To me, 2022 was another year of great music, and as hopefully this list will show, there’s plenty to dig your teeth into, whether you want to try out something new or want to find comfort in music and bands you already were familiar with before.
This is a Top 100 of albums I’ve purchased this year, but with several omissions, based on the length of album (not including short/EP releases), live vs studio (I won’t be including any live albums, no matter how great there are), and relevance for this list (I’m not including anything that isn’t considered “metal” enough to make the cut).
Several of them are metal-adjacent though, and I at least want to mention a few here, such as:
• CATS IN SPACE “Kickstart the Sun”,
• DROPKICK MURPHY’S “This Machine Still Kills Fascists”,
• JETHRO TULL “The Zealot Gene”,
• MARRILION “An Hour Before It Is Dark”,
• MUSE “Will of the People”,
• POETS OF THE FALL “Ghostlight”,
• POLYPHIA “Remember That You Will Die”,
• STEFAN ALTZAR “An Independent Country Girl on a Sugar Rush”.
Oh, and I’m also leaving out compilation albums, which means that one of the otherwise very best albums of the year, ANTIMATTER “A Profusion of Thought”, doesn’t find its way onto the list, as it’s not really “new” songs, but rather a re-recording of songs that were written for previous releases but just never finalized until now.
Also, I’m aware that the new LORD OF THE LOST album was released on December 30, 2022, but for all intent and purposes, that’ll be regarded as a 2023 release for me.
2023 is shaping up to be another great year for music, with new albums from some of my favorites such as KATATONIA, RIVERSIDE, NE OBLIVISCARIS, TEN, and FROZEN CROWN already appearing on the horizon.
Now … onto the list …
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100. A to Z – A to Z
Is this the “worst” album of the year? No, not at all!!! Keep in mind this is my top 100 list, which means all the albums here are albums I like quite a lot, and the top 20 are all albums I absolutely love and adore. The fact is, however, that I’ve listened to many hundreds of albums this year and discarded most of them – the ones here in this list are albums I found worthy enough for me to spend my hard-earned money purchasing (and time to write reviews of). Of those … well, A-Z gets the bottom spot. So no, it’s not a bad album in any way whatsoever, but nor is it an album that will be receiving a lot of playtimes at Casa del Jensen in the future. I actually appreciate the album for what it’s trying to do, which is embracing the more laid-back sound of progressive hard rock with a clear melodic rock emphasis on the songwriting, yet performed at a technical high level, which should be a given considering the musicians involved (Ray Alder - Fates Warning + Mark Zonder - ex-Fates Warning, ex-Warlord + Philip Bynoe - ex-Vai, ex-Warlord, Joop Wolters – Arabesque, Lalu + Vivien Lalu – Lalu, Hubi Meisel). The big issue with the album is not what it tries hard to accomplish, it is that it doesn’t get further than the attempt, and once you peel away the involved musicians, all the experience they bring to the table, unfortunately leads to very little in terms of solid songwriting. None of them were ever the primary songwriters in any band that accomplished anything (I’m not counting their solo projects, because, well …), and this album clearly shows why that is so, as none of the songs have much sticking power, and as such, “A-Z” becomes just a clear example of the result being less than the sum of the parts.
https://youtu.be/it5fJwCB4-E
99. Seventh Wonder – The Testament
This is such a huge disappointment to me, that I don’t even know where to begin. First, yes, the expectations weren’t there after the let-down that was 2018’s “Tiara”, but I had at least hoped for something on the same level. Secondly, all the things I complained about when writing up my thoughts on “Tiara” are happening in ten-fold here as well; from the missing “lead bass” trademark, to the flat production, and even the complete lack of great and memorable songs. Add to that the fact that the keyboards really sound weak this time around and in no way resembles their previous “epic” quality. Ugh! I’m so disappointed, and with only very few redeeming facts, such as opener “Warriors”, which is a kind of power metallic semi-prog hymn, and “The Red River”, which probably sits best with me because it sounds totally like something we’ve heard from them before, so it’s “familiar”. But honestly, that’s it! Otherwise, it’s a collection of uninspired melo-prog songs, half-assed ballads, and even an instrumental that sounds like they don’t really care. Don’t get me wrong, Seventh Wonder is a band full of incredible musicians, and I’ll gladly buy anything they put out just to be able to enjoy Tommy’s voice, Johan’s guitar playing, or Andreas’ bass (at least when it’s audible) – heck, besides the weak sounding keyboards this time around, I know Andreas Kyrt is a brilliant musician, so I can forgive him the slip up this time around. “The Testament” unfortunately ends up as an album I have no real desire to revisit, which partly is because it just isn’t as amazing as I had hoped, and partly that they have so much other great music I’d much rather spend my time on. Next time guys, please do us one better, thanks.
https://youtu.be/qZkIS4i5F8g
98. Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles
This has got to be the cheesiest album released this year. Forget about how over-the-top any Gloryhammer, Majestica, Fairyland, Wind Rose, Rhapsody of Fire, Twilight Force, Dragonland, Dragonforce or anything else with dragons or fire or (… well … you know what I mean) can be. This is cheesier than an Emmentaler, an aged Gouda, or even a month-old Camembert … heck, it’s cheesier than this reviewer could ever strive to be (and I’m known to have horrible dad jokes, bad puns, and whatnot). Somehow this gets labeled symphonic power metal, although I feel the “metal” part of it might be a bit exaggerated, the “power” is absolutely lacking, and the symphonic part is as fake as a Casio keyboard from the 90’s can recreate orchestral parts. So, why on earth does this even find its way onto my list (albeit, close to the very bottom)? Well, truth be told, “The Saberlight Chronicles” is just plain fun stuff, and even in my most serious and grumpy old-man-yelling-at-the-sky mood, I can’t help but tap my feet along, nod in appreciation, and smirk a little at what these young British bards are throwing our way; dragons, fires, melted cheese, and all. My collection of cliché power metal CDs grew just a little bit more in 2022, thanks to bands like this.
https://youtu.be/p75OnvNL-HY
97. Nocturna – Daughters of the Night
After the most unnecessary intro in recent memory (almost two minutes of soft and boring keyboard notes), Italian symphonic power metal band Nocturna starts off their debut album, “Daughters of the Night” with a real bang! Opener “New Evil” sounds like it could come straight off any of the three Frozen Crown albums, which not only is a wonderful thing, but also hardly should come as a shock to anyone, since Nocturna is yet another of Federico Mondelli’s projects. Federico is one of my favorite songwriters these days, as his melodies are what makes both Frozen Crown and Be the Wolf top tier within their genres (power metal and alternative hard rock respectively). Nocturna is another project for Federico, and while it musically leans closest to FC, it’s not a true copy-cat (except for that opening tune). This is more of a Rhapsody meets early Nightwish style of symphonic power metal, and with dual female vocals provided by Grace Darkling and Rehn Stillnight, (both of whom are unknown to me prior to this), the album has an added uniqueness about it. That said, musically this is by far the weakest of all Federico’s projects, as I much rather would spend my time listening to Be the Wolf, Frozen Crown or Volturian. There are a handful of strong songs on here, such a s the power-balled “The Sorrow Path”, the stomping “Darkest Days”, or the heavily Nightwish-inspired “Sea of Fire”, but overall, the songwriting lacks a bit and the constant use of fake-harpsicord sounding keyboards takes away a bit of the enjoyment.
https://youtu.be/ATN62sl6byM
96. Seventh Storm – Maledictus
Now this was a surprise; Portuguese drummer Miguel Gaspar, who were part of Moonspell since their formation in the very early 90’s, up through all their classic releases, and then left the band in 2020, has returned with a new band, which sounds (almost) nothing like his former outfit. Instead, we’re treated to a blend of dark power metal, symphonic metal, classic metal, gothic metal, doom metal, and even occasionally something heavier, almost black metal like … not to mention, there’s a bunch of Mediterranean atmospheres to it (hence the use of the word “almost” when I said they didn’t sound like Moonspell, as Mediterranean folk music has always been a part of their sound as well). It’s really a conglomeration of everything cool about heavy metal, and it works thanks to quite strong songwriting, brilliant production (Tue Madsen mixed this loud and clear), and great musicianship, with some interesting guitar solos elevating the songs. I can’t put my finger on who the singer reminds me of, but there are shades of Andy B. Franck (Brainstorm), Tom Englund (Evergrey) and Zaher Zorgati (Myrath), which may or may not just be because I find all those bands to be present in the music of Seventh Storm. There’s also something “raspier” and more “manly” to his voice than any of those, and that kind of throws me off here and there, and keeps me from moving this higher up the list. There’s unfortunately a bit of redundancy and feeling of “heard it all before” the longer you get in the album, but with that said, “Maledictus” is a strong debut album from this new Portuguese band, that’s trying to straddle many genres, and manages to do so quite effortlessly.
https://youtu.be/dg5Odd63FT8
95. Moonlight Haze – Animus
There’s always one or two of the “classic symphonic metal sound” albums that finds its way onto my list every year, but typically it’s from the big names, and not from some small-time Italian band. Well, this year I must find a way to make room for Moonlight Haze, led by the beautiful voice of Chiara Tricarico, who is every bit as good as this genre demands. Musically we’re in the melodic, at times touching on pop, end of the spectrum here, close to Delain, the mid-period (the Anette-years) of Nightwish, or even a less pompous Epica. There’s a lot of great songs here, but the lead-single, and title-track, “Animus” manages to encompass all of it; big melody, easy to sing-along-with, choir parts, even some light-growling from Chiara, and a very nice short bass solo just for show. I am a sucker for a good melody, and this album has those in abundance.
https://youtu.be/2WSb6grivcE
94. Sin Starlett – Solid Source of Steel
There are a lot of clichés in heavy metal, and especially if you look towards the 80’s for inspiration. Back then it was thought of as cool to wear skin-tight pants, a splash of hairspray, a tank top with the Union Jack flag on it, and screaming like a 10-year-old girl getting her dream pony for birthday ... and all of those were traits found in grown men!!! Yeah, it was a fun time to be alive in, but also a time you in today’s world will reflect upon with a certain “smirk” on your face and think “dang, glad I’m not like that anymore”. Well, lo and behold, Switzerland’s Sin Starlett is one of those bands that still, here in 2022, gladly choose to return to the hey-days of early British heavy metal, pulling not only their look straight out of the Maiden/Saxon/Priest/Leppard handbook, but also musically are stealing with arms and legs from such classic albums as “Strong Arm of the Law”, “High’N’Dry”, “Hell Bent For Leather” or “Killers”. There are obviously way worse places to pull your inspiration from, and as a tribute to those early 80’s classics, “Solid Source of Steel” is close to hitting the big jackpot, proven clearly by such tunes as the fun “Streetlight Domino”, the epic “Rule or Obey”, the speedy “Waves of Hamartia” or the title track which just rocks hard on every single cliché as evidenced by the accompanying video.
https://youtu.be/_3FrCnB0CzE
93. Preincarnation – Incarnation I
Opening strong with a very cool riff in “Qandisha”, that sounds like a mixture of Zep’s “Kashmir” and something that would have been perfect on the Sons of Apollo albums, this German prog metal band is clearly born of the “old school”. I hear traces of Poverty’s No Crime, Conception, Ivanhoe and Vanden Plas, I hear parts that aren’t too far from more laid-back acts such as SubSignal or Enchant, and of course there are the usual Fates Warning and Dream Theater influences creeping in … actually, the more I think of it, Threshold is probably the closest comparison to this, both in the general mood and songwriting, and especially in the keyboards and guitar interactions. All of it done very well, and enhanced by the strong vocals of Deibys Artigas Venegas, reminding me of Jeff Scott Soto mixed with Ronnie James Dio. From what I can find on the mighty interwebs, he is of Venezuelan descent, and only a special guest on this album … I sure hope that they will find a way to make him stick around. There’s a lot of diversity on the album, and not any weak moments as such. The only thing that doesn’t place this higher on my list, is the fact that it’s just waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too long of an album. It’s 15 songs / 66 minutes long, and that’s at least 3 songs too much when they are this dense in structure. Had this been a shorter album, I would have appreciated it more, I’m sure.
https://youtu.be/VsO-tcsCPnY
92. Wolfheart – King of the North
By now I would think that I’ve made it abundantly clear that the melo-death genre and I parted ways years ago, and only very few bands even get a tiny piece of my time these days; yet it’s 2022, and not just one but several melo-death bands find their way onto my top 100 list, including Finnish band Wolfheart. Quite surprising to be honest, especially considering neither of the bands that are the basis for Wolfheart (Beyond the Dawn and Dawn of Solace) ever did much for me, nor did any of the previous 6 Wolfheart albums. However, occasionally you can allow yourself to be surprised, and in the case of “King of the North” I must admit finding myself pleasantly enamored by what’s on display here. Sure, it’s all built upon a basis of classic melo-death, but with a great balance between harsh vocals and great melodic ones, not too dissimilar to countrymen Amorphis), and a great use of keyboards and pianos (check out the piano in “Knell” or intro to “The King”), lifting it up to something that works for me, which isn’t often in the genre. Occasionally the band falls into the trap of what I’d refer to as the “battle metal” formula often used by bands such as Amon Amarth, with its annoying repetition of a pounding beat throughout larger parts of a song – it is in those moments where I just want to throw this whole genre away, but luckily there’s much more to Wolfheart that that. A few interesting choices in guest vocals, courtesy of Jesse Leach (KillSwitch Engage) and Karl Sanders (Nile) adds a bit of flavor to the album, and overall, I must say that “King of the North” is a more than solid effort, in a genre I normally wouldn’t give the time of the day.
https://youtu.be/VdiDYcqhENg
91. Osyron – Momentous
Very late to join the list, and hence the poor placement. Don’t get me wrong though, this is a great album, and I’m sure it would have ended up much higher on the list had I been able to spend more time with it. However, I didn’t hear about this album until early December, and with a busy month ahead of me, I just wasn’t able to squeeze in enough time to really decide where this one would fall in the overall standings. “Momentous” is apparently the 3rd full-length album of Osyron, a band I never heard of before, even though they play the kind of “prog-power” I really enjoy. There’s a nice blend of technicality, melody, aggression, and polish here; musically I’m reminded of bands such as Myrath, Into Eternity, Kamelot, Flotsam & Jetsam, Ascendia … and even a few “folk”-style influences. I wish I had been given more time to get into it, but that said, there’s no doubt for me that I’m going to spend a lot more time with this album in the coming months, and I’m very curious to see what these guys can come up with on the next albums.
https://youtu.be/rRUDqbhrlMY
90. Sleepwulf – Sunbeams Curl
Sleepwulf is a very cool Swedish/Scottish retro hard rock band with quite the occult lyrics to match the dark gloomy atmosphere, musically nested somewhere between old school Black Sabbath doom, Hexvessel's folksy retro spirit, early Spiritual Beggars fuzzy stoner rock, some Soundgarden crunch (no, I didn’t say “grunge”), and a bit of Danzig mannerisms on top. The songs take their time to unfold; there’s no rush in anything the band does, and it makes for a smooth ride throughout both the album, as well as within each individual tune. A great example of this is “Man Under the Mountain”, which plods along in a slow and steady (and yes, “slow and steady” are used in the lyrics for this tune, what gives?) tempo for half the song, then a nice solo comes in, before the song finally changes its tonality a tiny bit, which is enough diversity to keep it interesting. And so, it works with most of the album, which I feel speaks as a testimony to the band’s songwriting skills. There are some serious killer tunes on here, with “Sex Magic Manifestation”, “Satan is King” and “Tyrant Song” (there’s a bit of blues-feel to this one) being the most obvious ones, but with that said, it’s not an album I’ll be spinning every day of the week - it’s a bit too “fuzzy” for my taste in places, and when the 37 minute long album is over, I’m fine with giving it a rest for a while before I can go back and relisten.
https://youtu.be/YQQWWy7a4SY
89. Trauma – Awakening
San Fransisco’s Trauma will always be best known for having released one demo in 1982 with a certain Cliff Burton on bass – whatever else has happened, and will happen, in the history of this band is a mere footnote in the annals of heavy metal. What a shame though, as this band clearly has more to them than just being the original starting point for the later immortalized Metallica bassist, evidenced by the fact that multiple great musicians has been in and out of the band over the years, from ex-Flotsam & Jetsam Michael Spencer, ex-Testament Greg Christian, ex-Vicious Rumors vocalist Brian Allen or Dublin Death Patrol guitarist Steve Robello, and more importantly by the fact that their latest album “Awakening” has plenty of thrash-anthems, superb solos and lots of melodies. Sure, there are no members left in the band from that famous ’82 demo, and only drummer Kris Gustofson is left from the ‘84 debut album “Scratch and Scream”, but regardless of that, Trauma sounds like a band that obviously grew up in the scene, and still kicks ass. There are melodies that hints at the softer side of thrash/speed/heavy like Annihilator, Heathen or Vicious Rumors (songs like “Falling Down”, “Death Machine”, or “Walk Away”), but there is also some awesome Bay Area style thrash not unlike Forbidden, Vio-lence, Hirax, or Death Angel’s earlier outputs (check out songs like “Burn”, “Blind”, “Death of the Angel” or “End of Everything”). It’s not a perfect album though – a few times it begins to miss the point and just circle around the same musical themes again and again, and it also leaves a lot to be desired in the production department if I’m being honest. That said, “Awakening” is an album worth checking out if you enjoy thrash metal, and while it might not have you waving your arms in the air with joy, at least it should convince you that Trauma is more than just the band that in which Metallica discovered Cliff Burton.
https://youtu.be/nRy50HYOyM0
88. Ronnie Atkins – Make It Count
This is more like it - I enjoyed last year’s first solo album from Pretty Maids vocalist Ronnie Atkins but found it a bit too light and not "metal" enough. This time around the song writing stands sharper and there are a few hard rocking tunes, not too far removed from current Pretty Maids (well, 2000 and forward). However, starting out with “I’ve Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)” that wouldn’t have been misplaced on any of the 1992-1996 ‘Maids discs, is a smart choice, and it honestly feel familiar (in a good way) from the first note. From there on, this is an album with many ups (“Rising Tide”, “Blood Cries Out”, “The Tracks We Leave Behind” and the astonishing alum finale “Make It Count”) and only very few downs (“Let Love Lead the Way” and “Remain to Remind Me”). It's not a perfect album, but much better than I had expected considering the direction of "One Shot", and Ronnie has been, is and will always be one of my favorite vocalists!
https://youtu.be/UKCxU_JA-RE
87. Volturian – Red Dragon
Let’s face it, these are the songs that weren’t good enough to be used on the Frozen Crown albums, and Federico (or perhaps his record label) didn’t want them to go to waste and instead put together Volturian as an official outlet for those tunes. It’s not bad – by no means are the quality lesser than any other releases in the genre in 2022 – but compared to how awesome I think Frozen Crown is, this just falls a bit flat. I already hinted at this in my review of the debut Volturian disc (“Crimson”) two years ago, but I’ll re-iterate it here just once more; I’m not a fan of Amaranthe, and it seems like these songs falls close to that territory (which is probably why they wouldn’t work for Frozen Crown), which is to say female-fronted pop-goth-styled melodic power metal infused with tons of synths and just a hint of melo-death. Okay, the melo-death element is much more downplayed this time around than on the debut, so let’s skip that reference and instead call it synth-ballad-power-gothic-metal, huh? That sounds about right to me – very cheesy and quite cliché all the way through. Then why on earth do I have it on my list? Well, first it’s very well done for the genre (as in, way better than most anything released within this commercial branch of metal), and secondly, I’m a man-whore for anything Federico puts together. He is such a talented songwriter and guitarist, and I just can’t help enjoying his projects. Between this and Nocturna, Federico has been keeping himself busy this year, and while neither band reach the levels of Frozen Crown nor Be the Wolf in my book, it’s always good to hear material from his hands.
https://youtu.be/YrY8LsByTrc
86. Monuments – In Stasis
You know those kinds of albums that have you excited when they are first released, and then just disappear into oblivion? You play them multiple times a day for a short while, and then you forget all about them and they just end up collecting dust on the shelves (if in physical form) or becomes unused bytes of data on your computer. Well, for me “In Stasis” is one of those. This is Monuments’ 4th full length album, and first with their new line-up (new vocalist, main guitarist gone, and original drummer rejoining the band). I was truly excited about the singles and when the album first came out, it reminded me of the time (not so long ago) when the djent scene was at its very best – combining syncopated thrash metal, the aggression of hardcore, the melodies of metalcore and lots of progressiveness. To put some comparisons in play, “In Stasis” resembles Periphery at their best, some of that spirit from the first few Tesseract albums, a pinch of Sikth, a hint of Veil of Maya, a nod to Architects and a riff or two stolen from Meshuggah. The album has amazing musicianship, big melodies, a killer production … and unfortunately not very long staying power with me. I don’t know why, as it has almost everything I would want from this genre, including that crunch-factor that makes it feel a bit “dangerous” (something I feel djent has moved away from over the last decade) – when they stick to this djent-style, they are among the very best in the genre, but when they cross over into metalcore they sound mediocre, and perhaps that’s part of why the album just faded away from me. That said, I think Monuments is one of those bands that potentially could deliver a true masterpiece, unfortunately “In Stasis” is not it.
https://youtu.be/VEViBL1LN-0
85. Star One – Revel in Time
Once again Arjen tends to abide by the “too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen” formula and unfortunately the use of ~20 different vocalists make it end up sounding like just another Ayreon disc, whereas the original 2 Star One albums only used 4 singers. And honestly, not all the choices here on “Revel in Time” are that great; I'm tired of listening to Mike Mills’ whiny voice on every Arjen disc these days (yes, he is good at what he does, but he does the same thing every single time), and why on earth does Ross Jennings (Haken) need to be featured here? He flat out sucks. I bought the 2-disc version, and there are certain songs I prefer from the bonus/alternate album because of the choice of singer, such as the title song (Brandon Yeagley sings on the normal version, whereas John Jaycee Cuijpers totally rules on the alternate version), opener “Fate of Man” (Marcelo Bovio is a way better vocalist than Brittney Slayes), or even the “Lost Children of the Universe” (I know it’s heresy to say this, but I actually prefer Tony Martin’s version over Roy Khan’s … sorry). I'll admit that the first listen didn't sit well with me, but I've been through the album quite a lot of times by now and it gets better with each listen. There are a few songs I could give-or-take, but most of Arjen’s songwriting is on a level other people can only hope to achieve one day, and that’s what makes every release from his hands so special (well, except that last clusterf*** of an album, “Transitus”, which was marred by overuse of vocalists, poor narration, and too many start-stop-moments). Yes, this is better than that last Ayreon disc for sure, but it's not as amazing as the first two Star One albums.
https://youtu.be/6ADV7NYDfQs
84. Wind Rose – Warfront
There are certain “gimmicks” I’ve never found attractive to me in bands, and one of those are bands that try to look “medieval” or like “straight-outta-MiddleEarth”. Now, combine that with “dwarfism” (what the heck?) and you get Wind Rose! Obviously, that gimmick is completely wasted on me, it’s a little too much (yes, pun intended), and I don’t even find that kind of concept funny in the slightest. Since some claim size doesn’t matter (ehmmm…), I will choose not to hold the dwarf-aspect against these Italian troubadours, and instead just focus on the music which, truth be told, is exceeding my very low (okay, once again, pun intended!) expectations by a billion and a half. This is epic, bombastic, and symphonic power metal, pulling in the best of Rhapsody of Fire (“Fellows of the Hammer”, “Tales of War”) and Manowar (“Gates of Ekrund”), with a tiny bit of Blind Guardian (“Tomorrow Has Come”) splash of Nightwish (“Together We Rise”) and a dusting of Symphony X (“I Am the Mountain”). Sure, not something we haven’t heard before, but it’s executed masterfully, and there aren’t many (if any) wasted moments on this album. Perhaps this isn’t a music genre that really tickles my fancy these days, but when all is said and done, the “Warfront” album (btw, does that sound like a Sabaton title, or what?) is a huge surprise, and one of the best albums in this specific sub-genre in years. The best things come in small packages, right?
https://youtu.be/nHXUkZmvEJE
83. Theory – Obsidian Haze
In 2017 Danish progressive metal band Theory's debut album "The Art of Evil" made it to #33 on my top list of the year - quite impressive for a new band in a genre full of bands all sounding the same. Well, 5 years later they follow it up with the all-important sophomore disc, the "make it or break it" album. So, the question is if "Obsidian Haze" meets the expectations or not ... well, the jury is still out on that to be honest, as I've been having a hard time digesting the album, and therefor is unable to say if it's better or not than the debut. The placement ~50 spots lower on my list this year, should already paint you the picture, right? What I will say, is that it's still the exact same kind of music, which is a mixture between Symphony X and Beyond Twilight, with a singer who has a great voice for the genre, although he sometimes sounds to be going too much for the "Angry Russ" style that Russell Allen have used on most of the SymX releases in this decade. Production-wise it's quite okay, it's supposed to sound thick and heavy, and it accomplishes that, but at the same time it's also obvious that it's not a big time million-dollar production. Considering that vocalist Niklas Sonne (Defecto, Malrun, Evil Masquerade, Wasted, etc.) has his own studio, I'm sure that's where they've recorded this, and it honestly is a great sounding independent release. This album has a lot of crunch and heaviness to it, and those who love that in their prog metal (as mentioned Symphony X, Beyond Twilight, parts of Dream Theater, Adagio, and DGM would be the best comparisons) should be in for a treat. My main issue, and reason for still not having figured out if it is better than the debut, is the lack of memorable hooks. There are plenty of the “wow, did he just play such a phenomenal guitar solo?” or “dang, that’s a smooth bassline”, but there’s not a lot of “yes, now comes the part I can sing along to” – It might seem a bit ridiculous to judge an album on those premises, but sometimes I enjoy some “sing-along” in my prog-metal, and especially when you want to be compared to the giants of the genre.
https://youtu.be/J0_nVRUovi8
82. Satan – Earth Infernal
After 6 albums (10 if you count the one as Blind Fury and the three as Pariah … which you should, as it really is the same band), I’m sad to report, that it finally feels like the formula is running a bit thin here. I’ve been a fan of these guys since the first time I heard them back in the mid-80’s, and followed them through their various incarnations, with their surprising return to the scene in 2013 (followed with now 4 albums) having been a very welcomed re-introduction to an old friend. Where the last 3 post-reunion albums have all been great, “Earth Infernal” seems to have “lost that loving feeling”, in that the energy level has diminished, the songwriting become somewhat uninspired, and Brian Ross started to sound like the 68-year-old man he is. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of good stuff to be found here (such as “The Blood Ran Deep”, “From Second Sight” or “A Sorrow Unspent”), but it’s nowhere near as immediate an album as practically anything else these guys have done over the years. Certain songs (“Burning Portrait”, “Poison Elegy”, “Ascendency”) comes off as unfocused, and yet other (“Twelve Infernal Lords” and especially “Earth We Bequeath”) should have been thrown aside in pre-production phase. Also, the production of the album sounds quite muddy and lacks any kind of punch, which is shocking considering it’s the same producer (David Curle) who has been responsible for all the releases since the 2013-reunion. Either way, musically this is of course unmistakably Satan, it’s a band I hold in very high regard, and even if this might be one of their lesser releases, “Earth Infernal” has seen plenty of playtime around here.
https://youtu.be/oo_1aycngUY
81. Ring of Fire – Gravity
There are certain albums that you immediately, from first note of the first single, realize has something magical about them, and “Gravity” to me is one of those. I’ve always enjoyed Mark Boals – an incredible accomplished vocalist with a huge vocal range spanning 4 octaves – but to be honest, his Ring of Fire albums has always left me kind of cold. That said, the moment I laid my ears on “Storm of the Pawns” I knew something unique was going on, and although it felt a bit disjointed at first, I kept listening … and listening … and listening again. That song is a masterclass in progressive, part neo-classic, progressive, symphonic, progressive, bombastic and did I mention progressive heavy metal? I had not expected this from Ring of Fire, and I knew that Vitalij Kuprij (keyboardist extra-ordinaire, and Mark’s songwriting partner here in RoF) and Mark had once and for all created that one album I hoped they had hidden in them. There’s a standing joke about neo-classical metal, which is that since all the songs are basically rehashes of classical greats, it’s impossible to write a bad song in that style, and while that might be true, the moment you start blending progressive metal into the genre, it’s easy to fall into the trap of losing the melody. Luckily Boals and Kuprij keeps it real here, and with new guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) helping with both the songwriting and production, there’s no doubt that on a musical level everything is top-notch here. Songs like the aforementioned “Storm of the Pawns”, the heavy “Melanchonia”, the speedy neo-classical “Run for Your Life” or the catchy “21st Century Fate Unknown”, are just a few examples of the songwriting quality here. The big surprise though is the ballad “Sky Blue” that I kept revisiting trying to find out which song it was that it reminded me of; one of my friends said it sounded like Saigon Kick’s “Love is on the Way” (which is totally does), but I kept hearing something else though … suddenly I realized it was Annihilator’s “Phoenix Rising” … and those two songs, aren’t something to be ashamed of being compared to. Now, considering how many times I’ve listened to this album (and it’s A LOT) and all the nice words I have to say, why the heck is it placed all the way down towards the bottom of my list? Well, truth be told, as much of a Boals-fanatic that I am, there are places here where he sounds flat, places where it seems like he is reaching for a note that he perhaps doesn’t really have in him anymore (after all, the dude is 64 years old, so come on…), and worst of all, the production really is boring and sucks the life out of the music. I know Aldo can do great stuff, not just as a guitarist but also as a producer, but here he really let the band and himself down, as this production just doesn’t appeal to me. Like I started out by saying, the music here is magical, and it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed a Ring of Fire album this much. Every single song is perfect for the genre (progressive neo-classical metal), but the result is lacking that extra punch to escalate this up into the higher rankings for me.
https://youtu.be/eYINs6HY_f0
80. Fit for an Autopsy – Oh What the Future Holds
Normally I wouldn't be picking up a deathcore album unless it was super progressive, but there was something about the singles for this album that kept pulling me back. I purchased the album and after multiple spins I can honestly say that I’m loving 95% of it. Yes, I will never understand the incessant need for these “core breakdowns”, but luckily those aren’t the focus for Fit for an Autopsy”. Instead, the music is very melodic for the style, and occasional it ventures into some tech/prog territory which suits the music well. This isn’t your standard Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, or Job for a Cowboy kind of deathcore, with unintelligible lyrics, another breakdown waiting to crush the flow of the song around every corner, or blast beats constantly hammering into your brain. There’s so much melody here, and between Joe Badolato’s very emotional vocal approach and the triple guitar attack of Will Putney, Tim Howley and Pat Sheridan, this band is as original as one can be in a genre that normally I would stray far away from. Check out the video for the song “Far from Heaven” and you’ll quickly realize what I’m talking about – oh, and as much as I was saying how breakdowns can ruin the flow of a song, that breakdown towards the end of the song (at the 4:05) mark is just absolutely genius, so my negative perceptions on breakdowns can fly right out the window here. I can honestly say that “Oh What the Future Holds” is one of the best deathcore albums I've ever bought, only to be surpassed by … well, that’s for further up my list, and you’ll see if you read through it all
https://youtu.be/OEicHBvqd2Y
79. Atomic Symphony – Hybris
Switzerland has had a lot of good releases over the last couple of years, which is wonderful considering that the country once was only known for Coroner, Samael, Celtic Frost and Krokus when talking about hard rock/metal – with bands like Eluveitie, Miracle Flair, Deep Sun, Cellar Darling, Ad Infinitum and now Atomic Symphony, the country of the high alps, milk chocolate, Heidi, cowbells, st.bernard dogs, and cheese, has now established itself as home for multiple great female fronted metal bands. Opening their second full length release “Hybris” with the 10-minute tune "Nightfall" is a bold, but perfect, move, as this song displays everything great about Atomic Symphony; heavy progressive metal of the old school with lots of elaborate musicianship (show-offs
), and fronted by Jasmin Baggenstos. Her voice on “Nightfall” is great, not operatic at all, which makes it less typical than what you'd expect from a female fronted prog band. It's a heavy tune, with a good deal of Symphony X and Dream Theater to it, but also something a tiny splash of doom / crunch (almost has a Memento Mori vibe in places). Lots of melodies in it, that should keep prog-metal purists happy. The album continues with the equally (okay, 2 minutes longer) epic “Oath Taker”, which possesses the same qualities as the aforementioned, and here Jasmin reaches for a bit more of a “standard” opera-metal voice, without ever crossing completely over. I feel like she could (!) go full opera if she wanted to, but luckily, she sticks to only occasionally touching upon that style throughout “Hybris”. The entire album is strong, and I like it a lot. Only issues I have with it, is that it's just too short (5 songs + intro, 43 minutes), and why not include the equally great "Enslaved" tune which was released as a stand-alone in 2021 since you were already going that way (2 of the other tunes on the album had already been released as stand-alone singles in the past few years? Atomic Symphony is one of the few classic-style prog metal bands that keeps it interesting, and I’m very much looking forward to following them in their future endeavors.https://youtu.be/Or8p5oD8fCc
78. John Norum – Gone to Stay
I don't know what I was expecting ... most of John's solo albums have been slightly boring except for the first two (“Total Control”, 1987 and “Face the Truth”, 1992), but somehow, I keep investing time and money in his releases. I think the fact that he is very smart in how he chooses which order her releases his lead-singles plays in here, because the first single "Sail On" is brilliant! Super cool classic rock throwback with a thick Led Zep meets Deep Purple vibe. Second single “Voices of Silence” (think Whitesnake meets Gary Moore, with a touch of Black Sabbath to it) was great as well, and obviously I was hooked. Unfortunately, not all the album reaches the same potential, and that’s where “Gone to Stay” loses a bit of its edge. 45 minutes of classic, bluesy hard rock must be engaging all the way through to keep my attention, and a few of the songs here just aren’t cutting it. There are a bunch of good-to-great tunes here, (“Norma”, “Gone to Stay”, “Terror Over Me”, “Voices of Silence”, the moody “Lady Grinning Soul” or the very laid back and overly bluesy version of “Face the Truth”, the title track from John’s second solo album 30 years ago), but nothing quite as amazing as that first single, and that’s why I’m not moving this album further up my list. While there's no denying what a fantastic guitarist and songwriter John Norum is, I think it's safe to say that I'm waiting impatiently for another Europe album, as it’s his cooperating skills with Joey Tempest that fascinates me the most.
https://youtu.be/yaLH6TtOXas
77. Sabaton – The War to End All Wars
“The War to End All Wars” is yet another strong album, just as we’ve come to expect from Sabaton by now. It’s kind of fun to think that I used to hate them with a vengeance. Up until their 2014 album “Heroes” I always thought they were a lousy Nightwish clone with a singer who was so bad that he wasn’t even worthy of cleaning Lemmy’s face-warts! Okay, that was mean, towards both Lemmy and Joakim actually, and luckily, I’ve come around on Sabaton and Joakim’s vocal prowess over the years. From the get-go of “Stormtroopers” we know what this is all about, and you can obviously count me in for the ride. Now, here’s the first little issue I do have with the album; apparently the CD (physical) version of the album includes an additional tune in form of an “intro” which actually is a very cool ~5-minute song, that bookends the album together with final tune “Versailles” (both of similar spoken-words-with-sung-choruses type built over the same melody). To not include that on the digital release is highway robbery of the worst kind. Now, couple that with the fact that the third (or second if you only have the digital version) song on the disc, “Dreadnought”, is just a bland tune far from the quality of the rest of the album, there sure are a few negative things about “The War…”. However, when all is said and done, these dudes are on a roll, and I can’t get enough of such energetic tunes as “Hellfighters”, “The Unkillable Soldier” or “Lady of the Dark”, that are just perfect for running or working out.
https://youtu.be/b4vj_WB5w_k
76. Sede Vacante – Conium
A new band made up of Finnish and Greek musicians lead by a female vocalist … It must be symphonic metal, right? Well yes and no – sure, there are the usual Nightwish/Epica/Within Temptation references here and there, but mostly it’s a darker version of power metal, that just happens to be fronted by a female singer. To be honest, it sounds more like something I would have expected from a band like Tad Morose, Evergrey, Mob Rules or Serenity, or perhaps the first few Lacuna Coil albums before they took a turn for the commercial side of metal. It’s full of great melodies (“Dead New World”, “Melancholy Bleed”, “Mistaken”, and the guitar solos (“Conium”, “Walk on a Lie”…) are outstanding. There’s a sense of gothic melancholy to the album, perhaps in a Therion kind of way, without ever going over-the-top symphonic … more restrained if that makes sense. Musically it’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but it’s well-done, and vocalist Stephanie Mazor is a great find for the band, as her voice is strong and full of personality, and refrain from any operatic craziness. It’s powerful, melodic and suits the music very well. And YES!!! They create a friggin’ amazing cover version of Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black”. I’ve always felt this was the perfect song to create covers of ever since W.A.S.P. covered it in 1984, Vicious Rumors in 1994, and especially Grip Inc in 1995. It’s been covered by everyone and their brother, from Marduk to Thunder, from Ministry to Malmsteen – and while some were great, others were … ehmmm … well, you know. However, I’m happy to say that Sede Vacante nailed it, by making it their own; extremely dark and atmospheric, and highly original, which immediately elevates the quality of this, already very good album. Are there any issues with the album that prevents me from moving it higher up? Sure, a lot of the songs does end up sounding quite alike, and on a 50-minute affair, that might be a bit too much of the same. But the promise of future masterpieces is there, and I’m very curious to see where Sede Vacante goes next.
https://youtu.be/NQ3SopTh1ZE
