Top 10 favorite albums - 2013

Yes, it's that time of the year again. I haven't done many reviews in 2013, it's been a busy year... but a great one music nonetheless.

It's also been a pretty solid year for concerts: Iron Maiden, Bad Religion, Paramore (x2), Billy Talent, Of Monsters and Men, Archive and 2 festivals (Main Square Festival and Rock en Seine, including Green Day, Of Monsters and Men, Archive, Haim, Nine Inch Nails, System of A Down or Volbeat, amongs many others). Haim will close the list tonight if nothing comes up.

We've also had our share of crappy albums, but let's focus on the positive for today. We will have time for that.

But well, let's go for it:

10 - Motorhead - Aftershock

I usually ignore Motörhead's new releases, because they haven't offered anything remotely innovative in years. Same old, same old. However, same old is still pretty good this time. I enjoyed a lot the album and I couldn't find a reason not to have it on here.

9 - The National "Trouble Will Find Me"














While not being as good as The National's previous effort, "Trouble Will Find Me" is a great effort that builds up on the band's style. Now let's cross fingers for a braver new album next time.

8 - Gabrielle Aplin "English Rain"

I found out about Gabrielle some years ago when browsing covers on Youtube. I lost track of her for a bit, and when I heard her name again, she was calling herself Gabrielle Aplin instead of gabberz and she had a bunch of EPs on iTunes. This album isn't world changing, but it's solid from start to end and the warmth it exhales has been a nice company for many cold days.

7 - Black Sabbath "13"

I first was in no way expecting this album to ever exist. Then, I was not expecting it to be any good. Well, it exists and it's pretty good.

6 - Dream Theater "Dream Theater"

This album would be higher in the list if it wasn't for the pretentious last track dragging it down a bit; but it's a big chunk of the album... Apart from that, "Dream Theater" is a great record that brings the listener back to classic Dream Theater at many passages.

5 - Volbeat "Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies"














I must admit the single left me thinking this album wouldn't be any good. I was wrong, so wrong. It's a kick-ass album. Again, it offers nothing world-changing: just a bunch of great songs to have fun with, but it doesn't pretend to go any further, so all is good.

4 - Bad Religion "True North"















Brett Gurewitz declared several times that the guys in the band were really moved by the reaction Pennywise got with their album last year, so they decided to go with a similar formula: direct, shorter and simpler songs. It worked.

3 - Satan - "Life Sentence"

Another surprise I didn't expect. I knew nothing about the band before giving the album a spin, so it hit my ass even harder. The best rock/metal album of 2013. Sharp as a razor and 100% inspired.

2 - Haim "Days Are Gone"














Now that we mention surprises... I checked out some of Haim's songs before heading to Main Square Festival last Summer. After those songs and their concert there, my general impression was that I didn't quite get the band, but that, at the same time, there was something promising there. Well, this album came out and showed me what that something was. Some pop anthems combined with some less upbeat songs.

1 - Paramore "Paramore"

I was actually trying to justify not putting this on number one just to avoid being predictable. But well, numbers are numbers and I have listened almost 200 times to the CD, so it MUST be the number one on a list of my favorite albums. It's one of those rare albums from which you have a different favorite song every week (with all songs included in the rotation). If we take into account I tried to be against it when it was released and I inspected it inch by inch in distrust... I guess it really deserves this spot.

Bad Religion - "True North"

The time has finally come and Bad Religion are back with 16 new songs and a promise: trying to keep things short, fast and punk. Well, that is true, and that is what a lot of people have been asking for since many years ago; specially, after the controversial The Dissent of Man, a good example of the bands latest efforts in trying to combine the classic sound with newer/modern ideas. While that will probably keep the most hardcore (pun intended) fans happy, I think the album lacks that variety, but that's maybe more of a personal preference, since I tend to enjoy when the guys go off track and do something different.

According to the interviews, the band were really moved by Pennywise's excellent effort from last year, and they wanted to show that they can still rock the house. Well, that's pretty clear when "True North" opens the party. The first part of the album goes on the same track, from "Robin Hood in Reverse", a typical example of 21st century Bad Religion, to the energetic single "Fuck You". "Dharma and the Bomb" brings the 1st surprise with its rock-n-roll riffs and a more friendly pace, leading to the slow and dark "Hello Cruel World" (think of "Infected"), my personal favourite at the moment.

After the intermission, "Vanity", the fastest tune on the album, brings back the hostility and opens the way for "In Their Hearts Is Right", a cool tune with some nice harmonies on the chorus. "Crisis Time", kind of a slightly less inspired version of "The Resist Stance", brings things a bit down again, but "Dept. of False Hope" keeps the flame alive. After another section pointing out to previous eras of the band, we get "My Head Is Full of Ghosts", another high point that will get you dancing around the room and pogoing to the furniture. "The Island" and "Changing Tide" close the album in a respectable way, on the tone of the record.

In conclusion, it's a solid album which stays good from start to finish. In my opinion, it lacks a couple of stronger anthems and a bit more variety like we got on the previous efforts, but it will help the band get the credit lost with the previous album amongst punkheads.

Rating: 7.5/10

Edguy - Age of the Joker

Tobias Sammet is one of those people working between the hammer and anvil. He wast first criticized for doing the same thing all the time. Then, he was criticized for turning into the opposite direction. Was he ever going to find the middle way? Well, apparently he just did.

Edguy's 9th studio album follows the way of its predecessor, 'Tinnitus Sanctus', with more strength and style.

"Robin Hood" and "Nobody's Hero" pleasantly take us back to 'Hellfire Club', opening the way for "Rock of Cashel", a good representation of the old Edguy sound, and "Pandora's Box", a more modern attempt almost in the way of the latest Avantasia releases. After another upbeat sing-along tune like "Breath", Sammet sings with irony about the criticism he's gotten lately from the metal media, about the "Two out of Seven" his last record got almost globally.

After that, the 2nd part of the album drags a bit in repetition (although not in quality), but we still get an interesting ending with "Behind the Gates of the Midnight World", with a really cool riff and some epic parts, and "Every Night Without You", a nice ballad to play while playing around with your metal (or even non-metal) special friend.

In summary, it's a good progression from 'Tinnitus Sanctus' and the confirmation that the forgettable 'Rocket Ride' is left behind. Keep working Tobias, you still have some more magic inside... and see you in less than a month!

Best moments: Rock of Cashel, 2 out of Seven

Rating: Don't worry, it's not a two out of seven... more like a seven (point five) out of ten :)

Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Massa

We had to wait until march to get to the first candidate to be album of the year. Well, actually 2, since new Burzum is already around, but we'll get to that when it's time.

Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Massa proves that Finland and the Nordics in general keep leading the metal styles with more than 2 words on their name. In this case, melodic-death-ambient-folk-metal; ok, I made that up, but I'm sure it's something similar.

The album is hard to describe. It consists of 7 songs, with 4 long ones and 3 shorter tunes in the middle as a transition from one anthem to another. Basically, it's something on the style of Burzum: powerful guitars, death vocals and some folk parts that show up under the general tone without breaking the grim spirit.

Although the album does not feature a single low moment, "Huuto" is the point where it takes off to an even higher level. A long anthem that visits powerful and soft moments and it makes you wish it never finishes.

Don't listen to this if you're mainly (and only) into brit-pop or ska-punk, but if you feel open minded let Moonsorrow take you into a trip you'll never forget.

Rating: 9/10.

Best moments: Huuto.

Goodbye Credibility

To be frank, I wasn't even going to review this. It'll be fast, though, so why not.

The most used adjective when referring to this album before its release was "mature". It was hard to believe that, but the album surpassed any of our expectations; on the wrong direction, unfortunately (and that comes from someone that enjoyed "The Best Damn Thing").

The promised return to the style of Let Go has turned into a transvestism of styles, in a total "Girlfriend" meets "I'm with You". Go and check out "Smile" or "Push".

The albums goes way downhill from the start with the laughable "Black Star" and the single "What the Hell". At least it doesn't hide its intentions. Luckily, it isn't as stupid and kind of takes off at some points: "Wish You Where Here" actually reminds of better times for Avril and "Smile" actually has a great chorus, but you have to survive the atrocious verses to reach there. After that, you get some hit and miss mid-tempo ballads until the end.

Goodbye Lullaby brings a couple of questions to the table. Did Avril actually write the songs (at least the lyrics) for her first two records? If so, did she write the songs/lyrics for this record? If so, we must conclude she's not only not maturing with age, she's also becoming stupid with the years. Maybe we'll have to ask on her forums.

Rating: 4/10. Uninspiring and totally forgettable.

Best moments: The "Bad Reputation" cover (only if you bought the special ed., if you bought the regular one I feel bad for you).

Time to review some real stuff now that we got this out of the way.

Welcome message blahblah

Hi.

As some band would wisely say, "God knows the world doesn't need another blog / But what a waste it would've been".

I'm some random guy that likes spamming his Facebook wall with musical references, songs, videos... and as we all know that goes fast into oblivion without many chances to get it back.

So, I've created this space to waste some net space with my senseless music spam. Some album and concert reviews too. What kind of albums and concerts? Well, expect anything from Anal Cunt to Clint Mansell, going through Bob Dylan, Operator Please, Metallica or Avril Lavigne.

So, less talking and more action.