2022 has now officially started, so as is tradition on this blog I will now detail my Top 10 Albums of 2021. I have been doing this for a number of years now, and putting each year's list together is never an easy task. 2021, like most years, was another excellent year for new music. I listened to a large number of great new albums this year, but this year's list was probably one of the easiest to put together. While there were a lot of albums that could have been included here, 2021 really saw the cream rise to the top - at least for me. I remember agonising over 2020's list for hours, and looking back at it now there are quite a few albums that I would probably change. I remember never really being happy with 2020's list even as I was writing it, but that is not something that I can say about the list that you are about to read. 2020 was packed full of 8/10 albums, with there being probably another 15 or so that could have easily been in the list, but 2021 has had a lot more obvious stand outs. It was only really the bottom few places that I had to really think about this year - as the majority of the placings had been pretty nailed-on for months. 2019 was similar, and it is years like this that I tend to look back on fondly - as they are often years where the top two or three albums in the list really become all-time favourites for me. I have no doubt that the upper echelons of the below list will take on that status over time, with 2021 being yet another fantastic year for new music. 2022 is also shaping up to be another great year, and there are a number of new albums that I am already looking forward to, but now is the time for reflection. The ten albums below deserve special mention, and they are all albums that I have listened to an awful lot this year. There are some that I was certainly not expecting to include in the list, but each album is here on merit. There are lots of other albums that I liked a lot this year, and there are some that I would have loved to include, but for me the albums below represent the best of 2021. As usual, only full-length studio albums of new material were eligible for inclusion - meaning that no compilations, live albums, or EPs were considered.
10) The Doobie Brothers - Liberté
I have only really been a fan of The Doobie Brothers for the last couple of years, and looking forward to a new album from the veteran band really capped off my fandom. Given that the band had seemingly stopped writing new music, I was not expecting a new album to be released any time soon - which meant that when Liberté was announced earlier this year I was pretty surprised. Despite the album being pretty hard to get hold of here in the UK, at least in physical form, The Doobie Brothers' fourteenth studio album is one that I have been listening to a lot over the past couple of months. It is certainly not as hard rocking as many of the band's albums, but it covers all the various faces of the band throughout its twelve songs - with both Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons on great form vocally throughout. Credit must also go to producer John Shanks, who co-wrote every song here and made significant musical contributions to the album, who's involvement I was wary about. He guided the band well, however, and Liberté is a great mix of rock, country, folk, and blues - as all of the band's best albums are.
Listen to: Oh Mexico, Better Days & Easy
9) Illuminae - Dark Horizons
Ian Jones, the Welsh multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, has been involved in a number of projects of late. He has spearheaded Karnataka through all of their various line-ups since the band was formed back in 1997, and he was recently part of Chasing the Monsoon. Illuminae is his latest project, and it is a collaboration between himself and Polish singer Agnieszka Swita. Dark Horizons is the result of this collaboration, and it is both familiar and full of new ideas. There are some songs here that sound very much like the sort of material that Jones has been writing for Karnataka of late, but there are some other vibes here too - particularly some darker, more gothic rock tones that bring the best out to Swita's voice. As is common with Jones' songwriting, however, there is plenty of prog to be found. There are a handful of longer tracks here, as well as the inclusion of a number of well-known prog musicians throughout - including Luke Machin, Craig Blundell, and even Steve Hackett. Dark Horizons is easily the heaviest and darkest album that Jones has been a part of yet, and I will be interested to see if any of these sounds make it onto the upcoming sixth Karnataka album - which is currently in production.
Listen to: The Lighthouse, Blood On Your Hands & Sanctuary
8) Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen - Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen
Amorphis' lead guitarist Esa Holopainen decided to use the COVID-19 downtime productively. He decided to revisit a number of songs that he had written over the years which he felt would not be right for Amorphis, and re-work some of them to create his first solo album. Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen, the messy name for both the project and the album, was the result of this trawl through the vaults. While the album is generally lighter in tone than Amorphis, Holopainen's songwriting style and knack for a great melody shine through. There is a lot of great guitar playing too, but this is not an album full of shredding at all - as Holopainen always plays for the song, and each song here is perfectly crafted to be packed full of melody. It helps too that Holopainen drafted in a number of great singers to bring these songs to life. Sometimes albums of this nature can feel a bit a disjoined as a result of the multiple singer approach, but Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen still manages to feel like a cohesive whole - largely thanks to Holopainen's instantly recognisable guitar style. Fantastic performances from singers such as Jonas Renkse, Björn 'Speed' Strid, and Anneke van Giersbergen just add to the majesty of the album; and I hope that Holopainen finds time for another solo album in the future.
Listen to: Storm, Promising Sun & Fading Moon
7) Helloween - Helloween
Over the past few years, Helloween have become the poster child for how to do a reunion properly. Instead of trying to divide the fanbase, or turn back the clock, the band have instead created a hybrid line-up that includes most of the band's classic members from throughout the years. While this initially seemed like a bit of a nostalgia trip, and an excuse for a lengthy world tour, the current line-up of Helloween also wanted to make their mark on the band's discography - and result was their self-titled album which was released back in June. While the album generally sticks to the modern Helloween sound, the inclusion of both Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske throughout ensures that a number of the band's old-school sounds are also included. The revelation, however, is the rapport that has struck up between Kiske and long-time frontman Andi Deris over the past few years. Many frontmen would not like to share to spotlight, but both Kiske and Deris have embraced the shared spotlight concept and have really run with it. It worked well on tour, and it works just as well throughout Helloween. Some songs are dominated by one singer, while others are sung as a more typical duet - with everyone getting plenty of time in the spotlight. It is an album that every power metal fan should love, and it is one that I have returned to a lot this year.
Listen to: Out for the Glory, Robot King & Skyfall
6) Dream Theater - A View from the Top of the World
Dream Theater are one of those bands that have been so consistent for so long (I even liked 2016's divisive rock opera The Astonishing) that it is easy to become a bit blasé about them. I assumed that A View from the Top of the World, the band's fifteenth studio album, would be great, so I did not listen to it that much in the month or so after its release. Admittedly it came out during a busy time of the year for new music, so my attention had to be shared around, but I was a bit guilty at first of not giving A View from the Top of the World the time it deserved. I enjoyed it from the off but, as is common with Dream Theater's albums, it took a few listens to fully appreciate. It continues with the punchy sound that the band forged on 2019's Distance Over Time, but also incorporates a lot more prog this time too. A View from the Top of the World is a long album, and it contains a number of epic-length pieces within. The weighty and clear production of Distance Over Time has been retained, however, and the album is one of the band's best sounding as a result. It is also their heaviest for quite some time. There are no ballads or slower songs here, with the band instead focusing once again on the metal side of their songwriting. There are tonnes of great riffs from John Petrucci throughout the album, but despite the heaviness there are a lot of great hooks too - and James LaBrie sounds great throughout vocally. A View from the Top of the World is packed full of all the classic Dream Theater tropes, and the band sound as vital as ever throughout.
Listen to: The Alien, Transcending Time & Awaken the Master
5) Yes - The Quest
I was not expecting to include a Yes album in this list, but The Quest impressed me from the off. It is a big step up from 2014's mixed Heaven & Earth, and it returns to some of the magic that made 2011's Fly From Here a great modern Yes album. The Quest feels like a mix of the two albums, with the busy instrumentation of the latter mixed with the laid back vibes of the former. Jon Davison is well entrenched as the band's singer now, and he shines throughout The Quest. He manages to channel enough Jon Anderson-isms to make the album sound like Yes, but he is very much his own man - and his voice carries the album's eight songs perfectly. What sets The Quest apart from Heaven & Earth however is how much more inventive the instrumentation throughout is. Both guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Geoff Downes shine, with the instrumental section during The Ice Bridge really harking back to the band's early output with some jazz-inspired shredding and leads. The album might not be an all-time classic, and some of Howe's harmony vocals leave something to be desired, but to hear Yes sound this inspired so deep into their career is very heart-warming. Many had written them off after Heaven & Earth, and for a while it seemed that the band had written themselves off too. The Quest has still received mixed reviews, but personally I really like it. I have listened to it a lot since it came out in early October, and I can see myself continuing this trend into the new year.
Listen to: The Ice Bridge, Leave Well Alone & A Living Island
4) Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon
I was a bit disappointed with Trivium's 2020 release What the Dead Men Say. It is essentially their first album that steadfastly continued on the sound of the album that preceded it, and it felt like off-cuts of 2017's excellent The Sin and the Sentence. In the Court of the Dragon, however, feels like the album that What the Dead Man Say should have been. Coming only 18 months or so after the band's ninth album, In the Court of the Dragon still continues on the sound established on The Sin and the Sentence, but it manages to create its own identity too. If anything, In the Court of the Dragon ups the heaviness - and there are a lot of songs here that rely heavily on Matt Heafy's harsh vocals. I think that it is fair to say that clean vocals have dominated Trivium's sound in recent years, but In the Court of the Dragon shines the spotlight on Heafy's screams again - with the title track in particular sounding like something that could have appeared on 2005's Ascendancy, albeit more mature and assured. The album also feels more progressive than What the Dead Men Say too. The band's 2020 release seemed to try and condense the sound of The Sin and the Sentence, but Trivium have always been at their best when they have allowed their experimental side to shine. There are a few song here that push the boat out from a progressive perspective - as well as a couple of songs that try something new, including a Nevermore-esque thrash number that comes towards the end of the album.
Listen to: In the Court of the Dragon, Feast of Fire & The Shadow of the Abattoir
3) Epica - Ωmega
Like Dream Theater, Epica are one of those dependable bands who are almost guaranteed to strike gold with each album. Epica have never really disappointed, but the run that they have been on of late is impressive even by their high standards. It is hard to say for sure, as so many of the band's albums are great, but Ωmega could well be my favourite Epica album to date. Everything that makes the band great is included within Ωmega's lengthy songs - with the band's mix of progressive, symphonic, and death metal sounding as good as ever. Both Simone Simons and Mark Jansen knock it out of the park vocally here, but the songwriting is some of the band's tightest and most satisfying yet. Even the longer songs never drag, and more time is given over to instrumental virtuosity here than ever - with both guitarist Issac Delahaye and keyboard player Coen Janssen soloing and impressing throughout. Epica are one of those bands that seem to get better with age, and even though their overall formula never really changes the band never sound tired. There is so much life to be found throughout Ωmega, and it is just a shame that the touring cycle for the album has been disrupted. That could of course be said for any of the albums on this list, but I really feel that Ωmega deserves to be appreciated in a live setting. Epica have always been an incredible live band, and I can only imagine how powerful the material from this album will sound by the time the band are able to tour it.
Listen to: Abyss of Time - Countdown to Singularity, Code of Life & Kingdom of Heaven - Part III: The Antediluvian Universe
2) Mostly Autumn - Graveyard Star
The release of a new Mostly Autumn album is always something of an event for me, and it is always highly likely that an album of theirs will end up in my Albums of the Year list. 2019's White Rainbow topped that year's list, and in truth a case could have been made for Graveyard Star topping the tree this year too. When it came down to it, however, there was one album that impressed me just that little bit more than Mostly Autumn's fourteenth studio album. This should take nothing away from Graveyard Star, however, which is a stunning release that carries on the band's recent trend of releasing quality albums. It is a very relatable album too, as it is something of a concept album that deals with the COVID-19 pandemic - or at least the pandemic through Bryan Josh's eyes. As always, Graveyard Star is a very open and honest album. It does not shy away from the darkness, but there is also plenty of light to be found - especially as the album wends its way to its closing third. It was an album that took quite a few listens to fully appreciate. Parts of the album were some of the darkest that the band have ever written, but ultimately the emotional vocals of both Josh and Olivia Sparnenn-Josh eventually made everything make sense. Graveyard Star is also a great guitar album, and Josh has packed the album full of his trademark soaring guitar leads and solos - and in time the album is likely to be viewed as one of the band's defining achievements thanks to its relatable subject matter and heartfelt performances.
Listen to: The Harder That You Hurt, Razor Blade & Turn Around Slowly
1) Todd La Torre - Rejoice in the Suffering
Ultimately, the album that impressed me the most this year was Rejoice in the Suffering - the debut solo album from Queensrÿche's Todd La Torre. Some of the albums on this list are probably objectively better than Rejoice in the Suffering, but I have been returning to La Torre's album regularly since its February release - which shows that this is an album with real staying power. Many of the songs here have become earworms throughout the year too, and it is great to see La Torre spreading his wings as both a singer and as a songwriter here. There are moments here that sound a bit like Queensrÿche's recent albums, but on the whole Rejoice in the Suffering is much heavier. There are strong groove and thrash metal influences throughout the album, but on the whole the songs here are great, riff-based traditional heavy metal - with La Torre's melodic voice (and excellent drumming performance) driving the album. Despite much of La Torre's vocal performance throughout the album sounding familiar, I really like the way he has diversified his talents here. There are moments on the album that make use of harsh vocals, as well as a much thrashier delivery that would not fit in with Queensrÿche's classic sound. In many ways, Rejoice in the Suffering is almost the perfect solo album. It builds on La Torre's day job without just sounding like another Queensrÿche album - and it shows La Torre in a bit of a new light at times, while also reaffirming everything that us fans already thought about him. A new Queensrÿche album is currently in production, which will no doubt be great, but I do hope that La Torre finds time at some point in the future to continue the heavier sound of Rejoice in the Suffering.
Listen to: Pretenders, Rejoice in the Suffering & Vanguards of the Dawn Wall
While the above wraps up my Albums of the Year coverage of 2021, I would also like to throw out a couple of other albums that could have made the cut. I would have loved to include Styx's Crash of the Crown, despite it not being quite as good as 2017's The Mission for me, as well as The Darkness' Motorheart - which is probably their best album for a number of years. Another album that I listened to a lot this year was Blackberry Smoke's You Hear Georgia, which felt like something of a return to form following a couple of albums that failed to excite in the way that the band had done previously. I have also decided to resurrect my Gigs of the Year list this year too. Having only attended six gigs in 2020 it seemed like a pointless exercise, but I made it to 25 this year so it seemed like a good idea to shine a light on some of the best nights out of the year. Rather than splitting them into 'big' and 'small' gigs this year, I have just decided to list my Top 5. This is because most of the gigs that I went to in 2021 were generally on the smaller side - rather than arena-type outings. Most of the gigs that I went to in 2021 were great, however, so picking a Top 5 was very hard.
Michael Schenker returned to the Michael Schenker Group (MSG) name for his January release Immortal, and the German guitar legend managed to pull off a short UK headline tour in October with his new-look MSG line-up. Fronted by Ronnie Romero, the five-piece put on a great show in Wolverhampton - with a setlist that was packed full of songs from throughout Schenker's career. A few songs from Immortal made the cut, and there were a few other newer numbers from the recent Michael Schenker Fest albums included too. A number of classic MSG songs had everyone singing along, but perhaps the best portion of the set was a lengthy closing suite that was packed full of old UFO classics. The new MSG line-up sounded great despite having only worked together for a short time, and Schenker himself was really on fire from a guitar playing perspective.
I had not seen The Darkness live for a number of years, and it was great catching up with the band again after so long. With a great new album, Motorheart, in tow The Darkness rolled into Exeter ready to have a great time. With lots of new songs in the set, as well as a lot of old favourites, The Darkness impressed a large crowd with their good-time brand of hard rock. The Darkness are always much rawer and heavier live than they are on their albums, and the Exeter show was a hard-hitting display from the experienced band. The great thing about a show from The Darkness, though, is remembering just how much fun they are. Justin Hawkins is one of the best modern rock frontmen, and he was on great form throughout the show in Exeter. He really whipped up the crowd throughout the evening, and the rest of the band really fed off this energy. It was one of the best shows of the year purely from a fun perspective, and it was great to see the band again after a few years.
It took me long enough to get into Genesis, but over the past year or so I have finally become quite a big fan of the legendary progressive rock band - at least the albums which Steve Hackett performed on. He has become very active as a live act over the past few years, and has often dedicated parts of each of his sets to some Genesis classics. His 2021 tour celebrated Genesis' classic live album 1977 Seconds Out, with Hackett and his great band performing the whole album. The Plymouth show attracted a pretty healthy crowd, and every song that Hackett and co. performed went down really well. The show started with a short set of some of Hackett's solo material, but the main event was of course Seconds Out - which was performed perfectly by Hackett and his band. Hackett was of course the star of the show, with his many excellent guitar solos, but credit should also go to Nad Sylvan for his soaring and dynamic vocal performance - which captured the spirits of both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins perfectly.
Mostly Autumn shows are always events, and it was great to see the band live again after a two and a half year break. Usually I would see Mostly Autumn two or three times a year at least, but the pandemic has of course changed that recently - so heading up to Bilston to see the band again for the first time since May 2019 certainly felt special. The band did not get to play many shows this year, so they made sure that each one counted. With Graveyard Star only a few months old too, the band elected play a good chunk of it live. Seven of the album's songs were played during the evening's first half, before a couple of older favourites brought the band to a mid-set break. The second half of the evening was filled with older songs, but a good number from 2019's White Rainbow were also retained - as the touring cycle for that album was heavily disrupted by the pandemic. While there were a couple of moments in the set where it was clear that the band were a little rusty, no-one in attendance cared. The band still sounded as powerful and as emotionally-charged as ever, and I really hope that they get to take this show on the road throughout 2022 - as the current setlist really packs a punch thanks to the stellar new material and the choice cuts from throughout the band's history.
Another band who's shows are always events is Marillion, and the British progressive rock band managed to pull of a large, successful UK tour despite all of the potential pitfalls of doing so. The band's loyal fanbase helped them out too, by essentially becoming the band's insurance policy should the tour need to be cancelled, and the band went on the road with the clear intention of just having a great time. With no new material to promote, although a song from the band's upcoming album was debuted, Marillion instead decided just to play something of a greatest hits set. The setlist changed subtly from night to night, but all of the songs chosen were real crowd-pleasers, which felt right after the gloom of the past couple of years. All of the shows were a huge success for the band, and the Birmingham show which I attended was no different. The Symphony Hall was packed out, and the band sounded amazing throughout their two hours on stage. The performance was certainly one of the most energetic that I have seen them put on, and frontman Steve Hogarth was all over the stage throughout the gig. A few technical gremlins and moments of rustiness could not put a dampener on the evening, either, and Marillion put on the best performance of the year for me thanks to their energy and love of being back on stage.
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