Courtesy: Concord Records
This year was a very productive span for the rock realm. New offerings from well-known acts, such as Joe Satriani, Billy Gibbons and Stone Temple Pilots were joined by some enjoyable offerings from some lesser-known acts, such as The Magpie Salute, The Marcus King Band and Black Coffee to make for quite the selection of new offerings.
Simply put, the mainstream and the independent offerings turned out this year gave audiences plenty to appreciate. Many of those offerings made their way into Phil’s Picks list of the year’s top new rock albums, including and not limited to the offerings from the acts already noted here.
Topping off this critic’s list this year is Billy Gibbons’ new album The Big Bad Blues. The ZZ Top star’s latest solo offering features some impressive covers of classic blues and blues rock tunes, while also offering some equally entertaining originals to round out the record’s body. The whole is a record that is a solid listen from start to finish.
Taking second spot in this year’s list of the year’s top new rock albums is legendary guitarist Joe Satriani’s latest offering What Happens Next. The full-on instrumental offering is everything that fans have come to expect from Satch, with touches of his past and present.
Third spot in this year’s list goes to Slash, Alter bridge front man Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. The group’s new offering Living The Dream is a well-produced and engineered album with plenty of radio ready singles that go a long way toward displaying the group’s collective talents. The lyrical themes are just as easily accessible as the record’s arrangements. While not a perfect record, it is still enjoyable in its own right.
The remainder of this year’s list is noted below. Also featured in this year’s list are new efforts from Black Coffee, Pop Evil and P.O.D. As always, the list’s top 10 titles are the best while the five that follow are all honorable mention titles. Without any further ado, here for your consideration is Phil’s Picks 2018 Top 10 New Rock Albums.
PHIL’S PICKS 2018 TOP 10 NEW ROCK ALBUMS
- Billy Gibbons — The Big Bad Blues
- Joe Satriani — What Happens Next
- Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators — Living The Dream
- Clutch — The Book of Bad Ideas
- Michael Schenker Fest — Resurrection
- Black Coffee — Take One
- Black Stone Cherry — Family Tree
- Pompeii — The Secret Sessions
- P.O.D. — Circles
- The Marcus King Band — Carolina Confessions
- The Zealots — Only Rocks Live Forever
- Roine Stolt’s Flower King — Manifesto of an Alchemist
- The Magpie Salute — Highwater I
- Royal Tusk — Tusk II
- Stone Temple Pilots — Stone Temple Pilots
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