The Critic's Den: December 2007

It's that time of the year again, and I'm about to list the best Metal albums of 2007. This was not really a great year for Heavy Metal, yeah, there were quite a few releases from old warhorses, but even these could not save the year from the overall mediocrity it was burdened with. So here are some of my favourite Heavy Metal albums from 2007(in descending order)

1) Machine Head: The Blackening

Phewww!! This has definitely displaced Burn My Eyes as my favourite Machine Head album, and quite possibly as Machine Head's best yet. Angry, menacing!! aggressive Post Thrash. Want some track recommendations..how about all of 'em? Well, just for your sake..I'll say check out Clenching the Fists of Dissent, Halo, Aesthetics of Hate, Beautiful Mourning and Slanderous. The best this year! and quite possibly the best Post/Thrash release since Lamb of God's Ashes of The Wake in 2004. It's a killer!!!

2) Dark Tranquillity: Fiction

This his how modern Melodic Death Metal should sound like! The Swedish masters have done it again. This is a worthy follower to their last masterpiece Character in every which way. Yeah, they still sound the same, but hey! that's what we want :) . Tremendous arrangements, clinically precise and crunching riffs...this one is a Gothenburger's wet dream.

Arch Enemy's second best album to date!(first being Wages of Sin).Here's a short review of this album.

4) Overkill: Immortalis

If it's old school Thrash you're looking for, you can never ever! go wrong with Overkill. This certainly ain't another The Years of Decay or Horrorscope but it still has loads of ripping riffs and shredding solos to leave you gasping for more. The production is terrific and the instrumentation is godly...it's Overkill after all!

5) Symphony X: Paradise Lost

The most beautiful(musically) Metal album to be released this year, without doubt. You gotta give it some time though, it grows on you after the third or fourth listen. Beautiful melodies, Michael Romeo's exquisite riffing and mind boggling solos, this one's got it all. Not in the league of The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V-A New Mythology Suite but still a very good album.

The best Megadeth album since Cryptic Writings, period. Before anyone asks, NO, I wasn't a fan of The System Has Failed. Sleepwalker and A Tout Le Monde with Christina Scabbia are worth the price of this album. Great riffing, after a long long! time. Not very heavy, but Megadeth haven't been really heavy except on Youthanasia perhaps.

7) Exodus: The Atrocity Exhibition-Exhibit A

This album is reviewed in my previous post.

8) Iced Earth: Framing Armageddon(Something Wicked Part 1)

The Power Metal masters are back!. This album is a tad mellower than their previous masterpieces, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Night of The Stormrider or The Dark Saga, but it still packs that trademark Iced Earth punch. This one is a loong! player with 19 tracks and some songs tend to get overtly complicated. But once you're past through that initial barrier, you'll be reaping the benefits in no time :)

9) Dream Theater: Systematic Chaos

Clocking in at nearly an hour and twenty minutes, this one can be tedious for the casual fan of progressive metal. For the fan though, this is what it is! A good dose of technical riffs, harmonies, keyboard madness and beautiful solos(Constant Motion is a killer!), which you can turn on and then get on with your daily chores. A very good album, and better than Octavarium(yukk!!) for sure, but Symphony X have clearly stolen the thunder from under Dream Theater's nose this year.

10) Kamelot: Ghost Opera

Kamelot keep surprising you with one good release after the other. They followed Epica with the masterpiece Black Halo, and they have followed it up with the excellent Ghost Opera now. While Black Halo remains Kamelot's best work to date, Ghost Opera also deserves a spot in your CD collection(if you're a fan of Kamelot or Power Metal in general). Roy Khan's voice is in form again(like that's anything new) and the musical arrangements are great.