Best Albums of 2021

[Zzzptm]

This was a light year for me... I didn't do a lot of Bandcamp browsing. And many bands that I follow simply didn't release anything new this year.

What I *did* buy was... well, a lot of old albums and some new. The new ones were:

Deep Purple - Turning to Crime

The Gabriels - Love and Hate in a Different Time

Miss Lava - The Delores Sessions (... and this was a "live" album of studio jams that covered much of their earlier work)

Grande Royale - Carry On

Black Sky Giant - Falling Mothership and Planet Terror

Degenerate Mind - BLEVE

Emperor Guillotine - Black Pyramid

2 EPs by The Space Huns that add up to a full album

Hanford Flyover - The Hanford Tape Sessions (It's live recordings, but all new material)

So that's 10 albums (2 from Black Sky Giant) that are new. In the old category, I got tons of stuff, including the full back catalogs of Motown and Stax/Volt singles. It's been a year for the past for the most part for me.

I did *not* purchase the new Iron Maiden album. The tracks I liked from it never really overcame the long, complicated, difficult tracks that I didn't find a connection to. The fact that we never did do the song by song for it like we planned kinda speaks to the overall enthusiasm for the album, or the lack of enthusiasm more likely.

I'm happy with all my new music of the year. The Hanford Flyover stuff is for when I'm mellowing and need some old school prog for my mood. The Grande Royale album was nice, but ultimately not one I had a good connection to the way I did with their first album. Miss Lava is a great band I discovered this year, and I'm hoping they have a new album for 2022. I'll put my money down for their brand of hard rock. Degenerate Mind's release was also a good one that didn't quite hit me like their first album. Emperor Guillotine and Space Huns do instrumentals and both delivered good tunes in that category: Emperor G was the stronger of the two.

So that leaves The Gabriels, Black Sky Giant, and Deep Purple. Those are my top three picks from what new stuff I bought. Black Sky Giant is all-instrumental, but they've got a great blend of metal, space, and stoner sensibilities to make stuff that sounds like Hawkwind at their heaviest and beyond. I reach for their albums frequently for my driving tunes. The Gabriels... don't think they're everyone's cup of tea here, but their single "Love and Hate in a Different Time" is a monument. That song truly reached me, and deeply. It's in my Top 100 list (that is actually 164 songs, but that's how I roll...).

Which leaves the Deep Purple for consideration. I love the album, and I love it on its own as well as part of the greater body of work with DP Mk Morse. There were a few less-liked songs on the album, but I can handle them just fine. I don't skip over them until I get to the 3rd or 4th repeat play-through. Again, not going to resonate with all the folks here at The Community, but it does resonate with me, and it's an album that opened me up into checking out other bands' back catalogs, so I thank DP for launching more than a few trips for me down musical rabbit holes.

[Charger]

This year has been bit lame on the album department...I doubt I'd be even able to do a proper Top 10 albums of the year list...

Maiden was a huuuuge letdown eventhough my expectations were low.

Exodus turned out to be rather good...not suberb but good.

Haven't gotten the new BLS album yet...but based on the songs I've heard they still got it.

Lucifer IV wasn't very good I'm afraid...bit on the soft side to be honest.

Anette Olzon's solo album Strong was good...heavier than I expected so that's a good thing.

Burning Witches The Witch Of The North turned out to be a bit of a letdown too...not quite as catchy and riff heavy as their previous ones...the loss of Seraina Telli and Sonia Anubis unfortunately does show...

Alice Cooper's Detroit Stories was a good one. Not quite as good as Paranormal was but still a very strong album. It's bit different than most of his other albums but the lyrics at times are just so classic hilarious Alice that it gives you a warm chuckle inside every time you listen to it.

Rob Zombie's The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (what an amazing title!! but not that easy to remember!) was a very strange one...it has some classic Zombie elements but it is also very different at times...it's a mixed bag really...there is surprising ammount of funk and groove on the album...not his finest work (that would be Hellbilly Deluxe 2) but still a good album, just not as good as you might expect from the man.

KK's Priest is a really fun old school metal album but it's by no means perfect...but for a first one it's not bad at all either. And considering it was mostly written by KK alone some flaws are understandable. They have begun the work for a second album and that'll be more of a band effort so one can only expect better results. But still Sermons was a very good album...lots of people just ignored it and called it crap without even listening to it...which was a real shame...

Vajra's Irkalla was excellent. But it's more of an EP to be honest but it is seriously good and different.

And ofcourse BLAZE BAYLEY never disappoints. War Within Me was brilliant. Not quite up there with his first two albums with the BLAZE band but still a very strong album and his voice just keeps getting better and better over the years which is remarkable.

Another one I haven't gotten yet is Purple's Turning To Crime but that is most certainly on the list as is Seven Spires new album Gods Of Debauchery...


Well that turned out to be a pretty long list after all..

Without giving any stars or ranking them I think I'd put Vajra, Blaze and the Coop to the top 3.

And Maiden, Lucifer and Burning Witches on the bottom 3...

The rest sit very comfortably somewhere in the middle.

[Zzzptm]

I'm wondering if 2020 was running on stuff that had been mostly done in 2019 and that 2021 is the first year of actual pandemic slowdown in making new music. If so, I think 2022 is going to be another slow year for albums.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I only bought 4 albums last year!

I did like The Dead Daisies' Holy Ground, Iron Maiden's Senjutsu and The Stranglers Dark Matters. But I didn't much care for Hawkwind's Somnia, I only played it once, I should probably give it another chance.

[Tyr66]

A much less prolific year. I rehearsed on average a good twenty albums each year. this one, half as much.
In light of this observation, I left my comfort zone to discover other things and good surprises awaited me as well in more electronic music like CROWN, as in blues with Billy Gibbons or even bluegrass with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

by order of preference :

1. The Dead Daisies - Holy Ground. A perfect album.
2. Times of Grace - Songs of Loss ans Separation.
3. Evergrey - Escape of The Phoenix.
4. Soen - Imperial.
5. CROWN - The End Of Everything.
6. Billy F. Gibbons - Hardware.
7. Sarke - Allsighr.
8. Silver Lake by Esa Hollopainen.
9. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raise the Roof. Subtle blend of Blues and Bluegrass country.
10. Iron Maiden - Senjutsu. Well, after the excellent first title unveiled The Writing on The Wall and the discovery of Darkest Hour - thank you Adrian - I bought the vinyl version 3 albums marbled red and black ... and the bellows fell. Very little hook, too many unnecessary and heavy repetitions and above all a production unworthy of this band. In addition, after reading a review on the net I noticed Gers' mania for accompanying Bruce's singing line, which is unbearable.
The vinyle is still sealed, I don't quite know what to do with it.

[Zzzptm]

^ The Stranglers' album cuts you shared were quite good, I agree.

[Charger]

I'm wondering if 2020 was running on stuff that had been mostly done in 2019 and that 2021 is the first year of actual pandemic slowdown in making new music. If so, I think 2022 is going to be another slow year for albums.

Actually I might disagree with that...many bands have actually taken the time to write album material during this nonsense and have albums potentially coming out next year.

Megadeth
Anthrax
Priest?
Ozzy
Tony Martin
Hammerfall
Doro
Candlemass (?)
Battle Beast

Priest probably is a no show...and Ozzy (eventhough Zakk's playing on the album I don't know how much input he actually had in the writing process) most likely will be another dud...Candlemass have only hinted but it is possible. Doro is still in writing mode but she can work pretty fast so who knows...

There are quite a few albums to look forward to next year.

[Zzzptm]

Well, I do hope that you're right, Charger. I'd like to hear more good things in the coming year, that's for sure!

[Charger]

Well some of those are a lock for sure so there is something to look forward to.

[Zzzptm]

I'm really hoping to hear more from bands that haven't put an album out in many a year, but know they're still out there.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Looking forward to the new Iced Earth album next year....


I'll, um, make my own way out!

[Zzzptm]

Looking forward to the new Iced Earth album next year....


I'll, um, make my own way out!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh... don't hold your breath there, kiddo!

[Zzzptm]

I only bought 4 albums last year!

I did like The Dead Daisies' Holy Ground, Iron Maiden's Senjutsu and The Stranglers Dark Matters. But I didn't much care for Hawkwind's Somnia, I only played it once, I should probably give it another chance.

Just got Dark Matters, so now I have another album for my "nice" list.

And I think I need to get that Dead Daisies album, based on KDC and Tyr's recommendations.

EDIT: Just did.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

^^^
Other than the tracks you already knew, I recommend The Last Men On The Moon I really love that track.

[Zzzptm]

I left off on And If You Should See Dave before we went out for sightseeing this morning, so I should get to that track if my wife takes long enough shopping while I wait in the car.