Top 15 Favorite Songs of 2022

 These songs are some of my favorite songs I've run across in 2022.  That doesn't mean I listened to every album from all the major bands..but I think I listened to enough to get a pretty good represenation of what was released.  So before everyone whines about Devin Townsend, Within Temptation, Therion Stratovarius not being included they all released good CD but none of the songs stuck with the way these 15 did.  

1. Scorpions - Rock Believer

Sue me. Scorpions are one of the favorite bands of all time and this was far and away my favorite song from 2022. There wasn't even a debate between 1 and 2.  Klaus Meine still sounds fantastic for 74 and Rock Believer is one of the best songs the Scorpions have written since Savage Amusement.  

2. Visions of Atlantis - Legion of the Seas

Far and away the best thing Vision of Atlantis has done.  They've separated themselves from the pack of female fronted Nightwish/Within Temptation clones and written a song that's incredibly catchy. 

3. Wind Rose - Gates of Ekrund 

I have to admit when these guys were announced for ProgPower USA I was less than thrilled but I decided to give it a listen...any the rest they say, is history.  Dwarven Metal never sounded so good.  Gates of Ekrund is as catchy as they come. 

4.  Madhouse - Down n Dirty

Sleazy metal never sounded so good...Madhouse is one part Ratt, One part LA Guns and all things fun from Hair Metal and the output is one of best songs of 2022.  

5. Cleanbreak - Coming Home 

James Durbin put together an all star cast featuring bassist and drummer from Stryper, the guitarist from Riot V and penned a classic ready for radio hit that is better than that the average Frontier Records Release.  

6.  Brymir - Voices In The Sky

Brymir really rocked my world with thier 2019 release Wings of Fire which is a unique blend of Symphonic, Melodic Death and Pagan metal.  Fast forward to 2022 and Voices in the Sky picks up where Wings left off.  Not for everyone but I love the symphonic elements and harmonies.  

7. Wilderun - Passenger

Prog Metal isn't my favorite genre but when something this good comes along it's hard to pass it by.  

8. Ozzy Osbourne - Patient #9

Ozzy is right up there with The Scorpions and Iron Maiden as one of my favorite artist and he defies all odds by not only living but releasing some absolutely killer music.  Patient #9 features some great guitar playing by the late great Jeff Beck and is just a catchy tune. 

9. Kate Nord - Dream of Daylight 

If I'm being completely honest, there's about 5 songs that could have made my favorite songs of 2022 list which is a pretty good indicator where this album falls in my favorite releases of 2022.  Kate contribution to the Symphonic Metal scene went largely unnoticed due to late December release but make no mistake, this is a monster song on a monster release. The backing band is none other than Noveria so you know there's talent galore on this record and the solo on this song really gives the song a beautiful but powerful kick in the pants.   Here's to hoping it gets put to CD in 2023 but for now it's only available in digital format on bandcamp. 

https://katenord.bandcamp.com/album/compass-to-your-hearts-desire

10. Deathless Legacy - Ora Pro Nobis 

I guess if Ghost had a female sister it would sound something like this.  Seriously though it seems like everything coming out of Italy is frickin awesome.  Deathless Legacy are no exception. 

11. Kissin Dynamite - Coming Home

I'm a fanboy and I don't care, Kissin Dynamite are another guilty pleasure.  This just  consistently puts out great albums and fantastic singles that in any other market besides the US would be monster hits.   With a motto of "Their Mission is to bring back Stadium Rock" you've got to have the chops and vocalist to back that up and Kissin Dynamite check all the boxes

12. My Soliloquy - The Great Polarity

For whatever reason Pete Morten has not achieved the same notariety as his ex bandmates in Threshold however this single should have turned a lot of heads and had him mentioned in the same breath...however, that doesn't seem to be the case. Regardless, The Great Polarity is a great melodic Prog Metal single and caught MY attention.  Gotta start somewhere right? 

13. Lords of The Trident - Acolyte

Lords of the Trident are trying to carry the US Power Metal baton and their last album The Offering was a great release and should put them on the map. Acolyte was one many many great songs from this Minnesota based band.  

14. Raptore - Triumphal March to Hell 

Oh Hell Yes, who doesn't like a little in your face Speed Metal.  Raptore remind me a lot of Enforcer and that's as big a compliment as you can get in my opinion.  Far from a one song wonder, Raptore shows on Triumphal March to Hell they are ready for the big leagues.  

15. Confidential - Devil Inside

Coming to us from Norway, Confidential kind of flew under the Symphonic Metal radar but make no mistake this band could hold their with other great bands of the genre.  

"Big 4" List

 This post was inspired by the utterly ridiculous post in Loudwire who played off the Big 4 of thrash by revealing thier picks for the Big 4 of other genres.  In some cases they nailed it...in some they failed miserably. Can I do better?  Maybe, maybe not but I'm sure as hell gonna give it my best shot. 

Big 4 of Prog Rock: 

Rush

Yes

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Kansas

Big 4 of Southern Rock

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Allman Brother

Molly Hatchet

ZZ Top

Big 4 of Power Metal

Blind Guardian

Helloween

Gamma Ray

Stratovarius

Big 4 of Doom

Black Sabbath

Candlemass

Trouble

Katatonia

Big 4 of Prog Metal

Dream Theater

Fates Warning

Opeth 

Queensryche

More to Come 

Powerwolf - The Sacrament of Sin (2018)

Ok, I have a confession, I've heard people talk about Powerwolf for years but quite honestly have not given them the time of the day.  Why you ask...hell if I know, just one of those bands that gotten a lot of love but I've been in my own little world.   That, my friends, is all about to change.  After listening to The Sacrament of Sin and checking out tracks from prior CD's that they've been playing live I can officially say i'm on the bandwagon.

The band was formed in 2003 by brothers Charles and Matthew Greywolf and the music and lyric are typically dark themed with the music bordering on Symphonic Metal with some gothic elements.  The themes of the lyric often revolve around Transylivania, Werewolf, Vampire legends and even dark religious tales.  

The Sacrament of Sin is the bands 7th release and true to form the lyrics have a dark theme.  The music perfectly fit Atilla Dorn's deeper voice, which in itself, gives the music and eerie, yet powerful feel.  Fire & Forgive is the opening track and seems to pick up right where Blessed and Possessed left off.  Great chorus, very bombastic and even reminds me of Sabaton at times.  The second song Demon's Are a girls Best Friend is the first single off this CD.  Wouldn't have been my first choice but it's not my choice.  In my mind the best track is Killers With A Cross.  Just love the eerie intro, sounds like church bells and chanting then kicks in "In the Night Came The Killers With Cross.  Great harmonies and chorus...I just picture myself fist pumping to this song live.  Incense and Iron follows and the surprise of the disc was the slow song Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone.  Can't say it was my favorite song, but it's certainly an interesting side of Powerwolf.  Stossgetbet if another anthemic fist pumper and followed by Nightside of Siberia. 

There is no shortage of theatrics and soon to be classics on this release.  I've gone back and listened to Blessed & Possessed and if the previous 5 releases are anything like the last two I'm going to thorougly enjoy them.  I know I love this disc and it ranks right up there amongst my favorites of 2018.  Rating: 9.7/10 (Napalm Records),



01. Fire & Forgive
02. Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend
03. Killers With The Cross
04. Incense And Iron
05. Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone
06. Stossgebet
07. Nightside Of Siberia
08. The Sacrament Of Sin
09. Venom Of Venus
10. Nighttime Rebel
11. Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)
12. Midnight Madonna [bonus version]

Guardians of Time - Tearing Up The World (2018)

Hailing from Norway and seeming coming out of nowhere (figuratively) is Guardians of Time who have unleashed their 5th CD.  Fifth CD...that's hard to fathom that they've done that much and are relatively unknown in the metal circles outside of Europe.  What sets Guardians of Time apart from many others in the Euro Power Metal genre are their ability to write really catch songs.  Oh sure, bands like Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, and Sonata Arctica have had thier share of great songs but for a relatively obscure band to come along and put out an opus of this magnitude..is well, pretty special.   One song after another seems to fire off  monster riffs and memorable choruses.  Tearing Up the World is the opening song and honestly one that took a while to grow on me.  It features Norway legend Abbath who's vocals are a little more harsh than most of the layered vocals found on many of the other songs.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind harsh vocals but so many of the songs were built around really strong harmonies and the vocals seemed a bit out of place.   After getting over the initial shock I've come to enjoy the song.   Where the band really stood out were tracks like Raise The Eagle, As I Burn which featured Tim "Ripper" Owens, Masters We Were and...well there really isn't a weak track throughout the CD.  Every song just has great harmonies and is so memorable.  The CD was mixed and mastered at Studio Fredman and really is superb

The general concensous is the Power Metal genre has become stagnant with no real heir to the Stratovarius/Blind Guardian throne.  Guardians of Time are living proof that Power Metal is alive and well. Will they lay claim to the Power Metal throne? Maybe, maybe not, but for now Tearing Up the World is my #1 CD of 2018.  In a year of really strong releases that says a lot and honestly it's going to take something pretty special to dethrone it this late in the year.  (Rating: 10/10)

Tracklist:

1. Tearing Up the World 2. Raise the Eagle 3. We’ll Bring War 4. Burning of Rome 5. Kingdom Come 6. Valhalla Awaits 7. Brothers of the North 8. Light Won’t Shine 9. As I Burn 10. Drawn in Blood 11. Masters We Were

Heaven & Earth - Hard To Kill (2017)

Straight out Compton...no wait make that Los Angeles comes the hard rock act Heaven & Earth which is the brainchild of guitar virtuoso and Ritchie Blackmore protige Stuart Smith .  If you like classic rock and some bluesy rock, read on.  In fact, the Rainbow/Deep Purple influence is very evident on tracks like Hard To Kill and my personal favorite Walk Away.  Walk Away has hit single written all over it.  It's got the obligatory catchy chorus, fantastic harmonies and is well, the song is just fun. Think Whitesnake self titled album and this song is as good as any song on there.   Bleed Me Dry is another great song with a catchy chorus.  Another personal favorite was Monster, it's got one of those great lead in guitar pieces that was a signature of early Deep Purple/Rainbow songs.   Hellfire was another uptempo song which in my opinion, is where Heaven & Earth really shine.  

Hard to Kill is the fourth release from Heaven & Earth and though this is Stuart Smith project it's far from a one man show.  Joe Retta (The Sweet, Greg Rollie, Dio's Disciples) has got a killer set of pipes,  Lynn Sorenson (Bass - Bad Company, Paul Rodgers Band), Ty Baillie (Keyboards - Katie Perry, Robbie Robertson), Kenny Aronoff (Drums - Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, Rolling Stones) round out this extremely talented band.  

If there's one flaw with Heaven & Earth (and many might disagree), it's that the band is all over the place musically.  I love how they start so strong out of the gate with two blazing rock anthems, but then the band delves into some really bluesy rock and some slower rock.  It's not that the songs are bad, quite the contrary, there's some very good music throughout this disc. It's just a personal preference, I'd like to hear an album full of songs like Hard to Kill, Walk Away and Hellfire and less songs like LA Blues.

Heaven & Earth have the makings of a very special band. They know how to write a very catchy tune, they've got a great vocalist with  powerful voice and they've got a very very talented band.  With the right break this band could (and should) get some well deserved exposure on stations like Ozzy's Boneyard on Sirius Radio.  They'd be a perfect fit for that channel.   I personally cant wait to catch this band live.  Rating: 8/10

Tracklist:
1. Hard To Kill
2. Walk Away
3. Till It’s Over
4. Bleed Me Dry
5. The Game Has Changed
6. Anthem
7. Monster
8. LA Blues
9. Hellfire
10. Beautiful Monsters
11. Bad Man

Wobbler - From Silence To Somewhere (2017)

I have to profess, I had never heard of Wobbler prior to listening to this and all I can say is that's a shame they've remained under my radar for so long.  Every review you've read probably says the same thing and I'm not going to deviate from that.  These Norwegian's play Symphonic classic progressive rock and damn do they do it well.  I hear so much Yes influence but I think there's a heavy dose of Emerson, Lake and Palmer and a dash of Gentle Giant.  And lets be honest, if your going to emulate your sound and style those are three pretty darn good choices.

From Silence to Somewhere has been 6 years in the making and has seen a changing of the guard...well actually guitarist. Original guitarist Morten Andreas Eriksen has been replaced by Marius Halleland, but make no mistake, Wobbler is far from a one man show. In fact,  the plethora of sounds and instruments is what truely makes Wobbler unique.

From Silence to Somewhere starts of with a 21 minute opus and is appropriate the title track of the disc.  I have to say, a 21 minute song is really hard to listen to by my standard but the song is so captivating, it captures so many sounds and styles and wraps them in to one long magnificent piece.  I swear I even heard a little Allman Brother riffing at the :59 second mark that sounded like Whipping Post.  I absolutely love this song, there's so much going on that you really need to sit down and focus on every aspect of it.

Fermented Hours is the 3rd track and again combines some of the best of classic rock, love the Chris Squire-esque bass playing by Kristian Karl Hultgren.  In fact I wish at times it was more at the forefront of the production.  The song is keyboard dominated, not that it's a bad thing, but the musicianship is so outstanding that I try to focus on all aspects of the song.

The final song is the 13 minute tune called Foxlight. Again this song has so much depth to it and I love the harpsichord added in the mix.

For a band having such a big retro Prog Rock sound they are a fresh of breath air.  This disc has really piqued my interest to the point I will be going back and visiting the rest of their catalog.  Well done my friends, the only thing that would make listening to this disc even sweeter would be to hear it performed live.  Such an outstanding disc and well worth the 6 year wait.[Rating: 9/10]

1. From Silence to Somewhere
2. Rendered in Shades of Green
3. Fermented Hours
4. Foxlight

Alcyona - Enchantment (Maxi Single Self produced).

Alcyona are a very new band and coming from Minsk, Belarus,  One thing that is very apparent upon first listen is they love their Hollywood Metal.  It's very symphonic, love the choirs used on the songs and great, well written tunes.  Alcyona has done 3 songs and released videos for all 3, one of whichs is a Bryan Adams cover.  Taking a page out of the Neo Classical song book is the song The Lost Valley.   Guitar heavy with strong female vocals and a good melody make this a must listen.  However the real draw for me on this band was the song Enchantment.  Holy crap, this song is musical deliciousness.   You can tell they were heavily influenced from Nightwish with the symphonic elements and heavenly vocals and choirs accompanying Olga and the band.  This is what makes music exciting, discovering new talent.  The last song that Alcyona offered up was a cover of Bryan Adams hit song Here I Am.  Not really representative of what the band is, personally I'd like to see a more symphonic flare ala Enchantment.  I'm really excited to see what will happen in 2017 and 2018 for these folks.  (Rating: 10 for Enchantment, 7.5 for The Lost Valley, 6 for Here I am)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkkeCML3SPA