2014年 03月 24日 月曜日 20:15

When it's more common to share your own opinions of last year's albums you've listened to around the new year time, I had to do this just when April is nearly approaching? Well, better late than never, I guess, so here's another annual list I've quickly put together.

Almah - Unfold
Genre: Power Metal, Progressive Metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Wings Of Revolution, Treasure Of The Gods, Farewell

Alter Bridge - Fortress
Genre: Alternative metal, heavy metal, hard rock
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Addicted To Pain, Lover, The Uninvited, Fortress

Amorphis - Circle
Genre: Progressive metal with death/folk influences
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Hopeless Days, Enchanted By The Moon

Anathema - Universal (live)
Genre: Atmospheric rock, progressive rock, new prog
Rating: *****
Standout tracks: Untouchable (both parts), Universal, Flying

Anneke van Giersbergen - Drive
Genre: Alternative rock, hard rock
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: My Mother Said, Shooting For The Stars

Anubis Gate - Sheep (EP)
Genre: Progressive metal
Rating: ****½
Standout tracks: All 3 tracks

Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything
Genre: Progressive metal, progressive rock, symphonic rock, rock opera
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Can't decide between the 4 multi-part epics. :)

Birds And Buildings - Multipurpose Trap
Genre: Progressive rock, eclectic prog
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Secret Crevice, Tragic Penguin, Abominable Pelican

Blackfield - IV
Genre: Melancholic rock, symphonic pop
Rating: ***
Standout track: Sense Of Insanity

Born Of Osiris - Tomorrow We Die ∆live
Genre: Deathcore, progressive metal
Rating: ***
Standout track: Im∆gin∆ry Condition

Christopher Lee - The Omens Of Death
Genre: Symphonic metal, heavy metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Massacre Of The Saxons, The Betrayal

Combat Disco Music - Compact Disc Of Music
Genre: Progressive metal, progressive rock
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Aerodrome, Industrispionage

The Custodian - Necessary Wasted Time
Genre: Progressive rock, atmospheric rock, acoustic rock
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Other People's Lives, Necessary Wasted Time

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Genre: Electronic, house, dance
Rating: Undecided
Standout tracks: Giorgio By Moroder, Touch

Dark Tranquility - Construct
Genre: Melodic death metal
Rating: **½
Standout tracks: State Of Trust, None Becoming

David Bowie - The Next Day
Genre: Art rock
Rating: Undecided
Standout tracks: The Stars (Are Out Tonight), Where Are We Now?

David Maxim Micic - Bilo 3.0
Genre: Progressive metal, progressive rock
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Smile, Daydreamers

Deafheaven - Sunbather
Genre: Post-black metal, post-rock
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Dream House

Delain - Interlude (Compilation)
Genre: Symphonic metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Such A Shame, Electricity (Live)

DGM - Momentum
Genre: Progressive power metal, progressive metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Reason, Trust, Repay

Dream Theater - Dream Theater
Genre: Progressive metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: The Looking Glass, Surrender To Reason, Illumination Theory

Empyrios - Zion
Genre: Progressive metal, groove metal, industrial metal
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Domino, Masters, Blackmail

Epysode - Fantasmagoria
Genre: Progressive metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Living Fortress, Fantasmagoria, Unreal

Fallujah - Nomadic (EP)
Genre: Technical death metal, deathcore
Rating: ****
Standout track: Venom Upon the Blade

Frost* - The Rockfield Files (studio live)
Genre: Neo-progressive rock
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Heartstrings, Black Light Machine

the Gathering - Afterwords
Genre: Trip-rock, experimental, electronic
Rating: **½
Standout tracks: Afterwords, Afterlights

Haken - The Mountain
Genre: Progressive metal, progressive rock
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Atlas Stone, Falling Back To Earth, Pareidolia

Hord - The Book Of Eliot
Genre: Progressive groove metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: At the Gate, Kindermord

Ihsahn - Das Seelenbrechen
Genre: Progressive metal, extreme metal, experimental
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: The 4 first tracks, M

James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance
Genre: Melodic progressive metal, groove metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Back On The Ground, I Got You

Jolly - The Audio Guide To Happiness (Part 2)
Genre: Progressive metal, progressive rock, alternative metal
Rating: ****½
Standout tracks: Firewell, As Heard On Tape, The Grand Utopia

Jorn - Symphonic
Genre: Symphonic metal, heavy metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Rock And Roll Children, Man Of The Dark, Vision Eyes

Jorn - Traveller
Genre: Heavy metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Traveller, Window Maker, Carry The Black

Lingua Mortis Orchestra - Lmo
Genre: Symphonic metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Scapegoat, Eye For An Eye

Masterplan - Novum Initium
Genre: Power metal, heavy metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: The Game, Through Your Eyes, Novum Initium

Means End - The Didact
Genre: Progressive metal, groove metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Magnanimous, Nox Aurumque, Arbiter Of Time

Moon Prototype - Modern Life is a Journey by Car
Genre: Trip-hop, post-rock
Rating: ***
Standout track: Modern Life is a Journey by Car

Omnium Gatherum - Beyond
Genre: Melodic death metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: New Dynamic, Formidable, White Palace

Orphaned Land - All Is One
Genre: Symphonic metal, oriental metal, folk rock
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: All Is One, Brother, Fail, Children

Palms - Palms
Genre: Atmospheric rock, post-rock
Rating: ***
Standout track: Antarctic Handshake

Persefone - Spiritual Migration
Genre: Progressive death metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Inner Fullness, Spiritual Migration

Plini - Other Things
Genre: Progressive rock, progressive metal, jazz-fusion
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Selenium Forest

ReVamp - Wild Card
Genre: Progressive metal, symphonic metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown (All parts)

Riverside - Shrine of the New Generation Slaves
Genre: Progressive rock, progressive metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Feel Like Falling, Escalator Shrine

Robbie Williams - Swings Both Ways
Genre: Swing, pop
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Go Gentle, Minnie The Moocher, No One Likes A Fat Pop Star

Steven Wilson - Drive Home (EP)
Genre: Progressive rock, art rock
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: The Raven That Refused To Sing (Orchestral version), The Watchmaker (Live in Frankfurt)

Subrosa - More Constant Than The Gods
Genre: Doom metal, sludge metal
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: The Usher, Affliction

Symphonic Theater Of Dreams - A Symphonic Tribute to Dream Theater
Genre: Classical, Orchestral
Rating: ****
Standout tracks: Sacrificed Sons, The Ministry Of Lost Souls, Losing Time / Grand Finale

Tarja - Colours In The Dark
Genre: Symphonic metal
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Lucid Dreamer, Darkness, Medusa

Tesseract - Altered State
Genre: Progressive metal, technical groove metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Of Mind - Nocturne, Of Energy - Singularity

Trion - Funfair Fantasy
Genre: Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: In The Distance, Scotland, Sealth

Trivium - Vengeance Falls
Genre: Thrash metal, modern heavy metal
Rating: ***½
Standout tracks: Brave This Storm, Villainy Thrives, Wake (The End Is Nigh)

Vildhjarta - Thousands Of Evils (EP)
Genre: Progressive metal, math metal
Rating: **
Standout tracks: Dimman, Mist Förståndet

The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs
Genre: Hard rock, alternative rock, progressive rock
Rating: ***
Standout tracks: Elevate, Not Hopeless, The Dying