*Abdullah - Graveyard Poetry* If you can picture a crunchy doomy rock band with a slight Alice in Chains vibe, you would be pretty close. Solid vocals, too! *Abyss - Redencion* This Spanish band transcends the common conception of Euro power metal. If you have problems with Spanish lyrics, this wont do you at all, but for me, the varied pace, the strong vocals and the musicianship made the lyrics a nonissue *Angra - Hunters and Prey* Its Angra, its Edu, and there is more quality squeezed into this EP than most full length albums. *Anguish - Symmetry This German band has it all. Emotion, power, melody, an epic quality, killer production and a powerhouse vocalist..not a filler track to be found. *Archetype - Dawning* Such a solid heavy prog metal release!..Sort of Fates Warning on Steroids to these ears *At Vance - Only Human* These guys deliver consistantly. Swedish melodic metal of the highest calibre. *Aztec Jade - Concrete Eden* My favorite of their releases, even loving them all. A bit heavier and more dynamic than earlier stuff, with the signature progressive melodies and crunch. *Mark Boals - Edge of the World* Not in the vein of his neoclassical roots..its pure melodic metal sung with the intensity and clarity that is Mark Boals trademark. Great stuff. *Cornerstone - Human Stain* When I am in the mood for some nice mellow melodic rock, and Doogie White's great voice, this is one I look for. *Dakrua - Shifting Realities* A little bit of everything. Symphonic, melodic, aggressive, a teeny bit of death vox...I never get tired of it! *Dead Soul Tribe - S/T* This one grew on me, I confess...and the more it grew, the better the fit. Of course, one would expect quality from Buddy Lackey (Psychotic Waltz) and you get it. .I like the variety of moods and style, and it has become one of my frequent "grab-fors" *Defyance - Transitional Forms* Well, I love Balance of Power, and I love melodic progressive metal...So this one is a nobrainer. All my favorite elements of progressive metal, with the Lance King BoP flavor, thanks to his vocals. *Delight - Eternity* I have every release from this Polish band, and this is just as consistantly good as the others... Powerful female vocals with a goth/hardrock/metal blend. *Elsesphere - Blind Leading the Blind* Dark, moody, progressive and crunchy...I like it! *Enchant - Blink of an Eye* A toss-up between whether I prefer this or Juggling..., but Enchant is one of those prog rock bands with just enough oomph to make them interesting, and enough melody to keep me coming back *Fatima Hill - Aion* Why doesn’t this Japanese band get more attention?..The female vocalist has more testosterone than 9/10 of male singers out there. Probably an acquired taste for many, but I love the diversity of the music and the kick-ass delivery *Harem Scarem - Weight of the World* It's so great to see these AOR guys back in true Harem Scarem form, after that disastrous "Rubber" era...They cant top Mood Swings, as far as I am concerned, but this one is great. *Hughes Turner Project - HTP* Ya know, when you listen to this, with 2 of the most prolific singers together, you cant help thinking how much fun they seem to be having doing this...Its infectious..I have fun listening! Ok, I confess Joe Lynn Turner and Glenn Hughes are a couple of long-time faves anyway. *Into Eternity - Dead or Dreaming* Heavy and emotional with little touches of a few genres...Even the smattering of death vocals cant deter me. *Last Tribe - Witch Dance* Yeah, the Swedes can do neoclassical melodic, cant they? *Marble Arch - Another Sunday Bright* This is best described as doomalternamainstream...Sludgy like I like when I am in the mood for sludge...:) *Mind's Eye - A Work of Art* Good title..This IS a work of art...love everything about it...progressive without being pretentious, melodic without being wussy...great stuff! *Missa Mercuria* The artists that combine on this are enough to make it worthwhile..I love concept albums anyway, but the added joy of the artists from PC69, Silent Force and VandenPlas combining to make this, were a bonus... D.C. Cooper, Andy Kuntz, and David Readman all have parts in this metal opera. *Mister Kite - All in Time* Talk about diversity! I cant even describe this briefly...every song is different, the midrange vocalist is strong, it has influences of everything, but sounds like no other band...cant wait for the next one! *Pagans Mind - Celestial Entrance* Probably one of the best progressive metal albums I heard last year. Strong in every aspect you want your prog to be strong in. Great release! *Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane* .PoS cant do wrong, for me. Their latest release has all the emotion, brilliant musicianship and incredible vocals you would expect from them. *Pathos - Katharsis* When I need to have my adrenalin pumping at full tilt, this is the one I grab for...Thrashy with aggressive melody. *Pretty Maids - Planet Panic* Yep, another Pretty Maids that didn’t disappoint...They don’t have a bad album in them...I have heard them called "Party Rock"...not a bad definition. *Rage - Unity* Wish they would do more with Lingua Mortis, but it's Rage, it's powerful, and it makes me headbang...I like it! *Sentenced - The Cold White Light* Sure, the lyrics are depressing as hell, but I couldn’t care less...This packs all the raw emotion in its melodies and vocals I would want. *Shaman - Ritual* Andre Matos formerly of Angra has made a convert of me...he sounds much more masculine vocally than he did with Angra, and the songwriting is great *Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens* One of those symphonic Gothy discs I have grown to love so much...This is one my faves of the genre for this year *Spiritual Beggars - On Fire* Aggressive and catchy all at the same time...the vocalist would normally be too raw for me, but he suits the music, so all is well. *Star One - Space Metal* The melodies are memorable, the vocals even more so!...It's hard to go too wrong with me when you have Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) composing, and Russell Allen (Symphony X), Damian Wilson (Threshold), and Dan Swano (Nightingale style) singing. *Stygma IV - The Human Twilight Zone* I like the aggressiveness of it. I hear a lot of Savatage influences...the vocalist is a bit rougher than I usually like, but I got past that cos I loved the music so much. *Superior - Ultima Ratio* It's Superior, I shouldn’t have to add more than that, but on every level this moves me..It has every element of progressive metal that I need, and Michael Tangermann is one of those vocalists on my list of "they could sing the alphabet and i would love it"... *Symphony X - The Odyssey* This is not my favorite Symphony X release (Divine Wings has that honor), but if I am going by what stands the test of replay, it has to be here, if for no other reason than "Awakenings"...I LOVE that song! *Threshold - Critical Mass* Do I love Threshold?..you bet. Every album is a gem. Nothing will unseat Wounded Land as my favorite, but I love this disc. I wish Mac's persona live (One of the best bands I have ever seen in concert) could be captured in the studio, but this will still do very nicely for solid listening pleasure. *Transcendence - The Meridian Project* Another surprise for me. They mix progressiveness with great hooks and harmonies, and I reach for it periodically for just such ear candy. *Valley's Eve - Deception of Pain* Earlier Valleys Eve is much more straightforward progressive metal..this one is crunchier, more dynamic, and definitely a great release *Vanden Plas - Beyond Daylight* I have always liked Vanden Plas, but is it me, or is Andy Kuntz's voice maturing? This has strength and melody, with the great musicianship I always expect from these guys *Virtuocity - Secret Visions* Mix great melody with the classics, and you get these guys. A great listen. *Winds - Reflections of the Eye* Another one for my mellower moods...Beautiful and sort of melancholy..lovely song structure. *Wuthering Heights - To Travel for Evermore* Nice mixture of power, progressive, and neoclassical...all with Kristen Andren on vocals..how wrong can you go?