Blog author: Alex Stojanovic Well folks! The page is about to be turned on another year. 2018 has come and gone, and what a year it has been. The end of the year is here, and it's that time of the year again that we all love (and dread), where we reflect and name our favourite albums of the year. The challenge is whittling down the hundreds of great releases that came out during the year down to 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. Never an easy task. |
First of all, let's take a moment to remember all the great musicians that we lost this year, both in and out of rock and metal like "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Pat Torpey, Dave Holland, Frank "Killjoy" Pucci, Tim Calvert, Jill Janus, Ralph Santolla, Randy Rampage, Brett Hoffman, Kyle Pavone, Oli Herbert, and especially Vinnie Paul and Aretha Franklin just to name a few, as well as several other great talents outside of music, like Anthony Bourdain and Stan Lee. The last couple of years have been pretty brutal as far as the passings are concerned. After I created my Top 10 of 2017 last year, there was another big loss for the metal community with the passing of Warrel Dane. He wasn't in my list then because I remember posting my list prior to his passing, but I wanted to give him a mention in this list because he was another huge figure in metal. R.I.P. to all the fallen heroes in and out of music.
Just like any year, there were so many events that made headline news and really affected a lot of fans and got a lot of people talking. Some of the biggest stories of the year include Slayer embarking on their farewell tour, Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest announcing his Parkinson's diagnosis and retirement from full-scale touring, Machine Head announcing the simultaneous departures of Phil Demmel and Dave McClain, Rush officially announcing their disbandment, and most recently was Peter Baltes announcing his departure from Accept after 40 years. I know there's many more big stories that I missed, but these are just a few off the top of my head. 2018 in a way, also became somewhat of a year for farewell tour announcements. This year, Slayer embarked on their final tour, but also Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Simon, Kiss, Elton John, Krokus, UFO and Lynard Skynard also announced farewell tours, all of which will continue into, or start in 2019 and probably beyond. We'll see who was telling the truth when each tour is done.
On behalf of all of us here at Metal Master Kingdom, I'd like to thank all our readers for making 2018 another one of the best years in MMK history. Thanks to all of you, our readership numbers have increased once again from the previous year. This year, we've passed the 100,000 mark in terms of our monthly viewership twice. Ever since 2012, our viewership has increased greatly with each passing year, and we are another year closer to reaching the 1,000,000 mark for total yearly views! This is huge for us and it's thanks to all of you. Thank you all so much! We truly appreciate it.
Now here comes the fun part. Whittling down the hundreds and hundreds of releases down to 10 and a few honourable mentions. 2018 was quite a ride and no exception when it comes to great new releases. Down below, you'll see a bunch of releases we've reviewed, plus a few that we didn't review, but managed to get around to hearing later in the year. So, here we go!
Just like any year, there were so many events that made headline news and really affected a lot of fans and got a lot of people talking. Some of the biggest stories of the year include Slayer embarking on their farewell tour, Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest announcing his Parkinson's diagnosis and retirement from full-scale touring, Machine Head announcing the simultaneous departures of Phil Demmel and Dave McClain, Rush officially announcing their disbandment, and most recently was Peter Baltes announcing his departure from Accept after 40 years. I know there's many more big stories that I missed, but these are just a few off the top of my head. 2018 in a way, also became somewhat of a year for farewell tour announcements. This year, Slayer embarked on their final tour, but also Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Simon, Kiss, Elton John, Krokus, UFO and Lynard Skynard also announced farewell tours, all of which will continue into, or start in 2019 and probably beyond. We'll see who was telling the truth when each tour is done.
On behalf of all of us here at Metal Master Kingdom, I'd like to thank all our readers for making 2018 another one of the best years in MMK history. Thanks to all of you, our readership numbers have increased once again from the previous year. This year, we've passed the 100,000 mark in terms of our monthly viewership twice. Ever since 2012, our viewership has increased greatly with each passing year, and we are another year closer to reaching the 1,000,000 mark for total yearly views! This is huge for us and it's thanks to all of you. Thank you all so much! We truly appreciate it.
Now here comes the fun part. Whittling down the hundreds and hundreds of releases down to 10 and a few honourable mentions. 2018 was quite a ride and no exception when it comes to great new releases. Down below, you'll see a bunch of releases we've reviewed, plus a few that we didn't review, but managed to get around to hearing later in the year. So, here we go!
10. ANGELUS APATRIDA - Cabaret De La Guillotine
Six albums into their career, up-and-coming Spanish thrashers Angelus Apatrida continue to provide quality modern thrash metal. They also continue to work on expanding their sound while staying true to their thrash roots. Their new album Cabaret De La Guillotine is another slab of solid thrash combined with great melodic elements that should please both thrashers and fans of classic metal. While lyrically, the band tackle the two biggest issues in society: religion and politics, they also go a little more personal, namely on the song "Farewell" where they pay tribute to a fan and friend that died. At the same time, there's plenty of heavy-hitters like "Sharpen The Guillotine", "Betrayed", "The Hum", "The Die Is Cast" and "Witching Hour". If you love thrash, check out Angelus Apatrida.
Six albums into their career, up-and-coming Spanish thrashers Angelus Apatrida continue to provide quality modern thrash metal. They also continue to work on expanding their sound while staying true to their thrash roots. Their new album Cabaret De La Guillotine is another slab of solid thrash combined with great melodic elements that should please both thrashers and fans of classic metal. While lyrically, the band tackle the two biggest issues in society: religion and politics, they also go a little more personal, namely on the song "Farewell" where they pay tribute to a fan and friend that died. At the same time, there's plenty of heavy-hitters like "Sharpen The Guillotine", "Betrayed", "The Hum", "The Die Is Cast" and "Witching Hour". If you love thrash, check out Angelus Apatrida.
09. DRAGONLORD - Dominion
13 years after the release of Black Wings Of Destiny, Eric Peterson of Testament finally released the long awaited third Dragonlord studio album Dominion this year. I never thought I'd see the day when a black metal album would show up in my year-end list, because I've stated many times that I'm not a huge black metal listener, but with Dragonlord being one of the very few black metal bands I enjoy, and with their previous two records being rather awesome, I somehow knew that Dominion would find its way into my top 10, and here it is, and that's all due to the top-notch performances, songwriting and production. If you were one of those people that was disappointed in the new Dimmu Borgir record (which is a great album by the way), I'm sure you'll enjoy this one.
13 years after the release of Black Wings Of Destiny, Eric Peterson of Testament finally released the long awaited third Dragonlord studio album Dominion this year. I never thought I'd see the day when a black metal album would show up in my year-end list, because I've stated many times that I'm not a huge black metal listener, but with Dragonlord being one of the very few black metal bands I enjoy, and with their previous two records being rather awesome, I somehow knew that Dominion would find its way into my top 10, and here it is, and that's all due to the top-notch performances, songwriting and production. If you were one of those people that was disappointed in the new Dimmu Borgir record (which is a great album by the way), I'm sure you'll enjoy this one.
08. DEE SNIDER - For The Love Of Metal
After a pretty mediocre album with We Are The Ones in 2016, Dee Snider made a return to heaviness at the request of Jamey Jasta, who produced (and wrote) Dee's new album For The Love Of Metal. As much as I hate the fact that Dee didn't write a note or lyric, which he should've done since it's his name on the album (are you listening, Dee and Jasta?), For The Love Of Metal is a pure metal extravaganza with heavy riffs, great grooves, grand melodies and Dee is sounding amazing vocally. It's just the fact that Dee didn't write a single thing for the album that makes the album lose quite a few points. In reality, this is a Jasta record with Dee as the singer. Jasta, if you reading this, you should've pushed Dee to write (and please quit it with the idea-pitching on your podcast, because it's making you sound really annoying). However, tracks like "Lies Are A Business", "American Made", "I'm Ready", "Mask" and "Become The Storm" are just some of the album's highlights. Another element about the record that deserves praise is the complete absence of auto-tune and pitch correction in the vocals, so that deserves two gigantic thumbs up. Dee, if you're reading this, like I said in my review, please get back to writing songs. What's the point of making a record if you're not going to write anything? My whole point is that when a song is written by someone besides the artist, whose name appears on the cover, I will still like the song, but I won't like the fact that it was written entirely by someone else, because then it's not 100% pure, and the appreciation factor isn't as big. If the song(s) was written by the band themselves, as the listener, I appreciate the song(s) even more than I already do.
After a pretty mediocre album with We Are The Ones in 2016, Dee Snider made a return to heaviness at the request of Jamey Jasta, who produced (and wrote) Dee's new album For The Love Of Metal. As much as I hate the fact that Dee didn't write a note or lyric, which he should've done since it's his name on the album (are you listening, Dee and Jasta?), For The Love Of Metal is a pure metal extravaganza with heavy riffs, great grooves, grand melodies and Dee is sounding amazing vocally. It's just the fact that Dee didn't write a single thing for the album that makes the album lose quite a few points. In reality, this is a Jasta record with Dee as the singer. Jasta, if you reading this, you should've pushed Dee to write (and please quit it with the idea-pitching on your podcast, because it's making you sound really annoying). However, tracks like "Lies Are A Business", "American Made", "I'm Ready", "Mask" and "Become The Storm" are just some of the album's highlights. Another element about the record that deserves praise is the complete absence of auto-tune and pitch correction in the vocals, so that deserves two gigantic thumbs up. Dee, if you're reading this, like I said in my review, please get back to writing songs. What's the point of making a record if you're not going to write anything? My whole point is that when a song is written by someone besides the artist, whose name appears on the cover, I will still like the song, but I won't like the fact that it was written entirely by someone else, because then it's not 100% pure, and the appreciation factor isn't as big. If the song(s) was written by the band themselves, as the listener, I appreciate the song(s) even more than I already do.
07. U.D.O. - Steelfactory
In my review of the new U.D.O. album Steelfactory, I mentioned that there were a handful of tracks that weren't amazing, nor terrible, but more in the middle ground. I wondered if some of those songs would grow on me after a few more listens, and sure enough, they did. Sometimes more listens work, sometimes they don't. However, I still stand by what I said about wishing that a couple of tracks were left off because thirteen songs can be a bit much sometimes. While on tour playing Accept songs for the last time, Udo Dirkschneider and company in U.D.O. took the energy and influence from the Accept shows and put it into the songs that ended up on Steelfactory, and the result is another fantastic album of classic German metal played just how we like it. This would also be the last album to feature longtime bassist Fitty Wienhold, who announced his departure from the band earlier in the year.
In my review of the new U.D.O. album Steelfactory, I mentioned that there were a handful of tracks that weren't amazing, nor terrible, but more in the middle ground. I wondered if some of those songs would grow on me after a few more listens, and sure enough, they did. Sometimes more listens work, sometimes they don't. However, I still stand by what I said about wishing that a couple of tracks were left off because thirteen songs can be a bit much sometimes. While on tour playing Accept songs for the last time, Udo Dirkschneider and company in U.D.O. took the energy and influence from the Accept shows and put it into the songs that ended up on Steelfactory, and the result is another fantastic album of classic German metal played just how we like it. This would also be the last album to feature longtime bassist Fitty Wienhold, who announced his departure from the band earlier in the year.
06. WARREL DANE - Shadow Work
Without a doubt a bittersweet album. After Warrel Dane's untimely passing, the future of his second solo album Shadow Work was uncertain. However, major props to his bandmates and Century Media Records for being able to gather all the recorded bits and put together 8 songs, which is more than enough. There's lots of Nevermore vibes throughout the record, especially with the dark tones from the 7-string guitars. There were some complaints about the vocal quality, but that's because the vocals were demo recordings and not the final takes. Even if there are few moments where the vocals don't sound that good, that's a human element, and that's something worthy of great appreciation because it's raw and hasn't been tampered with. As I mentioned in my review, the record as a whole is really powerful, but the most powerful moment of this album is during the last 30 seconds of the closer "Mother Is The Word For God". As the cello and violin close out the song, I can't help but envision Warrel slowly waving a final goodbye as the world watches him fade away into the afterlife. Those 30 seconds get me every time I listen to it. You have to feel it to believe it. A great swan song to a true original.
Without a doubt a bittersweet album. After Warrel Dane's untimely passing, the future of his second solo album Shadow Work was uncertain. However, major props to his bandmates and Century Media Records for being able to gather all the recorded bits and put together 8 songs, which is more than enough. There's lots of Nevermore vibes throughout the record, especially with the dark tones from the 7-string guitars. There were some complaints about the vocal quality, but that's because the vocals were demo recordings and not the final takes. Even if there are few moments where the vocals don't sound that good, that's a human element, and that's something worthy of great appreciation because it's raw and hasn't been tampered with. As I mentioned in my review, the record as a whole is really powerful, but the most powerful moment of this album is during the last 30 seconds of the closer "Mother Is The Word For God". As the cello and violin close out the song, I can't help but envision Warrel slowly waving a final goodbye as the world watches him fade away into the afterlife. Those 30 seconds get me every time I listen to it. You have to feel it to believe it. A great swan song to a true original.
05. SAXON - Thunderbolt
Can you believe that Saxon arrived at album #22 this year with Thunderbolt, and they still sound as great as ever? That deserves all the applause in the world. The last three Saxon albums, all produced by Andy Sneap, have been nothing short of stellar. For the last 17 years since Killing Ground, Saxon have been riding a wave of some of the best albums of their career that can proudly sit alongside the classics. Albums like Lionheart, Inner Sanctum, Call To Arms, Sacrifice and Battering Ram are all fantastic in their own right, and to add to that, Thunderbolt has become the band's biggest selling album in almost 30 years. With amazing tracks like "Thunderbolt", "The Secret Of Flight", "Sniper", "Speed Merchants" and the tribute track to Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead, "They Played Rock & Roll", Thunderbolt is all the proof that Saxon still have plenty of gas left in the tank after 40 years.
Can you believe that Saxon arrived at album #22 this year with Thunderbolt, and they still sound as great as ever? That deserves all the applause in the world. The last three Saxon albums, all produced by Andy Sneap, have been nothing short of stellar. For the last 17 years since Killing Ground, Saxon have been riding a wave of some of the best albums of their career that can proudly sit alongside the classics. Albums like Lionheart, Inner Sanctum, Call To Arms, Sacrifice and Battering Ram are all fantastic in their own right, and to add to that, Thunderbolt has become the band's biggest selling album in almost 30 years. With amazing tracks like "Thunderbolt", "The Secret Of Flight", "Sniper", "Speed Merchants" and the tribute track to Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead, "They Played Rock & Roll", Thunderbolt is all the proof that Saxon still have plenty of gas left in the tank after 40 years.
04. NORDIC UNION - Second Coming
Nordic Union, the side project featuring Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins and Eclipse guitarist/vocalist Erik Martensson first came on the scene in early 2016 with their self-titled debut album. The music seemed like an amalgamation of both their respective bands. Their second album, aptly titled Second Coming, picks up where the first album left off. If you liked the first album, there's nothing to not like on this new one. There might not be anything experimental on here, but it's a bunch of simple and well-constructed melodic hard rock songs. Stand out moments include "Walk Me Through The Fire", "The Final War", "Because Of Us", "Outrun You" and "It Burns". Combine Atkins' incredible vocals with Martensson's catchy riffs and melodies, and you've got a recipe for some memorable songs.
Nordic Union, the side project featuring Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins and Eclipse guitarist/vocalist Erik Martensson first came on the scene in early 2016 with their self-titled debut album. The music seemed like an amalgamation of both their respective bands. Their second album, aptly titled Second Coming, picks up where the first album left off. If you liked the first album, there's nothing to not like on this new one. There might not be anything experimental on here, but it's a bunch of simple and well-constructed melodic hard rock songs. Stand out moments include "Walk Me Through The Fire", "The Final War", "Because Of Us", "Outrun You" and "It Burns". Combine Atkins' incredible vocals with Martensson's catchy riffs and melodies, and you've got a recipe for some memorable songs.
03. PRIMAL FEAR - Apocalypse
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic debut album in 2018, Primal Fear released their twelfth studio album Apocalypse this year, and I feel it's their most diverse offering yet. Jam-packed with heavy hitters, epic numbers and melodic groovers, this album is exactly what you would expect from Primal Fear. They have been churning out punishing, catchy and melodic heavy/power metal for 20 years. "New Rise", "The Ritual", "Blood, Sweat & Fear", "Supernova", Hail To The Fear" and "Eye Of The Storm" are some of the best songs both on the record and that the band have released in the last decade. Even if the lyrics are a little cheesy, which they can often be in power metal, the strong music makes up for that. Great riffs, epic melodies, superhuman vocals, it's all there!
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic debut album in 2018, Primal Fear released their twelfth studio album Apocalypse this year, and I feel it's their most diverse offering yet. Jam-packed with heavy hitters, epic numbers and melodic groovers, this album is exactly what you would expect from Primal Fear. They have been churning out punishing, catchy and melodic heavy/power metal for 20 years. "New Rise", "The Ritual", "Blood, Sweat & Fear", "Supernova", Hail To The Fear" and "Eye Of The Storm" are some of the best songs both on the record and that the band have released in the last decade. Even if the lyrics are a little cheesy, which they can often be in power metal, the strong music makes up for that. Great riffs, epic melodies, superhuman vocals, it's all there!
02. METAL ALLEGIANCE - Power Drunk Majesty
My first thought after hearing the first Metal Allegiance album when it first came in 2015 was "How in hell are they going to top this masterpiece?" That album was so good that I thought the band shouldn't make a second record. However, when you have Mark Menghi, Alex Skolnick, David Ellefson and Mike Portnoy writing music together, you know you're in for a treat. The band's sophomore album Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty leans slightly more as a thrash album. It's still diverse like the first album, but more focused, and also a bit heavier. Just like on the first album as well, there's a great eclectic lineup of special guest vocalists from all across the metal spectrum putting their stamp on the album like John Bush, Trevor Strnad, Bobby Blitz, Mark Osegueda, Johan Hegg, Floor Jansen, Troy Sanders and Mark Tornillo, as well as a handful of guest guitarists adding solos to the album like Nita Strauss, Andreas Kisser and Joe Satriani. Songs like "The Accuser", "Bound By Silence", "Terminal Illusion", "Liars & Thieves", "Impulse Control" and "Power Drunk Majesty (Parts 1 & 2)" are all prime examples of the masterful songwriting abilities that Skolnick, Portnoy, Ellefson and Menghi possess together as a collective unit. "The Accuser" wins the award for best thrash song of the year. Metal Allegiance proudly pledges their allegiance once again on Power Drunk Majesty!
My first thought after hearing the first Metal Allegiance album when it first came in 2015 was "How in hell are they going to top this masterpiece?" That album was so good that I thought the band shouldn't make a second record. However, when you have Mark Menghi, Alex Skolnick, David Ellefson and Mike Portnoy writing music together, you know you're in for a treat. The band's sophomore album Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty leans slightly more as a thrash album. It's still diverse like the first album, but more focused, and also a bit heavier. Just like on the first album as well, there's a great eclectic lineup of special guest vocalists from all across the metal spectrum putting their stamp on the album like John Bush, Trevor Strnad, Bobby Blitz, Mark Osegueda, Johan Hegg, Floor Jansen, Troy Sanders and Mark Tornillo, as well as a handful of guest guitarists adding solos to the album like Nita Strauss, Andreas Kisser and Joe Satriani. Songs like "The Accuser", "Bound By Silence", "Terminal Illusion", "Liars & Thieves", "Impulse Control" and "Power Drunk Majesty (Parts 1 & 2)" are all prime examples of the masterful songwriting abilities that Skolnick, Portnoy, Ellefson and Menghi possess together as a collective unit. "The Accuser" wins the award for best thrash song of the year. Metal Allegiance proudly pledges their allegiance once again on Power Drunk Majesty!
01. JUDAS PRIEST - Firepower
We all thought Redeemer Of Souls was going to be the last Judas Priest album, but anybody that saw the Epitaph and Redeemer Of Souls tours, can attest to the fact that Richie Faulkner has brought new life and vigor into Priest and they sounded rejuvenated. Redeemer Of Souls remains a great album, but as I mentioned several times, I felt the production could've been better. Luckilly, that is the case with the new album Firepower. Not only is the production an improvement over Redeemer, but the songs themselves are even better. A number of songs on this album are already reaching the "instant classic" status like the title track, "Lightning Strike", "Never The Heroes", "Children Of The Sun", "Necromancer", "Rising From Ruins" and "No Surrender". I don't think anybody expected Priest to go into full thrash territory on the title track. They're obviously capable of playing fast, but I truly was not expecting that. Without a doubt, and I know I'm not the first person that has said this, their best album since Painkiller. Five decades into their career and Priest is still releasing blazing metal of the highest quality. That's worthy of all the applause in the world. Ian Hill has stated that the band don't intend on closing the recording chapter of the band with Firepower, but all I can say is that this will be really hard to surpass. We also wish Glenn Tipton all the best with his ongoing Parkinson's diagnosis and hope for the best. A true metal hero! All this is why Firepower takes the top spot for 2018!
We all thought Redeemer Of Souls was going to be the last Judas Priest album, but anybody that saw the Epitaph and Redeemer Of Souls tours, can attest to the fact that Richie Faulkner has brought new life and vigor into Priest and they sounded rejuvenated. Redeemer Of Souls remains a great album, but as I mentioned several times, I felt the production could've been better. Luckilly, that is the case with the new album Firepower. Not only is the production an improvement over Redeemer, but the songs themselves are even better. A number of songs on this album are already reaching the "instant classic" status like the title track, "Lightning Strike", "Never The Heroes", "Children Of The Sun", "Necromancer", "Rising From Ruins" and "No Surrender". I don't think anybody expected Priest to go into full thrash territory on the title track. They're obviously capable of playing fast, but I truly was not expecting that. Without a doubt, and I know I'm not the first person that has said this, their best album since Painkiller. Five decades into their career and Priest is still releasing blazing metal of the highest quality. That's worthy of all the applause in the world. Ian Hill has stated that the band don't intend on closing the recording chapter of the band with Firepower, but all I can say is that this will be really hard to surpass. We also wish Glenn Tipton all the best with his ongoing Parkinson's diagnosis and hope for the best. A true metal hero! All this is why Firepower takes the top spot for 2018!
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (No Order)
I know there are many other great albums that came out during the year, but the ones I named above were the ones that had the biggest impact on me.
There you have it! My top 10 albums of 2018! What were your favourite albums of the year? Sound off in the comments with your lists!
Wishing all our readers and viewers a safe and happy holiday season, and here's to an even greater 2019! Horns high!
There you have it! My top 10 albums of 2018! What were your favourite albums of the year? Sound off in the comments with your lists!
Wishing all our readers and viewers a safe and happy holiday season, and here's to an even greater 2019! Horns high!