Courtesy: Project 86/TAG Publicity
For those about to rock, we salute you!
Yes, everyone knows that phrase from AC/DC’s classic song by the same name. As popular as it is, it is more than just a song lyric and title. It is a statement of honor for the acts and audiences who span the rock community. This year, as with every year prior, there are so many bands to honor as the year nears its end, including hard rock and metal bands. In case it hasn’t become clear by now, this article focuses on this critic’s choices for the year’s top new hard rock and metal albums. As with every list before, compiling it was not an easy task. New releases from Project 86, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth, and so many others made this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums very crowded. That is putting it lightly. Between well-known mainstream acts and their lesser-known independent counterparts, the two sides collectively offered so many impressive new albums.
Topping this critic’s list of the year’s top new hard rock and metal albums is Project 86’s latest album Sheep Among Wolves. The band’s 10th full-length studio recording in 20 years, this record takes all of the best elements of the band’s past — both musically and lyrically — and uses them to craft a work that is just as memorable and engaging as its predecessors. Also on this year’s list from Phil’s Picks are new albums from — as already noted — Iced Earth and Arch Enemy — as well as new offerings from Overkill, Act of Defiance, Prong, Adrenaline Mob, Blacktop Mojo and others. As with every list, this list presents this critic’s Top 10 titles plus five additional titles for a total of 15 records. That being noted, here for you is Phil’s Picks’ 2017 Top 10 New Hard Rock & Metal Albums.
PHIL’S PICKS 2017 TOP 10 NEW HARD ROCK & METAL ALBUMS
- Project 86 — Sheep Among Wolves
- Prong — Zero Days
- Act of Defiance — Old Scars, New Wounds
- Overkill — The Grinding Wheel
- Iced Earth — Incorruptable
- Blacktop Mojo — Burn The Ships
- Adrenaline Mob — We The People
- Marty Friedman — Wall of Sound
- Corroded — Defcon Zero
- Dragonforce — Reaching Into Infinity
- The Haunted — Strength In Numbers
- Doyle — As We Die
- Demon Hunter — Outlive
- 36 Crazyfists — Lanterns
- Arch Enemy — Will To Power
That’s all for this list. Again, it was not an easy list to compile. Acts the likes of Eve To Eve to Adam, Marty Friedman, Sepultura, Annihilator, Mastodon and so many others all deserve their own share of credit. With that in mind, it becomes easy to see why no disrespect was meant to any one act or another here. Every noted act released its own impressive album. Only so many spaces were available, sadly.
2018 is already shaping up to be an interesting year in its own right, with new material from Ministry on the way alongside new albums from Judas Priest, Saxon, Machine Head, Corrosion of Conformity, Tool, Clutch and lots more. Stay tuned for all of that in the new year. To keep up with all of the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
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