The Best Metal Albums Of 2013

Well, here we are. I'm sure you know the drill come the end of any given year. It's time to look at 2013 in review. The following list is the best 20 metal albums I reviewed in 2013. I decided to make it 20 this year because that is more or less the number of albums I felt were really worthy of a mention here. Basically, 20 through 11 are honorable mentions. Very good albums, but perhaps with a little something holding them back from being quite the best or ones that were just edged out. 10 to 1 of course are the really great stuff 2013 had to offer. This wasn't my most prolific year in terms of album reviews, but I also told myself I'd be more laid back in this blog format and not spend all my time doing it. This is just a hobby after all. If you want more, you can feel free to pay me of course. At any rate... On to the countdown of the top 20 metal albums of 2013.


20. Running Wild - Resilient
"Basically, if you liked Shadowmaker or any of their more recent mid-paced album this isn't bad. It sounds like Running Wild and it has that fun, epic pirate quality about it."

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19. ReVamp - Wild Card

"Listening to this one, the basic formula remains intact. This is female fronted gothic material mixed with a nice dark/aggressive edge and backed by some symphonic elements."

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18. U.D.O. - Steel Hammer

"For a straight ahead, no nonsense album, I definitely like this overall. It does a pretty good job of getting you pumped and both the vocals and music have a nice heavy edge."

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17. Amorphis - Circle

"What Circle brings to the table is a somewhat familiar formula at this point of melodic, gothic music and deep vocals mixed with earlier death metal vocals and influences."

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16. Tarja - Colours In The Dark

"I can say as a fan of Tarja, that this album is worth it for fans and still a well above average release. Really, this brings some good new songs for the live stage and a lot of above average/good songs to back it."

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15. Stratovarius - Nemesis

"I guess the best word for Nemesis is uneven. This is about on par with the past couple Stratovarius albums, but with better highlights and more lackluster deep tracks. I'd say this album is worth it for Stratovarius fans and general power metal fans may find it worth it for the strong highlights."

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14. Huntress - Starbound Beast

"Basically, this shows the growth and more consistent energy that I was hoping for out of the band. It's an improvement and this is the kind of sophmore album you want to see. Starbound Beast shows me that Huntress has room to grow and they have the ability to do so."

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13. Queensryche - Queensryche

"I'm not sure the band could have picked a better replacement for Tate than Todd La Torre. The guy sounds like a young Tate vocally, but one who loves Queensryche's metal music and has the passion to make it. This is just a complete rebirth and the band sounds young and hungry."

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12. Timo Tolkki's Avalon - The Land Of New Hope

"This just sounds like a good ensemble of musicians that complement each other well and it makes me want to sing along. All in all, I think this kind of metal opera project suits Tolkki and is a very worthy comeback by him."

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11. Lingua Mortis Orchestra - LMO

"All in all, this is a very good album for Rage fans. It's still pretty much Rage, but there are by far worse things to be. This is a strong classically inspired album from the band."

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Top 10 Metal Albums of 2013

10. Memory Garden - Doomain

"Overall, this has some damn fine songs on it and everything holds up pretty well. The highlights are amazing and even the lesser tracks are good stuff. I'd recommend this to fans of bands like Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus or anyone who likes their doom metal with epic, melodic wails and some more upbeat moments."

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9. Ashes Of Ares - Ashes Of Ares

"It's not often I write about every track on an album, but barring maybe the single, everything is worth writing about. This is damn fine straight up heavy metal that recalls a very traditional style mixed with the power that power metal should have. Barlow's range is in full force here and it's a pretty perfect album for a superior frontman to be at the helm of."

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8. Motorhead - Aftershock

"Aftershock is just the kind of album that hits the bands strengths and runs with it. There's nothing fancy here, everything's just extremely headbangable. The energy and hooks on Aftershock are just damn great. It's loaded with blues rock hooks, the songs are mostly short and to the point, and everything just rocks. "

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7. Hell - Curse And Chapter

"If you like dark, heavy straight up metal than there is absolutely no reason I can see to like this. The vocals have personality and attitude, the music is involving and energetic, and the album just never relents. If you like NWOBHM music, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Coven, etc this is a must hear."

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6. Avatarium - Avatarium

"Often the music will alternate between punishing doom riffs and lighter fare, which all paints a very somber picture. This is interesting stuff that carries a really bleak feel to it. Vocalist Jennie-Ann Smith is also the perfect choice for this as she's capable of wailing out some powerful projections above the heavier riffs and also brings it back nicely for the mellower passages."

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5. Gloryhammer - Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife

"The band just has total fun with all the things that are in fact really fun about this kind of power metal. This sounds epic and glorious as hell and the songs stick with you. It's hard not to like something with this much energy and catchiness. Gloryhammer basically just indulges in fully nerding out on D&D metal and it completely works."

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4. Trouble - The Distortion Field

"The Distortion Field is simply more than I could have hoped for. Trouble really bring their A game here and this is the classic Trouble I remember. I have to give it to the entire band, but once again I have to give a special mention to Kyle Thomas for staying true to the Trouble sound, but at the same time bringing his own touch."

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3. Poisonblack - Lyijy

"This one hit me hard from the start and never really let go. The sound here is nothing particularly new for Poisonblack, but the material is extremely good with songs that are just loaded with hooks, an energetic pace, and lots of headbangable riffs. Every song from fist pumping opener Home Is Where The Sty Is to the beyond great ballad Maybe Life Is Not For Everyone is noteworthy."

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2. Avantasia - The Mystery Of Time

"This album seems to have found a good delivery method for Tobias and I like that this feels happy and majestic. It actually takes me back to what I liked about early Edguy though this is not exactly the same sound. What The Mystery Of Time is is some very engaging music that keeps my attention with good melodies."

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1. Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell

"What's not to like here? Not a damn thing. This could seriously be a guide on how to do power metal of some kind. Nice energy and melodies can be found throughout Straight Out of Hell and the songwriting is top notch. Throughout this album Helloween seems to find just the right balance between heaviness, catchiness, and the 'happy' moments that have kind of defined the band's career."

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Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell

Power Metal
Sony

2013

1. Nabataea
2. World Of War
3. Live Now!
4. Far From The Stars
5. Burning Sun
6. Waiting For The Thunder
7. Hold Me In Your Arms
8. Wanna Be God
9. Straight Out Of Hell
10. Asshole
11. Years
12. Make Fire Catch The Fly
13. Church Breaks Down
14. Another Shot Of Life (Bonus)
15. Burning Sun (Bonus - Hammond Version)

Going into this Helloween album I had modest expectations really. I was just hoping for a good power metal album, but not necessarily expecting one. I really enjoyed their last album, 7 Sinners, but history has taught me that Helloween can be a bit up and down. I did not care for the album that preceded 7 Sinners, Gambling With The Devil, much at all for instance. The band is certainly capably of coming up with a good album though.

One thing Straight Out Of Hell really gets right is opening on a strong note. It didn't take long for this album to get my head moving with the heavy, speedy Nabatea. This is a well put together, high energy opener with some powerful vocal deliveries and a nice melodic slow down to add a little extra depth. Moving on from Nabataea though, the band makes it clear this album has more to offer Deris era fans than just a killer opener. Throughout this album Helloween seems to find just the right balance between heaviness, catchiness, and the 'happy' moments that have kind of defined the band's career. As a whole, Straight Out Of Hell just seems very energized and a strong showing of songwriting from the band. I found myself enjoying most songs enough where they were at least considered as a highlight. There are plenty of good melodies to latch onto and Deris delivers in a big way. Even the cliche ballad Hold Me In Your Arms has a pretty good sound and the band pulls it off. I think the only track that could have been left on the cutting room floor is Wanna Be God which is basically just a pointless bunch of chanting. I guess this was just supposed to be a lead in to the title track potentially, but it seems like a waste of space. I can forgive the band two non-awesome minutes though I suppose. All in all, this is a band sounding their best.

What's not to like here? Not a damn thing. This could seriously be a guide on how to do power metal of some kind. Nice energy and melodies can be found throughout Straight Out of Hell and the songwriting is top notch. Always good to see a classic band making good. Nicely done boys. I seriously think this may be my new favorite Helloween album.

Highlights: Nabataea, Waiting For The Thunder, Live Now!, Far From The Stars, Straight Out Of Hell

Rating - 4.5/5

Helloween - 7 Sinners

Power Metal
SPV

2010

1. Where The Sinners Go
2. Are You Metal?
3. Who is Mr. Madman?
4. Raise The Noise
5. World Of Fantasy
6. Long Live The King
7. The Smile Of The Sun
8. You Stupid Mankind
9. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future

Helloween aren't a band that I'm as all over as some people. I get their place in the history of power metal, but in terms of personal enjoyment I'd put them in the category of hit and miss. I had little expectations going into this one for the simple reason that sometimes I like Helloween and sometimes I do not. Never know what to expect going into a new Helloween release. I do have to say I read some not so good things about this prior to listening though.

The question that popped into my head upon listening to this however is 'Am I listening to the same album?'. The first couple tracks Where The Sinners Go and Are You Metal? weren't huge winners by me, but after that I found this album catchy, energetic, and just heavy enough to keep my head moving. The first couple really do try a little hard to be heavy, but I find that after that we find a good balance and some pretty strong songwriting. Who Is Mr. Madman has a nice classic 'happy' feeling while still sounding heavy and has a memorable chorus. After that one Raise The Noise follows in a similarly energetic and heavy fashion with tons of energy and a flute solo that I think kicks ass. Beyond that I also love the melodic flow of World Of Fantasy and the heavy german power sound of Long Live The King. Pretty flawless series of 4 tracks right there.

The album never Quite hits those heights again, but as a whole package I find this album has a good blend of happy power metal and a bit of edge. This is how I like my Helloween and this is one of their better recent albums in my opinion. I recommend this one to people who dig the sound of albums like The Dark Ride and Keepers Pt 3. Though the highlights hit all at once, I find this whole album pretty enjoyable.

Highlights: Raise The Noise, Who Is Mr Madman?, World Of Fantasy, Long Live The King

Rating - 4.0/5

Helloween - Gambling With The Devil

Power Metal
SPV

2007

1. Crack The Riddle (Intro)
2. Kill It
3. The Saints
4. As Long As I Fall
5. Paint A New World
6. Final Fortune
7. The Bells Of The Seven Hells
8. Fallen To Pieces
9. I.M.E.
10. Can Do It
11. Dreambound
12. Heaven Tells No Lies

After the third installment (in name anyways) of Keeper Of The Seven Keys I had some hopes for this one. I thought the band really delivered on that one and even put a new song in the ranks of my favorite Helloween songs in the form of Occassion Avenue.

Well, simply put this album doesn't really measure up in this reviewer's opinion. In fact the first 3 songs of this album made me want to turn the CD right off. Luckily from there it does get a bit better, but this album is still pretty lacking in highlights. The last Keepers album had a couple pitfalls like Mrs. God, but it made up for it with some great songs as well. This one really doesn't.

The absolute bottom of the album that is usually tucked in at the end for most albums strangely rears it's ugly head at the beginning for all to see. Kill It first bores the listener with a dumb, repetitive chorus and annoying drums behind it and ends up utterly boring me. After that comes The Saints with awkward verses that sound like they were forced into the music which proceeds to a chorus and not much else from then on. The whole thing is just overlong and lacking in substance... particularly lyrics and singing. Then we have As Long As I Fall which has oddly distorted vocals during the verses building up to a sugar overdose, poppy chorus which sounds out of place and terrible.

From there on things do get better but they never seem to get great either. Basically what the album reminds me of is a less heavy and less enjoyable dark ride with it's carnival-esque intro and attempts at a heavy sound which fall flat. Not an all out bad album once you get past the first few tracks, but I've heard considerably better from this band and I think people expect more out of a name like Helloween.

Highlights: Final Fortune, The Bells Of The Seven Hells

Rating - 2.5/5

Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy

Power Metal
Steamhammer/SPV

2005

Disc 1
1. The King for a 1000 Years
2. The Invisible Man
3. Born on Judgment Day
4. Pleasure Drone
5. Mrs. God
6. Silent Rain

Disc 2
1. Occasion Avenue
2. Light the Universe
3. Do You Know What You're Fighting 4?
4. Come Alive
5. Shade in the Shadow
6. Get It Up
7. My Life 4 1 More Day

Before you even listen to this album you have to know that a mistake has been made. Calling this double album Keeper Of The Seven Keyts: The Legacy is like Megadeth putting out a new album called Rust In Peace Revisited. It's just setting the new album up to be compared to what's regarded as their masterworks. Just a pointless move in my opinion and it's not going to do this album any favors.

All that being said... this album should please fans of the Deris era. I doubt it's gonna bring back any of the old fans who dislike Deris but as long as you don't compare this too much to the other Seven keys albums then there's plenty of good material. For starters, let me set many minds at ease and say that the song Mrs. God is not indicative of the sound of this release. It's the one real commercial track attempt here and is definetely the worst song in this collection.

The rest of the material here is very comparable to the various Deris albums on a song by song basis. I'd say the most similar album is probably Better Than Raw but other albums pop to mind on various tracks. My favorite here is easily the 11 minute epic Occasion Avenue which is pure Dark Ride. The riffing here is fantastic and fucking Heavy. The vocals are also a hell of a performance and the backing vocals are pure evil. Love it, Love it, Love it. I have a new favorite Helloween song. The other epic doesn't fair quite as well. The King For 1000 Years actually has quite a good sound but it's just stretched out too far. If it were trimmed down from nearly 14 minutes then I'd like it more. Good feel but it just doesn't have 14 minutes worth of ideas.

Really I have few complaints here. The whole idea behind making it a Keepers album and 2 cds is kind of dumb, but the songs are good so I don't care in the end. Certainly worth checking out for fans of the Deris era of Helloween. This will end up being my 2nd favorite from the band overall. Dark Ride is still the best from the band in my eyes, but this comes pretty close.

Highlights: Occasion Avenue, Born On Judgement Day, Silent Rain, Pleasure Drone

Rating - 4.0/5