Metal Awards

Crims's Top 15 albums of 2007

  1. Cage - Hell Destroyer
    Power/Speed Metal at it's finest. Sure, some didn't like the concept story but I did, and it also featured quite possibly the best vocal performance the entire year.
  2. 3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up The Blades
    The addition of legimate Thrash riffs to an already excellent formula of traditional and modern elements made for one huge neck breaking piece of Metal
  3. Axxis - Doom Of Destiny
    Though a slight step down from the previous release, Doom Of Destiny has cemented Axxis as the water mark for every current and future band in the style.
  4. Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omniscient
    I've always appreciated Devin's creativity and willingness to push boundaries, but never before did it translate into music I actually enjoyed. Ziltoid is the one huge exception. A masterpiece to be sure. Can he top this though?
  5. Agent Steel - Alienigma
    Talk about face crushing. The riffs just never let up and totally crushed in every song. Oh yeah, the vocals were fairly good too.
  6. Symphony X - Paradise Lost
    I found this to be slightly more aggressive than previous releases and the result was one monster of a Power/Prog CD... one of their best yet.
  7. DoomSword - My Name Will Live On
    With Doom, Traditional, and Power Metal elements that soared with huge vocals, one can only say, long live pure Metal!
  8. Candlemass - King Of The Grey Islands
    If you have to replace the best singer in the genre you might as well replace with the 2nd best (in my opinion). Though it was weird at first to hear Lowe singing in Candlemass the result was nevertheless excellent.
  9. Nightwish - Dark Passion Play
    Though some what too self indulgent at times, I enjoyed the return to the Century Child sound that went further away from the electronic influenced Once.
  10. Helloween - Gambling With The Devil
    The ever consistent Helloween did it again. Unless they have a complete lapse of judgement again (Chameleon anyone?) I don't really see Helloween ever releasing something not top 15 worthy again.
  11. Grave Digger - Liberty Or Death
    Grave Digger did a nice job with this and Boltendahl is in a league of his own. No one can do such a melodic wizardry with such a gruff voice... no one.
  12. Arch Enemy - Rise Of The Tyrant
    A very pleasent return to the more aggressive side of the band that harkened back to the debut.
  13. Astral Doors - New Revelation
    It grew on me over time and is another fine addition to the ever-growing catalogue.
  14. Kamelot - Ghost Opera
    I never thought I'd rate a Kamelot CD not in the top 5 but here it is. The emphasis on mid-paced Gothic atmospheres was disappointing but still better than most releases out there this year.
  15. Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow
    Ok, it was a bit poppy at times and there's always going to be a debate about the "prog label" but it didn't change the fact that I really enjoyed the release and probably would have ranked higher if it wasn't for some drawn out songs.
Crims's Top 5 surprises of 2007

  1. Chris Caffery - Pins And Needles
    I usually don't expect much from solo releases but there was a surprising amount of riffage here.
  2. Iron Fire - Blade Of Triumph
    A nice comeback after the lack of focus that was On The Edge.
  3. Machine Head - The Blackening
    Ok, this was actually enjoyable. I heard some actual Thrash riffs and Metal aggression, instead of teenager with eye-liner aggression (re: angst). Where's the new Vio-lence?
  4. Severe Torture - Sworn Vengeance
    What was once Cannibal Corpse worship turned into a throw back to a lot of great Death Metal styles with Thrash influences. Yay!
  5. The Dogma - A Good Day To Die
    Not sure where this came from but combining Gothic Metal themes and overtones with riff focused Power Metal was a surprise indeed. The greater surprise was that it worked.
Crims's Disappointment(s) of 2007

  1. Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
    Please retire.
  2. Iced Earth - Framing Armageddon - Something Wicked Part 1
    I've always defended Iced Earth from all the naysayers but it stopped with this release. Though not awful, this is the 3rd release in a row that is killed by too much self-indulgence. I've always found reasons to look past the short comings before but I couldn't really find any here.
  3. Iron Savior - Megatropolis
    Is the magic gone? Condition Red is still one of my favorite releases in the genre, right up there with Power Plant, but this just went through the motions.
  4. Nocturnal Rites - The 8th Sin
    Another once great band releasing below average material. If releasing bad music is a sin, well, I guess it's not just a clever album title.
  5. Elvenking - The Scythe
    I should like this, but I don't. There's a lot going on here in the music and it kind of masks the fact the structure and melodies are lacking.
Crims's words about 2007
  1. This was a very interesting year for me. I got married in late September and that was quite the experience. I don't think I'll ever have the same combination of family members, friends, and colleagues in one place again and we made the most of it as I never partied quite like I did then. The idea is you only do it once so I made the most of it. Along with that I managed to re-arrange some priorities in order to return to full time reviews this year. Though a few weeks were missed due to internet issues, being out of town, or work related issues I managed to contribute practically every week, something I couldn't say of last year. Unfortunately the whole wedding thing and financial after math has perhaps lessened the amount of CDs I listened to this year (thus my list has a huge asterix as many prominent releases were never listened to). If 2006 was the year of the comeback release, 2007 was the year of the below average releases made by once excellent bands. Is it label pressure to release quick CDs? Is the well of fresh ideas and surpreme riffage run dry? Maybe it's something else but perhaps in 2008 we'll be discussing the year of the comeback again. Only time will tell. Stay Metal, Crims