Grumpyrocker

2009 has been a really strong year for rock music, with several big names such as Megadeth and Paradise lost releasing new albums. My favourite album by far this year was Heaven & Hell's The Devil You Know.

The Black Sabbath Mk II line-up of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinnie Apicce are getting on a bit - but really who the young guns how to create a classic crunch metal album this year. The highlight of the album is the epic Bible Black, you can see the video for this song below. And you can listen to samples of all the songs on record and download it via Amazon MP3.

Here's my selection of the ten best hard rock/heavy metal albums of 2009.

1. The Devil You Know by Heaven & Hell
2. Design Your Universe by Epica
3. Endgame by Megadeth
4. Night is the New Day by Katatonia
5. April Rain by Delain
6. All Shall Fall by Immortal
7. Faith Divides Us by Paradise Lost
8. Black Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater
9. Cheat the Gallows by Bigelf
10. The 13th Floor by Sirena

Honourable mention for The Gathering's The West Pole, very good, but the band isn't really metal anymore. I loved Iron Maiden's Flight 666 but didn't include that as it's a live album rather than new material. Leaves Eyes' Njord might have made the list if it hadn't been mixed by a deaf person.

I'm really enjoying the new Epica album Design Your Universe (download mp3 album). While many of the female fronted metal bands such as Within Temptation and Nightwish are exploring a more commercial sound it's quite a surprise to find the new Epica album is quite crushingly heavy at times. Mark Jansen's death grunts remain as much a part of the band's sound as Simone Simons' beautiful clean and soprano vocals.

Design Your Universe is overall a better album than the strong previous effort The Divine Conspiracy (download mp3 album) though I'd argue there isn't a single track as good as the brilliant Chasing the Dragon from that album. However Design Your Universe is an all round stronger collection of songs. I'm particularly fond of Martyr of the Free World, Burnt to a Cinder and the epic 13 minute track Kingdom of Heaven.

Read more »

Music has lost of its great innovators. Les Paul has died at the age of 94. He was a brilliant and hugely successful musician, creator of one of the most famous electric guitars and a pioneer of multi-track recording.

The best biography and selection of tributes I have read so far can be found on the Gibson Guitars website.

I've listened to a lot of music this year and without doubt the best album I've heard so far is The Devil You Know by Heaven & Hell. This is a Black Sabbath album in all but name as Heaven & Hell comprises of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ronny James Dio and Vinnie Appice - the fellas behind the two amazing Black Sabbath albums Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules.

Naming their new band after their classic Sabbath album is an interesting move, it sets the stall out without bringing the baggage that the Sabbath name now has. Ozzy and his bloody wife have done their level best to turn Black Sabbath and its musical heritage into a joke.

Read more »

You know when a song gets into your head and you find yourself humming it all the time? That's currently what's happening with me and this song Cry for the Moon by Epica. I absolutely love Simone Simon's voice and the dynamic contrast in the instrumentation.

Most of my favourite stuff at the moment is of this ilk, as my wife calls it "the girl singer and the shouty man." But yes, I find myself listening to lots of Nightwish, Epica, Within Temptation, Delain, After Forever, Sirenia etc.

Read more »

It seems that guitar maestro Joe Satriani is sueing the exceedingly dull Coldplay for ripping off one of his songs. The story is being reported over on BBC Online.

Satriani alleges that Coldplay's Viva La Vida takes considerable portions from his own track If I Could Fly.

And here is the proof...

Read more »

There's still no official announcement from Metallica over the appaling brickwalled mix of Death Magnetic that's been sold on CD. But it seems that some parts of the music industry media are picking up on the story.

You can read an interesting article on the problems with the Death Magnetic CD over at musicradar.com.

Thankfully it seems the awful audio problems the CD displays were not introduced when the tracks were laid down in the studio. They seem to be the product of a terrible studio master by Rick Rubin's engineers and then a hot master from the record company on top.

How can we be sure?

Read more »

It's just been announced that Pink Floyd co-founder Richard Wright has died. The keyboard player and vocalist had been suffering from cancer.

He was just 65.

Shit.

I remember listening to Metallica's last album, St. Anger for the first time. I was working at an ISP and the Entertainment Editor received an advanced copy from the record company.

We sat and listened to it in stunned silence. This was really the new Metallica album? But it sounds like it was recorded in a shed. And instead of Lars drumming they've let a five year-old have a go with two wooden spoons and some pots and pans. And where is Kirk?

We all know how that ended. St. Anger was therapy for a band at war and bloody torture for those of us who heard it. The record was a failure in every sense - in terms of composition, performance and production.

The new album - Death Magnetic - features some similar problems. Somehow it seems to emerge from the other side as the band's best effort since 1991's Black Album.

Read more »