Fabio's Favorite Albums of 2017 and more...

Yes, it's the time of the year blah, blah, blah...top lists continue to flourish all over the internet and it's not my job to stop them. "People are attracted to lists because we live in an era of overstimulation, especially in terms of information, and lists help us in organizing what is otherwise overwhelming." says David Wallechinsky, a co-author of the Book of Lists (1977). When December starts and you realize you've listened to 100 new albums, compiling a list is not only "a bit" of work but also a very interesting exercise. According to a New Yorker article lists are easy to write. Since I'm no writer, thank God for the lists!

While seeing the world going into shit in 2017 (when we though 2016 was bad), which makes me worried and sad, I personally can't complain about 2017. Specifically in the metal world, despite countless big losses, we saw very good releases and extreme music doing well. I went to more concerts than the last couple of years. Two major highlights were seeing Maiden in a closed arena and Helloween reunion with Kiske and Hansen...those events alone would already make an amazing year in music. But there was much more, including Anthrax playing Among the Living in full. This year, I kept my "new album capacity" at about 100 which is still a lot, but I can't seem to reduce that. But I did "gave up" more quickly on albums and moved on more effectively than I did in 2016. I also tried to buy less records, because it was getting out of hand, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Anyways, let's get to it...

As always, this is personal list. Music is not a competition and sometimes the difference between albums is virtually non existent. Moreover my appreciation for a specific album or piece of music varies depending on mood and feelings of a particular day or moment. This year was unusually skewed with several Death Metal and Hardcore related albums while not forgetting my prog/power metal roots. Without further ado, here it is...

Honorable  Mentions:

Municipal Waste - Slime And Punishment
SECT - No Cure for Death
Savage Messiah - Hands Of Fate
Ne Obliviscaris - Urn
Thy Art Is Murder - Dear Desolation

50.Code Orange - Forever

49.Cavalera Conspiracy - Psychosis

48.Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black

47.August Burns Red - Phantom Anthem

46.Sólstafir - Berdreyminn

45.Decapitated - Anticult

44.Immolation - Atonement

43.Stone Sour - Hydrograd

42.Soen - Lykaia

41.Steven Wilson - To The Bone

40.Temple Of Void - Lords of Death

39.Arch Enemy - Will To Power

38.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

37.Accept - The Rise of Chaos

36.The Faceless - In Becoming a Ghost

35.Pink Cream 69 - Headstrong

34.Iced Earth - Incorruptible

33.Unleash The Archers - Apex

32.Black Country Communion - BCCIV

31.BloodBound - War Of Dragons

30.Communic - Where Echoes Gather

29.John 5 & The Creatures - Season of the Witch

28.The Contortionist - Clairvoyant

27.Leprous - Malina

26.Sepultura - Machine Messiah

25.Threshold - Legends Of The Shires
Threshold have been on my best of list since 2007 and their winning streak continues. It isn’t their best work, as typically happens with a double album, it overstays its welcome. But it's full of interesting music and prog overdose that hooks you.

24.DragonForce - Reaching Into Infinity
It's a fact that my lists are influenced by the bands I saw live in that year. While I really liked their previous album, at first I was disappointed with this one. But their show was great and the new songs on the setlist are awesome. Yes, the full album is not perfect, but the best parts are so great that makes it worthwhile repeated listens.

23.Almanac - Kingslayer
A very late release from a band that I didn't know (albeit featuring very well known power metal legends), Almanac simply brought one of the best power metal album of the year. The impressive line-up led by former Rage guitarist Victor Smolski sophomore release is bombastic, catchy and pure melodic power metal brilliance!

22.The Black Dahlia Murder - Nightbringers
The album is brutal, groovy, direct and "easy" to digest. Vocals and riffs are sick and as evil as fuck. Note that despite the new guitar player, the solos are fantastic, different, but great. Melo Death Metal as it should be.

21.Trivium - The Sin And The Sentence
While not perfect, this is Trivium's best album in a long time, probably since Shogun. It features some of the heaviest moments of the band's career, conversely it doesn't shy away from catchy choruses, hooks and accessibility. A highlight is the guitar riffs and solos, just great stuff all over the album.

20.Paradise Lost - Medusa
Building on the highly acclaimed predecessor, Medusa is a logical next step in the Paradise Lost discography. The album masterfully mix Gothic, Doom and Death metal without loosing its identity and also being true to the band's sound. The musicianship is superb and the songs are each independent and unique but glued by their gloomy and dark atmosphere. No doubts that after 30 years, they continue to be one of the best in their genre.

19.Witherfall - Nocturnes And Requiems
Brilliant and unique, it’s almost like a tech death band with a power metal singer. The guitar work is superb and so are the vocals. The song structures are also very interesting, the guitar solos are all over the place and not only before the last chorus. I hope for Witherfall  to have a brilliant future! Shout out to Jake Dreyer, who is also on Iced Earth, as one of the best young guitar players out there. Debut album of the year? Yes sir!

18.Orden Ogan - Gunmen
Gunmen grew on me to the point of becoming the best power metal album of the year. In fact it's another case in which going to their show has helped, my initial review was not that great. Orden Ogan continues to be consistent with their sound based on epic German melodic metal (think Blind Guardian) with folk, symphonic and  modern metal elements  into their sound. If you are not into this genre or band, it is worth checking it.

17.Caligula's Horse - In Contact
Now here is another "djent band" that expanded their sound and with great evolution into a prog rock band. Think Haken with touches of Periphery. Great vocals, guitar work, specially the solos and overall song writing. They balance the technical musicianship with slow beautiful moments. One of the best modern progressive albums of the year.

16.While She Sleeps - You Are We

I'm glad I gave this record several spins because I was very close to miss one of the best metalcore albums of the year. While I liked the previous effort, I didn't give it a lot of chance. Therefore leaving comparisons aside, You Are We is a jump forward for a band that was already being seen as the "next big thing" in this genre.

15.Dying Fetus - Wrong One To Fuck With
This is a very consistent album with no surprises for those who know the band. There's groove, technicality and brutality well mixed by one of the most brutal Death Metal bands out there. From the first second to the final 10th tittle track, we are hammered with crushing drums and super technical, fast and heavy riffs. Great extreme metal album!

14.Tombs - The Grand Annihilation

It's black metal, sludge, death metal, post-punk...no, it's not messy or schizophrenic, this is actually Tombs 4th studio album. A concise and impressively executed genre mix resulting in one of the best extreme metal albums of the year.  

13.Sorcerer - The Crowning Of The Fire King
The songs are strong, powerful and obviously epic and doomy. The tCofFK proves that Sorcerer has perfected the song writing, and delivered great riffs and guitar solos. But the most impressive performance is from  the singer, Anders Engberg. The vocals are clean but powerful delivering epic melodies throughout the record.

12.Avatarium - Hurricanes and Halos
With the 3rd album the band has distanced themselves from their traditional doom roots and dove into more 70's bluesy rock with a Deep Purple touch. At first I wasn't into it because in comparison I still favor their debut album. However, the album grew on me and I came to appreciate it for what it is. I listened to it so many times this year that it deserves to be that high in the list.

11.Below - Upon a Pale Horse
This album showcases an epic, heavy and dark style of doom. Think late Black Sabbath, Candlemass, King Diamond but with vocals that remind me of  Michael Kiske or Geoff Tate. I really enjoyed this album, tight song writing, catchy songs, fantastic vocals, and awesome doom riffs. All packaged with a very good production and dynamic mix. A top traditional doom album.

10.Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

24 min of voracious headbanging metal madness. With that said, the album is dynamic with pauses, samples, tempo variation and two vocal styles. After 9 brutal metal songs, we come to the title track that unexpectedly opens with a beautiful female vocal over some samples. While for some this would sound like an album closer, no, Full of Hell returns to voracious grindcore to close the album with the 6 min "At the Cauldron's Bottom" featuring fantastic marching drums.

9.Pallbearer - Heartless

Heartless is a very progressive and melodic album. Clean singing dominates, but in a good way and it's brilliantly executed. It's never too high and translates well the melancholic feel of most songs. The 12-min "Dancing in Madness" is a masterpiece and almost an homage to Pink Floyd. In addition to fantastic song writing and musicianship, Heartless also sounds amazing and dynamic. Over the last couple of years, doom bands have been making appearances in my year-end list. 2017 was not an exception.

8.Darkest Hour - Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora
A perfect blend of hardcore and melodic death metal. The memorable songwriting showcases fantastic guitarwork and drumming throughout the record. John Henry delivers relentless visceral vocals from start to finish. And that's a great thing. because due to outstanding guitarwork, groves, and tempo changes, Darkest Hour is able to break the monotony and add enough variability to the songs. A fantastic metalcore record as it should be.

7.Kreator - Gods of Violence
A fantastic album that cements Kreator as the current masters of Thrash Metal. The album is a lesson of modern thrash metal with no frills, no bullshit. Kreator can combine one of the best thrash vocals and very aggressive thrash riffs with melody therefore creating instant heavy metal anthems. Not to mention the drumming and guitar solos that complete this receipt for success. With that said, Kreator took baby steps to incorporate traditional heavy metal (e.g. Priest and Maiden) into the mix . Therefore avoiding repeating themselves while delivering another modern masterpiece. Gods of Violence is one of their best albums ever. Hail to the hordes!

6.Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day
The tenth studio album by the Swedish progressive metal (or rock?) band Pain of Salvation was one of the first releases of 2017. And since then it has been topping my list. Their last studio album with original songs dates back 7 years ago. Overall ItPLoD sounds heavy, full of tempo changes and deeply emotional. All songs are great and the album flows beautifully. Special highlight to the title track that closes the album. It is a 15:30 min  beautiful and emotional masterpiece of modern prog rock.

5.Enslaved - E
Enslaved has released so many good album that every time the comparison is difficult. The good news is that E, despite an average production, is a great album, relatively short with easier to digest. There's a lot of groove and some different tricks like the keys sound (Jon Lord?) and the sax (Pink Floyd?). Enslaved were able to seemly transition to the new key player/vocalist while maintaining their sound progression from last albums. .

4.Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
Year 2017 and Power Trip delivered a Thrash Metal masterpiece that can already be included in best thrash metal album of all times. That's how good it is. When it comes down to it, it's all about song writing.  The melodies, the riffs, the album flow, it's all perfectly mastered. All of that without loosing high level of energy from the hardcore influences. One of the biggest accomplishments of Power Trip is to tear down barriers among sub genres and create a something special that appeals to many metal heads, new and old.

3.Converge - The Dusk In Us
Now, that was a pleasant surprise. The Dusk In Us is one of those records that hypnotizes you. From the first riff, I was sold! Then we go into 5 aggressive tracks with lots going on before diving into the 7 min title track. It's basically a post-rock song with a very slow build up and a great pay-off. And in one of those rare moments an album gets even better as you enter the second half. It has even more groove and killer riffs. Overall, the vocals are emotional and pissed off, the drumming is relentless, the riffs catchy and dissonant at times. It's modern music as art for a world that is completely fucked up. 

2.Ayreon - The Source
The Source is a concept studio album from Ayreon, a project by Arjen Lucassen. 12 characters are portrayed by some of the best prog/power metal singers in activity. All singers deliver amazing performances without loosing his own sound. Arjen is able to get the best of each singer, they sound natural and relaying on their strong characteristics. The Source concept and story are told in 17 songs which flow perfectly, like an opera. The 1.5 hr fly by when enjoying this fantastic piece of music. Power progressive metal lovers will dig this masterpiece!

1.Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Emperor of Sand is by far the album that I listened to the most this year. An outstanding modern prog metal showcase. The album sounds like a fusion of the latest efforts with Crack the Skye. The musicianship is superb, the division of vocal duties among the 3 singers has been perfected, and the 3 are singing better than ever. The guitar riffs, duos and solos are just fantastic, Brent and Bill have found the perfect harmony. Troy maintains the trademark bass sound and Brann is, simply put, one of the best drummers in activity. I love all 11 tracks and have almost no complains. The album flows amazingly well and it's my album of the year.

Biggest Disappointments:
Byzantine - The Cicada Tree

Serious Black - Magic

Sons Of Apollo - Psychotic Symphony

The Best Sounding Albums:
Pallbearer - Heartless
Steven Wilson - To The Bone

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Ayreon - The Source

Threshold - Legends Of The Shires

Favorite Album Covers:
Bell Witch
Full of Hell

Favorite Guitar Solos:
Pain of Salvation - Angels of Broken Things by Daniel Gildenlöw
Mastodon - Jaguar God by Brent Hinds
Ayreon - The Dream Dissolves by Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged)
Decapitated - Kill the Cult by Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka
Witherfall - What We Are Dying For by Jake Dreyer
Black Country Communion - Wanderlust by Joe Bonamassa
Sons Of Apollo - Signs Of The Time by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal

Top 5 songs:
Roots Remain by Mastodon
The Day That The World Breaks Down  by Ayreon
Curse of Darkness by DragonForce
The Passing Light Of Day by Pain of Salvation
Kill the Cult by Decapitated

Favorite Shows:
Iron Maiden at Sportpaleis, Antwerp
Helloween at O13, Tilburg
Anthrax at Trix, Antwerp

Disappointing Shows:
Axel Rudi Pell at GMM2017
Omnium Gatherum at Biebob, Vosselaar

Top Albums of Q4/2017

Converge - The Dusk In Us
Now, that was a pleasant surprise. The Dusk In Us is one of those records that hypnotizes you. From the first riff, I was sold! Then we go into 5 aggressive tracks with lots going on before diving into the 7 min title track. It's basically a post-rock song with a very slow build up and a great pay-off. And in one of those rare moments an album gets even better as you enter the second half. It has even more groove and killer riffs. Overall, the vocals are emotional and pissed off, the drumming is relentless, the riffs catchy and dissonant at times. It's modern music as art for a world that is completely fucked up. Album of the year material.

Sorcerer - The Crowning Of The Fire King
Despite being formed in the late 80s in Sweden, the epic doom band Sorcerer released their first album in 2015. A very good album. But tCofFK is even better. The songs are strong, powerful and obviously epic and doomy. The single and opener "Sirens" showcases that very well, but it's track 2  "Ship Of Doom" that ups the ante with an almost 10 min epic journey. The other 8 songs feature 7 songs between 6 and 10 minutes of the same quality plus a beautiful short acoustic instrumental. The tCofFK proves that Sorcerer has perfected the song writing, and delivered great riffs and guitar solos. But the most impressive performance is from  the singer, Anders Engberg. The vocals are clean but powerful delivering epic melodies throughout the record. In sum this is record of the year contender for the doom, power and traditional metal lists.

Enslaved - E
Enslaved has released so many good album that every time the comparison is difficult. The good news is that E is also a very good album. They were able to seemly transition to the new key player and vocalist and maintain their sound progression from last albums. E opens with the powerful "Storm Son", a 11 min typical modern progressive Enslaved track. It features a slow build up intro, mixes black metal vocals and clean singing masterfully, and stays at mid tempo throughout. The chanting parts and some of the riffs give it a folk touch. "River's Mouth" on the other hand is a short and more accessible 5 min track dominated by clean vocals and catchy vocal melodies. Within this frame, It’s a good almost rock song. My favorite track is "Sacred Horse" which picks up speed and aggressiveness. It's dominated by harsh vocals, folk elements and features an interesting key solo, almost Deep Purple like. "Axis of the Worlds" starts with a bluesy riff, a bit out of place, but it doesn't compromise the song. Overall, the pace, melody and keys remind me a lot of Opeth's latest album with the addition of guttural vocals. Full of chants and clean vocals, the prog rock "Feathers of Eolh" is the softest track on the album. "Hiindsiight" mix some very doomy parts with Pink Floyd-ish sax over guitar arpeggios. It works for me. Despite an average production, overall E is a very good album, relatively short with easier to digest songs, there's a lot of groove and some different tricks like the keys sound and the sax. It won't be unanimously liked though.

Witherfall - Nocturnes And Requiems
This one is for the fans of Symphony X and the like. With that said, it’s unique. It’s almost like a tech death band with a power metal singer. The guitar work is superb and so are the vocals. The song structures are also very interesting, the guitar solos are all over the place and not only before the last chorus. The highlight is “What We Are Dying For”, a song full of riffs and solos, and most notably a Spanish guitar solo that pays homage to Al di Meola - fantastic. The bass and the drums are also high level and make a solid and perfect base. I hope for Witherfall  to have a brilliant future! Debut album if the year? Likely.

The Contortionist - Clairvoyant
For me personally, this band is an example of why bands open shows. While I went to see Periphery I caught those guys and really enjoyed their show based on their previous album Language (2014). I was happy to see that Clairvoyant is another right step in their career, the forth to be precise. The set list of that show is consistent with this album: little to no screamed vocals and not really heavy, almost post-rock. But indeed compared to their first two albums, there's a big evolution in The Contortionist's sound and compared to the precious one an improvement in the song writing, production, and musicianship. If you are looking for a "djent band", you won't find it in Clairvoyant , but if you want a dreamy and unique experience, then you are in the right place.

Caligula's Horse - In Contact
Now here is another "djent band" that expanded their sound and with great evolution into a prog rock band. Think Haken with still touches of Periphery. Great vocals, guitar work, specially the solos and overall song writing. I do think however that the song with a spoken monologue breaks the album flow and doesn't work for me. One of the best modern progressive albums of the year.

The Black Dahlia Murder - Nightbringers
The 8th album of melodic death metallers is one of their best. While the last two album were quite good and I enjoyed them, Everblack (2013) and Abysmal (2015) were a bit inconsistent and longer. Nightbringers is only 33 min, 8 tracks below 4 min and the closer "The Lonely Deceased" is 5 min. All of that plays on Nightbringers advantage. The album is brutal, groovy, direct and easier to digest. Vocals and riffs are sick and evil as a fan would hope for. And despite the new guitar player, the solos are fantastic, different, but great. Fans will love this, and it will be all over year-end lists.

Paradise Lost - Medusa
Building on the highly acclaimed predecessor, Medusa is a logical next step for Paradise Lost discography. The album masterfully mix Gothic, Doom and Death metal without loosing its identity and also being true to the band's sound. The musicianship is superb and the songs independent and unique but glued by their gloomy and dark atmosphere.

Arch Enemy - Will To Power
While the previous album was bad, Will To Power is a huge step up for Arch Enemy with Alissia on vocals. I specially liked how she expanded her vocal range and sound more unique rather than simply mimicking Angela. The riffs and solos are also great, as expected. There are tons of hooks and groove to get you headbanging from start to finish. I hope this new era for the band will continue to ascend into new highs.

Archspire - Relentless Mutation
Yes, it's one of the millions of tech death bands, but credit must be given where it's due. Archspire makes a very unique take on this crowded genre. 7 songs in 30 min certainly makes it easy to get through and never gets overdone. The vocal delivery which is basically the 5th instrument makes Archspire's a unique affair. Not to mention that the guitars are also amazing. Relentless Mutation proves that you don't need long songs to be progressive

Trivium - The Sin And The Sentence
While not perfect, this is Trivium's best album in a long time, probably since Shogun. The production is OK, the vocals are dynamic and alternating the different styles . The new drummer is a monster behind the kit. Overall while the album features some of the heaviest moments of the band's career, it also don't shy away from catchy choruses, hooks and accessibility. Another highlight are the guitar riffs and solos, just great stuff all over it. welcome back guys, please don't loose track again and take it from here.

Helloween Discography Reviewed

As I get ready for the Pumpkins United Tour, I went back and reviewed the discography of one of my favorite bands.

Walls of Jericho (1985) - 8.5
Walls of Jericho is the debut LP released on October 1985 when the band was a quartet featuring Kai Hansen as lead vocalist and guitarist. This is a great first album, production is sub optimal, not all songs are great and Kai was singing well but the song writing demand more from a vocalist. Still, songs like Ride The Sky, Guardians and How Many Tears are first class classics and showed what those guys were capable of. This album features songs with high tempo. It basically combines Kill em All with The Number of the Beast while adding some humor and their own German melodic touch. The writing credits are split between Michael Weikath and Kai Hansen, 3 songs each and 3 together. When WoJ was released on CD, it also included the S/T debut EP. And it actually includes some great songs such as Starlight and Victim of Fate.

Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987) - 9.5
The second album and now an absolute power metal classic, Keeper I marks the debut of the phenomenal Michael Kiske on vocals. Due to an injury, Weikath did not contribute significantly to the song writing (just one song) leaving it to Hansen and Kiske with one song. The tempo slows down a bit at some points and the song writing is slightly more progressive with more variations to their tool box. Of course, Kiske's vocal range allowed Helloween to have much more freedom. The guitar duos, the big choruses, backing vocals and harmonies, melodic and powerful verses and bridges are all perfected and hallmarks of Power Metal. I'm glad they didn't release it as a double album because part I is almost perfect, and then part II is basically the perfect album of this genre.

Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II (1988) - 10
Not much else to say about this absolute heavy metal classic! It's one of my top albums of all times. It's just perfect. With a good balance of writing being shared among Hansen, Weikath and Kiske. After the intro song it's a collection of metal anthems and when you think it can't get any better, it closes with an epic 13 min masterpiece title track. I rest my case.

Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991) - 8.0
This is not a great album, but it's not as bad as you may have heard. The departure of guitarist Kai Hansen, with Roland Grapow replacing him, is one reason. But I think it has a lot to do with Kiske's desire to make softer and less epic music. Weikath only wrote two songs, leaving the rest to Kiske and Grapow. The band also got completely rid from the Halloween/Pumpkin imagery. There are some good tracks like:  "Kids of the Century", "Number One" and "Mankind". but the highlight is Grapow's "The Chance". A decent album, specially for those who enjoy Kiske's singing.

Chameleon (1993) - 7.0
I admire the guys for taking the risk and do something different, unfortunately the result was not a Helloween album. The Power Metal sound, that the band helped to create, was replaced by a progressive rock with some pop elements. And Chameleon is a great name for the album which features a lot of different sounds and musical influences. Reflecting the tensions within the band, none of the songs was co-written. Each of the song writers contributed with 4 songs and they are all very different from each other. It's definitely one of worst Helloween albums if you judge it by the standards set by the first three albums. However, it's not a bad progressive rock album and it was very well produced ( a problem with the earlier albums). On the bright side, the pumpkin returned to the band's logo and the commercial failure led to positive changes.

Master of the Rings (1994) - 8.5
Vocalist Michael Kiske and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg were fired after the Chameleon tour. The charismatic vocalist Andi Deris from Pink Cream 69 and drummer Uli Kusch joined the band to help Weikath and Grapow to bring back the original Helloween sound. For starters, Master of the Rings opens with a short symphonic instrumental, just like the Keepers. Weikath took matters on his own hands and wrote 60% of the album, some in partnership with Deris. Grapow wrote 3 and Deris one by himself. The first 3 proper songs are Helloween at its best. 3 powerful power metal classics. Mr. Kusch didn't hold back on the drums! "Sole Survivor" starts with a drum riff which is one of the best drums intros ever*. But funny enough the tracks 3 "Where the Rain Grows" and 4 "Why?" also start with drums albeit in very different styles. Except for the ballad that could've been cut out, I don't think this album has a bad song. Overall, a very strong come back album.

The Time of the Oath (1996) - 8.5
Two years after the come back album, Helloween returned with a darker and heavier album, but one of the best post-Keepers albums. The album cover features the keeper hood mixed with Master of the Rings cover and the album artwork features a lot of pumpkins! Actually, each of the 12 songs has a pumpkin avatar. Those are 12 proper songs, no intros or instrumentals, with just over 60 min it's a long album . The song writing is all over the place but slightly dominated by Deris and just one song credited to Grapow, the title track. Overall, I love this record, it's very well written, produced, and executed. It sounds powerful, dark, melodic and catchy at the same time.

Better Than Raw (1998) - 8.0
Another good album, but it didn't hold up against the previous two albums. The artwork is great, again there's a pumpkin per song, and it brought back the instrumental intro song. The album is not as heavy as the predecessor but the song Push is one of their heaviest songs ever. But at moments the album is melodic (Falling Higher) or mid tempo (Time). Grapow didn't write any songs, all the other four contributed. Great album.

The Dark Ride (2000) - 8.5
After three albums on the same line, Helloween threw a curved ball with this one. The title says it all, it's a dark album, lyrically and musically. and that works for me. The evil black pumpkin on the cover makes a statement. After the instrumental intro, they deliver 4 very strong melodic and yet heavy songs.  Then the single "If I Could Fly" doesn't work for me, too radio friendly, it feels out of place. Foreshadowing the line up changes that would come, none of the 12 songs was written in partnership. Deris dominated with 5 songs, and quite honestly at least two of those could've been cut out.  I really like this album, and I was sad to see this line-up break-up after delivering 4 solid records.

Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003) - 7.5
This was the first album to feature Sascha Gerstner on guitars, who replaced Roland Grapow.  Mikkey Dee of Motörhead played the drums on a session basis. Despite a couple of good moments, I never really got into this album. It's again long, 12 songs in 61 minutes and pretty much feels like a transitional album.

Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005) - 7.0
Dani Löble debuts as drummer in the album that is supposedly the continuation to their Keeper albums. It's their only double CD to date with nearly 80 minutes playing time. It features their longest song yet "The King for a 1000 Years" with almost 14 min. Like the majority of double albums, it's a difficult one to go through and it has some fillers. It's been 12 years and I still don't get this album.

Gambling with the Devil (2007) - 7.5
Albeit still a bit too long, GwtD is more digestible than Keeper 3. It starts very well with a sequence of 4 good songs. They are heavy and emotional. But then the album drags and overstay its welcome. Luckily the closing track finishes GwtD in a high note. There are good moments, riffs and songs and a very nice artwork. But like most (if not all) album post Grapow/Kush, it's long and inconsistent.

7 Sinners (2010) - 7.5
7S builds on GwtD and it's even heavier. Specially the first half of the album is very good and aggressive. "Where The Sinners Go" and "Are You Metal?" are some of their best songs in years, straight up metal. The 12 song in 60 min formula from the Gerstner  era doesn't really work for me. Too many fillers and the mandatory ballad that makes it again an inconsistent album.

Straight Out of Hell (2013) - 8.0
The formula is the same, 13 songs in 60 min including a ballad. But somehow SOoH is a bit more inspired than previous releases and it's the best album of the Gerstner  period. Helloween goes back to its roots: melodic and fun. "Wanna Be God" and the tittle track are great tracks. "Wanna Be God" for being different and catchy and SOoH is just lots of fun.

My God-Given Right (2015) - 7.5
After SOoH, this album came just two years later and disappointed me. I thought Helloween would be able to build on the predecessor and continue to grow. But it just went back to the same level of the other releases since 2005. Of course that there are good songs, but many fillers. I hope that the Pumpkins United experience will inspire the band to break these formulated albums and do something different and truly memorable.

At the end of the day, here is my take on the Helloween albums ranked from best to worse.
1 Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2
2 Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1
3 The Time of the Oath
4 Masters of the Ring
5 The Dark Ride
6 Walls of Jericho
7 Better Than Raw
8 Straight Out of Hell
9 Pink Bubbles Go Ape
10 7 Sinners
11 My God-Given Right
12 Rabbit Don't Come Easy
13 Gambling With The Devil
14 Chameleon
15 Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy

Top Albums of Q3/2017

Below - Upon a Pale Horse

In 2011, Below was formed in Sweden and in 2014 the critically acclaimed full-length, Across the Dark River, was released. Now they are back with Upon a Pale Horse. The album showcases an epic, heavy and dark style of doom. Think late Black Sabbath, Candlemass, King Diamond but with vocals that remind me of  Michael Kiske or Geoff Tate. After a short intro, the album features 7 songs in 47 minutes. The first being "Disappearing Into Nothing" which opens with an Iommi-like riff, several power metal moments and fantastic vocal performance from Mr. Zeb. "The Coven" is slower and beautiful, a King Diamond homage. The title track is the longest with 9:40, a slow tempo classic doom song. "Suffer In Silence" is the most traditional metal song of the album, it's here that the parallel to Queensryche can be argued. After the acoustic intro "Hours Of Darkness" enters a super slow riff followed by a very moody and melodic vocal line. "1000 Broken Bones" is the second rocker with its faster tempo and NWOBHM riff, it's a banger. The album closes with the epic doom "We Are All Slaves", the second longest track with 8:40. I really enjoyed this album, tight song writing, catchy songs, fantastic vocals, and awesome doom riffs. All packaged with a very good production and dynamic mix. A top traditional doom album (of the year?).

Tombs - The Grand Annihilation
It's black metal, sludge, death metal, post-punk...no, it's not messy or schizophrenic, this is actually Tombs new record, their 4th studio album. A concise and impressively executed genre mix resulting in one of the best extreme metal albums of the year.  The first 3 songs are mostly back metal and sludge, but "November wolves" slowly integrates post-punk vocals into it while still sounding like Enslaved, very interesting. Even more so because it leads perfectly into "Underneath" which is even more post-punk with a slow beat and clean deep dark vocals. But then the "Way of the storm" returns to pure black metal. The next 3 shorter tracks continue the same mix of genres leading to the final song, the sludge "Temple of Mars". Overall a fantastic album, the 49 min and 10 songs flow seamlessly. I do appreciate the very well written and executed genre mix and the variability of the sounds, making The Grand Annihilation one of my favorites of the year so far.

Leprous - Malina
With their fifth studio album, the Norwegian progressive metal band dives into a post rock sound (and dare I say more accessible) a path . While I haven't spent enough time with their previous releases, Malina caught my attention. I enjoyed the whole album but it does extend its welcome and gets a bit too soft at moments. The first 5 songs form a very strong sequence that got me sold on the album half way through it.

Temple Of Void - Lords of Death
Every now and then I find myself hypnotized by an extreme metal album while not being able to put my finger on exactly the reasons why. It's anyway, a fantastic feeling. That has been exactly the case with Lords of Death by Temple Of Void. The quintet from Detroit describe themselves as "ToV harkens back to the somber sound of early British doom, while channeling the energy and devastation of old school American death metal." I can't argue with that!

Cormorant - Diaspora
Cormorant is a progressive black/death metal band from the Bay Area formed in 2007. Diaspora is not an easy listen. With only 4 songs in one hour, the listener is challenged to pay full attention to this progressive and beyond genre boundaries work of art. The band is rooted in black metal, mainly due to the dominant vocals, but even there death vocals and clean singing are heard at points. The group however is much more than black metal, they have been known to incorporate jazz, progressive rock, death metal and folk elements to their music. Diaspora  requires a considerable investment from the listener to appreciate it fully, but it is worth it! A diverse and dynamic artistic masterpiece.

Dying Fetus - Wrong One To Fuck With
This is the eighth studio album by this American death metal band and it took 5 years since their last studio album. Wrong One To Fuck With is a very consistent album with no surprises for those who know the band. There's groove, technicality and brutality well mixed by one of the most brutal Death Metal bands out there. From the first second to the final 10th tittle track, we are hammered with crushing drums and super technical, fast and heavy riffs. Great extreme metal album, but a bit too long.

Orden Ogan - Gunmen
Gunmen is not a great album and it falls short compared to 2015's Ravenhead. But it's still a very capable and enjoyable album for Power Metal fans. It starts and finishes very well, but there are ups and downs in the mid sections. Orden Ogan continues to be consistent with their sound based on epic German melodic metal (think Blind Guardian) with folk, symphonic and elements of modern metal into their sound. If you are not into this genre or band, that's not the way to start, but for the lovers, it is worth checking it.

Accept - The Rise of Chaos
More of the same. There are no surprises with Accept. Already on the 4th album with Mark Tornillo, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and band deliver another solid traditional metal album full of killer riffs, melodies and big choruses under a very polished production from Andy Sneap. While being its strength, the consistency is also its weakness. By the half of the album, it gets way too repetitive. Luckily it closes strongly with "Race to Extinction".

Decapitated - Anticult
One of the most well known bands from Poland, Decapitated is releasing their 7th studio album. 3 years after Blood Mantra which I liked a lot. Decapitated is one of those bands that doesn't want to "release the same album again". Consequently their sound has been evolving from a pure technical death metal by incorporating elements from Pantera (already done in the last album) and now Anticult has Meshuggah and Gojira influences all over the place. As always, this evolution seems to be polarizing fans and critics. I think it works and I appreciate what they are trying here. The album has an addictive groove, and fantastic guitar work, "Kill the Cult" being the most prominent example. Besides the musicianship and songwriting, the album is very well produced and sounds great. I also love the art cover. So where the complains come from? I don't get it. If pure tech death metal is what you want, there is no lack of bands doing that sound.

Iced Earth - Incorruptible
This is such a difficult album for me to review because IE is one of my all time favorite bands. Hence I have high expectations and tend to be very critical. With that said, let's get to it. Incorruptible is the 12th album from Iced Earth and already the third with Stu Block on vocals and the first with the fantastic Jake Dreyer on lead guitars. This is pure IE as you would expect, no frills and no surprises. 8 straight forward tracks, one instrumental ("Ghost Dance") and an good epic closer. While I like the first half of the album, the second half sound a bit uninspired. One highlight is singer Mr. Block. He uses more his range and incorporates his personal style instead of mimicking his predecessor, "Seven Headed Whore" being a clear example. This song and "The Relic (Part 1)" also display Mr. Dreyer shredding capabilities, a very good addition to the line-up. I hope Dreyer can contribute with song writing and spice things up a little in the next album. While Incorruptible is a better album than the previous release, it sounds a bit "fabricated" and almost recycling ideas from IE classic albums. WIth that said, as a fan, there's a lot to enjoy here.

Top Albums of Q2/2017

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
The seventh studio album from American progressive metallers is by far the album that I listened to the most this year so far. It was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who Mastodon collaborated with on their highly acclaimed 2009 album Crack the Skye. And that says something about Emperor of Sand. First, Mastodon returns to an album with a concept and story. Secondly, the album does sound like a fusion of latest efforts with the vibe of Crack the Skye. Emperor of Sand has 11 tracks in 51 minutes of outstanding modern prog metal. The musicianship is superb, the division of vocal duties among the 3 singers has been perfected, and the 3 are singing better than ever. The guitar riffs, duos and solos are just fantastic, Brent and Bill have found the perfect harmony. Troy maintains the trademark bass sound and Brann is, simply put, one of the best drummers in activity. I love all 11 tracks and have almost no complains. The album flows amazingly well and it's a serious candidate to album of the year.

Ayreon - The Source
The Source is the ninth concept studio album from Ayreon, a progressive metal/rock opera project by Dutch musician Arjen Lucassen. The concept is once again science fiction and a prequel to 01011001 (released in 2008). Each of the 12 characters is portrayed by one singer from a selection of some of the best prog/power metal singers in activity, including James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Russell Allen (Symphony X), and Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me). If you love power progressive metal with lots of melodic vocals, this is the album for you. Another serious candidate for album of the year. The 12 min opening track "The Day That The World Breaks Down" says it all. Featuring 11 of the 12 singers, many tempo changes, a bass solo, and a binary cold singing interlude, this song is modern prog rock perfection. The album flows from there with shorter but equality amazing 16 songs. All singers deliver amazing performances. Without loosing his own sound, Arjen is able to get the best of each singer, they sound natural and relaying on their strong characteristics.  The other guests are also fantastic. Mark Kelly (Marillion) and Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged) deliver, respectively,  an amazing synthesizer and guitar solo on "The Dream Dissolves". Other two amazing guitar solos: Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X) on "Star of Sirrah" and Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, ex-Asia) on "Planet Y Is Alive!". On top of it all, the concept and story follows like an opera. The album's 1.5 hr fly by when enjoying this fantastic piece of music. If this is not the best Ayreon album ever, then I need to seriously check the other albums immediately.

Pallbearer - Heartless
Heartless is already the third full-length album by this progressive doom metal sensation band. Their 2014's "Foundations Of Burden", appeared on several year-end lists. The current effort runs for 1 hour with 7 tracks. Heartless is a very progressive and melodic album. Clean singing dominates, but in a good way and it's brilliantly executed. It's never too high and translates well the melancholic feel of most songs. The 12-min "Dancing in Madness" is a masterpiece and almost an homage to Pink Floyd. The guitar solo at the beginning reminds me of David Gilmor, fantastic. In addition to fantastic song writing and musicianship, Heartless also sound amazing and dynamic. And to conclude and artful and distinct cover. Over the last couple of years, doom bands have been making appearances in my year-end list. 2017 will most certainly continue this trend thanks to Pallbearer.

Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy
Imagine that Cattle Decapitation was more hardcore, that's how I'd describe Trumpeting Ecstasy. Their first LP (by themselves) in 4 years is 24 min of voracious headbanging metal madness. With that said, the album is dynamic with pauses, samples, tempo variation and two vocal styles. My two favorite songs are two of the "long" ones: "The Cosmic Vein" and "Crawling Back to God". And then after 9 brutal metal songs, we come to the title track that unexpectedly opens with a beautiful female vocal over some samples. And while for some this would sound like an album closer, no, Full of Hell returns to voracious grindcore to close the album with the 6 min "At the Cauldron's Bottom" featuring fantastic marching drums. One of the best extreme metal albums of the year so far.

John 5 & The Creatures - Season of the Witch

If you come to this album expecting anything related to Robbie Zombie's sound, you will be disappointed. This is a guitar hero album, on the lines of Satriani, Vai, etc. In fact, the title track is the only one that reminds us of Robbie Zombie. While not original and sounding a lot like Satriani, I'm not saturated with Satriani-like bands and I love Satriani. So I found myself really enjoying this instrumental journey. Despite this clear influence, there are two differences: First John 5 adds a  hint of Industrial influences and second, the "& The Creatures" makes a difference because while Satriani studio albums can have boring bass and drums, The Creatures band deliver a solid rhythm section with awesome bass lines and groove. "Guitars Tits and Monsters" is one of the best song titles of the year, but also a great guitar song, almost 6 min of shredding with class. "The Macabre" could've been in Satriani's Surfing with the Alien album. "Hell Haw I.G.R." sounds like an homage to Joe Pass. Great guitar album and highly recommend for fans of the genre, don't let John 5 association with industrial or alt rock mislead you.

Darkest Hour - Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora

In this comeback album, Darkest Hour presents us with the perfect blend of hardcore and melodic death metal. The memorable songwriting showcases fantastic guitarwork and drumming throughout the record. John Henry delivers relentless visceral vocals from start to finish. And that's a great thing. because due to outstanding guitarwork, groves, and tempo changes, Darkest Hour is able to break the monotony and add enough variability to the songs without depending on two singers or clean singing to do so. My only problem with GP&tMF is that a chunk of middle part songs tend to blend together. But that's a minor problem to an otherwise fantastic metalcore record.

Sólstafir - Berdreyminn
Sólstafir's 6th album is a small departure from its predecessor. It follows the same path of progressive post-rock music but it flirts a bit more with rock and roll groove. That's mostly notable in the first two songs. Most of the other songs are very progressive and dark. "Naros" and "Hvit S?ng" are very heavy tracks while "Hula" and "Dyrafjor?ur" slow tempo and melancholic. A very diverse album showcasing that Sólstafir seems to have found the sound they were looking for.

The Doomsday Kingdom - S/T

The new solo project from Candlemass bassist and songwriter Leif Edling is another triumph. The Doomfather while having difficulties to perform live is unstoppable in the studio. The new addition The Doomsday Kingdom while full of Doom elements sounds much more like a traditional heavy metal record. Several moments remind me of the Sabbath Dio era which is always a good thing.

Avatarium - Hurricanes and Halos

And just like that Avatarium is already releasing their 3rd studio album. After two successful albums, we are please to welcomed the third effort with high expectations. Avatarium combines beauty and darkness, heavy guitars and fragile sounds, and unique female vocals. While the first two albums focused on the Doom Metal sound, Hurricanes and Halos displays more influence from vintage sound from the 60s and 70s (subtle influences from Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, etc), while still staying truthful to their signature sound. Six out of the eight tracks were written by Leif Edling, who also released a doom record already this year via his new outlet Doomsday Machine. But this album goes beyond traditional doom and Marcus Jidell (guitars) and Jennie-Ann Smith (vocals) not only contributed to the songwriting but bring a lot of character to this band. The first album is still my favorite, but the followers are not far behind. Fantastic band.

While She Sleeps - You Are We

I'm glad I gave this record several spins because I was very close to miss one of the best metalcore albums of the year. While I liked the previous effort, I didn't give it a lot of chance. Therefore leaving comparisons aside, You Are We is a jump forward for a band that was already being seen as the "next big thing".

GMM2017 Review

I was so disappointed with last year edition that I realize I didn't post a review. That's probably a good thing since it would be mostly about the rain, mud, weather conditions, etc...so much so that this year I waited until the last minute to buy the tickets. I think many also did since it was sold-out on Friday. Despite the insanely late headliners (finishing at 1:30 am) and some hiccups to get inside, this edition was one of the best in years...

Top Shows
Rotting Christ: Fantastic set-list based mostly on the last two great albums. Great atmosphere created by this top band.

Solstafir: A unique band and a different show. Very intimate post-metal Icelandic progressive sound.

The Dillinger Escape Plan: As usually those guys know how to put a show. The Metal Dome is the perfect stage for them at a festival.

Emperor: I'm gonna be selfish here, since this is by far not a mainstream band but a cult band adored by its fans, the crowed was disperse with the ones staying fully committed to the show.  So much so that we, fans, could enjoy a headliner in a intimate fashion. And Emperor live was better than I ever expected! Fantastic musicianship, a black metal master class.

Architects: One of the few great metalcore bands, Architects delivered a great show based on the last two fantastic albums. I hope that despite the passing of the guitar player and music writer Tom Searle, they can continue to ascent as one of the best bands of their generation. 

Gojira: They are one of the darlings of the metal media for a reason, they are a fantastic band and their show was awesome. The best songs from the latest album plus 4 or 5 classics. Perfect.

Hatebreed: A perfect fit for a sunny festival day. Big hits that make the crowd jump up and down and pump their fists while drinking beers.

Steel Panther: Also a fun band for a festival! But if you have seen them a few times, their jokes are getting repetitive. With that said, I did laugh and also enjoyed the setlist a lot.

Mastodon: One of the best modern prog bands did not disappoint live. If you like the last album, this show was great.
  

Queensryche: This show was so good that left me wanting to see them in a headline tour. The musicianship and specially the singer, Todd, were superb. The setlist made the fully packed Metal Dome go crazy! Only one new song, for the rest many classic gems of which several from the classic Operation: Mindcrime.

Opeth: Regulars at GMM, they closed the Marquee with a technically perfect show. One hour is so short for this band, that they could only play 5 songs, 3 being from the latest albums (meaning no death metal vocals). 

Good Shows
Tribulation: Too early for a Tribulation show, 12:00 on a Friday...the vibe wasn't strong enough.

Decapitated: Also suffered from being a bit early.

Dee Snider: Good show but mostly predictable. TS classics, plus some covers (notably Outshined) and solo album tracks.

TBDM: I love the albums I have from these guys, but whenever I see them live the songs blend all together and I always feel that my favorites are left out. 

Scorpions: 3rd time I see them at Graspop. Good setlist but very similar to the last time. I can't blame them for lacking the energy... 

Disappointments: 

Axel Rudi Pell:  Played too early, singer was not hitting the high notes, setlist wasn't great

Rhapsody: Suffered from a terrible sound and technical problems, also too early, too short.

MAX & IGGOR CAVALERA: It was fun, but the guy can't sing anymore...

Grave Digger: Also poor setlist and worst sound of the weekend.

8 Iron Maiden Deep Cuts Worth Checking

Cross-Eyed Mary  from "The Trooper" B-side

This Jethro Tull cover is obviously a great song from the landmark album Aqualung.  Maiden was able to Maidenize it and make it a metal jewel. But the real highlight that makes it so special is Bruce's performance. 

Total Eclipse from "Run to the Hills" B-side

Total Eclipse sounds so much like a classic Maiden song. It was really a mistake to left it out of 1982's The Number of the Beast. It's a short and straightforward song. The intro chords followed by a guitar riff and then the build up drum fill is fantastic. By the way, similar intro was used in 2000's Brave New World title track. The song follows with an interesting structure and Bruce's soaring vocals. Another highlight is the bridge after the guitar solo, slow tempo and with Bruce reaching for the high notes.

Charlotte the Harlot '88 from "The Evil That Men Do" B-side

The prequel to 22 Acacia Avenue, Charlotte the Harlot is a great song from the debut album. It's the only song to have been written by Dave Murray alone. And this live version with Bruce is pure awesomeness. I love the song groove and how it changes completely with the slow bridge before exploding into the guitar solo. It also closes extremely well by returning to the intro riff. 

Lord Of The Flies from "Death On the Road"

Lord of the Flies is one of the best songs of the underrated The X Factor and when I saw it live with Bruce I went crazy. The way Bruce sings the bridge and specially the first chorus is ridiculous. It's even more impressive after the guitar solo, when he sings first with a lower registry just before exploding with the high notes. What an interpretation! I also like how the mix with 3 guitars. 

Quest for Fire

On the B side of the massive 1983's Piece of Mind, Harris' Quest for Fire follows a great sequence of 5 classic Mainden songs. But still it's a crime to overlook it. First, the intro riff is really cool and it may have been written close to The Trooper because it's very similar. Second, Bruce delivers in the first verse what is probably his highest note on record. It's impressive. Other than that it's just a very consistent song with the rest of the album. 

Deja - Vu

From my favourite album, Deja-vu is such a great song. From the slow intro, almost like Still Life, to the catchy two part chorus, and several guitar duos, the song exemplifies the whole album. But for some reason doesn't get the needed attention.

The Prophecy
I remember when Seventh Son of a Seventh Son came out, I was surprised that The Prophecy didn't make it to the setlist of that tour. They should've played the whole album. Anyways, that's to say how much I like it. Never played live and on the B side of the album, many may not have given it the due credit. The slow and quiet intro is beautiful and sets the mood just before exploding with a powerful guitar and bass duo riff. The structure is very simple, verse/bridge/chorus then solos plus riffs and repeat. Now, how the solo finishes giving space to Bruce to start the verse 2 is so amazing. Then there's the catchy verse, and an amazing bridge. In fact, it's a very unique bridge. Bruce sings it with at least 3 tracks, alternating voices and juxtaposing lyrics, it's fantastic. It also closes with the acoustic beautiful arpeggio, similar to the intro, so good.

Isle of Avalon
The Final Frontier tour was probably the only one I could go but didn't since 1992. One of the reasons was because some of my favorite songs from the album were not on the setlist, most notably Avalon. I liked this 9-min song from the first time I heard it. The almost 3-min build up part with the 3 guitars and Steve's bass is just great. And it culminates with Bruce screaming  "I can't hear you" before entering the powerful verse. Luckily we get the same build up after the solo. The whole song structure and melody is just fantastic. 

Top Albums of Q1/2017

Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day
The tenth studio album by the Swedish progressive metal (or rock?) band Pain of Salvation was one of the first releases of 2017. Their last studio album with original songs dates back 7 years ago. But quite honestly I haven't followed PoS in years. To my surprise, I was quite happy to hear the very first notes, "On a Tuesday" sounds heavy! A great way to start, the 10-min opener is full of tempo changes and deeply emotional. The next two songs are shorter but follow the same principle. PoS sounds like they used to in the early 2000's. Then "Silent Gold" slows things down, and a lot! But the song has a nice melody. Other highlights are the also the long "Full Throttle Tribe", "Angels of Broken Things" with a great and long guitar solo, and "The Taming of a Beast". Now, special highlight to the title track that closes the album. It is a 15:30 min  beautiful and emotional masterpiece of modern prog rock. The album has some focus problems and some misplaced tracks like "Reasons". However, those are small missteps that do not compromise this outstanding comeback album. Already a strong contender to be topping my year-end list.

Kreator - Gods of Violence

2017 had a very strong start. No beating around the bush, Gods of Violence is a fantastic album and will be topping many year-end lists. To some it may not be as good as the amazing predecessor but at the very least is at par. This album cements Kreator as the current masters of Thrash Metal. The fact that they are not from California is the only reason that explains to me why Kreator is not even bigger than they currently are. The album is a lesson of modern thrash metal with no frills, no bullshit. Kreator can combine one of the best thrash vocals and very aggressive thrash riffs with melody therefore creating instant heavy metal anthems. Not to mention the drumming and guitar solos that complete this receipt for success. With that said, Kreator took baby steps to incorporate traditional heavy metal (e.g. Priest and Maiden) into the mix . Therefore avoiding repeating themselves while delivering another modern masterpiece, but a different one than Phantom Antichrist. Gods of Violence is one of their best albums. Hail to the hordes!

Soen - Lykaia

Soen's 2014 Tellurian was #11 on my year-end list. The expectations were high for the successor Lykaia. "Sectarian" does a fantastic job opening the album. From the get go we get the trademarks of this album, an original take on a Tool + Opeth sound. One of my favorite things here is the album mix, it's impressive how unique and clear the bass and drums sound. And while Lykaia fell slightly short to my expectations, it's still a very good album from a band that will certainly grow further.

Sepultura - Machine Messiah
Although "Beneath The Remains" was one of the first LPs I've ever bought, I haven't been following the band closely. I definitely do not know the Derrick Green era very well. All of that to say that I'm positively surprised with Machine Messiah. Sepultura's 14th studio album is the band's first in over three years and it's a very good one. Without loosing their thrash roots, the band led by Andreas Kisser takes risks and incorporate a modern metal sound. More importantly they went further and added a touch of progressiveness. The new drummer, Eloy Casagrande delivered some strong drumming in this record. The other highlight is Andreas Kisser superb guitar work. Actually my favorite track is the instrumental "Iceberg Dances" in which both musicians give a music lesson. Other tracks that I dig a lot are "Phantom Self" and "Sworn Oath".

Immolation - Atonement
Atonement is the 10th stdio album from the New York death metallers. Despite being long time legends in the underground scene, this is my first time listening to Immolation. And I dig it. Atonement  is a very dark and haunting album. While I'm typically not a huge fan of deep low vocals, it works well for them. Besides, Ross Dolan (bass/vocals) is intelligible which is rare in extreme music. But what really impressed me in this album is the combination of fantastic riffs and dueling guitars over complex drum patterns. The album is very consistent and there are no bad songs. It's definitely my favorite extreme metal album of the yea so far.

BloodBound - War Of Dragons

Excessive and bombastic, War Of Dragons is an example of "more is more" and it would make Malmsteen proud! So yes, I love it! There's nothing new here, boundaries are not pushed and it's by far not a perfect record, but... it's lots of fun. Highly recommended to fans of Rhapsody, Hammerfall and Stratovarius. I caught those guys in a recent festival and bought the two albums with singer Urban Breed. Both very good. After he left, Patrik "Pata" Johansson took over the mike and this is is his 5th LP with BloodBound. A very short obligatory intro with a quick narrative opens to the first single "Battle in the Sky. Right of the gate the song starts with a big chorus. From there the album flows on the same style. All except one song are between 3:30 and 4:30 minutes. All with tons of melody, hooks, dragons and kings, huge choruses and speed. But it does get repetitive, many songs start on the same way (big chorus), lacks originality and the production is a bit too loud.  But that's my guilty pleasure of the month, very catchy and fun to listen, songs are well written and nicely combine the styles of several 90's power metal bands with its own flavor. If you miss GoT dragons, this will keep you busy!

Crystal Viper - Queen of the Witches

Crystal Viper is certainly a unique band, a Polish traditional heavy metal band fronted by Marta Gabriel who also plays guitars. The sound however it's not original, heavily influenced by the NWOBHM sound: Dueling guitars, very melodic and sing-along choruses. The big problem of Queen of the Witches is having two ballads that are not so good. The other 8 songs are really fun and straightforward proper metal songs, all around the 4:30 m mark. All in all, Crystal Viper delivers a solid, easy to listen and direct heavy metal with no frills but also nothing new. Queen of the Witches does the job right.

Albums You Might Have Missed 2016

Despite all efforts to keep up with the new releases, there's always records that go by unnoticed or I just didn't have the time. But at the end of each year, the famous best of lists helps us finding some hidden jewels and give them a second chance. Instead of messing with the laborious Top 51 List, I decided to create a special post for those "missed records". In no particular order...

Sumac - What One Becomes
Within the extreme metal world, this Sludge / Post-Metal release by Sumac was regarded as one of the top albums of 2016. I came across when my list was already done, but I came to love it. It would've been right up there in my top 15. It's not that different from the Neurosis album. 5 heavy, experimental, long songs, with many instrumental moments, deep vocals and slow riffs. And it's all beautifully written and executed. It's one of those intense musical journeys and it's worthwhile.

Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä
This Finnish band is in sum what Pink Floyd (specially early albums) would sound like if done by a Black Metal band. The idea is interesting and the song writing is good. It's a fun experience. But for some strange reason, the album production is not great. For this type of music, I can't understand the flat production with such a low DR of 4. Värähtelijä wouldn't alter materially my top albums, but I'm happy to have it.

Deströyer 666 - Wildfire
These Australians deliver a blackened thrash metal with big choruses, Salyer-ish riffs and epicness. A fun record for traditional metal fans loose their minds and get into the mosh pit.

Marillion - FEAR
Marillion used crowdfunding to finance their 18th album. And Prog Rock fans are glad the band did this and managed to release this great album. Sales and chart positions were very decent and it was featured and several "best of 2016" lists. Essentially FEAR has 5 songs of which 3 are broken into several parts. The 68 minutes of prog rock with clear Pink Floyd references is dark and intense. Prog journey worth the wait, I'm glad I came across it at the 11th hour.

Astronoid - Air

It's hard to describe this band, I love those bands that challenge this stupid sub-genre madness. Arguably, Astronoid may not even be considered metal, but I dig it big time. It's different, it's refreshing, it's just great stuff. My humble attempt to describe them is as follows: Deafheaven with Deftones vocals.

Rotting Christ - Rituals
In 2013 I was introduced to Rotting Christ when they released their Katá ton Daímona Eautoú. I really liked that album and it made #13 in my 2013 list. Therefore I was myself surprised that it took me so long to get into their twelfth full-length album Rituals released on 12 February 2016! But eventually I did, and Rotting Christ delivers a solid record that is full of Black Metal and folk elements but all very dark and satanic.