Album of 2007 – Results

Last year, Mastodon’s Blood Mountain got a shit load of write-ins at the last minute in my poll, but it still didn’t make my top ten. This year, I’ve apparently over-looked Machine Head’s Aesthetics of Hate but I have listened briefly to it and it does sound like Machine Head, uninspiring. Still better than most of their earlier material besides “Imperium” which is just jaw-droppingly brilliant.

Anyway, this was MUCH tougher to figure out than last year’s list. 2007, as I said in my opening spiegel, was a brilliant year for rock/metal/punk with so much good coming out of it. 2008 looks promising with a few new albums due. Who knows, maybe Metallica’s new album might be out…Halford can wax lyrical about Nostradamus and the third famous lie can be laid to rest: “Honey I love you”, “the cheque’s in the mail” and “Chinese Democracy will be out this year”.

ANYWAY…here’s my top 10 albums of 2007.

10. Redemption – The Origins of Ruin
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Redemption is a band that prog metal fans know very little about, which is a crying shame, because their most recent record was an excellent piece of work in the genre. Ray Alder’s brilliant vocals soar above some intricate music laid down by the band. Fates Warning toured this year, but Alder still found time to contribute to this record, which is a good thing. His experience certainly helps the other members of the band (who have their own excellent band – Prymary) in where to head.

9. Eagles – Long Road Out of Eden
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After re-uniting in 1994, the Eagles finally released the album that fans had been waiting for – nigh-on 30 years after their last studio release. Whilst some critics have been quick to criticise, this album was a melting pot of all of the members and their careers in-between Long Run and this release. The first single “How Long” was a song the band performed around their formation, but for some reason didn’t bother to record it. It’s full of that catchy southern style rock that made them so famous and whilst nothing will probably ever top Hotel California (which is arguably one of the greatest pieces of music ever written), this is probably the closest we will ever get.

8. Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
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I can’t put my finger on why, but I didn’t really dig In Your Honor that much at all. I really think a single CD should have done that album justice as you had to sit through too much filler to get to the truly great stuff. However, Dave Grohl got the Foos right back on form with this stunning record, with “hit” written on it from the start. “The Pretender” became a huge radio hit, no surprise really, splendid riff, fantastic vocal breaks to get the crowd going, and the video was strange but brilliant. The rest of the album follows suit. The Foos’s first ever acoustic performance is also a must-hear and is a beautiful piece.

7. Paramore – Riot!
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Paramore have exploded in popularity, largely thanks to the huge hit “Misery Business”, which earned constant rotations on MTV, Kerrang! and Scuzz. For once, they’ve got it spot on. Riot! is an excellent slice of pop-punk with Hayley Williams having this most astonishing vocal range, which is she is able to keep up on a live performance (check out YouTube). The catchy hooks played underneath Williams’s amazing vocal are enough to keep you interested for the record’s duration, and these guys I expect to hear a lot from in the future.

6. Symphony X – Paradise Lost
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Most of the bands I truely enjoy I think are vastly underrated. It’s part of the joy of appreciating the form of music I listen to – you know very few people get it. Symphony X, even by my standards are overlooked by most in metal because Michael Romeo looks exactly like Yngwie…well, he does, but the real reason is beyond me. They have constantly served up classic progressive metal, with their two best previous discs The Devine Wings of Tragedy and The Odyessy providing brilliance beyond the usual progressive metal chores. Paradise Lost expands a concept around the famous poem by John Milton and the band prove their craft as excellent song writers with some superb pieces here. The title track is one of the most beautiful ballads I’ve ever heard, and this is contrasted by the symph-thrash of “Eve of Seduction”. Just brilliance. Russell Allen proves he can scream with the best of them. His vocal range is simply jaw-dropping. Just watch when he appeared alongside Dream Theater in their Dimebag tribute “Cemetery Gates” – Allen blows poor James laBrie right off the stage, and that was the case on the DT/SX tour I hear as well. And the James LaBrie of 2007 isn’t exactly a terrible singer either.

5. Alter Bridge – Blackbird
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I enjoyed Alter Bridge’s first album, but by the same token, found it a bit too similar to Creed upon first listening to it. Understandable when 3/4 of the band was in the Floridian rockers. But, on their second album, Alter Bridge have expanded their formula, continuing to do what they did best (tracks like “Ties That Bind” and “Rise Today”), whilst working on the more melodic material such as “Before Tomorrow Comes” and an 8-minute epic “Blackbird”. One reviewer said that they got old of this album fast. I completely disagree. This album has constant staying power considering how often it’s popped up in my Last.fm top 10 the last few weeks. Myles Kennedy is another amazing vocalist too. His range also has to be heard to be appreciated. I’m glad the band found a label who appreciates them too. Their previous label wanted them to reform Creed, but they turned that down and signed with Universal – smartest decision they ever made, and I’m personally glad for it.
4. Kamelot – Ghost Opera
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I surprised myself when I found myself putting this album in fourth place. I thought it would be lower down in my estimation, but, when I reinvestigate, it is actually a brilliant piece of work that just didn’t live up to my almighty expectations. The Black Halo is one of the best power metal releases of the past 10 years, and I always feared that Kamelot would fall short of matching their previous magnum opus. They did fall, but this is not a bad thing. Ghost Opera was too short for me I thought – it lacked an epic like “Memento Mori” or “Elizabeth” and all of the tracks with one exception are less than 5 minutes. In most genres, this is probably a good thing, but Kamelot’s epics were often their highlight. I hate to be so negative on what is a brilliant album. What is there is seemly fantastic – another great vocalist is Roy Khan. Despite being a rockstar (he didn’t turn up for the ProgPower band meet and greet for unspecified reasons and when Jon fuckin’ Oliva falls off a tour bus but still sits through pain to meet his fans, it makes Khan seem like a twat), he can pull off these amazing high notes and puts such power behind his voice it’s impossible to ignore. He’s probably the only guy anywhere near Geoff Tate’s league. There is some good song writing on this album as well, the title track is a good slice, whilst “Mourning Star” is another beautiful slow song. Despite my negativity, if you are new to Kamelot, this is an excellent starting point.

 

3. Iced Earth – Framing Armageddon
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There are probably only two people in heavy metal who could cock-up a good thing they had going. Jon Schaffer is one of them. Framing Armageddon is Iced Earth’s most solid and consistent release ever, which is saying something for a band whose line-up has never been the same from any one album to another. They had enough trouble getting this album made. One guitarist is in the slammer for rape (and apparently was arrested by one of IE’s former vocalists! That is what you call irony if true!), his replacement left for health reasons, and Ripper still didn’t feel welcome in Matt Barlow’s shoes. Despite all this, the first part of the Something Wicked story is simply stunning. My biggest beef with Matt Barlow was the way he managed to sound like Paul Stanley impersonator on some of his performances, and although Ripper’s style isn’t universally popular, he did a fantastic job here. The opening scream of “Ten Thousand Strong” grabs you by the balls and he makes sure you get his point. To make an album like this work, and it’s follow-up due out this year, you need solid song writing. Despite being a complete arse, Schaffer can write some intricate songs. This is more akin to the Glorious Burden-era of the band, which drew many critics, but I enjoyed that album immensely. I think the timing of bringing Barlow back is horrific. Ripper did so much for the band, and the band was finally beginning to find an audience, especially after a successful slot opening for Heaven & Hell in the UK and headlining Wacken this year (a slot that Savatage have done and Maiden will do next year), I think bringing Barlow back is a step backwards. Matt was committed to being in Pyramaze whilst still being a cop, and because Matt still wants to do both, they will spend less time on the road and in the studio. This detracts from a superb album that was excellent from start to finish and was a pleasure to listen to.

2. Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet
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I’ll admit – I knew fuck all about Porcupine Tree this time last year. I’d heard their name tossed around on the ProgPower forums but paid no notice. However, my attention was awakened when I put in this sampler CD from Metal Hammer. The self-titled track hit me like a ton of bricks. The lyrics are an accurate socio-political commentary on life in Britain in 2007. It reminds me so much of the way Operation Mindcrime spoke about life in 1988 and the bullshit politics back then.
“TV, yeah it’s always on, The flicker on the screen, A movie actress screams, I’m basking the shit flowing out of it”.
Just pure genius. If I were reviewing just the title track, this album would still merit its position as a stand-out of 2007. Despite being only 6 tracks long on the standard CD (if you throw in the Nil Recurring EP which was recorded at the same time, it takes it up to 10 tracks which is a more usual form for an album), it makes up in intricate song writing and the sheer beauty of the instrumentals used in each song. Steven Wilson is a creative mind burgeoning with great ideas and it shows here. The guest turn by Alex Lifeson of Rush in the 18-minute opus “Anesthetize” that other people appear to agree. Wilson’s influences are vast as well. The album’s title is a direct influence of the Public Enemy album of 1991, Fear of a Black Planet. Whilst race relations were an issue there, Wilson sees “coming to terms with information technology and…the 21st century” as an issue for the citizens of today to take notice. The concept of the album was heavily influenced by Brett Easton Ellis’ novel Lunar Park. The novel is told from the perspective of a father, whereas the album is mostly from his son’s perspective. Many of the lyrics for Fear of a Blank Planet are taken directly from the novel, particularly “My Ashes”, which is an homage to the last chapter, in which the ashes of a cremated father are scattered and cover the memories of his life.
This is the most important progressive rock/metal disc released in years and if you consider yourself a rock fan, you owe it to yourself to at least give this a spin and see what he means. It’s slightly prophetic, but if we look back in 10 years at this and it’s still relevant (a la Mindcrime I, which speaks as much sense now as it did 20 years ago), it really says it all.

1. Megadeth – United Abominations
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Who am I to surprise? You could probably see this coming a mile away, and I wouldn’t blame you. However, just because I’m a Megadeth fan boy means fuck all. UA has topped or been near the top of a lot of more influential polls than mine, which either says I should get into journalism (unlikely) or that this album really was as good as people were making out (more likely).
The System Has Failed I thought was a roaring success and more a return to the kind of style exhibited by Megadeth in the mid 90s rather than the more hard rock style adopted in the late 90s. I liked The World Needs a Hero (Al Pitrelli is on it…practically everything the man does is magic), but nothing was as consistent Youthanasia and we were told not to expect a Rust in Peace II – which suited me just fine as I wasn’t expecting one anyway.
UA is arguably Megadeth at it’s finest. Mustaine has gone back to his bullet-spitting political-assassin best with the lyrics, and as a songwriter, very few in any form of metal can match him. He knows what point he wants to make and makes it with amazing venom. His infamous snarl is back and on roaring form, which is probably a lot to do with the musicians around him at the time. I loved every ‘Deth line-up for different reasons, but Dave said himself he enjoyed making this one a lot more than previous efforts (maybe this time because Roadrunner could do fuck all promotion, stick a Megadeth sticker on it and watch it sell out anyway – but that’s another story for a different day). The only sour point is a questionable cover of “A Tout le Monde”. Dave tried to explain that the song was banned 13 years ago, and it deserved another chance. It is an amazingly beautiful track – one that I wouldn’t mind being played at my funeral, but I didn’t like the video, or Cristina Scabbia’s appearance. I love Cristina. She’s amazingly hot and has a voice to match, but, when stronger material got pushed aside for the B-Side over what should have been the B-Side I was disappointed (e.g. how did “Black Swan” get left off besides this. I also didn’t like the Led Zep cover to be honest. Led Zep covers should be banned to be honest. No-one gets anywhere near close to their brilliance…probably).
That is the only sour point of the album however. The Drovers did an excellent job on this, and as much as Junior is still my hero, James LoMenzo is a rock-solid bass player and is the best back-up vocalist Dave’s ever had. The album took shots at the UN, which got Dave some attention from them, one guy going as far as to write an in-depth analysis of the lyrics to the self-titled track, which screamed hypocrisy when an event in the opening spiel of the song occurred not long after the album’s release. There are many highlights. “Sleepwalker” is a blistering opening track – the nearest you will get to out-and-out thrash on the record, whilst “Washington is Next!” has this epic introduction that blows your ears off when you listen to it live. “Gears of War” is a slow brooding effort that definitely suited the video game it drew it’s title from, and “Amerikhastan” is Mustaine at his politically motivated best. Seriously, he should run for the White House. And he’d do a fucking excellent job.
Much like Kamelot, this is an album that should be recommended to Megadeth noobs as they will understand here what Dave Mustaine is all about. I hold a soft spot for Youthanasia, so it will never top that as my favourite Megadeth album, but UA comes mighty close, which says a lot about the strength of Megadeth’s discography.

So, my top 10 in summary:
#10 ~ Redemption – “The Origins of Ruin”
#09 ~ Eagles – “Long Road Out of Eden”
#08 ~ Foo Fighters – “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace”
#07 ~ Paramore – “Riot!”
#06 ~ Symphony X – “Paradise Lost”
#05 ~ Alter Bridge – “Blackbird”
#04 ~ Kamelot – “Ghost Opera”
#03 ~ Iced Earth – “Framing Armageddon”
#02 ~ Porcupine Tree – “Fear of a Blank Planet”
#01 ~ Megadeth – “United Abominations”


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