Best of 2012 – Arto
1. Kreator – Phantom Antichrist
Kreator: Phantom Antichrist
The German thrash legends never slow down and never give up the spirit of the German thrash metal. Phantom Antichrist is another great slap of Kreator’s aggressive and vital thrash hymns.
2. Paradise Lost – Tragic Idol
Paradise Lost – Tragic Idol
The legendary gothic metal mongers went total downhill in the late 90’s, but the band has managed to recapture the magic and spirit of the true Paradise Lost sound and approach having the dark, depressive and suicidal atmosphere and feeling.
3. Accept – Stalingrad
Accept – Stalingrad
Accept literally blew the metal audience away with the great comeback album titled Blood Of Nations with Mark Tornillo on the vocals. The German metal veterans continue the triumphinal classic Accept sound with the modern grip (thanks to Andy Sneap).
4. Hooded Menace – Effigies Of Evil
5. Candlemass – Psalms For The Dead
6. Master’s Hammer – Vracejte konve na místo
7. Cannibal Corpse – Torture
8. Asphyx – Deathhamer
9. My Dying Bride – A Map Of Our Failures
10. Destruction – Spiritual Genocide
11. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Last Of A Dying Breed
12. Testament – Dark Roots Of Earth
13. Turbonegro – Sexual Harassment
14. Overkill – The Electric Age
15. Jess And The Ancient Ones – s/t
16. Woods Of Ypres – Woods V – Grey Skies And Eletric Light
17. Saint Vitus : Lillie : F-65
18. Wintersun – Time I
19. Mgla – With Hearts Toward None
20. Hour of 13 – 333
Best Live Album
Machine Head -Machine Fucking Head Live
The Bay Area groove bulldozer metallers are extremely murderous and vital on the stage. The four piece’s aggression and head blowing riff with the heavy grip have been managed to capture on this new live album.
Best EP
Down – Down IV Pt.1 – The Purple Ep
The stoner super group’s ep is pure weed oriented.
Best Book
Judas Priest – Defenders of The Faith- The true story of Judas Priest
Even though the book saw the light of day a few years ago, but re-issued with the updated info definitely brings the more updated info on this legendary heavy metal band which is going to pull the plug piece by piece.
Best TV/Movie
Desperados Stage Dive
Back in the day Sky and Super channels used to air metal shows where young metal heads discovered a lot of death and thrash bands and managed to see rare videos, live performances and interviews. After those channels vanished MTV started showing Headbangers Ball till MTV lost the touch to the reality. Instead the German music channels Viva 1 and Viva 2 used to show Metalla and Virus being the killer metal shows on TV, where we could see videos of Gamma Ray, Grave Digger etc. The German channel Tele 5 used to have “Mosh TV” hosted by Sabina Classen. When those shows vanished, there was nothing on German music channels, but we got youtube. However the new metal shows has been launched on the German music Viva+ called Desperados Stage Dive.
http://www.bunch.tv/desperadosstagedive
Best Concert
King Diamond
King Diamond Live @ Sweden Rock
The Legendary King Diamond’s return to the stage after health problems at Swedenrock was definitely the most waited gig amongst the fans. King Diamond’s gig was pure magic from the beginning to the end.
Coroner
The Swiss technical thrashers Coroner headlined the fourth day at Roadburn and offered the amazing gig by including several killer cuts from all the albums.
Crimson Glory
I would have never ever believed to witness Crimson Glory on the Finnish soil, but the Finnish Jalometalli Open Air metal festival managed to book Crimson Glory. The five piece offered a great deal of the immortal classic CG songs and the audience went totally beserk.
Doom
The crust punk in the old chapel was such an eccentric experience when the audience was diving and moshing and the British punkers unleashed a pure cacophonic hell, this blew the head off.
Best New Band
Jess And The Ancient Ones
The flourishing occult rock boom arrived at Finland and of course bands started popping up like mushrooms after the rain. However Jess And The Ancient Ones doesn’t offer any groundbreaking, but the music is etherical hypnotic and spellbounding.
Best Discovery
A lot of great great bands never seen and heard before until this year. Kobra And The Lotus, Christian Mistress, Year Of The Goat, Valient Thorr…
Major events in the Metal world
First off Geoff Tate got booted out of Queensryche and Crimson Glory vocalist Todd LaTorre was recruited to fill in. After that, a major shitstorm started between Geoff Tate and the rest of the camp of Queensryche.
The premature death of the Ministry / Rigor Mortis guitarist Mike Scaccia. He played and blasted with Ministry at Tuska and now he is gone. Of course Rigor Mortis was the true form of the Texas thrash metal.
Former Deep Purple member Jon Lord lost the battle to the cancer and several other losses in the metal world.
Predictions for 2013
Absolutely outstanding Queensryche album with Todd LaTorre.
Killer Line-up of Jalometalli 2013 can be expected.
The Ghost album will make these Swedish occult rockers massive big.
