If there was a surprise this year, it was the difficulty I had in assembling this list. We all kept hearing that 2021 was going to be filled with a glut of new music, since all the artists who were unable to tour during the pandemic had spent the time writing and recording new stuff. I'm not so sure that happened. There might have been a few more releases than usual being released, but it wasn't an uptick as notable as I was expecting, and the number of releases I was interested enough in to give a listen was pretty much the same as ever.
I have always had a fairly consistent ratio of albums liked verses albums listened to, and with the latter number not increasing, that meant this year was once again one where I had a handful of albums I love quite a bit, but not enough to use that descriptor for all ten I will talk about here. That's the way it usually works out, but I was expecting more, so I have to say this year is considered a bit of a disappointment. That said, there was still great music to be found this year, so let's talk about the best of the best.
Honorable Mention: Iron Maiden - Senjutsu
I'm an odd lot, since I prefer proggy reunion Iron Maiden to the 80s classic era, and yet I can't say I really like "The Book Of Souls". There is a point where things get stretched out too far, which that album did, and this album comes close to. Everything leading up to Steve Harris' three closing epics is great, doing exactly what I like modern Iron Maiden to do. That fifty minutes would be a fantastic album. Adding in "Hell On Earth" pushes us to the brink, but is still a wonderful hour of music. I like to ignore the other two songs, which is how this album makes it on the list. There's enough here to like I don't feel bad about how much I skip. It isn't quite another "Dance Of Death" or "The Final Frontier", but it's not too far behind.
10. Apostolica - Haeretica Ecclesia
In a year when Powerwolf released a new album, this band that takes a page from their book actually made the better record. With gruff vocals and epic swells, they milk as much drama out of power metal as can be done. The atmosphere is a bit sinister, and like a horror movie it gets off to a slow start. But once the record hits its stride, it reminds me both that power metal is still one of the few places left where we can have fun in music, and that a well done gimmick has its place. I'm thinking even Ghost is going to have a hard time doing better.
9. Laurenne/Louhimo - The Reckoning
Music should be pretty simple. If you get two great singers, and give them good songs, how can you go wrong? Don't actually ask that, because it does happen. It doesn't here, as the two ladies get an album of heavy songs with strong melodies, which perfectly fit their raspy and powerful vocals. Noora has established herself as a superior singer, but Netta more than holds her own, and the times when their voices blend together are sublime. The production could highlight those bits a little more, but of all the assembled 'star' vehicles Frontiers Records put together this year, this is clearly the best of them. There's so much to like.
8. Inglorious - We Will Ride
I thought Inglorious had hit their high water mark on their previous album, but then they went and topped it by finding the perfect balance between blues and melodic rock. The roots of their influence are still clear enough to know where they are coming from, but the songs escape the swampy mire a lot of blues gets caught up in, instead focusing on their melodic cores. This album is full of great vocals singing big hooks, with just enough heaviness and swagger to be purely rock and roll. Their best album yet is one of the best examples of how to do this right.
7. Alicia Witt - The Conduit
I loved Alicia's "15,000 Days" EP, and her latest full-length didn't disappoint. What we have is a true songwriter's album, traversing between her sophisticated and upbeat pop songs, and torch ballads that showcase the fragile qualities of her voice. Sounding like the 70s albums it references in the lyrics, Alicia displays her versatility as a writer and performer. Her voice ties everything together, as does the aura of class that hangs over everything. This is an adult album, speaking to the humanity in us that is only uncovered once enough dust has settled on our souls.
5B. Light The Torch - You Will Be The Death Of Me
The band's first album was the spiritual successor to one of my favorite albums, so naturally it was close to being Album Of The Year. The follow-up record carries on with the same spirit, blending heavy down-tuned metal with the big hooks and bigger vocals of Howard Jones. His voice is deep, emotional, and immense, filling every cavity of the production and making this record sound larger than life. They pack every song with a huge chorus, straddling the line between chugging metal and radio rock, and they do it effortlessly. The first record might be a touch better, but we're splitting hairs.
5A. Sion - Sion
It feels natural to put these two albums together. If Light The Torch is an evolutionary successor to my favorite Killswitch album, this is a evolutionary successor to Killswitch's most defining album. If you took "The End Of Heartache", and gave it today's variety of heaviness and today's radio rock melody, this album would be the result. Metalcore can be a stale genre, but this album melds the classic and the modern beautifully, and balances moments of truly harsh screaming with great, catchy melodies. It taps into a nostalgic feeling I have for how much "The End Of Heartache" changed things for me when I heard it, and few albums have been able to do that. I didn't know how much I wanted this until I heard it.
4. Rise Against - Nowhere Generation
Fans were not so high on "Wolves", which is the album where Rise Against finally clicked with me. Despite a frosty first impression, "Nowhere Generation" is a worthy follow-up that continues to deliver the weary dissatisfaction of punk in the form of hugely melodic songs. This time the band sounds less angry about the state of the world, which is a curious turn of events, but society still has enough ills to fuel another batch of great tunes. Like the saying about sugar making the medicine go down easier, the sturdy and infectious hooks on this record keep the band's message in your head. The record might have been even better with a bit more grit or energy, but it's a fantastic and mature way to air grievances.
3. Smith/Kotzen - Smith/Kotzen
This is the surprise of the year, bar none. I would not have expected much from a collaboration between Richie Kotzen and Adrian Smith, and yet their album of bluesy classic rock filled to the brim with searing solos is absolutely one of the best albums of the year. They dial in some great guitar tones, play wonderfully off each other, and remember that the songs are all that really matters. This is not just a fantastic guitar album, as the two deliver amazing vocal hooks to make this truly special. They clearly love classic rock, and just so happen to have delivered an album that exceeds almost all of it.
2. The Wallflowers - Exit Wounds
For most of the last twenty years, The Wallflowers have been one of my favorite bands. The run from "Bringing Down The Horse" through "Breach", "Red Letter Days", and "Rebel, Sweetheart" is some of my favorite music ever. But after their first attempt at a comeback was a bitter disappointment, my initial listens to this album convinced me I was still being disappointed. I was wrong about that, and now hear "Exit Wounds" as The Wallflowers finding their way by finding themselves. Jakob Dylan is older now than he was then, and the band sounds the same way. They cut to the core of their sound, Dylan's poetry and classic Americana rock and roll, but add in a bit more folk flavor this time around. That is befitting their age and their place in the world, and the result is an album that is the natural extension to their legacy I wanted all along. It isn't "Breach", but neither of us are who we were then. This is us now.
1. Soen - Imperial
All year long, I kept looking for ways to avoid this. Other albums made strong cases, and I wanted to go in those directions, but at the end of the day the one album this year I couldn't deny was "Imperial", the third straight Soen album to win Album Of The Year honors. Five albums into their career, the band continues to hone their sound, focus their songwriting, and take a step forward each and every time. This record is their most concise and focused yet, cutting off the progressive fat for a killer instinct. The heavy rhythms have never sounded sharper, Joel's vocals have never been more assured, and the melodies have never been better. Soen is the embodiment of everything I think modern metal can and should be, and once again they put to shame all the other bands who haven't figured that out. Heavy, challenging, engaging, emotional, beautiful; Soen is all those things. They also, once again, have made the best album of the year.
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