Best of 2018: Judas Priest, Machine Head, Burning Witches, Dark Hound, White Wizzard, Amorphis, more

I’ve seen many in the metal community praise last year as one of the best in recent memory. I’m not going to go that far, but it was pretty solid. My personal best of 2018 list features great records from old favorites, a few awesome new discoveries, and even a good record here and there from bands that I haven’t been a huge fan of in the past.

Then there’s that one mammoth record that made the whole year worth it, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Let’s start with the notable records of the year that didn’t crack the Top 10 …

BEST OF 2018 HONORABLE MENTIONS


JUNGLE ROT – JUNGLE ROT: That moment when you realize that you’ve misjudged a band for years because of their name. They categorize themselves as death metal, and with a name like that … well, I knew what I was getting. Or did I? About a month or so ago, the video for “A Burning Cinder” played as a YouTube ad, and instead of going on to the video I wanted to watch, I played it again. And a third time. More thrash than death metal to my ears, this album spent some time in the lower portion of my top 10 before getting pushed out on a tough last-minute decision.

Review: Cypress Hill, "Elephants on Acid"

I can count on one hand – with fingers left over – the number of hip-hop acts I get excited about hearing new music from. Cypress Hill, though, is at the top of that list.

I was a metal kid in my early 20s who, with a couple of notable exceptions, hated hip-hop with a passion when I first heard Cypress Hill through a friend and co-worker at the fast-food joint where I was working my way through college. He was a black hardcore hip-hop fan from California, and I was a white redneck metalhead from Louisiana. We often taunted each other, good-naturedly, with our respective music while we worked. That was his intent when he popped a Cypress Hill disc in the little boom box, but there was something about this group that caught my attention. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but they had a different vibe that I really liked – and it didn’t hurt, I guess, that one of the first songs he played was “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” which sampled Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard.”

Saturday Shuffle: N.E.R.D., Disturbed, Cypress Hill, ZZ Top, Aerosmith

A shuffle with two hip-hop tunes in it? What are things coming to here ...  ;)

N.E.R.D., "Lapdance." From the album In Search of ... (2002). This tune is a bit of a guilty pleasure. Well, more than a bit of one, I guess. I might be the only person on the planet that liked the "Daredevil" movie. And I absolutely love the scene where the camera pans up on Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin in that suit, leaning on his cane and puffing a cigar. That scene is the whole reason this song is in my collection. I could live without the more typical rap toward the end, but otherwise, I have to admit I like it.

Saturday Shuffle: Nirvana, Warrant, Cypress Hill, Amorphis, Hank Jr.

Something for just about everyone this week. Rock, hip-hop, death metal, country, you want it, it's there ...


Nirvana, "Plateau." From the album MTV Unplugged in New York (1994). I've never made any secret of my opinion of Nirvana and the fact that I believe they're the most overrated band in the history of rock. That said, I do love the Unplugged album, and "Plateau," one of a couple of Meat Puppets covers on the record, is a favorite.

15 Years, 15 Records: 2000, Alice Cooper gets 'Brutal'

The thrashing opening riff of Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet announces immediately that this record is going to be a little different. The record, which is essentially a morality play, is darker and bleaker with less of Cooper’s trademark black humor, though it does creep in on songs like “It’s the Little Things.”

It’s a heavier record musically, easily Alice’s most metallic, and the themes that he tackles in the songs are heavier as well. It was part of a trio of heavier records, ending with 2001’s Dragontown, after which he returned to his garage rock roots.

Review: Slash, "Slash"

Despite an impressive list of guest artists, Slash’s self-titled solo CD never climbs beyond the mediocre.

There are usually two main problems with records like this. Either the songs end up sounding like the guest artists rather than the primary artist or the collaborations sound forced. This album has both.

There are some surprising guests and some not-so-surprising guests here. You might expect a Slash record to feature guest shots by the likes of Alice Cooper (who he’s played with before), Ozzy Osbourne or Ian Astbury. You’d be less likely to think of pop singer Fergie, rappers Cypress Hill or Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. They’re here, too, with mixed results.