My Top 20 Albums of 2008

So here it is, the end of 2008. Time to make my choices for Top 20 albums of the year. I started this list months ago then left it alone for a long time then tried working on it again a couple of months back but ended up discovering more great 2008 releases to add to it. A couple of things that surprised me while making this list - an album I was sure a few months back would end up in my Top 5 actually came in at #10 and one album I thought would at least make it to my Top 20 didn't make the list at all. Here are my choices:

1. Crystallion - Hattin'
2. Fireland - Fireland
3. Borealis - World of Silence
4. Memoira - Memoira
5. Incrave - Dead End
6. Pertness - Seven Times Eternity
7. Crom - Vengeance
8. Flowing Tears - Thy Kingdom Gone
9. Leif Edling - Songs of Torment - Songs of Joy
10. Blinded Rain - Destination Unknown
11. Crown of Glory - A Deep Breath of Life
12. Heavenwood - Redemption
13. Orden Ogan - Vale
14. Viron - Ferrum Gravis
15. Brainstorm - Downburst
16. Lacrimas Profundere - Songs for the Last View
17. Powerworld - Powerworld
18. Symphonity - Voice From the Silence
19. Saint Deamon - In Shadows Lost From the Brave
20. Cain's Dynasty - Legacy of Blood


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Top Albums of 2008

Oh my FREAKING gawd - I have one month to make my "Top Albums of 2008" list!!! Right now the song "Come Insanity" by Inmoria is playing - how very fitting for this moment. Arrrrgh!!!!!!

Great new band out of Sweden

Gotta love Sweden for having great talent such as the combined talents of the guys in a new band called Inmoria. Do you like Tad Morose, Morgana Lefay, God Awful Machine and Steel Attack? If you do then I'm sure you'll like this band which features members/ex-members of these bands. Really, really great heavy metal listening. Check them out at Inmoria @ Myspace or at their official website Inmoria Official Website where you can download their songs for free. Excellent music!


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Great Melodic Metal Discovery

If you like female-fronted melodic metal then you simply must listen to this new band I discovered recently. They're called Memoira and they're from Satakunta, Finland. I love Finland for all the great metal bands coming from there. What a country!!

Memoira play rather epic metal that has progressive melodic and gothic orchestral parts and they are known for strong melancholic melodies and heavy guitar walls - and I LOVE heavy guitars!

Here's the link to their MySpace page so give them a listen and see if you like ...

Memoira @ MySpace


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Great Gothic Metal

Only when an album really makes an impression on me, after just one listen, is when I feel compelled to write about it so follows this review...

"Destination Unknown" is the sophomore album of the Finnish band Blinded Rain. Let me tell you, Finland really has some great gothic metal bands and Blinded Rain is one of the best I have ever heard. Well, at least this album is outstanding for me as I haven't heard their debut album entitled "Time?" ... yet.

When I first listened to this album I thought "this is exactly how I like to hear gothic metal". Vocalist Kaide has what I like to think of as the perfect vocals for a gothic metal band, deep and powerful and oh so easy to listen to. Personally, I believe the production on this album is very, very well done. The guitars, bass and drumming are excellent. I love to hear the drummer hammering the drums so I can really hear them rather than them being buried in the background. The guitar is strong along with powerful bass which is not buried in the background either. I'm not a huge fan of keyboards but on this album they are not the main focus and here the keys actually provide for a great atmospheric feel and make the songs so much better. Female backing vocals are present and add to the great atmosphere of this album as well.

I love every song on this album but the most standout track for me would be the last track on the album, Goodbye the Dreamer. It's one of those songs that mingles around in your head for long after you've heard it. When the album is finished playing I immediately want to listen to it again. I really can't say this for alot of albums in my collection. Am I picky? Damn right I am! I think I own only a handful of albums that make me want to listen to them twice (or more) in a row and "Blinded Rain - Destinatin Unknown" is certainly one of them. This album is definitely going to be in my Top 5 albums for 2008 and who knows, by the end of the year it may end up at No. 1 because, as of this date, I only really have one other strong contender for that conveted No. 1 spot.

My rating: 5/5

Blinded Rain @ MySpace


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Anticipated debut album release

So here is an image of a really great EP of a U.K. band I discovered quite some time ago - Isle of Avalon. The name of the EP and song titles alone were enough to get me to give them a listen. To be honest I can't really remember how I found them but when I did I was very impressed and quickly contacted one of the band members to order the EP because I like supporting the artists who make great music. They work hard to create their music so why the hell not give them money for their efforts. The EP has 3 songs and all are really great tunes. They play my favorite genre - power metal. The first song, The Castle Argent, is a great opening song with high energy that draws you in and makes you want to keep listening. The Legend of Zagor is another great song where the vocalist does an alternate vocal during different parts of the song (much like Crystallion's Thomas Strubler did in their song "The Final Revelation"). I really enjoy the alternate vocals because it makes for an interesting song. The third song, The Quest, has a very catchy chorus that gets stuck in my head long after I've heard it. With power metal bands, I find that catchy choruses are key with the fanbase.

So the other day I had gone to their MySpace page and found out they're getting ready for the release of their debut album. Yay!!! Very exciting news for me as I've been dying to hear more music from Isle of Avalon. One of the band members is on my "Friends" list at Last.fm (Hi Alexander!) so I asked him about the new album. Alexander tells me the album is recorded, artwork is done and I have 10 tracks to look forward to. :-) Really, really can't wait to hear it. \m/

So if you like power metal or just discovering new metal bands then check out Isle of Avalon at their MySpace page where you can hear a couple songs from the EP and if you like what you hear then tell your friends, buy the EP and when the album is released buy it too!

Isle of Avalon @ MySpace



\m/ Stay Metal \m/

New Additions to my CD Collection

Of course my latest addition is "Crystallion: Hattin". There was no way I was waiting until the North American release date in August so I ordered the album from the band's label. It took a mere 8 days to arrive in my mailbox all the way from Germany! I live in Canada and this always amazes me with overseas orders because when I order CDs from the U.S. it always takes at least 3 weeks to get here. I curse "customs" all the way to hell and back for making me wait so damn long for my cd orders which brings me to my next two CD additions (well future additions because I ordered them from the U.S. just this past week). I love Galloglass so much that I had to order both of their CDs and damn if I didn't find the Limited Edition Digipak of their second album "Heavenseeker" which includes the CD with 2 bonus tracks AND a live DVD! How freakin' lucky is that?!?!?!?! You see, The Metal Archives website says there are only 4,000 copies of this Ltd. Edition Digipak worldwide and I found a website that had it, brand new! I really didn't expect to find this digipak because the album is already 3 years old. The last "future" addition to my collection is the new Pyramaze album "Immortal". I preordered this cd back in April and if I'm lucky, it will be shipped to me on June 24 but if there were too many preorders in front of me and they sell out then I'll be waiting for the next shipment. The album really is great and with Matt Barlow on vocals I'm pretty damn sure this album is going to be a hot seller so I may not see my copy until, oh I don't know, August? September? Well, at any rate it will eventually be in my collection. All in all buying these 4 albums was money well spent and it makes me feel good to be supporting the artists. Now if only Crystallion would get their t-shirts in stock, I could support them a little more. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/

2008 Album Disappointments ... So Far

First up is Timo Tolki's Revolution Renaissance: New Era. I had heard samples of this album (those horrible 30 second samples that are just way too short) and had high hopes for this album. I have a few Stratovarius albums but don't listen to them a whole lot. I don't even know why I bought them, they must have been cheap or something. Anyway, after listening to the whole album I felt disappointed and let down. I have never heard Tobias Sammet sound so horrible on an album and I think he's a great vocalist. He sounds great singing with Edguy and Avantasia. I don't really know what happened here but it's not a good thing. I'm not familiar with the vocalist Pasi Rantanen but his vocals didn't impress me. I would have to say that Michael Kiske's vocals sound the best with this music but that's just not good enough for me. With more bad songs than good I won't be adding this album to my CD collection any time soon.

Next up is StoneLake: Uncharted Souls. I did enjoy StoneLake's debut album World Entry and hoped the follow-up album would be even better. Not so. The whole album is just mediocre and maybe I'm not liking it because I found that after so many listens of the debut album, I was tired of this band. I don't know why, but sometimes I can love an album but just get tired of it quickly and for me, StoneLake just doesn't have that staying power. I regret buying the first album but I won't be making the mistake of purchasing their second one. I'll save my money for an album really worthy of my hard-earned cash like Galloglass: Legends From Now And Nevermore. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/

A Really Nice Surprise

The first time I heard Galloglass was back in April 2006 when I listened to their second album "Heavenseeker" (released in 2005). I thought it was an okay album but nothing too special and have not really listened to it much since then. Today I had the chance to listen to their first album, "Legends From Now And Nevermore" which was released in 2003. What a great album! So I thought what's different between the two releases that makes me love one but not the other. So I take a trip over to "The Metal Archives" (excellent website btw) to find out there is a different vocalist on each album and that makes a huge difference for me because when I listen to a new band for the first time the music may be great but if I don't like the vocalist then I simply can't listen to the album. Carsten Frank is the vocalist on Legends From Now and Nevermore and he really is wonderful. I also found out that he is the vocalist on the latest Human Fortress album "Eternal Empire". Now I know why I love this Human Fortress album more than it's predecessors. I am so damn picky when it comes to vocalists but that's another post.

So I'm recommending Galloglass: Legends From Now And Nevermore to power metal fans who haven't heard it yet and I'm also recommending the new Human Fortress album Eternal Empire. Both really, really great albums.

UPDATE: May 31/08 - Okay, I'm embarrassed. Carsten Frank sings on both Galloglass albums. I gave the second album another listen and realized it had to be him singing so I double-checked at The Metal Archives and, yup, it's him. The first 3 songs on the album are just so different from their debut that I honestly thought it was someone else singing. My bad! What I read before was that Carsten left the band and apparently there is another vocalist but the band is "on hold". Carsten left the band after the second album.

Anywho, after giving it yet another really good listen turns out I really like the second album too but Legends From Now And Nevermore has the potential to become a classic, to me anyway. Others may disagree. :)

\m/ Stay Metal \m/