TOP 100 ALBUMS OF 2019
Fell behind a bit, but I’m always one who’s willing to make up for lost time, so let’s get back on the horse and bang out another kickass 10 albums from the year that was.
WOOF’S TOP 100 ALBUMS OF 2019
60. Whiskey Myers ~ Whiskey Myers
I feel like everytime I read an article declaring that “rock & roll is dead” I follow it up by discovering some new band along the lines of Rival Sons or Greta Van Fleet who just flatly prove that statement wrong. This year’s entry is Whiskey Myers, who dial up that southern style of blues n’ boogie barroom mojo that can’t be denied no matter how derivative it may be. This stuff just oozes pure passion and that will never go out of style whether or not they invent awesome new riffs. People like me NEED bands like this and that’s just the way it is.
59. Ray Alder ~ What The Water Wants
To me, Fates Warning was just another metal band in the early 80’s, that is until Ray Alder took over behind the mic and they transformed into one of the two or three greatest prog metal bands ever. His voice is a transcendent sound to my ears and was the thing that turned me on to them in the beginning. Here he presents his first ever solo album and the sound is much as you would expect, although perhaps a little more streamlined thanks to the contributions of his two collaborators, guitarist Michael Abdow (most of the album) and Tony Hernando (3 tracks). The songs are more concise than some of Fates’ more extended affairs, but the basic sound remains the same. This is a good thing, nay a GREAT thing, if you’re like me and feel that his voice fits the genre so perfectly. Yet another album that dropped late enough in the year that I feel like I’m underrating it to have it only at #60. Time will probably see it climb much higher.
58. Ardours ~ Last Place On Earth
Ardours are basically a duo comprised of Mariangelo Demurtas on vocals and Kris Laurent on guitars and bass (Tarald Lie Jr. provides drums but I’m not sure he’s considered an “official” member of the band). They come out of Italy with a kind of alternative metal along the lines of Evanescence although without as much over-the-top dynamic. In fact the album has a certain sameness running through it, which is oddly both a criticism and a compliment, as one of the things that has drawn me back for repeat listens is that comforting symmetry. There’s an incessantness to Laurent’s guitar playing that I find lifts their sound much like a good action thriller makes up for lack of story with a consistent running tension. Check out the album opening instrumental “What Else Is There”; it’s not a flashy run through guitar histrionics but rather a table setter that lets you know exactly what is about to follow. Sometimes an album comes along that just captures me with its general sound even if there’s nothing else about it that I can really point to as excellence. This is one of those cases.
57. D-A-D ~ A Prayer For The Loud
30 years on and still kicking, Denmark’s greatest contribution to rock n’ roll remains the brothers Binzer and their sidekicks. I remember upon first discovering them in 1989 (thanks to the awesome No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims album and its lead single “Sleeping My Day Away”) that they were a bit of an AC/DC clone, but they were really much more than that and have proved it continually ever since. Lead throat Jesper Binzer’s solo album in 2017 was one of my surprise favorites of the year which was a more contemplative and slightly mellowed out affair, but here he’s back with the band and they’re back to kicking pure ass.
56. Hardline ~ Life
Hardline dropped one of the greatest melodic rock records of all time with their 1992 debut Double Eclipse. With Journey’s Neal Schon stepping it to add his magical guitar touch (cranking up the crunch for the first time in his career) and Johnny Gioeli’s grandiose and gritty pipes, it was lightning in the musical bottle. Then it all went away. When Gioeli returned in 2002 with an almost entirely new line-up (Neal of course back with Journey), I was beyond pumped, but the recorded output (5 studio albums) has left me mostly disappointed, as the songwriting just kept coming up short. While I will stop short of calling Life a full return to form, it’s as close as they’ve ever come to capturing the energy and spirit of that legendary debut. Lead single “Place To Call Home” brings back the guitar sound that Neal captured on that album, even though he’s not involved here. Just a total balls-out rocker with a scorching solo (Mario Percudani is one to watch). Oh, and album closer “My Friend” is a gorgeous, stripped-down ballad that highlights just how expressive Johnny’s rasp can be. Even includes a solid version of a song I consider impossible to cover, Queen’s “Who Wants To Live Forever”. Easily their best front-to-back album since the return.
55. Mike Tramp ~ Stray From The Flock
I said earlier that D-A-D was Denmark’s greatest contribution to Rock, but Mike Tramp is probably a close second (because fuck Lars Ulrich’s ego). After White Lion imploded in 1991 he struggled a bit to find his voice (the Freaks Of Nature project was solid but lacking and the White Lion “return” was a bad joke), eventually settling in as a mid-American roots rocker along the lines of a John Cougar Mellencamp. He’s really developed as an adept songwriter and with each new album seems to grow more and more.
54. SL Theory ~ Cipher
SL Theory is one of those European project acts (this one from Greece) that features a whole bunch of people I’ve never heard of and trying to track down info on this album has proven a little difficult. That didn’t stop it from being one of the great surprises to me this year, combining melodic AOR with progressive leanings to whip up a pretty tasty stew of musicianship. On first pass it was the somewhat quirky track “If You Saw Me Dead” that grabbed my attention (reminds me a bit of the Jono record from a few years back and is still my fave song on the album), but repeated listens really brought me around on the album as a whole. There’s something going on here that I can’t quite put my finger on but which I’m really intrigued by. Looking forward to future releases to see if they can develop it even more.
53. Kaato ~ Slam!
Every now and then I take a chance on a new act based on purely on fumblefucking my way around the internet and landing on a song and/or band I had no earthly idea existed. This is Kaato. Their 7 track album is pure 80’s style hard rock (as is their look – yikes), just deliriously retro in all the ways I love. The album appears to have only come out in Japan (of course) and I can’t seem to find much about the band online, so they remain a mystery to me, but one I will gladly indulge in thanks to their shameless brand of party rock.
52. The Hu ~ The Gereg
Every year as the calendar is winding down I reach out to my small handful of metal brethren on Facebook to see what albums had grabbed them over the previous 12 months just to make sure I didn’t miss anything vital. This year I gotta give props to Duncan Kendall – one of those online pals I don’t really know – for hipping me to the concept of Mongolian metal by way of The Hu. I’m not sure if metal even counts as a description as they don’t really use guitars and the sound isn’t particularly heavy, but man, there is certainly SOMETHING about it that I can’t shake. How else could I explain repeatedly listening to an album in a language I can’t understand sung by a guy in a kind of guttural below (Mongolian throat singing as it’s known). Love the tribal drumming and the generally ominous nature of the whole sound. Just killer rhythms at play here. It all sounds equal parts evil and spiritual. I’m not 100% what this is, but I know it’s special. “Choog Choog” is my fave track off the album, but I love the way they work with Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix for the below non-album version of “Wolf Totem” and how it shows two completely different cultures coming together under the umbrella of music. Awesome.
51. Restless Spirits ~ Restless Spirits
Frontiers Records released three records this year that featured revolving casts of vocalists, each of which spoke to me in entirely different ways. Timmo Tolki’s Avalon project felt like a classic prog opera, which each vocalist playing a different role under the guise of one unified project (more on that album sometime later). Jim Peterik & World Stage came across like what it truly was, one songwriter coming together with multiple guests to write and record songs that share a little bit of both artists (more on that one also later). Restless Spirits felt the most like an actual band, albeit one with multiple different voices coming at you. That’s due mostly to the brains behind the project, guitarist and main songwriter Tony Hernando (who was also mentioned earlier in this post for his work on the Ray Alder album). Taking a break from his main gig – metal act Lords Of Black – he wanted to indulge in his more melodic rock side and indulge he did. I actually find his playing/writing more suited to this style and his choice in vocalists didn’t hurt. A tremendous disc that was one of my main go-to’s for summer drive listening.
ROCK IN A HARD PLACE 