The Best Of 2017
Albums
The third full length album from these Swedish bangers is packed with neo-classical shredding and features new vocalist Fredrik Werner. If you like Yngwie’s Rising Force album then you are going to love this! I cannot spin this enough! Buy or die!
Album number two for this epic doom band is a tour de force of classy metal with superb vocals. Please don’t pass on this band especially if you are a fan of Tony Martin era Sabbath. If you find doom boring, check out epic doom which cranks up to mid-pace and crushes skulls.
Ram’s new album is excellent traditional metal which recalls Priest. Rod is half stand alone tracks and half concept album and the whole thing rips like Painkiller. Check out “Gulag” and buy the album. Their back catalog is top notch as well.
Night Demon – Darkness Remains
It’s Night Demon’s second full length and it’s great. Check out my full review here.
Overkill – The Grinding Wheel
New Jersey’s thrashers blast my face off again. Can they ever be stopped?! Check out my full review here.
Canada’s Striker is back with another full length album and only a scant year has passed since their last disc! This eponymous album is stuffed with anthemic choruses, gang vocals and high energy songs. Do you need a soundtrack for your next training montage? Do you need some positivity and songs about achieving against all odds? If so, pick this up pronto. If not, pick it up anyway and stop being a loser.
Vulture – The Guillotine
Pure, balls out, German speed metal is the order of the day here. Picking up where their demo EP left off, Vulture shreds all over the place with nary a pause to catch a breath. Good old speed metal that borders on thrash and takes a cue from Show No Mercy. Do you feel the need for speed? If so, this is your shit right here.
Metalian – Midnight Rider
Holy shit this is good! Metalian has been rocking away for years up in Montreal and their newest album got the most spins from me of any 2017 release. Combine Priest and Maiden and throw in a superb vocalist with ultra-catchy songwriting and you get Midnight Rider. I love this album so damn much! Hail to you Metalian!
Satan’s Hallow – Satan’s Hallow
Chicago’s own Satan’s Hallow delivers the goods on their full length debut. The band has crafted a rock-solid collection of traditional metal with hooks galore. NWOBHM fans and anyone that likes metal that isn’t pretentious bullshit should pick this up asap. All killer no filler!
Iced Earth is on my list? Is it 1997? I had written this band off a decade ago and lost track of them for the most part. I picked this up on a whim and I am glad I did because they have delivered one of their best albums in the last 20 years. John Schaffer has dispensed with the concept album nonsense and has written a great metal album. Vocalist Stu Block has really come into his own on this one and sounds amazing. Check out the majesty of “Clear The Way (December 13th, 1862)” and you’ll understand why this had to make it onto my list.
Jag Panzer – The Deviant Chord
Metal legends Jag Panzer issue their first album since the reunion of their classic lineup and the results are excellent. This is classy power metal that the world needs more of. The Tyrant sounds great and the songs are packed with hooks. Check out “Far Beyond All Fear” if you need a sample. In addition to the great album, Mark Briody was gracious enough to answer my NWOBHM questionnaire. Thanks Mark and Jag Panzer!
Reissues
Skol Records NWOBHM Single CD Replicas Round 2
Skol Records and Bart Gabriel deliver another great selection of NWOBHM replica CD singles and this time they are focused on Neat Records. Round 2 of the reissues includes classic singles from Jaguar, Crucifixion, White Spirit, Blitzkrieg, Saracen, and Avenger. Definitely pick these up if you can and check out Bart’s answers to my NWOBHM questionnaire right here.
Wolf – Edge Of The World
One of the great NWOBHM albums finally gets a reissue! Wolf, originally known as Black Axe, released this excellent album in 1984 and High Roller saw fit to reissue it for all of us to enjoy. Check out the classic cut “Red Lights” and then pick this up!
Finally, the long out of print Running Wild albums from Noise Records get a reissue! These stone cold classics from the German pirate rockers’ catalog is now available for all to enjoy without paying insane prices. These also feature remastering and a clutch of bonus tracks on CD and the whole catalog is also available on vinyl.
Live Albums
Accept – Restless And Live
After three studio albums with Mark Tornillo, Accept offer up a double live album that captures the band live in Europe in 2015. The album sounds great and it was high time that the band released a live album with this lineup. The new material really shines in a live setting.
Armored Saint – Carpe Noctum
I’m not sure if we can call this their first or second live album, but however you number it the album delivers eight tracks of prime traditional metal. The whole band is tight and John Bush is in fine voice. The only complaint I have is it’s too short – I’d really like a proper double live album from them.
Disappointment Of The Year
Well, they may have released a great live album this year, but their new studio album is not very good. Just like their previous album – Blind Rage – there’s not enough hooks to keep me interested. I hope that Accept will be able to match the quality of Blood Of The Nations in the future, but I get the sense that they are rushing their songwriting. Come on guys, prove me wrong on the next one.
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That's it muthas! Thanks for reading and I'll see you back here in 2018.
As always, MAKE MINE METAL!
