The Best/Worst Of 2022, So Far

The first six months of 2022 have certainly been interesting. At times, it feels as though there hasn't been any great music. At other times, I'm impressed by how little has made it onto my list of contenders to be the worst. But the end result is that the year has been a perfect bell curve, with the overwhelming majority of the releases I've listened to falling squarely in the middle of the pack. It's been an onslaught of the average, which adds up to less than that, because we tend to grade years on the extremities.

With fewer of both, this has been a rather sedate and boring half of the year. So in alphabetical order, here are my choices for the best and worst I've heard so far.

The Best:

Cold Years - Goodbye To Misery

While many fawned over Spanish Love Songs' "Brave Faces Everyone" a few years back, I wasn't able to go as far as they were, because of a disconnect between myself and the lyrics detailing the effects of drug abuse and hopeless poverty. Cold Years takes a similar sound, blended with some of Rise Against's punk, and gives us a record that does many of the same things in a way that is easier for me to swallow. If Green Day's "Warning" was filtered through the modern sound of emo/punk, it would sound a lot like this. There are threads I hear that keep me tethered and coming back.

Halestorm - Back From The Dead

It feels like Halestorm has been trying to capture their live sound for several records, and this time they may have done it. This is the band at their most aggressive and stripped back, with simple grooves and heavy tones giving the entire spotlight over to Lzzy. This is her most personal album as a lyricist, and if you look at it as almost being a form of scream therapy, I think it all makes sense. It wasn't entirely what I expected, but there is much I appreciate about the album. If nothing else, I can relate to her voice.

Michael Monroe - I Live Too Fast To Die Young

No one lately has been making pure and old rock 'n roll like Michael Monroe. "Blackout States" was a revelation, "One Man Gang" was the follow-up that proved it was no fluke, and this record is the finish to a trilogy that eases us into whatever is next. The band takes a few more chances playing with color and shade, and even if that makes for a record that is a bit less immediate, they have a way of making everything sound like a fun party to be at.

Origin Of Escape - Shapes

I love when a record comes out of nowhere and surprises me. That's what this one did. I stumbled across it, and impressed by the cover art, I gave the music a chance. What I heard was a set of songs that played with the same rhythm and emotion as Soen, but with a bit more haze and depression. It has faded a bit from my listening as the sun has spent more time in the sky, but it's the perfect record for the times when I find myself sinking. It reminds me there are beautiful lessons to find at the bottom of that pit, if I don't obsess over how to get out as quickly as possible.

Valleyheart - Heal My Head

Another record that came out of nowhere, this little gem dips its toes into the waters sailed by Jimmy Eat World. There's a dreamy sadness to this record, where the soft moments are a calm bit of depression, and when the band bursts into a their louder and rocking moments, it becomes something that rather than headbanging is more akin to banging your head into the wall to psych yourself up. It's one of those records I liked at first, but kept finding myself needing to hear again ad again. It was a slower build, but there's something rather magical about the feeling it evokes.

The Worst/Most Disappointing:

Ashes Of Ares - Emperors & Fools

When a record has uninteresting songs, and it sounds like crap on top of that, it's going to wind up as one of the worst of the year. On this one, there are few if any songs worth listening to, but even the good moments are ruined by a production that sounds borderline unlistenable, and vocals from Matt Barlow that are among the worst of his career. It sounds like a record rushed into production, as if everyone involved knows their time left to make music is running low.

Ghost - Impera

Like all Ghost albums except for "Meliora", this one disappointed me by being only half of a good record. I don't know why I was expecting more, but I shouldn't have, because my hopes were dashes as I listened to good songs interspersed with some of the worst of Ghost's career. "Twenties" alone was enough to depress me, but the record as a whole continues to frustrate me, as I want to love Ghost, but simply can't. Not if they're going to keep doing this to me.

Serious Black - Vengeance Is Mine

I knew the loss of Urban Breed would be hard, but not this hard. The so-called 'personal' lyrics on this album have some borderline obscene levels of misogyny, enough that I'm declaring the band officially "dead to me", at least until they piss me off enough next time that yelling about them will feel good.

Slash - 4

This record would be a slight disappointment just on the basis of the songs. It's a good record, but I think it's clearly weaker than the other three Slash has made with Myles Kennedy. The big issue, though, is the production. Recording live on the floor as a band was a bad decision, at least as the end result turned out, because it sounds like a bit of a mess. The guitars are too thin and buzzing, and Myles live vocals are strained in places trying to be heard. It's a rough draft of an album, and it's easy to hear all the ways it could have been better if they just spent a bit of time making it so.

Tony Martin - Thorns

The forgotten of Black Sabbath's mainstay singers, the reason for that is simple; Tony Martin has never been a great songwriter. His work with Sabbath was spotty, which puts his albums down the list, and it has kept him from ever getting a solo career going. He has made plenty of records, either on his own or in various projects, and none of them are brimming with memorable songs. That includes this one, which is rather bland and generic metal. Tony's voice sounds great, but he's singing boring songs, which makes the result boring. He needs to work with a great songwriter, which this album proves.

My Top Twenty Favorite Albums Ever (2020 Version)

A truth about me is that my brain is not wired in a way to remember dates easily. Ask me what year most any album came out, and I won't be able to tell you. Not only that, but I seldom remember what year major life events happened. I simply never trained myself to add that detail to every memory, so time is able to slip through my fingers, because often I miss the signals that we are once again at the same point in our cosmic journey.

That is a preface for an occasion that isn't temporal, but is still important. This post is the 1,000th on our humble little site, and is something I didn't see coming until the number was staring me in the face. I put my head down and go about writing without thinking much about the bigger picture, and I hadn't realized we had accomplished so much. In all honesty, I should have stretched things (and myself) out more, but we're here.

To mark the occasion, I am presenting an updated list of my twenty favorite albums of all time. It has been a few years since the last time I posted such a list, and it seems far more appropriate than a review of some album I will soon forget.

Here we go:

20. Alyson Avenue - Presence Of Mind (Previous Rank: N/A)

My favorite album in the melodic/AOR realm, easily. Anette Olzon has gotten far more attention for what came later, but this is the best album she's been on. She would become a more polished vocalist, but her tone was always there, and this album is chock full of bright, cheesy, infectious melodies. It's a smile put on record.

19. Weezer - Weezer (The Green Album) (Previous Rank: N/A)

What I love about this album is precisely that it is Rivers Cuomo completely divorcing himself from his music. He can write stupidly good pop songs, but he is a weird, disturbing, highly questionable human being. Without having to hear any of his personality in the lyrics, Weezer is at their best. There has never been a more tightly written record.

18. Edguy - Tinnitus Sanctus (Previous Rank: 19)

This album is a disappointment to most fans, but is adored by me. Edguy blended their power metal bombast with darker, more modern metal guitars, and the result is an album that eschews any hint of the 'flower metal' insult. Even a song about God talking with an aardvark sounds menacing. It's the perfect amount of darkness for metal.

17. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues (Previous Rank: N/A)

If I'm asked for the best band of the last fifteen or so years, only two names come to mind. One of them is Graveyard, and this record is the best distillation of who they are. I don't get most classic rock, but I get Graveyard, even though they are a modern version of it. It's pure, organic, and so much more than the sum of its parts.

16. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell (Previous Rank: 10)

The only Black Sabbath I care about is the Dio era, and it's not even a question which album to pick. The only real question is whether this is the best album Dio ever appeared on. Obviously, I'm saying it is, but that's not a runaway decision. Rainbow's "Long Live Rock N Roll" puts up a strong fight. For it's time, "Heaven & Hell" was the best metal album in existence.

15. Elton John - Peachtree Road (Previous Rank: N/A)

I have changed my mind. I used to pick "The Captain & The Kid", but the more I listen, the more "Peachtree Road" has higher highs. Either way, this era of Elton John is my favorite. If I am an old soul at heart, liking this is an illustration of just that. The facade isn't there, but the songs are. Just beautiful.

14. Bob Catley - Immortal (Previous Rank: 13)

Half the appeal to this album is Bob's voice, which is one of those wondrous sounds that is unique to him. Unfortunately, most of his career has been spent singing songs I don't particularly care for, so when this album came along and gave him a set of splendid melodic metal, I was overjoyed. I have been ever since.

13. Bloodbound - Tabula Rasa (Previous Rank: 12)

When I first heard this album, I thought it's blend of Soilwork-esque guitars and power metal vocals was the future of the genre. Well, it took a long time to get there, but we might have. This still sounds cutting-edge, and is still a fantastic blend of rhythmic guitar chunks and soaring vocal hooks. Modern power metal started here, and has never eclipsed this album.

12. Graham Colton Band - Drive (Previous Rank: N/A)

I ran across Graham Colton in the file-sharing days, when one of his songs was mis-labeled as my favorite band. It was fortuitous, as when he and his band released an album, it was everything I could have wanted. At least, I came to realize that down the line. It's an album that has been growing on me all these years, and every time I listen to it, I wonder how I didn't hear it this way the first time.

11. Matchbox 20 - Yourself Or Someone Like You (Previous Rank: N/A)

I used to say "Mad Season" was the better album, and in all honesty it probably is, but there's something to be said for which album makes you listen. That is still this one, which despite being as blatantly late-90s as possible, continues to resonate with me. I played it as a teenager so much I actually wore out the CD, and I still find myself singing every time one of the songs comes on.

10. Avantasia - The Metal Opera Pt II (Previous Rank: 8)

I have never come up with a reason why this album, and not any of the myriad other similar power metal albums, is the one that stands out most to me. It simply does, as the blend of power metal and Meat Loaf hits at many of the things I love so much about music. Perhaps inexplicable, but for me undeniable.

9. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding (Previous Rank: 7)

I like Iron Maiden too, but Bruce's crowning achievement is this solo album, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Using the poetry of William Blake as a backdrop, and bass strings on the guitars to add even more heaviness, this album is an epic, intellectual examination of what metal can be. It's stirring, rousing, and the sort of album that makes me stand back and applaud something I could never do.

8. Dilana - InsideOut (Previous Rank: N/A)

I'll say more a few slots later, but this album was my introduction to my favorite voice (on record, that is), and a moment in time I will never forget. I could hardly believe what I heard that first time, and I feel the same way today. It's a wild ride of influences, anchored by that voice. "Dirty Little Secret" is heart-breaking, while "Falling Apart" has since usurped the throne as my favorite song of all time. Where would I be without this one?

7. Graveyard - Lights Out (Previous Rank: 14)

I mentioned classic rock the first time Graveyard appeared on this list, and let me go further. "Lights Out" is an album that is a time machine, not because it brings the sound of the 70s to my ears, but because it allows me to experience what fans back then felt as the classic albums were coming out. This record is timeless, and in it I hear the threads of history being tied together, anchoring me to a past I would otherwise not be firmly moored to. It's the best rock album of the last decade.

6. Tonic - Head On Straight (Previous Rank: N/A)

I realized recently I listen to this album constantly, and not my previous pick for the second best Tonic album ("Sugar"). While this album is the outlier of their short catalog, that's exactly why I love it so much. The tone is different, even if the songs aren't. This album is Tonic at their most 'rock', and Emerson's voice and melodies atop heavier guitars is something I have never gotten tired of.

5. Jimmy Eat World - Futures (Previous Rank: 11)

When I was younger, "Pinkerton" by Weezer was one of our cultural touchstones. I have written much about the shame I feel in that, but thankfully it has been replaced by "Futures", which somehow continues to grow in my esteem. It is a dark album of bitterness and longing, a statement of nerdy awkwardness, and much more the album I would use to define my era, even if it technically is a few years too late. Call this the remake that is better than the original, in every way. Sadly, I seem to be one of the very few, the band included, who feel as such.

4. Dilana - Beautiful Monster (Previous Rank: 4)

I wrote an entire novel fictionalizing my belief I don't feel things the way most people do. This album, at least for forty minutes, proved me wrong. In Dilana's voice and songs I could feel her soul pouring through, and something about her resonates at the same frequency as my own. My reaction is visceral, wrenching, and belonging solely to this album. She taught me something about myself with these songs, and there isn't much greater than that.

3. The Wallflowers - (Breach) (Previous Rank: 3)

I love "Bringing Down The Horse" like everyone else, but that isn't the album that means the most to me. This one not only has a bigger, bolder sound to it, but as I have written about before, it also taught me about the intersection of music and poetry. Jakob Dylan's lyrics are as much at the forefront as the songs themselves, and he wrote on this album imagery that has stuck with me now for two decades. Older listeners have their relationship with his father, but this is my Dylan.

2. Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II (Previous Rank: 2)

I still have the cassette tape sitting on the back of a shelf somewhere, the very first album I ever owned. Jim Steinman was my first music teacher, and everything people perceive as terrible about my taste derives from that fact. I was an impressionable child, and the drama and humor of Jim Steinman wrote the first words on my blank slate. Even today, the outlines of the jigsaw pieces fit perfectly in me. I know I'm in the minority picking the sequel, but I'm not apologizing for that.

1. Tonic - Lemon Parade (Previous Rank: 1)

This has been my favorite album since it overtook the previous entrant, and has kept that spot even as "If You Can Only See" was overtaken as my favorite song. So why do I love this album so much? There are the songs of course, which are fantastic, and rather interesting as well. There are sly details and some unusual voicings that make it sound unique to everything else coming out of the mid 90s, even if the production was the typical post-grunge dirt. But beyond all of that, "Lemon Parade" is the album that made me want to become a musician and songwriter. This record is the reason I picked up a guitar and a pen, it's responsible for me thinking of music as more than a diversion. It's hard to find a deeper connection than that.

The Best Albums Of The Decade: 2010-2019

We define our lives in periods of time, because for unknown reasons, periods of time divide themselves through cultural evolution. The theory of punctuated equilibrium comes to mind here, where a burst of rapid change then gives way to a period of stasis, only for the cycle to repeat itself. Culture is that way. From the 1920s through the new millennium, every decade had its own identity, its own taste. We could look back at every grouping of ten years and see something new, something unique, something that would fade from view once the next shift occurred.

That seemed to end when we moved into this 21st century. For the last twenty years, culture has felt more stagnated, as though we have reached the top of the ladder, and we don't know how to get ourselves down. We're too scared to jump, and too embarrassed to climb back down. That has grown more true with each and every year, to the point where the end of this decade is something I hadn't even thought about until it was mentioned to me by someone else.

The 2010s have had no identity of their own. Music has been a mess of influences, both new and old, that have turned the scene into a mud-pit. If you ask me to define the sound, I can't do it, because it can't be done. There is nothing to tie us all together, no record, band, or genre we can all agree set the standard for what else we encountered.

However, that does not mean great music was not made. There were countless albums from this decade that will stand the test of time, even if they will be harder to place on the timeline when our memories begin to get fuzzy. With honorable mentions to The Spider Accomplice's "Los Angeles" trilogy of EPs, and Soen's "Lotus", here are my picks for the best albums of the last ten years:

1. Dilana - Beautiful Monster (2013)

For as much time I as I spent listening to, and thinking about music, very little of it seeps in and makes a mark on my core. It fills my head most of the day, whether I'm playing it or not, but that is where most of it stays. This album is the most notable exception to that rule, as from the very first time I played it, my emotions were stirred in a way music hadn't managed in a long time. In fact, I didn't think it could do so anymore, but listening to the soul Dilana put into every note she sang on this record, it woke something that had been lying dormant in me. These are great songs, and exceptional performances, but it's the effect the music has on me that is louder than any speaker can achieve. In the last decade, that effect is singular to this record, and such a rare jewel must be treasured. That is why "Beautiful Monster" is my favorite album of the decade.

2/3. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues/Lights Out (2011/2012)

I could separate these out, and put one above the other, but given that these records came out a year apart, and I didn't really hear "Hisingen Blues" until I was already taken by "Lights Out", they are connected in my mind as one moment in musical time. We have spent much time talking about Graveyard's greatness, and these records are what established their stature. I am by no means a disciple of blues-based rock and roll, so for a band like Graveyard to become so important is a Cinderella story. What Graveyard did is return rock and roll to its roots, and strip things down so far we're reminded all we need are a few notes put in the right order for a song to be great. We often lose sight of how hard simplicity is, but when we hear it, we also become aware how much we rely on unimportant details when there isn't any structure holding them up.

4. Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Dracula: Swing Of Death (2014)

My first musical love was "Bat Out Of Hell II", and I'd like to think if Jim Steinman was emerging today, this is the sort of album he would make. His oeuvre is a retelling of the Peter Pan story, while this record recounts the tale of Dracula. Steinman was over-the-top, his music dramatic and cheesy. That is true of this record as well. It is a stage musical with the dial turned so far up it has broken off. It is also, however, a riotously fun piece of music that has no business working. When I first heard it, I called it the Adam West "Batman" version of the Dracula story, and I still find that the most apt comparison I can think of. It's a record so unique, so absurd, it became an accidental bit of genius.

5. Halestorm - The Strange Case Of... (Deluxe Edition) (2012)

Obviously, there are very few generational talents. When one of them comes along, and does so with music that hits you, it's the sort of cathartic experience that endures through time. Having grown up with rock in the mainstream, the current state of that genre is one that constantly depresses me. The exception to that rule is Halestorm, and specifically Lzzy Hale. Her voice is on that short list of my favorites, who I will forgive for their musical sins. That's made easier with an album like this, which is practically tailor-made for me. With it's rock energy, pop hooks, and stunning vocals, this record cemented Halestorm not just as a great band, but as one of the best currently out there. The deluxe edition is a requirement, getting three great bonus tracks, including "Private Parts", which is one of the very best Halestorm songs. How it didn't make the record is a mystery to me. The full package, by itself, redeems the entire decade of terrible butt-rock we've been subjected to.

The Top Ten Songs Of 2019

Every year, it amazes me when we get to this point in the year that 90% of my thinking is focused on albums, and only a small fraction goes to individual songs. I am that old creature of habit that thinks about albums first, which probably explains my frustrations with the bands that have taken on the strategy of releasing singles, as opposed to anything more substantial. Songs are the building blocks of everything we do, so it's only right that I give attention to some of the best of the best this year. Last year, I wound up choosing an anthem that roused me from my malaise. Will that happen again this year? Let's find out.

10. Hayley Griffiths - Haunted

I loved the most recent Karnataka album, and the chief reason for that was Hayley Griffiths, and how her voice carried the melodies. This song finds her creating her own path (I know it's her second solo single, relax), and it's every bit as magical. Borrowing much of that former sound, this song has the dramatic backdrop that gives the song a bit of a theatrical flair, and Hayley's voice is piercing, and rather unique. After this, I want to hear much more.

9. Sister Shotgun - She Lives

As I write these lists every year, I realize there's no real way to explain why a melody is so catchy. This is one of those melodies. I listen to it and bop my head. I play it over and over in my mind afterward. And yet, I can't put into words what quality is in there that makes it such. All I can say is that certain songs are memorable, and endure, and this is probably going to be one of them.

 8. Forever Still - Is It Gone?

It was touch choosing between a few options Forever Still gave me, but I couldn't stop myself from picking this ballad. Not only does it have a stirring melody, but the atmosphere of the song is the perfect canvas for Maja Shining's voice. She is at her absolute best here, and it's haunting, especially if you can listen to it on a cold, grey, rainy day.

7. Yours Truly - Circles

As it happens, I don't listen to a lot of music that's bright, shiny, or happy. Yours Truly's EP was one of the exceptions to that, and this song in particular was a ray of sunshine that burst through the small slit between my curtains. This band is more pop than before, but that leads them to a sound that is effervescent, vibrant, and simply fun. "Circles" still has enough guitars, but it's a big and cheerful pop song at its heart, and I for one love it for that.

6. The Beautiful Monument - Stay

When people say rock and pop can't mesh, play them this song. That hook is pure pop, but the song around it is plenty rock enough for all but the 'truest' of fans. It's heavy, in both respects of the word, and that hook is relentless in how it keep coming at you, wearing you down until you're willing to turn over your head to the earworm.  On a very good record, this song stood head-and-shoulders above everything else. That's not a surprise.

5. Michael Monroe - Wasted Years

Not many people make rock n' roll with the kind of swagger Michael Monroe is right now. His music has attitude, but also a slithering groove to it that Axl Rose could be snake-dancing to right now. The best example of that from his new album is this song, which hits that amazing combination of bar-band bravado, and stadium-sized hooks. It's everything rock should be.

4. Kim Jennett - Love Like Suicide

This one is techincally a cover, but that doesn't diminish how much I love it. The original song (which I only hear after) is fine, but Kim Jennett raises the bar several levels. Her voice is a force of nature on this song, necessitating the over-saturated guitars just to keep up with her power. If Kim Jennett becomes the star her voice has the ability to make her, it will have started here. And rightly so.

3. Vanishing Signs - No Regrets

I am a sucker for ballads, and this dramatic number is my favorite one of the year. It has tension and emotion, and two fantastic vocalists delivering powerhouse performances. Both Dilana and Maggy Luyten breathe life into the song, using their voices like daggers to cut us open, making sure it can get into our bloodstreams. It's the sort of song that should be playing during the crescendo of a masterpiece of dramatic cinema, because it just rules.

2. Soen - Covenant

On "Lotus", Soen mastered the art of making the melancholy into something beautiful and uplifting. That was most apparent on this song, where they build a somber atmosphere just to twist everything around when the chorus comes, releasing the tension into a glorious burst of melody. It's an epic song packed into just five minutes. It's absolutely magnificent.

1. Dream State - Hand In Hand

Like last year, I wound up choosing the song that raised my spirits the most. In what was a relatively bleak year, no song felt more like the kick in the ass we (or I) needed more than this one. Dream State fused anger, emotion, and elation all into one swirling ball of energy that explodes into one of the most sing/scream-able choruses of the year. It's a four minute cleanse for the soul, a barbed hook that you can't dig out of your mind, and the best song of 2019.

The Worst & Most Disappointing Albums Of 2019

There's a line of thought you hear argued from time to time that everything in the world is always getting worse. Movies aren't as good as they were in the old days. Art certainly isn't as talent-obvious as it used to be. And it seems almost everyone who gets to a certain age says music was better when they were fans. Of course this isn't absolutely true, since everyone forgets about all of the trash from years back that disintegrated over the course of time. However, sometimes there is a grain of truth in these comments, and this year has been an example of that.

2019 has been a decent year for good music, but a banner year for terrible music. I compile these lists every year, and this has been the most competitive race to the bottom I've yet encountered. Whereas I usually just manage to find five albums each to fill the slots as the worst, and most disappointing, of the year, 2019 gave me so many options I didn't know what to do. Bad music was everywhere, and there isn't a way to say goodbye to this year without setting it on fire, and hoping we can rid the world of whatever demonic spirits created this crap.

So, without further ado....

The Worst Albums Of 2019:

1. Manowar - The Final Battle Pt I

The worst release of the year wasn't even an album, as Manowar didn't need a full-length to righteously piss me off. These five songs were more than enough to cement them as the worst band on the planet, which is tough considering a high-profile release came out featuring a guy who went to jail for trying to have his wife killed. But at least they made decent music. Manowar failed on each and every level. They failed as songwriters, giving us an EP that had an intro track, and one that was all spoken word. They put out an EP, and still wasted our time for almost half of it. They failed as a metal band, giving us a production that was thin, weak, and gutless. The guitars barely sounded like guitars, with the tone sounding like a kid's practice amp, and the playing so rudimentary it was laughable. They also failed as human beings, and this is the biggest reason they top(?) this list. Manowar had a dark episode when Karl Logan got charged with possessing child pornography. People do bad things, and I wouldn't have necessarily held it against them, except that the band has never put out a statement officially kicking him out of the group. If you followed along, you wouldn't know whether or not Logan was on that EP, or still profits from the band's music. Not giving us the information to make an informed decision about whether giving Manowar our money is a moral sin is pathetic, cowardly, and obscene. Fuck Manowar.

2. Devin Townsend - Empath

People call Devin Townsend a genius, but I imagine that is for the same reason that people think magicians who use stage illusions that do all the work are immensely talented. Somehow, Devin has fooled a large number of people into thinking that his chugging riffs and lame melodies are masterful, because he wraps them in a veneer of being weird for the sake of being weird. This record is barely a record. It's a tapestry of ideas that are stitched together much like a county fair quilt; random scraps that form a pattern if you're far enough away, or a little bit day-drunk. Otherwise, what you get from this album is a collection of 'songs' that bounce from random idea to random idea, with no logic or explanation. Why is Chad Kroeger singing background, then there are cats meowing? I don't know, and I doubt Devin does either. All I know is I hated every second of listening to this music.

3. The Three Tremors - The Three Tremors

There are threee reasons, one for each tremor, why this album is one of the worst fo the year. 1) They stole the name and the concept from Bruce Dickinson, and don't have nearly the talent to justify such theft. 2) They spent the entire album screaming god-awful shrieks at me, which made my head hurt, but in the form of a migraine, not from headbanging. 3) They have since re-released the album as a set of three, with each singer doing the entire record themselves, which only proves this who project never needed to exist. And it rips off the 'fans' who bothered to buy the record in the first place.

The music is terrible to begin with, featuring plenty of second-rate, generic metal songs, but the rot goes deeper than that. Now that they are trying to get anyone who liked their lousy record to buy it again, it's an ethical stain. They are con artists who took someone else's idea, did it poorly, and now want to get paid twice for it. Not to mention, if each of the singers can sing the entire album, it means there was no reason to have more than one singer. They've disproven their own existence, which is so funny I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

4. Neal Morse - Jesus Christ: The Exorcist

There isn't much to be said here other than the fact that of all the things music could offer me, a two-hour dad-rock musical telling the story of Jesus is very near the bottom of the list. The beat you over the head religion of the record is bad, but it's what I expect from Neal. The real problem is that this particular project features his worst, most tired songs I've ever heard from him, and the dinner-theater vibe renders the lyrics so painful I have to turn away fairly often. Rather than being an epic statement from a great musician (and Neal is.... was?), it comes across like the sort of thing you would find at a local theater that holds pancake breakfasts to pay the bills. It's low-rent, all around.

5. Arch/Matheos - Winter Ethereal

I'll keep this short; musically, this actually isn't that bad of a record. There is some interesting guitar playing and melodic writing on display. However, John Arch delivers one of the worst vocal performances I've ever heard from a singer people consider great. His tone is high-pitched and shrill beyond belief, painful like a dog-whistle, but it goes beyond that. Arch is terrible because he slurs so many of his words that all but a few fragments of lyrics are obscured and unintelligible. The whole point of being a singer is to convey the lyrics and the message to the audience. If I can't understand the words, the effort put in writing them is wasted, and you have failed at your job. John Arch fails all over this record, and he ruins what could have been pretty good with a singer who actually does his or her job.

And just a note; Weezer's "Black Album" would have been on the list, but I'm sick of talking about how terrible they are, so I decided to skip them to give someone else a chance. That record is hot garbage as well, rest assured. The others that just missed the cut include Quiet Riot, Spirits Of Fire, Leprous, and Tool. Sorry, but I was bored to tears by "Fear Inoculum".

The Most Disappointing Albums Of 2019:

There's only two of them this year. The others that normally would have filled this list are actually continuations of trends, so I wasn't really disappointed. Taylor Swift's album wasn't disappointing, since "Reputation" had been so bad. Flying Colors wasn't disappointing, since I was already disappointed in "Second Nature". So, which two did disappoint me?

1) The Neal Morse Band - The Great Adventure

I knew this was going to happen. A second straight double-disc concept album telling the same story was always going to be a tough task, but this album was a complete let-down after "The Similitude Of A Dream". That record was too long, and a bit hokey, but had plenty of great songs. This new one felt even longer, tried to be 'angry' when Neal cannot sell that feeling even a little bit, and didn't have a single song as good as the previous album. I'm not sure how I made it through the end of these two discs, I was that tired of listening by the time the journey was over. It's Neal's worst prog album in a long, long time.

2) Baroness - Gold & Grey

I am not the kind of snob who needs productions to be pristine and perfect, but I am the kind of snob who won't put up with insulting middle-finger wagging. That's what Baroness did on this album, just like they did on "Purple". Both records are actually very good, and I would like to listen to and enjoy, but they sound so terrible I won't subject myself to it. The choice is intentional, and it's inexcusable. Baroness has made their music so loud and distorted, so ugly and painful, that I simply refuse to listen to it again. I have certain triggers that cause migraines, and Baroness' production choices are very close to being one. I don't know why they want to make records that destroy all the good work they do, but it pisses me off they feel that they can get away with it. They shit on their own art, so why would I take it?

The Top Ten Albums Of 2019

Every year has its own story. For some years, it has to do with one genre that outpaces all the others. For others, it's a battle between the old guard and the young up-and-comers. And for others yet, it's a matter of new sounds being developed and digested. It might not always be clear the whole time, but there is a story to be told through the records we hear. Sometimes it's an interesting story, and sometimes it's not.

This year's story is one of timing. The year got off to a furious start, with a slew of albums coming out in the first three months of the year I was very high on. It looked like the start of an excellent year, and got me optimistic about the future. Likewise, the autumn has been another great run, with yet another glut of really good and great records to fill out the available slots. And then there was the summer.

There was a stretch of multiple months through the last spring and summer where I was barely able to find a record I liked, let alone one that I would be talking about at this point in the year. I was glad to have other things to occupy my mind, because music was failing to capture my attention in any way, shape, or form. There was plenty of attention given to Slipknot and Tool putting out new music, but the decks being cleared out for them was a terrible turn of events, since I hated both of those records. It meant there was nothing left for me to enjoy.

So with such an on/off type of year, how did things fare? It was a bit of a frustrating experience having things play out this way, but the bookends delivered enough quality releases to say this was a decent year. It was far from the best year I've recapped, but things ended up better than I feared they would by the end of August. So with that said, here's the best stuff I listened to this year.

EP Of The Year: Yours Truly - Afterglow

I grew up listening to pop music. I don't feel any shame in saying that, since pop music was very different back then. Yours Truly reminds me of what I consider the glory days of pop, when a band with big guitars and even bigger hooks could be popular. Their first EP was a lovely affair that showed me a lot of promise, and that is built upon with this release. Yours Truly is bigger, brighter, and even stickier than before. When people compare pop music to a sugar high, this is what they're talking about. Yours Truly's music is sweet, addictive, and an absolute blast. They are as good as anyone at this style, and the only shame is that they've only given us five more songs this time. I'm dying for a full-length of this quality. That's the only thing missing.

10. Vanishing Signs - Vanishing Signs

There are a lot of bands that makes classic rock, but few of them know how to write songs, and few of them actually rock. Vanishing Signs does both, with the glorious sound of a roaring Hammond organ, songs that drive the nail in, and a truly exceptional voice. I adore hearing Dilana sing anything, but I didn't realize until listening to the album that I was missing hearing her belt out big, loud rock from time to time. The duet between her and Maggy Luyten is one of the best songs of the year, and if not for the curious decision to not let Dilana sing two of the songs, this album could be even higher up the list.

9. The Beautiful Monument - I'm The Reaper

There is going to be a theme in a lot of the records on this list, and it starts here. The Beautiful Monument makes music focused on the darker and more painful moments in life, but does so with beautiful melodies and powerful hooks. These Australians delivered a record that mixes pure pop bliss with gritty alternative rock, all the while tackling important life issues. I have long been championing bands with strong women singing pop-influenced rock, and The Beautiful Monument is this year's best example of it. This album works as a surface-level pop gem, but also as a deeper meaning bit of introspection. It's layered, and utterly charming.

8. Ray Alder - What The Water Wants

Ray Alder sounds like no one else, so everything he does winds up sounding like him. While Fates Warning is solid, I have always been more a fan of his work in Redemption, and this first solo album of his combines those two into something that is even better. The guitar textures are pure Fates Warning, but the emotion and melodies are more in line with Redemption. Together, it creates an album that is beautiful, emotional, and the sort of music you feel as much as you listen to. Bypassing the prog tendencies of his past, he condensed his career into a more concentrated record that sums up who Ray Alder is as an artist.

7. The Dark Element - Songs The Night Sings

The debut album from this project ended up #2 on my list two years ago, and was one of the best power/melodic metal albums of the last few years. This follow-up is another excellent album, one that finds the duo honing their attack, focusing on the elements of the debut that worked the best. Anette Olzon is still a fantastic and unique voice, and the material she's given is heavy, detailed, and full of rapid-fire hooks. The genre is rather stale, but not when it's done this well. I will say the debut is slightly better, but this record is another wonderful collection of songs that put The Dark Element in the upper echelon of the genre.

6. Emerson Hart - 32 Thousand Days

As a solo artist, each of Emerson Hart's albums have been distinct from one another, and certainly cut from a different cloth than Tonic. This time out, Emerson's songs tell the story of life, and how much can be packed into roughly ninety years on this earth. It's a reflective album, one that is softer and subdued like an old sepia-tone photograph. I'm not in a stage of life to completely relate to the theme, but Emerson's songwriting is as sharp as ever, creating songs that are impressive for how slyly they become ingrained in your head. This is a record that is simple, honest, and a testament to the art and power of good songwriting.

5. Forever Still - Breathe In Colours

 

I've been following Forever Still since before they put out their debut, having run across them on social media. I was happy for them when they got signed to Nuclear Blast, and I'm even happier now that this record has paid off so well. Their debut was a good record that summed up their existence to that point, but this record deepens everything that's great about Forever Still. Their sound is still dark and modern, and Maja Shining's voice is the soulful compliment to that, but the songwriting is more consistent, sharper, and more evocative this time around. Forever Still is growing, evolving, and getting better. This record is a testament to how far they've come.

4. Any Given Day - Overpower

This record is simultaneously two things at once; the best metalcore record in years, and a better Tremonti album than what he has put together across his four solo albums. Song after song, Any Given Day delivers massive, arena-ready choruses that make every song instantly memorable. The vocals growl through most of the verses (the album would be better without them, but oh well), and those choruses are sung almost exactly as Mark Tremonti would, only everything about them is better than his solo band. This was one of the most addictive albums of the year, and a completely out of left field surprise. Eat your heart out, Killswitch Engage.

3. Michael Monroe - One Man Gang

It's been a few years, but Michael Monroe's previous album nearly won AOTY accolades from me. Since it was the first album of his I was fond of, I didn't know what to expect this time. What we received is an album that I will admit is probably a hair lesser than "Blackout States", but still embodies everything that used to be good and fun about rock and roll. Michael and his band are on a roll, writing the kind of rock that would have set the crowd at CBGB on fire in the late 70s/early 80s. Though this record isn't as aggressive, it's got mature swagger, and a knack for writing the kind of songs that put a smile on your face as you're singing along. And that is what drew so many of us to this music in the first place.

2. Dream State - Primrose Path

In the spring, "Hand In Hand" was released, and that song changed everything. Dream State went from being a band that was on the periphery of my consciousness, who I would check out if they had something new, to a band I absolutely had to seek out. The following singles kept the anticipation at a fever pitch, and when the album dropped, it managed to live up to all my expectations (minus the snafu where I did not get my promised promo from the PR company, and haven't heard from them since). Dream State have made an album that is about pain, but more about the process of getting past it. Their music doesn't wallow, but instead triumphantly gives pain the middle finger. "Primrose Path" is a catharsis in musical form.

1. Soen - Lotus

This is a first. No, not Soen capturing their second AOTY crown. This is the first time I have actually received and listened to the best album of the year in the year prior. I received my copy of "Lotus" in December of 2018, and for the entirety of 2019 nothing could top it. I kept waiting for it to be toppled, and it never happened. Soen took such a lead that no one could catch them. "Lykaia" was an amazing album, and somehow "Lotus" tops it. Soen have taken everything that was great about "Lykaia", and evolved in every direction. The heavy moments groove even harder. The emotional moments are more stirring. The hooks are absolutely massive. They have made a record that is rooted in the melancholy reality of life in this time, but painted in optimistic colors. Soen's music is the perfect yin and yang, a spellbinding encapsulation of the current day, and an album I'm not sure they can top. I said that two years ago and was wrong, and I sure hope I am again. Whatever comes next, Soen have given us one of the best metal albums of modern times.

The Top Ten Songs Of The Last Five Years (2014-2018)

Recently, I have been in a mood where I have been listening to more tracks on their own, as bands continue to shift their release strategies to include more one-off songs. It's a form of listening that is new to me, and one I'm not sure quite how I feel about. But, what it has done is get me thinking about songs as individual pieces of music, which got me to thinking; what are the best songs of the last five years? Luckily, I have been making and keeping lists of my favorites each year, so putting together a quick composite was an easy task. It also shows me that the album continues to dominate, as only one of these songs was not part of at least an EPs worth of music.

Anyway, here are my picks for the ten (really eleven, because why not?) best songs from 2014 to 2018, in alphabetical order:

Dilana - Maybe Just A Little (From "Dilana" - 2016)

Maybe I'm weird, but what I love about this song is the combination of 90s alternative sounds, and Dilana's staid vocals in the chorus. Her own doubts about herself are captured in that performance, and I love little details like that, where a singer uses their voice to convey the feeling, and not just the lyric.

Ghost - Cirice (From "Meliora" - 2015)

This is the moment Ghost became Ghost. They had written a few good songs, but nothing like this, which still feels like the beginning of something epic. This sounds like what would have happened if Black Sabbath started out in a time when rock bands expected to make the mainstream. It was a moment in time, but what a moment it was.

Halestorm - Vicious (From "Vicious" - 2018)

The current climate is one where we all need a bit of attitude to survive. Halestorm captured that on this song, giving us an anthem of survival for what look like bleak days for humanity. I don't know if it will carry us through to when the fever breaks, but it's the best chance we've got.

Jorn - Save Me (From "Dracula: Swing Of Death" - 2015)

The best chapter of this Album Of The Year winner, the story of Dracula and Mina never sounded so fun. This duet is passionate, heavy, and as infectious as the vampire's disease. It's over-the-top, and that's precisely why it stands apart from the crowd.

Karnataka - Fairytale Lies (From "Secrets Of Angels - 2015)

If you wondered what pop music would sound like if it was cinematic, this is the answer. Hayley Griffiths' voice is so pure and beautiful, and the hook so sweeping, that it almost sounds like a song for a Disney princess. It's better than that, but still induces a smile.

Michael Monroe - One Foot Outta The Grave (2017)

A one-off single for a compilation, this was my favorite song of the year. When I think of what rock and roll is, when distilled, I get the sound of his "Blackout States" album, and this song takes that sound and makes it even better.

Nightingale - Forevermore (From "Retribution" - 2014)

Making sweetly melodic rock is hard, because all too often it becomes watered down and weak. Not so here, as Dan Swano builds a truly magnificent song that has hints of the 80s without becoming a cheesy homage, and a melody that highlights the best parts of his voice. The best part is THAT note he reaches for near the end. You'll know it when you hear it. Damn.

Shiverburn - Burned Alive (From "Road To Somewhere - 2016)

While they were around, I thought Shiverburn would become one of my next favorite bands. That didn't happen, but they did leave us a wonderful album that is capped off by this massive song. They effortlessly strike just the right balance of crunchy, heavy guitars, a bit of attitude, and a huge pop chorus. Every time I listen, I miss them already.

Soen - Opal (From "Lykaia" - 2017)

Melancholy is a difficult feeling to achieve, striking the right balance between the light and the dark sides. Soen have mastered that art, and this song was the crown jewel of an Album Of The Year winner. The song is mournful, yet not without hope. Ugly, but not without beauty. It's some of the most interesting metal being made.

The Spider Accomplice - Butterflies In A Beehive (From "Los Angeles: The Trap" - 2015)

The song on this list that touched me the most. The imagery is uniquely stirring, VK uses her voice's power to amplify the emotion of the song, and the minor-key sound of the chorus is heart-wrenching. This song on their debut EP sold me on becoming a fan, which has paid off in spades since then.

Transatlantic - Black As The Sky (From "Kaleidoscope" - 2014)

These epic prog musicians are just as good when they keeps things short and (relatively) simple. There's sly time signatures, but what makes this song is the vibe; roaring organs like the rock of the 70s, coupled with a wonderfully sing-along hook. Who says prog can't be fun?

Zakk Wylde - Lay Me Down (From "Book Of Shadows II" - 2016)

Zakk's best side is his soulful one, best evidenced on "Book Of Shadows II". This is the highlight of what won Album Of The Year from me, and it's the closest thing to a rock gospel I've heard. As his guitar rips through the solo, it's almost a religious experience.

The Top Ten Halestorm Songs

As the winner of this year's Album Of The Year, Halestorm has cemented their place as one of my absolute favorite bands of today. When the subject keeps being broached that rock might be dead, I get where the sentiment comes from. Having to listen to an endless stream of songs from Five Finger Death Punch and Theory Of A Deadman would make me want to take rock out behind the woodshed and put it down too. But rock isn't dead, even in the mainstream, because we have bands like Halestorm. So, today let's look at my favorite songs from their already illustrious career, album by album.

Innocence

Halestorm came out of the gates with a great album. They would top it later, but that takes nothing away from the accomplishment of starting strong. The clear and obvious choice as the best track from that record is "Innocence", which continues to be as awesome as the first time I heard it. When the band falls back to let Lzzy unleash leading into the last chorus, it's pure magic.

I Miss The Misery
Beautiful With You
Here's To Us
Private Parts

"The Strange Case Of..." shared Album Of The Year honors from me, and with tracks like these it's easy to see why. "I Miss The Misery" is a burner of a track that has just enough restraint to the lyrics Lzzy is shouting, while "Beautiful With You" is the best vocal performance of Lzzy's career. Just listen to her belt those notes and tell me who's better. "Here's To Us" is their best rollicking sing-along, and was a harbinger of what would later come. The real standout, though, is "Private Parts", one of the bonus tracks. Lzzy and James Michael duet on one of the most epic four-minute rocking ballads you'll ever hear. It's been six years, and I still can't figure out how a song that good didn't get put on the record. Everyone needs to know about it.

I Am The Fire
What Sober Couldn't Say

"Into The Wild Life" was a bit of a problematic record, but it still produced a few gems. "I Am The Fire" is a full-throated call-to-arms that anchors concerts, while "What Sober Couldn't Say" shows that Lzzy's softer side is just as important as her rock-goddess status.

Killing Ourselves To Live
White Dress
Vicious

And finishing with this year's Album Of The Year, we get three more phenomenal rock and roll moments. "Killing Ourselves To Love" has an 80s vibe that is able to sound familiar without being the outright copycat theft so many bands have been trending towards recently. "White Dress" calls back to the sound of the first two records, with a smooth melodic hook that would have played on pop radio when I was younger. And then there's "Vicious", which was my favorite song of this year. It's a bouncing, crunching, addictive slice of attitude and self-empowerment.

There are more I could list, but we'll save that for another day.

The Top Ten Graveyard Songs

We have talked about Graveyard at great length here, because they are not only a great band, but they are one of the few that generates a consensus opinion. While I find myself listening to them fairly often, I do so with the albums in full. In my mind, I even tend to think of them strictly as 35-40 minute blocks of music, rather than as individual tracks that have been collected together. So for a change of pace, I'm going to look through their five album discography and pick out my ten favorite Graveyard tracks. Here they are, in no particular order:

The Siren

In no order, that is, except for this track. Without a doubt in my mind, this is Graveyard's magnum opus, the one song that most encapsulates everything they are. It is epic, yet focused. It is heavy as hell, yet gentle. It is the greatest classic rock song classic rock doesn't know about.

Slow Motion Countdown
Uncomfortably Numb
Hard Time Lovin'
Too Much Is Not Enough

Perhaps I am in the minority, but I love Graveyard when they are at their softest, playing their soulful take on ballads. From the slight grit in Joakim's voice, to the way their amps break up with just a hint of distortion, they are able to sound like they are giving it everything they've got, even when the songs are restrained.

Exit 97
Don't Take Us For Fools

The debut album doesn't get talked about much, but while it is a bit rougher around the edges, the band's sound was fully-formed from the get-go. That is especially true on "Don't Take Us For Fools", which features Graveyard's absolute best 'so simple it's genius' riffs, played with a guitar tone that shows that distortion isn't what makes a sound heavy. Hearing the chunk of those guitars is one of the absolute best moments of their entire career.

No Good, Mr Holden
Goliath
Thin Line

The other side of Graveyard is faster and more aggressive, and they are great at that as well. Short and sweet, they waste no time in delivering only the meat, with none of the potatoes. Their songwriting is so direct it might seem incomplete, but that's the entire point. When the starting point is so good, you don't need anything else.

You might notice there are only two songs from the two latest albums represented. That isn't a slight on their quality, but a reflection that the period encompassing the first three is one of the magical times in rock when a band couldn't miss. My tastes might be a bit in left-field, but those three records are as good as classic rock can be, so it is no wonder they make up the majority of my love for Graveyard. Maybe that will change the next time I revisit this project. We'll have to see.

The Worst/Most Disappointing Albums Of 2018

As we approach the end of the year, we always take the time to go back and highlight what was great about these last twelve months. We do so to give praise to the albums that ave us listening pleasure, but also to try to make sure others don't miss out on what we thought made the year so great. There is another side to the equation, though. Every year also gives unto us a host of records that are either outright terrible, or disappoint us in ways that hurt just as much. Those are the albums we talk about today, divided into those two categories.

Let's get started.

The Worst Albums:

1. Machine Head - Catharsis

This was one of the first albums I heard this year, and it made me fear for how awful the remainder could possibly be. Over the course of twelve months, nothing could dislodge this from its 'perch'. The combination of nu-metal, rapping, and lyrics complaining about the long lines as Disney World are the stuff of my nightmares. Men in their fifties should be self-aware enough to not put out a record as immature as a teenager, but Machine Head always lives down to the lowest common denominator.

2. Ministry - Amerikkkant

This album is supposed to exist as a statement about the current political climate, but there are two problems with that; 1) Al Jourgenson cannot be taken seriously, and 2) This album is god-awful. Al throws together whatever random samples he can find, throws terrible industrial 'beats' over them, and delivers a vocal performance that is either an application to AA, or an indictment of its failures. Is this worse than Machine Head? Actually, yes, it is more unlistenable. But considering I knew it would be terrible, while Machine Head's implosion was slightly more surprising, we grade on a curve.

3. Daughtry - Cage To Rattle

I love the first two Daughtry records. Yes, they are formulaic radio rock, but they are also packed with great songs. Along the way, Daughtry has fallen victim to the de-rocking of mainstream rock, as this is his second consecutive album that is not rocking in the slightest. This flaccid album barely has guitars at all, and Daughtry's once mighty voice is quieted to singing lullabyes and generic trash. He has gone from a record Slash guested on to one now that Elmo could easily appear on. Farewell, Daughtry, you are officially forgotten.

4. Ashes Of Ares - Well Of Souls

I have never understood the appeal of Matt Barlow's voice, but I understand he has a certain stature in the metal community. What I don't understand is how any of those fans can excuse this record. With this effort, Barlow stains his reputation, giving us an album that not only is devoid of a single memorable melody, but exposes his voice as a worn and beaten instrument. He sounds like a shell of himself in the softer moments, so he is forced to spend the majority of the poorly-produced record either shrieking or half-growling. It makes for a record that has little appeal other than the name behind it. That isn't nearly enough to keep it from being one of the most tedious expriences of the year.

5. Fall Out Boy - Mania

Fall Out Boy, like Weezer, has been stuck in a terrible rut for a long time. Ever since coming back from their hiatus, they have borne little resemblence to the group I used to like. For this record, they go even further, bringing in more electronic bleeps and bloops than ever, while also rocking like Pat Boone in red leather. "Young & Menace" is the worst offender, and probably the worst song of the year, but much of the album is the same worthless pandering to a generation that doesn't even know Fall Out Boy is a Simpsons reference. It is the soundtrack to an emo who can't muster a tear to stain their eyeliner.

The Most Disappointing Albums:

1. Elvis Costello - Look Now

Elvis Costello is one of my musical heroes. That said, he also makes a lot of records I don't like at all. This isn't that bad, but the run of singles pointed to this being his grand return as pop's great jukebox. Instead, those three tracks are the best ones, and the only ones with any energy or snap. Much of this record is Elvis playing slow ballads, telling stories about characters instead of writing hooks and melodies the way he used to. I was by no means expecting a classic from a guy who was supposedly retired from the studio, but he got my hopes up with a few great tracks to drop the anvil on my head. I am Wile E Coyote, and "Look Now" is my ACME.

2. Michael Schenker Fest - Resurrection

The last few times I've heard Michael Schenker records, they have all been the same. When someone says they don't listen to any music but their own, there is little choice but for everything to begin to blend together. This record, though, is a special kind of disappointing. He brings in four singers to chronicle his history, so one of them must be able to get some good songs out of him, right? No. Three of the singers voices are in rough shape, and the fourth has never written a song that wasn't some degree of boring. Rough and boring describes this album well.

3. Dream Child - Until Death Do We Meet Again

All the members of Dio's band have been taking turns desecrating his legacy by teaming up to put out albums that prey on our memories, without ever being as good as even Dio's worst records. This is another one, highlighted by having one of the best Dio clone singers in the world. It sounds for all the world like a continuation of "Master Of The Moon", but the cynicism is what makes it so disappointing. Rather than try to prove they have worth of their own, they spend an hour aping every trick Dio ever used. It is shamelessly ripping off the man they claim to love, and it insults his legacy by watering down his catalog with this weak copy.

4. Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits

Zakk Wylde's 2016 solo album was my favorite record of that year. I have never liked Black Label Society, but I foolishly thought some of that songwriting might creep into his main gig. It did in the ballads, but the bulk of this album is still the same one-riff, Ozzy aping bro metal that Zakk has been peddling for decades. Zakk has never understood that his voice simply doesn't work for heavy metal. He sounds terrible straining to be heard over the guitars, and his beliefs about what metal are boil everything down to sound filtered through an image.

5. Seventh Wonder - Tiara

Unlike the other albums on this list, "Tiara" is actually good. The problem is that Seventh Wonder's previosu two albums were both excellent, albeit very different. After eight years of absence, putting out a good album that pales in comparison to both of them is disappointing. I expected them to return with extra fire, with a host of new ideas that sound like eight years of work poured into an album. Instead, we get a recycling of what they have always been, which is fine, but it doesn't feel like what a progressive metal band should be capable of. If this came out five years ago, it would have been perfectly acceptable. With almost a decade of anticipation, it can't live up to their own standard, adjusted for inflation.

The Top Ten Songs Of 2018

I am an album person. When I sit down to listen to music, my mood usually wants to hear one artist and one style for a solid chunk of time. One song here and there doesn't give me the same satisfaction, but songs are what everything comes down to. You can't have great artists and great albums without great songs. So while I spend most of my time here talking about records in full, I do like to take time at the end of the year to highlight the individual songs that have spoken to me the most. Here they are.

10. Myja - Just One Kiss

Myja's album mixed grunge and power pop, and nowhere was it more effective than on this track, which is like a piece of bubblegum that leaves your lips stained in goth black. Borrowing a piece of the melody from a massive Shania Twain hit, there is something deeply satisfying about hearing the familiar given a slightly unexpected twist.

9. Nordic Union - Breathtaking

This record had multiple songs that I could have picked, but I settled on this one for a simple reason; it is what the title promises. Melodic rock is often toothless and too smooth for its own good. Nordic Union has grit and melancholy, and that makes the sugar rush of the hook all the sweeter.

8. Richie Kotzen - Riot

The Winery Dogs weren't active this year, but this song fills that gap. Sounding exactly like a track from their awesome debut album, Richie on this solo track hits on everything he does so well. There is some flashy guitar playing, a solid groove, and a bouncy hook that kills. This is one of Richie's best, definitely.

7. All That Remains - Everything's Wrong

Why do I hate modern bro-rock? In large part, because if those people were a bit more mature, we would wind up with more songs like this one. It's still dark and suitably heavy, but there's a level of introspection and melody that can only come from an adult attitude. This track is the standout of a surprisingly good record, a singer/songwriter track delivered through the attitude and sound of heavy metal. It works.

6. Ghost - Witch Image

Ghost's "Prequelle" was their poppiest record yet, and no song was poppier than this one, which explains why I love it so much. Pop music with loud guitars is one of my favorite types of music, and Ghost absolutely nail it. Did you ever think a song about rotting flesh could be an infectious pop anthem? Well, it is here. Every time I listen to this song, it winds up caught in my head for days. In Ghost's 'greatest hits', this goes right near the top.

5. Light The Torch - Die Alone

The first time I heard this song, it blew me away. I've come to expect my favorite albums to be one-offs, so when the spirit of my favorite Killswitch Engage album came pounding through the speakers, I was pumped. Howard Jones just has one of those voices that sells his material, so hearing him back to his melodic best is a treat. Couple that hooky melody with some crushing guitars, and you have a recipe for great things.

4. The Spider Accomplice - End My Life

As has seemingly become ritual, The Spider Accomplice are gracing my lists yet again. They continue to spin new patterns with their musical silk, enchanting us until we get so close we wind up stuck in their web. This time, they expand their scope, becoming symphonic, with VK more than matching the power of the backdrop. Every time you encounter this spider, there is something new to hear. But running through it all is a thread of honesty, and it makes everything they put out burn even hotter.

3. W.E.T. - The Burning Pain Of Love

So there's a song that is pure melodic rock bliss, and has backing vocals straight out of the classic Meat Loaf sound? You can't sigh me up faster, and W.E.T. more than deliver on this track, the absolute standout from their latest album. This is the kind of stuff 'true' fans call too cheesy, or wimpy, or whatever other adjective they want to use to deflect from their own insecurity. What this song is, simply, is awesome.

2. Dilana - Behind Closed Doors

There was very little chance my favorite voice could release a new song and it wouldn't end up here. Dilana is one of those rare singers who makes you feel what she is singing, or me at least, and with a powerful message in the lyrics about one of the horrors of humanity, the result is wrenching. A truly beautiful way to shine light upon the darkness.

1. Halestorm - Vicious

Am I vicious? No, not even close. But listening to this song, I can almost feel it. Look, I can't explain everything that goes on in my mind, and why this song captured my attention more than any other this year is one of them that slips through my grasp. Yes, I love the slinky groove, the power of the hook, and Lzzy's goddess vocals, but I could say that about "Killing Myself To Live", too. In fact, I almost did. So why "Vicious"? I suppose in a year where it felt everyone was being beaten down by bad news each and every day, we all need to be a little vicious to survive.

The Top Ten Albums Of 2018

Each January, when I turn the calendar over to a new page, there is an excitement over having a fresh start. The next twelve months can contain anything, including the prospect of finding the next piece of music that changes my life. While that did not happen this year, this cycle around the sun did give to us a plethora of releases that made the hard times go by just a bit faster. Most years, I come to this task in the difficult position of trying to decide which albums should get the last slot or two on the list, because there aren't necessarily ten I would say will remain with me for years to come. This time, however, the script is flipped, and I had difficult choices in which albums to leave off the list. It can be argued whether the very top of the list is as strong as some years, but the depth of 2018 has been remarkable. For that reason alone, I have to say this was one of the best years, for me at least, since I started keeping track of my listening habits.

There's one piece of business to attend to first. As the ways we listen to music change, so to can our definition of what a record/album is. That reality comes to the forefront here, as I'm not entirely sure how to consider an album that was released in pieces, across several years. The way I'm choosing to handle the situation is to hand out two top awards; one for the best album released this year, and one for the best record (in sum) that came together this year. I think that's fair.

Anyway, on to the list.

Honorable Mentions: Graveyard - Peace, A Light Divided - Choose Your Own Adventure

These were the hardest to cut from the top ten. Graveyard is one of my favorite bands working right now, and they rebounded from what I felt was their weakest effort with an album that put them back on the right track (that previous record made my list, while this one doesn't, showing what a strong year this was). Greta Van Fleet got all the retro-rock attention, but Grvaeyard are still the masters of it. A Light Divided was a surprising find, but they hit a home run in a style that I am a bit of a sucker for. Their energetic pop/rock is fueled by their quite aggressive female vocals, which lets them be catchy while being heavier than many of the bands like this I have been so high on in recent years (Shiverburn, Letter From The Fire, Forever Still, etc.). They are more than worth checking out.

10. All That Remains - Victim Of The New Disease

There are bands and albums you tell yourself you shouldn't like. There is enough bad blood surrounding All That Remains that for someone like me, who never encountered them during their best period, to get into something they're doing now doesn't make much sense. This record, though, is one that has gotten under my skin. Their radio rock detours get blended into traditional metalcore, which leaves us with an album that is a bit of a hodgepodge, but chock full of great melodic hooks. I knew "Everything's Wrong" and "Wasteland" had promise, and it's nice to hear the entire record, save for the vomit-inducing "Fuck Love", is better than anything I could have expected from this group.

9. Ghost - Prequelle

Ghost continues to grow bigger, and with the exception of "Infestissumam", better with each release. This time around, they fully embrace their pop influences, delivering an album of songs that is filled with their traditional occult-tinged rock, but with a pop sheen that makes the poison go down like candy. Their most infectious songs yet litter this album, with "Dance Macabre" and "Witch Image" standing out as some of the best songs of the entire year. The only thing holding this album back is the brevity. With two long instrumentals, there simply isn't enough of Ghost doing what they do best here.

8. Myja - Myja

A few years back, my list was assaulted late in December by an album I wasn't anticipating from Steven Adler's band, of all people. That album was entirely the work of Jacob Bunton, who is one half of this project as well. Have you ever thought of combining power pop and grunge? I hadn't either, but that's essentially what this album does, and it feels so much more natural than I would have imagined. The melodies are soft and sticky, while the tones and vocals are distant and dark. There's probably a metaphor in there, but let's just leave it at saying this is one of those surprising little albums that makes the hunt for new music so rewarding.

7. The Jayhawks - Back Roads & Abandoned Motels

The one thing The Jayhawks have never been is consistent. With constantly changing lineups, and a sound that shifted multiple times, there are only a few stops along the way I have been keen on. This album is nostalgic, taking me back to those Jayhawks albums I love. There is a heavy dose of "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Rainy Day Music" in these songs, which hold together as an album far more than their genesis would imply. There is something timeless about great music, and this is timeless music.

6. W.E.T. - Earthrage

Melodic rock is often cheesy. Myself, I don't mind that. That charge can be leveled against W.E.T., but these veterans don't care. This project is an outlet for them to have fun, and play music that isn't as serious as their main gigs. You can sense that lightness in these songs, which feature big melodies, bright arrangements, and a relaxed atmosphere. Jeff Scott Soto sounds better here than he has on his other recent appearances, and he's given the best material he's had to sing perhaps ever. The only problem with this album is that its main songwriter released another melodic rock album this year that's even better, which makes this one a touch harder to talk about. We'll get to that shortly.

5. Amaranthe - Helix

I doubt it was intentional, but I find it fascinating how Amaranthe has replicated the plastic, synthetic writing of modern pop music with guitars and real drums. Musically, this is the end result if Max Martin plugged in to a cranked Marshall stack, only with even better hooks. Amaranthe has always been at the forefront of fusing pop and metal, but they go even further this time, and the results are stunning. Song after song, we get a mechanically precise assembly line of ultra-heavy pop. It is an extreme overcorrection to the idea that pop and rock don't go together anymore. They do, and Amaranthe proves it.

4. Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises

Speaking of pop music, this is easily the best pop album of the year. Pale Waves caught me by surprise when I first caught wind of them, and since thne they have grown on me as the logical continuation of where I left off with the genre. They have taken Taylor Swift's "1989", rocked a little harder, and given the whole thing a darker vibe. They are the purveyors of what I call 'Daria rock', and it is oh so sweet. This is pop music that plays hard to get, giving you a look from across the room, making you come to her. I don't know if it will be just a moment in time, an endorphin rush that can't last, but even if it is, we've been given a heck of a gift in this album.

3. Nordic Union - Second Coming

The first Nordic Union album was a pleasant surprise, coming in very high on my year-end list. The second album would have to live up to those expectations, and does it ever. Though very similar, this record has a slightly darker tone running through it, which only plays into what made the first record so good. Melodic rock can often by too fluffy and flowery, but Nordic Union is anything but that. This album is crunchy, heavy, and yet unforgettably catchy. Yes, there are a lot of European rock albums that sound like this, but none that are better. This is pure bliss.

2. Light The Torch - Revival

A month before the release date, when "Die Alone" finished playing for the first time, I thought to myself what I was hearing could be special. When I finally got the album, I was proven right. Howard Jones is a massive vocal talent, and his era of Killswitch Engage is the one I grew attached to, the 2009 self-titled album especially. This album is the natural extension of that one, which is just what I needed. Jones and his band play at their most melodic, giving us an album of songs that are simple, direct, crushingly heavy, and packed with the muscular melodies that defined the entire metalcore genre. Howard has never been better than this, nor has he been given as much room to showcase his melodic ear. This album is why I love heavy music.

1. Halestorm - Vicious

Why do I love this new Halestorm album? Well, I can't really put my finger on it. There are lyrics the poet in me wishes were more nuanced, a couple songs with a focus on rhythm that normally isn't my thing, and yet I keep finding myself wanting to come back again and again. Lzzy Hale is a charismatic supernova, and the greatest vocalist of her generation, but more than that it's when Halestorm writes a great modern rock track, there is no one better at selling it. In fact, this album is so good it's made me revisit my opinion of their previous record, which now makes far more sense. How about that? "Vicious" made me love two albums at the same time. Mostly, the decision to put this at the top of the list came down to the simple fact that there was nothing that came out in 2018 I spent more time listening to, or that made me pick up my guitar and try to figure out a few of the songs. That is the ultimate test of when something has taken over my brain. So yeah, this album, and the fact that Halestorm is now only the second artist to ever top my list twice, has cemented my opinion that Halestorm is clearly the best modern rock band in the world now. I said it.

Now for the special award. While this record wasn't released in its entirety this year, the final piece was, and in total it is the record that most defines the year for me. Therefore...

The Record Of The Year:

The Spider Accomplice - Los Angeles

Each of the three EPs released by The Spider Accomplice has been a different thread in the web they have been constructing. Now that we are able to put them together, step back and see the delicate patterns glistening in the sun, we are confronted with a record that challenges our interpretation of what modern rock can be. As sprawling as its namesake city, "Los Angeles" is the soundtrack to a million lost souls trying to find their way together, a city that hangs together because everyone is in the same boat, searching for themselves. VK and Arno constantly amaze me with the way they are able to blend the light and dark, maintaining their identity while experimenting, all the while writing songs that speak to our collective truth. If you press me, there is no other record that sums up 2018 more than "Los Angeles", even if it is a reality I have constructed for myself. How de rigueur, eh?

The Best Of 2018... So Far

Is it really the middle of the year already? It feels like every time I turn around, another six months has gone by and it's time to sort through my thoughts again. These first six months of 2018 have had a lot of great music to sort through, but it has also had the land mines we've had to carefully avoid. More than that, there is an interesting development on the intellectual front.

We often confront ourselves with questions when we talk about music. Is this record pushing boundaries? Is this record better than that record? How will this band ever top themselves?

What we don't often get are existential questions, but this year has given me one. Namely, what is an album? Are separate releases that make up a single entity one album? There isn't any hard and fast rule to these things, and I believe the nature of the term has been fluid as we have seen technology completely upend our understanding of how the business works. So with that being said, and since this is my list and I can make my own rules, I am going to declare:

The Best Album Of 2018, So Far:

The Spider Accomplice - Los Angeles

The third installment of this conceptual piece came out this year, and since it all follows the same story, I'm considering it one album for the purposes of this list. I'm doing that because "Los Angeles" is easily my favorite bit of music this year. Over the course of this song cycle, The Spider Accomplice takes us on a twisting, turning ride through the world of pop/rock, hitting on too many sounds and influences to count, all while maintaining both a constant core to their sound and a through-line of growth. The combination of VK Lynne's big voice and melodies with Arno's inventive musical backdrops has created a band where anything is possible, and like a rainbow in the sky, what color you can reach out and touch depends on where you're looking. In my mind, "Los Angeles" is the most important album of the year.

My other favorites this year include (in alphabetical order):

Ghost - Prequelle

Ghost has been getting better each time out, save for their misguided sophomore album. This is easily their poppiest album, but that's exactly what I love about it. Writing an album about the plague, and death in general, that is so upbeat sounding and infectious (pardon the pun) is the kind of subversion that makes me happy. Throw in the fact that Ghost continues to hone their craft, and you get an album that overcomes its flaws on the sheer strength of its smile-inducing capabilities.

Graveyard - Peace

The best rock and roll band going is back, and they pick up in fine form. "Peace" is their heaviest album to date, but is still packed with both the simple riffs that have always made guitar players jealous, and the emotional melodies that show a songwriter's touch. Music doesn't need to be any more complicated than this, because doing something simple the right way is harder than it sounds. In five albums, Graveyard has now made four of the best classic rock records since the 70s. How's that for success?

Light The Torch - Revival

I'm the weirdo whose favorite Killswitch Engage record is the 2009 self-titled. I love the way they pumped heaps of melody into the sound, which is what makes "Revival" such a wonder for me. This is a spiritual successor to that record, where Howard Jones returns to his most melodic side, creating an album that is mainstream in its catchiness, but still undeniably heavier than hell. When it comes to heavy music, this is what I want to hear. Big guitars, big vocals, and big melodies.

Myja - Myja

What happens when power-pop meets grungy alternative rock? You get Myja, who have made a record that is dark and hazy like a classic Seattle album, yet bristles with the sheen of power-pop melody. It is both upbeat and downbeat at the same time, and the clash of sounds makes it an interesting listen. It is akin to a Fastball record in the midst of depression. It's beautiful to listen to, and the record contains one of the best songs of the year in "One More Kiss", the only rock song I've ever heard that borrows from Shania Twain and makes it work.

W.E.T. - Earthrage

Europe has been giving us a steady stream of great melodic rock, and one of the usual suspects strikes again here. Erik Martensson and his cohorts have made an album of melodic rock that is heavy when it needs to be, but is shameless in wringing melodies for all they're worth. Many might say the record is cheesy, and perhaps it is, but it's also simply a blast to listen to. Sometimes music is just there to give us a good time, and W.E.T. has mastered that with this album.

And we will pretend the bad stuff, which includes Machine Head and Fall Out Boy's newest 'efforts', didn't happen. At least not until the end of the year, by which time I will hopefully have some creative ways of explaining how bad they are.