0. "Album title" Band (Genre) [score out of 10]
description. Recommended tracks: (If any particularly stand out.)
1. “Behind the Demon's Eyes” Hellwell (Progressive/Epic Heavy Metal) [9]
I guess I judged Hellwell to soon. After hearing a track off “Beyond the Boundaries of Sin” I thought, ‘Eh, progressive metal Manilla Road with keyboards, not digging it.’ and moved on. So at the end of 2017 I finally went on Manilla Roads youtube page and gave this album a full listen and was really surprised at how great this album was. It reminds me of “The Courts of Chaos” but a lot better overall.
2. “Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence” Gigan (Progressive/Technical Death Metal) [9]
It actually took me a few listens to get used to this album. To the casual listener it probably won’t seem all that different from previous Gigan albums. But its whole tone feels like a deep brooding anger, while the past albums gave off more of a raw power and intense energy. It’s still a great album but I probably won’t play it nearly as much as the past Gigan releases. Overall the song were written, and the new vocalist was good and fit the album well.
3. “Midnight Rider” Metalian (Heavy/Speed Metal) [9]
The bands that come to mind when listening to this are Lord Fist & Judas Priest played with high energy.
4. “The Guillotine” Vulture (Speed/Thrash Metal) [8]
The album is front loaded with the first 3 tracks being amazing, and the rest being good but forgettable in comparison. Recommended Tracks: “Vendetta”, “Clashing Iron”, and “Triumph of the Guillotine”.
5. “Bring The Magik Down” Riddlemaster (Folk Rock/Epic Heavy Metal) [8]
Kind of sounds like current Manilla Road mixed with Mark Shelton’s solo album and a little bit of early Manila Road. Recommended Track: Lair Of The White Witch
6. “Dawn Of Genesis” Legionnaire (Heavy Metal) [8]
Overall a very good album, the riffs remind me of Slough Feg. However the Vocals are a little wonky and there seems to be some production issues on the final track.
7. “Something Wicked This Way Comes” Thunderstick (Hard Rock/Heavy Metal) [8]
I was really surprised at how good this album is. Usually NWOBHM bands releasing new albums tend to sound either modernized or really stale. This album actually felt like it could have been released back around the end of the 70’s early 80’s. Recommended tracks: "Dark Night Black Light", "Go Sleep with the Enemy (I Dare Ya)", "Lights (Take Me Away)"
8. “Motherless” Trial(Swe) (Heavy Metal) [8]
Another strong album by Trial. The material on “Motherless” is about the same as “Vessel”, but it didn’t quite have the same impact on me that “Vessel” did.
9. “When Colors Fade Away” Blackfinger (Doom Metal) [8]
Overall a pretty good album, but it was kind of disappointing since it didn’t have the same melancholic folk that the last album had mixed in throughout the album. This album felt more like Eric Wagner’s other band The Skull. So while its still a good album it’s just not as special as the self titled was. Recommended tracks: “When Colors Fade Away”, “ My Old Soul”, and “Waiting for the Sun”.
10. “God of the Deep Unleashed” Wrathblade (Epic Metal) [7]
A good album but I expected more considering how great “Into the Netherworld's Realm” was, and the length of time that’s past since its release. “God of the Deep Unleashed” songs aren’t as varied as its predecessor and all kind of blur together. The shorter song lengths also don’t help the album, as it feels like its rushing you through. The previous album was 6 minutes longer and had one less song and was paced much better. Short song lengths just don’t work very well with the epic metal style.
Recommended tracks: "Sheer Vengeance Will Out Upon Thee (God of War Pt. II)", and "Vaunted Pride".
11. “No Warning” Venomous Maximus (Heavy/Doom Metal) [7]
I really liked this album a lot, unfortunately there are two tracks that are just keyboard noises and two weak acoustic tracks. And those tracks just really hurt the album as a whole. If you cut those tracks out and added one or two more Heavy/Doom tracks this would have been a much more solid album and would have placed a lot higher on my list. Recommended tracks: “Spellbound”, and “Return of the Witch”
12. “To Kill a King” Manilla Road (Epic Metal) [7]
I enjoyed it more than “The Blessed Curse” but overall felt like a pretty standard modern Manilla Road album. There’s not a whole lot of outstanding moments, and Bryan Patricks performances lack any enthusiasm and he sounds really board on most of the tracks he sings. I saw Manilla Road live again this year and hearing Bryan Patrick in concert all I could think was,‘why can’t he do that on the studio recordings’. If he brought as much energy as he had live it really could have taken this album up a notch. Recommended Tracks: “Never Again”, and “Blood Island”
13. “Visions in the Night” Lethal Night (Heavy Metal) [7]
The title track is really what caught my attention. Overall an ok album but the band could use improvement overall. Steven Villa has a great voice but he still needs to practice singing more.
14. “Architecture of a God” Labÿrinth (Progressive Power Metal) [7]
The album is front loaded and full of wonky keyboard segments. Everything after “Someone Says” is really forgettable. Recommended tracks: “Bullets”, and “Take On My Legacy”
15. “Dawn Of Ages” Arduini/Balich (Progressive/Doom Metal) [7]
The music is great, but while Butch Balich’s is a good singer I just don’t like his voice. I kept feeling I would enjoy this album a lot more if it was just an instrumental album.
16. "The Depths" Cover of Night (Atmospheric Black Metal) [7]
It really felt like more of a black metal EP buried in about 16 minutes of soft instrumental sections. The soft parts while not bad don’t really add much to the experience. The best part is the first two tracks which are really well crafted.
Recommended tracks: "Wind Catches Sail", and "Open Ocean"
17. "Anointing" Lo-Ruhamah (Progressive Death/Black Metal) [7]
This was kind of a difficult album to rate. It had some brilliant moments scattered throughout it, but ultimately I felt the compositions as a whole weren’t that compelling. But the album does have a great atmosphere, and unsettling lyrics that are very well written. So I would recommend listening to at least once.
18. “Mirror Reaper” Bell Witch (Funeral Doom Metal) [7]
Good but very dragged out and minimalistic.
19. “Lightning Strikes the Crown” - I R O N F L A M E – (Power Metal) [7]
Overall a decent album. All the songs are good but nothing outstanding.
20. “Twisting The Blade” Stereo Nasty (Heavy Metal) [7]
Overall a decent album. All the songs are good but nothing outstanding.
21. “Cloaks of Oblivion” Eruption (Thrash/Power Metal) [7]
A very front loaded album, all the tracks after “Drones” are just dull.
Recommended Tracks: “Sanity Ascend”, “ Cloaks of Oblivion”, and “Drones”
22. “Loviatar” Loviatar (Atmospheric Doom Metal) [7]
23. “Urraca” Sunless (Progressive Death Metal) [7]
The music was pretty strong but the whispered growls didn’t compliment the music well.
24. “Wall of Sound” Marty Friedman (Progressive Rock/Metal) [6]
I’ve heard various tracks by Marty Friedman but this is the first of his solo albums I’ve listened to all the way through. He is a great guitar player but the compositions on this album are pretty bland, and all over the place in a bad way.
25. “Slaves of Fate” Fire Strike (Heavy Metal) [6]
Overall a solid album but nothing special.
26. "Turm am Hang" Horn (Black Metal) [6]
The first track caught my attention but the rest of the album was just ok. Recommended Track: "Alles in einem Schnitt"
27. “Will of the Strong” White Skull (Power Metal) [6]
This is the only White Skull album I’ve heard besides “Public Glory, Secret Agony”, and my feelings a pretty much the same. It has its moments but overall it’s just fairly standard euro power metal and just doesn’t hold my attention for very long. So while a decent album there are many other bands playing the same style that I enjoy much more. So I feel I gave White Skull a fair chance so this is probably the last album I check out by them.
28. “Collective: The Shape of He to Come” Botanist (Experimental/Post Black Metal) [6]
I feel like the saying, ‘too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth’ applies here. This is the first Botanist album where the live members were involved in the recording, and it really
doesn’t have the feeling that the solo Botanist albums had.
29. “Far From Light” Lunar Shadow (Epic Heavy Metal) [6]
The guitar melodies are really outstanding however the rest of the band just is isn’t as competent. The vocals are acceptable but need work. The drums are just dull and the production on them just makes them feel really flat. During the slow parts of the album the performances are good but as the tempo picks up things start to sound really sloppy. But with practice and maybe a few lineup changes this could be an incredible band.
30. “Emblem” Emblem (Epic Heavy Metal) [6]
Musically a very strong album, however the vocals are bad and really detract from the enjoyment of the music and got more irritating as the album went on. With a better vocalist this could end up being a really great band.
31. “Truth in Legend” Burning Shadows (Power Metal) [6]
Similar to the problem I had with Emblem’s album. Vocalist needs improving, music was good but nothing outstanding.
32. "Anomie" Violet Cold (Post Rock/Atmospheric Black Metal) [6]
The title track was the most outstanding piece on the album and reminds me of Panopticon. However the rest of the album just wasn’t as interesting.
Recommended track: "Anomie"
33. “Ascetic Eventide” Pure Wrath (Atmospheric Black Metal) [6]
The first track caught my attention but I lost interest as the album went on. I gave it a few listens but my opinion didn’t change. Overall a decent album but nothing particularly outstanding.
34. EP "Enlisé" Malebranche (Atmospheric Black Metal) [6]
35. EP “Iron Guard” Cromlech (Epic Doom Metal) [6]
This was a big disappointment. If I didn’t know this was new material I would have assumed it was from a rough demo made before Ave Mortis.
36. "Sci-fi/Fantasy" Book of Wyrms (Stoner/Doom Metal) [6]
The highlight of the album is the hypnotic rhythmic sections and vocal patterns. Unfortunately the music just doesn’t sound as proficient during the solos.
37. "The Wolf" Resurrect Tomorrow (Thrash/Speed Metal) [6]
Not bad, but overall could use improvement.
