#20 - Top of 2020

Dynazty -  The Dark Delight (AFM)

Dynazty are a power/rock band from Sweden with little claim to fame up to this release. While their previous two albums have been relatively good showing a steady progress, their latest endeavour "The Dark Delight" shifts the tone in a darker, more visceral direction, resulting in their best release so far. It is still full of melodic pop metal with ‘80s glam references, while Nils Molin remains a great singer, with amazing vocals throughout, which elevate the already pretty good compositions.

The first songs are really  good, while "From Sound To Silence" has some more bombastic drums and a chorus that really takes the song to the next level. "The Man And The Elements" has a more eclectic feel, while "The Road To Redemption" is a slower more introspective track. "The Black" is a light piece (probably the only  mediocre composition in "The Dark Delight"). "Heartless Madness" is by far one of the most stand out compositions here, while "Waterfall" is a must for hard rock fans, as is the ballad "Hologram". There are two parts on the album, power metal and hard rock/AOR, which do not necessary blend, but are presented in succession as the bands quickly shifts gears from one track to the next. We were impressed with how good "The Dark Delight" sounds and are looking forward to the next release from Dynazty!

94.25/100

Below is the lyric video for "Heartless Madness"

#22 - Top of 2020

The  Night Flight Orchestra - Aeromantic  (Nuclear Blast)

What started as a fun side project has slowly grown to the point that it currently is way more popular than its ingredients (Soilwork, Archenemy). Through their fun and kitsch attitude, combined with energetic and positive music, the band has succeeded in creating a very diverse audience which now follows very carefully the next steps of the group.

TNFO quickly became  one of the most creative acts of melodic 80s rock.  In their newest album, the band has retained its creativity with the  spirit of ABBA very much haunting many songs here.  Synth-pop elements are also present, with keys playing a slightly more substantial role in comparison with Aeromantic's predecessors. Highlights include "Divinyls", "If tonight is our only chance" and the excellent "Taurus". In these dark times, TNFO show once more that there can be music that elevates the spirit as well as the heart, while not shying away from the complexities of today.

94.05/100

Below is the music video for "Divinyls"!

#9 - Top of 2019

Beast in Black - From Hell with Love (Nuclear Blast)

With the second full length release of Beast in Black with Yannis Papadopoulos, they cement their name as one of the hottest names on the European power metal scene. "From Hell With Love" essentially continues on the same vein as its equally good predecessor "Berserker", while at the same time dipping its toes a little bit on new things: Uplifting songs written for party, disco / power / hard rock mixes and the well-known "pop" epic approach, as a cherry on top. The album starts with the ingenious mainstream riff of "Cry Out For A Hero" and a chorus that puts you "in the mood" in the best possible way. Then come the first "disco metal" references with the titular song followed by the "Sweet True Lies" single with clear references to Bon Jovi. The very clever idea to throw the hits one after the other works well here, with the second awesome single "Die By The Blade" in short order. The first ballad  "Oceandeep", is a wonderful elegiac piece sounding like a lost song from one of the best Nightwish albums. This is  followed by back-to-back heavier tracks "Unlimited Sin" and "True Believer", with the former honouring 80s melodic rock bands ad the latter having an extremely infectious synth intro. The ending of the album is as loud as the beginning, with the heavy-as-fuck (pardon the expression) "No Surrender". In conclusion, Beast In Black are able to do what few other bands can: offer a few moments of guilt-free enjoyment to all those who are afraid to say that they hear anything but heavy metal, having  no shortage of talent in composing hits  "the '80s way", long may they continue to do so!

95.5/100

Below are a number of music videos from the new album!

#15 - Top of 2019

Eclipse - Paradigm (Frontiers)

Eclipse are a pretty well-known hard rock/AOR act from Sweden that has been consistently releasing pretty interesting albums within the genre during the last couple of decades but always seemed to fall a touch short of a genuine mainstream breakthrough. This may or may not be the case for paradigm, but the album is one of the sweetest surprises of 2019! The band here really outdid themselves, delivering multiple anthemic hard rock songs ("The Masquerade", "Viva la Victoria", "Never Gonna Be Like You" , "Mary Leigh") poised to be airplay sweethearts while at the same time keeping the quality of song-writing as high as it's ever been in their career. A real feat and a must listen for any and all rock fans.

94.85/100

Below are the music videos for "The Masquerade" and "Viva la Victoria"

#34 - Top of 2019

Battle Beast - No More Hollywood Endings (Nuclear Blast Records)

Battle Beast have always been a band that has tried to evolve and reinvent themselves and their music with each record. With the departure of Anton Kabanen, the band had to evolve, adopting more pop elements in their previous album, while maintaining their signature style. Here, with "No More Hollywood Endings", the band take it one step further, almost completely abandoning their power metal character and essentially creating an album that seems like the demented lovechild of ABBA, Nightwish and Bon Jovi. But is that necessarily a bad think dear reader? The answer really depends from your perspective; if you were a die-hard fan of the band for its infectious pop-metal silliness, then this may come as a big disappointment. However those willing to embrace the new Beast will find a trove of excellent songs here, even if it's no longer in the same vein with what they would expect from Noora and company. "No more Hollywood Endings" and "Eden" are truly memorable Finish Sympho tracks, "Unfairy tales" is an excellent 80s power ballad, "Endless Summer" is a very tasty pop marshmallow, "The Hero" grooves hard, while  "The Golden Horde" is a god-honest metal bashing among the fluff surrounding it. 
Overall, this a very good and different output opening new avenues for the band, showing how a pop metal band can transition to something different while maintaining very high standards of quality.

93.3/100

Below is the music video for the titular track and "Eden"

#9 - Top of 2018

The Night Flight Orchestra - Sometimes the World Ain't Enough (Nuclear Blast)

It's beyond belief that this album wasn't released back in the '80s.  It is almost as incredible as the way that NFO are able to convey the emotion and cheesiness of the 80s. Sometimes the World Ain't Enough, however, is not simply a tribute to the past, but a genuine contender among the best albums of the era. Let's not forget of course the polished Swedish music mastery of this supergroup, which brings a cinematic quality to every song! From the almost stereotypical AOR of "This Time" and "Turn To Miami", the album offers the epic "Paralysed" with its funk '70s disco vibe and the year's biggest chorus. While flirting with prog rock in the grandiose "The Last Of The Independent Romantics",  it revisits what love is in "Lovers In The Rain" and the dreamy and mysterious theme tune of " Pretty Things Closing In " leads to the incredible sing-along power of the chorus of" Can't Be That Bad ".  "Sometimes The World Ain't Enough" is a timeless classic album. It might truly be the ultimate AOR album for those who don't hear AOR. In other words...

The Night Flight Orchestra are simply the guiltiest pleasure of the year.

96.1/100

Below are the music videos for "This Time", "Can't Be that Bad", "Turn to Miami" and "Lovers in the Rain".

#15 - Top of 2017

The night flight orchestra - Amber Galactic  (Nuclear Blast)

This is truly an excellent and unexpected rock release for 2017. The sound of NFO is a combination of the big "stadium rock" bands of yesterday with a fresh approach which succeeds not only making them sound classic but also very approachable to new listeners that may not heavily suffer from nostalgia. This is their third release and having never heard of them before this album I was taken aback from the wealth and depth of what these guys had to offer.
The album kicks off with "Midnight Flyer" that combines fast keyboards and catchy guitar solos with awesomely infectious vocals by Bjorn Streed (of Soilwork fame!). "Star of Rio" is a groovy track with an awesome coupling of  female vocals in the chorus that give it a Soul/70s vibe. "Gemini" draws clear influences from the great disco songs of the era, while the following "Sad State of Affairs" is a more of a AOR-inspired track. "Jennie" is another beautiful song that will bring to mind the dancing power ballads of yesteryear. The next song, "Domino", is an awesome track that is either a lost track from Toto's "Africa" or a David Gilmour secret song that we never  heard about. "Josephine" is another top-notch dance-floor track with heavy Boston influences that should be played in all high school parties for all time. "Something mysterious" draws from Foreigner and Survivor as main influences and breaks into a dreamy nostalgic chorus and an awesome solo taken from the greatest hits of the era. The album ends with "Just another night", which includes a sax interlude, boosting the listener with a final shot of nostalgia before pressing play once more for another round of  "Amber Galactic".


94.2/100

Below are the music videos for "Gemini" and "Something Mysterious" as well as the audio track for "Domino".

#16 - Top of 2017

The Grammers - Dream in a minor key  (VR Label)

At number 16 we have the Grammers with "Dream in a minor key". These guys ain't no "new and promising" act. These are hard rock/ AOR veterans and have been releasing quality album after quality album for more than 15 years. Their latest release is no different, and yet its quality surpasses its predecessors enough to warrant inclusion among the best albums of 2017.

The album kicks off with "Run & Hide", which creates a relaxed atmosphere through the use of acoustic guitars and slowly builds towards the dynamic chorus and a Uriah Heep - inspired interlude which helps in developing the ambience of the song. "Dreams in  minor key" is an extremely catchy AOR song with piano-led verses leading  to the dynamic chorus. "Take it or leave it" is the best anthem of the album and truly deserving to be the AOR trademark of this decade, with equal parts of cheesiness and epic-ness and the excellent guest verse by Maria Hanninen. "Liar, liar" is another powerful rock song with theatrical vocal lines that reveal the impressive range of lead singer Hannu Vainiopaa. "79" is another rocking track with the piano accompanying the vocal interplay of the singer with the choral parts impeccably. The closer "Long Gone" is a slow sombre and nostalgic song with a catchy melody and a melancholic guitar/keyboard solo that serves as an excellent outro to the album. 

An unknown gem with some of the best songs I have heard in its genre in a long time.


94/100

Below is the music video for "Take it or Leave it"