not really modern as it was in the 90s but both Dream Theater’s “Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from A Memory” and Queensrÿche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” are ranked pretty high on both band’s albums.

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