All lists must come to an end. It’s been difficult to choose 24 of the years best, as musically 2016 has been beyond phenomenal. We close out the shortlist with Serenity’s Leonardo da Vinci inspired ‘Codex Atlanticus‘.

Serenity have always been a band to me that I have thought as average power metal at best, but it definitely seems they went all out on this one. A diverse palette of tempos and instrumental styles all threaded together with some colossal orchestrations, ‘Codex Atlanticus‘ is one album I would have not expected to make the shortlist. It’s brilliant musicianship under the moniker of power metal.

The album has been so successful in fact that the band are already geared up to release a new album in early 2017, and after this album I can say that I’m definitely looking forward to some more Serenity now!