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.