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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Memory Garden - Doomain

Doom/Heavy Metal
Metal Blade
2013

1. The Evangelist
2. Latent Lunacy
3. Daughters Of The Sea
4. Barren Lands
5. Violate & Create
6. Doomain
7. The King Of The Dead
8. A Diabolical Mind
9. Misfortune

I've always liked Memory Garden, but it's also pretty surprising when they actually put out something. Since Mirage in 2000 they've only been able to muster two albums so the band has kind of become an afterthought for me. Still, good music is good music and I like the band's approach to doom that incorporates some more upbeat and direct influence from power and straight up heavy metal. One can only hope that Doomain is worth another 5 year wait. Worth mentioning is that there is a limited edition with a whole lot of bonus material, but since it's limited and is pretty much made up of covers and old songs I won't dive into that here.

Listening to Doomain, one thing is for sure, and that is this band can open an album. The Evangelist's pounding rhythm and wails are heavy as fuck and damn epic. Seriously, this is one immediately likeable and damn near perfect doom song with a hint of power that brings to mind bands like Candlemass. If you don't like this song, I don't understand you.

One song does not an album make though and their last album Carnage Carnival started off similarly and then never quite lived up to the first track. Doomain fares much better however and the band is pretty on throughout the album. Latent Lunacy isn't quite as exciting and is bit more typical, but it's not a bad track at all and things get much more exciting quickly with Daughters Of The Sea. This one is another sure highlight which is fairly upbeat and features some nice, majestic sounding backing vocals and slow downs which add a nice level of complexity. We're not even close to done yet though as Barren Lands brings some backing death vocals to the mix which work surprisingly well for me considering I'm not the biggest fan of harsh vocals. They do provide a nice bit of variety here though and only add to the heaviness of this track. Then we have Violate & Create which starts off in ripping fashion, breaking from the doom mold a bit to add some good speed and some more variation to the experience.

From there out things aren't quite as exciting, but still pretty enjoyable. This is more a testament to the strength of tracks 1 to 5 than a knock at anything after it. The album remains solid with a couple more typical, but enjoyable doom tracks in Doomain and A Diabolical Mind, King Of The Dead which is a bit more aggressive. Misfortune is a bit of an instrumental outro and fairly forgettable, but ok for what it is.

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. Now, if the band would just release albums more often I'd be happy.

Highlights: The Evangelist, Daughters Of The Sea, Barren Lands, Violate & Create

Rating - 4.0/5

Memory Garden - Carnage Carnival

Doom Metal
Vic Records

2008

1. Carnage Carnival
2. The Bitter End
3. Nameless
4. The Beast Within
5. Beggars Anthem
6. A Dark Embrace
7. Dominion
8. Endless Fear
9. Another Night
10. The Downfall

It's been a long 8 years since the last release from Memory Garden and the band had almost slipped from memory. Pretty long break for a band who only had 2 albums to their name in the first place. I did like those two albums though and they are among my personal collection.

Carnage Carnival picks the band back up on a high note from track one as the catchyness of the title track is undeniable and it strikes a perfect balance between gloom and upbeat heaviness. The whole carnival/circus thing has been done and done to death, but that doesn't stop this song from being dark and heavy awesomeness. In general I just really like this band's approach to doom as it never gets plodding to the point of boredom, which is sometimes a problem for me with doom. This however has more of a traditional approach while painting the atmosphere of gloom and has a sort of over the top dramatic feel that recalls Candlemass. At times there is a slightly samey song approach that keeps this album from going to that next level and none of the songs quite match the opener, but none the less this a pretty enjoyable experience.

This may not be quite the blow you out of the water experience a fan demands after an 8 year absence, but it is the band doing what they do well. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a little power and traditional injected into their doom as with Candlemass and crossover bands like Morgana Lefay.

Highlights: Carnage Carnival, The Downfall, Nameless

Rating - 3.5/5