Best albums of 2020
Highlights
1. "War at the Edge of the End" - "Deadly heavy metal killer riffage"
2. "Ravening Iron" - "Trve metal mastery"
3. "Worms of the Earth" - "Battering ram metal"
The new Stryper album "Even The Devil Believes" is packed with singer Michael Sweet’s astonishing vocals.Oz gritty guitar riffs and tastefully flashy guitar solos and Strypers great rythmsection and awesome background vocals.The album mixes the best elements of the classic era, with the band's more modern, heavier side.
Highlights
1. "Blood From Above" - "Fast and majestic album opener"
2. "Do Unto Others" - "Heavy and bombastic with a stadium chorus"
3. "Invitation Only" - " Infectious melody".
Highlights
1. "Resurrection Man" - "Dark, imaginative, and super heavy"
2. "Gears" - "Adrenaline triggering groove".
3. "Checkmate" - "Crunching massive riffs"
Highlights
1. "Money Shoot" - "(in a pornographic film) a sequence in which an actor ejaculates."
2. "Kick You When You Are Down" - "Killer riff that get your head bopping back and forth."
3. "Witch´s Spell" - "Classic AC/DC chugging rhythms and Johnson’s raw, wailing vocals"
I tought H.E.A.T. was over and done with their 2017 release "Into The great Unknown" where the band experimented with their signature sound adding blip blop sounds and dance beats. But H.E.A.T. got up at the referee's count of 9 and delivered their best album ever H.e.a.t. II.
Highlights
1. "Adrenaline" - "Chockfull of earworm hooks!"
2. "Rise" - "Big arena choruses".
3. "Dangerous Ground" - " A V8 engine starts up and off we go"
Highlights
1. "Children of the Next Level" - "This is the mastery of true thrash metal veterans"
2. "Curse of Osiris" - "Razor-sharp guillotine riffs with black metal howls"
3. "Dream Deceiver" - "Aggressive yet melodic earworm".
L.A. Guns (Steve Riley /Kelly Nickels) Delivers the sleaze of the classic L.A. Guns era. Great songwriting and good production. L.A. Guns (Lewis/Guns) latest album "The Devil You Know" (2019) have some good songs but lacks in the production department.
Highlights
1. "Renegades" - "Catchy with a driving through a desert feel and anthemic chorus"
2. "Well Oiled Machine" - ""Great driving song, fire up the engines".
3. "Crawl" - "Groovy and gothic"
Canadian guitar phantom Jeff Waters spits out the best Annihilator album in years.Infeasted with killer leads, riffs and face melting guitar solos. Jeff Waters is the Eddie Van Halen of Thrash metal.
Highlights
1. "Psycho Ward" - "Distant cousin to "Stonewall" from Never Neverland"
2. "Dressed Up for Evil" - "80´s Thrash with modern feel ".
3. "Armed To the Teeth" - "Thunderous and Edgy"
Canadian metal vanguards Unleash the Archers.released their strongest album to date. Singer Brittney (Slayes) Hayes is a mezzo-sopran with a four octave range.
Highlights
1. "Faster Than Light" - "Fast and furious" 2. "Soulbound" - "Full of intensity and majestic bombast" 3. "Through Stars" - " Truly mesmerizing"
Highlights
1. "Music" - "After the aeons of new age "yoga" intro music there is a great song"
2. "How´s the Heart" - "Atmospheric and hook infeasted"
3. "Noise" - "Endless Forms Most Beautiful Vibe"
Best Albums of 2016
1.Metallica - Hardwired ... to self-destruct
Metallica are back with a vengeance!!
Disc 1 is almost flawless and opens up with the titel song it´s a fast thrasher with Megadeth vibes. "Atlas Rise" is mighty and heavy with a catchy verse. "Moth To A Flame" is another standout track with heavy riffage and it´s menacing groove.
Disc2 It's too long, with too many tracks that go nowhere. But those songs that do work are good . "ManUnkind" and "Murder One" are substandard .The closing thrasher "Spit Out The Bone" are killer..
Disc3 Cool Metallica rarities and the superb '"Lords of Summer"
2. Megadeth - Dystopia
Dystopia is chockfull of thought provoking lyrics, machine gun precision guitar riffs and soaring lead work with new bloods monster drummer Chris Adler (Lamb of God) and Brazil guitarist Kiki Loureiro. Megadeth's best album in ten years is a fact, the title track is already a true Megadeth classic.
3.Burning Point - The Blaze
Burning Point drafts singer Nitte Valo (ex. Battle Beast) who have lungs of steel, a female Rob Halford with superb power and Burning Point are now playing in the Elite League.
"Master Them All" a speedy and high octane melodic track which really shows off the vocal talents of Nitte Valo.
4. Testament - the Brotherhood of the Snake
The albums is a three headed snake thrash attack!
Title track is a true thrash storm with adrenalizing, crushing riffs, shredding, blast beats and great thrash vocal delivery and is a primer for everything that follows.
5. Lugnet - Lugnet
Christina Lindberg in her "Frigga" regalia (Thriller - They Call Her One Eye) are pointing relentlessly at you from the album cover before you get knocked out by the hard "All The Way" that takes the wind out of your "Sails"
The midnight clock strikes mercilessly in heavy "Veins" that echo Black Sabbath Tony Martin era. "Tears in the Sky" got an early Whitesnake feel .Catchy "It Ain't Easy" sounds like a hungry Deep Purple before the dices roles in "Gypsy Dice" . There's a storm brewing "In The Still Of The Water" and "Into the Light" brings you into eternity ..
6. Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
The album is a big, dragon-headed longship that sails straight into the mouth of Valhalla.
Highlights are fast "First Kill" with guitars sounding like a swarm of bees and the metallic onslaught of "One Against All" the heavy riffer "At Dawns First Light".
7. Killswitch Engage - Incarnate
Incarnate has intricate rhythmic guitar playing and brain-splitting riffs with a rhythm section that locks it down hard.
"Hate By Design" is very heavy and super catchy has a chorus is worthy of a sing-along. "Strength of the Mind" classic Killswitch on steroids. "Until the Day" up-tempo and bombastic with 80s metal influences and a chorus fit for stadiums
8. Serious Black - Mirror World
Sci-fi cinematic intro introduces you to the melodic/power metal in "As Long As I'm Alive" a fast paced track with a catchy chorus and superb vocals, "Castor Skies" has a perfect mix of melodic/power and progressive metal elements. Great twin guitar attack trough the album trading licks on the solos e.t.c.
9. Inglourious - Inglorious
Title track opens with uber-heavy guitar riffage and has a great arena chorus, the massive riff and groove in "You Are Mine" get your body to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The Hammond orgy in "Until I Die" and the great vocal effort sets the agenda of the album.
Solid straight up hard rock album with passion and power. Last in Line is the band line-up from the three first Dio albums joined by Andrew Freeman vocals. Highs are the epic "Starmaker" and fast "Martyr".
