BATTLE BEAST Circus of Doom
I liked this
album a lot, but I haven't seen many good reviews. That doesn't surprise me and
it's one of the reasons I started this channel. Of course if you want extreme
metal or prog metal adventures this is not the album. But we have to judge an
album for what it is and tries to accomplish. In that sense Battle Beast stayed true to the formula of “100% heavy metal - 0%
bullshit!” This is fun, catchy and contagious while delivering energy and
quality song writing. It's a very good album and I keep listening to it and I
am not ashamed. For me their best album yet. I also saw them live this summer
and it was fantastic.
CULT OF LUNA The Long Road North
Cult of Luna have very productive the last few years. The
emotions and dedication of the band in those albums in undeniable. The lack of
fixed structures and templates gives the album an open and honest artistic
vibe. The music takes you to different places from super heavy screams, to
beautiful melodies, melancholic moments and ambient soundscapes. All these
combined really appeals to me and I like this album a lot, another very good album.
DARK FUNERAL We Are The Apocalypse
I came to this
album with no expectations and I am now surprised how much I enjoyed it. It's
nothing new or innovative, but it's damn good straightforward black metal with
that black and roll flavour at times. But most importantly, for a Black
Metal album, it is also really dynamic with variability and not just
tremolo picking guitars and blast beats. It's well written, performed and
produced. In sum a very good black metal album, the best of 2022 so far.
DECAPITATED Cancer Culture
Decapitated delivered an angry album with blasting energy and
heaviness from start to finish but with enough variability and groove to keep
it interesting throughout. You can expect to hear an outstanding
production, enjoy a fantastic artwork, and benefit from a little something here
and there that you would not expect from Decapitated before Cancer Culture. A very good album, and one that may grow further
on me as I keep listening to it.
EVERGREY A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)
Less than a year
after the previous record Evergrey delivered one of their
strongest albums in years, it can even become my favourite. The album flows greatly and I could sense I'd be hooked on it
after the first listen. And since them it only grew on me. An
overwhelming journey through progressive heaviness and searing emotionality is
repeatedly accented by sonic melancholy and gripping lyrics. There's a lot of heaviness in this album but masterly
combined with melancholy and slower moments. Besides it's very catchy and
musically featuring strong riff and solos. Very good album. A progressive metal
lesson without overdoing it.
JOE SATRIANI The Elephants of Mars
Joe Satriani has nothing to prove, after almost 20 studio albums he has collected millions of fans and accolades. However, with The Elephants of Mars he demonstrates that standing still is not option. A dynamic album combining classic elements from the early albums with experimentation and fusion music makes this new album a pleasure to listen to. It's another delight also to inspire guitar players around the world.
KREATOR Hate Über Alles
Kreator's 15th studio album is remarkably consistent with the previous records. Aggressive German thrash metal, well written, produced and executed from start to finish. It doesn't bring a lot of new things to the table, other than the song "Midnight Sun" featuring a guest female singer, but it's damn good. A very good album where there are no weak songs.
PORCUPINE TREE Closure Continuation
Many would never expect to see a new Porcupine Tree album ever again, but here we are. It was worth the wait. Not a heavy album, but another interesting step forward in the band's discography. Featuring an interesting guitar tone, odd time signatures, unconventional song structures and beautiful melodies. It's everything I'd hope to see from those guys. It's probably the album I listened the most this year so far.
STEVE VAI Inviolate
Vai continues to use his solo work to expand and explore. He has been continually challenging notions of traditional guitar playing and composition even at the age of 60 and having accomplished so much in his successful career. With Inviolate he has done it again. Not only he re-imagined the instrument itself with the Hydra, but also this time around, Vai quite literally invented a new guitar-playing technique. And those are just two highlights of the so many things he did and explored in this album. Besides all that, the music is fun and entertaining to listen to. So I can only say it's a very good album and the guitar album of 2022 (so far, but likely to stay this way).
ZEAL AND ARDOR Zeal & Ardor
I'm a big fan of Zeal & Ardor first two albums and the trend continues now with the self titled third album. Zeal & Ardor continue to build on their unique combination of Black Metal and African American music. But this time around they doubled down on the heaviness of some tracks and post-metal elements in others. The album is dynamic, heavy, catchy and super interesting. I saw them live twice this year and those new songs blend perfectly with the older ones. When I rank the albums in December, I'm pretty sure this one will be very high.
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