Best of 2014 thus far?

[Geoff]

 

Oh no, now you guys are going to try and say the drums throughout the chorus of 'Burning down inside' don't completely and utterly ruin an otherwise perfect song? What's going on on this site?

 

Apparently there's nothing wrong with the chorus in 'Burning down inside;' Winger's new album is not a pile of horseshit; In Faith are a bad band; the guy in Angels & Kings can't sing...

 

I dunno Karpetface. Before you award me for absurd statements, take a look around at some of the craziness going on here. Oh, and aren't Vega a shit band in most people's eyes here? I think you're about the chief black kettle here, Funk of Karpet. If you fix your taste in music we can have proper discussions, but in the mean time just enjoy Jamiroquai's latest album and leave the proper music to us.

 

I am Chief Black Kettle, and I call the pots as I see 'em.

 

Hold up, is there a new Jamiroquai album? I'll be right back.

 

Edit:

You bastard. There is a new album coming out this year. How the hell did you -- no, why the hell do you know about it, and not me?

 

 

lol, is there seriously one due? Better tell the wife; she'll be happy about that. And so will everyone else with awful taste in music.

 

I call it like I see it too. There's a big difference between how you and I do it, though. I am always correct in the way I call it. You, however, always seem to be wrong. Sorry it has to be that way.

[DaHun72]

Come on Geoff, you need to look at point 6 and take it in it's entirety. Then go to a mirror, rehearse your apology, WebCam it and upload to Danny and the boys!

What other parts of awesome songs do you hate? The widdly guitar at the beginning of don't stop Believin? The drums on hot for teacher? The whistle on paradise city? Come on, let it out!

[PeterS]

A few here I need to listen to.

 

 

http://heavyparadise.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/heavy-paradise-s-melodic-awards-for-2014.html

[Geoff]

Come on Geoff, you need to look at point 6 and take it in it's entirety. Then go to a mirror, rehearse your apology, WebCam it and upload to Danny and the boys!

What other parts of awesome songs do you hate? The widdly guitar at the beginning of don't stop Believin? The drums on hot for teacher? The whistle on paradise city? Come on, let it out!

 

I have indeed taken the Tyketto song in it's entirety, and therefore I dislike it. Because the chorus is awful and that outweighs the great verses. .

 

I went into detail on this on the Neonfly disc from this year. But I don't understand the concept of creating perfect melodic rock verses, and then creating the most un-melodic, shitty, piointless punk-like-drumming shitty chorus. It doesn't make sense to me. It just strips all the melody of the the song it's worked so hard to build up.

 

I like 'Don't stop believing' for what it is. I can't remember bad parts on that.

 

The drums on 'Hot for teacher' are fucking awful and I'd sooner obtain AIDS tomorrow than listen to that piece of shit song by that piece of shit band.

 

'Paradise City' sounds good to me as it is - no complaints.

 

Sorted?

[DaHun72]

Lol, sorted. Have to say I love that song and the chorus is the cherry on top.

 

Woooaaaa, van Halen a piece of shit band. Gulp! I guess you've never enjoyed riding in the car with the top down, or windows down for the convertibly challenged. Never wanted to hike a teachers dress up, stared longingly at hot beach bods in bikinis.... I'm an aussie but listening to VH makes me feel like a Yankee college student on summer break!

You know you want that feeling Geoff.... you NEED it

[Geoff]

Lol, sorted. Have to say I love that song and the chorus is the cherry on top.

 

Woooaaaa, van Halen a piece of shit band. Gulp! I guess you've never enjoyed riding in the car with the top down, or windows down for the convertibly challenged. Never wanted to hike a teachers dress up, stared longingly at hot beach bods in bikinis.... I'm an aussie but listening to VH makes me feel like a Yankee college student on summer break!

You know you want that feeling Geoff.... you NEED it

 

Yeah mate, I surf for a living (kind of... it'll do for this discussion anyway) and spend my life with the "top down" and windows open cruising the coast.

 

However, when I do this, I like to crank good music. Playing a terrible band like Van Halen would make me cower under my seat out of embarrassment to be seen and I'd no doubt cause an accident. And that's not in the spirit of summer.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

 

 

Lol, sorted. Have to say I love that song and the chorus is the cherry on top.

 

Woooaaaa, van Halen a piece of shit band. Gulp! I guess you've never enjoyed riding in the car with the top down, or windows down for the convertibly challenged. Never wanted to hike a teachers dress up, stared longingly at hot beach bods in bikinis.... I'm an aussie but listening to VH makes me feel like a Yankee college student on summer break!

You know you want that feeling Geoff.... you NEED it

Yeah mate, I surf for a living (kind of... it'll do for this discussion anyway) and spend my life with the "top down" and windows open cruising the coast.

 

However, when I do this, I like to crank good music. Playing a terrible band like Van Halen would make me cower under my seat out of embarrassment to be seen and I'd no doubt cause an accident. And that's not in the spirit of summer.

I have to agree with him on this one.

[The Rocker]

 

Come on Geoff, you need to look at point 6 and take it in it's entirety. Then go to a mirror, rehearse your apology, WebCam it and upload to Danny and the boys!

What other parts of awesome songs do you hate? The widdly guitar at the beginning of don't stop Believin? The drums on hot for teacher? The whistle on paradise city? Come on, let it out!

 

I have indeed taken the Tyketto song in it's entirety, and therefore I dislike it. Because the chorus is awful and that outweighs the great verses. .

 

I went into detail on this on the Neonfly disc from this year. But I don't understand the concept of creating perfect melodic rock verses, and then creating the most un-melodic, shitty, piointless punk-like-drumming shitty chorus. It doesn't make sense to me. It just strips all the melody of the the song it's worked so hard to build up.

 

I like 'Don't stop believing' for what it is. I can't remember bad parts on that.

 

The drums on 'Hot for teacher' are fucking awful and I'd sooner obtain AIDS tomorrow than listen to that piece of shit song by that piece of shit band.

 

'Paradise City' sounds good to me as it is - no complaints.

 

Sorted?

 

Van Halen, " a piece of shit band"???

[The Rocker]

Well, back on topic- Best of 2014

 

My best of 2014

 

1. Crazy Lixx-S/T

2. White Widdow-Crossfire

3. H.e.a.t- Tearing Down The Walls

4. Ammunition- Shanghaied

5. Brother Firetribe-Diamond In The Firepit

6. House Of Lords-Precious Metal

7. Tango Down-Charming Devil

8. Johnny Lima- My Revolution

9. Harem Scarem- Thirteen

10. AdrianGale-Defiance

[Glen]

Nice to see Johnny getting some recognition. Very cool album :-)

[Nightrain]

Top albums of 2014

Top 100 average rating is 81.35%

 

CRAZY LIXX s/t Hard Rock Frontiers Records 95.0%
WORK OF ART Framework AOR Frontiers Records 94.0%
WHITE WIDDOW Crossfire Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 94.0%
H.E.A.T Tearing Down The Walls Melodic Rock earMUSIC 92.0%
SECRET The End of The Road AOR Melodic Rock Records 92.0%
HELL IN THE CLUB Devil On My Shoulder Sleaze / Hard Rock Scarlet Records 91.0%
BROTHER FIRETRIBE Diamond In The Firepit Melodic Rock Spinefarm 89.0%
HAREM SCAREM Thirteen Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 89.0%
VEGA Stereo Messiah Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 88.0%
DALTON Pitstop Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 88.0%

DARKHORSE Let It Ride Pop / Country Rock indie 88.0%
NIVA Incremental IV Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 87.0%
SABATON Heroes Heavy Metal Nuclear Blast 87.0%
FLYING COLORS Second Nature Prog Rock Mascot Records 86.0%
OPETH Pale Communion Folk / Prog Rock Roadrunner 86.0%
MAVERICK Quid Pro Quo Hard Rock Massacre Records 85.0%
BLACK TORA s/t Heavy Metal indie 85.0%
JOHNNY LIMA My Revolution Melodic Rock Shock Pop 85.0%
ANGELS OR KINGS Kings of Nowhere AOR AOR Heaven 85.0%
STATE OF SALAZAR All The Way AOR Frontiers Records 85.0%

7TH HEAVEN Spectrum Pop Rock NTD Records 85.0%
SEVEN 7 AOR Escape 84.0%
AMMUNITION Shanghaied Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 84.0%
SATIN s/t AOR Verum Music 84.0%
FREE SPIRIT All The Shades of Darkened Light Melodic Rock Carpel Music 84.0%
PRETTY WILD s/t Sleaze / Hard Rock Dead End Exit 84.0%
CONFESS Jail Sleaze / Hard Rock SG Records 83.5%
NIGHT BY NIGHT NxN Melodic Rock Sun Hill Production 83.0%
ALIEN Eternity AOR AOR Heaven 83.0%
SLASH World On Fire Hard Rock Dik Hayd 83.0%

SUNSTRIKE Rock Your World Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 83.0%
ALLEN / LANDE The Great Divide Melodic Metal Frontiers Records 83.0%
TESLA Simplicity Hard Rock Frontiers Records 83.0%
WITHIN TEMPTATION Hydra Symphonic Metal Nuclear Blast 83.0%
RPWL Wanted Neo Prog Gentle Art of Music 83.0%
STEEL PANTHER All You Can Eat Sleaze / Hard Rock Kobalt Label 82.0%
UNISONIC Light of Dawn Power Metal earMUSIC 82.0%
GRAND DESIGN Thrill of The Night Hard Rock AOR Heaven 82.0%
EDGUY Space Police : Defenders of The Crown Melodic Metal Nuclear Blast 82.0%
THREE LIONS s/t Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 82.0%

DANGER s/t Sleaze / Hard Rock indie 82.0%
SONIC STATION Next Stop AOR Avenue of Allies 82.0%
KINGS & DREAMS s/t AOR AOR Heaven 82.0%
WINGER Better Days Comin' Hard Rock Frontiers Records 81.0%
MR.BIG The Stories We Could Tell Hard Rock Frontiers Records 81.0%
PINEAPPLE THIEF Magnolia Crossover Prog Kscope 81.0%
IN FAITH There's A Storm Coming Melodic Rock Rocktopia Records 81.0%
GOTTHARD Bang! Hard Rock Nuclear Blast 81.0%
AXEL RUDI PELL Into The Storm Melodic Metal SPV 81.0%
HOUSE OF LORDS Precious Metal Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 80.0%

OVERLAND Epic AOR Escape 80.0%
AXXIS Kingdom of The Night : Black Edition Heavy Metal Phonotraxx 80.0%
NIGHT RANGER High Road Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 80.0%
MOONLAND s/t AOR Frontiers Records 80.0%
NUBIAN ROSE Mental Revolution Hard Rock Cargo Records 80.0%
ARCH ENEMY War Eternal Melodic Death Century Media 80.0%
MICHAEL PAYNTER Weary Stars Pop Rock indie 80.0%
OUTLOUD Let's Get Serious Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 80.0%
TREATMENT, THE Running With The Dogs Hard Rock Spinefarm 80.0%
THRESHOLD For The Journey Prog Metal Nuclear Blast 80.0%

IVO s/t Pop Rock indie 80.0%
ACCEPT Blind Rage Heavy Metal Nuclear Blast 79.0%
ANUBIS GATE Horizons Prog / Power Nightmare Records 79.0%
HOUSTON Relaunch II AOR Cargo Records 79.0%
ADRENALINE RUSH s/t Hard Rock Frontiers Records 79.0%
FERREIRA V Melodic Rock Melodic Rock Records 79.0%
STAN BUSH The Ultimate AOR Melodic Rock Records 79.0%
PAIN OF SALVATION Falling Home Acoustic / Prog Rock Inside Out 79.0%
LOUDGUNS Sunset Runaway Melodic Rock indie 78.0%
BAILEY Long Way Down Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 78.0%

COLD SHOT s/t Hard Rock Eonian Records 78.0%
ACACIA AVENUE Cold Melodic Rock AOR Heaven 78.0%
BULLETRAIN Start Talking Sleaze / Hard Rock AFM Records 78.0%
PINK FLOYD The Endless River Prog Rock Columbia 78.0%
GUNNER Keep Fighting Melodic Rock indie 78.0%
RADIO SUN, THE Wrong Things Right Melodic / Pop Rock Melodic Rock Records 78.0%
SWITCHBLADE SERENADE Alive at Night Sleaze / Hard Rock indie 78.0%
LANEY'S LEGION s/t Hard Rock indie 77.0%
KIX Rock Your Face Off Sleaze / Hard Rock Loud & Proud Records 77.0%
MISS BEHAVIOUR Double Agent AOR AOR Heaven 77.0%

RIOT Unleash The Fire Heavy / Power Metal SPV 77.0%
WILD ROSE Hit N Run AOR AOR Blvd 77.0%
BABYS, THE I'll Have Some of That! Classic Rock / AOR Skyrocket Ent. 77.0%
GAMMA RAY Empire of The Undead Power Metal earMUSIC 77.0%
DYNAZTY Renatus Melodic Metal Spinefarm 77.0%
PRIMAL FEAR Delivering The Black Heavy Metal Frontiers Records 77.0%
MICHAEL SWEET I'm Not Your Suicide Hard Rock Big3 Records 77.0%
JUDAS PRIEST Redeemer of Souls Heavy Metal Epic 76.0%
A.C.T Circus Pandemonium Symphonic / Prog Rock Avalon 76.0%
YOU ME AT SIX Cavalier Youth Pop Punk Virgin Records 76.0%

L.R.S Down To The Core AOR Frontiers Records 76.0%
JADED HEART Fight The System Hard Rock Nuclear Blast 76.0%
RATED X s/t Hard Rock Frontiers Records 76.0%
220 VOLT Walking In Starlight Hard Rock AOR Heaven 76.0%
AXXIS Kingdom of The Night : White Edition Melodic Rock Phonotraxx 76.0%
LOVER UNDER COVER Into The Night Melodic Rock Escape 76.0%
DIRTY SKIRTY Rebel Sleaze / Hard Rock indie 75.0%
ROBBY VALENTINE Bizzaro World Alt / Symphonic Rock indie 75.0%
ANATHEMA Distant Satellites Prog Rock Kscope 75.0%
MIDNIGHT SIN Sex First Sleaze / Hard Rock indie 75.0%

PERFECT VIEW Red Moon Rising AOR Avenue of Allies 75.0%
HAMMERFALL ®Evolution Power Metal Nuclear Blast 75.0%
QUIREBOYS, THE Black Eyed Sons Hard Rock Off Yer Rocka 75.0%
SONATA ARCTICA Pariah's Child Prog / Power Metal Nuclear Blast 75.0%
TEN Albion Melodic Rock Rocktopia Records 74.0%
STATES OF PANIC No World Order Modern Sleaze / Hard Rock indie 74.0%
BALTIMOORE Back For More Hard Rock BLP Music 74.0%
PENDRAGON Men Who Climb Mountains Neo Prog Toff Records 74.0%
BEAUTIFUL BEAST Kick Down The Barricades Sleaze / Hard Rock Demon Doll Records 74.0%
DIAMOND LANE Terrorizer Hard Rock / Heavy Metal indie 73.0%

TANGO DOWN Charming Devil Hard Rock Kivel Records 73.0%
EZ LIVIN Firestorm Hard Rock LZ Records 73.0%
ADRIANGALE Defiance Melodic Rock Kivel Records 72.0%
FROM THE FIRE Evil Men Do AOR indie 72.0%
DIESEL Into The Fire Classic Rock Escape 72.0%
GUARDIAN Almost Home Hard Rock G-Man 72.0%
YES Heaven and Earth Symphonic Prog / AOR Frontiers Records 72.0%
WICKED SENSATION Adrenaline Rush Hard Rock / Heavy Metal AOR Heaven 72.0%
JD MILLER Grand Intentions Modern Hard Rock SME 72.0%
PLATENS Out of The World Melodic Rock Frontiers Records 71.0%

TWENTYDARKSEVEN Roar Hard Rock Metalapolis Records 71.0%
LOUD LION Die Tough Melodic Rock Melodic Rock Records 71.0%
VAN DEN PLAS Chronicles of The Immortal - Netherworld Prog / Power Frontiers Records 71.0%
EXODUS Blood In, Blood Out Thrash Metal Nuclear Blast 70.0%
SANCTUARY The Year The Sun Died Power / Thrash Metal Century Media 70.0%
RUBICON CROSS s/t Hard Rock INGrooves 70.0%
SYNAESTHESIA s/t Alt / Prog Rock GEP Records 70.0%
ELECTRIC BOYS Starflight United Funk / Hard Rock Ninetone Records 69.0%
ASIA Gravitas AOR Frontiers Records 69.0%
OVERKILL White Devil Armory Thrash Metal Nuclear Blast 69.0%

ICED EARTH Plagues of Babylon Thrash Metal Century Media 69.0%
NIGHTMARE The Aftermath Heavy / Power Metal AFM Records 68.0%
VANDENBERG'S MOONKINGS s/t Hard Rock Mascot Records 67.0%
MISTRESS Loveteaser Hard Rock Demon Doll Records 67.0%
MACH 22 Slow Talk Intervention Hard Rock indie 66.0%
KISSIN' DYNAMITE Megalomania Hard Rock / Heavy Metal AFM Records 66.0%
EVERGREY Hymns For The Broken Prog / Melodic Metal AFM Records 65.0%
QUIET RIOT Quiet Riot 10 Hard Rock RSM Records 65.0%
HELIX Bastard of The Blues Hard Rock Perris Records 65.0%
SIXX A.M Modern Vintage Pop Rock Eleven Seven 65.0%

SEBASTIAN BACH Give Em Hell Heavy Metal Frontiers Records 64.0%
THE LAST VEGAS Sweet Salvation Hard Rock ILS Group 62.0%
NEAL SCHON So U Hard Rock Frontiers Records 60.0%
LOUDNESS The Sun Will Rise Again Heavy Metal Universal 53.0%
NASHVILLE PUSSY Up The Dosage Hard Rock SPV 53.0%
RED DRAGON CARTEL s/t Hard Rock Frontiers Records 53.0%

[Glen]

Nice list mate. A lot of sensible scoring there - when I look down there are a lot where I agree like WoA, HEAT, HS, Darkhorse, Seven, Pretty Wild, Winger, Steel Panther, Night Ranger, Miss Behaviour looks about right too (pretty average album imo).

 

We wont mention Crazy Lixx or AorK tho ;-)

[Nightrain]

haha you need to spend more time with CL and AoK, I guess you might ended up giving them a higher rating Glen, but yeah I'm totally satisfied with this year's releases, and not only the top 20, I think I'll stretch my rotation list even to top 50

[Glen]

haha you need to spend more time with CL and AoK, I guess you might ended up giving them a higher rating Glen, but yeah I'm totally satisfied with this year's releases, and not only the top 20, I think I'll stretch my rotation list even to top 50

 

I tell you what, good call on the 7th Heaven as well.

 

Probably by-passed a lot of folk by, and is of course way too long, but if you were to extract the 12 best songs that would score pretty highly - some nice tracks on there.

[Geoff]

 

haha you need to spend more time with CL and AoK, I guess you might ended up giving them a higher rating Glen, but yeah I'm totally satisfied with this year's releases, and not only the top 20, I think I'll stretch my rotation list even to top 50

 

I tell you what, good call on the 7th Heaven as well.

 

Probably by-passed a lot of folk by, and is of course way too long, but if you were to extract the 12 best songs that would score pretty highly - some nice tracks on there.

 

 

Do you know that when you made that comment about only scoring the best 12 songs on any album over in the Gotthard thread, I was meant to post that 7th Heaven would be your new most well rated band of all time. Because if you take out the top 12 songs on any of their CDs and discard the rest, they're brilliant. I agree, though, another good album from them.

 

I want to get my list out asap but I haven't even rated HS yet, amongst others. Really going to try and get on top of this asap.

 

Cool list, Nightrain. Some really high scoring compared to how I rolled this year, but a good order in parts. Biggest surprise is probably the minor issue of seeing Satin so high up and well rated. Have you heard the lyrics on that one? Or the super simple melodies. I'd love to hear you explain the ways in which that album is better than the likes of Night By Night, Steel Panther and In Faith, for a start.

 

But yeah, cool lists.

[Nightrain]

@glen

I consider 7th Heaven Spectrum is on par with USA / UK, which I also think is a great album, while Pop Media and Synergy struggling a bit and I rated both of them below 80%, but Spectrum is a very good return to form for them. I just don't understand the need for releasing such a big number of songs in each album because they actually can just squeeze it to 12-14 tracks and improve the rest for the next album haha but that what makes them different I guess and I believe they're doin fine commercially in the States

 

@geoff

I must admit I only spun Satin probably twice or three times but I like what I hear although I might revisit later to see how it holds after more than 4-5 spins.

 

And I never rated a song based on lyrics so sometimes a very stupid and cheesy lyrics can still beat a smart one if the melodies are nicer haha and explanation to why Satin is higher than the other, a simple arrangement on verse and chorus sometimes works fine and easy on the ears and I have a soft spot for poppish/slow ballads so sometimes I rated those songs higher than most of us, and overall his album just edge the rest. And I think maybe there are few songs in Night By Night or Steel Panther that has patchy arrangement (for instance : average verse/good chorus or vice versa) that leads to a slightly lower score overall.

 

And beside it's only 2-3% differences so just consider em the same 80%-ish albums that I will spin maybe once in 2-3 months.

[Geoff]

@glen

I consider 7th Heaven Spectrum is on par with USA / UK, which I also think is a great album, while Pop Media and Synergy struggling a bit and I rated both of them below 80%, but Spectrum is a very good return to form for them. I just don't understand the need for releasing such a big number of songs in each album because they actually can just squeeze it to 12-14 tracks and improve the rest for the next album haha but that what makes them different I guess and I believe they're doin fine commercially in the States

 

@geoff

I must admit I only spun Satin probably twice or three times but I like what I hear although I might revisit later to see how it holds after more than 4-5 spins.

 

And I never rated a song based on lyrics so sometimes a very stupid and cheesy lyrics can still beat a smart one if the melodies are nicer haha and explanation to why Satin is higher than the other, a simple arrangement on verse and chorus sometimes works fine and easy on the ears and I have a soft spot for poppish/slow ballads so sometimes I rated those songs higher than most of us, and overall his album just edge the rest. And I think maybe there are few songs in Night By Night or Steel Panther that has patchy arrangement (for instance : average verse/good chorus or vice versa) that leads to a slightly lower score overall.

 

And beside it's only 2-3% differences so just consider em the same 80%-ish albums that I will spin maybe once in 2-3 months.

 

Yeah fair enough, mate. I'd bet a few quid that if you spun it a few more times, especially with Night By Night and Steel Panther, I'd basically bet my balls the latter two will come out on top. For whatever reason (right place right time, I guess) that Satin album got plenty of spins from me this year and without exception, every single time I played it I liked it less than the last time, to the point now where I kind of dislike the album. The lyrics on that 'Friends' song actually makes me want to shoot myself. Yeah, I liked the initial idea of the CD, but no staying power at all, imo.

 

Closer looks at your list raise a few more questions for me, but I'm just being picky... it's your opinion and that's cool with me. I guess a few of the biggest surprises other than above were Moonland and Nubian Rose on the same score. I thought Moonland offered a killer debut, whereas Nubian Rose offered a clunker of a 2nd album, which only really comes alive in the last 4 or so songs. There's probably a good 10-15% space between those two, imo.

 

Also Miss Behaviour and Wild Rose on the same score; another two where I personally see at least a 10% difference between. At least Miss Behaviour offered up 3 or 4 absolute killer tracks. One can definitely not say that about Wild Rose.

 

And I guess the only other thing that really stood out was the ranking of that Ivo disc, above a lot of very good albums. You obviously thought very different of that album compared to me, lol.

 

Anyway, cool list, like I said. It did end up being a pretty good year in music, with the last couple of months basically forming most of my top 10, personally.

[Glen]

my 2 cents (for what its worth....probably not much lol!)

 

Satin - agreed, no depth. Sounded pretty cool, but v basic. To be equal to Seven is craziness to me??? I rated Seven around 90% but Satin would be 65-70%. His image is awful too ;-)

 

Nubian Rose - agreed. Was a spotify only for me, but it didnt live up to my expectations

 

Moonland - not heard but no fan of female vox anyway so not that fussed

 

Miss Behaviour - not rated. Weaker than the debut imo. Would it have made my top 20 (ie 75%)...maybe....would I ever listen to it....probably not. Too much other better stuff about.

 

Wild Rose - always been awful lol

[Nightrain]

 

Yeah fair enough, mate. I'd bet a few quid that if you spun it a few more times, especially with Night By Night and Steel Panther, I'd basically bet my balls the latter two will come out on top. For whatever reason (right place right time, I guess) that Satin album got plenty of spins from me this year and without exception, every single time I played it I liked it less than the last time, to the point now where I kind of dislike the album. The lyrics on that 'Friends' song actually makes me want to shoot myself. Yeah, I liked the initial idea of the CD, but no staying power at all, imo.

 

well maybe you're right, but just spun again Satin this morning and I think it's still as good as it is, yeah a safe and simple arrangement but it makes a good escape for once in a while after playing a series of hard rock or metal stuffs hahaha some dumb lyrics there oh yeah but don't really care about it anyway

 

 

Closer looks at your list raise a few more questions for me, but I'm just being picky... it's your opinion and that's cool with me. I guess a few of the biggest surprises other than above were Moonland and Nubian Rose on the same score. I thought Moonland offered a killer debut, whereas Nubian Rose offered a clunker of a 2nd album, which only really comes alive in the last 4 or so songs. There's probably a good 10-15% space between those two, imo.

 

I think it's a matter of taste because I believe Nubian Rose leans slightly to the heavy metal side (which you don't really fancy) and Moonland has the modern-AOR vibe, like Issa which I believe you also dig.

 

Nubian Rose's second is weaker than the debut, that I agree, but I still like most songs there, the singer got power, of course there are few acceptable fillers, although I must admit the replay value is not high, but 80%-ish, like I said, play once in two-three months is okay.

 

Moonland is quite nice but not really spectacular for me. I rarely rated female-fronted band/project above 85%, maybe because I prefer men's vocal like Glen, and her vocal is quite flat and ordinary, I still prefer Nubian Rose's singing style and vocal character.

Although that two isn't comparable because the style is kinda different. I think I'll put Moonland in the same league as Issa, Adrenaline Rush, and Angelina, I think vocally and style-wise they're quite similar.

 

 

Also Miss Behaviour and Wild Rose on the same score; another two where I personally see at least a 10% difference between. At least Miss Behaviour offered up 3 or 4 absolute killer tracks. One can definitely not say that about Wild Rose.

 

Miss Behaviour's killer tracks might be better than Wild Rose but WR has a balance tracklist, I mean out of the whole album, even though they're in the 7.5 - 8 range, they're acceptable and listenable, but MB have several weaker songs I believe that I might hit skip. I only listened to these two once I guess and usually most albums below 80% were 'dumped' in my hard drive, picked few songs for my ipad playlist and that's all haha but will want to revisit Miss Behaviour although I think you also rated their debut much higher ?

 

 

And I guess the only other thing that really stood out was the ranking of that Ivo disc, above a lot of very good albums. You obviously thought very different of that album compared to me, lol.

 

Ivo is a pop album and I like myself couple of pop stuffs now and then and I can pick at least 4-5 great songs in it for my playlist and overall I think that album is a harmless one for a short drive to the mall with family, but of course if you don't like pop stuffs or softer stuffs like westcoast AOR, well yeah I understand haha call it my guilty pleasure man

 

well I like to see your final top 20 or 30, and I like to revisit those things you've rated high and I rated low. List like this will of course change throughout the years, some will hold, some not, but usually they don't sway too far though from the original score

[Nightrain]

 

my 2 cents (for what its worth....probably not much lol!)

 

Satin - agreed, no depth. Sounded pretty cool, but v basic. To be equal to Seven is craziness to me??? I rated Seven around 90% but Satin would be 65-70%. His image is awful too ;-)

 

oh Satin will be sad to read this man, cmon you know you want to listen to him again, some cool songs there hahaha

 

regarding SEVEN, I think 84% is still awesome, not far off from your score and reasonable because the early 80s AOR vibe is more like your cup of tea and not mine. There sure few killers in it. but I wonder how Geoff scored it ? i guess he might put SEVEN below 80% haha

 

 

Nubian Rose - agreed. Was a spotify only for me, but it didnt live up to my expectations

 

Moonland - not heard but no fan of female vox anyway so not that fussed

 

Miss Behaviour - not rated. Weaker than the debut imo. Would it have made my top 20 (ie 75%)...maybe....would I ever listen to it....probably not. Too much other better stuff about.

 

Wild Rose - always been awful lol

 

Wild Rose's awful because of the vocal and amateurish playing maybe ? the drums part is the big trouble

I scored the musicianship around 6.5 or 7 for that, but some songs are 7 to 8.5, so overall the 77% score is justified for me

[Geoff]

Okay, here it is... my faves of the year. It's kind of a cluster*ck in terms of scores (although this is in order from my faves to least favourites), but I guess that happens when you listen to 300+ albums hoping that each and all of them will be a winner :

 

1 - White Widdow - Crossfire - 89

2 - Vega - Stereo Messiah - 87

3 - Angels Or Kings - Kings Of Nowhere - 87

4 - In Faith - There's A Storm Coming - 85

5 - Steel Panther - All You Can Eat - 83

6 - States Of Panic - No World Order - 82

7 - Crazy Lixx - Crazy Lixx - 82

8 - Harem Scarem - Thirteen - 82

9 - Michael Paynter - Weary Stars - 82

10 - Moonland - Moonland - 82

 

11 - H.E.A.T - Tearing Down The Walls - 82

12 - Brother Firetribe - Diamond In The Firepit - 82

13 - Miss Behaviour - Double Agent - 82

14 - Night By Night - NxN - 82

15 - Work Of Art - Framework - 81

16 - Maverick - Quid Pro Quo - 81

17 - Badger - Time Will Tell - 81

18 - Dalton - Pit Stop - 81

19 - Loud Lion - Die Tough - 80

20 - Dorydrive - Here's To You - 80

 

21 - L.R.S - Down To The Core - 80

22 - 5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer - 80

23 - Grand Design - Thrill Of The Night - 79

24 - Bulletrain - Start Talking - 79

25 - Framing Hanley - The Sum Of Who We Are - 79

26 - The Relapse Symphony - Shadows - 79

27 - Within Temptation - Hydra - 79

28 - Sounds Of Eternity - Visions & Dreams - 78

29 - Adriangale - Defiance - 78

30 - Free Spirit - All The Shades of Darkened Light - 78

 

31 - The Radio Sun - Wrong Things Right - 78

32 - 7 - Seven - 78

33 - Hell In The Club - Devil On My Shoulder - 78

34 - Allen / Lande - Great Divide - 78

35 - Rubicon Cross - Rubicon Cross - 78

36 - Ragdoll - Ragdoll Rewound - 78

37 - Confess - Jail - 77

38 - Secret - The End of The Road - 77

39 - Pretty Wild - Pretty Wild - 77

40 - James Durbin - Celebrate - 77

 

41 - Revolver Avenue - Bring You Back To Life - 77

42 - Sunstrike - Rock Your World - 77

43 - Switchblade Serenade - Alive At Night - 77

44 - Johnny Lima - My Revolution - 77

45 - Stan Bush - The Ultimate - 77

46 - Let It Happen - Cause & Effect - 77

47 - Darkhorse - Let It Ride - 77

48 - Three Lions - Three Lions - 77

49 - The Amity Affliction - Let The Ocean Take Me - 77

50 - We Are The In Crowd - Weird Kids - 77

 

51 - Acacia Avenue - Cold - 76

52 - McBusted - McBusted - 76

53 - Outloud - Let's Get Serious - 76

54 - Danger - Danger - 76

55 - Faithsedge - The Answer Of Insanity - 76

56 - Dead By April - Let The World Know - 76

57 - 7th Heaven - Spectrum - 76

58 - Seventh Day Slumber - We Are The Broken - 76

59 - We Set Signals - Polaris - 76

60 - The Used - Imaginary Enemy - 75

 

61 - House Of Lords - Precious Metal - 75

62 - Houston - Relaunch II - 75

63 - Highway Saints - Highway Saints - 75

64 - Yellowcard - Lift A Sail - 75

65 - Disciple - Attack - 75

66 - Overland - Epic - 75

67 - Seven Hard Years - No Place In Heaven - 75

68 - Fahran - Chasing Hours - 75

69 - Age Sten Nilsen's Ammunition - Shanghaied - 75

70 - Wild Rose - Hit 'N' Run - 75

 

71 - David A Saylor - Strength Of One - 75

72 - The Downtown Fiction - Losers & Kings - 75

73 - Alien - Eternity - 75

74 - Big City - Wintersleep - 75

75 - Adrenaline Rush - Adrenaline Rush - 75

76 - Saliva - Rise Up - 75

77 - Daylight Robbery - Falling Back To Earth - 75

78 - You Me At Six - Cavalier Youth - 75

79 - Melody Fall - The Shape Of Pop Punk To Come - 75

80 - EZ Livin' - Firestorm - 75

 

81 - Bombay Black - Walk Of Shame - 75

82 - Jaded Heart - Fight The System - 74

83 - Favorite Weapon - Sixty Saragossa - 74

84 - Rain Or Shine - Seize The Night - 74

85 - Sister Sin - Black Lotus - 74

86 - Letter 7 - Trust - 74

87 - Blitz Kids - The Good Youth - 74

88 - Gunner - Keep Fighting - 74

89 - Laney's Legion - Laney's Legion - 74

90 - Whitefoxx - Come Pet The Fox - 74

 

91 - Vanity Blvd - Wicked Temptation - 74

92 - Ammotrack - Raise Your Hands - 74

93 - Fake Idols - Fake Idols - 74

94 - Skintrade - Refueled - 74

95 - Ferreira - V - 73

96 - Neck Deep - Wishful Thinking - 73

97 - E19 - Just Down The Hall - 73

98 - Kadwatha - The World Of Hypocrisy - 73

99 - Silver - Idolized - 73

100 - Southpaw - Eye To Eye - 73

 

101 - Wicked Sensation - Adrenaline Rush - 73

102 - Skyscraper - Elevation - 73

103 - Nympho - Not That Innocent - 73

104 - JD Miller - Grand Intentions - 73

105 - Kjetil By - Better Days - 73

106 - Miracle Master - Tattooed Woman - 73

107 - Niva - Incremental IV - 73

108 - Mistress - Love Teaser - 73

109 - Surviving The Charade - We Are Never Coming Home - 73

110 - Sixty-Nine Crash - Louder! - 73

111 - Gus G - I Am The Fire - 73

112 - Tango Down - Charming Devil - 73

113 - Adrenaline Mob - Men Of Honor - 73

114 - Edguy - Space Police - Defenders Of The Crown - 73

115 - Hard Riot - The Blackened Heart - 73

116 - Loudguns - Sunset Runaway - 73

117 - In This Moment - Black Widow - 73

118 - Hairdryer - Off To Hairadise - 72

119 - Rebelious Spirit - Obsession - 72

120 - Nine Lashes - From Water To War - 72

121 - The Boys After - All I Used To Know - 72

122 - TwentyDarkSeven - Roar - 72

123 - Ryan Star - Angels & Animals - 72

124 - Seconds Away - Demos 2014 - 72

125 - Otherwise - Peace At All Costs - 72

126 - Empire 21 - Empire 21 - 72

127 - Dynazty - Renatus - 72

128 - Flyleaf - Between The Stars - 72

129 - Miss Fortune - A Spark To Believe - 72

130 - Liberty N' Justice - The Vow - 72

131 - Lover Undercover - Into The Night - 72

132 - Mallory Knox - Asymmetry - 72

133 - Danger - Rescue 1989 - 72

134 - Tokio Hotel - Kings Of Suburbia - 72

135 - Kaisas - Degitalize - 72

136 - Sister - Disguised Vultures - 72

137 - Meridian - The Awful Truth - 71

138 - The Treatment - Running With The Dogs - 71

139 - Michael Sweet - I'm Not Your Suicide - 71

140 - Sebastian Bach - Give 'Em Hell - 71

141 - X-Drive - Get Your Rock On - 71

142 - Xtasy - Revolution - 71

143 - Real Friends - Maybe This Place Is the Same And We're Just Changing - 71

144 - Reload - Hotter Than A Bullet - 71

145 - April Fool - Playin' To Win - 71

146 - Positive Touch - Positive Touch - 71

147 - The Dead Rabbitts - Shapeshifter - 71

148 - Set It Off - Duality - 71

149 - Lawless - R.I.S.E - 71

150 - Tesla - Simplicity - 71

151 - Colton Dixon - Anchor - 71

152 - Maxxwell - Tabula Rasa - 71

153 - Nubian Rose - Mental Revolution - 71

154 - Heartist - Feeding Fiction - 71

155 - Of Mice & Men - Restoring Force - 71

156 - Jason Lancaster - Jason Lancaster - 71

157 - Amaranthe - Massive Addictive - 71

158 - For All Those Sleeping - Incomplete Me - 71

159 - Anberlin - Lowborn - 71

160 - Axel Rudy Pell - Into The Storm - 71

161 - Caleb Johnson - Testify - 71

162 - King Zebra - Greatest Hits - 71

163 - Slash - World On Fire - 70

164 - Black Veil Brides - Black Veil Brides - 70

165 - Raspberry Park - Scratchin' The Surface - 70

166 - Nickelback - No Fixed Address - 70

167 - Ronny Lee - Original Retro - 70

168 - Storm The Bay - Storm The Bay - 70

169 - The Pretty Reckless - Going To Hell - 70

170 - Theory Of A Deadman - Savages - 70

171 - Nitrodrive - Re-Evolution - 70

172 - State Of Salazar - All The Way - 70

173 - Memphis May Fire - Unconditional - 70

174 - Night Ranger - High Road - 70

175 - Perfect View - Red Moon Rising - 70

176 - Taking Back Sunday - Happiness Is - 70

177 - Adelitas Way - Stuck - 70

178 - Chiodos - Devil - 70

179 - Darling Down - Never Tell - 69

180 - Satin - Satin - 69

181 - Kissin' Dynamite - Megalomania - 69

182 - Weapon UK - Rising From The Ashes - 69

183 - Devilstrip - Rise - 69

184 - Planethard - Now - 69

185 - Diamond Lane - Terrorizer - 69

186 - Midnight Sin - Sex First - 69

187 - Sonic Station - Next Stop - 69

188 - McClinton - Final Closure - 69

189 - One Year Later - Life Between The Lies - 69

190 - Cold Shot - Cold Shot - 69

191 - Platens - Out Of This World - 68

192 - Satellites & Sirens - One Noise - 68

193 - Engraved - Ungod Bastards - 68

194 - Red Dragon Cartel - Red Dragon Cartel - 68

195 - Lady Crimson - Live Against The Grain - 68

196 - Take Care - All This Time - 67

197 - Spiritz - Perfect Sides - 67

198 - Bailey - Long Way Down - 67

199 - Semple - Not For Radio - 67

200 - Kings & Dreams - Kings & Dreams - 67

201 - Martina Edoff - Martina Edoff - 67

202 - Quadra Nixx - Quadra Nixx - 67

203 - AOR - LA Connection - 67

204 - Helix - Bastard Of The Blues - 67

205 - Autumn Burning - Autumn Burning - 67

206 - Loverboy - Unfinished Business - 67

207 - Aniday - Aniday - 66

208 - Billy Idol - Kings & Queens Of The Underground - 66

209 - Sacred Hour - Made In Pain - 66

210 - For Today - Fight The Silence - 66

211 - Khaos - Risen - 66

212 - The Raskins - The Raskins - 66

213 - Ten - Albion - 66

214 - Richard Marx - Beautiful Goodbye - 66

215 - Danger Alley - American Made - 66

216 - Revery - Adora De Phonic - 65

217 - Gotthard - Bang - 65

218 - Download - Eleven Stages - 65

219 - Guardian - Almost Home - 65

220 - Saints Of Rebellion - New American Dream - 65

221 - Handguns - Life Lessons - 65

222 - Defeat The Low - A Nervous Smile - 65

223 - 220 Volt - Walking In Starlight - 65

224 - Bulletride - Morphine - 65

225 - Kix - Rock Your Face Off - 64

226 - Black Tora - Black Tora - 64

227 - Magnum - Escape From The Shadows - 64

228 - From The Fire - Evil Men Do - 64

229 - Daniel Trigger - Army Of One - 64

230 - Snakeskyn Whiskey - Against The World - 63

231 - Ivo - Ivo - 63

232 - King James - Maximus - 63

233 - Random Hero - Oceans Of Change - 63

234 - Colorstone - Steam - 63

235 - Cross Solder - Cross Solder - 63

236 - Mach 22 - Sweet Talk Intervention - 63

237 - Vince O'Regan - Temptation - 63

238 - Rebel Road - Lock & Load - 63

239 - I Love Rich - Respect The Rich - 63

240 - Dynamite - Blackout Station - 63

241 - Lower Than Atlantis - Lower Than Atlantis - 63

242 - Veras - Never Give Up - 63

243 - Heavy Honey - Crushing Symphony - 62

244 - High Spirits - You Are Here - 62

245 - Captain Blackbeard - Before Plastic - 62

246 - Stoneflower - Destination Anywhere - 62

247 - WAMI - Kill The King - 62

248 - Kutless - Glory - 62

249 - Valentine - Bizarro World - 61

250 - One Bad Son - Black Buffalo - 61

251 - Diesel - Into The Fire - 61

252 - Chaotic Resemblance - Get The Hell Out - 61

253 - Fuel - Puppet Strings - 60

254 - Ron Keel - Metal Cowboy - 60

255 - The GX Project - Sinner - 60

256 - Toseland - Renegade - 60

257 - Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain - 60

258 - Kodiak Jack - Alhambra - 60

259 - Second hand Serenade - Undefeated - 60

260 - Neonfly - Strangers In Paradise - 60

261 - Sittin' Pretty - Sittin' Pretty - 59

262 - Scarlett Gypsy - All Access - 59

263 - Stop! Stop! - Join The Party - 59

264 - Blueminded - Blueminded - 59

265 - Poets Of The Fall - Jealous Gods - 59

266 - Nasty Nuns - Sick In The Head - 58

267 - Seventrain - Seventrain - 58

268 - Warner Drive - City Of Angels - 58

269 - Sixx AM - Modern Vintage - 58

270 - Vanadine - Liar - 58

271 - Supersuckers - Get The Hell - 57

272 - Sexplosion - Swallow N' Shut Up - 57

273 - Black Trial - Big Break - 57

274 - Hide The Knives - Silence The Youth - 56

275 - Porn Queen - Porn Queen - 55

276 - I Am The Avalanche - Wolverines - 55

277 - The Erotics - Preaching To The Choir - 55

278 - Charlie Simpson - Long Road Home - 55

279 - Winger - Better Days Comin' - 55

280 - The Babys - I'll Have Some Of That! - 55

281 - Mr Big - The Stories We Could Tell - 54

282 - Lynch - Something In A Dream - 54

283 - Julian Angel's Beautiful Beast - Kick Down The Barricades - 54

284 - Stud - Rust On The Rose - 53

285 - Mainstreet - Second Chance - 53

286 - The Vamps - Meet The Vamps - 52

287 - United Nations - 2014 - 52

288 - July - Raining Sun - 52

289 - Deadline - Fire Inside - 52

290 - Vesper's Nine - True Story - 52

291 - Fraidy Katt - Scratched - 50

292 - Broken Oath - A Different Way - 50

293 - Rated X - Rated X - 50

294 - Quiet Riot - Quiet Riot 10 - 49

295 - Tokyo - One World - 49

296 - Kick Toy - Childhood Nightmares; A Trilogy - Part 16 - 48

297 - Hot Fire - Lost In Rock N' Roll - 48

298 - Three Wishes - Resurrection - 47

299 - Wonderworld - Wonderworld - 47

300 - Kevan Keeler - Five O' One Nine - 46

301 - Picture Perfect - Rose - 45

302 - House Of X - House Of X - 43

303 - Shades & Peters - Let The Record Spin - 43

304 - Soulhealer - Bear The Cross - 42

305 - Slick Kitty - Claws Extended - 41

306 - Damn Pigeon - Re-Coop - 36

307 - Refill - Let's Break Some Hearts - 35

308 - Messiah's Kiss - Get Your Bulls Out - 31

309 - Indica - Shine - 30

310 - Mike Tramp - Museum - 28

311 - Inertia - Dark Kinetic - 28

312 - Flying Colors - Second Nature - 25

313 - Helldorados - Lessons In Decay - 25

314 - Highway Dream - Wonderful Race - 25

315 - Red Zone Rider - Red Zone Rider - 23

316 - Gideon's Army - Burn For The Living - 20

317 - Lake - Wings Of Freedom - 15

318 - U-Turn - Black Leather & Chromes - 10

 

And like Glen, I'll throw up some commentary to back up my thoughts:

 

1 - White Widdow - Crossfire ; it was tight between this and Vega, but I think what got this over the line was it's consistency. 'Too many tears' is the only sign of a slight weakness on this disc, but otherwise it's consistently great from start to end, as well as featuring a handful of gems.

 

2 - Vega - Stereo Messiah ; killer disc and their most consistent yet. A couple of songs like 'All or nothing' and 'Tears never dry' keep this one off the top spot, but it's a good 'un.

 

3 - Angels Or Kings - Kings Of Nowhere ; one of a couple of real surprise gems that the year threw up. Sadly the production is lacking, but the songs are sure as hell not. Great from start to end. Very pure late 80's / early 90's melodic rock / AOR sound.

 

4 - In Faith - There's A Storm Coming ; this one doesn't seem to be very everyone, but it is for me. Undoubtedly there are imperfections on this debut, but where it counts - in terms of great hooks - it succeeds with ease. Great debut.

 

5 - Steel Panther - All You Can Eat ; for the majority of the year this held the top spot, until the above 4 albums were all released in the last couple of months. There are a few songs on this that aren't my fave in their discography, but then there are about 4 or 5 that are amongst my faves. And overall the lyrics, the vibe, the musicianship and production... on many levels it is easily one of the best of the year.

 

6 - States Of Panic - No World Order ; without a competitor, the most under-rated album of 2014. I haven't even seen it charted yet on lists so far and don't expect to. It puzzles me how 'Brand new breed' rated very high in it's year of release, and all they've done is change the band name, got slightly heavier and slightly modernised (neither of which is a bad thing) and now no one's interested. From start to end this is consistently great without even a slight dip in quality. Add to that the gem that is 'Aviator' and you have the recipe for a great disc.

 

7 - Crazy Lixx - Crazy Lixx ; after the disappointingly produced 'Riot Avenue,' it gave my ears and I great pleasure to hear these guys back doing what they do best. Couple of weaker songs at the end don't see this score as highly as it could, but it's a winner.

 

8 - Harem Scarem - Thirteen ; despite production issues and the fact that this album just feels like there's something "off" with regard to normal HS standards, I guess it just shows that these guys could phone in a great disc if they wanted. The trademark hooks are still here on a good handful of songs, and it's hard to deny how good these guys are at what they do. Even if it's not one of their best albums.

 

9 - Michael Paynter - Weary Stars ; along with Steel Panther and States of Panic, these 3 were the real stayers of 2014. In my top 10 from their release date, they never wavered and held position rightly so. The only complaints I've seen levelled at this are too many ballads and I agree there are too many ballads. Problem is, it's not like they're bad songs. They're just ballads, but bloody great ones, imo. SO whilst it could use some more uptempo stuff, I love it as it is anyway. Great voice and not a song I remotely dislike on this. Great album.

 

10 - Moonland - Moonland ; I assume quite controversially, this one rounds out my top 10. Although I agree it does not have quite the highlights as some of the discs I rank below it, and I do like to favour a disc with a few highlights over consistent but unspectacular CDs, this one just slots into that higher than the norm category. There are a handful of killer tunes, but also, it's relentless in quality and another album without a weakness. And therefore it just snares the last spot in my top 10. It's nothing new, it could be considered "generic" I'm sure, but whatever it is, it's executed excellently. Love it.

 

And quickly...

 

11 - H.E.A.T - Tearing Down The Walls ; remove 'Shot at redemption,' 'Laughing at tomorrow' and 'All the nights' and replace them with 'Under you skin' and 'She's like the wind' and this is probably the best album of 2014. A lot of excellence on this on, but some lower than normal (for HEAT) moments too.

 

12 - Brother Firetribe - Diamond In The Firepit ; extremely consistent and a very high quality, but because it is all kind of similar there's not really true highlights on a very strong album.

 

13 - Miss Behaviour - Double Agent ; this one does have some absolute belters - some of the better songs of the year, in fact. But the quality across the whole disc is a bit up and down hence why its just outside my top 10.

 

14 - Night By Night - NxN ; initially this was ranked at number one for me but repeated listens indicated I may have been taken by the moment a little. I still think this is a really excellent album from a great band. Love their style. No real reason it dropped in the rankings other than the fact that a few better albums hit the streets. But this is still a great one.

 

15 - Work Of Art - Framework ; as I have documented about this, it starts of amazingly. Really great start to the disc, but the 2nd half tapers off hugely, with only 'Natalie' making a dent on the whole second half of the disc. Shame, because if they kept up the quality of the first half I assume it would have been at number one or close. Great first half, though.

 

16 - Maverick - Quid Pro Quo ; another of the surprise packages from the year. Good, gritty hard rock from start to end without dropping the ball at all. 'Shackled' is one of the year's highlights too.

 

17 - Badger - Time Will Tell ; I've talked of surprises of the year, but there was none greater than this - that's for sure. Extreme sucked - I never liked any of Gary Cherone's other projects. I've hated Betterncort's - so what on earth were the odds I'd like Extreme's bass player's solo disc? About zero, I'd have thought. And whilst it's not amazing, I was truly surprised that this turned out to be a real nice little slab of modern rock, kind of like the early "nu-breed" (gasp at that term) bands like an SR-71 or something. Yeah, just a nice disc which sat well with me this year.

 

18 - Dalton - Pit Stop ; great return to form... like they didn't even miss a beat since their last album 25 years ago.

 

19 - Loud Lion - Die Tough ; another well hated album, but not by me. It's odd charting it because it's all old material we've mostly heard through the years, kind of thrown together with some bits and pieces to form an album... but specifics aside, I love the songs. Stupid lyrics aside, it's a great DL rip-off and I dig it.

 

20 - Dorydrive - Here's To You ; nicely polished debut label release. Most the songs are off 'Calling all angels' a couple of years ago, but they're still good and the new ones are pretty sweet too. I'll admit this one didn't beg me to be played over and over again, but it's a good one.

 

Anyway, overall it was a pretty good year. Nightrain said he had 50 albums on his playlist this year; I think I was closer to about 150 or thereabouts which I kept on the car stereo at work. Not many real standouts, but plenty of good solid albums throughout the year.

 

Anyway, here's the rest of it:

 

EPs;

 

1 - Waltham - Wicked Waltham EP - 95

2 - Thief Club - My Heavy - 94

3 - 5 Seconds Of Summer - Don't Stop EP - 85

4 - H.E.A.T. - Shot At Redemption EP - 81

5 - 5 Seconds Of Summer - She Looks So Perfect EP - 80

6 - Pretty Maids - Louder Than Ever (EP) - 79

7 - Inheret The Stars - Beyond The Beacons EP - 78

8 - Airless - Best Of & Rarities (EP) - 78

9 - Conditions - Missing Hours (EP) - 77

10 - Hansel - Flourescent Blue Lights EP - 77

11 - There For Tomorrow - Nightscape EP - 77

12 - Brigades - Crocodile Tears - 76

13 - Sacred Hour - Die Sometimes EP - 75

14 - Alive In the Lights - House Of Cards EP - 75

15 - Bloody Heels - Summer Nights EP - 75

16 - Kings & Kerosene - Roadkill EP - 73

17 - Artist Vs Poet - Sake Of Love EP - 73

18 - Valerie - Dangerous EP - 72

19 - A Brighter Life - The Worst Luck EP - 71

20 - FM - Futurama (EP) - 70

21 - John Taglieri - Days Like These EP - 69

22 - Saints Of Sin - The Seven Deadly Sins EP - 66

23 - Beggarz Fixx - Rouse The Rabble EP - 65

24 - Unruly Child - Down The Rabbit Hole EP - 63

25 - Nasty Habit - Desperate Times, Desperate Measures EP - 62

26 - Four Nights Gone - Milestones EP - 58

27 - Close Quarters - Try To Pay The Rent With Love EP - 53

28 - Big Trouble - Long Start To A Short Career EP - 50

29 - The Pleasures - Foursome Reason EP - 45

EPs kind of speak for themselves. I think I had both Thief Club and Waltham in my lists last year, but as this was the official release year for both, they're back and still home to the best songs of the year.

And speaking of Top Songs of 2014;

Michael Paynter - Love The Fall

Thief Club - Weight with you

Thief Club - Knew Your Name

Waltham - Drive Me Crazy

H.E.A.T. - Under Your Skin

Thief Club - Follow you

James Labrie - Unraveling

Dorydrive - Tattooed

Steel Panther - Bukkake Tears

H.E.A.T - Point Of No Return

H.E.A.T - Inferno

H.E.A.T - Emergency

Night By Night - Everywhere Tonight

Brother Firetribe - For Better or for Worse

Thief Club - First Place

Waltham - You're Everything That I Want

Waltham - The Highway

Waltham - Stand n' Fight

Ragdoll - In My Mind (Remixed)

5 Seconds Of Summer - Heartache on the big screen

5 Seconds Of Summer - Amnesia

James Durbin - Louder Than A Loaded Gun

James Durbin - Forget It

Work Of Art - Can't Let Go

Vega - Wherever we are

Vega - Ballad of the broken heart

Hell In The Club - Bare Hands

In Faith - Million Ways

White Widdow - Carry The Heartache

White Widdow - Never Again

Wicked Sensation - Misery

Maverick - Shackled

McBusted - Gone

[heavyharmonies]

You put a fuckload of effort into that, Geoff. Impressive!

 

Question: Is it unusual for you that not a single album will reach 90% for the year?

[DaHun72]

Well done Geoff, great read!

[PeterS]

Would also seem to be a list of all albums released in 2014? Wow.

 

I am curious though. How often do you listen to any album?

[Nightrain]

Nice list Geoff, that's a great effort there, btw haven't listened to Maverick, Badger, and Dorydrive in your top 20 but I assume all of them are modern rock stuffs ? and I can't seem to find any samples on the net except Maverick