Top 10 for 2018

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

Paul McCartney
Egypt Station

Classic Rock | Album | 7 September 2018

Mudhoney
Digital Garbage

Grunge Rock | Album | 28 September 2018

Greta Van Fleet
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army

Rock | Album | 19 October 2018

Billy F. Gibbons
The Big Bad Blues

Rock | Album | 21 September 2018

The Living End
Wunderbar

Punk Rock | Album | 28 September 2018

A Perfect Circle
Eat The Elephant

Alternative Rock | Album | 20 April 2018

Alice In Chains
Rainier Fog

Grunge Rock | Album | 24 August 2018

Alice In Chains are one of those bands that are able to make an album that is immediately obvious as them, and yet every album is distinctly different from the ones prior. From the opening notes of 'The One You Know' this is obviously them, but this one is nastier and darker than the last (The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here). Jerry Cantrell again shows his amazing ability to weave heavy riffs into a fabric that also allows brighter moments to seamlessly stand alongside. 'Rainer Fog' and 'So Far Under' sound like vintage AIC, whereas 'Red Giant' and 'Drone' grind along in ways only the post-Layne version of the band can. The Cantrell / DuVall vocal harmonies are used heavily again, but not as extensively and obviously as previously, giving the songs some more breathing room. 'Maybe' sounds like it is straight off a Cantrell solo album, whereas 'Never Fade' is DuVall's chance to vocally shine. Overall, this is possibly the best 'reunion' album Alice In Chains have released to date. As a side note, this was the last album recorded at Studio X, previously Bad Animals, in Seattle before its doors closed. Not only had AIC recorded there previously themselves (their self-titled album in 1995), but other legendary albums from the alternative rock genre were also recorded there by Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., TAD, Hole and even Jerry Cantrell solo during the 90s.

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

Guns n' Roses
Appetite For Destruction [Super Deluxe Edition]

Hard Rock | Album | 29 June 2018

Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell [Deluxe Edition]

Grunge Rock | Compilation Boxed Set | 16 November 2018

John Lennon
Imagine [The Ultimate Collection]

Classic Rock | Albums Boxed Set | 30 October 2018

The Beatles
The Beatles [50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition]

Classic Rock | Album | 2 November 2018

Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 14, More Blood, More Tracks (1974)

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 2 November 2018

David Bowie
Loving The Alien (1983-1988)

Classic Rock | Albums Boxed Set | 12 October 2108

TheBigBlack's Rock Dishonourable Mentions

Jimi Hendrix
Both Sides Of The Sky

Classic Rock | Compilation Album | 9 March 2018

Tenacious D
Post-Apocalypto

Comedy | Album | 2 November 2018

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

At The Gates
To Drink From The Night Itself

Death Metal (Melodic) | Album | 18 May 2018

Bloodbath
The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn

Death Metal | Album | 26 October 2018

Behemoth
I Loved You At Your Darkest

Death Metal (Blackened) | Album | 5 October 2018

Judas Priest
Firepower

Heavy Metal | Album | 9 March 2018

Pungent Stench
Smut Kingdom

Death Metal | Album | 13 April 2018

Immortal
Northern Chaos Gods

Black Metal | Album | 6 July 2018

TheBigBlack's Metal Honourable Mentions

Metallica
...And Justice For All [Deluxe Reissue]

Thrash Metal | Album | 2 November 2018

Mayhem
Grand Declaration Of War [Remix & Remaster]

Black Metal | Album | 7 December 2018

Megadeth
Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (The Final Kill)

Thrash Metal | Album | 8 June 2018

Dave Mustaine was on a mission with Megadeth's 1985 debut album - to crush Metallica. They were already two albums in at this point, and were already forging the way ahead for the burgeoning thrash metal scene, so he know he'd have to aim high. The original version of Killing Is My Business is arguably one of the better debuts from any of the thrash greats, and could have been up there with Metallica's album - but what it lacked was punch. We all know the stories of what the production money was spent on (so no need to recap that here) but clearly Megadave has never really felt at peace with the album, as The Final Kill is the second remix of it. 2002's attempt was not bad, and did bring out some highs that were otherwise buried, but The Final Kill really is the definitive version of the album. This isn't a new mix to reinvent anything, so there is nothing here that detracts from the original album - it is more like lifting the carboard box that was sitting over the speakers off. It is crisp and sharp, and the separation on every instrument is clean. The guitars have a bucket-load more punch, and instead of snapping like a piranha, they now bite like a shark. 35 years on, and this is the album we all knew was always in there somewhere. We are unfortunately stuck with a 're-recorded vocals' version of 'These Boots' due to legal reasons, and a bunch of average sounding live tracks from each song on the album give a bit more context to the songs - but are particularly necessary. Lastly, we get yet another remaster of the original 'Last Rites' demo from 1984, which serves a perfect ending to the album, and a perfect ending to this chapter of the band.

Virgin Black
Requiem, Pianissimo

Gothic Metal | Album | 30 November 2018