My Top 25
#1 Mercenary - 11 Dreams --- The disc of the year for me. It's a varied disc that contains some serious metal, along with some mid tempo stuff, and even a ballad. This disc is not death metal, so don't write it off based on that notion. I think it's a mix of Evergrey/Children Of Bodem/Nevermore. Some of the vocals here and there are along the lines of CoB. Glenn, please bring these guys back for PP6. They are no longer an oddball
People will eat it up !!!
#2 After Forever - Invisible Circles --- Spent a good long time as my #1 of the year. This is my favorite of the female led bands. Floor Jansen mixes pure singing along with some operatic parts here and there. The death singer is who I really enjoy though. He sings in a style similar to Akerfeldt from Opeth. It's death vocals but he can be understood. Concept album. One negative of this disc is some dialogue that inserted to help explain the story. The voice actors are awful. Still, it doesn't really affect my overall enjoyment of the disc.
#3 Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi --- Most of you folks know this one. This is a great power metal band with one hell of a singer. Urban Breed is one of my very favorites, and Tad Morose is right at the top of the power metal heap.
#4 Magnitude 9 - Decoding The Soul --- I'm guessing a lot of you have this on too. I think it's M9's best, and contains tunes which are very catchy to my ears. Corey Brown is consistantly great, and Rob Johnson's guitar playing is always a highlight.
#5 Vision Divine - Stream Of Consciousness --- This has been in my top 5 for a good long while. It's my kind of metal. It's mainly power metal, with some progressive tendencies here and there, and also employs use of the keyboard quite frequently. The singer is excellent, although he might not be for everyone.
#6 Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion --- This was a big suprise for me. I've evolved. Two years ago I would have been appalled by this band because of the serious death vocals found here and there. Now it doesn't bother me when mixed with other styles that I like. Excellent technical guitar playing as well, and choruses that are catchy as hell.
#7 Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake --- It isn't very often I get into newer American mallcore metal or whatever they call this stuff. If you ask me it sounds like old school Pantera/Megadeth/Slayer, with a really gruff and angry sounding vocalist. The vocals wotk for me though, and although he's gruff you can understand exactly what he's saying.
#8 Orphaned Land - Mabool --- Cool disc. It's really unique. It's mostly a progressive metal disc, but OL also employs a death metal style vocalist to go along with a clean vocalist. It's a concept based on Noah's Ark. For me the first half of the disc is about as good as it gets, the second half is merely good. If it wasn't for some lulls here and there we'd be talking all-time classic in my book.
#9 Jag Panzer - Casting The Stones --- This is my 2nd favorite Jag disc. Thane To The Throne and it's Mac Bethian theme still resides in the top spot. CTS is really solid from the opening track to the ending track. It's an easy listen for me because it basically rocks hard, and doesn't contain any bullshit.
#10 Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden --- As the year went on this one kept dropping. I rarely yearn to play this one now. Still, this is a really well done disc, and oozes quality. It would have been much higher had the year ended 6 months earlier. Tim Owens deserves some major cudos for fitting into IE so well.
#11 Evergrey - The Inner Circle --- Another good disc from Evergrey, but for me it's not up to the level of the last three Evergrey discs. It's a bit too light musically in parts, and it seems that another quality tune should have been placed on this disc somewhere. I used to call the ending instrumental/spoken word tune, filler. I don't feel that way now. I rather like the ending.
#12 Pyramaze - Melancholy Beast --- Lance has himself a winner here. Things worked out real well after his split with BoP. BoP is still enjoyable with their new singer, John K, and Lance has hooked up with an extremely talented power metal outfit. I think most of the regular here would like this one.
#13 Megadeth - The System Has Failed --- Excellent comeback for Dave Mustaine. The disc is hit and miss though. The first half is excellent, the 2nd half is forgettable. Still, a pretty damn good disc.
#14 Mystic Prophecy - Never Ending --- Oooh, one of the more unheralded power metal bands on the planet. These guys are close to that Tad Morose and Brainstorm elite crowd, but it seems nobody knows of them. It's power metal done real well. The singer is really good, but has a rough sounding voice. He reminds a bit of Ronnie Munroe , the new singer of Metal Church. The themes are pretty dark as well. Lots of evil stuff.
#15 Silent Force - World's Apart --- I think this is my favorite SF disc. This is closer to DC Cooper's solo effort than the past couple SF discs. The Judas Priest love fest seems to be over, and that's a good thing. Actually these guys are yet to make a bad album, but this is the first one I really, really liked. DC is one of the best.
#16 Ayreon - The Human Equation --- There are some excellent moments on this double disc, but it's a long listen in one sitting. I like the first disc the best. Overall this disc is more rock than metal. It's not very heavy. It does contain one of my favorite tunes of the year though -- Trauma -- which includes some death vocals from Mickael Akerfeldt.
#17 Mantcora - 8 Deadly Sins --- This one has been growing a bit on me. I actually quite like it after almost shelving it. Manticora will remind you of older Blind Guardian, with maybe some Iced Earth mixed in. Cool disc though -- concept album -- about deadly sins and the stigmata or some shit.
#18 Angra - Temple Of Shadows --- I like Edu's singing. He's much improved. The disc itself is pretty varied, and contains something for everyone. It's grown on me a lot the past month of so. The guitar duo is one of the best in metal today.
#19 Symphorce - Twice Second --- Andy B Franck's other band. They are a notch below Brainstorm, but they have their moments of metal bliss. This disc is rather solid, and it's my favorite of theirs since Sinctuary.
#20 Threshold - Subsurface -- More of the same, but that's not a bad thing. Threshold will never be one of my top favorites because they are not heavy enough, but when I'm in a lighter mood I reach for their discs.
#21 PC 69 - Thunderdome -- I like their last three better than this one, but it's still solid, and contains some excellent and catchy tunes here and there. Still, if you are looking to get into this band check out Electrified, or Sonic Dynamite first. If you like those work into Endangered, or Thunderdome. Good heavy rock band, with an excellent singer in David Readmon.
#22 Eldritch - Portrait Of The Abyss Within -- Italian band that has been around for quite some time. This was my first taste of their music, and it's a pretty good disc. It's a prog/power mix. No keyboards on this one if I recall right.
#23 Metal Church - The Weight Of The World --- I thought this disc was solid straight away. It never knocked my socks off, but I never found any reason not to enjoy it either.
#24 Nightwish - Once --- Another good disc from Nightwish, but I rarely find myself wanting to listen to Nightwish any more.
#25 Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree --- More of the same if you ask me. I think this one is a bit weaker than Murder Of Crows, but it's still pretty fair overall. If you liked the past two you'll probably also like this one too.
Ones that just missed the top 25
Icycore - Wetwired, Chris Caffery - Faces, Dream Evil - The Book Of Heavy Metal, Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns, and Firewind - Forged In Fire
My biggest dissapointments:
Edguy - Hellfire Club --- I'm not all that interested in these guys any more. I don't particularly like their old back catalog, and I don't particularly like this latest disc. I liked Mandrake more than anything they had ever done, and I just don't think Hellfire Club is up to that level.
DGM - Misplaced -- I had real high hopes for this one after absolutely loving Hidden Places. but I came away dissapointed. I think HP is really catchy in parts, and is solid all the way thru. This new one just isn't very catchy. It's grown on me a slight bit, bit this disc contains the occasional tune that seems to totally lack a chorus, or at least a memorable chorus. These guys are also major butchers of the english language. Read the lyrics if you want a chuckle.
Cea Serin -- This disc was hyped a lot around the internet. I think it's mainly a snooze fest and a waste of my 12 bucks. It's proggy, and wanky, and didn't do a thing for me.
Comments are definately welcomed, and expected.
Britt
#1 Mercenary - 11 Dreams --- The disc of the year for me. It's a varied disc that contains some serious metal, along with some mid tempo stuff, and even a ballad. This disc is not death metal, so don't write it off based on that notion. I think it's a mix of Evergrey/Children Of Bodem/Nevermore. Some of the vocals here and there are along the lines of CoB. Glenn, please bring these guys back for PP6. They are no longer an oddball
People will eat it up !!!#2 After Forever - Invisible Circles --- Spent a good long time as my #1 of the year. This is my favorite of the female led bands. Floor Jansen mixes pure singing along with some operatic parts here and there. The death singer is who I really enjoy though. He sings in a style similar to Akerfeldt from Opeth. It's death vocals but he can be understood. Concept album. One negative of this disc is some dialogue that inserted to help explain the story. The voice actors are awful. Still, it doesn't really affect my overall enjoyment of the disc.
#3 Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi --- Most of you folks know this one. This is a great power metal band with one hell of a singer. Urban Breed is one of my very favorites, and Tad Morose is right at the top of the power metal heap.
#4 Magnitude 9 - Decoding The Soul --- I'm guessing a lot of you have this on too. I think it's M9's best, and contains tunes which are very catchy to my ears. Corey Brown is consistantly great, and Rob Johnson's guitar playing is always a highlight.
#5 Vision Divine - Stream Of Consciousness --- This has been in my top 5 for a good long while. It's my kind of metal. It's mainly power metal, with some progressive tendencies here and there, and also employs use of the keyboard quite frequently. The singer is excellent, although he might not be for everyone.
#6 Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion --- This was a big suprise for me. I've evolved. Two years ago I would have been appalled by this band because of the serious death vocals found here and there. Now it doesn't bother me when mixed with other styles that I like. Excellent technical guitar playing as well, and choruses that are catchy as hell.
#7 Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake --- It isn't very often I get into newer American mallcore metal or whatever they call this stuff. If you ask me it sounds like old school Pantera/Megadeth/Slayer, with a really gruff and angry sounding vocalist. The vocals wotk for me though, and although he's gruff you can understand exactly what he's saying.
#8 Orphaned Land - Mabool --- Cool disc. It's really unique. It's mostly a progressive metal disc, but OL also employs a death metal style vocalist to go along with a clean vocalist. It's a concept based on Noah's Ark. For me the first half of the disc is about as good as it gets, the second half is merely good. If it wasn't for some lulls here and there we'd be talking all-time classic in my book.
#9 Jag Panzer - Casting The Stones --- This is my 2nd favorite Jag disc. Thane To The Throne and it's Mac Bethian theme still resides in the top spot. CTS is really solid from the opening track to the ending track. It's an easy listen for me because it basically rocks hard, and doesn't contain any bullshit.
#10 Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden --- As the year went on this one kept dropping. I rarely yearn to play this one now. Still, this is a really well done disc, and oozes quality. It would have been much higher had the year ended 6 months earlier. Tim Owens deserves some major cudos for fitting into IE so well.
#11 Evergrey - The Inner Circle --- Another good disc from Evergrey, but for me it's not up to the level of the last three Evergrey discs. It's a bit too light musically in parts, and it seems that another quality tune should have been placed on this disc somewhere. I used to call the ending instrumental/spoken word tune, filler. I don't feel that way now. I rather like the ending.
#12 Pyramaze - Melancholy Beast --- Lance has himself a winner here. Things worked out real well after his split with BoP. BoP is still enjoyable with their new singer, John K, and Lance has hooked up with an extremely talented power metal outfit. I think most of the regular here would like this one.
#13 Megadeth - The System Has Failed --- Excellent comeback for Dave Mustaine. The disc is hit and miss though. The first half is excellent, the 2nd half is forgettable. Still, a pretty damn good disc.
#14 Mystic Prophecy - Never Ending --- Oooh, one of the more unheralded power metal bands on the planet. These guys are close to that Tad Morose and Brainstorm elite crowd, but it seems nobody knows of them. It's power metal done real well. The singer is really good, but has a rough sounding voice. He reminds a bit of Ronnie Munroe , the new singer of Metal Church. The themes are pretty dark as well. Lots of evil stuff.
#15 Silent Force - World's Apart --- I think this is my favorite SF disc. This is closer to DC Cooper's solo effort than the past couple SF discs. The Judas Priest love fest seems to be over, and that's a good thing. Actually these guys are yet to make a bad album, but this is the first one I really, really liked. DC is one of the best.
#16 Ayreon - The Human Equation --- There are some excellent moments on this double disc, but it's a long listen in one sitting. I like the first disc the best. Overall this disc is more rock than metal. It's not very heavy. It does contain one of my favorite tunes of the year though -- Trauma -- which includes some death vocals from Mickael Akerfeldt.
#17 Mantcora - 8 Deadly Sins --- This one has been growing a bit on me. I actually quite like it after almost shelving it. Manticora will remind you of older Blind Guardian, with maybe some Iced Earth mixed in. Cool disc though -- concept album -- about deadly sins and the stigmata or some shit.
#18 Angra - Temple Of Shadows --- I like Edu's singing. He's much improved. The disc itself is pretty varied, and contains something for everyone. It's grown on me a lot the past month of so. The guitar duo is one of the best in metal today.
#19 Symphorce - Twice Second --- Andy B Franck's other band. They are a notch below Brainstorm, but they have their moments of metal bliss. This disc is rather solid, and it's my favorite of theirs since Sinctuary.
#20 Threshold - Subsurface -- More of the same, but that's not a bad thing. Threshold will never be one of my top favorites because they are not heavy enough, but when I'm in a lighter mood I reach for their discs.
#21 PC 69 - Thunderdome -- I like their last three better than this one, but it's still solid, and contains some excellent and catchy tunes here and there. Still, if you are looking to get into this band check out Electrified, or Sonic Dynamite first. If you like those work into Endangered, or Thunderdome. Good heavy rock band, with an excellent singer in David Readmon.
#22 Eldritch - Portrait Of The Abyss Within -- Italian band that has been around for quite some time. This was my first taste of their music, and it's a pretty good disc. It's a prog/power mix. No keyboards on this one if I recall right.
#23 Metal Church - The Weight Of The World --- I thought this disc was solid straight away. It never knocked my socks off, but I never found any reason not to enjoy it either.
#24 Nightwish - Once --- Another good disc from Nightwish, but I rarely find myself wanting to listen to Nightwish any more.
#25 Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree --- More of the same if you ask me. I think this one is a bit weaker than Murder Of Crows, but it's still pretty fair overall. If you liked the past two you'll probably also like this one too.
Ones that just missed the top 25
Icycore - Wetwired, Chris Caffery - Faces, Dream Evil - The Book Of Heavy Metal, Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns, and Firewind - Forged In Fire
My biggest dissapointments:
Edguy - Hellfire Club --- I'm not all that interested in these guys any more. I don't particularly like their old back catalog, and I don't particularly like this latest disc. I liked Mandrake more than anything they had ever done, and I just don't think Hellfire Club is up to that level.
DGM - Misplaced -- I had real high hopes for this one after absolutely loving Hidden Places. but I came away dissapointed. I think HP is really catchy in parts, and is solid all the way thru. This new one just isn't very catchy. It's grown on me a slight bit, bit this disc contains the occasional tune that seems to totally lack a chorus, or at least a memorable chorus. These guys are also major butchers of the english language. Read the lyrics if you want a chuckle.
Cea Serin -- This disc was hyped a lot around the internet. I think it's mainly a snooze fest and a waste of my 12 bucks. It's proggy, and wanky, and didn't do a thing for me.
Comments are definately welcomed, and expected.
Britt
