#4- Top of 2013

Wardrum- Messenger (Steel Gallery Records)

 Moving up to the top 4 for 2013, Wardrum, the Greek power metal is back with their third full album "Messenger". The record is full of great power metal riffs by Kosta Vreto, and the amazing strong vocals by the lead vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos. "Messenger" is quick-paced (like the song that gave the title to the album) and start with speedy songs like the "Shelter" and "After Forever", continues with catchy songs like the "Lady Jane Grey" and melodic songs like the "Four Seasons" while mixing the clear vocals with choruses in songs like the "Travel Far Away" and "Vengeance". It could be said that this is not a life-changing album but it is energizing, exciting and shows that the band has quite some potential to reveal (with a new album being recorded this year)! If you are into classic power metal, "Messenger" is bound to stick to your mind and your playlist!


95/100

Below is the music video for the song "Messenger".

#5 - Top of 2013

Orphaned Land - All is One (Century Media)

Orphaned land are that special kind of band; they are a band of many talents, showing a remarkable talent of mixing traditional Eastern music with metal and orchestral elements. Their magnum opus before this album was the 2004 masterpiece Mabool, a concept album recounting the tale of Noah's Ark. Their follow-up The Way of OrWarrior was equally good if not leaning a little too much on the Eastern side of the band, showing fewer metal tendencies than its predecessor.

 Here, The band is once again in excellent form, finding once again the balance between he two main aspects of its uniqueness and producing a result at least equal, if not surpassing their best work yet. The song forms here are simple and straightforward without becoming cliched or boring. The main melodies are structured around the voice of Kobi Farhi, and as a result his great vocal performance here is what makes this album outshine its predecessor.


95/100


Below are the MVs for the title song & Brother

 

#6 - Top of 2013

Haken - The Mountain (Inside Out Records)

 

"The Mountain" is the first major crash test for the British progressive rock/metal band, being their first record conforming the demands of Inside Out. "The Mountain" easily leaves behind its two predecessors in many areas. In terms of compositions, in the level of inspiration and virtuosity.

Some would have ticked the impressive "Atlas Stone" that comes after the introduction of "The Path" and puts you directly in the right mood. The Spock's Beard polyphony "Cockroach King" and bizarre measures make it among the best compositions here, while  "In Memoriam" is very straightforward, with unique melodies and excellent transitions between aggressive riffing and piano. The two most bizarre and quiet moments of the album come with the "Because It's There" and "As Death Embrace", with intense Queen influence being present in the two epics of the album, "Falling Back To Earth "and" Pareidolia ",  the latter standing out even more because of oriental rhythms being present and the addition of bouzouki. The album closes out with "Somebody", which is very keyboard-centric and provides an excellent medium of closing the album out on a high note.

This was the peak of Haken's career so far, superseding even this year's (2016) Affinity, that although excellent, seems to be missing some of that special "magic" that made  The Mountain one of the best releases of 2013.


95/100

Below is the music video of the epic and personal favorite "Pareidolia".

#7- Top of 2013

The Winery Dogs- The Winery Dogs (Loud & Proud Records)

The Winery Dogs is a hard rock project, which was formed by Mike Portnoy (in drums, of course!), Billy Sheehan (in bass guitars) and Richie Kotzen (in lead vocals and guitars), and released their first self-titled album in 2013, which is a mix of hard rock with groovy riffs and great ballads! The album is filled with a positive vibe with songs filled with energy and enthusiasm like the "Elevate", the "Otherside"  and the ''Six Feet Deeper", followed by the funky "One More Time" and the catchy We Are One". Kotzen's voice, which is a blend of a classic hard rock voice with Chris Cornell's depth, blends perfectly with the positive attitude of the album, especially in songs like the Audioslave-like ''Damaged''. It is worth checking out the Japanese Edition of the album as it includes the song "Criminal", which replaced the "Time Machine". Overall, this is another interesting project by the ever-working Portnoy who always has some new and different going on satisfying any fan!


95/100

Below official music videos for the songs "Desire" and "Elevate"!

#8- Top of 2013

Rotting Christ- Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού (Season of Mist)

"Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού" (which translates roughly as "True to His Own Spirit" in English) is the 11th (!) album of the Greek death/black band, Rotting Christ. The band's early work shifted from grindcore to black with folk/world and atmospheric elements, always adding new and interesting themes in their music. The songs (both music and lyrics) were written by lead vocalist/guitarist  Sakis Tolis (with the exception of the adaptation of the traditional Romanian song titled "Cine iubeşte şi lasă"). The album opens with the very strong  "In Yumen - Xibalba" (with eerie growling vocals and heavy riffs), "P'unchaw kachun - Tuta kachun" (with amazing choirs and melodic guitars) and "Grandis Spiritus Diavolos", all of which are full with a dramatic vibe enhanced by the use melodic chants and choruses. Moving through the record the sounds change from brutal barked vocals (dominating in "Iwa Voodoo") or a mix with traditional melodies (in the "Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού") to whispered sections (in "Русалка") following the feeling/ theme of the each song and closing with the melodic tribal mystical vibe of  "Χ ξ ς' " (which is entirely in Greek and signifies the number 666 in the greek numeral system)!


94/100

#9 - Top of 2013

Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slaves (Inside Out Music)

Riverside are a well-established Polish progressive rock/metal band with many excellent records over the years. Recently, they released their newest album "Love Fear and the Time Machine", which although failing to enter our Top list for 2015, was an excellent release nonetheless. However, Shrine of New Generation Slaves is propably one of the best moments in their entire catalogue so far and where their talent really got to shine. There is an excellent blend of metal, prog and dark elements in this record which combine in a magical way to produce one of the best releases of the year.

Shrine of New Generation Slaves' is the pinnacle of the bands' master class musicianship; a genuine musical epiphany. I hoped this would be an excellent album but I didn't expect it to have this much impact and resonate to such a degree. Strike this one down as another top notch brilliant masterpiece from one of the greatest prog modern artists on the planet.



94/100

Below is a music video taken from the album

#10 - Top of 2013

Black Sabbath -13 (Republic Records)

It has been a long long road for the metal pioneers. After completely disbanding for a period in the 90's, they got back with Ozzy for "one last tour", giving us the "Last Supper" live album which was to serve as an epilogue to their career. But the band through multiple bumps and ego fights stayed the course continuously touring in the 00's (either with Ozzy or Dio) and released the excellent "The Devil You Know" in 2007 under the moniker "Heaven and Hell" and Dio as their main vocalist. After some more touring as Heaven and Hell, Dio sadly passed away in 2010 and Ozzy returned to the band culminating in their Download appearance in 2012. Iommi unfortunately was diagnosed with cancer so theor live appearances were few and far between, but this gave them the will to do one last (?) album. This is the album "13", aptly named after the year it was released and marking the 19th (!) release by Heavy Metal Icons. There is not much to say beyond that it is another excellent release by the band, not quite reaching the levels of albums such as their debut, "Paranoid" or "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", but nevertheless giving us another 8 tracks by Iommi and company, marking their Swan Song and an end of an era. Standout tracks are "God is Dead", "Age of Reason" and the closing track "Dear Father". It is also worth listening to the extended version which includes the explosive "Methademic"and the EP released earlier this year ("The End") which includes another 4 unreleased tracks from the "13" recording sessions.


94/100


Below is the official music video for "God is Dead".