Phoenix, Arizona Flotsam and Jetsam is one of the thrash metal pioneers with their highly acclaimed 1986 debut Doomsday for The Deceiver. At that time featuring bassist Jason Newsted. Over the next three decades, Flotsam and Jetsam would release another 11 studio albums and change the line-up numerous times. Vocalist Eric AK Knutson is the one member always present and founder guitar player Michael Gilbert returned in 2010.
Now in 2019, Flotsam and Jetsam are back with The End Of Chaos, their 13th studio album and second record with AFM Records. This album is fast, heavy and yet very melodic full of memorable choruses. The album opens in full force with four great tracks: "Prisoner Of Time" with memorable chorus and distinctive bass riff, "Control" a video single with a cool drum-fill intro and full of energy and speed, the other video single "Recover" features a nice groove and a catchy chorus and then the sort of title track "Prepare For Chaos" which has more of a 80's traditional metal feel.
The third video single "Demolition Man" is another highlight with a Maiden-like guitar work and once again a memorable chorus. Despite being only 50 minutes long, The End Of Chaos can feel a bit repetitive and at the mid session some of the 12 tracks can start to blend in together. The good thing is that it ends on a high note with "The End". The most distinct tracks in the album and one of my favorites. Here singer A.K. delivers his best performance and finally leaves his comfort zone and try new ranges. Other example are the excellent drum work on "Unwelcome Surprise" and "Good or Bad" bringing it a very special flavor. I wish Flotsam and Jetsam had taken a bit more risks like those.
Overall a very good album, well written, executed and produced (special nod to the bass sound), it ticks like a clock and never looses the energy (but actually some mid tempo songs or bridges would've been nice). Despite some lack of variability and dynamic, it's a very good addition to their catalog and a good start for pure no non-sense thrash metal in 2019.
Battalions of Fear (1988), Format: CD, Score: 79
Blind Guardian's debut album was released in 1988. The line-up is their classic one with the 3 masterminds Hansi Kürsch, lead vocals and bass, André Olbrich & Marcus Siepen on the guitars. And Thomas "Thomen" Stauch on the drums. Battalions of Fear is a raw and unpolished power/speed metal highly influenced by Iron Maiden (specially the guitar work) and Helloween's first album. But with a vocal approach and overall hints of thrash metal. In that sense, Blind Guardian was at the early days on a similar direction as Grave Digger. The early albums lack many of their musical characteristics that would mark the band's music in later years. With that in mind, it's not a bad album and features a couple of important deep cuts, mainly the powerful songs: "Majesty" and "Run for the Night".
Follow the Blind (1989), Format: CD, Score: 83 Follow The Blind is similar to the debut but heavier with clear influences by thrash metal, namely Testament. But BG were always an evolving band and already here they experimented with orchestral parts for the first time. Two classic fan favorites: "Banish from Sanctuary" and "Valhalla" make this album already a powerful release that started to gather a dedicated fan base for the band, even outside Germany. "Banish from Sanctuary" has also been on the set-list in many tours and it's a battle hymn of a track with a fast galloping riffs and a huge chorus full of vocal harmonies. And what to say about "Valhalla"? Still today is the set-list closer and features Kai Hansen on vocals to give an additional hint of greatness. Additionally, the album cover is a huge step-up from the debut.
Tales from the Twilight World (1990), Format: LP, Score: 90
BG Once again raised their quality considerably in every aspect: musicianship, song writing, production, album cover and number of classic BG anthems. All of it without stopping to evolve, with TFTTW, BG penned a very distinct style for the very first time. The huge choir and guitar orchestrations would become their trademarks. "Traveler In Time", "Welcome To Dying" and "Lost In The Twilight Hall" are phenomenal songs that exemplify their sound. The guitar work evolved from Maiden-ish to very unique arrangements and the song structures are complex and unformulated. "Lord Of The Rings" slows things down and adds the acoustic element. Kai Hansen was again helping the band by performing backing vocals, vocals on "Lost in the Twilight Hall" and guitar solo on "The Last Candle". All and all, it's their first masterpiece. No surprise that with this release the band’s reputation continued to grow. It all led to signing with Virgin Records in 1992, a major accomplishment for the 90's.
Somewhere Far Beyond (1992), Format: LP, Score: 87
The album saw the band solidifying and expending their original sound that was born with the previous record. "Time What Is Time" , "Journey Through The Dark" and "The Quest For Tanelorn" are now classic tracks combining their trademark sound and speed metal. But songs like "Black Chamber" and "Theatre Of Pain" expand further their toolbox by adding piano and orchestral arrangements. And of course "The Bard's Song- In The Forest" became a sing along BG anthem. The album was acclaimed by power metal fans all across Europe and Japan. After entering the international charts, Blind Guardian took their first trip to Japan to record their first live album, Tokyo Tales. The cover artwork was again created by Andreas Marschall and it's again fantastic!
Imaginations from the Other Side (1995), Format: LP, Score: 99
3 years and one live album after SFB, BG came back with a masterpiece. The atmosphere of this album is darker in comparison to their earlier works. It's a well crafted musical journey in less than 50 min and 9 full songs. There are now intro tracks, instrumentals or transitions. All of the songs are fantastic and have been played live at different tours since its release. What I love the most about Imaginations is the complex song structures with different verses, bridges and choruses without a clear formulated structure. You never know what coming next, there are so many different tempos and changes, it's a roller-coaster and a goosebumps "generator". The new producer, Flemming Rasmussen who worked on the classic Metallica albums, brought the band to a different level. The guitar arrangements, vocals and backing vocals are all magnificent. The title track is one of the best songs in metal and the next 6 songs are not far behind. To me Imaginations is one of the top 10 metal albums of all times. It's 5 minutes too long from perfection.
Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998), Format: LP, Score: 97 Nightfall is at the same level as the predecessor. Meaning, another masterpiece. To its advantage are the lyrics and concept based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Silmarillion. To its disadvantaged is the number of tracks (specially the interlude ones) and the total length with 22 songs in 65 minutes. Once again the album was produced by Rasmussen and to many it is regarded as a pinnacle achievement in the band’s career. BG went further into creating an even more complex musical journey with orchestral arrangements, renaissance-styled acoustic sequences, spoken word, and flute & violin passages, all without loosing the hallmarks of power and speed. There are no bad or even OK songs, they are all great, but "Nightfall" is specially amazing, another one of my top songs of all times. Without a doubt Nightfall is head-to-head against Imaginations as BG best albums and both are among my all time favorites.
A Night at the Opera (2002), Format: LP, Score: 87
In 2002 BG had the difficult task to release the follow-up of two incredible albums. The band decided to go further into a more progressive and complex sound. According to their website, due to their extensive tracking and the epic nature of the band’s musical orchestrations, the album took nearly seventeen months to complete. The pinnacle of this direction is the single “And Then There Was Silence,” a 14-minute masterpiece featuring fifty vocal tracks, thirty guitar tracks, and took over four months to record. It's an amazing musical journey. While the other 9 tracks are all much shorter, they are equally complex with multiple overlaid vocals, choirs, orchestral keys and several cleaner guitar leads. Overall, I really like this album, it was a tough job to follow Imaginations and Nightfall, but A Night at the Opera delivered the goods.
A Twist in the Myth (2006), Format: CD, Score: 80
Long 4 years after A Night at the Opera, BG returned in 2006 with their eighth studio album. As was the case with the previous record, they worked with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (Helloween, Gamma Ray). The record marks two significant changes for the band. In addition to being the first record with Nuclear Blast, BG welcomed new drummer Fredrik Ehmke following the departure of founder Thomen Stauch. In the first seconds of the powerful opener "This Will Never End" we can hear a heavy guitar riff, a return to their older guitar sound which was almost absent in the previous record. The single "Fly" is by far the best song on the album. It sounds very different and yet catchy and progressive with simpler guitar riffs and a percussion approach never seen before in BG. Overall, the album arrangements are rather simpler than ANATO, e.g. "Another Stranger Me", but without loosing their characteristic sound and progressiveness. A Twist in the Myth is definetely a natural reaction to the complexity of the previous records. It's not bad record, but it's not BG at their best.
At the Edge of Time (2010), Format: mp3, Score: 80 4 years after the simper and more direct predecessor, BG kicks of their 9th studio album with an orchestra intro of 1:30! The whole song "Sacred Worlds" and the closer "Wheel Of Time" fuse the last album guitar approach with the more symphonic elements from 2002's ANATO.At the Edge of Time is a collection of very unique tracks. “Tanelorn (Into The Void)” brings us back to 1992, the melancholic “Road Of No Release” slows the tempo just to be contrasted with the fast “Ride Into Obsession,” the folk inspired “Curse My Name” features flute arrangements,” and the single “A Voice In The Dark” is another fast and powerful one. I never fully got into this album but it's definitely not a bad one.
Beyond the Red Mirror (2015), Format: LP, Score: 82 BtRM is certainly Blind Guardian's best album in years. The sequel of the fantastic "Imaginations..." has all the traditional BG elements: Epic, big choruses and complex arrangements. Additionally, as in the wonderful opener "The Ninth Wave", BtRM includes orchestra and choirs that beautifully add to mix. But as with the previous two records than the last few albums, they took care to not overcomplicate the complexity, actually some songs are very direct and thrashy, like "The Holy Grail". Overall great album for old fans and power epic metal lovers in general.
Verkligheten (English: Reality) is the eleventh studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork (meaning "working from the ground up").
Quick background: Soilwork was formed in late 1995 by Björn "Speed" Strid and Peter Wichers who left the band in 2012 due to "creative differences". The band has been through other several line-up changes most notably loosing their drummer Dirk Verbeuren to join Megadeth in 2016.
The last two albums The Living Infinite (2013) and The Ride Majestic (2015) were very well received by critics and fans. In parallel singer Speed and guitar player David Andersson have also been enjoying success with their hard rock band The Night Flight Orchestra. I personally got to know Soilwork during the Sworn to a Great Divide tour in 2008. Ironically, an album that received mixed reviews and nowadays no songs out of it have been on the live set for many years. Soilwork brings a unique form of Swedish melo death by adding clear vocal melodies and unique piano parts into their music.
It's been a long wait to get Verkligheten because ''The Ride Majestic Tour'' went on massively for more than two years until the fall of 2017. But the wait was worth it as Verkligheten is magnificent. It's a cohesive album but also very diverse. The band has experimented more and took more chances sonically which all paid off. Each song has its own character and interesting elements while not loosing the Soilwork identity. Meaning the catchy melodies combined with aggressiveness and furious tempo at times. The balance between clean and growling vocals and the keyboard base sound is as prominent as before. While the vibe from the last two great albums is still there, one of the things that is specially clear on this new album is the influence of classic heavy metal elements probably driven by the success of The Night Flight Orchestra latest albums.
Even with 12 songs, the album flows very well, keeps your attention and it's not too long. In addition to the excellent song writing and execution, the diversity of sounds from track to track keeps you on the edge. It all contributes to avoid a common problem in death metal which is the blending of songs together. It's not the case with Verkligheten. Some tracks are fast and aggressive like "Arrival" , "Bleeder Despoiler" and "The Wolves Are Back in Town". Others heavily influenced by NFO like "Full Moon Shoals" (great 80's-like guitar riff), "The Nurturing Glance" (one of my favorite tracks, another great riff and the coolest guitar solo) and "The Ageless Whisper". "Stålfågel" (feat. Alissa White-Gluz) is very catchy and distinct due to the almost pop-music beat without loosing its heaviness. There's the groovy "Witan". And then, when the album could feel a bit long they cleverly included "Needles and Kin" (feat. Tomi Joutsen from Amorphis). It's a heavy and fast track with black- metal-like riff and Tomi's vocals fit very well.
I suspect Verkligheten will resonate very well with old and new Soilwork fans. Despite the recent changes, it looks like this formation has reached stability and creativity peak. People will recognize the musical elements this formation has created in the latest two albums, but they've taken the sound even further by trying new elements and not discarding the success of NFO. The first release of the year is already a contender to be among my top 10 albums of 2019.
Slaves of the Shadow Realm is the seventh studio album by Dutch extreme metal band Legion of the Damned. It is their second through Napalm Records and it comes 5 years after the label debut Ravenous Plague. I got to know them with that record. But they have come a long way, the band was formed in 1992 as Occult. In 2006, they changed their name to Legion of the Damned and released Malevolent Rapture. An interesting fact about the band: 6 of their 7 albums were released in the first week of January.
The five year wait was worth it because Slaves of the Shadow Realm is a no non-sense and fun thrash metal album. The Dutch quartet is highly influenced by their thrash masters German neighbors from Kreator, Destruction and specially Sodom. But Legion is far from being a copycat, they incorporate elements of Death and Black metal and some moments of Slayer, all to create their own sound.
While there's nothing new or revolutionary about Slaves of the Shadow Realm, it is a great joy to listen to it and you can feel that every song was well written to be performed live. That works well because the album is energetic and punchy. The riffs and tempo changes work magnificently. The vocals are harsh and yet understandable. And while there are no bad songs, I specially like the Slayer-influenced "Charnel Confession" featuring a fantastic high tempo groove. The single "Slaves of the Southern Cross" which fuses Slayer and Destruction to create a great slower tempo but even groovier monster song is another highlight. Other songs like the excellent "Nocturnal Commando" are furious and high speed thrash madness. Production wise, the band brings for the second time in a row producer Andy Classen and he presents an album with clear and clean production.
All and all, following the same vein as their previous records, Legion deliver with Slaves of the Shadow Realm a brutal thrash fest with unique flavor that should please old schoolers and become a neckbreaker live.
I'm amazed to realize that this article will mark the seventh time I've created a "Top Albums of the Year" list. I have unsuccessfully tried to cut down the number of new albums I checked in 2018. While I stayed at the 100 mark, as in previous years, I think I spent less time per album. More often than previously, I dismissed some releases that didn't appeal to me in the first few tries. My goal for 2019 is to reduce the number of albums and increase the number of listening sessions per chosen ones. Why is that? Well, other commitments, work and my tinnitus are the main factors for me to cut down the volume of music during my day. I also want to buy less physical albums as shelf space is quickly becoming an issue. So I will focus on really good ones.
But now back to 2018. As I usually point out, these are simply subjective choices as my favorite albums of the year and not necessarily "the best" albums. I chose these records for different reasons. First I rate every song of an album, so yes, it has to be consistently good to make it to the top. I don't exclude any metal sub-genre and more often than not it's about the emotions and experiences the album brought to me. For example, I always notice that top albums are correlated with bands I saw live on the same year. Last note, I don't particularly reward different/innovative albums, but I do get bored with albums that are full of cliches and sound too much like other albums from the past.
That's all, thank you and enjoy!
55.Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality 54.Watain - Trident Wolf Eclipse 53.Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed 52.Barren Earth - A Complex Of Cages 51.Magnum - Lost on the Road to Eternity 50.Horrendous - Idol 49.Uriah Heep - Living the Dream 48.Gruesome - Twisted Prayers 47.Krisiun - Scourge Of The Enthroned 46.Arkona - Khram 45.Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown 44.Sleep - The Sciences 43.Kamelot - The Shadow Theory 42.Audrey Horne - Blackout 41.Bloodbath - The Arrow of Satan is Drawn 40.At The Gates - To Drink From the Night Itself 39.Mob Rules - Beast Reborn 38.Fifth Angel - The Third Secret 37.Long Distance Calling - Boundless 36.Vein - Errorzone 35.Primordial - Exile Amongst the Ruins 34.Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits 33.Spock's Beard - Noise Floor 32.Necrophobic - Mark Of The Necrogram 31.Riot V - Armor of Light 30.Primal Fear - Apocalypse 29.Architects - Holy Hell 28.Parkway Drive - Reverence 27.Millennial Reign - The Great Divide 26.Brainstorm - Midnight Ghost
25.Haken - Vector
24.Ihsahn - Ámr 23.Heir Apparent - The View from Below 22.Visigoth - Conqueror's Oath 21.Joe Satriani - What Happens Next
20.Amorphis - Queen Of Time
Keeping some of their Death Metal roots in their sound, Amorphis is now a progressive metal act combining melody, aggressiveness, folk elements, clean and death metal vocals. This time they stepped up a notch by including the use of real strings, flutes, orchestral arrangements and even choirs. With two fantastic albums in a row, it will be interesting to see where those Finns go next.
19.Obscura - Diluvium
Germany’s progressive death metal masters Obscura complete their "four-album conceptual circle with the release of Diluvium". All the band's signature elements are again present: Progressive Tech Death Metal with very complex songs, a prominent fretless bass and great guitar work. For an album on this genre Diluvium is relatively easy to digest and provides us with a fantastic sonic journey.
18.Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest
Not as powerful and unanimously adored as the predecessor, ILYAYD is still another excellent output from the Polish band. It confirms Behemoth as one of the most important bands in extreme metal today. Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski experience in non-metal projects led ILYAYD to sound like a transitional record (sound and lyrics). In some moments more accessible and using new elements (e.g. children choir, acoustic guitars) but without forgetting where they came from. ILYAYD is all over the year-end lists.
17.Khemmis - Desolation
After the huge buzz around their previous record, it was great to see that Khemmis grabbed their place and were still delivering the highest quality heavy metal. Desolation marks a departure from the pure doom metal sound into traditional heavy metal music but still grounded into their doom foundation. It sounds like Khemmis but you can hear classic rock influences, specially Iron Maiden. The growth of this band is impressive.
16.Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods Northern Chaos Gods is the ninth studio album by Immortal and first without Abbath. All in all, expectations were high for Demonaz (vocals, guitars) and Horgh (drums). The album is only 43 minutes in 8 tracks. The album opens very well with the energetic and yet catchy title track. The traditional black metal tracks follow one after the other with a lot of energy, great riffs and groove. Until we reach track 8, the epic "Mighty Ravendark" and its fantastic 9:15 minutes. It's 2018 and Immortal is still relevant, thanks!
15.Ghost - Prequelle
Saying that Prequelle is a divisive record is kind of redundant for such a "love or rate" band. The album is musically more 80s rock/pop oriented than previous records, guitars are also more prominent. It is once again a very well written album, as catchy and memorable as a rock album can be. I really like the first half of it but felt a bit disappointed with the B side. It's a fun record that on average is by no doubts considered one of the best of the year.
14.Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love Deafheaven continues to solidify their post-black metal sound. I was already impressed with their previous work so it's impressive that I think that Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is even better. Once more Deafheaven makes disturbing heavy music beautiful. A dichotomy that challenges the listener. The inclusion of more piano parts, rock guitar riffs and solos gave yet another color to their characteristic sound without loosing its roots.
13.Gaerea - Unsettling Whispers
The surprise of the year was the debut full-length from the black metal quintet from Portugal. Unsettling Whispers is a mastery display of doing black metal right. Despite the fact that Gaerea is a hooded anonymous group, musically, it has nothing to do with Ghost. Gaerea makes high quality, well written black metal full of dark melodies, mostly mid tempo with a hint of death metal. It is the black metal album of the year from a band that we need to keep an eye on through our hoods.
12.Voivod - The Wake
The music is a psychedelic prog thrash metal journey with many twists and turns. The album delivers a single work, rather than a collection of songs. Hence why it's a grower and takes quite a few spins to really get into it. But once you do, it's a concise, unique and well crafted music experience. Overall the legendary thrash band was able to after all these years and several line-up changes, deliver an album that while modern and different stayed true to their roots.
11.Tribulation - Down Below
After the highly acclaimed The Children of the Night (2015) which significantly steered their sound into traditional heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and gothic rock, Tribulation is with a cohesive musical experience. I can't really pinpoint any songs, they are all great and don't stand out individually. But as a full length album from start to finish, there's a dark hypnotizing atmosphere that sucks you into it. Additionally the production is great, the guitars are fantastic and the vocals as dark as we came to know, growling with melody.
10.Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
The third album with William DuVall is the one I liked the most. The classic elements are all there: Melodic, mid-tempo, vocal harmonies, big riffs and dark mood. While not bringing anything new, the grunge pioneers from Seattle delivered another great album. The first 3/4 of the album are just great, but the last part looses a bit the strength, but luckily the interesting "Never Fade" saves the overall experience. For new and old fans alike, this is a fun and entertaining musical experience.
9.Yob - Our Raw Heart
I bought this album right after its release and it was climbing slowly my list as I get inside this long, beautiful and emotional but yet heavy doomy musical journey. While the whole album is fantastic, "Beauty In Falling Leaves" is specially amazing. Like the whole album, it is testament of the emotions going through frontman Mike Scheidt while in hospital fighting for his life.
8.Pig Destroyer - Head Cage
Despite their six albums history, Head Cage is my first contact with these grind masters. Their choice to modernize their production, to include a bass player (yes for the first time!) and overall "metalize" more their ferocious grindcore sound worked for me. Listen at your own risk!
7.Tesseract - Sonder TesseracT combines complex technicality and djent grooves with atmospheric sounds giving it a very unique progressive sound. Additionally, Daniel Tompkins, vocal performance is jaw dropping. My only overall complain about Sonder is that it's the band's shortest studio album at 36 minutes in length. I can't wait for more TesseracT!
6.Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
After a mesmerizing live show, I fell in love with Stranger Fruit. Zeal & Ardor mixes sounds of negro spirituals with black metal. The result is a very unique record full of energy and emotion. Different ideas, structures, tempos, vocal changes and choruses make Stranger Fruit not only an original record but also dynamic. While not being an easy one to digest album, if you take the time to appreciate the experimentation, you will find yourself addicted to a catchy, fascinating and daring record.
5.The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
Their previous record was already fantastic and The Ocean did it again. Maybe not as good, it's still amazing. The beautifully crafted sound experience combining post rock with death metal moments is epic and great. If the band wasn't good enough the song "Devonian: Nascent" Featuring Jonas Renkse from Katatonia adds an additional flavor of doomy grace.
4.Between The Buried And Me - Automata I/II
Albeit as progressive as previous records, Automata being released in two parts is easier to digest than previous records. I am a big fan of the progressive modern metal that BTBAM have been making for the last few albums. Automata continues the trend of good albums. Originality, exceptional musicianship, thought provoking lyrics, Automata has it all. The jazzy big band influenced "Voice Of Trespass" is one of the best songs of the year.
3.Michael Romeo - War Of The Worlds, Pt. 1
The guitarist and main song writer of Symphony X (SX), brings his first solo album. The big difference to SX (besides the vocals) is the intense use of symphonic passages with a film score vibe to it, making the transition between songs seamlessly awesome! This is a masterpiece of power progressive symphonic metal, where's Part II already?
2.Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name Rivers of Nihil continue to perform the technical death metal which they are known for. But they also progressed into new frontiers adding elements from jazz (e.g. "The Silent Life"), acoustic (e.g "Subtle Change"), and electronica (e.g. "Terrestria III: Wither). It all results in progressive death metal with a diverse sound pallet. There's a lot of melody but never let down the heaviness. As one of the jewels of 2018, Where Owls Know My Name is Rivers of Nihil‘s opportunity to shine and bring new fans.
1.Judas Priest - Firepower
We have the pleasure to be blessed in 2018 with a return to form from the metal gods. Let me get right into it, Firepower is their best album since Painkiller. And probably will remain among my top 10 Priest albums. It's full of energy, heavy great drumming and riffs, Halford did a great job and the production is fantastic (albeit a bit loud). Firepower sounds like Priest in 2018. Meaning, it clearly has several hallmarks of their classic sound, but it also sounds modern and timely. It's a very direct album, most of the songs are below 5 minutes and fast tempo. Overall very good album, classic Priest with a modern twist and full of instant classics.
Honorable Mentions: Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light Angra - ØMNI Axel Rudi Pell - Knights Call Therion - Beloved Antichrist Hamferð - Támsins likam Bleed From Within - Era Anaal Nathrakh - A New Kind of Horror Saxon - Thunderbolt SUMAC - Love In Shadow Witherfall - A Prelude To Sorrow Dimmu Borgir - Eonian Gorod - Aethra Grave Digger - The Living Dead
Biggest Disappointments: Them - Manor of the Se7en Gables
Voodoo Circle - Raised on Rock
Royal Hunt - Cast In Stone
Machine Head - Catharsis
Favorite Album Covers: Judas Priest - Firepower
Brainstorm - Midnight Ghost
Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed
Favorite Guitar Solos: Joe Satriani- Thunder High on the Mountain by Joe Satriani Black Label Society - The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away by Zakk Wylde Black Label Society - The Only Words by Zakk Wylde Gruesome - Crusade of Brutality by James Murphy Obscura- Ekpyrosis by R. Trujillo Michael Romeo - Djinn by Michael Romeo Slash feat. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators - Lost Inside The Girl by Slash
Top 5 songs:
Firepower by Judas Priest To Drink From the Night Itself by At The Gates Rats by Ghost
Voice Of Trespass by Between The Buried And Me Luminary by TesseracT
Favorite Shows: Iron Maiden at Graspop Helloween at Alcatraz Festival Kamelot at 013
Disappointing Shows: Thy Art is Murder at Fortarock The Black Dahlia Murder at Alcatraz Festival
Horrendous - Idol
After 2 well received albums, Horrendous is coming out of the underground with their incredible new album Idol. Idol's music is a raw progressive death metal with a clear but old style dynamic production. As with the previous record Anareta , Idol does not shy away of showing their Death-style songwriting while still being fresh and original. The vocals, for example, very often flirt with hardcore style and the fretless bass brings a different flavor to their mix. Matt Knox and Damian Herring’s guitar work and riffs are another highlight. The synergy and chemistry between the two are jaw-dropping. It also helps that the album does not overstay its welcome clocking just under 40 min. All in all, it's difficult to complain about something on this record. The praising will not fade away, be ready to see Idol in many year end lists.
Voivod - The Wake The Wake is the fourteenth studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. The music is a psychedelic prog thrash metal journey with many twists and turns. According to Langevin "The story involves the usual Voivodian topics: disasters, chaos, conflicts, strange plots and alternate consciousness." The album is successful in its goal of delivering a single work, rather than a collection of songs. Hence why it's a grower and takes quite a few spins to really get into it. But once you do, it's a concise, unique and well crafted music experience. One of the unique features of The Wake is the final track "Sonic Mycelium", a 12-minute affair that basically recaps and goes through the previous 7 songs main riffs and verses. Overall the legendary thrash band was able to after all these years and several line-up changes, deliver an album that while modern and different stayed truthful to their original sound.
Heir Apparent - The View from Below Heir Apparent is a traditional heavy metal band from Seattle, formed in 1983 and often compared to contemporaries Queensrÿche. Despite being formed 35 years ago, Heir Apparent has only two LPs prior to The View from Below, Graceful Inheritance (1986) and One Small Voice (1989), the former became an underground cult album. Now they are finally back with an album that takes us back in time. The View from Below sounds like an 80's album, in a good way. With 8 strong tracks in 46 minutes of power progressive metal extravaganza, The View from Below does not have fat to be cut and balances very well the tracks. The songs are mostly on the 6 min mark, mid-tempo and very well produced. I like how all the instruments, including the bass, are very distinctive in the mix. The vocal performance is solid and Will does not overuse his high pitches. There's also enough variability among the songs with the progressive ballad "Here We Aren't", the short fast track "Savior" and the epic "The Road to Palestine" spread throughout the album keeping the listener attentive. For the fans of traditional heavy metal/power progressive metal, The View from Below is satisfaction guaranteed and one of the best albums of 2018 in this genre.
Brainstorm - Midnight Ghost
German power metal band Brainstorm 12th studio album is one of their best. From the song writing, production and cover artwork, it is as perfect as a power metal album can get. With 10 songs and 52 min, the album goes a bit long and looses some strength at the very end. But the sequence from the powerful opener "Devil's Eye" to the catchy "The Four Blessings" is pure power metal overdose. Catchy and melodic and yet powerful and energetic, Brainstorm delivered what any power metal fans would expect from them.
Behemoth - I Loved You at Your Darkest
Four years after the highly acclaimed The Satanist, Behemoth had the difficult task to follow up a masterpiece. Not as powerful and unanimously adored as the predecessor, ILYAYD is still another excellent output from the Polish band. It confirms Behemoth as one of the most important bands in extreme metal today. Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski experience in non-metal projects led ILYAYD to sound like a transitional record (sound and lyrics). In some moments more accessible and using new elements (e.g. children choir, acoustic guitars) but without forgetting where they came from by displaying the dark Blackened Death Metal, ILYAYD will impress critics and fans alike.
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
The third album with William DuVall is the one I liked the most. The classic elements are all there: Melodic, mid-tempo, vocal harmonies, big riffs and dark mood. While not bringing anything new, the grunge pioneers from Seattle delivered another great album. The first 3/4 of the album are just great, but the last part looses a bit the strength, but luckily the interesting "Never Fade" saves the overall experience. For new and old fans alike, this is a fun and entertaining musical experience.
The guitarist and main song writer of Symphony X (SX), brings his first solo album. The big difference to SX (besides the vocals) is the intense use of symphonic passages with a film score vibe to it, making the transition between songs seamlessly awesome! After the competent and direct opener "Fear The Unknown", "Black", an amazing song, follows (even if at times reminds me of BFMV but on the good days). The thrash riff on "Black" is superb, James Hetfield is certainly jealous. "F*cking Robots" is not only a very unique song in a metal album due to the use of electronic music but also features an amazing catchy beautiful chorus. "Djinn" eastern arrangements and atmosphere blended with the very heavy riff reminded me of the excellent V: The New Mythology Suite. "Believe", the longest track, starts given the impression it's going to be a ballad but despite being mid tempo, it's just a beautiful progressive song. "Differences" is short, direct and heavy song with a catchy chorus, one of the most SX-like songs on the record. The instrumental title track transitions directly into "Oblivion", a nice track with a memorable verse. "Constellations" closes War Of The Worlds, Pt. 1 in good style. This is a masterpiece of power progressive symphonic metal, where's Part II already?
Between The Buried And Me - Automata II Automata II is the second part of a two-piece album released in July and the first, Automata I, was released in March. Part II features 4 songs in 34 minutes, one being a 2 min transition. Consequently, albeit as progressive as previous records, it is easier to digest. I am a big fan of the progressive modern metal that BTBAM have been making for the last few albums. Automata II continues the trend of good albums and it's even better than part I. Originality, exceptional musicianship, thought provoking lyrics, Automata I & II have it all and it will certainly please the fans while possibly bringing new ones.
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Already presenting their 4th album, Deafheaven continues to solidify their post-black metal sound. I was already impressed with both Sunbather (2013) and New Bermuda (2015) so it's impressive that I think that Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is even better. "You Without End" opens the album with a soft piano intro and spoken words. It's a piano based song in which the vocals are low in the mix, it works for me, beautiful song. "Honeycomb" is the first single is a much more guitar driven track. It includes an interesting blast beats section and a groovy black n roll vibe, specially during the guitar solo. "Canary Yellow" is the second single, the longest song with over 12 min. The vocals are ery black metal but it's another groovy song with a slow intro and sections. "Near" is relatively short song featuring an acoustic guitar, clean vocals but mostly instrumental, it's right in the middle of the album and it works well as "palate cleanser". The slowness is not broken until minute 3 of "Glint" when we past the intro into one of the closest section to traditional black metal. The shortest song "Night People" features Chelsea Wolfe and it is dispensable, points for trying. The album closes with the epic "Worthless Animal". Once more Deafheaven makes disturbing heavy music beautiful. A dichotomy that challenges the listener. The inclusion of more piano parts, rock guitar riffs and solos gave yet another color to their characteristic sound without loosing its roots.
Obscura - Diluvium
Germany’s progressive death metal masters Obscura complete their "four-album conceptual circle with the release of Diluvium". All the band's signature elements are again present: Progressive Tech Death Metal with very complex songs, a prominent fretless bass and great guitar work. For an album on this genre Diluvium is relatively easy to digest and provides us with a fantastic sonic journey.
Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods Northern Chaos Gods is the ninth studio album by Immortal and first without Abbath. It's been nine years since All Shall Fall! In the meantime Abbath released a solo album which is pretty good. All in all, expectations were high for Demonaz (vocals, guitars) and Horgh (drums). The album is only 43 minutes in 8 tracks. The album opens very well with the energetic and yet catchy title track. The traditional black metal tracks follow one after the other with a lot of energy, great riffs and groove. Until we reach track 8, the epic "Mighty Ravendark" and its fantastic 9:15 minutes. It appears then that Immortal can exist without Abbath and do very well. We are very fortunate because we also get Abbath with his band.
Primal Fear - Apocalypse
With Primal Fear you know what you are getting: traditional heavy/power metal of high quality highly influence by Judas Priest, Accept and Helloween. Ralf Scheepers is one of the best singers in the genre and always delivers solid performances. Backed up by a competent line-up and song writers who know how to write fist pumping songs and sing along catchy choruses. Apocalypse features a collection of fast and powerful tracks such as "New Rise", "The Ritual" and "Blood, Sweat, & Fear". But also throws us some curve balls that work very well: "Supernova" is a beautiful slow tempo song with symphonic arrangements. "Eye Of The Storm" is a symphonic epic 8 min track. Even more variations like those would've helped the album. For example a couple of songs at the end don't add much to the experience. For the fans of Primal Fear or this genre, satisfaction guaranteed!
Gaerea - Unsettling Whispers
The surprise of the quarter was the debut full-length from the black metal quintet from Portugal. Unsettling Whispers is a mastery display of doing balck metal right. Despite the fact that Gaerea is a hooded anonymous group, musically, it has nothing to do with Ghost. Gaerea makes high quality, well written black metal full of dark melodies, mostly mid tempo with a hint of death metal. It may be the black metal album of the year from a band that we need to keep an eye on though our hoods.
.jpg)
.jpg)
