Top 5 of 2024!!

This year as a tough one, as there were a lot of solid albums.  The top three were figured out fairly early on in the past month, but after that, it took some serious consideration to round out the rest.  Judas Priest's Invincible Shield had a decent shot of making it, as well as Nightbound by Find Me, which started to grow on me, despite the production.  I also really enjoyed Lovebites's EP II, but decided that I shouldn't really compare it to a full album.  In the end, I was able to whittle it down to these five albums of 2024 that stood out from the rest!

5. Paragon - Metalation

This was definitely the toughest spot to fill.  As I relistened to this year's albums, I started to wonder if I could pick one from the list at all.  However, I found Paragon's new slab of chunky riffs to be what helped it squeeze in.  It's not as good as Controlled Demolition was, as these songs are a little sillier, but it's a pretty consistent album across the board, and that counts for a lot.

4. Firewind - Stand United

I know there were some power metal albums I never got around to this past year, so it might be a bit cheeky to say Firewind's latest is the best one of 2024, especially as I wasn't expecting too much after their self-titled album from a few years ago.  However, once I recognized that they had slipped into more of a heavy/power blend, I found Stand United to be a solid album, and Herbie Langhans's vocals have really settled in well for the band.

3. Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks - True

It took more than a few listens, but I was finally able to really assess this album on its own.  While it's certainly aping the classic sound of my favorite band, and I do think the songs in the middle drag it down, it can't be denied that Jon has found something pretty magical with these Geeks.  "Once Upon a Dream" alone put this album in the Top Five!

2. DGM - Endless

This year's surprise!  When their last album felt lukewarm, a let down from my winner of 2020, I wasn't sure what to make of this band.  So when I was treated to a pleasant kick-in-the-head in the form of some very 70s prog that was played with energy, I knew this was going to be a contender for the Top 5 list.  "From Ashes" still puts a smile on my face!

1. Monkey3 - Welcome to the Machine

DGM might have taken the year if it weren't for this one.  While I do think that Sphere was a better album, I can't deny this groups infectious tone and energy.  Giving their psychedelic rock a slight mechanical feel helped to shake things up, but otherwise, it was business as usual, as this band continues to impress with their dynamic song-writing and dense atmosphere.  

Article Archives!

This is just a quick post to point out a new section on the right.  I now have a category for pages that collected articles of similar types.  So far, I've only got the two, one for all those Anniversary Articles I spent the last five years writing, and the handful of Retrospective Articles I've pulled together over the years.  I'll do my best to the Retrospective one updated as I continue to make those.

Meanwhile, I'm still working out what my Top 5 will be for 2024, and it's not been easy.  At the same time, I'm planning to do another series of articles where I talk about the Top 5 of years past, going by fives like I did for the Anniversary Articles.  So in February, expect to see a Top 5 for 1970, and then in March a Top 4 for 1975 and so on.  Naturally, my Retro Reviews are going to be full of albums as I listen to as much stuff as I can for each year, so keep an eye out for those as well.

I maybe changing what content I make, but I still see myself trucking on for the next five years, listening to and talking about all the melodic rock and metal I listen to.  There may be even more surprises in the future, but we'll see what I can get to.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

New Releases - 2024 Wrap-up!

Alright, one last chunk of reviews to wrap things up.  After this, it's time to listen to everything again to figure out what my Top 5 of the year is, and there certainly are some contenders in this article!  I've focused on melodic metal much more for this one, but they're all from bands I've enjoyed before, and they're carrying on without too much to slow them down!  Here's what I've decided to check out for the rest of 2024!

Lovebites - Lovebites EP II

So I admit I'm kinda confused by this title, as this is technically their fourth EP (going by Metal Archives, anyway).  Based on the cover art, it might just be a sequel to their first EP, but what that means, I honestly don't know.  I decided to relisten to their entire discography before getting into this, and it really is amazing to hear just how consistent these girls are in the quality of their songs.  While Electric Pentagram remains my favorite of theirs, all of their albums have highlights, and this remains true for this EP.

Things start high with the opener "Unchained," which is some typical (and by that I mean good) power metal from them.  "Soul Defender" follows up well, leaning into some US power metal feeling with the chuggy riffs.  Then next comes "Where's Identity," which is straight up Bay Area Thrash, and probably the best song on the album, wildly enough.  However, the last two tracks aren't quite as good.  "The Bell in the Jail" has this strange groove going through it, and seems to have been inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and "Someone's Dream" sounds like their attempt at a Helloween style song.  It's not bad, just not as strong as the earlier tracks.  Overall, though, they maintain their high standard by providing another handful of high energy metal, and as a big fan of this band now, I don't think I could ask for anything more (except maybe a full album next time).

DGM - Endless

Well, this was certainly a pleasant surprise!  While I definitely liked Tragic Separation when I heard it, subsequent listens have shown that it might not be as strong as I first thought, and when Life turned out to be mostly fine, if underwhelming, I was concerned that this band was starting to slip in quality.  So I was pleasantly surprised when they decided to dive deeper into prog!

And when I mean prog, I mean full on hammond organs and flute solos from the 70s.  It's like they decided to go back to their roots and influences, making for a very surprising and satisfying album.  Sonically, the album finds itself close to the melodic side of Dream Theater, with some keys from IQ, and an uplifting tone like Neal Morse's solo work.  While the band's lineup remains the same, they clearly made some changes to their approach compared to their last few records (which largely felt like a fusion of modern prog metal with AOR-style choruses).  This time, it's like they decided to throw out their templates and just explore what they felt good about, filling the album with songs full of energy and excitement!  Seriously, I was smiling through most of this album as I was listening to it for the first time!

Things start of very proggy with "Promises," mostly being an instrumental jam, before going full-on prog with the dynamics on "The Great Unknown."  Even when they bring back their usual sound on "Final Call," it's broken up with a rather moody digression that builds quite well.  "The Wake" brings in some darkness to shake things up, and the 14 minute closer "...Of Endless Echoes" is all of this wrapped together in a wonderful musical journey.  However, the highlight for me was "From Ashes," with it's energetic start and cheerful lyrics.  I couldn't help but smile the entire time it was on!  Overall, this was a delightful surprise, as the band seems to find new life by bringing in some classic prog ideas to freshen up their sound.  Top 5 contender for sure!!

Dream Evil - Metal Gods

After reviewing a few of their albums, I've decided to skip ahead to their newest one, squeezing it in between these other new releases.  However, they haven't changed much, drifting into a style that's more traditional metal than power metal, much like how HammerFall have been for the last decade or more.  While listening to it, I thought of both the Saxon and Judas Priest albums I heard early last year.  Still, for those who don't mind a layer of cheese with their metal will find themselves headbanging through the album.

While the band is solid (and there are some interesting guest guitar solos), most of their strength comes from their vocalist Niklas Isfeldt, who belts out these campy lyrics with authority.  I think he's aging well, sounding a lot like Biff Byford in most of these songs, giving them the right amount of drama to be fun without sounding like a parody.  The lyrics are pretty typical "overcome the challenge" stuff, with equal focus on horror and fantasy.  It may feel like they're sticking to their formula, but they execute it well.

The album starts well with the title track, a tribute to the classic metal that inspires them.  "Chosen Force" is a solid follow up, and things get more power metal with songs like "The Tyrant Dies at Dawn" and "Born in Hell," the latter of which neat riffing that makes me think of classic HammerFall.  The rest of the album is solid, but it's easy to let each track slip by as the album goes on.  As much as I like this band and their brand of fun, this year has some tough competition, so I don't know if will stand out enough to get into my upcoming Top 5 article at the end of the month.

Paragon - Metalation

Good grief, has it really been five years since their last album?  Where does the time go?  Controlled Demolition ended up being a sleeper hit for me back in 2019, and while I doubt they've been resting on their laurels since then, I have had to be patient in waiting to see what Paragon would do to follow up that massive, crushing slab of heavy/power metal.  They've got a new drummer on board, but they've clearly picked up right where they left off.

Because I haven't been doing the Videos articles anymore, I haven't taken the chance to check out any singles, so I went into this pretty blind.  Happily, I found plenty that reminded me of their previous album, but I admit I was looking forward to that.  As usual, the band is full of chunky riffs and rhythms, the solos by Christian and Bertram range all over the place from melodic to shreddy (and include a few from Piet Sielck of Iron Savior, who I guess has been working with this band for a very long time), and vocalist Andreas Babuschkin brings his gritty charm to the songs.  They continue their unique blend of styles, taking the grit and energy from Accept and giving it a bit of a power metal boost in epicness.

The songs themselves are pretty consistent, though "MarioNET" goes by in a blink, and the later songs "My Asylum" and the title track drop the energy for the sake of more anthemic songs.  They're not bad, aren't as strong as where they began, starting with the high energy "Fighting the Fire," which carries on with "Batallions."  Meanwhile, "Beyond the Horizon" goes for more of an epic doom approach, making me think of Sorcerer's work.  Overall, it's another decent chunk of metal, and while I don't know how much this one will grow on me, I know I'll be giving it more listens to see if it lands on my Top 5.