Best of 2023, Part 2: In Flames, Avatar, Metallica, Nita Strauss, Overkill

Continuing my list of top 20 albums of 2023:

No. 10. NITA STRAUSS – THE CALL OF THE VOID: The long-time Alice Cooper guitar slinger delivers her second solo album, this time shaking things up with a whole host of guest artists (including the boss), as well as some incredible instrumental pieces. The songs with guest stars do tend to take on the flavor of the guest’s band, but that’s honestly not a problem at all as it brings great variety from the melodic death metal influence of “The Wolf You Feed,” featuring Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, to the quirky nu metal of “Dead Inside,” featuring David Draiman of Disturbed, to the all-out hard rock of “Victorious,” featuring Dorothy. But it’s not just guest vocalists that Strauss brings on as we get a shredder's dream collab with Marty Friedman on “Surfacing,” to close the record. Call of the Void is a solid album that should appeal not only to guitar fans, but fans of great rock songs.

Standout songs: “Summer Storm,” “The Wolf You Feed,” “Victorious,” “Winner Takes All,” “Kintsugi,” “Surfacing”

Best of the 2010s, Part 1: Alestorm through Delain

It’s not until you sit down and actually start combing through the hundreds of records you’ve listened to over a decade that you realize how daunting the task of picking favorites over that period of time is. I barely remember who the guy occupying my body in 2010 was, much less where his head was musically when he picked his Top 10 for that year. It seems like both just yesterday and a lifetime ago.

After a bit of mild agonizing, I’ve chosen 30 favorites for the decade. It’s a completely random number because, basically, that’s as far as I could narrow the list – and even at that, there were a couple of tough cuts. They’re listed in alphabetical order because I didn’t have the fortitude to attempt to rank them 1-30, and if I had, it might be another decade before I’d be able to finalize the list. I’ve also limited it to one album per artist, even though several of the artists on the list had multiple records that I would have liked to include. As always, I stress that I am in no way saying these are the “best” albums of the 2010s, only my favorites, and I’m sure that I’ll kick myself for forgetting something as soon as it’s published. Still, off we go …


ALESTORM – NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA (2017): If I had to name my artist of the decade, it would probably be Alestorm. No band brought me more pure, unadulterated fun and joy in the 2010s, and every album they released was a contender. It came down to a tough choice between this one and 2011’s Back Through Time, but in the end, I think No Grave but the Sea may be their best piratical adventure to date. It has some of the most memorable melodies, an injection of heaviness in the form of an increased presence of keyboardist Elliot Vernon’s harsh vocals – and as always, Christopher Bowes’ quirky and silly sense of humor. Oh, and it spawned the profane anthem about an anchor that will likely close every show they do from now on with a rousing, drunken sing-along.

Best of 2016: Metal and Hard Rock

For me, 2016 was a very hectic year, so I didn’t get the chance to write about as many of these records as I would have liked. Still, it was a strong musical year, and, as you go through my Best Hard Rock and Metal of 2016 list, you’ll see why I’m calling it the year of the classic thrash band.

That said, two notable thrash heavyweights who released albums this year didn’t make the Top 10: Megadeth’s Dystopia grew on me as 2016 went on, and was on the bubble as I made my final decision, but didn’t quite make the cut. The other, I was a bit more disappointed by. Though Metallica’s Hardwired … to Self-Destruct contains a few standout tracks – including the best pure thrash song they’ve recorded in ages – I just found most of the record vanilla and unmemorable. Those songs that I love just weren’t enough to overcome the blah numbers that surround them.

That said, four classic thrash acts did find their way into a pretty strong final field, and one blew all the others away in my opinion. Here’s my Best Hard Rock and Metal of 2016 …


10. METAL CHURCH – XI: Here’s our first classic thrash entry already. The return of Mike Howe on vocals certainly piqued my interest, as 1989’s Blessing in Disguise is one of my favorite Metal Church albums, and the lead single “No Tomorrow” got me amped up. The album followed through on that promise. There’s nothing new or fancy here, but it’s just a great old-school thrash record.

Playlist 2016 Week 2: Jackson Taylor, Metallica, Delain, Amon Amarth, Wicked Realm

In the second week of my Playlist 2016, we'll go from country to Viking death metal with a detour through the 1980s.


"Which Way is Up?" Jackson Taylor & The Sinners. If any song perfectly encapsulates 2016, it's this title track from Jackson Taylor's latest release. It expressed my feelings exactly as most everyone around me seemed to lose their minds in a particularly nasty election year. It's a message that I believe everyone needs to hear before this year is over.

Best of 2014: Hard rock and metal

We enjoyed a really strong year in hard rock and metal, so much so that some albums I really enjoyed got bumped off of my Best of 2014 list. There were great comebacks from the likes of Sanctuary, Body Count and, of course, Judas Priest. There were releases from some very promising new acts like Anti-Mortem and Black Crown Initiate. There were entries from some steady-as-ever acts.

As always, this list is subject to change with my mood, or as I discover a few records that I somehow missed over the course of the year, but here’s my Best of 2014 list for hard rock and metal — at least, as of the last week of the year …


No. 10 — SANCTUARY – THE YEAR THE SUN DIED: It’s been 25 years since Sanctuary’s last album, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell that from this record. This is a bit heavier perhaps, a bit more progressive, than the band’s earlier work, but just a stellar album all the way around.

Best of 2014: Mid-year hard rock and metal

Just so we’re clear, this list gets completely blown up in a couple of weeks when I can officially add Judas Priest’s Redeemer of Souls, which I’ve been jamming at high volumes for about a week now. But, at the official midpoint of the year, these are my picks in hard rock and metal.

Overall, it’s been a good year thus far in the genres. There are a few old favorites, at least one newcomer and a couple of surprises …


No. 10 — BODY COUNT – MANSLAUGHTER: Eight years after a disappointing return with 2006′s Murder 4 Hire, Ice-T’s metal outfit brings back its early glory, delivering a violent gutpunch of an album that’s a little heavier on gratuitous sex and violence than social commentary, but still entertaining.

Review: Delain, "The Human Contradiction"

Every now and then, I come across a record that for some weird reason seems to call out to me for a listen despite past history.

When Nightwish’s Imaginaerum came out a few years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan, but it ended up being my favorite record of the year. Likewise, I’ve had a couple of Delain records cross my desk in the past, including their 2009 effort April Rain, which seems to be regarded as their best. They’ve never grabbed my attention.

But as I scanned my available promos over the past weeks, my eye kept hitting on their latest, The Human Contradiction, so finally I decided to give it a listen. Pretty randomly, I picked the song “Stardust” to sample. By the end of the song, I was downloading the full record.