Music of 2018 - Part 1

Another year is almost at an end, and the role of any music blogger worth their salt at this time of year is to publish a list of their favourite releases of the year. 2018, as with other recent years, has seen such a glut of new music that keeping on top of it all has been extremely difficult. I have already decided upon my Top 10 Albums of the Year, but you will all have to wait until tomorrow to find out what they are! Those who have been following my blog for a few years will know that I like to round up each year in a two-part post. The second of the two always includes my albums and gigs of the year, but I also like to take the time to shine the spotlight on a handful of albums that I did not get the chance to review 'properly' during the year. This blog has only ever been a hobby for me, and sadly has to fit itself around my full-time job and my part-time MSc course - both of which of course have to take priority. As always I have also managed to fit in quite a few gigs over the course of the year, all of which I like to review, so sometimes the album coverage has to take a bit of a backseat. The last couple of months have been particularly challenging to fit a proper blogging schedule around, as I managed to attend a huge amount of gigs (16 in November and December alone!) and had two fairly substantial Uni deadlines also. This meant that I really had to prioritise the albums that I wanted to cover, so reviewed those which I thought I would have the most to say about. There were many albums throughout the year that I just did not have the chance to review, but the was those albums released from about October onward that really took a hit. I also do not like to write reviews of albums that are a few months old by the time I get the chance to get my thoughts down on paper, as I feel the window of 'hype' has probably closed by this point and there probably not too many people wishing to read coverage of these albums. I shall continue to do these extra 'bonus' mini reviews each year as long as the rock and metal worlds keep throwing up more albums that I realistically have the time to review, as it gives me a chance to get my thoughts down about these albums and give some other worthy releases a shout out!

The first of the five albums I wish to cover here is The Age of Absurdity, the debut album from former Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell and his backing band The Bastard Sons. This followed their 2016 self-titled EP, but the album expands upon the band's sound and revealed the five-piece to be a strong unit of songwriters and musicians. While The Age of Absurdity is not what you would call original, it is a collection of hard-hitting, melodic, heavy metal anthems that build on the sort of material that Campbell wrote with Motörhead while making use of frontman Neil Starr's more melodic vocals. Anthemic cuts like Get On Your Knees sit nicely side-by-side slower, doomier efforts like Dark Days which showcase the group's dynamics perfectly. A more diverse album than your average Motörhead offering, The Age of Absurdity contains a strong set of songs and is hopefully going to be the start of a second wind for Campbell after the sad end Motörhead met in 2015.

The Canadian progressive/death metal outfit Into Eternity have been around for over twenty years now, but activity in the last decade or slow has been so. Ever since losing their frontman Stu Block to Iced Earth 2011, Into Eternity's progress on their sixth album has been done in fits and starts. Despite recruiting frontwoman Amanda Kiernan on a permanent basis in 2013, it has taken the band five more years to release any new material. Back in October this changed however, and The Sirens was finally released. The eight track album consists of six new songs and two re-recorded stand-alone singles that were released towards the end of Block's tenure with the band, and it contains everything that Into Eternity fans have come to expect. The frenetic songwriting, filled with progressive twists and turns, is back; and Kiernan has proven herself to be a singer capable of fronting such a diverse band. The fact that the album is considerably longer than anything the band has done previously means that it does start to sag somewhat towards the end, and the production is somewhat ropey meaning that Bryan Newbury's drums often end up dominating the mix, but should take nothing away from plenty of genuinely enjoyable moments. All held together by band leader and guitarist Tim Roth's impressive guitar work, The Sirens is an ambitious work that should be checked out by more.

While the Welsh band Panic Room sadly seem to be in limbo at the moment with the recent departures of their guitarist and bassist, frontwoman Anne-Marie Helder and keyboardist Jonathan Edwards have kept themselves busy with their more acoustic-based side project Luna Rossa. The duo released their third album under the Luna Rossa name last month, and it is packed with more of the fragile beauty we have come to expect from the pair. The album is called Atropa, and it is quite possibly the duo's best work yet. It feels a lot more full-bodied than their more stripped-back previous works and this, with the addition of fellow Panic Room bandmate Gavin Griffiths on drums, makes me wonder if some of these songs started out as contenders for Panic Room's long-awaited sixth studio album and then were re-arranged for Luna Rossa following the now-imposed hiatus. Whether this is the case or not is ultimately irrelevant, as Atropa is a fine collection of songs that move from floaty mysticism one minute to a more dark, dense atmosphere the next. Helder and Edwards have always been diverse songwriters and musicians, and this album has allowed them to try out new things and create a body of work that showcases all of their talents and moods.

Before Iced Earth, there was Purgatory. The Florida-based band morphed into Iced Earth in 1988, and bandleader Jon Schaffer has led the band's ever-changing line-up from strength to strength over the following three decades. Clearly feeling nostalgic earlier this year, Schaffer reached out to some of his old Purgatory bandmates and the result of this little session of kissing and making up is Purgatory, the new EP from the band and the first ever official release under the Purgatory name. Despite this being a new release, the five songs here are all old and have existed in demo form for quite some time, but have been given a shiny new coat of paint by Schaffer, frontman Gene Adam, and guitarist Bill Owen - as well as some of Schaffer's regular studio hands. The five songs here certainly sound somewhat primitive compared to the more recent Iced Earth albums, and are more akin to the band's 1990 debut album which Adam was also a part of, but the sound of three old friends having a tonne of fun bashing through their old songs with the experience of years on the road and improved studio techniques. This will probably only interest hardcore Iced Earth fans, but those who take a listen are sure to be drawn in.

The final album that I wish to look at here is Illuminati, the fourteenth album by the ever-reliable British melodic rock act Ten. The band's pomp-based rock sounds as good here as ever, and the Magnum influence is still worn on frontman Gary Hughes and co.'s sleeve. The album's ten song are all enveloped in layers of sparkling keyboards, while the band's three dedicated guitarists trade tough hard rock riffs, gorgeous acoustic passages, and melodic solos throughout. As always however, Illuminati is the Hughes show. As the band's sole songwriter and singer, the songs are all written with his talents in mind, so his warm and melodic voice is always placed right at the front of the mix. This helps the album to flow, and with each song packing a strong chorus it makes Illuminati an easy listen. It becomes hard to review bands like Ten after a while, as their albums are all cut from the same cloth and are very reliable - but they are always worth adding to your collection for when you want a good dose of British melodic rock.

Those are five extra releases from this year which are certainly worth checking out. I wish I had had the time to review them all properly and talk about them in more depth, but sadly there just was not the time! I also like to use this post to highlight my favourite live release of the year, and I shall do that again now. I do not review live albums as a rule, mostly due to time constraints, but I do like to highlight the one which I think is the year's very best offering! That aware this year has to go to Marillion's stunning All One Tonight: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a perfect representation of one of the best British progressive rock bands at their very best. I was at the band's debut Royal Albert Hall show last October, and it was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to - so to have the entire evening captured in such fantastic quality is a real treat. The near-three hour show contained the whole of the band's most-recent album Fuck Everyone and Run, as well as a whole second set and encore section that featured the band performing with a string section, a flautist, and a French horn player. These additional musicians added a real depth to the band's already-rich sound. Marillion are  a band that really are on top of their game currently, and seem to be reaching far more fans than they have for a very long time. It was fantastic to be able to see one of my favourite bands sell out a prestigious venue like the Royal Albert Hall, and this live release is a fantastic way to re-live that night!

Well that wraps up my additional musical coverage of the year! My Top 10 Albums and favourite gigs list will follow tomorrow, but I would just like to sum up by looking forward to 2019. There are already a number of releases that I am looking forward to - including two that I mentioned last year in the form of Whitesnake's Flesh & Blood (if indeed it does actually get released this year!) and Queensrÿche's The Verdict. Both were promised for last year, but experienced delays so I am looking forward to finally getting my hands on them. 2019 will also see the official release of Mostly Autumn's new opus White Rainbow, so look out for a review of that in the new year! The die-hard fans who pre-ordered directly from the band already have their copies, but it will not be released into the retail market until 2019 so I will be classing it as officially a 2019 album despite having already heard (and enjoyed) it! Other bands that will be releasing new material in the next few months include Soilwork, Dream Theater, and Avantasia (among others) - all of which promise to really deliver given their excellent recent track records. 2019 is set to be another bumper year for music, and I hope you will continue to follow it with me here at WhoIsSamLewis!