Nov. 13, 2024:
25,000th CD added to Heavy Harmonies!
The 25,000th CD has been added here at HH, and the album with that
distinction is the new comeback album from Krokus lead singer Marc
Storace, entitled Crossfire.
-Dan
Your ongoing support of Heavy Harmonies is appreciated!
In addition to my top picks for 2012, you can also read the top 5 picks from Mike, Pete, and Ty. Since we all have different tastes, it makes more sense to see different folks' opinions.
A solid year with lots of good releases, although perhaps not (at least for me) with any blow-your-doors-off alltime gems.
The Also Rans
4Bitten - Delerium
A Band of Orcs - Adding Heads to the Pile
A Perfect Day - ST
AOR - Dreaming of LA
AOR - LA Reflections
Andromeda - Manifest Tyranny
Angel King - World of Pain
Asia - Resonance
Asia - XXX
Atom Smash - Beautiful Alien
Audio Porn - Jezebels Kiss
Bang Tango - Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt
Beyond the Bridge - The Old Man and the Spirit
Bonrud
Cannon - Burning Love
Carmen Gray - Gates of Loneliness
Charlie Shred
Circus Maximus - Nine
Citizen Charlie - Up Yours
Cloudscape - New Era
Coastland Ride - ST + 3
Craaft - ST
Danger Zone - Undying
Dare - Calm Before the Storm 2
David Caron - Thru Ever-Ending Black
Delain - We Are The Others
Diamondog - Faithful Unto Death
Dokken -Broken Bones
Dominoe - Naked but Dressed
Empires of Eden - Channelling the Infinite
End of September - ST
Feast - Strong Wild and Free
Frozen Rain - Ahead of Time
Furyon - Gravitas
GTS - Time Stood Still
GTS - Tracks from the Dustshelf
German Pascual - A New Beginning
Gotthard - Firebirth
Great White - Elation
Grimm Jack - Damned
Hardline - Danger Zone
Hartmann - Balance
Heaven Rain - Second Sun
Help for Japan
Helstar - 30 Years of Hel
Hess - Living in Yesterday
Human Temple - Halfway to Heartache
Humbucker - R.O.C.K.S
Hydrogyn - Private Sessions
Iain Ashley Hersey - Vintage Love (Best of)
Impera - Legacy of Life
Issa - Cant Stop
Jack Blades - Rock N Roll Ride
Jeff Scott Soto - Damage Control
Joanna Dean - Misbehavin
Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land
Kane Roberts - Saints and Sinners LE
Kha0s - Kha0s Rising EP
Kissin Dynamite - Money, Sex & Power
Kix - Live in Baltimore
Lana Lane - El Dorado Hotel
Lee Small
Linkin Park - Living Things
Lionville - II
Lodgic - Nomadic Sands
Love Under Cover
Loverboy - Rock N Roll Revival
Michael Thompson Band - Future Past
Midnight Blue - Take the Money and Run
Million Dollar Reload - A Sinners Saint
Mob Rules - Cannibal Nation
Mollo-Martin - The Third Cage
Mr Big - Live from the Living Room
My Darkest Days - Sick and Twisted Affair
Nubian Rose - Mountain
Obsession - Order of Chaos
Orden Ogan - To the End
Pastore - The End of Our Flames
Pellek
Phenomena - Awakening
Place Called Rage - ST
Pollution - Beyond Control
Prayer - Danger in the Dark
Pretty Maids - It Comes Alive
Pride of Lions - Immortal
Primal Fear - Unbreakable
Prototype - Catalyst
Rattleshake - ST
Razzmattaz
Redline - Vice
Restless Breed - No Walls Can Hold
Reverence - When Darkness Calls
Sacred Guardian - ST
Sapphire Eyes - ST
Scelerata - The Sniper
Seven Kingdoms - The Fire Is Mine
Shotgun Alley - Damnation EP
Sledge leather - Imagine Me Alive
Soleil Moon - On the Way to Everything
Sonic Station - ST
Soulicit - Parking Lot Rockstar
Soulspell - Hallows Gathering
Spheric Universe Experience - The New Eve
Strangeways - Age of Reason
Sunstorm - Emotional Fire
Sven Larsson - Bad Mad Man
Theocracy - As the World Bleeds
Tokyo - Fasten Seatbelts
Tokyo - San
Vanlade - Iron Age
Voz - Shadow of Death
WWK - S/T
Warnot - His Blood Is Yours
Wig Wam - Wall Street
Wigelius - Reinventions
Wild Frontier - 2012
Honorable Mentions
Angeline - Disconnected. Great Harem Scarem soundalike with a bit heavier vibe.
Coastlant Ride - On Top of the World. Some of the best Westcoast AOR I've heard in quite some time.
Crazy Lixx - Riot Avenue. Solid follow-up, maybe just a bit shy of the last one.
Dynazty - Sultans Of Sin. Excellent crunchy hard rock, better than I was expecting. Could be a bit longer though.
Halestorm - The Strange Case of... Absolutely awesome female-fronted hard rock. A perfect blend of raw ballsy hard rock and some great ballads. This was my #6 of the year, just edged out of the top 5.
H.E.A.T - Address The Nation. Their best effort to date!
Jimi Jamison - Never Too Late. How can you go wrong with Jimi Jamison? Some may consider it a bit "paing by numbers" but it is first class AOR.
Oxygen - Final Warning. Excellent traditional pomp AOR, reminds me of Grand Illusion.
ReinXeed - Welcome to the Theater. Lush melodic power metal; what can I say, I love Tommy's vocals!
TRIXTER - New Audio Machine. Great comeback album, much better than I ever expected.
Ten - Heresy and Creed. Very solid melodic album, althought perhaps not up there with the very best they've done.
Tyketto - Dig In Deep. Revolutionary? No... but lives up to the Tyketto monicker.
Youngblood - No Retreat. Some REAL corkers on this album, but there's also a fair amount of filler. It might have been better with a few of the songs omitted.
Dan's Winners
5th Place
Threshold - March of Progress.
Wow! I'll admit that I've always preferred the Mac era of Threshold to the early Damian Wilson material. While that still is true for the most part, this album is MUCH better than I ever expected it to be. While not exactly radio-friendly, I never found it to be tedious or self-indulgent (as I would expect from prog). Great choruses as usual.
4th Place
Wheels of Fire - Up for Anything. This one came out late in the year, so it may have not hit everybody's radar, but this is exceptional melodic hard rock. The lead vocalist's accent may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the choruses are rock solid with plenty of backing vocals. The album as a whole is remarkably consisitent, with lots of hooks throughout.
3rd Place
Blessed by a Broken Heart - Feel the Power. I know that the modern elements and death-ish growls at times turn a lot of people off, but at its core this albums is pure over-the-top plush hard rock. Guitar riffs, gang choruses, you name it. Replay potential is off the charts!
2nd Place
Eclipse - Bleed and Scream. Yowza! This album flirted with being my #1 for 2012. It was nip and tuck. Whether the up-tempo numbers or the ballads, every song is top notch. The adjective that comes to mind is "powerful". There are several points where you are just aurally assaulted by a wall of melodic sound. I know the album got a lot of hype, but in this case it is richly deserved.
Dan's Pick for Heavy Harmonies 2012 CD of the Year
Shinedown - Amaryllis. This CD is not been far from my player(s) since it came out. I have nearly worn the damned thing out. It just never gets old. I really enjoyed The Sound of Madness (it was my #2 disc of 2008), and when I first heard Amyrillis I wasn't totally sold... I didn't necessarily think it was better than TSoM. However, over the course of repeated listens a lot of the songs kept growing on me... and continued to grow. There really is not a weak spot on the album to me. As varied as the tracks are, they all hit home to one extent or another. The title track and the campy, catchy "I'm Not All Right" are probably my two faves.
Mike's Picks for the Best of 2012
The Also Rans
Accept - Stalingrad
Adler - Back From The Dead
Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension!
Bombay Black - Bullets and Booze
Charm City Devils - Sins
The Cult - Choice Of Weapon
The Darkness - Hot Cakes
Devil's Train - Devil's Train
Fozzy - Sin and Bones
Gotthard - Firebirth
Great White - Elation
H.E.A.T. - Address the Nation
Hardline - Danger Zone
Jaded Heart - Common Destiny
KISS - Destroyer (Resurrected)
Kix - Live in Baltimore
L.A. Guns - Hollywood Forever
The Last Vegas - Other Side EP
Legion - Nemesis
Legion - Resurrection
Loverboy - Rock N Roll Revival
Luley - Today's Tomorrow
Lynch Mob - Sound Mountain Sessions
Richard Marx - Inside My Head
Metallica - Beyond Magnetic
Night Ranger - 24 Strings And A Drummer - Live and Acoustic
Papa Roach - The Connection
Axel Rudi Pell - Circle Of The Oath
Pretty Maids - It Comes Alive
Slash - Apocalyptic Love
Jeff Scott Soto - Damage Control
Tarrga - Lost and Archives Vol. 1
Tarrga - Lost and Archives Vol. 2
Geoff Tate - Kings and Thieves
Y&T - Live At The Mystic
Honorable Mentions
Jack Blades - Rock N Roll Ride: Great release from Night Ranger's Jack Blades. The title track, "Hardest Word to Say" and "Say You Will" are particular faves.
Bloodbound - In The Name of Metal: My favorite metal release of 2012. Head bangin', fist pumpin' mayhem from beginning to end!
John Corabi - Unplugged: I'm a fan of acoustic re-workings when they're properly done, and "Crabby" has done a highly commendable job here. I thoroughly enjoy what he's done with "Hooligan's Holiday" and the majority of the other tracks here. Well worth checking out if you have not already done so.
Crazy Lixx - Riot Avenue: Another solid effort from these Swedish rockers. Not on the same level as their previous two efforts, but still a damn fine disc. The opener, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is my favorite cut.
Jimi Jamison - Never Too Late: Another top notch solo effort from Mr. Jamison; would you expect anything less?
Million Dollar Reload - A Sinner's Saint: Solid, punch you in the face hard rock is what these guys do, and they do it damn well. Rockers like "Wicked" and "Pretty People" will have you head bangin' immediately, and the show stealin' power ballad "Broken" will have you reaching for your lighter. Awesome sophomore release!
Sunstorm - Emotional Fire: While I enjoyed the two previous Sunstorm releases, this one is far and away their best in my opinion. From the excellent title track to "Gina" and their cover of "You Wouldn't Know Love" everything on this one just "works" for me.
T&N - Slave To The Empire: While I don't mind the covers of the classic Dokken tracks (Tooth & Nail with Dug Pinnick and It's Not Love with Robert Mason are quite good), it's the original title track, "Slave to the Empire" that steals the show here. Hopefully we will get a full album of all originals in that vein from T&N in the near future!
Trixter - New Audio Machine: Back with their first studio album in 18 years, and what a comeback it is. Trixter are still capable of writing one helluva catchy tune, and tracks like "Tattoos & Misery" and "Dirty Love" prove it in spades. Welcome back guys!
Koritni - Welcome To The Crossroads: Australia's Koritni have been pumping out strong, hard rocking releases since their 2007 debut, but this one has taken them to the next level. With scorchers like "Party's Over" , "TV's Just a Medium" & "Money Talks, It Says Goodbye" to lighter fare like "Lost For Words" and "Sometimes" this one has a little something for everyone. GREAT release which narrowly misses my top 5!
Tyketto - Dig in Deep: Tyketto are back baby! Great return to form for Danny Vaughn and company. 11 tracks, 8 of which I absolutely LOVE. The title track, "Sound Off", "Love to Love", "Battle Lines" and "Here's Hoping It Hurts" are all particularly excellent. One of the year's best; consider this one to be my "5.1".
Mike's Winners
5th Place
Dokken - Broken Bones.
Word is this may be the last official Dokken album, and if that is the case, well, aside from my general sadness, that will be ok, as overall, this is another fine offering from Don and company. As always, Jon Levin simply shreads on guitar, and Sean McNabb is a welcome addition on bass. My favorite tracks are the first single, "Empire", along with "Blind", "Victim of the Crime", "Broken Bones" and "For the Last Time". Good luck to Don with all his future endeavors!
4th Place
Van Halen - A Different Kind Of Truth: 2012 brought with it the return of the mighty Van Halen, and what a return it is! From the first single, "Tattoo" (which I know many disliked, but I thoroughly enjoyed), to the many other tracks featuring the signature Van Halen sound of old such as "She's the Woman", "Big River" and "Blood & Fire", this has been one of my most listened to, and obviously favorite CDs of the past year. Hopefully there will be a follow-up in the near future!
3rd Place
KISS - Monster: Back in 2009, I referred to "Sonic Boom" as a "monster" release, having no clue that in 2012 Kiss would unleash the real Monster! Paul, Gene, Tommy, and Eric pick right up where they left off and have given us another great release to add to the massive Kiss discography. Lots of highlights here, including the single, "Hell or Hallelujah", "Freak", "The Devil is Me" and in particular, Tommy's "Outta This World" and Eric's "All For the Love of Rock & Roll". Once again, if this turns out to be their last album, they are going out in style.
2nd Place
Shinedown - Amaryllis: I honestly never thought that Shinedown could top 2008's "The Sound of Madness" but in my opinion, "Amaryllis" has done so! Another spectacular modern hard rock release with so many highlights, it's easier just to say that I love it from start to finish. These guys are definitely at the top of their game.
Mike's Pick for Heavy Harmonies 2012 CD of the Year
Rick Springfield - Songs For The End Of The World: I've always been a casual fan of Mr. Springfield's work. Back in the 80s, I recall owning Working Class Dog on cassette, and over the years I've picked up several of his Greatest Hits compilations on CD. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that in 2013 I'd be referring to a Rick Springfield album as my favorite release of the previous year, but it most certainly is! From the fantastic rockers "Wide Awake", "I Hate Myself", "My Last Heartbeat" and "Love Screws Me Up", to the lighter fare of "Gabriel", "I Found You" and one of the year's absolute best songs, "Our Ship's Sinking" this release has it all. AOR, pop rock, modern rock, etc.. and it's all expertly done! Thank you for the great music Rick, and here's hoping the next one is just as good!
Pete's Picks for the Best of 2012
The Also Rans
Bangalore Choir - Metaphor
Black Country Communion - Afterglow
Crazy Lixx - Riot Avenue
Dante Fox - Lost Man's Ground
Dynazty - Sultans of Sin
Europe - Bag of Bones
Gene the Warewolf - Rock N Roll Animal
Great White - Elation
Halestorm - The Strange Case Of
Hardline - Danger Zone
Hess - Living in Yesterday
House of Shakira - HoS
Issa - Can't Stop
Jack Blades - Rock'n Roll Ride
Jaded Heart - Common Ground
Jeff Scott Soto - Damage Control
Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land
Liberty & Justice - The Cigar Chronicles
Lionville - II
Mad Max - Another Night of Passion
Redline - Vice
Tremonti - All I Was
Trixter - New Audio Machine
Tyketto - Dig in Deep
Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth
Wig Wam - Wall Street
Honorable Mentions
Bonrud - Save Tomorrow: This really kicks some ass, from the killer songs to the great vocals, and then add in Paul's THICK and CRUNCHY guitar sound. If you're not familiar with Bonrud, pick it up!
Gotthard - Firebirth: Solid record and a great start for Nic Maeder who's got some HUGE shoes to fill.
Jimi Jamison - Never Too Late: It is never too late to start listening to JJ, this is a nice release full of everything you'd expect on a JJ release.
Slash - Apocalyptic Love: Wasn't expecting to like it, didn't want to like it, but after a listen or two it really grew on me. Slash and Myles make a good team.
Soundgarden - King Animal: If you like classic Soundgarden (thing pre-Black Hole Sun), this is a real nice return to the more balls out era.
Sunstorm - Emotional Fire: Very nice release with some killer tracks and the of course excellent JLT vocals.
Tango Down - Identity Crisis: Exceptional release, great David Reece vocals, and with solid writing and a killer Sims/Johnson production this definitely takes me back to everything I loved about the first Bangalore Choir record, moreso even than the more recent BC releases themselves.
Ten - Heresy and Creed: Excellent release, seems a little more hard driving and full sounding than some of the prior releases, which is always a plus for me.
Pete's Winners
5th Place
Jettblack - Raining Rock.
Yeah, I just LOVE Jettblack ever since I first heard their first release "Get Your Hands Dirty", and this totally picks up where that left off... sex and rock'n'roll delivered with tons of cheese, but so enthusiastically you can totally overlook some of the sillier lyrical moments. These guys are pretty much no frills, with a stripped down, super clean production, with the power coming not just from the powerhouse drumming, but also the driving guitar riffs. As a guitar player, he really comes up with some cool guitar lines that certainly aren't groundbreaking but with some surprisingly melodic twists to them. Put aside your pretentions, crank it up, and step on the gas.
4th Place
Million - A Sinner's Saint.
This is just a great rock'n'roll album that's actually a little hard to define, depending on the track and which part of the track I'm listening to, I get everything from AC/DC to Quireboys to Kings of the Sun… all delivered with a driving beat and a tight production. Many of the songs start off pretty stripped down with sparse guitar parts and basic drums, and then the chorus will come in and blow you away with it's big hooks and harmony vocals. When he lets go, the guitar player is surprisingly shredtastic for this type of music. So many great tracks, and they don't sound samey, they just rock...
3rd Place
Shinedown - Amaryllis.
The ONLY reason this did not get #1 is because technically I feel it is a little shy of true "melodic rock", but make no mistake, this has plenty of melody albeit sometimes on the modern side. It also has great songs with big hooks, and heartfelt, meaningful lyrics that bring me as close to tears as I can get and still retain my obvious manliness… Amaryllis essentially picks up where Sound of Madness left off, taking the best elements of that release and really solidifying the "Shinedown Sound". I was reluctant to even listen to this album at first, thinking yeah Nickelback clone, yada, yada, yada... do NOT make that mistake, this is a truly amazing album.
2nd Place
Eclipse - Bleed & Scream.
Amazing work here, KILLER guitar work, driving songs and a big production. This definitely rocks hard from start to finish. As soon as "Wake Me Up" kicked in, I new this one was going to be a regular spin for me. The band is just full out slamming on this release. I beat the hell out of my steering wheel every time I play this in the car, and I think you will too.
Pete's Pick for Heavy Harmonies 2012 CD of the Year
H.E.A.T. - Address the Nation.
From the moment I got this in the mail, it's been spending a LOT of time in my player. When I can't decide what to listen to, I put this bad boy in. Just great, well crafted songs, sing along choruses, killer guitar work and a stellar production. This edged out Eclipse due to the anthemic songwriting. It's a finely honed piece of Scandi glam/pop/melodic/rock/AOR awesomeness that you do not want to miss. The band knows how to rock out, but they also know how to do it with finesse.
Ty's Picks for the Best of 2012
The Also Rans
Adler - Back From The Dead
Beverly Killz - Gasoline & Broken Hearts
Bonafide - Ultimate Rebel
Casablanca - Apocalyptic Youth
Crazy Lixx - Riot Avenue
Dear Superstar - Damned Religion
Devil's Train - Devil's Train
Furyon - Gravitas
Gene The Werewolf - Rock N' Roll Animal
Hardline - Danger Zone
Koritni - Welcome To The Crossroads
Million Dollar Redload - A Sinners Saint
My Darkest Days - A Sick And Twisted Affair
Redline - Vice
Sister Sin - Now And Forever
Van Halen - A Different Kind Of Truth
Wig Wam - Wallstreet
Honorable Mentions
Baby Jane - In The Spotlight: Great straight forward Hard Rock N' Roll. Vocalist kinda reminds me of Stevie Rachelle of Tuff at times.
Bombay Black - Bullets And Booze: Bombay Black… Same formula, same results… In your face and kickass Rock N' Roll. Simple as that.
Dynazty - Sultans Of Sin: This one was just barely nudged out of my Top 5. Dynazty is another band that keeps with the same formula and gets the same results. They are consistant, which I love.
Gotthard – Firebirth: This was an odd one for me. Gotthard is one of those bands which I held very high on my Go-To list when I just wanted to rock out. With the death of Steve Lee, I was very skeptical to say the least. New vocalist Nic Maeder did a fantastic job of filling Steve's boots as well as making his own mark.
Halestorm - The Strange Case Of...: Balls out Hard Rock, chick style... They keep getting better and better with each release.
Kiss - Monster: I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The 2 head honchos always seem to want to compare every release to Destroyer. They are usually pretty far off, but they finally hit pretty damn close. This has some nice hints of Revenge as well. All around good CD and totally KISS.
Love.Might.Kill - 2 Big 2 Fail: Awesome hard rock with Dickinson-like vocals and power. What's not to love about that?
Lover Under Cover - Set The Night On Fire: Great hard rock with good production and musicianship. A good cross between Pretty Maids, Shakra and Casanova.
Shinedown – Amaryllis: Modern rock with some great 80's melodic moments. Highly recommended.
Trixter - New Audio Machine: They're back like they were never gone. Easily picks up where HEAR! Left off.
Ty's Winners
5th Place
Jettblack - Raining Rock.
Fantastic "in-your-face" guitar attack with nice smooth production. When I first heard it, I immediately heard influences from the first 2 Skid Row albums, which is a good thing to my ears. Favorite Tunes: Prison Of Love, Temptation, Sunshine, Raining Rock, Side Of The Road
4th Place
H.E.A.T. - Address The Nation.
Easily one of the most consistent albums in my top 5. Each song blends well into the next with no filler in my opinion. Nice well rounded production and song writing along with great musicianship. Favorite Tunes: Need Her, Better off Alone, Breaking The Silence, Heartbreaker, and Living On The Run
3rd Place
Bonrud - Save Tomorrow.
Awesome all-around hard rock album. Much heavier than his first release, which I also liked a lot. Well-crafted guitar work and nice soaring vocals along with smooth production. Favorite Tunes: End Of Days, Last Sunrise, We Collide, Dominoes, Bullet In The Back
2nd Place
Slash - Apocalyptic Love.
This was basically supposed to be my Number 1 and was just BARELY edged out… This has spent most of its life in my truck in regular rotation. This CD is 100% SHASH at his best since the GNR days. Everything about this album had my attention from the get-go; Attitude, swagger, production, songwriting and of course, Slash's fantastic guitar work. I truly recommend getting the Deluxe version with the 2 bonus tracks as they are well worth the price. Favorite tunes: Halo, You’re A Lie, Carolina, Crazy Life, Bad Rain, We Will Roam.
Ty's Pick for Heavy Harmonies 2012 CD of the Year
Eclipse - Bleed And Scream.
Well... This is the beast that edged out number 2 on my list. In the end, it was the aggressive and balls-out guitar work on this. Given everything else is fanfriggintastic on this album, but the guitar shredder was mind-blowing to say the least. Favorite Tunes: Wake Me Up, Battlegrounds, Falling Down, S.O.S. About To Break, After The End Of The World, and Into The Fire.
Existing comments about Best of 2012
Heavy Harmonies Owner
From: Dan
Date: January 28, 2014 at 7:08
Testing...
From: Doghouse Reilly
Date: February 8, 2014 at 13:05
Testament: Dark Roots Of Earth; Bombay Black: Bullets And Booze; Kix: Live In Baltimore; Million Dollar Reload: A Sinner's Saint; Goatwhore: Blood For The Master; Fear Factory: The Industrialist; Kreator: Phantom Antichrist; American Dog: Poison Smile; Whitechapel: s/t; Texas Hippie Coalition: Peacemaker.
From: the rocker
Date: June 23, 2015 at 21:54
1.H.E.A.T- Address The Nation, 2.Tango Down- Identity Crisis, 3.Eclipse- Bleed & Scream, 4.Jettblack- Raining Rock, 5.VH -A Different Kind Of Truth
From: Scandiman
Date: February 7, 2018 at 16:18
Here is my list of the best of 2012: Eclipse - Bleed & Scream, H.E.A.T.- Address the Nation, Tango Down = Identity Crisis, Nightwish - Imaginaerum, Foxy Shazam - The Church of Rock and Roll. Honorable mentions: Lionville - II, Torben Schmidt - Long Story Short, Mikko Sipola - Making a Sound, Neal Morse - Momentum, and Sturm und Drang - Graduation Day.
From: Auslander
Date: February 8, 2020 at 12:47
2012 was a great year in hindsight. The Heat album had a lot of repeatability. But, the Shinedown cd got irritating fast.
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