What I noticed was that several "old bands" released rather acclaimed comeback albums, but most of them didn't appeal to me. Whitesnake, Crüe, Jamison, Tesla, Dokken... sure, the new stuff from these bands was better than their most of their recent output, but I wasn't blown away. Journey came closest with a rather good album. I don't know, maybe I'm becoming a bit jaded... Some of you Finns may wonder why I have an album and songs from Janne Hurme on my list... Go listen to the songs, it's AOR in Finnish. As for the gigs, we saw a decent number of gigs during the summer, KISS, Def Leppard, Leverage and Within Temptation being the most memorable ones. The Kiss gig not necessarily for the music, but as an event... The last time I complained about the lack of new bands. 2008 was a bit better in that respect, with H.E.A.T. being the brightest shining star, Work Of Art another. Not bad. 2009 has started nicely with some strong releases, hopefully it continues on the same path. A few "comebacks" are around the corner, I have high hopes for the likes of Treat and Danger Danger. Then there's Bon Jovi... "It's gonna be a rock album!" says JBJ... I'll believe it when I hear it. Urban: I thought I would mostly concentrate on the good things about 2008 (but no such
luck). Axl Rose finally managed to find his marbles again (sort of) and chinese
democracy came through like a rocket in the sky. It fell rather quickly back to
earth tho', due to zero promotion by Axl. Hell, Whitesnake, Metallica, AC/DC, Motley
Crue, did all surprise us (well, me) with fine releases. Ehem, on the other hand,
let's not talk about the ones by Judas Priest, Extreme, etc. I tell ya', it's been a rather hectic music year, full of disappointments and disjointed ideas too. Like, labels sending out "promos" with shortened versions of the songs or dodgy voice-overs including a horrific italian speakervoice and
everything. And before you go highwire over my rant, could you imagine someone trying to do a book review without the last couple of chapters? It's all b.s. and
I'm/ we're not taking part of this lame culture. I would also advise a certain editor at glorydaze to get a clue or at least grow a spine. We're merely interested
in the music, not the actual musicians, and would never kiss-azz just to receive free stuff or to be on friendly terms with all people involved. Keep up the good work. Bandi: 2008 was a very fruitful year as far as the quantity of melodic rock
albums goes; yet quality seemed to suffer this great abundance. The former
small record labels that started out on a friendly, music fan basis have
grown bigger and they deliver plenty of albums every months. As a result
there's no real promotion behind any album/band. Most of the record labels
don't even bother with artworks, packaging, or customized promotion; their
releases look all the same, the promotional support they give their bands
comes down to nothing but promo copies quickly sent out to
magazines/webzines and then they jump on to the next release. Album
sleeves are full of typing mistakes, sometimes even musicians' names are
misspelled [promo copies are even worse from this aspect than the final
products buyers see]. There's no way any band could break out of this
faceless mass as newcomers get no tour support from their record labels
and unless webzine/magazine readers buy a new band's album based on the
critics they read, there's no other way the band could deliver their music
to potential listeners. Anybody who grew up in the 70s or 80s knows it
ain't supposed to be this way.
Although there are some promising new bands every year, they quickly
disappear. There were lots of bands in the last couple of years who'd
deserve a better way than that [T'Bell, Dreamhunter, Kharma, Crystal Blue,
Coastland Ride, etc. etc. Where are they now?]. The genre would
desperately need those new faces who are able to deliver some quality as
most of the older guys who are still hanging around can not live up to
their previous efforts. I included Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Motley Crue,
Harem Scarem, Shadowman, House of Lords, Europe in my top 40 list of
albums. None of these bands' current releases are anywhere near their
classic stuff. The reason they are still top 40? I guess we are all
getting used to the fact (rock) music industry is not what it used to be
and when there's no juicy roasted hog on the table we are happy about the
peanuts thrown there...
Kimmo: Some have hailed 2008 as the best year since the eighties as far as the album releases go, but I'd have to disagree. It was a better year than 2007, but still a far cry from the golden years of the eighties. Again, to get into my Top 20 albums a strong "8" was enough, when it comes to the ratings.
During the last few weeks, the staff of RockUnited.Com has spent endless nights re-visiting the releases of 2008, and here are the results: The official Album Chart of 2007 of RockUnited.Com. And various individual charts. You might get a bit of a deja vu-vibe of the chart, but what can we do - our readers agree with us this year!
THE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2008:
1. H.E.A.T. - s/t (Stormvox/Playground)
RockUnited.Com review: " This is the new generation of Melodic Hardrock acts as these Swedes are all in their early twenties. It's frankly a fun mix of AOR/MHR in the vein of Europe, Winger, The Storm, Giant. It's mostly uptempo tracks, biting guitar work and fun keyboards... this is a MUST-HAVE for any fan of the genre. It's hardly 'original' or new, groundbreaking music. But seriously, who cares as long as it's this catchy." [read the full review]
2. Brother Firetribe - Heart Full Of Fire (Spinefarm)
RockUnited.Com review: "It's hard to believe how much Firetribe has matured since the first release, but while doing so they haven't lost their magic. On the contrary, they've raised the stakes to where I'd start calling them the Gods of melodic rock, and I'm not joking. If a band can fill an albums worth of classics and do it as heartwarmingly and kickass style as Firetribe has, with lyrics anyone can relate to, they should by now be in the big leagues." [read the full review]
3. Tobias Sammet's Avantasia - The Scarecrow (Nuclear Blast)
RockUnited.Com review: " 'The Scarecrow' is stuffed to the brim with powerful melodic rock that just begs to be listened to again and again. Don't worry about the loose concept behind it all, just sit and listen to some astounding songs played and sang by some of the best rock artists around." [read the full review]
4. Khymera - The Greatest Wonder (Frontiers)
RockUnited.Com review: "For this third album, the Martin brothers took over the songwriting duties completely. Having already proved that they can pen strong songs, I had the feeling that this one might a be a good one again. And I was right...The
Martin brothers may not have reinvented the wheel, but they can surely
write great AOR tracks which sound "vintage" and fresh at the same time, if that's possible. " [read the full review]
5. Eclipse - Are You Ready To Rock (Frontiers)
RockUnited.Com review: "This isn't music that will change the world, but it's not supposed to. When melodic rock is done just right it's primary job is to make you feel good, and “Are You Ready To Rock” (just how bad is that title) does it with ease...“Are You Ready To Rock” is Melodic Rock with the Rock in big, capital letters. Definitely up there with some of the better albums of it's type, it's one that's really worth adding to your collection." [read the full review]
6. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers)
7. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (Lion Music)
8. House Of Lords - Come To My Kingdom (Frontiers)
9. Bob Catley - Immortal (Frontiers)
10. Hinder - Take It To The Limit (Universal)
11. Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad (SPV)
12. It Bites - The Tall Ships (the It Bites Music Partnership)
12. Leverage - Blind Fire (Frontiers)
14. Work Of Art - Artwork (Frontiers)
15. Marcello Vestry - s/t (NL Distribution)
16. Alliance - Road To Heaven (Escape Music)
17. From The Inside - Visions (Frontiers)
18. Airbourne - Runnin' Wild (Roadrunner)
19. The Rain - Yhtä Kuin Voitto (The Rain)
20. My Land - No Man's Land (Valery Records)
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Kimmo:
1. Brother Firetribe - Heart Full Of Fire (Spinefarm) 11. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers)
Songs Top 40: - The Top 10 songs: 1. Khymera - Burn Out - 30 runners-up in alphabetical order: 3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time
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Urban:
11.Guns N'Roses - Chinese Democracy
Songs: Foreigner - Too Late DISSAPOINTING ALBUMS:
Judas Priest |
Mira: 1. H.E.A.T. - s/t (Stormvox/Playground) 11. The Rain - Yhtä Kuin Voitto (The Rain) Songs Top 40: Brother Firetribe - Game They Call Love |
Satu: 2. Journey - Revelation (Frontiers) 3. Leverage - Blind Fire (Frontiers) 4. H.E.A.T. - St (Stormvox) 5. House Of Lords - Come To My Kingdom (Frontiers) 6. Eclipse - Are You Ready To Rock (Frontiers) 7. Khymera - The Greatest Wonder (Frontiers) 8. Alex Beyrodt's Voodoo Circle - St (AFM) 9. Jimi Jamison - Crossroads Moment (Frontiers) 10. Ramos - Hugo - The Dream (Frontiers) 11. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (Lion Music) 12. Theocracy - Mirror Of Souls (Ulterium Records) 13. Airbourne - Runnin' Wild (Roadrunner) 14. Axel Rudi Pell - Tales Of The Crown (SPV) 15. Lanfear - X To The Power Of Ten (Locomotive) 16. Revolution Renaissance - New Era (Frontiers) 17. Tobias Sammet's Avantasia - The Scarecrow (Nuclear Blast) 18. Silent Call - Creations From A Chosen Path (Escape) 19. The Poodles - Sweet Trade (Lionheart International) 20. Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad (SPV) AND MORE 21. Marcello - Vestry - St (NL Distribution) 22. Poley - Rivera - Only Human (Angelmilk) 23. MoonMadness - All In Between (Blue Violet) 24. Firewind - The Premonition (Century Media) 25. Evergrey - Torn (SPV) 26. Valentine - Soul Salvation (Valco) 27. China Blue - Twilight Of Destiny (Frontiers) 28. Edguy - Tinnitus Sanctus (Nuclear Blast) 29. Dark Sky - Empty Faces (Aor Heaven) 30. Rick Springfield - Venus In Overdrive (Angelmilk)
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Alan: Albums Top 20: 1) It Bites - "The Tall Ships" Bubbling Under… Leverage - "Blind Fire" DVD Of The Year - FM "Back In The Saddle" Gig Of The Year - Airbourne at the Louisiana in Bristol Band Of The Year - Heaven"s Basement (look out World, here they come in 2009) Event of The Year - Hard Rock Hell 2 Disappointment of the year - No "proper" Maiden Tour |
Martien: Albums Top 20: 1. Pendragon – Pure2. Jon Oliva’s Pain – Global Warning 3. Marillion – Happiness Is The Road Part 2 4. Circle2Circle – Delusions Of Grandeur 5. Ayreon – 01101101 6. Opeth – Watershed 7. Everon – North 8. It Bites – The Tall Ships 9. RPWL – The RPWL Experience 10. Warrel Dane – Praises To The War Machine 11. Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad 12. Dominici – 03 A Trilogy Part 3 13. Journey – Revelations 14. Metallica – Death Magnetic 15. Evergrey – Torn 16. Joe Satriani – Professor Satchafunkilus And The Musterion Of Rock 17. AC/DC – Black Ice 18. Alice Cooper – Along Came A Spider 19. Motley Crue – Saints Of Los Angeles 20. Perzonal War – Bloodline Best DVDs : 1. Dream Theater – Chaos In Motion Best Concert: Jon Oliva’s Pain in Tilburg, The Netherlands in March 2008. |
Bandi: Albums Top 20: 1. Marcello/Vestry - s/t
11. Eclipse - Are You Ready To Rock 21. Overland - Break Away 31. Bob Catley - Immortal
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