2018 was a wild year. I moved and got one of those fancy adult jobs with benefits and everything. That in turn led to me being able to go to a whole mess of awesome shows, including traveling for Rock on the Range, ProgPowerUSA Rock & Shock without breaking the bank. My reading list took a big dent, but then I found more than I even finished. Then of course the music has been awesome. Here’s to next year being as full as this year, enjoy this free list of good stuff I listened to on repeat this year.
After reading my list, be sure to go check out our other Top #s from Zenae, Bram, Jeff, Matt, Joe, and Josh.
10) Manimal, Purgatorio (AMF)
Was impressed by these guys when they opened up the main festival at ProgPowerUSA, so I picked up a copy of the album they had released that day. Purgatorio is high flying power metal fun.
Key rack(s): “Purgatorio” “Spreading the Dread” “Black Plague”
9) Seventh Wonder, Tiara (Frontiers)
Being late to the Seventh Wonder, I’m fortunate to only have had to wait a year for this one (Kamelot delay included). Tiara is high concept progressive power metal at its finest (yeah, niche I know).
Key rack(s): “Dream Machines” “By the Light of the Funeral Pyres” “The Everones”
8) The Night Flight Orchestra, Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough (Nuclear Blast)
Somehow these Swedish death metal icons have captured an era in both music and video better than a large portion of those that influenced this. Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough makes me nostalgic for a decade I wasn’t even a part of until twenty years after it passed.
Key Track(s): “Paralyzed” “Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough”
7) :Green Carnation, Last Day of Darkness (Prophecy)
I got really into their album “Light of Day, Day of Darkness” last year after seeing them perform it live at ProgPower USA 2016, so I was excited to hear they were recording one of their shows for a live CD/DVD. The live show was transcendental, and they captured it perfectly on this release. Check out excerpts here and here, or here for the original album.
Key Track: Long story short, the album is just one long song.
6) Coheed & Cambria, Unheavenly Creatures (Roadrunner)
Oh was I left wanting after their last album, but from the moment they dropped “The Dark Sentencer” as the first single I was on board. Unheavenly Creatures is a satisfying return to the narrative driven sci-fi progressive metal goodness they are known and loved for.
Key Track(s): “The Dark Sentencer” “It Walks Among Us” “Old Flames”
