The Best Of Music 2005
Posted by Evocator Manes on 01.06.2006
This list goes to 11 (and then some). Pack a lunch, kids.
The Top 11 Albums Of 2005 + Year 2005 In Review
The very first time I did a piece like this, three years ago now, it started off with this quaint little tagline:
******This column fueled by Guinness******
In this case, I can accurately tell you, by way of update, that THIS particular column is fueled by so many substances that I can hardly begin to know how to count. Sure, beer, but fuck, pills and smoke and so much ther shit that it's a wonder I'm able to type this in a linear-progressive manner, that is to say, without having to go back with the <–Backspace bar and forward with the arrow keys and/or mouse endlessly. Charlize Theron sure looks hot in those Aeon Flux trailers, though, no?
Maybe you remember me (and if so, bear with me for this next part) and maybe you don't. If you are one of the latter category rather than the former (OMFG I just labeled you), allow me a brief introduction: I hate everyone.
Allow me a second brief introduction: I am the sole contributor left when 411mania was still 411wrestling and launched the much ballyhooed MUSIC section, which was later followed by MOVIES, COMICS, FIGURES and FANFIC or whatever else there was. The memory grows hazy with the intervening years and substances. Even though I am the sole survivor from that time, I am now a very much "sometimes" contributor, by no means a regular. Go back through the archives sometime. My byline (presuming everything is not completely deleted into oblivion) is on literally hundreds of articles on this site and I have contributed variously to hundreds of other works on this site under the bylines of others. I can be found sometimes on STAFF features, such as the Desert Island/Essentials series and sometimes on the Roundtables, when I can be bothered. My pre-411 history can be also found in those articles, if anyone feels the need to read.
I left last year due to commitments I had made to a band I am peripherally involved in certain capacities thereof. This band is called The Mighty TFG and is the greatest fucking band on the planet. It has, however, experienced numerous line-up shifts and that instability, along with an inability on my part to control myself, has led to me being involved in an increasingly astonishing array of other projects in film and literature spheres. I have never stopped wanting to be on this site, but now it is more a matter of "will if I can" rather than a lack of desire. Shit, even in an off year, I did 40+ reviews (check the fucking archives if interested), all of them in the first part of December, which interestingly is more than I have done in any other year, except 2003. I also sporadically participated in various staff features throughout the year on the site, as well as dropping into the Political Zone with my shock and awe of greatness column Political Warfare, though I am nearly 100% certain that it's curtains for that one. There is a better than good chance I will be resuming regular reviews in 2006 as well and who knows, maybe even one of those fucking Time Machines will show up from time to time.
Anyway – and yes, Virginia, I'm nearly done wasting your precious fucking time with this stupid bullshit – the last two years have had some rather fucked "Year End" Spectacular events, some of them even spectacularly fucked. Last year, I coordinated the effort, but I didn't like it as much as my first Year End Spectacular, which was in a format exactly like this (more or less), and so we're doing it my way.
Without rating every single album I bought that came out this year, here are the Top Disappointments Of The Year:
1). Judas Priest: Angel Of Retribution (Sorry, Double M, but this review is WRONG!)Without question, this one had the most hype and fell the flattest on its face, though to be fair, given the stratospheric heights, it was probably impossible for any band, let alone one with an aging singer whose voice has gone south in a big way, to live up to those lofty expectations. Priest had the opportunity to deliver a masterstroke, their only shot, I think, and BLEW it, big-time, from tepid songs to dismal production to Halford's ridiculous vocal treatments (now starting to rely on endless multi-tracking almost as much as Ozzy), Priest fans deserved so much more and the band failed them. Completely. They should have done an album with both Ripper Owens and Rob Halford if they wanted that much vocal multi-tracking and studio trickery. Even with all of that, it goes to show that production cannot make an average album great, despite Roy Z.'s many attempts to "save" it. The guitars sound particularly awful here and Scott Travis apparently decided to save his double-kick pedal for another day. Sub-standard in every way.
2). Dropkick Murphys: The Warrior's Code (Not linking to this review because it is awful. Go find it if you want it, but don't say I didn't warn you.) The Murphys have finally managed to integrate rock, punk and traditional Irish music into a seamless fusion. The end result of all those years of toil: an incredibly fucking boring album. God. Damn. Back to the drawing board. Blackout looks to the high point of their career thus far.
3). Sony's stupid rootkit bullshit fucking over comeback albums by Life Of Agony and Neil Diamond. Congratulations, assholes. I think the artists should sue the label into bankruptcy. Life Of Agony has left the label, incidentally.
4). Stevie Wonder/Robert Cray/Neil Young. One comeback and two continuances and it all amounts to the year of the great, big BLAH. Wonder's album, much like Yngwie J. Malmsteen's latest offering, is bloated to the point of distraction (it clocks in at 77:53). Then again, it could be worst, like the hopelessly self-indulgent (and highly crappy) double-disc concept opus from Blackie Lawless/W.A.S.P. The Neon God. Just because you can fit 70+ minutes of sounds on a CD doesn't mean you SHOULD. As for Robert Cray, he should have probably taken some time off from Time Will Tell as that was itself a step down from the prior record. I have a theory (this only applies to music) that the older you get and the longer you've been active in music, the longer it takes before your creativity recharges. While Cray does have a hefty back catalog to rest on if he feels like he should be touring, his new stuff, while still better than much of what is being released, just feels like it's on a lower level than some of his earlier stuff, particularly where it concerns fire and passion. It's still good and not quite phoned in, but it feels like it is on its way. And as for Mr. Young, Greendale was such a relentless piece of shit that nobody even observed he had a new album out. I think he scared a bunch of people with that mess, definitely me. What I did hear sort of indicates to me that he is no longer all there. I know the guy had a brain aneurysm and I'm glad he recovered, but shit man, give yourself some time off. Maybe he was trying to heal through music and if so, more power to him, but the result in yet another building block in the year of BLAH.
5). Demons & Wizards: Touched By The Crimson King. Doing an entire album from countries away is a neat experiment, I guess, but when the results are like this, which one reviewer called "2 ½" songs", that is a good indicator to call the whole thing off. The title of the album comes in reference to a book from Stephen King/Peter Straub called Black House. Other works from King are also referenced in the lyrics therein. Hansi Kursch is a very good vocalist and Jon Schaffer is a very good guitarist, but this just feels...clinical, sterile almost. Passion is what seems to be missing. Again. Bad year. Bad deal.
6). Black Label Society: Mafia (This review is also wrong, but not as wrong as the Judas Priest one by Melchor -- I mean HOLY CHRIST was he off, like Lord God BUFU off.) Not a bad album by any means, but Zakk Wylde is starting to have a severe problem editing himself. The result is a bloated, somewhat mediocre album, punctuated by occasional high points, which are getting more and more fleeting. Wylde is one of the greatest musicians of this entire century, but the man deserves a break and should give himself one. He should also stop with the overdone multi-tracked vocals. Book Of Shadows, if it has any, is very subtle about it and is a stronger album for it. In fact, Book is probably the best album he has done or even been on.
7). Fozzy: All That Remains For the four people who care, the unfunny comedic troupe "from Japan" and the imaginations of Chris Jericho and co. finally tosses in the sponge and goes all original, which, in this case, equates to all shitty. New label, new band members, new attitude, new sound and no one heard because no one cares. Still.
8). Jon Oliva's Pain: Tage Mahal Maddening. The first song is among the best things he has ever done and the rest of the album feels very, very tired. A replacement for Savatage? No. Oh no, not at all.
9). Paradise Lost: Paradise Lost I wish bands would quit making a big deal of their albums. Building expectations up too high (see Priest, Judas) and then failing to deliver just pisses people off and saddens them. Again, this is not a bad disc, by any means, but neither is it particularly engaging or even interesting. Despite the great artwork, hearing this is one step from upsetting, as they had back to back great albums preceding it. High hopes from me dashed on the rocks once again.
10). TNT: All The Way To The Sun This one really hurts as this has always been one of my all-time favorite acts and when lead singer Tony Harnell kept incessantly talking up the disc in interviews, by saying it was heavy, it sounded like a dream come true. Instead it is...really poppy and bright, actually. I question both Harnell's hearing and sanity if he is calling this "heavier" somehow. Christ. Good album, but call pop metal "pop metal" for fuck's sake.
Welcome to The Honorable Mentions, where all positions are equal:
1). 1349: Hellfire Hurt me. A truly unreal album and one of black metal's finest moments. Not to be missed. If you're not familiar, you will be hard pressed to find better than this shining example. If you don't like this album, the genre of black metal is not for you. In a lovely bit of symmetry, the title song has a running time of 13:49, which is a lot of time to be playing at that kind of speed, actually. If you like intensity and all kinds of it, this is for you.
2).Madball: Legacy Now THAT's a fucking comeback. Holy shit! Probably the best album of their career and in any year, would have been strong contenders for the Top 10. As it was this year, they barely missed.
3). Joe Perry: Joe Perry I pissed a bunch of people off when I rightfully took a shit all over Aerosmith's pathetic "blues" album, Honkin' On Bobo (don't fucking write to me – I don't care. The album sucked. Deal.), but this solo offering by Perry is not only the best he's done solo, but is easily better than the aforementioned Aerosmith-branded shitfest. Perry still can't sing (and demonstrates that repeatedly here), but his voice is very effective in this context and most importantly, this album works, as well as being loaded chock-full of good stuff. A very pleasant surprise.
4). NIN: With Teeth (This album didn't need 2 reviews. The second one reads more like a history lesson and is much longer than necessary.) Trent sez: "Don't call it a comeback album." Dearest Trent, I will call it what I want, in this case, a comeback album because it is a fucking comeback album. Don't take so long next time. Your pal, Disraeli." Much, much better than his double disc set, The Fragile, this disc is tight, lean and mean. The seething is more under the surface here and the instrumentation spot-on, but it seems to be missing a bit of vitality, fury, passion, something. It is lurking, but never quite makes it all the way to an appearance.
5). Queens Of The Stone Age: Lullabies To Paralyze Josh Homme is right on the very of over-extending himself, teetering, teetering...good, not great album, somewhat deep and complex and sonically amazing at times, though I think Mark Lanegan on vocals on the intro/first song is the highlight of the whole fucking thing...and what is up, seriously, with that "interview" on the bonus DVD...???!! QOTSA, incidentally, has one of the best band websites out there, if not the best outright.
6).Enslaved: Isa For those of you wondering who would pick up the vacant mantle left lying by Immortal, wonder no more. One of the flat-out best black metal releases ever. This one will be a classic in a small amount of years, if it is not already.
7). Reeves Gabrels: Rockonica Very, very accomplished album, without many of the idiosyncracies of Ulysses, though Ulysses has a certain pull to it that Rockonica, despite a very clever title, does not. Still, this has some great, great moments.
8). Geto Boys: The Foundation Great comeback, proving that the three of these guys solo are never as good as when they are all fully operational. More mature subject matter but still plenty of "gangsta" to keep hardcore fans happy, this is a good, sometimes very good, but not great disc. Hopefully, they will keep things going together.
9). Steve Vai: Real Illusions/ Project Archive Dump The master unloads his archives and finds time to throw out some new offerings also. His development as a guitarist is still astounding and his technique, of course, was never much in question...the wide array of material he plays on and plays well is near mind-boggling and he is one of the best arrangers of all time. As a songwriter, he is sometimes a bit sketchy, but always challenging. Mystery Tracks – Archives Vol. 3 is slightly better, incidentally.
10). The Mighty TFG: Snow Black Am I biased here? Sure, but this is an interesting EP, occupying an interesting ground between demo and big money release. The artwork is the equal to many and the superior of many more releases of this year and the sound is fresh, new and exciting, sort of a combination of punk and metal mentalities. This could easily be the future of music, the next big trend or even a new genre unto itself as it is reminiscent of (and draws from) many styles, but doesn't ever stay rooted in one long enough to be accused of copying. The only issue with this release is that it is only a 5 song EP. If it were only longer... In a blah year for music overall, this is one of the definite bright spots.
11). Devildriver: The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand ("The 411" and concluding paragraph of this review are wrong.) Holy crap this band is getting tight, developing and progressing their sound into better and better things. Musically, this is a great disc. Dez Fafara, however, remains a blessing and a curse. It is because of him that they have a record deal, yes, but his insistence on remaining vocally rooted in the shitty nu-metal style is an albatross around the band's neck and drags down what would otherwise be a very fine disc. It is annoying to the point of distraction, even moreso due to the fact that he doesn't always do this. If he never did it again, it would be just fine...
12) Nihilist: 1987-1989 One of the most inventive bands ever was/is Entombed and this is their genesis. Some of them were in their teens when they made this. Sure, production is shit, but even this raw, one can hear the brilliance and genius in the songs on these demos. Great stuff here for fans of the band and death metal in general, but won't have much appeal beyond that. Cool milestone of a historical epoch.
And now, finally, we have
The Top 11 Albums Of 2005
:
11) Impellitteri: Pedal To The Metal – Chris Impellitteri returns to the fray with his latest take on metal, from Randy Rhoads-inspired riffing to In Flames to Pantera to the new breed of nu metal, much of the ground is covered here and exceedingly capable. Not enough credit is given to Impellitteri as a songwriter and this album won't change that, but it is still an excellent album in its own right.
10) Watch Them Die: Bastard Son Holy crap, this album is good. Really good. Combining classic dual guitar harmony heavy metal (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden) with thrash (pick any of them) with melodic death metal (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity) with over the top vocals (The Crown (Lindstrand), Entombed + Tompa, Immortal), they have crafted a unique sound that has resulted in this being one of the more interesting new acts I have heard in quite some time. I am very excited about these guys and really looking forward to see what they come up with next. This probably would have been higher on the list had I gotten it sooner and the production wasn't as fucked up as it is. A good producer will put these guys over, way over.
9) Hammerfall: Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken – There is nothing wrong with competence. I am a huge fan of competence. I can admire anything that is well-done and fewer things came out this year that were as well-done, start to finish, as this album. Every detail was covered, even up to the total disc running time (55:55) and dammit, I admire that. These guys are phenomenal musicians and bow to no one. Aside from a very idiotic vocal treatment in the beginning of the final song on the disc by Cronos, this album is highly solid, start to finish and creates a new benchmark for the power metal genre.
8) Eisley: Room Noises – Dreamy, lush and gorgeous and the music the band makes ain't half bad, either. The lyrics are fantastic and mystical in nature, yet delivered in very keening, urgent voices that demand your attention and your love. Despite this album being marred by horrid over-production, which moves the gloriousness of this from the realm of magic into mere product, the songs are still strong enough to shine through and this is far more musically interesting than a great deal of the other trash and tripe being peddled out there and mistaken as music by an unaware public. These guys are the real deal and mark my words, they are headed for HUGE things.
7) Bloodhound Gang: Hefty Fine – Jimmy Pop is one of the most clever lyricists around anywhere and the cheekiness present in the wordplay extends to everything here, including the artwork. He is so good at this, in fact, that most people miss a lot of the subtleties, such as the band skewering Coldplay musically or writing a chorus claiming that "the night belongs to him", which features Ville Valo, lead singer of a band called H.I.M. on those very same chorus vocals (Something Diabolical). It would take me more time than I have here to analyze the whole thing, but suffice to say the successful songs are among the best of their careers, but there are a few that grow weary and tiresome rather quickly. Still the strong ones bring the level of the album overall up and if not played on endless repeat, this is a very amusing album.
6) Unsane: Blood Run – The heavy hitters have returned and the entire cumulative experience of the very aptly (and cleverly) titled Blood Run will leave you never the same again. Combining somehow-catch-despite-all-odds, quirky riffs with severely mangled and heavily distorted vocals, frenetic drums and low-key thunderous bass riffs, Unsane is looking to alternately bludgeon you and rock your face off. Like the man says in the best track on the disc, D Train, "get on the fucking train!" Or else. Or else what? Or else it will run right over you.
5) Fear Factory: Transgression (This review is often wrong, by the way.) – Burton C. Bell can't leave that damned Watchers/Ascension of the Watchers project alone. I blame whoever told him he can sing and I'm here to tell him, in front of the world, that he can't sing. Not at all and not at all well when he tries. He does, however, hold notes exceedingly well and hearing the keyboard touches of Ascension mixed in with his vocals is very effective here, particularly since Raymond Herrera has finally calmed down. I realize they wanted to make a statement that they were back with Archetype, but this album in every way is superior. If you liked Digitmortal, you will dig this, since it essentially picks up where that album left off.
4) Alice Cooper: Dirty Diamonds – You can never quite count out the Coop. Even when you think he's truly descended into chasing a musical pop nightmare, such as on the previous album, he does an about face and delivers nearly the album of the decade. Marred by a few missteps in judgment, this album just barely misses being a perfect album, but somewhat narrowly. The macabre, the humor, the sound, the feel, the joy, it's all back and it's all here. If you ever wondered why Cooper is considered great, throw this thing on and wonder no more. His best in roughly the last 20 years...
3) Mindless Self Indulgence: You'll Rebel To Anything (As Long As It's Not Challenging) – There is so much to like here, it's nearly impossible to know where to begin. From the incredible lyrics to the delivery to the infectious, spirited nature of the songs themselves, there is only one way to sum up this album, which, even though it is only 26:32, I have probably heard it hundreds of times now, yes, plural, hundreds. That one way to sum it up is thus: this album is c-c-c-c-cocaine. It is near-perfect, marred only by its length and the cover of Rush's Tom Sawyer that rightfully pulverizes a song not much good to begin with.
1) Dark Tranquillity: Character/Strapping Young Lad: Alien – We have co-habitants at the top spot this year, because the line separating them in terms of quality is so very fine as to be non-existent. Both of them are phenomenal, yet both albums are very different, to be sure, whereas the Dark Tranquillity is an exercise in displaying the definitive fineness of heights to which melodic death metal can both aspire and achieve, the Strapping Young Lad may be the greatest degree of intensity, musicianship and craftsmanship ever released as a rock album. They do share a heavy depth of layering in the music and both are very carefully constructed. Both artists are also getting better with subsequent releases. While Dark Tranquillity has already hit a high water mark with The Gallery, SYL has been steadily progressing, though Alien may be the high water mark. Dark Tranquillity, of course, set upon a different course, in terms of refining themselves, forging another path after perfecting the first and developing it. Neither band is showing any signs of decreased creativity and both should be releasing great stuff for years and years to come.
More Bonus Coverage, DVD Edition
Were I to include DVDs in the list or were I to make a DVD list, neither of which is happening at present (because that list would be incredibly short -- I don't think I've bought 10 music DVDs period, certainly not this year), these two would be numbers 1 and 2 respectively. As they are, they are both worthy and commendable of your hard-earned dollars (in fact, out of the half dozen or so I've gotten this year, they are the ONLY 2 of which I would make that comment) and I urge you to treat yourself with either or both.
Blackmore's Night: Castles & Dreams DVD Once again, especially with this release, I fall in love over and over with Candice Night. It is impossible not to, I believe, particularly after viewing this DVD. Equally often, I marvel at how Ritchie Blackmore leads the most charmed life of any individual of which I am aware. He is not only the greatest guitarist of the last 2 centuries, but is additionally probably the greatest musician. He has had 3 blockbuster bands, all delivering high quality, high caliber music and all of them changing the face of music as well as influencing generations to come. As if that is not enough, he enjoys a life with one of the most beautiful creatures put on the planet, herself a highly gifted musician as well. I digress. This is a completist's fantasy, yet contains a broad enough spectrum that even casual fans will find something to enjoy. Guaranteed hours and hours of pleasure in what is a vision of two people living their lives as dreams come true, both with each other and with the music, the art and the vision they create.
Manowar: Hell On Earth, Part IV DVD If any band loves their fans more than Manowar, including the aforementioned Blackmore's Night, I don't know who it is. Both the band and fans have been in a mutual love affair for years and years and it shows no signs of abating. Sure, America seems to care less than a fart or a piss in the wind about what might be their greatest export ever, but worldwide, the true metal legions know what's up. They know what time it is and who the rulers are. Many of the minor annoyances of the last disc have been entirely eliminated from this set and this is as a close to flawless as it is possible to get. Not only is it the equal of HOE III, in itself no minor feat, but it may even be that release's superior and no higher praise is to be had.
2005 In Capsule
2005 was a very disappointing, almost dead, year for music in general, as so much of it seemed to be more and more "product" than art or trying to push art into product (see Eisley's first full-length release and compare it to the glory of the first 2 EPs). Music should be "art" and the people making sounds and trying to peddle it to an innocent and unsuspecting people should be "artists". Sadly, precious few are anymore these days. Instead, we have a bunch of junk churning out that sounds eerily and unfortunately similar to everything else, particularly if that everything else is selling well or "doing business", to borrow movie-speak. Instead of artists, we now have "salesmen", who try to pimp, prod and goad the consumer/audience into picking up everything from the new and latest CD with more "bonus" tracks than ever before to clothing, energy drinks, iPod covers, beer, cars, shoes, concert tickets and other CDs from the label upon which find themselves to be in servitude. As has been noted elsewhere on the site, this is also extending to movies, as well.
The backlash that has been long-predicted from a consumer base growing ever-weary of the same-old, same-old pathetic and pitiful pap that is being shuttled to the multiplexes and media outlets appears to have finally arrived. The publishing industry has been hemorrhaging money for years, but now the great sieves of Hollywood and the RIAA appear to be quickly on their way to catching up, despite the movie studio lots being paid for a few million times over and the fact that CDs are now cheaper than ever to produce and the costs of MP3s so negligible as to not even warrant mentioning.
Anyway, they basically stocked the shelves with BLAH and people stayed away in droves. In fact, a recent report about the holiday season stated quite flatly that people would only buy something if it happened to be a bargain of some sort (in terms of straight dollars and cents, that is, not in terms of value per dollar or on the quality meter), which is about right. Business in auto sales, movies, books and music are all down in the toilet, which fits the theme. The only business that has been really booming lately has been oil, where they are enjoying record profits. Anyone see a tie-in?
In case you don't, here is the shortened version. Start taking away disposable income and people have to start conserving it for stuff they consider meaningful and/or necessary. Offer them up shit to spend that disposable income on and they're going to save it to fix the fucking house or get some new curtains or something rather than buy whatever trite garbage is gleaming, lurid and crass, on whatever display is available, no matter the screaming "hot", alarming or trendy accompanying advertising blurbs. The competition for floor space can be saved; no one cares, no one needs it or wants it or could afford it if they did.
Sales trends aside, one of the best ideas that labels/artists have come up with is the inclusion of "bonus" DVDs along with the CDs. They should seriously do more of this. Don't put fucking wallpaper and screensavers, secret links to uber-stealthy websites or any of that useless shit on the CD itself. If you want to give the people something more for their money, start chalking in those DVDs. The benefits are pronounced. As well as added value, which we all love, of course, there is the fact that our stand-alone DVD players probably won't be having annoying and potentially disabling rootkits installed on them. Even if the DVD is junk, which most of them are still, it's still cool to see once and shows an effort.
It's hard to predict the future, but I will go on record now as saying that the RIAA is truly fucked if they dare to offer up another shitty year like the one that just passed. Bands being over-hyped and then not delivering -- actually bands in general just not delivering, though some came through huge -- it all adds up. Keep disappointing and then bitching that Apple wants to keep selling valueless MP3s at $.99 above their worth and that they should somehow be MORE and you may as well just hang it up.
That prediction, however, does not factor in the Sony CD rootkit debacle. I understand Sony trying to protect their assets and even sympathize, to an extent, with their frustration, but to actually introduce harm onto the buyer's computers is just irresponsible and then to insist that because the average citizen will not know what a rootkit it, that somehow makes it acceptable. As Sony found out, the average citizen can educate themselves pretty fucking fast and nothing gets their attention faster than a scandal, particularly when they are the target. Sony acts as though anyone buying the album intends on become a source for piracy immediately after purchase (which is so completely nonsensical and contradictory of an answer that I will not address it further). To combat this "sure thing" in their minds, they have wound up punishing the purchasers. Talk about painting everyone with a guilty brush, Christ, how much more idiotic can you be?
The backlash to THIS has fucked all of Sony's artists, which are on their way right off the charts. The artists stupid enough to rationalize Sony's behavior are in deep trouble, but all of them are hurting. Sony looks so inept here, as BOTH versions of their anti-piracy software are fucked. The other labels are planning or were planning on going forward with their own versions, but if they have a brain in their head (which most don't, incidentally), they will shitcan the idea. Disabling a computer is not an effective way of stopping piracy. It is a good way to get your ass sued, however and to create such a huge public distrust that you may as well sell off all the record divisions and get out of the business entirely.
I digress. For more on this, check out my Media Play article. Back to looking forward...
2006, at least on paper, looks to be a slightly better year, at least for metal, as In Flames, Night In Gales, GWAR, AC/DC, Devin Townsend Band, Beyond Fear (Ripper Owens' new project), Dio, Jon Oliva's Pain (hope the next one is better), One Man Army and The Undead Quartet (Johan Lindstrand's new project), Entombed (released on 06.06.06 -- gotta love those guys!), I (Abbath's new project), Witchery, Queensryche's long-awaited sequel to Operation: Mindcrime which features Ronnie James Dio on vocals and Manowar will likely all see new releases (these are just off the top of my head). The old Desert Sessions discs will be re-issued in their entirety in March, so you no longer have to pay upwards of $60 for used copies on Half.com. The seminal Blackmore's Night will also be dropping a new disc in the spring-time I believe, as are most of these others, so the front half of the year, at least, looks to be stacked and loaded. Then again, that's what we thought at one time this year also...
In closing, keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me.
