2003
in retrospect!
Kimmo: If 2002 was a bit of a disappointment for me when it
came to music, 2003 certainly wasn't! It started out well with great
releases from Ignition, Jim Jidhed and The Rasmus, and those good releases
just kept on coming. Many new bands came out of the blue and impressed
me greatly, and some veterans came up with good albums. As for the mainstream,
the success of The Rasmus, Backyard Babies and locally Kilpi has been
really nice to witness...
The Finnish scene is these days quite lively, and I'm proud to be a
some kind of a part in it. Bands like Stratovarius, Nightwish, HIM and
The Rasmus are major stars, and there's a next generation following
in their footsteps: Kilpi, Lullacry, Glitz, Machine Men, Charon and
Urban Tale released good albums, and in 2004 you can expect smashing
debut albums from Human Temple and House Of Mirrors.
What about 2004 otherwise? Well, I'm hoping for more success for the
smaller labels, and good, successful albums from the "veterans"...how
about a new, real ROCK album from Bon Jovi? A great new Van Halen album
with Sammy? Chart success for Def Leppard? Journey? Heart? Toto?
Martien: All in all, 2003 was a great rock year with lots of
excellent releases, especially in the prog metal/prog rock scene. I
also went to a lot of amazing live gigs, my favourites were: Porcupine
Tree (013, Tilburg) and Yes (Ahoy, Rotterdam). Greatest disappointment
of the year: the new Metallica album; what a cr....
Urban: The year of the darkness? Well, not literaly of course...
but wow! did they stir the s**t or what? The world needed a good old
kick to the nuts and EVERYBODY! had an opinion about that singer in
the end. And that's what's rock'n'roll is all about! To shock yer brains
out and any publicity is good publicity (unless you're Michael Jackson).
They may not have recorded the album of the year (just outside my personal
list and ended up as my bonus CD), but at least it's good, fun, entertainment.
Who needs another Steve Perry or Rob Halford clone anyway??? The funniest/weirdest
vocalist since Dennis Surkamp and Pavlov's Dog.
It was otherwise the year of disappointment for metal (again), as old
heroes like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Stratovarius, etc. recorded very
substandard, or much worse albums. Deep Purple came up with some wacko
bananas and Queensryche pretty much stinks nowadays, and even Dream
Theater are miles away from their heydays material (even if the latter
ended up on my list).
The biggest suprise of the year was perhaps Styx as I never expected
them to record such a fine album in 2003. Nope... it's not the "old"
Styx and Dennis DeYoung is long gone. Still, "Cyclorama" is a fine rock
album and I was never 'that' much into their 70's stuff after all (I'm
a child of the 80's). Lots of Swedes at the top of my album list this
year and kudos to Backyard Babies for sticking to their guns. Credit
must also go out to all minor/indie labels out there, with their endless
struggle against everybody and beyond. My hat off for all the fine melodic
hardrock you've been bringing us the last 8-9 years or so.
Hopes for 2004? Well... Judas Priest will have to start writing some
good songs and record a real metal album again. Otherwise, I'm afraid
the Rob Halford re-union will be another major disappointment.
Endre "Bandi" Hübner:
At first when putting my best of 2003 list together I thought what a great year it was because there were so many albums to choose from. Then as I was spending more and more time browsing through my record collection, refreshing memories of albums that were released in the beginning of the year or when I was going carefully through all the albums to choose the best songs and other highlights I had to recognize that though the harvest of the year was big, its quality wasn’t as great as I first thought.
Taking a look at my final list it’s easy to spot signs of the mediocrity of the year in general. Many of the bands that held top positions over the last couple of years don’t even exist or don’t even record anything anymore (Dreamhunter, Kharma, T’Bell, The Sign, The V.U., just to mention a few) and the cult AOR heroes behind some of those bands didn’t perform to live up to their reputation; take Al Fritsch and Mark Mangold for example who couldn’t even get into the top 20 with the new Drive She Said album, delivering the disappointment of the year. I guess “the big old bands” failed in general, Firehouse also ended up quite low. Some “newcomers” broke through again, however if we take a look at the names behind those bands, it’s easy to recognize that those guys have been around, kept watching and waiting for their time to arrive, that was 2003.
In the end the year was saved by Characters [with capital C], musicians/songwriters with extraordinary talent that never(?) fails to shine through their music [well, at least it didn’t fail to shine this time]. Paul Gilbert’s acoustic album topping my list, two live records in the top 10, and two albums featuring the ever-booming Jeff Scott Soto is of course a praise to these guys but it’s also a critic to the competition. Some of the artists in the top 20 have been around for quite some time which is a good thing. Gotthard may be repetitive to some but I just can’t help to enjoy their releases year by year, Jim Peterik made it again, this time under the moniker Pride of Lions, the Wilson sisters are as great as ever, I’m really glad to see that the last couple of years saw Jim Jidhed returning gloriously to the business with two great albums in two years, so did Joseph Williams (ex-Toto) with Vertigo. [None of them did really leave for good but they were far from where they are now, I guess those who gave them a new chance - labels, songwriters - are to be thanked]. Speaking of labels in the last couple of years it almost goes without saying that it’s Frontiers dominating the top 10. These guys release quality stuff year after year, it’s just the big breakthrough that is missing to lift them (or anybody else) from the underground status. I’m afraid it’s not likely to happen in this decade either but as long as they are here and don’t give up, it’s okay for us fans; let’s all hope they will keep on doing what they have done so far.
I would like to draw your attention to the second part of my top list and the best of songs list because that is where the really big things are going on. The melodic rock scene is coming to life in Spain, more and more bands go on minor tours there and the local bands are beginning to show their claws. Nexx gained quite a reputation and the best instrumental album of the year title is also taken by a young Spanish man, Jorge Salan who wiped the floor with all the big guys of the business. Taking a look at the song lists there were new names to learn in 2003: Coastland Ride, Ignition, Crystal Blue, On The Rise. The list is clearly dominated by Scandinavian bands proving again what we already know for long, for whatever reason those blistering cold countries are the ideal place to breed the new generations of melodic rockers.
ROCKUNITED.COM Top 25 Albums of 2003:
1. Pride Of Lions: Pride of Lions (Frontiers)
This album made it to the lists of almost all members of the RockUnited Team, and usually scored a top ten position. A strong classic AOR album with excellent songs by Jim Peterik of Survivor fame, and fine vocals from the "young talent of the year", Toby Hitchcock.
Runners-up:
2. Ignition: Ignition (Atenzia/MTM)
3. Meyer, Jamie: It's All About Me (Sony/Columbia)
4. Masterplan: Masterplan (AFM)
5. Crystal Blue: Detour (MTM)
6. Dream Theater: Train Of Thought (Elektra)
7. Backyard Babies: Stockholm Syndrome (BMG)
8. Erlandsson, Mikael: The Gift (MTM)
9. 40ft Ringo: Funny Thing (Atenzia)
10. Vertigo: Vertigo (Frontiers)
11. Jidhed, Jim: Full Circle (Atenzia)
12. On The Rise: On The Rise (Frontiers)
13. Evanescence: Fallen (Epic)
14. The Rasmus: Dead Letters (Playground)
15. The Gathering: Souvenirs
16. Gotthard: Human Zoo
17. Lima, Johnny: Made in California (Now & Then/Frontiers)
18. Circle II Circle: Watching In Silence (AFM)
19. Firehouse: Prime Time (Pony Canyon)
20. Catley, Bob: When Empires Burn (Frontiers)
21. Waltham: Permission To Build
22. Stratovarius: Elements Pt. 1 (Nuclear Blast)
23. Nexx: Colours (Now & Then/Frontiers)
24. Dragonforce: Valley Of The Damned (Sanctuary/Noise)
25. Sonata Arctica: Winterheart's Guild (Spinefarm)
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personal album charts of the team! |
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Kimmo:
11.
Perfect World: 1 (Frontiers) THE
LIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR: THE
ARCHIVAL RELEASES OF THE YEAR: THE
BEST 2002 RELEASE THAT I ONLY GOT TO HEAR IN 2003:
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Urban:
11.
Jani Lane - Back Down To One (Z Records) Bonus CD for rainy days: The Darkness - Permission To Land |
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Jorge:
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Satu:
Albums that surprised me in 2003: 1. Peaceville's Katatonia. I'm hardly a fan of Peaceville bands, at least not anymore. And seing Katatonia live years ago and never being too impressed with their music, "Viva Emptiness" was a total surprise, it still has a dark atmosphere, but it's got a huge emotional charge in it that gets a grip on you and kind of enchants you from beginning to end. 2. TOC's new facelift compared to their older material. 3. Barilari. I included them on the album list eventhough the vocals by Barilari himself aren't the best part of the album. But the music is very influenced by the great 70'ies-80'ies bands, for instance Rainbow and the mood on the album is quite brilliant. If only the whole package would've been excellent it would've gone to classics. 4. Bands such as Last Tribe, Dreamtide, Insania, Charon, Praying Mantis, Labyrinth, Royal Hunt and Iron Maiden made a small flop in my books which I'm sad of course. They're all great bands, but now some of the albums hardly had anything to get a hold of. 5. Secret Sphere. A great Italian band that can go far with Dream Theater influenced powerful symphonic metal. The weakest link is the vocals here, so we'll see where they're heading, but I'm impressed from the material. 6. Imperanon from Finland, Nightwish/Children Of Bodom-mixture of metal I loved from the first notes. I told you they'll get the deal, so check them out. Congrats guys ! And on the same path is Black Majesty from Australia, having released their debut album already. Another band worth checking out if you're into amazing melodic metal/prog.
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Bandi:
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Vesa:
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Petri:
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Martien:
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