This is my top 25 of albums in 2007:
01 - Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
02 - Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
03 - Nocturnal Rites - The 8th Sin
04 - Paradise Lost - In Requiem
05 - Mors Principium Est - Liberation Termination
06 - Ensiferum - Victory Songs
07 - Rotting Christ - Theogonia
08 - After Forever - After Forever
09 - Dalriada - Kikelet
10 - Soulgrind - Pakana
11 - Behemoth - The Apostasy
12 - Arch Enemy - Rise Of the Tyrant
13 - Gotthard - Domino Effect
14 - Powerglove - Metal Combat For The Mortal Man
15 - Lake of Tears - Moons and Mushrooms
16 - Samael - Solar Soul
17 - Amorphis - Silent Waters
18 - The Project Hate MCMXCIX - In Hora Mortis Nostrae
19 - Annihilator - Metal
20 - Månegarm - Vargstenen
21 - Freevil - Freevil Burning
22 - Profugus Mortis - So It Begins
23 - In Vain - The Latter Rain
24 - Korpiklaani - Tervaskanto
25 - Thunderstorm - As We Die Alone
It was a hard decision those last 5 positions, I listened again and again all those albums and some more. It could fit there also these ones:
Deadlock - Wolves
Axxis - Doom Of Destiny
Elenium - Caught In A Wheel
Megadeth - United Abominations
Symphony X - Paradise Lost
Novembers Doom - The Novella Reservoir
Susperia - Cult From Stone
Virgin Black - Mezzo Forte
Eyes Of Eden - Faith
Turisas - The Varangian Way
The Vision Bleak - The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey
But it's too hard to choose between them, if I made the definitive 25 another day, I would make possibly another different 5 lasts.
Well, concerning to music, this year I have listened quite a lot of hundreds (!!!) albums, and I found a lot very interestings like these ones. But I have found others quite disappointing. Right now it comes to my mind albums like the one of Tarja Turunen. I didn't expect too much about it either. But I think I haven't finished listening to it all the times I tried... so many songs.. so slow... guitars were done copying Nightwish style, always mid-tempo or slooow boring tempo. Tarja signs well, as always, but no future further than Finland and fans of her. Though I like her voice, I cannot stand albums like the one she made.
This last year the long waited album of Nightwish came, and I've found very different opinnions in people. There are lots of fans of the band, that will like everything the name Nightwish sell, so I think they are not going down in sellings and popularity in the next years. The new album is not bad, but the change of singer is not very accepted by several people. I think this is just another season for Nightwish, a new starting with other front female leader. I care more about music itself and I found several lacks in "Dark Passion Play", like the always mid-tempo of Jukka, the lack of guitar solos, guitars "made in Korn", too low riffs with very few melody, and the suomi-style of making songs that they developed since the great "Once". "Once" was really good, but in this new one they are taking this Suomi PopMetal too far, under my sight. I was getting bored that more than half of the songs started in the same way "hard low riffed guitars - stop - drum/bass/voice - bridge - refrain". I'd prefer to be more surprised with the composition. They are getting this with few songs like the first one or those 2 "irish folk influenced" (the one that Marco sings and the consecutive instrumental). In fact I have listened that album like 5 times and later I erased it from my computer like 3 months ago. There are more interesting things to listen.
This year 2007 those 2 german power big ones took out their respective albums
Helloween - Gambling With The Devil : another poor trying of Helloween, that goes on living making concerts with 80% of old songs. I still don't know why, but it's funny that when renamed bands like this one, everytime they make one new cd, all the critics are like "the old Helloween is back! a brand new album of great power metal!!" and things like that.... and afterwards the same critics or even people say.. "oh! the new album is great! not like those last 3 albums!" :O
This is exactly what I have read in several places:
"Gambling... " is a great album that combines their recent way of making music with speedic moments remembering those masterpieces "Keepers"... after those not very good albums like "The Dark Ride","Rabbit... " or "Keeper.. The Legacy" (I think I have listened 5 minutes to that album), they are coming now with the best in years".
They are repeating just this with every new album. I can imagine the critic of the next album ... "After that bad "Gambling.. " Helloween comes back to their roots with the best album since "Better Than Raw" ... :D
Gammaray - Land Of The Free Part II. I still do not get why they called the last album like that great Land Of The Free. They are quite different (This is quite bad :D).
Gammaray is suffering a total lack of inspiration since long time ago. And I remember when me and some friend were talking about when some band is thinking the sellings are coming down and down... (and musical inspiration) they are taking out new cd's with the name of one of their best albums (or the one that made them jump further) and "II part". This was when Rhapsody made "Symphony of enchanted lands II". And right now it comes to my mind other example like
Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime II
Usually (maybe always) this kind of 2nd parts are quite worst than those first ones. And this is also the case of Gamma Ray. I found it predictable, lots of Maiden touchs (and even riffs!! plagiarism?) and copies of other songs Gamma Ray made before (like we are used in the last cd's).
Dimmu Borgir made an album also in 2007, and though being one of my favourites of all times.. I would advice them to take one breath before making one new album...
And since I am finding more and more bands that are making metalcore or death metalcore or deathcore .. or things like that, I think this is the new fashion in metal. Like times before the fashion was epic symphonic metal, or later female fronted gothic metal, or suomi metal, and even since years ago viking metal... right now I am finding that lots of metalcore bands or some variety of this are growing under stones (spanish phrase :D).
Yeh, even in metal there are fashions.
One present of one not very known band of Industrial Metal, but really funny.
Someone made a video of the cover song Ma Baker mixing videos of Sepultura and Scissor Sisters
Knorkator - Ma Baker