2021 Best Of

[Sir Exar Kun]

Mandatory recap list for 2021..... Feeling similar to a few other posts I have seen that there was a lot of GOOD to GREAT albums this year, but nothing that stood head and shoulders above the crowd..... Nothing individually just blew me away..... The other part I found interesting was that my favorite albums all basically came from "old school" artists rather than younger bands.

Favorites of the year:
Edu Falaschi "Vera Cruz" - Solo album that captures everything I love about vintage Angra. Seriously. This is on par with "Temple of Shadows" and "Rebirth".

Helloween s/t - I had expected this album to attempt to be some massive EPIC, and it actually just sticks to being Helloween in all their forms. Truly, I hear old Helloween, new Helloween, a bit of Place Vendome, a splash of Gamma Ray..... Rather than trying to do something monumental, they stuck to what they do best and combined all their forms..... Really hope to see this tour hit the States again once the world resumes turning.

Liquid Tension Experiment 3 - Far and away my favorite (front to back) of their albums.... This album comes off as tightly composed and polished, and sounds HUNGRY again! LTE 1 & 2 both had a lot more of an improv sound to many parts that I didn't care for, whereas this album feels more planned and thought out.

Dream Theater "View from the Top of the World" - This album almost should be bumped down one tier, but it's an album I cannot find anything WRONG with. It feels like the quintessential DT album, to a paint-by-numbers level, but it sounds fantastic, and I like every song on it well enough, so here it sits.....

Need "Norchestration" - Similar thoughts to Random Axe on this one. Excellent album, probably my least favorite of the trilogy. Also feels like this came out years ago somehow. When I saw it pop up on 2021 lists I had to look to see that it really WAS just this year! Excellent band on par with Kingcrow as far as expecting nothing but near perfection each outing.


Others I enjoyed this year (no particular order):

NorthTale "Eternal Flame" - This might actually move up one layer after I hear it again. FANTASTIC traditional power metal, combining elements of Angra, Strato, Gamma Ray. Bill Hudson NAILED IT here.

Jason Bieler "Songs for the Apocalypse" - Folks went on and on about Bieler going prog on this one.... Let's be honest.... This is 21st century Saigon Kick in all its beauty. Fun quirky album for sure. Can't wait to hopefully see this live!

Dying Planet "Skies Are Grey" - Zero Hour run at 55 MPH instead of 90. Paul Villareal from Sun Caged on vocals does a great job here also.

Epica "Omega" - Best band in the genre, hands down. Not my favorite of theirs, as I think it comes off sounding a bit more modern / electronic perhaps, but still a beautifully massive slab of symphonic metal.

Evergrey "Escape of the Phoenix" - Much more upbeat (as Evergrey goes anyway) than "The Atlantic", but I think I preferred the former. Still and all, Everygrey continues to churn out monster album after album.

Neal Morse "Innocence and Danger" - Really expected this to be in my top tier, so for Morse this registers as a disappointment. Great album, but coming off the last few it falls just a pinch short. The first disc has a very nostalgic feel to it, as their songwriting influences feel more pronounced. Maybe I just hear that having listened to the covers albums a few times prior to this, but I can really here more of an homage to their predecessors on disc one before going full on NMB on disc two and the epics. Eric Gillette needs to sing more also, as he's got an amazing voice.

Poverty's No Crime "Secret to Hide" - Amazingly consistent band that I am always surprised to see return each album. Much like a Vanden Plas release, there are no surprises here!

Sweet Oblivion "Relentless" - Really didn't expect much after hearing the first single, but then that might be the weakest track on the album. Geoff Tate and Aldo Nobles (?) from Secret Sphere, and this album to me sounds like a natural followup to "Promised Land". Aldo does a good job throughout channeling Chris DeGarmo even! Songs are all in the same vein, and this could have used maybe one longer / deeper track, and one ballad, but honestly for 2021 Geoff Tate I was THRILLED with this output.

Transatlantic "Absolute Universe" - Another one that looking back I can't believe was this year. NMB was the stronger of the two albums for me, as this one feels a bit more disjointed, and is the first of the Transatlantic albums to actually feel like songs were brought in from different members rather than being a joint effort. Pandemic effect, perhaps? Either way, still a strong album but not as good as it's predecessors.

Overall, feels like a very "safe" list of bands I have enjoyed for ages continuing to put out strong material..... Some exceeded expectations, some came off just a bit TOO safe.... New bands I enjoyed included Turbulence, Animate, and Benthos.... Which again feels like a VERY small list for end of year.

Looking forward to another solid year this year!

[introclaus]

Edu Falaschi "Vera Cruz" - Solo album that captures everything I love about vintage Angra. Seriously. This is on par with "Temple of Shadows" and "Rebirth".

Helloween s/t - I had expected this album to attempt to be some massive EPIC, and it actually just sticks to being Helloween in all their forms. Truly, I hear old Helloween, new Helloween, a bit of Place Vendome, a splash of Gamma Ray..... Rather than trying to do something monumental, they stuck to what they do best and combined all their forms..... Really hope to see this tour hit the States again once the world resumes turning.

Dream Theater "View from the Top of the World" - This album almost should be bumped down one tier, but it's an album I cannot find anything WRONG with. It feels like the quintessential DT album, to a paint-by-numbers level, but it sounds fantastic, and I like every song on it well enough, so here it sits.....

Need "Norchestration" - Similar thoughts to Random Axe on this one. Excellent album, probably my least favorite of the trilogy. Also feels like this came out years ago somehow. When I saw it pop up on 2021 lists I had to look to see that it really WAS just this year! Excellent band on par with Kingcrow as far as expecting nothing but near perfection each outing.

Epica "Omega" - Best band in the genre, hands down. Not my favorite of theirs, as I think it comes off sounding a bit more modern / electronic perhaps, but still a beautifully massive slab of symphonic metal.

Neal Morse "Innocence and Danger" - Really expected this to be in my top tier, so for Morse this registers as a disappointment. Great album, but coming off the last few it falls just a pinch short. The first disc has a very nostalgic feel to it, as their songwriting influences feel more pronounced. Maybe I just hear that having listened to the covers albums a few times prior to this, but I can really here more of an homage to their predecessors on disc one before going full on NMB on disc two and the epics. Eric Gillette needs to sing more also, as he's got an amazing voice.

Poverty's No Crime "Secret to Hide" - Amazingly consistent band that I am always surprised to see return each album. Much like a Vanden Plas release, there are no surprises here!

Yes to all of these.

Liquid Tension Experiment 3 - Far and away my favorite (front to back) of their albums.... This album comes off as tightly composed and polished, and sounds HUNGRY again! LTE 1 & 2 both had a lot more of an improv sound to many parts that I didn't care for, whereas this album feels more planned and thought out.

NorthTale "Eternal Flame" - This might actually move up one layer after I hear it again. FANTASTIC traditional power metal, combining elements of Angra, Strato, Gamma Ray. Bill Hudson NAILED IT here.

Jason Bieler "Songs for the Apocalypse" - Folks went on and on about Bieler going prog on this one.... Let's be honest.... This is 21st century Saigon Kick in all its beauty. Fun quirky album for sure. Can't wait to hopefully see this live!

Dying Planet "Skies Are Grey" - Zero Hour run at 55 MPH instead of 90. Paul Villareal from Sun Caged on vocals does a great job here also.

Evergrey "Escape of the Phoenix" - Much more upbeat (as Evergrey goes anyway) than "The Atlantic", but I think I preferred the former. Still and all, Everygrey continues to churn out monster album after album.

Sweet Oblivion "Relentless" - Really didn't expect much after hearing the first single, but then that might be the weakest track on the album. Geoff Tate and Aldo Nobles (?) from Secret Sphere, and this album to me sounds like a natural followup to "Promised Land". Aldo does a good job throughout channeling Chris DeGarmo even! Songs are all in the same vein, and this could have used maybe one longer / deeper track, and one ballad, but honestly for 2021 Geoff Tate I was THRILLED with this output.

Transatlantic "Absolute Universe" - Another one that looking back I can't believe was this year. NMB was the stronger of the two albums for me, as this one feels a bit more disjointed, and is the first of the Transatlantic albums to actually feel like songs were brought in from different members rather than being a joint effort. Pandemic effect, perhaps? Either way, still a strong album but not as good as it's predecessors.

These didn't do it for me.

I think both LTE and Transatlantic suffer from "overbloat" ... I'm not a fan of instrumental music in general, so I knew LTE was gonna have a hard time registering for me already before it came out (and I do own their old stuff, but ...), and Transatlantic is just boring (their debut was great though!).

[Hearing Aid Man]

Enjoy Edu, Need and LTE3 too. Just liked some other stuff more. Sweet Oblivion has some really good tunes, but some of the others weren't quite as strong IMO. Spot on description for the Helloween - S/T. Dying Planet hasn't grabbed me for some reason. Funny because I couldn't race fast enough to hear it when I heard who was singing on it. Paul V is so good!

[LarryD]

Great list ...... we have 4 or 5 overlapping depending on how you look at it ........... you can tell by all of these lists, that is was a weird year for music, and us as well........ different music is reaching people in different ways ..... one year we would have all like "this" disc ..... this year, only some liked "this" disc and no one liked "this" disc ......

This year was definitely a mood year for me - I reached for discs that matched the somber mood I was in most of the year. They became my favorite. The one that should have hit me normally, did not. I hope that next year I am able to say " I love that disc because it moves me".