Top 10 for 1998

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

Midnight Oil
Redneck Wonderland

Rock | Album | 3 November 1998

Powderfinger
Internationalist

Alternative Rock | Album | 7 September 1998

The Offspring
Americana

Punk Rock | Album | 17 November 1998

Marilyn Manson
Mechanical Animals

Alternative Rock | Album | 14 September 1998

Korn
Follow The Leader

Nu Metal | Album | 18 August 1998

Smashing Pumpkins
Adore

Alternative Rock | Album | 2 June 1998

John Butler
John Butler

Alternative Rock | Album | 27 December 1998

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Walking Into Clarksdale

Rock | Album | 21 April 1998

An album by half of Led Zeppelin almost 20 years after their break up was an exciting prospect for rock fans. Although quite prolific in Zeppelin's heyday, Jimmy Page had become quite a lowkey figure by this point, with only a range of ephemeral projects that could be counted on one hand under his belt. Robert Plant on the other hand had been very productive with his solo career, but had tried very hard to break free from his 'golden god' past. Opening with the subdued 'Shining In The Light', the album immediately feels like it is trying to shake off the shackles of it's past, but it isn't long before the big choruses kick in - and the guitar phrasings of Page and the vocals of Plant lock together in that familiar way. 'When The World Was Young' feels like a modern sequel to 'Ten Years Gone', even when trying not to make comparisons with the past. None of this is bad in any way, as it showed that although the duo was looking to the future, they also knew there was no escaping their massive legacy. 'Please Read The Letter' (later re-recorded by Plant with Alison Krauss as a country crooner) adds some nice muscle, whilst 'Most High' features some subtle Indian motifs linking the album to the No Quarter sessions of four years prior. 'Heart In Your Hand' offers a western-styled reprieve from the rock. Plant's vocals are sometimes strained (most notably on 'Upon A Golden Horse'), and the extra instrumentation on tracks like 'Most High' start to touch a raw nerve after a few reptations, but these are really the only downsides of the album. Everything slows towards the end, but ends with the punchy 'Sons Of Freedom'. Admittedly, not every song is memorable - but those that do stand out are earworms that demand you listen again and again. It is a shame that the two men working together ended here, as the album feels like the start of what could have been a wonderful journey now that the ghosts of the past had been exorcised.

Jerry Cantrell
Boggy Depot

Grunge Rock | Album | 31 March 1998

Pearl Jam
Yield

Grunge Rock | Album | 3 February 1998

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, Live 1966 (The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert)

Classic Rock | Album | 12 October 1998

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

System Of A Down
System Of A Down

Nu Metal | Album | 30 June 1998

Nile
Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka

Death Metal (Technical) | Album | 28 April 1998

Fear Factory
Obsolete

Metal (Industrial) | Album | 28 July 1998

Cradle Of Filth
Cruelty And The Beast

Black Metal | Album | 5 May 1998

Death
The Sound Of Perseverance

Death Metal | Album | 15 September 1998

Opeth
My Arms, Your Hearse

Death Metal (Progressive) | Album | 18 August 1998

Anthrax
Volume 8, The Threat Is Real!

Thrash Metal | Album | 21 July 1998

Slayer
Diabolus In Musica

Thrash Metal | Album | 9 June 1998

TheBigBlack's Metal Honourable Mentions

Metallica
Garage Inc.

Thrash Metal | Album | 24 November 1998

TheBigBlack's Metal Dishonourable Mentions

Iron Maiden
Virtual XI

Heavy Metal | Album | 23 March 1998