From Faithful Trad to Avant-garde Black - All Delivered in Spades! From the Hellfire inferno the Metal army has risen once again! Despite the known current circumstances (UGH!) Metal thrived enormously in 2020. (At least that was the case on the record!) The following fifty titles kept me sane and helped me survive the 2020 ... 50 THE LIGHTBRINGER OF SWEDEN Rise of the Beast (Sweden) Released on July 15, 2020 Debut album Power Metal Spotify link 49 DARK QUARTERER Pompei (Ital

Hard Rock, Prog Rock, AOR & Glam Metal Thirty years ago the styles and sub-genres clearly exemplified by the following fifty titles were an integral part of the music mainstream. The assault against proper Rock music intensified in the coming years. Many so-called music experts deemed rock and roll to be dead and buried. Failed efforts to replace it with, for the lack of a better word, garbage, were many. Surviving the dim years of the 1990s and crawling into the new millenni

Often offering an alternate point-of-view, exploring new musical nuances, cover songs, different mixes, are all elements that make for exciting EP/MLP releases. A gateway into an act's catalog, or just a simpler, faster and cheaper way to get music out. Short and sweet! 10 STORMKEEP Galdrum (USA) Released on November 20, 2020 Black Metal Bandcamp link Spotify link 9 MGR (Mustard Gas and Roses) We Are One (USA) Released on November 10, 2020 Ambient/Cinematic Metal Bandcamp lin

Digital Age Rock 'N Roll Heavily Rooted In The Past! Due to this year's tidal wave of quality releases, I've decided to expend not only the number of titles (from 5 in the previous year, to 10) but also the scope, daring to include albums that would otherwise be veiled by more aggressive offerings, in a one-size-fit-all setting. Mainly, the common denominator here is the undeniable influence that the 1970s rock music had not only on the compositions, but also on the featured

Rocking Electric Blues & Blues/Rock Kicking off 2020 year's end festivities with a top ten of the most exciting electric blues and blues/rock albums released in the past twelve months. An over 150 years old genre, the blues, has managed to maintain its relevance despite past and present struggles and obstacles. With the blues remaining a core influence to quite a few metal genres, sub-genres and styles for the past five decades, and even longer in the world of rock, publishin