Fabio's Top 51 Albums of 2016

It's that time of the year again...it took me the whole month of December to compile this list of best metal and metal-related albums of the year that closes. If you ask yourself "why?" you are right, I don't know why. I know it's fun and I've been doing it for years.

For all the shit that went down in 2016, it was a great year for heavy metal music. I noticed my scores going up...Every year it scares me how many albums can I dig in a single year. It seems that my "capacity" is about 50 albums. Really?! 50 studio albums released in a single year? Still sounds like a lot to me. Consequently, I try to limit myself so that I won't check more than 100 new albums in a given year. Well I failed again, during 2016 it was close to 120 new albums. Some took just a few minutes and I disliked them immediately, but others took many listens.

Now, this is a pure a subjective list, it's all about the feelings and emotions that those records bring in me. But I do value originality, production, songwriting, etc. It's also important how many times I listened to them since release date. While it's not a competition and it's all personal, I have reviewed lists of many important music outlets (magazines, websites) and it seems that the big "winners" of 2016 were Metallica, Meshuggah, Gojira, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Opeth. They are all in my top 51, but not as high as you may expect (with one exception).

So here you have it...my top 51 albums of 2016.

51.Rage - The Devil Strikes Again
50.Holy Grail - Times of Pride and Peril
49.Blues Pills - Lady in Gold
48.Running Wild - Rapid Foray
47.Sodom - Decision Day
46.Primal Fear - Rulebreaker
45.Rival Sons - Hollow Bones
44.Megadeth - Dystopia
43.Grand Magus - Sword Songs
42.Heaven Shall Burn - Wanderer
41.Omnium Gatherum - Grey Heavens
40.Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts
39.Destruction - Under Attack
38.Magnum - Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies
37.Axel Rudi Pell - Game of Sins
36.Them - Sweet Hollow
35.Opeth - Sorceress
34.Mistur - In Memoriam
33.Mob Rules - Tales From Beyond
32.Hatebreed - The Concrete Confessional
31.Dream The Electric Sleep - Beneath The Dark Wide Sky
30.Obscura - Akroasis
29.Redemption - The Art Of Loss
28.Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary
27.Dark Tranquility - Atoma
26.Death Angel - The Evil Divide

25.Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika
The album sounds fantastic. It displays a set of mesmerizing and epic songs balancing atmospheric and powerful black/folk metal elements. Their music is certainly challenging for its listeners. Originally it was on my top 10, but competition this year was really tough.

24.Long Distance Calling - TRIPS
LDC has produced a masterpiece of modern progressive (post) rock. TRIPS is an original album and full of curve balls, but make no mistake, it is awesome.

23.Testament - Brotherhood Of The Snake
Testament are still around and making good thrash metal 30 years after the birth of genre. While I really like this album, at the end of the day, there was nothing really new albeit extremely well written and executed thrash metal.

22.Gojira - Magma
A very diverse and interesting experience full of sadness with shorter, less complex songs. Gojira continue to sound unique (if any doubts, check the tittle track). Not their best album, but anyways their bar is set so high, so it's still a great album, and as I predicted, it is heading many year-end lists.

21.Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder
Simply put, it sounds f* amazing. The album marks a return to the band's familiar black metal style, and probably that's why I liked so much. Great riffs, up tempo, catchy and well written.

20.Abbath - Abbath
8 songs in only 40 minutes of straight up, catchy and "as you would expect" black metal from the former Immortal frontman Abbath.
It's easy and fun to listen to this record. While sounding familiar, it is also fresh and modern. Apparently, Abbath doesn't need Immortal to deliver black metal music at the highest quality. There isn't a lot of variability, but what the hell - it's lots of fun!

19.Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us
Relentless brutal shit! Oh My! this is one of the heaviest and most aggressive record I own. I found their second album quite good but YWNBOOU is way better. More technical with nice hooks and grooves without loosing the grindcore/hardcore violence but also adding some thrash metal elements, specially in some guitar solos and riffs, think of Slayer. One of the best extreme metal albums of the year, very addictive! And it's only 22 minutes, you can listen to it repeatedly, and you should!

18.Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
This is a fun, enjoyable, headbanging feast. Jomsviking follows the same formula as 2013's Deceiver of the Gods. At first the lack of variability and overly formulated singles threw me off. But eventually it grew on me. I really enjoy this band and always look forward to see them live. Jomsviking adds instant classics to their setlist - "Raise your horns! Raise them up to the sky! We will drink to glory tonight"

17.The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation
The supposedly final album from this unique and revolutionary band is a perfect summary of their great career while continue to advance their sound with electronic music and jazz, for example. Noise and hooks, speed and melody form a perfect swansong. We miss you already guys!

16.Anthrax - For All Kings
For All Kings features some amazing written and produced songs, great guitar solos (welcome Mr. Donais), several good riffs, more progressive and modern sounding than previous records. This is Anthrax back to the classic albums form. The bests songs here could've been written in the 80's. The album is a bit too long with some lesser tunes, otherwise it would be even higher on the list.

15.Metallica - Hardwired…to Self-Destruct
Yes, they made to my list. The album is far from perfect and it's too long...BUT it's the best thing that one of my first loved bands has done in 25 years. And by the way, I haven't cared for anything after And Justice For All...So I am not a fan boy. Some tracks in this album are catchy, fun and feature some awesome riffs, e.g. "Atlas, Rise!", "Moth Into Flame" and of course "Spit Out The Bone".

14.Haken - Affinity
Their previous album The Mountain from 2013 brought Haken to the forefront of the prog scene. But instead of repeating themselves Haken pushed it further by incorporating new elements. Also, the new bassist Conner Green brought quite some heaviness to the Haken sound, take "1985" and "The Architect" for example, some riffs are even Djent-like. Throughout the album the guitar riffs and melodies are also fantastic, "Lapse" features one of the best guitar solos of this year.

13.Periphery - Periphery III: Select Difficulty
Periphery is one of my favorite "modern metal" bands out there. I like how they are essentially a Progressive Metal band who mixes Meshuggah and Slipknot adding a very versatile vocal (at times Death Metal style e.g. "Motormouth", others hints a clean Power Metal e.g. "Remain Indoors" and even Pop Rock, e.g. "The Way The News Goes..."). Like all Periphery albums, this one grew on me with time and now I really dig it.

12.Letlive. - If I'm The Devil...
In terms of song writing If I'm The Devil... is at par with the predecessor maintaining the mix of punk, rock and soul. But this time around the balance among the elements being more focused on the soul instead of the punk. I think that's not a surprise given that Jason Aalon Butler is one of the most passionate and intense frontman I've ever seen on stage. This album touches deeper into that emotion from their live performances. A clear improvement from this new release is the production. Overall a great album that was constantly on my players.

11.Killswitch Engage - Incarnate
The album sounds pretty much the same as the predecessor: great guitar riffs, awesome hooks and catchy choruses while keeping it heavy and aggressive. Additionally Jesse performance is even better and the song writing is slightly less formulated than what we heard in Disarm the Descent. For the long time fans this is a great addition to their catalog. I dug it and listened to it several times.

10.Vektor - Terminal Redux
One of the almost unanimous choices of 2016, Vektor. This band is miles away from the retro thrash wave. In fact, adding "progressive" to their sub genre is essential. I'd describe their sound as Voivod meets Slayer with Chuck Schuldiner on the vocals while adding black metal elements. But Terminal Redux is not an incoherent blend, they pull it off magnificently. It is actually a concept album that flows beautifully. I have no doubts that this thrash/progressive masterpiece hence why is at the top of many year-end lists.

9.Khemmis - Hunted
An stellar release and the Doom album of the year, and remember it's just their sophomore. They are epic and beautiful while adding heavier elements. Beautiful lyrics that I can't resist singing along. The vocals are just perfect, the choruses are big and the guitar riffs are thick and heavy while adding some almost Maiden-like duos. I've also seen this album in several year end lists, and deservedly so, it's not overhyped, it's just great fucking heavy .

8.Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
Architects is one of the very few metalcore bands that I truly like. This disc pretty much follows the direction of the predecessor with a bit more dark sound to reflect the theme of the lyrics. But they don't stop there, they go further. Within the predictable and often boring metalcore genre, Architects bring an inspiring new breath and leave their peers behind. The music writing is as good as previously, with aggressive but melodic and catchy vocal lines. Sam Carter has a nice voice and balance harsh screams with cleaner singing very well.

7.Black Crown Initiate - Selves We Cannot Forgive
BCI impressed me with a very well written and executed balance between progressiveness and modern metal. My first highlight is the vocal work throughout the album. Singer James Dorton has a good harsh vocal range and additionally the band lead, songwriter and guitar player Andy Thomas uses his clean vocals in most of the songs. Secondly, there is no question that those are highly skilled musicians playing their instruments with superb techniques. But they don't overuse those to create an instrument lesson but rather to create great music. I love the slow parts in contrast with the heavier ones and I specially impressed with the guitars.

6.Avantasia - Ghostlights
For symphonic power metal fans, Avantasia offers everything you like and Ghostlights, the seventh full-length album, is no different. Overall, as expected, great melodies, catchy vocal lines and big choruses. Overall the album has some of the most impressive guitar work that Avantasia has ever produced. And even the artwork is fantastic. And to top it all, "Let The Storm Descend Upon You" is 12 min of epicness and one of the best songs of 2016.

5.Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason
This is Meshuggah as we came to love with slightly additions of new elements, but mostly sounding very much like the last couple of albums. With that said, the deepness and heaviness are just mesmerizing and addictive. I couldn't stop listening to it for days. No surprises to anyone that all musicians are superb and obviously amazing drumming by Mr. Tomas Haake. But still I was very impressed by the guitar solos, take "Nonstrum" and "Born In Dissonance" solos for example. The Violent Sleep of Reason is a lesson of extreme progressive metal and pure art.

4.Insomnium - Winter's Gate
Winter's Gate is a story told as a song. A concept album with just one song in 7 parts (probably for practical reasons, because it's one continuous piece of music) and 40 minutes. This is a masterpiece of melodic death metal. I have no complain, it's one amazing song with powerful riffs, amazing melodies, full of hooks, variations, tempo changes and all very well produced with a dynamic range of 7 and a great mix.

3.Neurosis - Fires Within Fires
This album features only 5 songs in 40 min which means no bad songs, no fillers. Despite the long songs, they grab your attention and time flies when you immerse yourself into them. This is a album best enjoyed with headphone and quality medium. There are several subtle noises and melodies going on throughout the record showing Neurosis' influences from dark ambient and industrial music. The album also balances very well soft passages with heavy doom riffs and singing. So it's not surprise to conclude that with a DR of 8, this is one of the highest range I've heard this year.

2.Ihsahn - Arktis
A rich and diverse extreme metal journey from one of the most reverenced modern heavy music masterminds. There are no weak points and the 10 songs flow wonderfully. Arktis is essentially a progressive metal album with its roots in the black metal. But the drumming is full of groves, many songs contain clean vocals and slow tempo moments. To me this all adds to the experience and variability.

1.Fates Warning - Theories of Flight

Most years, making a choice for number one is hard work, but in 2016 was very easy. FW has secured their spot after a couple of listens. Theories of Flight basically combines the best of two worlds. The more progressive side of FW with the more direct style from the earlier albums is in a modern and fresh way. It's FW at its best and upgraded. The first noticeable difference is that the record features one of the best drumming performances I heard in a long time. Matheos stepped up to deliver one of his best guitar work, it is pure art! Most of the songs have at least 3 guitar tracks each doing some very specific riffs and rhythms that intertwine giving such a beautiful texture. All of this without loosing heaviness. And last but not least, Alder is singing better than never, very confident hitting some high notes without sounding forced or exaggerated, I mean his performance in "The light and..." Is simply amazing. By the way, this is the best song I heard this year and one of my favorites of the last few years. Now, if I'd be picky and split hairs, then I'd say that the bass is a bit too low in mix, specially compared to their previous albums with Vera.

Honorable  Mentions:
Rhapsody Of Fire - Into the Legend
Dream Theater - The Astonishing
Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage

The Best Sounding Albums:

Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary

Opeth - Sorceress
Anthrax - For All Kings
Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika
Neurosis - Fires Within Fires

Favorite EPs:
Gruesome - Dimensions of Horror
Steven Wilson - 4 ½

Biggest Disappointments:
Serious Black
Denner/Sherman
Kai Hansen

Wovenwar

Favorite Guitar Solos:

Megadeth - "Conquer Or Die" by Kiko Loureiro
Dream Theater - "A Better Life" by John Petrucci
Avantasia - "Babylon Vampyres" by Bruce Kulick
Haken - "Lapse" by Charlie Griffiths
Death Angel - "Father of Lies" by Rob Cavestany
Black Crown Initiate - "Selves We Cannot Forgive" by Andy Thomas
Testament - "Brotherhood Of The Snake" by Alex Skolnick
Meshuggah - "Nonstrum" by Fredrik Thordendal

Top 5 songs:

"Born In Dissonance" by Meshuggah
"Let The Storm Descend Upon You" by Avantasia
"Hate By Design" by Killswitch Engage
"The Light and Shade of Things" by Fates Warning
"Atlas, Rise!" by Metallica

Best Shows:

Iron Maiden - GMM 2016
Avantasia - Oberhausen, Turbinenhalle
Meshuggah  - Trix, Antwerp

Worst Show:
Virgin Steele - GMM 2016

Top Albums of Q4/2016

Insomnium - Winter's Gate
For years, Insomnium has been a band for me to explore further, but it hasn't happened until the release of their seventh studio album, Winter's Gate.  A concept album with just one song in 7 parts and 40 minutes. This is a masterpiece of melodic death metal. I have no complain, it's one amazing song with powerful riffs, amazing melodies, full of hooks, variations, tempo changes and all very well produced with a dynamic range of 7 and a great mix. A serious candidate to album of the year.

Testament - Brotherhood Of The Snake
This is the 11th album by the thrash legends from the bay area. After the successful start in the 80's with 2 classic thrash master pieces The New Order (1988) and Practice What You Preach (1989), the band went through some ups and downs in the 90's but finished with another masterpiece The Gathering (1999) in which Testament added some Death Metal elements to their classic thrash roots. Due to a series of health issues and line up changes the band went into a hiatus that finished in 2008 with the release of The Formation of Damnation. A highly successful album and Dark Roots of Earth (2012) was no different. Therefore Brotherhood Of The Snake is received with high expectations. Especially when we learned that bass master Steve Digiorgio was returning to join drummer Gene Hoglan, meaning, Testament has again an all-star line up. The musical skills of this group did not compromise heaviness and speed. Actually, clocking at 46 min and featuring 10 tracks, the album is very direct and in your face thrash.
The title track opens the album and right out of the gate shows that Testament 2016 follows the path of the previous albums. Powerful thrash riffs with death metal singing elements, lots of hooks and melodies and great guitar solos. The 2nd track and video single "The Pale King" keeps up the tempo and quality of the title track. "Seven Seals" is a bit slower tempo with a modern metal feel to it and a nice groove. "Centuries Of Suffering" is fast and furious, the heaviest and shortest track of the album. "Neptune’s Spear" features some of the album’s best riffs, what a classic! The album rolls nicely and there are no “bad” songs, but closer “The Number Game” is a missed opportunity to try something different  and more memorable. In 2016, Megadeth, Anthrax, Destruction, Death Angel, Sodom and, now also Testament are still around and making good thrash metal 30 years after the birth of genre. Given that Metallica is expected to release their best album since the Black Album in November, 2016 is going down as one of thrash's greatest years. And Brotherhood Of The Snake one of the top albums of the year and likely the thrash album of 2016.

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason
This is Meshuggah as we came to love with slightly additions of new elements, but mostly sounding very much like the last couple of albums. With that said, the deepness and heaviness are just mesmerizing and addictive. I couldn't stop listening to it for days. No surprises to anyone that all musicians are superb and obviously amazing drumming by Mr. Tomas Haake. But still I was very impressed by the guitar solos, take "Nonstrum" and "Born In Dissonance" solos for example. The Violent Sleep of Reason is a lesson of extreme progressive metal and pure art.

Neurosis - Fires Within Fires
Despite the fact that this is the 11th studio album by the post-metal american band Neurosis, I haven't yet invested the time to listen to their back catalog. However, my positive experience with 2016's Fires Within Fires is about to change that. This album features only 5 songs in 40 min which means no bad songs, no fillers. Despite the long songs, they grab your attention and time flies when you immerse yourself into them. This is a album best enjoyed with headphone and quality medium. There are several subtle noises and melodies going on throughout the record showing Neurosis' influences from dark ambient and industrial music. The album also balances very well soft passages with heavy doom riffs and singing. So it's not surprise to conclude that with a DR of 8, this is one of the highest range I've heard this year. I can't comment how this record stands when facing their previous releases, but within 2016, Fires Within Fires is a top album.

Dream The Electric Sleep - Beneath The Dark Wide Sky
This one came as a big surprise to me. My friend Michael gave me the tip to check those guys out and he was right. While clearly influenced by Pink Floyd and Rush with some pop touches from the likes of U2 and MUSE; Dream The Electric Sleep excels at composing music that is novel, exploring new territories while somehow also evoking familiarity. Most likely my Progressive Rock album of the year.

Khemmis - Hunted

Just last year, the Denver-based  quartet of Khemmis released their debut Absolution. Less than 2 years later, 2016 brings us Hunted. A new masterpiece with only 5 tracks averaging 7:30 min each, except for the title track, an epic 13-min journey. "Above the Water" is the opener and my favorite track. After a slow intro, it dives into a heavy Sabbath-like riff. The clean and melodic vocals deliver a very cool verse and what I love about it is the guitar riff duo pretty much Maiden style."Candlelight" has a very straightforward start with a thick slow guitar riff and diving into a melodic clean singing verse, on the same  lines as the previous track. But there's a curve ball, at mid point the song gets very slow and a funeral doom vocal sings over a guitar solo. This singing feels a bit out of place to me, but the instrumental is nice. The dominant clean vocals come back with an epic verse to bring the song to an end with a guitar solo."Three Gates" balances the growling and clean vocals very well, performing nice epic melodies. Again the guitars sound thick and heavy. "Beyond the Door" highlight are the guitar melodies that open the song before giving place to an up tempo guitar riff which is followed by the verse. Second time around the up tempo riff is the base for the nice guitar solos. The final minute alternates growling and clean vocals before  concluding the song on an awesome riff sequence. Title and final track is pure epicness! Long instrumental transitions, tempo changes, guitar solos and once again clean melodic vocals. Here some of the catchiest vocal lines. An stellar release and probably Doom album of the year, and remember it's just their sophomore. 

Metallica - Hardwired…to Self-Destruct

Metallica long-awaited 10th studio album, "Hardwired … to Self-Destruct" is finally here. It's a double CD with 12 songs in 78 minutes.
"Hardwired" was the first single and is the first track. It's a good song with a vibe from the first albums. But the the drums are too loud in the mix ( a problem thought out the record) , the guitar solo is really bad and the lyrics are over simplistic. The second song "Atlas, Rise!" was the 3rd single and so far one of my favorites. More progressive and better mixed than the first single. "Now That We're Dead" could've been in the Black Album, made me think of "Sad but True". It has an 1m30s intro with a nice groovy riff and a very good vocal melody follows. Overall the guitar work is great and it's another favorite of mine. The second single and track #4 "Mouth Into Flame" is a very good song as well. Albeit progressive, it still has the same old school vibe but more melodic, even power metal-ish at points. The double album syndrome is first present with "Dream No More" as this track drops the ball. The longest track of the album with 8:15 closes the first CD, "Halo On Fire" is a good progressive song. "Confusion" opens up CD2 in good style, it's not as thrashy as most of CD1 and drags a bit. "Manunkind" and "Here Comes Revenge" are bluesy and almost Sabbath, great riffs and grooves, specially the latter. "Am I Savage?" is expendable. "Murder One" is the ode to Lemmy while not a bad song, it doesn't offer anything new. Don't we love when the album closer is something special? After about 30 min of more progressive mid-tempo songs, "Spit Out The Bone" brings back the thrash with full power.
I don't care for anything they have put out in the last 25 years and I am not  head over hills for this album. But, Metallica's recent attempts to bring new music have been so below average that "Hardwired … to Self-Destruct" sounds really good. It's their best since ...And Justice for All. The album is full of great riffs, grooves, hooks and melodies that will make old and new fans very happy. At least 4 songs are really awesome. The production is not too bad, for one, we can hear the bass and most of the songs have a DR of 6, so not too loud. Those are all good news. But the album is too long and there are ups and downs. There are also problems with the mix (drums are so loud!), many uninspired guitar solos and a boring album cover. If they had worked harder to produce it better and made it an 8 song album, it could've been fantastic.

Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder
This is another classic band that I haven't had the time to explore fully. So I came to their 16th album with no "baggage" and to me sounds f* amazing. As far as I understood, The album marks a return to the band's familiar black metal style, and probably that's why I liked so much. Great riffs, up tempo, catchy and well written. I actually don't know why the reviews were not that good. The album is 40 min and 8 songs, like the classic 80's albums. There are only a couple of tracks that are a bit slower and less memorable: "Inbred Vermin" and "Throw Me Through the Marshes". For the rest, I really dig it.

Dark Tranquility - Atoma
Atoma, the 11th album and follow-up of the very good 2013's Construct has surpassed all of my expectations. DT is one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene. They crated a distinctive take on the melodic death metal by incorporating a bit of Gothic sound into their music. Despite being only 50 min long, Atoma features 12 songs which is a bit too much. Therefore, we find some low points, but overall the high points make it a very strong album. I like how they balance some keyboard riffs like in "Encircled" and "Atoma" with thick guitar riffs like in "Forward Momentum" and "The Pitiless". Additionally the subtle electronic samples give a special flavor to the overall experience. But most noticeably and well executed is the variation between heavy melodic death metal parts with slower melodic parts. And while still using clen vocals as a tool in their arsenal of musical tricks, Mikael Stanne doesn't abuse of it and the vast majority of vocal lines are with the death metal growl. Atoma is wake-up call to those who were loosing their faith on melo-death metal.

Top Albums of Q3/2016

Fates Warning - Theories of Flight

I was trying to figure out why in just a matter of days this album  became one of my all time FW favorite albums. And then it struck me, Theories of Flight basically combines the best of two worlds. The more progressive side of FW is represented in "From the Rooftops", "The Light and Shade of Things" and "The Ghosts of Home" and the more direct style from the earlier albums is in a modern and fresh way coming alive on "Seven Stars", "SOS", "White Flag" and "Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen". And to conclude the album, a nice Easter egg of the album Disconnected: an instrumental title track full of sampling. Actually the title track and "The Ghosts of Home" are almost one song and both remind me a lot of the duo "Still Remains"/"Disconnected part 2". But let me be clear, Theories of Flight is not at all a recycling of old ideas. Quite the opposite, it's FW at its best and upgraded. The first noticeable difference is that the record features one of the best drumming performances I heard in a long time. In his second album with FW, Bobby Jarzombek is simply relentless. The grooves, constant time changes, odd signatures don't ever stop. It will be interesting to watch him playing those live. Aresti, who was playing guitar int he previous album, is not an official band member in this one anymore. And his contribution was limited to two, but great, guitar solos. Of course he did not participate in the song writing. With that said, Matheos stepped up to deliver one of his best guitar work, it is pure art! Most of the songs have at least 3 guitar tracks each doing some very specific riffs and rhythms that intertwine giving such a beautiful texture. All of this without loosing heaviness. And last but not least, Alder is singing better than never, very confident hitting some high notes without sounding forced or exaggerated, I mean his performance in "The light and..." Is simply amazing. By the way, this is the best song I heard this year and one of my favorites of the last few years. Now, if I'd be picky and split hairs, then I'd say that the bass is a bit too low in mix, specially compared to their previous albums with Vera. In sum, it's been just two weeks and Theories of Flight is my second favorite FW album. With time, it could still become my favorite FW album of all. However, it is already the strongest contender for album of the year.

Black Crown Initiate - Selves We Cannot Forgive
In 2014, the  progressive death metal group from Reading, Pennsylvania released their debut full-length, The Wreckage of Stars, that was highly acclaimed. I remember hearing about them, but didn't have the opportunity to check them out in detail.  Now, BCI is back with Selves We Cannot Forgive, an album that impressed me by a very well written and executed balance between progressiveness and modern metal. The album clocks at 52 min with 8 great tracks, fairly long songs but not excessive and there are no low points. My first highlight is the vocal work throughout the album. Singer James Dorton has a good harsh vocal range and additionally the band lead, songwriter and guitar player Andy Thomas uses his clean vocals in most of the songs. Secondly, there is no question that those are highly skilled musicians playing their instruments with superb techniques. But they don't overuse those to create an instrument lesson but rather to create great music. I love the slow parts in contrast with the heavier ones and I specially impressed with the guitars. The title track has a beautiful and mind-blowing guitar work, specially the solo. With that said, the album is very well produced and the drums and bass are clear as well. This balance between guitar and bass/drums is very well represented by the groovy 7/8 time signature track "Again". In sum, Selves We Cannot Forgive is a fantastic album, progressive metal lovers must check BCI out.

Mistur - In Memoriam
We're going a bit deeper in the underground here with Mistur. A band from Norway that released their debut album Attende in 2009 with apparently rave reviews but I never checked it. Now, 7 years later In Memoriam sees Mistur return with a masterpiece mixing black/pagan metal with progressive elements.  The songs are long (only 6 tracks in 56 min), epic and complex. Mistur sound like a mix of Moonsorrow and current Enslaved. All the 6 songs are very good, but track number 3 "Firstborn Son" is one of the best songs of the year. After a 2-min build-up intro, the song explodes with aggressiveness in a typical black metal style but with some interesting breaks that include a very groovy progression. Then goes into a breakdown with some of the best traditional heavy metal guitar riffs I've heard this year. It's a fantastic piece of heavy music.

Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary
Witherscape is a progressive death metal band from Sweden run by multi-instrumentalists Dan Swanö and Ragnar Widerberg. After the success of 2013's The Interitance, what was supposed to be a one off project is now on the second album. The same formula applies here: Clean singing is well balanced with concise growls, the riffs are great, production is top notch, and all of it very catchy. My only small complain is that the debut was a bit heavier and The Northern Sanctuary has one low point "Marionette". All in all, another masterpiece from Dan Swanö.

Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

Architects is one of the very few metalcore bands that I truly like. The previous album from 2014 Lost Forever // Lost Together scored quite high in my 2014's list. Now they are back with AOGHAU which is already the 7th studio album from the Brits. This disc pretty much follows the direction of the predecessor with a bit more dark sound to reflect the theme of the lyrics. But they don't stop there, they go further. Within the predictable and often boring metalcore genre, Architects bring an inspiring new breath and leave their peers behind. The music writing is as good as previously, with aggressive but melodic and catchy vocal lines. Sam Carter has a nice voice and balance harsh screams with cleaner singing very well. The album open very strongly with 3 heavy songs with big choruses. You would think that you can't get much better then you find yourself screaming the lyrics of "Gone with the Wind" or "Gravity". But by the time you get to the 10th song  you may wonder if the album lacks variability. Then Architects throw you a very nice curve ball, the 8 min long "Memento Mori". Here they experiment and get the rewards. The only thing those guys need to do now to get really big is disassociate themselves from the metalcore scene. Maybe this new experiment will take them to new places in r next album.

Gojira - Magma
I must confess that I jumped late into the Gojira wagon and I'm far from being a devoted fan. But I did appreciate their previous albums, including the predecessor Les Enfants Sauvages (2014). So I came to Magma, which is already the sixth studio album from Frenchmen, with open mind and no expectations. And still I was surprised with the opening track, mid-tempo, melancholic and with clean vocals. It's actually an excellent song, but sets from the get go the contrast between Magma and Les Enfants Sauvages. Luckily for the old-time fans, track number 2, "Silvera" brings back the aggressiveness but without going too complex. Overall, these songs set the tone for the rest of the album. A very diverse and interesting experience full of sadness with shorter, less complex songs. Gojira continue to sound unique (if any doubts, check the tittle track). But while I appreciate the diversity of the record, in the end the songs that I really like are the heavier with limited clean vocals. Not their best album, but anyways their bar is set so high, so it's still a great album, and it will certainly be heading many year-end lists.

Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us

The third studio album by the American Nails is their longest release to date at 21 minutes! Todd Jones (guitars/vocals) said that Nails believes that the best albums have 10 songs, and to deliver this level of brutality and speed most of the songs in this album are around the 1-1:30 min mark. Traditionally they have been closing their albums with a long song and YWNBOOU features their longest song, "They Come Crawling Back", which runs for eight minutes. I found their second album quite good but YWNBOOU is way better. More technical with nice hooks and grooves without loosing the   grindcore/hardcore violence but also adding some thrash metal elements, specially in some guitar solos and riffs, think of Slayer. One of the best extreme metal albums of the year so far, very addictive!

Letlive. - If I'm The Devil...

After the magnificent The Blackest Beautiful (2013), Letlive. is back with their 4th studio album. In terms of song writing If I'm The Devil... is at par with the predecessor maintaining the mix of punk, rock and soul. But this time around the balance among the elements being more focused on the soul instead of the punk. I think that's not a surprise given that Jason Aalon Butler is one of the most passionate and intense frontman I've ever seen on stage. This album touches deeper into that emotion from their live performances. A clear improvement from this new release is the production. Overall a great album, but it may upset the punk fans who would prefer a more aggressive sound.

Periphery - Periphery III: Select Difficulty

I personally consider the 3rd self title album their 4th studio album since Juggernaut is a double one. I really liked the last two albums, even if Juggernaut is not easy to digest. And surprisingly in less than 2 years, Periphery is back with another album. I don't consider Djent a music genre but a guitar style. In this case Periphery is a Progressive Metal band who mixes Meshuggah and Slipknot adding a very versatile vocal (at times Death Metal style e.g. "Motormouth", others hints a clean Power Metal e.g. "Remain Indoors" and even Pop Rock, e.g. "The Way The News Goes..."). Of course the guitars do sound Djent throughout the record and the solos are usually quite well done.   The album opens very strongly with two short and heavy songs: Slipknot-ish "The Price Is Wrong" and the Meshuggah-ish "Motormouth" follows. Now, this start is misleading, both songs are heavy and clean vocals are only heard at the very end of the second track. But the 3rd track changes that, more progressive and using more clean vocals, "Marigold" is more on the lines of Juggernaut. And the rest of the album follows the same style with two exceptions "The Way The News Goes..." and "Catch Fire" that are radio friendly songs. The powerfullness of the first two tracks can be seen again at the end with "Prayer Position". Overall, I'm a bit disappointed, there are good moments, but not their best work. 

Blues Pills - Lady in Gold
The Swedish rock band Blues Pills released their 2nd album on August 5th following a successful self-titled debut album. I'm digging it. Singer Elin Larsson is a superb mix of  Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. This is a retro rock band inspired by the 60's and 70's rock with a big influence of Soul music, think "rockier Adele". This is by far not metal, it's barely rock and much more soul than the predecessor.

Pink Floyd Discography Review

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) - 8.5 - CD
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyd's debut album, and, unfortunately, the only one made under founder member Syd Barrett's leadership. Almost all the songs were written by him. Not surprisingly then, this is very different from what Pink Floyd would be known for. The debut album is essentially psychedelic rock with hint of progressiveness like in the excellent "Interstellar Overdrive" and the jazzy "Pow R. Toc H.". Both being the only 2 songs written by the whole band. I'm not into psychedelic music, but this is still a great album, full of hidden gems and a unique sound in their discography.

A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968) - 8.0 - LP

Following Syd Barrett's health issues, he was replaced by  David Gilmour during the recording sessions. As a result, A Saucerful of Secrets is the only album on which all five band members appeared, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" was the only song all five members played together and it's my favorite song from the album. The great melody, atmospheric nature and the pounding drums makes it a great track. Roger Waters wrote 4 songs and Wright other 2. The title song is the only one written by the new four members together, being therefore Gilmour's first contribution. "Jugband Blues"  is the last song of the album and the last credit to Syd Barrett. This all means that this is a transitional album with some psychedelic elements still but much more progressive and influenced by the guitar style and solos from Gilmour. The opening track, for example, features a great riff and a catchy chorus. And the title track was their longest song to date with 12-min and a very experimental instrumental intro that eventually turns into a beautiful keyboard melody, almost in church-style pipe organs. This is a great album that set the foundation of what Pink Floyd would sound like and it's a highly underrated work.

More (1969) - 7.0 - CD

More is a soundtrack album that contains some of the band's "heaviest" recordings, such as "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar". Also Pink Floyd experimental phase continued with several instrumental tracks and acoustic folk ballads. For the most part the song writing was split between Waters alone and the four members together. But the instrumental 1:05 min long "A Spanish Piece" is the first song to be solely credited to Gilmour. He was also responsible for all vocals. Still a transitional album with some good moments and adding new elements, heaviness counter balanced by the acoustic folk ballads, and Gilmour gaining prominence with singing and guitar style.

Ummagumma (1969) - 9.0 (live) / 6.5 (studio) - CD

Ummagumma is a strange album. The first disc is a live album that contains part of their normal set list of the time, while the second contains solo compositions by each member of the band. I really like the live versions of the 4 songs that are great to begin with. But the studio disc is a "failed experiment" according to Mason himself. Ummagumma marks PF fully diving into progressive music and showed to the band their way forward was a group and not individuals. If they had combined the efforts instead of individual composition, they would have come up with what ended up being the following album.

Atom Heart Mother (1970) - 8.0 - CD

The 5th studio album was Pink Floyd's first commercial success, specially in the UK. It was the first one to not feature the band's name on the cover, or contain any photographs of the band anywhere. This was a trend that would continue on subsequent covers throughout the 1970s and beyond. The title track which is a 24-min instrumental.  Atom Heart Mother certainly confirms the progressive tendencies from previous records. Side B with "If", "Summer '68" and  "Fat Old Sun" each by Waters, Wright, and Gilmour respectively shows the individual power of those guys creating beautiful music. The 3 tracks are more on the lines of More and are fantastic. The album closes with "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", another instrumental full of sound samples. The production is also much better and the sound of Gilmour guitar in the title track is foreshadowing what he would sound like in future albums. Certainly an album for the fanatics and not for everyone.

Meddle (1971) - 9.0 - LP

There's no concept or central theme but the album flows very nicely and as opposed to previous records, there are no weak points or bad songs. However, each has its own feeling. Meddle balances the voices of Gilmour and Waters, and also the song writing is spread across the band members. The album opens with the instrumental masterpiece "One of These Days" and follows with "A Pillow Of Winds" and "Fearless" showing their folk side highlighted by unique melodies as we had seen in More and Atom Heart Mother. "San Tropez" shows their jazzy side and "Seamus" a short bluesy song. The B side features the 23-min masterpiece "Echoes"  with great melodies (vocal lines and the awesome bass line), instrumental bridges, and solos (Gilmour and Wright stepping up their game). Meddle is the best album from their transitional years leading to The Dark Side of the Moon. And together with the debut album, the two essential records of this period.

Obscured by Clouds (1972) - 7.5 - LP

The seventh studio album by Pink Floyd is based on their soundtrack for the French film La Vallée, by Barbet Schroeder. This brings a different flavor to this record compared to the last, no long songs and less experimental. It's almost a regular rock album with 10 songs and in 40 min, the longest being the "Absolutely Curtains"  and it's under 6 min. It's a simpler album with great melodies and very enjoyable. Obscured by Clouds has a lot in common with the predecessor's side A.

The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) - 10 - LP
After more than 40 years - what can we still say about this masterpiece? Everything in Pink Floyd's career up to this point culminated to this perfect record: from the art work to the last note. One of the best rock albums ever, period. Albeit strong contribution from Waters, the song writing is well spread across the 4 members and so is the lead vocals. The experimentation with sounds and noise gave room to experimenting with female singers, saxophone, sampling and a funky guitar beat. The production is outstanding - All instruments sound awesome throughout the record. The Dark Side of the Moon features two of the most fantastic guitar solos ever recorded: "Time" and "Money". The album is emotional, beautiful, explosive...each song has its character and yet the album flows almost as if it's a single song. You put this vinyl to turn and it's a unstoppable magical journey. And the lyrics...whenever I hear "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes. I'll see you on the dark side of the moon" I have goosebumps. There's only a handful of albums that I consider worthy of 10 and this is one of them.

Wish You Were Here (1975) - 9.5 - LP
How do you follow up a masterpiece? Well according to Pink Floyd, with another one. Just 2 years later, they released Wish You Were Here. With The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd found their classic sound and Wish You Were Here builds on some of the same principles from its predecessor, starting with the amazing album cover. The clean production, fantastic guitar sound and solos, including the funky beat, female backing vocals and saxophone solos are all present. But Wish You Were Here also brings back elements pre-dark side, such as longer songs and acoustic elements. The album is slightly more dominated by Waters on the writing and lead vocals. He alone also wrote the conceptual theme of the album as a tribute to Syd Barrett. Wish You Were Here is also one of the best rock albums of all times and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is simply a perfect prog song. 

Animals (1977) - 9.5 - LP
Animals follows beautifully its predecessor but it marks the begging of Waters taking over control of the band. Except for "Dogs" which is shared with Gilmour, all other lead vocals were performed by Waters and all songs were written and composed by him. Musically and lyrically Animals is darker than previous albums. A concept album, it provides a scathing critique of the social-political conditions of late 1970s Britain. The album has essentially 4 songs. The intro and closer "Pigs on the Wing" parts 1 and 2 are short, acoustic and light-themed, as apposed to the other 3 songs. With 17 min, "Dogs" is the longest song in the album and among my top songs of all times. I love the lyrics, the melody and specially the guitar solos from Gilmour - perfection! "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" and  "Sheep" are the other two songs that while not as perfect as "Dogs" are also very good. I simply can't understand how a true Pink Floyd doesn't rate this masterpiece high in their favorite Pink Floyd albums.

The Wall (1979) - 9.5 - LP
The Wall is Pink Floyd's second best selling album under The Dark Side of the Moon. But in many ways even more popular. Probably because the band's only single to top various charts, "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" and the massive tour that followed the album, not to mention the movie. The Wall is a double concept album, exploring themes of abandonment and personal isolation. It is a rock opera that follows the character Pink. Almost all songs are written and composed by Waters, the exceptions are some of the best ones  "Young Lust",  "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell" which are co-credit with Gilmour. It's obviously a brilliant album but too much Waters, specially in the second disc. The first disc is perfect. And disc 2 features one of the best songs of all times: "Comfortably Numb" with its great vocal lines shared by Waters/Gilmour and one of the best guitar solos ever recorded. The Wall is a classic, is essential and really great, but just short of perfect.

The Final Cut (1983) - 7.0 - CD
All songs were written and composed by Waters. He also sings almost every song,  David Gilmour provides vocals on one track only (the best on the album: "Not Now John") and it is also the only Pink Floyd album that does not feature keyboardist Richard Wright. Consequently, it's not difficult to understand why some people refer to The Final Cut as essentially a Roger Waters solo album. When compared to the previous album The Wall, The Final Cut is really bad. That's not by chance, many songs on the album were a rewritten version of songs rejected for The Wall. But when you put it in isolation, The Final Cut is not all that bad in addition to "Not Now John", also "Your Possible Pasts" and "The Hero's Return" are good tracks. Musically the album is very simplistic and Waters can't really sing with a full range. I mean in some tracks is fine, like in The Wall, but for a whole album, no.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) - 7.5 - CD
A Momentary Lapse of Reason should have been a Gilmour solo album but money talks and they released it as a Pink Floyd album. That doesn't mean it's a bad album, I actually like it a lot and it was the first Pink Floyd album I bought when it was "new". With that said, it doesn't really sound like the Pink Floyd from the glory 70's, so you can't really compare to the classic albums. Mason drumming is flat and Wright's keyboards are almost out of the picture. Neither participated on the writing process. But it was nice to hear Gilmour singing again and listing to Pink Floyd without becoming depressed by it. There are some bright moments like "Learning to Fly" or "Sorrow" but also some very average songs, specially the instrumentals.

The Division Bell (1994) - 8.5 - CD
I find this album quite enjoyable and it's the closest thing to classic Pink Floyd since 1979's The Wall. We certainly miss Waters from the 70s but at least we have the other 3 members fully engaged under Gilmour's leadership. Wright even sings a full song, "I'm Wearing the Inside Out" which is actually my favorite of the album. Gilmour riffs and solos are quite decent. On the flip side, the album has some pop tendencies and doesn't really challenge the listener. A good album that only suffers by being at the shadow of how amazing their discography is.

The Endless River (2014) - 8.0 - CD
Never thought to be listening to a new Pink Floyd album again! Really enjoyed the experience - a journey through their own sound, almost like a self tribute. Even more satisfying is the fact that makes you want to go back and listen to the really old stuff...Endless River brings back moments from the first albums, from Wish You Were Here and The Wall, and obviously Division Bell. Not exactly original but still who in 2014 writes a 47-min instrumental intro for a 6 min song with vocals ( which is brilliant by the way)? Very nice closing album to one of the best bans of all times.


In the end, if I were forced to rank them in order, it would look like this:
1. The Dark Side of the Moon (100)
2. Wish You Were Here (96)
3. The Wall (94)
4. Animals (93)
5. Meddle (91)
6. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (87)
7. The Division Bell (84)
8. A Saucerful Of Secrets (82)
9. The Endless River (79)
10. Atom Heart Mother (78)
11. Obscured by Clouds (76)
12. A Momentary Lapse of Reason (75)
13. More (72)
14. The Final Cut (70)
15. Ummagumma (studio) (63)

Fates Warning Discography Review

Night on Bröcken (1984) - 7.5
The first studio album from Fates Warning (FW) came out already in 1984 which is surprising to some since FW is often cited together with Dream Theater as precursors of progressive metal. But Dream Theater was not even formed until 1985. The caveat here is that this album is very different from what FW would sound like from the early 90's until today. Heavily influenced by Iron Maiden's The Number of The Beast and NWOBHM in general, Night on Bröcken is essentially a heavy metal album with hints of progressiveness like the track "Damnation". The original  vocalist John Arch has a very high-pitched style which did bring some character and uniqueness to this record. He was also highly involved in the song writing together with the main man Jim Matheos. Overall a very capable album for a debut from a  band that was still looking for its identity.

The Spectre Within (1985) - 8.0
The second album picks up where the debut left off. No material changes in their sound and style, meaning Maiden influenced traditional metal. However, it's one step further into a more progressive sound. Specially considering the two gems "The Apparition" and the 12-min "Epitaph". Overall longer songs, stronger riffs albeit Maiden-like, and different song structures are the positives. But the vocal approach from Mr. Arch can be tedious at times and takes time to get into it. "Epitaph" breaks this pattern with better vocal lines, stronger melody, epicness and Arch takes more advantage of his vocal range. It's a album closer that kept the high hopes for what FW would really deliver in the albums to come.

Awaken the Guardian (1986) - 8.0
The third album brought the first line-up change: the arrival of guitar player Frank Aresti. This was also the last album with Arch on the vocals and the best of this phase. The characteristics from the previous albums are still here: traditional heavy metal flirting with progressiveness. But compared to the first two albums, the song writing is better, the vocal approach more balanced, and also including backing vocals and more vocal tracks. The album also features keyboards (but low in the mix) and several acoustics guitar passages.  All songs were written and composed by Jim Matheos and John Arch, except "Giant's Lore (Heart of Winter)" by Aresti/Arch.The now classics "Sorceress", "Guardian" and "Exodus" are the highlights.

No Exit (1988) - 8.0
The fourth studio album is the first to feature current vocalist Ray Alder. John Arch's departure had a strong impact in FW's sound and style. The first being that the lyrics are less influenced by fantasy themes. Secondly, Alder, while also reaching for high notes with power, doesn't rely on them all the time. He has also great feeling and melody to carry the vocal lines. Another difference from the previous record is that Aresti was highly involved in the writing process. And of course the biggest leap into progressive metal is the 22-min "The Ivory Gate of Dreams" by Matheos. Divided in parts and full of variation, tempo changes and lack of a chorus, this song opened the way forward to FW. In terms of structure, No Exit resembles Rush's 2112, short songs on one side and a 20-plus-minute long song broken down into parts. Among the "short" songs, "Silent Cries" is the highlight.

Perfect Symmetry (1989) - 8.0
With album #5 the band's more modern, progressive direction was established. This was the second effort with vocalist Ray Alder who strengthened his vocal range and dynamic within the band. Mark Zonder took over the drumsticks. A notable credit, Kevin Moore who was with Dream Theater laid down the Keyboards on "At Fates Hands". Actually "At Fates Hands" foreshadows their 1997 masterpiece A Pleasant Shade of Gray. Like in the previous release, besides Matheos, Aresti was a major song writer, with solo credit in 3 songs and participating in other 2. Interestingly, Aresti's songs tended to resemble the earlier albums, meaning more direct and heavy. For example "Static Acts"  and "The Arena"  both with incredible performance from Ray Alder. On the other hand  "At Fates Hands" and "Nothing Left to Say" were much more progressive with acoustic elements, keyboards, and tempo changes. Overall a great album, keeping up at the same level as the last 2, but cementing the transition from traditional metal into progressive metal.

Parallels (1991) - 8.5
Although the 6th album had no line-up changes, all songs were written and composed by Jim Matheos. The albums marks FW as definite progressive metal masters. The music writing is phenomenal and Matheos took down a notch on speed and aggressiveness, adding much more slow tempo session combined with heaviness and great guitar riffs. The melodies and vocal lines on this album are superb and catchy, and Alder limited the high-pitched screams to just a few moments which make them much more special e.g. "Eye to Eye" and "The Eleventh Hour". Many songs feature a goose-bumping build-up e.g. "Life in Still Water" and "The Eleventh Hour". The guitar approach is far from the Maiden-like riffs from the first albums, it's fresh, original and rely much more on arpeggios. On his second album with FW, Mark Zonder is much more loose behind the drums and therefore sounding much better. And finally the bass is very prominent in the mix giving the final touch to this controversial (to the older fans) masterpiece.

Inside Out (1994) - 7.5
3 years after the commercial success of Parallels, FW returned with the same line-up and same sound from the predecessor. Once again Jim Matheos dominated the compositions with  exceptions on which Alder and Aresti are co-credited. As the trend in the mid-90's, the album is longer and has more songs than the predecessors. Probably the only differences from Parallels are that the song writing is slightly inferior leading to a bit more simplistic sound than Parallels. The other difference is that Alder doesn't use the high-pitched screams anymore. With that said, Inside Out features good songs such as "Outside Looking In" and "Monument" but also has some weak points in the middle part. The best thing about this album is the fact that the lack of differentiation from Parallels led Matheos to go completely different in the follow-up album. 

A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997) - 9.5
APSoG is a concept album with one song divided into twelve parts. FW's 8th album is emotional, and dark but also heavy at times. This disc is their ultimate progressive masterpiece but a very challenging listen. The album was written and composed by Jim Matheos. Joey Vera from Armored Saint took over the bass. Aresti left the band and instead of adding a new guitar player, Matheos opted to call back Kevin Moore who had participated in Perfect Symmetry (Kevin left Dream Theater in the meantime) became a band member behind the keyboards. Consequently, this is the first album in which the keyboards are as prominent as the guitar. The stars were aligned for FW, all members were at their best. The drum work from Mark Zonder reached new levels, Vera's bass lines, prominent riffs and position in the mix brought a different sound foundation to the band, the guitars followed similar texture and sound developed in Parallels and Alder was as brilliant as in the previous records. The song writing is outstanding with tempo changes, diverse structures, sound samples, great melodies and powerfull.  But it's a grower and takes time to sink in, I don't remember the initial reaction, but now almost 20 years later and countless listens, it's my favorite FW album.

Disconnected (2000) - 8.5
Repeating the line-up from APSoG FW returned at the beginning of the century with Disconnected.  A theme that 16 years latter is still relevant. Jim Matheos wrote all the music, but Alder wrote two lyrics and co-wrote another one with Matheos. Disconnected builds on the predecessor while being more balanced and bringing some elements from earlier albums. Overall making it a bit easier to digest than APSoG was. For example "One" and "Pieces of Me" are short, heavy and full of guitar riffs. While "So", "Something from Nothing" and the 16-min "Still Remains" are long, progressive and resembling the APSoG sound. The other track is the title track which is dark and slow two-part instrumental that opens and closes the album.

FWX (2004) - 7.5
Reaching a 10th album is an accomplishment. And the band decided to celebrate this event by naming the album simple FWX. The disc is about the same length as the predecessor, but with 10 songs, leading to the longest song being not much longer than 7 minutes. All music and lyrics are by Matheos, with the exception of 3 lyrics that are credited to Alder. With Kevin Moore leaving, the band, FW once again took a different direction. FWX is the most diverse and experimental album to date, it does feature some keyboards by Matheos and a lot of sampling. Every song is "short" but progressive and has a unique feeling. From the moody "River Wide Ocean Deep" with female vocals to the almost punk rock "Stranger (With A Familiar Face)". I appreciate what they did here and it gave the album a unique flavor within FW reach discography. But even with the live favorites "Another Perfect Day" and "Heal Me", overall FWX falls a bit short than any other "Alder era" output.

Darkness In A Different Light (2013) - 8.0
After 9 years without a new record, FW released this great album. It is also their first studio album with Aresti since Inside Out, additionally he co-wrote the opening track. Drummer Bobby Jarzombek also makes his debut with Fates Warning and co-wrote "I Am". Matheos wrote two songs and co-wrote the others with Alder. Kevin Moore is not in this album, but he wrote the lyrics for "O Chloroform". As opposed to the experimental previous album, DIADL has all the elements that a FW fan would expect - progressive melodic metal with catchy songs, big choruses, the well-known guitar style from Jim Matheos and the recognizable vocals from Ray Alder. Most of the songs are on the 5-min mark, so it's a very direct album. Notable exception the 14-min closing track "And Yet It Moves". There are some heavy songs such as "I Am" and "Into The Black" but the album is also marked by emotional songs with slower tempo.

I was really happy to see those guys back in the studio after almost a decade, the new drummer brought so much to the band. I just felt that a couple of songs in the middle and end part loose a bit the power. But overall great comeback album.

Theories of Flight (2016) - 9.0
I was trying to figure out why in just a matter of days this album  became one of my all time FW favorite albums. And then it struck me, Theories of Flight basically combines the best of two worlds. The more progressive side of FW is represented in "From the Rooftops", "The Light and Shade of Things" and "The Ghosts of Home" and the more direct style from the earlier albums is in a modern and fresh way coming alive on "Seven Stars", "SOS", "White Flag" and "Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen". And to conclude the album, a nice Easter egg of the album Disconnected: an instrumental title track full of sampling. Actually the title track and "The Ghosts of Home" are almost one song and both remind me a lot of the duo "Still Remains"/"Disconnected part 2". But let me be clear, Theories of Flight is not at all a recycling of old ideas. Quite the opposite, it's FW at its best and upgraded. The first noticeable difference is that the record features one of the best drumming performances I heard in a long time. In his second album with FW, Bobby Jarzombek is simply relentless. The grooves, constant time changes, odd signatures don't ever stop. It will be interesting to watch him playing those live. Aresti, who was playing guitar int he previous album, is not an official band member in this one anymore. And his contribution was limited to two, but great, guitar solos. Of course he did not participate in the song writing. With that said, Matheos stepped up to deliver one of his best guitar work, it is pure art! Most of the songs have at least 3 guitar tracks each doing some very specific riffs and rhythms that intertwine giving such a beautiful texture. All of this without loosing heaviness. And last but not least, Alder is singing better than never, very confident hitting some high notes without sounding forced or exaggerated, I mean his performance in "The light and..." Is simply amazing. By the way, this is the best song I heard this year and one of my favorites of the last few years. Now, if I'd be picky and split hairs, then I'd say that the bass is a bit too low in mix, specially compared to their previous albums with Vera. In sum, it's been just two weeks and Theories of Flight is my second favorite FW album. With time, it could still become my favorite FW album of all. However, it is already the strongest contender to album of the year.  

Top Albums of Q2/2016

Ihsahn - Arktis
Arktis is Emperor frontman Ihsahn's 6th studio album. A rich and diverse extreme metal journey from one of the most reverenced modern heavy music masterminds. There are no weak points and the 10 songs and its 49 minutes flow wonderfully. But if you are looking for blasting beats with growling vocals throughout the album, this is not for you. Arktis is essentially a progressive metal album with its roots in the black metal. But the drumming is full of groves, many songs contain clean vocals and slow tempo moments. To me this all adds to the experience and variability. The opener "Disassembled" features Einar Solberg (Leprous) singing on the chorus and it's a strong song. "South Winds" on the other hand has a industrial feeling due to the pulsing beat on the background over some fantastic melodies. It's one of my favorites. " Until I Too Dissolve" features the most fantastic riff straight out of the 80's, it could've been written by Van Halen. An evil-ish hard rock song. But that's not all, "Crooked Red Line" features a Sax! "Celestial Violence" closes the album and it features again Solberg. In this one, he handles the versus and  Ihsahn explodes his scream on the amazing chorus. Arktis closes as it opens: Very strong. In sum, a serious candidate for album of the year.

Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

Jumalten aika (Age of Gods) is already the 7th full-length album by Finnish pagan/black metal band Moonsorrow and their first album in 5 years. I really like the fact that it's essentially a black metal album with deep pagan/folk influences. And that those influences are never over the top. Their music is certainly challenging for its listeners. Rather than happy or danceable. Jumalten Aika contains 5 tracks that tend toward the 15-minute mark and are sang in Finnish. But once you get into it, Jumalten Aika is a hypnotic and addictive experience. The songs are incredibly well written, with fantastic riffs, catchy groves, aggressive singing and full of variations and intermezzos. All of it with the exact right touch of folk elements. To top it all, what a great production! With a dynamic range of 9, the highest I've seen this year so far, the album sounds fantastic. This disc displays a set of mesmerizing and epic songs balancing atmospheric and powerful black/folk metal elements. Simply put, a masterpiece.

Long Distance Calling - TRIPS

TRIPS is the 6th album from the five-piece Post-rock band from Münster, Germany. The album is so diverse that there's no way to describe other than going song by song. The album starts with an interesting instrumental song that sounds straight out of an 80's synth/pop album but to my own surprise, it's so well done that I loved it. It's moving , it's upbeat and has an AC/DC-ish riff in slow-motion that breaks the pop vibe fantastically. The second track is an up tempo rock song with vocals and some heavy guitar riffs. And while not eliminating completely the synth/pop 80's vibe, it distances itself from that. By the time we get into "Rewind" we take a big turn into a slow tempo song with beautiful melodic vocals over guitar arpeggios. But then the instrumental "Trauma" throw you off again with a pounding drum and heavy thick guitar riffs. "Lines" is another rock song with great drumming. Speaking of drums, the instrumental "Momentum" features an incredible groove and great guitar solos. Track number 8, "Plans" starts with a guitar arpeggio over a beautiful verse that goes beyond half of the song but then the drums and heavy guitars enter to give the song a powerful groove. It feels like a long build up to a fantastic guitar solo, wonderful. The album closes with the longest song, ticking over 12 minutes, "Flux" is a slow tempo instrumental song that closes with spoken words. It is very well executed and closes this musical journey beautifully. Long Distance Calling has produced a masterpiece of modern progressive rock. TRIPS is an original album and full of curve balls, but make no mistake, it is awesome. 

Vektor - Terminal Redux

Terminal Redux is the third LP and the first concept album by the American progressive thrash metal band Vektor. Even if this is only their 3rd album, Vektor is no stranger to the thrashers. Their second album Outer Isolation is even considered to be one of the top 50 thrash albums of all times (Metal Hammer UK). One thing needs to be clear, even if labeled as a thrash band, Vektor is miles away from the retro thrash wave. In fact, adding "progressive" to their sub genre is essential. I'd describe their sound as Voivod meets Slayer with Chuck Schuldiner on the vocals while adding black metal elements. But Terminal Redux is not an incoherent blend, they pull it off magnificently. I describe the album in 3 parts. The first 3 songs are fast, thrashy and long. The interlude "Mountains Above the Sun" allows us to take a breath before bringing  part 2. Here we have 4 heavier and shorter songs. By then we reached 51 minutes of amazing heavy music. It could end there and become a good album. But Vektor went beyond conventional and pushed their boundaries further. Part 3 is 23 minutes and contains 2 very progressive tracks. While the thrash riffs and speed are still there, those songs take you to slow parts, clean singing, female vocals and ended in an epic strong note, think 2112 closure on steroids. I have no doubts that this thrash/progressive masterpiece will be at the top of many year-end lists.

Death Angel - The Evil Divide
This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metallers. As the lyrics from the opener "Moth" say: Surprise I'm back again! And indeed those guys are in a hot streak since the fantastic 2008's  Killing Season. The Evil Divide is no exception, from the opening riff to the last, a lesson of bay area thrash metal that goes through 10 relentless thrash anthems in 46 minutes. The guitar work is superb, so many awesome thrash riffs and fine guitar solos ("Father of Lies" has my favorite solo). Front-man Mark Osegueda delivers a stunning vocal performance throughout the album. The song writing is solid, all songs are heavy and yet melodic, mostly fast-paced and straightforward (just a couple of songs go over 5 min). It's too early to tell if The Evil Divide is better than the last 3 albums, but is certainly a strong contender for entering many year-end lists.

Haken - Affinity
Affinity is the fourth studio album by British progressive metal band Haken. Their previous album The Mountain from 2013 brought Haken to the forefront of the prog scene. But instead of repeating themselves Haken pushed it further by incorporating new elements. For one thing the album from cover to the synths sporadically used screams 80's, no surprise that "1985" is the most prominent example. The instrumental "affinity.exe" opens the album with synths and the highlight is the very original song  title. From there we have 60 min of top notch original (but clearly influenced by Yes/Genesis) progressive rock. Fantastic melodies, skilled musicians and slow tempo beautiful passages mixed with surprisingly heavy riffs. "Initiate" is a perfect example of the heavy and pop balance. The longest track "The Architect" even features growling vocals from Einar Solberg! The song in itself is a masterpiece, full of variations and unbelievable riffs. Also, the new bassist Conner Green brought quite some heaviness to the Haken sound, take "1985" and "The Architect" for example, some riffs are even Djent-like. Throughout the album the guitar riffs and melodies are also fantastic, "Lapse" features one of the best guitar solos of this year. The Mountain is a great album but to my taste Affinity is even better.

Amon Amarth - Jomsviking 

Jomsviking is the tenth studio album from Swedish melodic death metal viking masters. And believe it or not, their first concept album. Not that this fact brings any difference in Amon Amarth sound from previous albums. Actually Jomsviking follows the same formula as 2013's Deceiver of the Gods. That's not necessarily a bad thing, specially because Deceiver of the Gods was also a very good album. But while I enjoy Jomsviking catchyness, amazing riffs, good production and drumming, I may be reaching my saturation point. Take the single "Raise Your Horns" for example, it does have a great guitar riff, but it feels too formulated and lacks spontaneity. I really enjoy this band and always look forward to see them live, Jomsviking didn't change that, but it also didn't add much.

Mob Rules - Tales From Beyond

"Tales From Beyond" is German power metallers eighth album and probably their best work to date. Not that it's original or groundbreaking, but it's catchy, well written and executed. The opener "Dykemaster's Tale" sounds like a Maiden song from the 90's but sang by a more suitable singer than Blaze was. The Maiden influence is not as clear in the rest of the album but still there and with touches of A and B. Make no mistake, despite the influences Mob Rules sounds fresh and modern and was able to make their own sound out of those influences. If you are into power/traditional metal, this one is for you. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Hatebreed - The Concrete Confessional

The seventh studio album from Jamey Jasta and gang comes after the very enjoyable 2013's  The Divinity of Purpose. And even if The Concrete Confessional sounds pretty much like a Hatebreed album, there are certain subtle elements that really enrich the experience and make it their best album in years. For starters and my delight, many tracks sound more metal than core, take the opener "AD" or "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" some of those riffs could as well be in a Slayer album. Additionally Jasta is singing better than ever and adding more melody to his style while not loosing the aggressiveness (check "Something's Off" which is almost a tribute to early Machine Head). Slow tempo short passages, bass riffs are some of the other elements. I can see that not everyone will appreciate the album as much as I did, specially old timers that keep waiting for bands to re-do their debut albums. But in a  genre that is very difficult to find bands that stand out, Hatebreed is certainly one of my favorites and The Concrete Confessional only confirms that.

Killswitch Engage - Incarnate

Incarnate is the seventh studio album by American metalcore pioneers. I first say KSE live in 2006 and I was impressed with their sound, particularly Howard Jones vocal style. But then the self titled 2009 album was a big disappointment. And then the very good Disarm the Descent (2013) brought back Jesse Leach on vocals for the first time since 2002's genre-defining masterpiece Alive or Just Breathing. Now Jesse, Adam and company are back with Incarnate. The album sounds pretty much the same as the predecessor: great guitar riffs, awesome hooks and catchy choruses while keeping it heavy and aggressive. Additionally Jesse performance is even better and the song writing is slightly less formulated than what we heard in Disarm the Descent. The first half of the album is very strong, 6 tracks in 24 min including some instant live favorites like "Hate By Design" and "Strength Of The Mind". The second half has some up and downs but it does't comprise the overall impression of the album. For the long time fans this is a great addition to their catalog. I am digging it and singing along but int he future I would like to see KSE experimenting a bit more with the song structures and singing variation.

Top Albums of Q1/2016

Abbath - Abbath
8 songs in 40 minutes of straight up, catchy and "as you would expect" black metal from the former Immortal frontman Abbath. Apperently, he doesn't need Immortal to deliver black metal music at the highest quality. The self-titled debut album is a headbanger ride that it's easy to replay. The single "To War" open the album voraciously and lead the way to one of my favorites "Winter Bane" - what a  groove!  The avalanche takes from there and never stops. There isn't a lot of variability, but what the hell - it's lots of fun!

Redemption - The Art Of Loss
The American progressive metal band featuring guitarist/songwriter Nick Van Dyk and Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder is back with its 6th studio album. Containing over 70 minutes, The Art of Loss follows its predecessor, 2011's This Mortal Coil, and continues to expertly play melody against aggression, without losing sight of what a good song needs: hooks and dynamics. Redemption play a fairly consistent prog metal without becoming self indulgent or pretentious. Ray Alder's performance is memorable and doesn't go over-the-top with high notes or screams. Another highlight is the guitar solos which feature guest appearances from a string of Megadeth alumni: Marty Friedman, Chris Broderick, and Chris Poland. The opener and title track is a enjoyable straightforward rock song but the epic closer 22-minute "At Days' End" shows the range with which the band play. My personal favorite track would be “Damaged” which features Friedman. Very catchy and direct.
The Art of Loss is a great album with catchy and yet technical songs. It's only flaw is being a bit too long, but time flies when listening to it. A must for prog lovers.

Avantasia - Ghostlights

I have enjoyed all previous releases by  Tobias Sammet's rock opera project Avantasia, specially "The Wicked Trilogy". For symphonic power metal fans, Avantasia offers everything you like and Ghostlights, the seventh full-length album, is no different . Overall, as expected, great melodies, catchy vocal lines and big choruses. 
The very good opener and first single sounds like something out of Edguy's Theater of Salvation. No guest singers in this one. Short and straightforward Hard Rock (think of Meat Loaf).

"Let The Storm Descend Upon You" is the longest and best track with 12 min of epicness. A piano intro lead us to verses and bridges and a big chorus all sang by Tobias, Jorn Lande, Ronnie Atkins, and Robert Mason. I wish more songs were like this one, because the album lacks the epicness and progressiveness of previous releases, which by their own standards gives Ghostlights a more simplistic feeling. "The Haunting" was the first track to really impress, the atmosphere depicts the lyrics and Dee Snider contribution is remarkable. The chorus gets immediately stuck in your mind. 

"Seduction Of Decay" is expandable and even here Geoff Tate cannot get it right. But the title track with Michael Kiske showing what his capable of brings the album back on track. However, it is not as powerful as "Reach Out For The Light" or "Shelter From The Rain" for example. "Draconian Love" is different but works well with the low vocals from Herbie Langhans. "Master Of The Pendulum" is heavier which fits well Marco Hietala's voice and has a fast tempo chorus. "Isle Of Evermore" with Sharon Den Adel is the avoidable ballad. "Babylon Vampyres" has some of the best guitar solos I've heard on Avantasia, not surprisingly this is the first song to feature Bruce Kulick on lead guitar. Overall the album has some of the most impressive guitar work that Avantasia has ever produced."Lucifer" is a great song with Jorn, a short power metal song with an interesting build-up and great melody. "Unchain The Light" is a good faster song with Michael Kiske. "A Restless Heart And Obsidian Skies" brings some epic feeling due to Bob Catley's voice and style but it lacks a punch, not the best Avantasia song wrote for Catley. 

Overall, a very good album, I'm sure fans will appreciate it as I also did, but realistically it falls shorter than previous releases.

Obscura - Akroasis
Obscura was founded in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer. The band was named after the Gorguts album Obscura. And after 3 albums and many line-up changes, the German technical death metalers released their fourth album: Akroasis. Obscura is far from being an easy band to listen to and this album is no different. The 15-min closer "Weltseele" doesn't make it any easier. But given time and attention, this is a great record. Heaviness mixed with new age/jazz/fusion textures is the highlight. The differentiation comes from the fretless bass and fretless guitar that can be heard throughout the record. Check it out if you are a prog-death aficionado.

Megadeth - Dystopia

Dystopia is a straight up thrash album, no doubts there. There are no bad or experimental songs, no ballads or made-for-radio tunes. The new line-up brought a new feel to the music while fusing it with the Rust in Peace era sound. And even if we are just 22 days into 2016, I know one thing: Dystopia is already one of the top guitar albums of the year. Kiko brought a new take to the Megadeth guitar sound, specially when it comes to solos and shredding. But the album misses more thrash riffs, there's a lot of palm muting and it gets a bit repetitive.  Dave's vocals are back to the early 90's sound and as usually the lyrics are political. The first 4 songs are killers, including the title track which is a modern "Hangar 18". The album does loose its punch in the middle section with exception of the fantastic old style instrumental thrash "Conquer Or Die". The last original track "The Emperor" brings the energy back and it's another great song. Although not perfect, the 15th studio album marks the return to shape and a great promise for the near future. 

Magnum - Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies
The rock veterans are back with their 19th!!! studio album. Now their last album was superb so I didn't expect this one to top it, and it doesn't. However, it's still a great record and consistent with previous releases. 

Anthrax - For All Kings

For All Kings is the 11th studio album by the thrash metalers. It starts with a progressive touch, "You Gotta Believe". After a 1.5 min drum/orchestra intro, we dive into a typical thrash riff followed by the great Belladonna vocals. It's a banger. The twist is the middle part of the song that has several variations and some of the best guitar solos I've ever heard in Anthrax. There's even a bass interlude! A promising and perfect opener that is followed by "Monster at the End", another very strong song that could've been in the great previous album, Worship Music. The title track is a good one, fast and catchy. "Breathing Lightning" features a very catchy chorus and good riffs, nice song.

"Suzerain" is a mid-tempo track with good guitar work but overal it didn't do much for me. "Evil Twin" was the first single and it's a good straightforward track. "Blood Eagle Wings" is the longest song with almost 8 min and slow tempo but good chorus and a minute long guitar arpeggio closing. "Defend Avenge" after a build up intro the song picks up speed before the verse. It does make me think of 80's Anthrax, so it's a good one. "All of them Thieves" it's again mid tempo, and a grower. "This Battle Choose Us" has a nice riff and groove. "Zero Tolerance" starts directly into the verse and closes the album with power.

Overall For All Kings features great guitar solos (welcome Mr. Donais), several good riffs, more progressive and modern sounding than previous records. The album starts and closes with great songs but it's the middle part that has some up and downs with less memorable, mid tempo songs that miss some thrash aggressiveness.

Primal Fear - Rulebreaker

I could basically copy and paste the ARP review in here. As with Mr. Pell, if you know Primal Fear, you know what you will get. No curve balls here, they don't change their formula. Traditional Heavy Metal heavily influenced by Judas Priest and now also with some hint of Accept. And if you know their discography, every song albeit different will sound familiar and soon you will be singing along. For the most part the album is again full of good power metal riffs, catchy choruses and fast tempos. All fueled by Ralf's powerful vocals. It does get repetitive and some lyrics are, as expected, cheesy, e.g. "In Metal We Trust". "We Walk Without Fear" brings something different, slower tempo and with almost 11 min explores instrumental transitions and more variability. A good album for long time fans, not the right start for newbies.

Axel Rudi Pell - Game of Sins

If you know this band, you can be sure of what you will get. More of the same, just like AC/DC, they don't change their formula. Hard Rock with outstanding vocals with catchy melodies, cheesy lyrics and big choruses, plus great guitar riffs and solos. But if you know their discography, every song albeit different will sound familiar and soon you will be singing along. The mandatory ballad and cover song are present. Couple of songs are longer and more proggy like the title track and the good till the world. But most of the songs are straightforward 5min  hard rock fast tempo tracks. A good album for long time fans, not the right start for newbies.

Holy Grail - Times of Pride and Peril

A surprise that entered the list later on, Holy Grail appeals to my power/traditional metal roots and makes it a fun ride. The band puts a modern spin into traditional heavy metal. The songs are melodic with a power metal vocal approach while yet powerful with death metal riffs and modern breakdowns. The first 6 songs are certainly the best, highlight to "Crystal King". But the album looses a bit its strength on the last 4 songs. Overall a fun metal experience - raise your horns!