What a nice surprise, that gem by the Norwegian metal veterans! After a 8-year absence, the band is back with a new album, and its first single is a bomb! Not the most complex and elaborated track in their career, but clearly the most catchy, with a little (relatively) pop side that melts marvelously in their symphonic black metal. It is a fair payback for them, whose only entry in their career in my annual chart was a #33 in 2010 for Gateways, which I alwasy regretted because it was definitely worth a top 10... but not a #1 neither, which they manage to achieve this year!

Extremely catchy, so, but also an extremely solid production with a flawless sonority, and even good lyrics, which my favorite excerpt would be: "We are the current sum of all the ages, leaving a trail of burnt pages". I've always known that it would be in my top 10 at the end of the year, but it took several months before I really realize that this was my #1. While my interest for other "top 10" songs was reducing, my interest for Interdimensional Summit has always remained constant if not even superior, from the first time I listened to it on March 6th until the very end of the year.

It is a 4th straight year that my #1 comes from a Scandinavian band! Would could have guessed that, after 3 consecutive years (2012-2014) of U.S. reign.

Unique! That does not resemble the other songs I know from Parkway Drive, and resemble even less any songs by other bands. Detached from their usual metalcore, it dictates its own genre of metal. They made a big hit with the song, and also the memorable music video, so simple and so striking all at once. Result: one month at #1 of satellite radio station Liquid Metal (on Sirius XM) and a #2 in Powhertz' annual personal chart! Winston McCall's voice reaches highly surprising heights in there, becoming even more guttural than Rammstein's Till Lindemann. The introduction's melody, the superb arrangements, the emotion, the development towards a great peak of intensity, the almost shocking finale are all other elements that make it an unavoidable of metal in 2018. I listened to it all year long, since its release in March, and I never got bored of it. A solid #2, and the only other track that I seriously considered for my #1.

Slightly disappointed the first time I listened to it. It was obviously not the first time that I was wondering why Ghost is generally considered a metal band, but I found that this song in particuler was falling into a pop sound, or rather an "80's rock" sound, showing much less personality than what they used us to. Add to that the singer who executes dance choreographies in the music video, and we are more than ever wondering where has that doom metal band  gone! It was also the 1st single from Ghost with its new musicians (singer Tobias Forge had fired all of his 4 musicians at the end of 2016), and I found not fully convincing that performance by the new musicians, unlike Forge's voices that I found were worked on harder than ever, letting me under the impression that Ghost is really the solo project of one star character and that musicians are secondary in the project. Which is sad for a rock and/or metal band.

The only other song, with Interdimensional Summit, that I noted as an "A" in my notes. Noted "B+" the first time I heard it on January 26th, and upgraded to "A" 3 weeks later, because my feelings for the song had become strong enough for me to start seeing as a candidate for #1. Finally, that honeymoon lasted only 2 more months, and I listened to it much less often the rest of the year, unlike others like Interdimensional Summit or Wishing Wells that maintained a more stable level. Of course, that doesn't mean I no longer like it! I still think that this is a very solid production, with a modern sound, emotion, and a good vocal performance by Jonathan Davis. I love so much the part of the choruses where he sings: "But IIII will embrace who I really am" !

Extremely strong for an album's THIRD single! Much closer to their usual style than Wishing Wells, therefore much less unique, it is simply the best of its kind! Extremely catchy chorus with excellent lyrics when we understand the inspiration and state of mind that led them to that result. "Prey, we are all prey for the sorrow" is epic, and the puns between "prey" and "pray" add to the interest. Nice finale, too. Certainly in my top 3 while writing these lines, but its late release as a single (September) make it complicated to make it pass ahead of two songs that have been so strong in the rest of the year.

YOU BETTER PRAYYYYY!!!  :-)

Disturbing! Not amongst the best tracks of the year on a technical plan (although I love the choruses' pretty special drum beat), but definitely amongst the most loaded with emotion. An absolute must-see with the disturbing music video, which helps to understand the meaning of the song. Once we've understood that, all the lyrics, and most importantly those from the choruses, become shocking. Add to that all of Benjamin's voice plays, sometimes dismal, sometimes screaming pain, and I am on the verge of tears! It's been several years since a song made me that effect. My personal favorite in the career of this huge American band? I think so!

What an epic bass riff! I would go as far as saying that it is amongst the best in the history of rock! And the song is not only the story of a riff; they've put up something intesting around that riff. The fast part before the last chorus, and the comeback for the last chorus are great entertainment! That track sound extremely big, for a simple duo of a singer-drummer and a bassist. An underrated Canadian art work.

Speaking of an underrated Canadian art work! The veteran Quebecker band signs one of its great performances, and the music video has a hard time reaching 17,000 views on YouTube! That is so unfair! If they were managed by a big metal label such as Nuclear Blast or Napalm, that track would certainly be a worldwide success in the metal world. I listened to it all year long, from January 15th. Intense and meticulously polished, it made me buy the album, Children of the Void (from which Tyrants is only the 3rd single!), and I encourage you to do the same to support that superb independant band that only gets a small fraction of the attention it reserves: https://karkaosofficial.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-the-void.

One of the rare very good songs of the 2nd half of the year! What most marked me, even more than the guitar that I like, are the lyrics (and David Draiman singing them!). They are good from the beginning to the end, but there is one sentence from the choruses that I particularly love: "They aren’t ready for you to be turned into someone who cannot be preyed upon". It masterly culminates in the last chorus when it turns to: "Let me know you’re ready to be turned into someone/people who cannot be preyed upon". Another excerpt that I particularly like, in the first verse: "Take those mental shackles off and throw them away. You’ve got to get them out of your mind".

Very stirring! Amongst my favorites in Jack White's solo career. It seemed to me like it had everything to be a great commercial hit, but the results have been disappointing on that level.

Not very complicated, but powered by a heavy, efficient and catchy riff. What a bomb effect at 3:09 when we come back from the softer part of the song!

To rank amongst the best in the career of this legendary thrash metal band! Yes, I dare going that far! I did not say THE best, we could name some exceptions (such as the legendary Symphony of Destruction), but definitely within the "crème". Not only very well executed, it is very intelligent, with lyrics that make you wonder. It sets the tone right from the start, the very first lyrics being: "What we are witnessing is the decline of Western civilization. Crushing our potential and piling it on, how history will portray us?".

Simple and so nice! In an interview on the radio, singer Simon Proulx explained that the Trois Accords' songs are often misunderstood, so he wanted to come up with a first single that's simple and going straight to the goal; this song tells only one thing: the guy loves to dance! He goes on by saying that even Corinne doesn't do anything in there, she's just listening the guy who dances! :D  So entertaining, as ever. And watch out, because it is far from being my favorite song from the new album, lyrically and musically (even though I much liked the little bass intro). More singles will certainly follow and might get a higher ranking in 2019! Les Trois Accords, my favorite French-language band of all time, are back on top!

It's been several years that repeat to anyone who wants to hear it: artists whose mother tongue is other than English (including the Quebeckers, Swedish and Norwegians) who gain from singer more often in their mother tongue, which would give more personality to their music and would help them stand out from the thousands of other rock/metal bands on the market. On this, I cite Rammstein as an example, which clearly sounds better when they sing in German than when they sing in English, or Quebecker metalcore band Obey the Brave whose best track is the one they did in French (or should I say in Quebecker "joual"). A young little trop from New Zealand, Alien Weaponry, got the message and launched in 2018 a first full-length album (but they've already had an EP in the past) mainly in maori language, including the single Kai Tangata, entirely in maori, which had a bomb effect! In the Spring, it dislodged Parkway Drive to spend one month at #1 of the weekly chart of satellite radio station Liquid Metal, and spent the whole rest of the year in this station's top 12!! It ended up at #3 of their "Devil's Dozen" for the whole year 2018, trailing only Power Trip and Parkway Drive (and it was honestly a big surprise for me; I was sure it would be their #1). The interesting music video, perfectly in line with the song's theme, has generated over 2 million views on YouTube, which is huge for a metal track in a language other than English. Although they openly say they are inspired by their idols Pantera, their material has clearly and unarguably its own personality, in part thanks to their singing in maori that works wonderfully in their music, and the traditional music instrument used in the introduction. Bravo! My only critic of the song is its length. In a more intense format of 5 to 6 minutes, it might have been able to get even closer to my top 10.

American band that I discovered this year thanks to satellite radio station Sirius XM Octane. A song that's not very complicated, but efficient! A nice, really heavy sound!

Clearly inferior to The Sin and the Sentence (my #5 last year, and it would compete even more seriously for the #1 if I had to do it again), but it is still very strong! Again, some absolutely exceptional work from their new drummer Alex Bent, and an euphoric part between 3:02 and 3:35. Melodious despite its heavyness.

My friend Arash and I had the same first impression, and that impression has never changed: it sounds like a non-single song from album Iowa (2001), not bad at all, not disappointing, but not impressive neither. As far as I'm concerned, it definitely didn't made me the bomb effect of The Negative One, first single of the previous album, but I am aware that I do not represent the norm since the latter is capping at 18 millions views on YouTube, against more than 30M for All Out Life while I'm writing these lines (and it continues to increase rapidly). An INSTANT #1 on satellite radio station Liquid Metal, that capped very low at #17 of the Billboard's "mainstream rock songs" chart, though. Clearly, it hits its target, if its target was a hardened fan of particularly heavy metal, and not a "light metal" public like Disturbed.

It will stop at #17 in my personal chart. It most likely could have gained 2 more spots if it was released a little earlier in the year, but it couldn't have beaten Kai Tangata so a top 15 song at best, but clearly not a top 10, which is a slight deception for some Slipknot. But wait, the album is coming in 2019 and should feed us well!

WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND !!!

A cover of old hit Colony from Swedish band In Flames by a new band from Spain! Without any doubt, the first time that an artist from Spain makes its way into my annual chart! It's an area of the world where there was never been much metal or solid rock, but with breakthroughs in neighbouring countries like Italy, we have to expect that Spain progresses in that field. Honestly, I grant low merit to SynlakrosS, because that version doesn't bring much of anything new from the original, and their original songs I listened to following that have not convinced me at all. Normally, I certainly would have wanted to penalize a bit that track for its lack of novelty, but that will be my chance to compensate for the In Flames' original version, which should have qualified for my chart in 1999 but I didn't know it at that time. I actually named it as a regret in my review of 2009, the year when I finally discovered Colony.

Potatoes really have a special place in the heart of Quebec's artists! Les Patates from Mononc' Serge and his own cover by Mononc' Serge & Anonymus, Les Tites Patates from Stéphane "Stage" Lacroix, certainly more that I forget right now, and now this one by Bleu Jeans Bleu. I liked it very much and I've had its chorus stuck very often in my head! My favorite phrase from its lyrics : "Accroc comme un alcoolique à ces croustillants bâtonnets" (which I would translate to : "Addict like an alcoholic to those crispy rods".

Should I take Ontarian signer Sebastien Grainger more seriously than I think? Everything's great for him this year with 2 entries in my personal top 20, at #7 with his band Death From Above and here at #20 with a collaboration on the Turbowolf song. A kind of Corey Taylor!  :-)  Regardless, we're talking here about a very good and energetic track and a great dynamic between two singers. A 4th song from this band in my chart over the last 4 years, which is two in 2015, one in 2017, and this one.

Very good track from a new (another one!) Swedish metal band. Not saying that their formula is unique, it gives them a fairly unique sound: the guitars are essentially used to follow the drums to make an extremely powerful rythmic background, while the melody is mostly served by electronic sounds and the voices. I very much liked this track, that I've listened to all year long. It doesn't miss my top 20 by much!

Great comeback of guitarist James Iha after an 18-year leave, and comeback of the Pumpkins' "mojo" after two low energy albums. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not! Anyhow, Solara clearly doesn't list alongside the band's jewels that we will recall until the end of times (such as Today, Disarm, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979, Zero, Ava Adore, The End is the Beginning is the End, The Everlasting Gaze, Tarantula, etc.), but it is definitely band worthy and I was very happy to reconnect with the "real" Pumpkins.

https://youtu.be/Do3tSdZucyA

Second single from album Rainier Fog, I unambiguously preferred it over the first one, even if it's a "poppier" rock. It has more soul, more reasons to be. It is the work of William DuVall, who wrote it while thinking about his grandmother who died at the venerable age of 105 during the album recording, as well as Chris Cornell, grunge icon who was a friend of the band. Very nice result, according to me accessible to any rock fan, no matter if he likes grunge or not.

https://youtu.be/VPyUlIXLQ94

The first time I heard it, I would have never thought it could climb that high. Less rock and a little more "rap" than Manson's average, I found it a little savorless at first, but it slowly unveiled its very catchy side and a pretty unique side that made it progress in my esteem.

https://youtu.be/gNTIOZ3jJJo

Discovered on YouTube after discovering It Follows on the radio. It left me a very good impression, even it I continued to slightly prefer the song that made me discover the band.

https://youtu.be/7MfEAGPbpEQ

By far my favorite single from the album so far. Very energetic, and the catchiest thing Josh Homme's goup has done in a very long time.

https://youtu.be/e9byydi6cns

The new album's first single, Narcissist disappointed me. The second, Outsider, has marvelously saved this off. A good track of big fat metal from the excellent Quebecker quartet.

I clearly liked it less that the first single What it is, but it's another very good song in the same style (which, let's recall it, is not Korn's style!!).

https://youtu.be/IJhQRRCUENI

I didn't like its chorus at first. When it was released in July, I did not really expect it to end up in my annual chart. I ended up ceding around Fall, first completely charmed by the introduction, and finally, eventually charmed by the chorus too! Now, I say it's a must of 2018!

https://youtu.be/pwGS4Yn5qLo

Yes, those alternative rock veterans are still there and still produce good songs! Somewhat offset guitar riff (not as much as their old hit Nice to Know you) and very original way to express what they want to say: "You're a song I never wanna hear again".

https://youtu.be/LTyKOzyqyCM

Not liked at first sight, but it made its way! It is true that it's not the strongest chorus in their career, but verses are very powerful with an interesting guitar riff, and singer Brent Smith delivers one his great performances again.

What, a mix of Emigrate (English-language project of Rammstein lead guitarist, Richard Kruspe) and Billy Talent?!? How can't this be in my annual chart?!? Honestly, it is not a genious composition, it is even rather simple, but what an energy liberated by this delightful collaboration! I've always much liked the energy of Ben, Billy Talent's singer. The addition of him and their guitarist to support Richard really enhances the experience, which is already interesting with the illustrious character that is Kruspe, and his extremely spectacular drummer Joe Letz (also drummer of Combichrist, a band that I don't like at all).

https://youtu.be/E6hNReAAe2U

Discovered in the last week of December, on its late entry on Billboard charts, 6 months after the release of the music video on YouTube! I therefore particularly take into account, in this case, of the interest I shown for it in January even if we were into 2019. An extremely powerful grunge duo. We would get over it more easily if they were 4 musicians to play that, but they really are only two, and they developed their own techniques to sound as "big" as possible with only two musicians! It is very impressive!

https://youtu.be/MIe7lDXJBi4

This new single from the new album When Legends Rise is hugely better than the first one, Bulletproof! And nonetheless, it's the latter that had the most success... Anyway, the title track is excellent, so much that I'm trying to understand how it could have missed by top 30! Good song and very beautiful lyrics: "When ashes fall, legends rise".

https://youtu.be/WH-E98MltJc

Wow! A true little masterpiece! There is no doubt left, it is a very good thing for me that the three Cellar Darling founders parted ways with Eluveitie to form this new band! Anna and her group clearly demonstrate that they aim high. One of the rare development tracks (not too verse-chorus-verse) this year.

https://youtu.be/QeXDYjDV2mw

Still not enough to make me forget the track that made me discover this Swedish band in 2014, Drop Dead Cynical, but this has the potential to become my second favorite in their career. For no good reason, I discovered it in September but I started to regularly listen to it only in December, which doesn't help it in this chart. No surprise, it perfectly fits in their usual style, but it has a little particular touch, certainly related to Elize's singing performance.

https://youtu.be/G2596YYB4Uk

I clearly preferred this second single over the first one, released last year, Meadow. The new singer, Jeff Gutt, and the musicians fit very well together!

https://youtu.be/IuJVd7kh3mQ

Everything, everything this British duo touches is good! It is not their best, and it's still a very solid #40!

Another very well-made composition from music prodigy Mark Tremonti! It's about all I have to say...

https://youtu.be/BYwrSAZzXEc

Very good track, very well built, just like what Mastodon used us to... Its only default is to not being catchy; I never have Clandestiny in my head, but I always have a good time while listening to it.

https://youtu.be/5a8442i-X6A

I was very disappointed by this first single of album Rainier Fog, hugely inferior to the first single of any of their previous albums (Hollow, A Looking in View, Grind, Would?, We Die Young). The music is really too simplistic and only relies on the powerful effect of distortion, clearly not a song they could have played at their mythic unplugged concert. But at the end of the day, the two singers' voices in harmony ensure a sure interest, and the overall package remains pretty enjoyable to listen to.

I was far from expecting new material from this major band of the '90s this year! And even farther from expecting that it would be interesting, because we're going to speak frankly, this band was no longer very interesting after their album Secret Samadhi (1997). A good song that did not get the attention it deserved.

https://youtu.be/uii7J-rRaPo

Some rather classic rock n' roll, but very energetic and very stirring. Impossible to stand still while listening to it!

https://youtu.be/msbHUa54Tys

De loin celle que j'ai la moins aimée parmi les trois extraits radio de l'album Reverence en 2018 (je ne comprends d'ailleurs absolument pas qu'elle fut la plus populaire), la plus facile et la plus prévisible, mais c'est encore une bonne chanson méritant amplement de figurer dans mon top 50 ! Mélodieux et accessible malgré le chant très crié.

https://youtu.be/cAY2bCmm8e0

Autre bonne pièce de ce trio métal néo-zélandais que nous avons découvert cette année. Définitivement moins unique que Kai Tangata, mais toute aussi pertinente. De l'anglais est mélangé au maori ici, contrairement à leur grand succès qui était entièrement en maori.

Ces vétérans de métal anglais ont lancé cette année ce morceau qu'ils disent les avoir amené sur de tout nouveaux territoires musicalement et au niveau des paroles. Cette déclaration me semble un peu exagérée, mais peu importe, c'est une bonne chanson. Refrain accrocheur avec un chant très rythmé.

https://youtu.be/Len0qLhmhL0

Une nouvelle chanson, mais pas de nouvel album ! De toute évidence, le légendaire groupe de Seattle, qui a démontré depuis longtemps être un groupe engagé, ne pouvait attendre le nouvel album pour dénoncer Donald Trump ! Elle a divisé le public, mais personnellement elle ne m'offusque pas. Il est évident par contre qu'il s'agit, musicalement, d'une pièce simple, un peu faible, du moins une grande sous-utilisation des grands musiciens que sont Pearl Jam.

https://youtu.be/Fecw2m0PDDI

La petite ballade rock de Trivium ! Mais quand même, une bonne ballade rock ! Je préfère de loin celle-ci à Until the World Goes Cold (2015), qui fut pourtant beaucoup plus populaire.

https://youtu.be/y2xUzj0JwJ8

Un vrai gros poids lourd ! Le guitariste de Lamb of God se lance en solo, et invite des chanteurs parmi les plus brutaux, en l'occurrence son acolyte de Lamb of God et l'élégante bête canadienne d'Arch Enemy (et anciennement The Agonist). Résultat très divertissant, probablement désavantagé par sa sortie très tardive dans l'année (13 décembre sur YouTube, et moi je l'ai entendue pour la 1ere fois le 18 déc.).

https://youtu.be/KO5lvmJU29c