Yup, it's that time of year again. I've been relistening to everything from the past year that I reviewed, and I have to admit that it was a pretty solid year. However, as I was comparing and sifting these albums, these are the five that stood out the most to me. Putting them in order from fifth to first was quite the challenge as well, as they're all pretty good.
Of course, some pretty good stuff had to get dropped. While HammerFall and Hammer King put up good efforts, they didn't quite make the cut, as I think there were better power metal performances this year. Beriedir was another close one, but it couldn't make its way in. It's just my opinion, but I really do think these five are the ones that edged out everything else, so here's my Top 5 of 2022!
While this band may have come from the remains of Astra, they have carried on their classic, spacy prog rock sound. Filled with great 70s atmosphere and neat little guitar noodles, it's a great album for letting music just surround you so that you can soak in it.
This is probably the first surprise of my list. While this list did have some solid competition, I couldn't deny that Herman Frank, David Reece, and company had really put together a solid classic metal album. With so much classic metal experience on board, perhaps it was inevitable, but it was never a guarantee it would be this good.
In terms of prog metal, there were some splendid music, but I think Borealis stood out more than the others. Between the songwriting and the production, this album is lush and layered in a way that really brings out the emotions. Very bombastic and cinematic, I knew this one was going to be in my top 5 when I first heard it.
I admit I'm still pretty new, relatively speaking, to these German legends of power metal, but with their latest album, it's quite clear that they aren't all just whimsical fantasy ballads. They really brought the heavy but they didn't lose an ounce of their epicness, making for one of the best power metal albums of the year, and I know I'm not alone in that.
Better than HammerFall? Better than Sabaton? Better than Blind Guardian? Yes, I really do think so. For a debut album, these guys do a lot of things right, making me think of the classic 90s sound of Helloween and Gamma Ray, and as such, it hits all the right notes for me. While I know the two guys on the project have other bands to work in, if they decide to make a follow up to this, it will definitely get my attention!
Well, that was certainly not easy, and now that there's a new year upon us, I have to do it all over again! Seriously, though, it's been fun doing this year after year, giving me an opportunity to check out what's new and to champion what I think is the best!
Looking ahead, things are already feeling pretty stacked. Twilight Force, Arctic Rain, Lovebites, Rick Wakeman, Kamelot, and of course Metallica, there is plenty more to look forward to. It's starting to feel like I don't have enough time to really give them all justice!! However, I plan on continuing to plug along, so I'll get to them when I can. Until then, rock on! \m/
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