Top Ten 2014

[Wyvern]

Is the time of the year again. The regulars know the drill, and for the newbies basically is to post your top 10 (20, 25, whatever) albums, songs, concerts, DVDs, and anything else related to METAL.

Anyone can comment on any other person list as long as is not to drop a bomb, being annoying or so. So any post that the mods deemed as offensive or irrelevant to topic will be eliminated on sight.

And as usual I'm not going to post mine until Dec 31. Not sure about the positions 10-20

P.S After some posts are made I'm going to put it in the sticky section.

 

[poundingmetal74]

For me, 2014 was a great year. A lot of bands had fantastic returns to form.

1. Protokult - No Beer in Heaven (Absolutely killer folk metal release, incredibly unique band)
2. Skid Row - UWR: Ch 2 (Another fine EP harking back to their classic material)
3. Allen-Lande - Great Divide (IMO their best yet)
4. Edguy - Space Police (Their best album in years!)
5. Work of Art - Framework (Killer slab of melodic hard rock in the vein of Shy and Toto)
6. Unisonic - Light of Dawn (Heavier than the debut and about as good)
7. Hammerfall - Revolution (Sounds like their first couple of albums )
8. Echo Temple - The Fall (Prog metal ala Symphony X with Z-Lot-Z's singer)
9. Primal Fear - Delivering the Black (IMO their best in a decade)
10. Wolf - Devil Seed (Not bad, but not their finest work)
11. Steel Panther - All You Can Eat (Not their best, but still has some great songs)
12. Astral Doors - Notes From the Shadows (This cemented me as a fan, great disc)
13. Shaft of Steel - S/T (Great AOR/Hard Rock in the vein of Shy, would be rated higher but it's just a 4 song EP)
14. Nightmare - The Aftermath (They're back writing some of the heaviest riffs in melodic metal)
15. Ace Frehley - Space Invader (Almost as good as Anomaly)

Honourable mentions:
Brainstorm - Firesoul (Solid return to form with a fine production)
Gus G - I Am the Fire (A pretty good solo album sort of the vein of DE/Firewind)
Mr. Big - The Stories We Could Tell (Haven't heard enough to judge, but initial impressions are good)
Jaded Heart - Fight the System (Need to listen more but initial impressions were good)
Riot - Unleash the Fire (A decent continuation of the last, new singer sounds like Moore)
Gamma Ray - Empire of the Undead(Some great tunes on here)

Interviews this year:
Jess Harnell (famous voice actor, Rock Sugar)
George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob, KXM)
Helge Engelke (Fair Warning, Dreamtide, Zeno)
Geoff Tate (Queensryche, 2nd time)
Marty & Kat (Protokult)
Michael Wilton (Queensryche, Soulbender)
Pat Torpey (Mr. Big)
Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple, Yngwie, Rated X)
Rich Ward (Fozzy)
Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Blue Murder, Ozzy, Rated X)

Anticipated for 2015:
Tommy Heart Solo album (Fair Warning's singer)
Tony Mills - Over my Dead Body (Initial impressions are this will be a very Siam-sounding album)
Skid Row
Queensryche
Theocracy
Megadeth
Metallica
Sweet-Lynch & Tooth and Nail
Geoff Tate (I'm willing to give this trilogy a chance, but am not holding my breath)

 

[mdmatt4ever]

i might not be able to post mine until mid january. too many things released this year that i still need to hear

 

[SoundMaster]

My FAVORITE concert, by far, was King Diamond in early Oct. He simply slayed….it was an unreal experience.

my 15 fav albums of 2014, in no order:

Anathema - Distant Satellites
Ace Frehley - this new album KILLS!
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Ian Anderson - Homo Eraticus
The Skull - For Those Which are Asleep
California Breed
Tempel - on the Steps of the Temple
Tesla - Simplicity
KXM - KXM (this is the project featuring Dug Pinnick and George Lynch)
Red Zone Rider
Mostly Autumn - Dressed in Voices
Uriah Heep - Outsider
Red Dragon Cartel
Winger - Better Days Comin'
Accept - Blind Rage
Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie

I'm probably overlooking some...

I have, but have to listen to:
Devin Townsend - Z2
Lande / Allen
Rated X

Slightly disappointed by:
Priest
Slough Feg

 

[mdmatt4ever]

here is my rankings so far but i have a ton of stuff left to listen to.

1 rich robinson- the ceasless sight
2 chris robinson brotherhood- phosphorescent harvest
3 sebastian bach- give em hell
4 los lonely boys- revelation
5 jack bruce- silver rails
6 willie nelson- band of brothers
7 tom petty- hypnotic eye
8 john mellencamp- plain spoken
9 tesla- simplicity
10 stevie nicks- 24 karat gold
11 prince- plecrtuc electrum
12 sanctuary- year the sun died
13 mr big- stories we could tell
14 ac/dc- rock or bust
15 accept- blind rage
16 red dragon cartel- self titled
17 black label society- catacombs of the black vatican
18 california breed- self titled
19 lenny kravitz-strut
20 prince- art official age
21 billy idol- kings and queens of the underground
22 exodus- blood in and blood out
23 dave davies- rippin up time
24 night ranger- high road
25 hellyeah- blood for blood
26 winger- better days comin
27 KXM- self titled
28 david crosby- croz
29 bob seger- ride out
30 ace frehley- space invader
31 judas priest- redeemer of souls
32 johnny winter- step back
33 rubicon cross- self titled
34 ted nugent- shut up and jam
35 bruce springsteen- high hopes

 

[Platinum Maze]

I always feel my list gets smaller each year. I definitely do not listen to as much stuff as I used to.

My #1 album of the year:

Sanctuary - The Year The Sun Died. This just grew on me and I fell in love with it. I have seen people say it's just a Nevermore album. Yeah, it kinda is, but I'm not sure what they expected them to sound like 25 years later.


Others (in no order):



Loudness - The Sun Will Rise Again, adding this after the fact (Jan 8) because I thought they were actually still working on it, and it's been out since June (oops). Got it last week, and pretty sure it's my #2 of the year. To me, it's the most accessible and melodic they've been in years.
Accept - Blind Rage, solid album that I thought was better than Stalingrad.
Opeth - Pale Communion, a huge step up from Heritage.
Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia, one of the best shred fests I've heard in years.
At The Gates - At War With Reality, only heard this a half dozen times so far, but it rips.
Marty Friedman - Inferno
Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls, way too long, but I like it more than I thought I would.




Exodus - BIBO, yes, I am biased, but I thought the switch back to Zetro was a step in the wrong direction. Though I did love the track "Wrapped In the Arms Of Rage."
Flotsam - No Place '14, wasn't sure what to expect but did not expect "unlistenable."
KXM - as much as I love Lynch, I do not like Kings X, and that was what ruined it for me...

 

[TageRyche]

I see a lot of stuff on everyone's list so far that I've listened to, or in some cases won't listen to, my list will be out soon.

Poundingmetal74 - I liked the Unisonic CD overall, but it didn't make my list and I don't think it was as good as the first one. Hated the cover art.

Soundmaster - California Breed is on my Want List, and I was NOT disappointed by Judas Priest. You have three on your list that will make my list and one of those has my choice for best cover art this year. I was really disappointed by the Red Dragon Cartel CD even though it did feature one of the best rock tracks of the year "Redeem Me" (with Sass Jordan on vocals).

MdMatt4Ever - We share 6 albums in common (both metal and non-metal given the makeup of your extensive list). Seven albums if you count Red Dragon Cartel which won't be on my Top 10 list. There are two albums on your list that I have on my want list - California Breed and Bob Seger.

Platinum Maze - We have 2 albums in common.

 

[mdmatt4ever]

I see a lot of stuff on everyone's list so far that I've listened to, or in some cases won't listen to, my list will be out soon.

Poundingmetal74 - I liked the Unisonic CD overall, but it didn't make my list and I don't think it was as good as the first one. Hated the cover art.

Soundmaster - California Breed is on my Want List, and I was NOT disappointed by Judas Priest. You have three on your list that will make my list and one of those has my choice for best cover art this year. I was really disappointed by the Red Dragon Cartel CD even though it did feature one of the best rock tracks of the year "Redeem Me" (with Sass Jordan on vocals).

MdMatt4Ever - We share 6 albums in common (both metal and non-metal given the makeup of your extensive list). Seven albums if you count Red Dragon Cartel which won't be on my Top 10 list. There are two albums on your list that I have on my want list - California Breed and Bob Seger.

Platinum Maze - We have 2 albums in common.

what are the 6 albums we have in common? i use some other factors when determining what makes an album great. for instance rich robinson got high marks because imo it was so much better then his other solo releases that i gave him high marks in the way he raised his level of artistic excellence while california breed was imo the worst hughes related release in a long time. had hughes not just released 3 great albums with BCC i might have ranked california breed higher.

i still have a ton of stuff to listen to including:
rated x
pink floyd
jerry lee lewis
ian anderson
lynch mob
slipknot

my final list might bot be ready until late january.

btw the springsteen release is actually really good even though i have it last. i put it last because its more of a collection of stray songs from 1995-present then an actual new album

 

[carnut]

Not sure i even can come up with a top 5...
Albums I liked a lot were Blues Pills and The Skull.
For the rest; not that much I'm afraid....Probably missed a lot

 

[Wyvern]

OK, I think nothing will change much in the next few days. So I break my own protocol and post it now.

Heavy Metal

1. Grand Magus - "Triumph And Power"

2. Savage Messiah - “The Fateful Dark”

3. Battleaxe - “Heavy Metal Sanctuary”

4. Gross Reality - “Overthrow”

5. Unisonic - “Light Of Dawn”

6. The Dagger - “The Dagger”

7. Falconer - “Black Moon Rising”

8. Primal Fear - “Delivering The Black”

9. Sister Sin - “Black Lotus”

10. Turbo - “The Fifth Element”

11. Hammerfall - “(r)Evolution”

12. Blatant Disarray - “The Harbinger”

13. Hirax - “Immortal Legacy”

14. Project Arcadia - “A Time Of Changes”

15. Allen/Lande - “The Great Divide”

16. Freedom Call - “Beyond”

17. Riot V - “Unleash The Fire”

18. Wolf - “Devil Seed”

19. Astral Doors - “Notes From The Shadows”

20. Air Raid - “Point Of Impact”

21. Death Penalty - “Death Penalty”

22. The Scintilla Project - “The Hybrid”

23. Jaguar - “Metal X”

24. Striker - “City Of Gold”

25. Monument - “Renegades”

26. Steel Prophet - “Omniscient”

27. The Skull - “For Those Which Are Asleep”

28. Ring Of Fire - “Battle Of Leningrad”

29. High Spirits - “You Are Here”

30. Alestorm - “Sunset On Golden Age”

31. Sabaton - “Heroes”

32. Gus G. - “I Am The Fire”

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Hard Rock and Progressive Rock/Metal

1. Transatlantic - “Kaleidoscope”

2. Yossi Sassi - “Desert Butterflies”

3. Saracen - “Redemption”

4. Nazareth - “Rock’N’Roll Telephone”

5. Kruk - “Before”

6. Pink Floyd - “The Endless River”

7. Jordan Rudess - “Explorations”

8. Manigance - “Volte-Face”

9. Mindmaze - “Back From The Edge”

10. Transatlantic - “Kaliveoscope”

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Stuff that didn’t made or bought in time to be ranked before Dec 31

· A Sound Of Thunder - “The Lesser Key Of Solomon”

· Avenger - “The Slaughter Never Stops”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Concerts

1. Time’s Forgotten (five times).

2. The Analog Kids.

3. Indigo.

4. The Electric Creatures.

5. Sin Paredes (three times).

6. Angel Sin Rostro.

 

[KMADD]

Some of these might have been recorded before 2014 but i just picked them up this year soo..
1. Cannibal Corpse-A Skeletal Domain
2. Triptykon-Melana Chasmata (man really close 2nd, killer stuff!!)
3. Wolvhammer-Crawling Into The Black Sun (man i really love all this post bm stuff from chicago)
4. Insomnium-Shadows Of The Dying Sun
5. Behemoth-The Satanist (kinda of a return to his old bm sound)
6. Ramming Speed-Doomed To Destroy, Destined To Die (killer new school thrash band saw em this past year at a house show it was one of the best shows I've seen in my life, no joke)
7. Origin-Omnipresent
8. Erhima-Reign Through Immortality (killler bm from canada i can't believe they are on victory records)
9. Pathology-Throne Of Reign
10.Immolation-Kingdom Of Conspiracy

 

[carnut]

Ok, my mini-list, mostly progrock I'm afraid:

1) A.C.T - Circus Pandemonium
2) Druckfarben - Second Sound
3) The Samurai of Prog - The Imperial Hotel
4) Blues Pills - Blues Pills
5) The Skull - For those which are asleep

 

[TageRyche]

My personal Top 10 CDS of 2014 read like this:

All Genres Included

1. Sabaton - Heroes

2. John Mellencamp - Plain Spoken

3. Accept - Blind Rage

4. Kix - Rock Your Face Off

5. Uriah Heep - Outsider

6. Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls

7. Joe Bonamassa - Different Shades of Blue

8. Lone Justice - This is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983

9. Ronny Munroe - Electric Wake

10. Night Ranger - High Road

ROCK AND METAL ONLY

1. Sabaton - Heroes (Nuclear Blast Records)

2. Accept - Blind Rage (Nuclear Blast Records)

3. Kix - Rock Your Face Off (Loud & Proud Records)

4. Uriah Heep - Outsider (Frontiers Records)

5. Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (Epic Records)

6. Ronny Munroe - Electric Wake (Rat Pak Records)

7. Night Ranger - High Road (Frontiers Records)

8. Winger - Better Days Comin' (Frontiers Records)

9. Tesla - Simplicity (Tesla Electric Co.)

10. Overkill - White Devil Armory (EOne Music)

 

[Assault_Attack]

I thought I posted this..........

allen-lande - The Great Divide
Sanctuary - The year The Sun Died
220 Volt - Walking In Starlight
Riot V - Unleash The Fire
Primal Fear - Delivering The Black

Threshold - For The Journey
Farmikos
Project Arcadia - A Time Of Changes
Red Zone Rider - s/t
California Breed - s/t
Judas Priest - Redeemer Of Souls
Vanden Plas - Chronicles Of The Immortals - Netherworld

 

[mdmatt4ever]

i need to get that red zone riders album

 

[kuier]

I know its late but I have been meaning to post this since December, but life as we know it gets in the way. Overall nothing really kicked me in the nuts.

Top 10 in no particular order:

7HY (Seven Hard Years) - No Place in Heaven - Ex-Shy Alan Kelly's band ... solid rock
Priest - Redeemer of Souls - Still deciding. Not shooting my lights out
Winger - Better days Comin - Not bad
Free Spirit - All The Shades - Responsible AOR in the vein of Bro Firetribe
AC/DC - No surprises but no Big Jack
Tesla - not bad either
Riot - Unleash the Fire - Sentimental
Texas Hippie Coalition - Ride on - Solid release with some cringeworthy lyrics.
Magnum - Escape ... - Best release since their reformation, on par with 11th Hour
Ace Frehley - Space Invader - Harking back to '78 sound. Cool Joker cover


Other noteworthies:

Kix - Rock Your Face Off
Phil Rudd - Head Job
Uriah Heep -Outsider
KXM

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Riot V: Unleash the Fire Japanese
Judas Priest: Redeemer of Souls 2cd
John Steel Featuring Blaze Bayley: Freedom
Accept: Blind Rage Japanese
Opeth: Pale Communion
Angra: Secret Garden 2cd Japanese
Grave Digger: Return of the Reaper
Kirk: Masquerade
Loudness: Sun Will Rise Again Japanese
Ten: Albion

 

[Platinum Maze]

Just like a month ago when I discovered that Loudness was released back in June, last week I came across another album I forgot was coming out back in September. That album was a side project by Mike LePond of Symphony X called "Mike LePond's Silent Assassins." For my tastes, this album has it all... including leads by both Metal Mike and Michael Romeo, as well as some of the SICKEST vocals I've heard in recent years supplied by Alan Tecchio, formerly of Hades and Non-Fiction. I highly recommend checking this out.

so to recap, here's my top 3 and then the rest:

Sanctuary - The Year The Sun Died
Loudness - The Sun Will Rise Again
Mike LePond - Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins
----------------------------------------
Accept - Blind Rage
Opeth - Pale Communion
Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia
At The Gates - At War With Reality
Marty Friedman - Inferno
Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls

 

[Wyvern]

Mike LePond - Mike Lepond's Silent Assassins
----------------------------------------

Downloaded that one months ago. I haven't been able to get it, indeed sounds very heavy and energetic.

 

[Bryant]

Accept - Blind Rage
Vanden Plas - Chronicles of the Immortals
Red Circuit - Haze of Nemesis
Overkill - White Devil armory

Bryant