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I always enjoy a good bit of power metal, but nothing has stunned me as much as Twilight Force probably since the release of Rhapsody’s ‘Power of the Dragonflame‘. On that notion, ‘Heroes of Mighty Magic’ definitely makes the shortlist.
A flurry of symphonic brilliance thunders into the shortlist at number 12. There’s very few bands that do it better than Epica, and ‘The Holographic Principle‘ is no exception to the band’s magnificent back catalogue.
Periphery we’re already becoming a massive force in the publicly branded djent genre, but ‘Periphery III: Select Difficulty’ has solidified that notion.
An album I would have never expected to make the shortlist for album of the year, but there we go. Devilment’s sophomore effort made a lasting impression, and it still sits on the record player much to personal surprise.
Call it want you want, but there’s no arguing that Tobias Sammet produces some of the finest power metal in the industry. His grandiose ambitions have come in the form of Avantasia in recent years, but ‘Ghostlights‘ is probably his greatest achievement yet.
It’s pretty obvious by now that the djent genre has become a bit of a trend. So many bands are doing it, and so many bands are making it really boring. But every now and then a djent band comes along that is absolutley sublime, and in 2016 that came in the form of Ghost/Aeon.
And so begins the album of the year countdown once again, one of the truly consistent traditions of The Metalist. 12 choices a piece for the editorial duo on a shortlist, and a final decision for album of the year on New Years Day. 2016 has seen some brilliant releases, which makes picking all the more difficult…but let’s get this started.
The idea of friendship is something that can sometimes get lost in translation in the creation of music. Born from their touring time together at Rockstar’s Mayhem Festival, the unlikely combination of George Fischer, Adam Dutkiewicsz and Shannon Lucas formed a bond built on those most sturdy of things Metal. Bringing together their musical outputs the band at long last release their first foray into the unknown as Serpentine Dominion.