Metal Awards

Aleksie's Top 15 albums of 2006

  1. Jon Oliva's Pain - Maniacal Renderings
    The Savatage-head honcho geared up his fresh platoon of merry longhairs into one earth-shattering frenzy of traditional, catchy, theatrical metal that had it on all fronts – melodies, choruses, riffs – everything gelled.
  2. The Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra
    The prodigal madman just keeps getting better and better, as this epic rock n' metal mixture upped his own standards to even more dazzling heights.
  3. Rebel Meets Rebel - Rebel Meets Rebel
    The anticipation that I had for the team effort of the Pantera instrument squad and David Allen Coe was well worth the wait, as the groove and hard-ass rocking was nearly unmatched by anything this year.
  4. Tarot - Crows Fly Black
    Finland's own metal pioneers showed once again why you listen and they rule.
  5. Amorphis - Eclipse
    I should actually put this as the surprise of the year, but I want to have it here in the best albums overall. The awesome new singer Tomi Joutsen brought in a jolt that would impress even old Väinämöinen himself.
  6. Lamb of God - Sacrament
    One of the leading names of the front of new American metal finally lives up to the hype and pulverizes the eardrums with this slab of metallic destruction.
  7. Persuader - When Eden Burns
    The grandeur gave way to rougher elements and the results were highly satisfying.
  8. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
    I wouldn't know what to call this among the insane technical chops and twisted songs, but I liked it a whole lot.
  9. Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth
    Still epic, still soaring and still possessing one of the greatest vocalists in metal.
  10. Brother Firetribe - False Metal
    Without Rebel Meets Rebel, this would have been the most fun record of the year - awesome 80s-style hard rock.
  11. Black Label Society - Shot To Hell
    The Wyldeman brought the Black Label-train back on the tracks with this great mix of heavy rockers and manly ballads.
  12. Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death
    The grand old men still have what it takes, especially on the field of long-winded, yet awesomely harmonic, guitar driven epics.
  13. Slayer - Christ Illusion
    Slayer is Slayer is still brutally Slayer - with Lombardo. 'Nuff said.
  14. Cannibal Corpse - Kill
    Damn! The Corpse hasn't been this maniacal and catchy at the same time since Tomb Of The Mutilated. Brilliant!
  15. Circle II Circle - Burden Of Truth
    The circle (pun intended) of the top 15 is closed by the stellar record by Zak Stevens and company. Grand, melodic and even slightly AOR-ish, working like a charm.
Aleksie's Top 5 surprises of 2006

  1. Dragonland - Astronomy
    Symphonic, movie score-style metal done with class and greatness - and were not talking about Rhapsody circa 1999. Brilliant!
  2. Profane Omen - Beaten Into Submission
    Melting pot-metal from the depths of Finland, punishing and energetic.
  3. Amplifier - Insider
    Weird, alterna-progish, booming heavy rock with vocals just like the great Peter Gabriel. All hail!
  4. Derek Sherinian - Blood Of The Snake
    Virtuosos with high-speed instruments can amount to a lot more than mindless widdling.
  5. Leverage - Tides
    Brilliant melodic rock from my home country. Just love those synthesizers and smooth vocals!
Aleksie's Disappointment(s) of 2006

  1. Diablo - Mimic 47
    Just did not live up to the awesome streak layed out by Renaissance and Eternium.
  2. Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse
    The atmospheric elements were reduced largely in favor of more stripped songwriting which in my ears did not suit Evergrey.
Aleksie's Joke(s) 2006

  1. Countime - Broken, Blinded, Betrayed
    I mean, I like Body Count but this is almost like a bad parody.
Aleksie's words about 2006
  1. To me this year was filled with insane amounts of weird, melodic, death-growling, high-wailing, fret-tapping, epic metal n' rock that made the compiling of this list extremely difficult. But here it is, in all of it's subjective glory. Here's to a 2007 that is poised to be filled with quality metal the world around. Three words of anticipation: Up The Iced! -Aleksi-