Welcome back to the Top 100 Albums countdown continues! This is the second of five parts, where we look at the albums ranked 80 to 61.
If you missed the first part, you can find it here.
80) Xeneris – Eternal Rising
Xeneris is a new power metal band from Italy (which obviously means they have a symphonic flair!). They released their debut album Eternal Rising in 2024, but in some ways, it’s not an entirely new project. Guitarist Federico Paolini and bassist Roberto Donato played in Kalidia, who disbanded in 2023. Xeneris was formed when they found vocalist Maryan Iacona as well as Stefano Liveri on drums.
Kalidia had been active since 2010 with an established following. Xeneris is very much a continuation of what that band did musically, and they could just as well have continued as Kalidia with two new members, but opted to start fresh with a new identity and direction.
Eternal Rising is a solid album. It is conceptual, about an ancient book which talks of the return of a great power and its resurrection. It is inspired by the myth of the phoenix’s rebirth, which the reborn band probably identify somewhat with.
Musically, Xeneris’ mix of power, symphonic, and progressive metal is enjoyable, even if somewhat typical of its genre. What gives them a boost is the quality of their compositions and arrangements, which makes the catchy melodies sing, the strong riffs resonate, and the majestic arrangements soar.
79) Bat – Under the Crooked Claw
Bat features the Municipal Waste guitarists Ryan Waste and Nick Poulus alongside drummer Chris Marshall. Under the Crooked Claw is their second release, which indulges in anger at the state of the world, mixed with horror themes composed by the Italian soundtrack maestro Fabio Frizzi.
Somewhat fittingly, the songs were hammered out in a grimy, mold-ridden warehouse, giving further ambience to the results. This video is a suitable companion piece, offering Bat’s twist on a tale of an exorcism gone awry.
78) Bloodorn – Let the Fury Rise
Bloodorn is a new power metal band led by Sirena guitarist Nils Courbaron, staying very much within the classic genre formula of fast songs, mixing between extremely catchy and extremely metal sections. This works very well if the band has the technical ability to pull it off, which Bloodorn readily does. They stand out by feeling a tad more aggressive than most power metal bands, and they wear it well.
It is a particular delight to hear vocalist Mike Livas tear loose. He is stunning – a young, raw, unbridled talent. He can only become greater with the benefit of more experience, which is the only thing he’s missing. It reminds me of when Michael Kiske first showed up in Helloween.
77) Lenny Kravitz – Blue Electric Light
Blue Electric Light is Lenny Kravitz’ 12th studio album. He goes back to his roots a bit on this one, presenting a diverse collection of songs that all have the classic Kravitz groove. The album also has a very good vibe to it – it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why or how, but it is clearly noticeable and makes for a very satisfying listen.
76) Tyr – Battle Ballads
Battle Ballads is the ninth studio album by the Faroese folk/viking metal band Týr, and for whatever reason, this is the most fulfilling album I have heard from them in a very long time. It represents a massive step forward for the band. They may not break new ground, but the quality of anything from songwriting to performances are solid and just hits better this time. The album is a solid addition to anyone’s collection who enjoys the band’s mix of folk, symphonic, and power metal.
The song Dragons Never Die is a good representation of the band these days. It starts with a long harmonic crescendo on drums and guitar, reminiscent of classical Deep Purple, then shifts into an eastern-inspired melodic journey with harmony singalong parts. The stomping verses tells us the tale about a gold-grabbing dragon and a protagonist set on defeating it. In the end, the protagonist finds that becoming rich beyond measure just makes him the next dragon. A classic morality tale.
75) Ensiferium – Winter Storm
Finnish folk metal giants Ensiferum have once again braved the ice and show, put their trademark Viking muscle behind their ace and shield, ready to spill blood on the clean, snowy ground! Or, as others might put it, they released their new album Winter Storm in October 2024.
The follow-up to 2020’s Thalassic was written largely during lockdown by guitarist Markus Toivonen and bassist Sami Hinkka. The results is almost more like a symphonic metal symphony than a traditional album. The album is conceptual, telling the tale of a group of magical vigilantes who use their powers to dominate a harsh winter landscape. They face resistance from a faction determined to protect their homeland, and the album explores themes of power, loss, and resilience, all set against an epic fantasy backdrop.
The music that this tale is set against can probably best be described as extreme folk metal, mixing clean and harsh vocals, alongside heraldic trumpet blasts, dramatic spoken word passages, hugely atmospheric passages, and faster-paced and energetic songs. It’s quite a journey!
74) Seven Spires – A Fortress Called Home
Seven Spires from Boston, Massachusetts are a symphonic metal band known for their blend of power, extreme, and symphonic metal elements.
Once again, the band have garnered special attention and praise for the efforts of their frontwoman Adrienne Cowan, known for her vocal range and versatility as well as for being an acclaimed vocal coach. She is a natural mezzo-soprano of wonderful melodic depth, also excelling in extreme vocal techniques like death growls and black metal screams. With her sense of theatrical singing on top she can cover a wide range of styles, making each song feel like a narrative journey.
Cowan has described the new album as a journey into the void, reflecting both personal and universal struggles of the past years.
As always, the band’s music mixes intricate orchestral arrangements with heavy instrumentation, balancing fragility and aggression. This is without question their most personal and ambitious album so far. There is real quality here, but the listening experience can be a bit dense the first few times and I had to invest quite a lot to get into this album.
73) Lucassen & Soeterboek’s Plan Nine – The Long Lost Songs
Never a year without another project masterminded by Arjen Anthony Lucassen! Plan Nine – or Lucassen & Soeterboek’s Plan Nine, if you include the small print – has delivered a good, not great album. It is enjoyable, but not the one I rate highest of the projects Lucassen has been involved with.
The album is both old and new. The project, a collaboration between Lucassen and vocalist Robert Soeterboek, was originally formed 30 years ago. Songs were written and even demoed, but the project was ultimately put on hold as Lucassen focused on other ventures like Ayreon. Now, Plan Nine has finally come to fruition, offering newly recorded versions of their original tracks as well as newly written ones.
The album contains a blend of hard rock, classic rock, prog rock, and southern rock, staying on the bluesier edge of things. I enjoy it, and like it, but this is stuff that I would normally love, which I don’t. I expect the extraordinary from Lucassen, which perhaps makes the ordinary – no matter how good – fall short off the mark. Several albums from Lucassen’s catalogue have proved themselves to be great over time rather than immediately, and who knows if this is another one. Having said that, it can’t be bad to be a good album, can it?
72) St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
St. Vincent, also known as Annie Clark, released her seventh studio album this year. Incredibly, for someone so in control of her own expression and presentation, this was her first entirely self-produced project, and features contributions from Dave Grohl, Cate Le Bon (no, not related to Simon), and Josh Freese.
St. Vincent has never been ‘just’ a pop lady. Her creativity captivated me a few albums ago, with her own blend of art rock, progressive rock, art pop, and industrial rock. On the Daddy’s Home album she even delved into soul music and funk. The new album is more neurotic in tone, and has been described by its creator as “post-plague pop,” reflecting themes of isolation, paranoia, and resilience. Many of the songs have a dark, droning tone, others are more industrial rock pieces with a feel of menace. There is a prevailing feeling of unease about the songs on All Born Screaming, but always with that stylish sensibility that gives them all a St. Vincent flair.
71) Slash – Orgy of the Damned
2024 was the year when Slash announced that he planned to release a covers album. Not a hard rock covers album, but a blues covers album. Okay.
I was not beside myself with enthusiasm when I heard the news. In spite of being a huge fan of the old blues masters, I was mentally steeling myself for the umpteenth versions of Oh Well, Crossroads, Born Under A Bad Sign, and Killing Floor which are always covered by anyone who decide they want to make a blues album. Or… perhaps we could we hope for some exciting, non-standard choices? Hope sprang eternal, but then the track listing was made known. It featured tracks like Oh Well, Crossroads, Born Under A Bad Sign, and Killing Floor. In the words of Emperor Palpatine: everything was unfolding exactly as I had foreseen.
I’m not sure why, but playing the standards over and over again is very much a blues thing. It it almost expected. I just don’t think that always makes things particularly exciting.
It was not all bad. Some of the tracks chosen were deeper and more exciting cuts. Also, the inevitable list of guest vocalists were much more exciting. How about Howlin’ Wolf’s Awful Dream, performed by Iggy Pop? Or Big Bill Broozy’s Key To the Highway, performed by Dorothy? Even some of the standards became more interesting due to who was guesting on them: AC/DC’s Brian Johnson kills it on Howlin’ Wolf’s Killing Floor. Paul Rodgers sounds like an adequate version of himself on Booker T’s Born Under A Bad Sign. And how about the reverend Billy F. Gibbons on Willie Dixon’s Hoochie Coochie Man?
Some unexpected delights were Beth Hart’s performance of T-Bone Walker’s Stormy Monday, and Demi Lovato does a great job on the Whitfield-Strong track Papa Was A Rolling Stone.
A covers album is often more about the song picks than it is about the performances. Some lacklustre song picks became more interesting here because of inspired guests (Brian Johnson), while other guests rose to the occasion (Beth Hart), and others are just going to be plain awesome no matter what you ask them to do (Iggy Pop). The playing is good throughout, but the collection of songs is too much all over the place to retain my excitement from beginning to end. An album that will be remembered for its peaks. But, what peaks!
70) Furor Gallico – Future To Come
Future To Come is Furor Gallico’s fourth album, which does not see the band deviate from their signature sound of blending folk metal with melodic death metal. Instruments such as tin whistles and harps certainly adds a unique touch to their sound.
The vocals alternate between growls (Davide Cicalese) and a clean, melodic voice (Valentina Pucci). Traditional Celtic, Irish, and Breton tunes are very important to their sound and easily take up as much space as their death metal influences. The results are never anything less than fascinating.
69) Bab L’Bluz – Swaken
Bab L’Bluz is a Moroccan-French band formed in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2018. They blend traditional Moroccan musical styles like Gnawa and Chaabi with modern genres such as psychedelic blues, funk, and rock.
Swaken is their second album, and I have found myself completely taken with its kinetic energy as well as the powerful, melismatic voice of frontwoman Yousra Mansour. The band’s ability to blend North African rhythms with classic rock elements is another significant strength, with very suitable musical nods to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.
68) The Tangent – To Follow Polaris
The Tangent is a progressive rock band formed in 2002, led by keyboardist and singer Andy Tillson alongside bassist Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings), sax/flutist Theo Travis (Soft Machine, Gong, Steve Hackett), guitarist Luke Machin (It Bites, Pain of Salvation), and drummer Steve Roberts (Magenta, Godsticks). Quite the supergroup, at least in obscure progressive circles! They originated as a side-project but quickly evolved into a full-fledged group as fans started flocking to them for their sophisticated compositions and interesting lyrical topics.
To Follow Polaris is a unique album in their catalogue in that it was created entirely by the band’s main writer, Andy Tillson. Due to scheduling conflicts with the other band members’ bands, Tillson took on the challenge of producing the album solo, playing all instruments and handling vocals. The result is very much a full-on progressive rock album with quality compositions, lovely use of melody and countermelodies, and a playful production. A lovely surprise!
67) Ad Infinitum – Abyss
Ad Infinitum has always been a pretty straightforward symphonic metal band, but their fourth album Abyss brought some interesting developments as the band stripped away the symphonic elements completely, opting instead for a sound closer to contemporary alternative metal. This has polarized fans, some going as far as to describe the results as a “pop metal” album. Personally, I enjoy the more haunting melodies they have brought to the table this time. They fit the band’s more basic yet powerful riffs and soaring vocals very well. I have ended up really enjoying the change and see it as a way of avoiding a stagnation that may have started creeping in. It is also a sign of a brave and adventurous band that are determined to keep evolving. Who knows if they bring things back again next time around. Anything’s possible.
Those who enjoyed the symphonic metal elements will miss that on the new album, but those willing to listen to the music on Abyss will find that it still has as much scope as it ever did – albeit in a different way.
66) North Sea Echoes – Really Good Terrible Things
North Sea Echoes is a new project featuring Ray Alder and Jim Matheos, both members of the pioneering progressive metal band Fates Warning. The album marks a fresh musical journey for the duo, blending intimate, moody, and evocative songs with their signature progressive metal influences.
This is not a progressive metal album. The album delightfully embraces rich sonic landscapes, emphasising intimate and moody compositions, creating an emotional and atmospheric listening experience where you can either delve into the topics that are sung about or let your mind wander.
The musicians still bring with them the best (and most suitable) elements from Fates Warning, such as the nostalgic sadness that can be found in Alder’s vocals, combined with Matheos’ layered, dreamlike guitar work. The album offers a mix of haunting, beautiful, and spectral tracks that offers pause for thought. Not an album to rock out to, but when played at the right time it really hits the spot.
65) Xandria – Universal Tales
In 2024 Xandria released what they refer to as an EP. With 9 songs and a total playing time of some 42 minutes I feel this is a meaty enough release to be included in this album ranking. It is also an interesting release in its own right, deserving of some attention.
Xandria is a German symphonic metal band of some longevity, as they celebrate 30 years since their formation in 2024. They have released eight albums and two EPs, featuring melodic, orchestral metal which includes several Celtic folk instruments (fiddle, whistles, hurdy-gurdy). They usually create film score orchestration to go along with their songs, making their music very cinematic.
The band went through a significant line-up change in 2022, when founding member Marco Heubaum found himself the last one standing. Four new members were recruited, and this current line-up have already released a full-length album in addition to this rather full-length EP. I am particularly fond of vocalist Ambre Vourvahis, who more than lives up to her predecessors (which include Dianne van Giersbergen, Aeva Maurelle, and Manuela Kraller).
64) Feuerschwanz – Warriors
Feuerschwanz from Germany is known for their ability to blend humour and historical themes with their blend of medeaval folk metal with more powerful and even epic metal. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2024, celebrating this with the release of Warriors – their first album recorded entirely in English. The album includes re-arranged versions of ten of their best known songs, the brand new song The Unholy Grail, a cover of Valhalla Calling by Miracle of Sound, and several guest appearances.
The band has for better or worse made their bed as a humour band, which has made it hard for people to take their music seriously. I get that, but I also think bands should be allowed to grow and change, and any such development should be acknowledged. While Feuerschwanz are still embracing fun times, it does not define them the same way it once did. They are now producing some great material that deserves to be judged by its own standards. The newest song on the album speaks for itself in that regard.
63) BlackRain – Hot Rock Time Machine
We need a French entry in this year’s list, don’t we? BlackRain were formed in 2001 in Marignier in south-eastern France, close to the border of both Switzerland and Italy. Musically, they have a lot more in common with the hard rock and metal bands of the 1980s, and they have clearly listened to a steady diet of classic Ratt, Mötley Crüe, W.A.S.P., Cinderella and L.A. Guns. Musically, they are the second coming of that ilk of bands.
The title of their new album is the best illustration of this. It’s called Hot Rock Time Machine, and they are ready to transport their listener back to the time when music of BlackRain’s ilk ruled the airways, and often also the charts. The album combines high-energy rock with metal elements, creating an explosive sound that is both modern and nostalgic.
They may have written their own foot-stomping arena rock anthem in the style of Pour Some Sugar On Me with the track Wild Wild Wild, but the biggest surprise comes with the addition of outlaw country vibes in Revolution. Make no surprise, though: these guys embody the classic Sunset Strip vibe through and through.
62) Sonata Arctica – Clear Cold Beyond
Sometimes it is possible to come home!
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish melodic metal band formed in 1996 in Kemi. They are known for blending power metal with more symphonic elements, characterised by fast tempos, melodic hooks, and swirling, intricate keyboard arrangements.
At some point in the mid-to-late 2000s, the band started moving away from the straightforward power metal of their earlier albums. At first they incorporated more progressive elements, more complex song structures, and darker themes. Later on, they embraced further experimentation with symphonic and progressive elements. Later on, they mixed basic hard rock with metal and atmospheric elements. As the pandemic hit, the band mostly explored acoustic landscapes, but that might have been out of necessity.
Clear Cold Beyond marks a return to their power metal roots again. Sonata Arctica have clearly evolved and are not the same band they were 20+ years ago, but the band are no longer shying away from what they used to be on at least half the material on the album. That in itself has fans screeching in excitement. Interestingly, I find the songs that are the least like the old style to be the best ones on offer, but I have to admit there’s something about hearing them play the way they used to.
61) Within Silence – The Eclipse of Worlds
Within Silence from Slovakia like to refer to themselves as a melodic power metal band, but I feel their musical palate is bigger than that. They could just as easily be called progressive metal, or even a modern version of traditional metal. A lot of their songs have a build-up similar to how Maiden build up their most atmospheric songs, only to burst into a galloping metal anthem in a similar way.
The fact that several descriptions can fit them is at least to me a strength, as I enjoy all the things they dip in and out of. Some songs are more power metal, others more progressive metal, and yet others a mixture of several brands of modern metal – always melodic, no matter what else is going on.
The Eclipse of Worlds is their third album, released after a significant gap since their previous album Return From the Shadows (2017). They have played a lot live, and also spent a significant amount of time creating material and making sure it is up to scratch. This is noticeable, with significant strides made in the songwriting department. One example is the album closer When Worlds Collide, their most ambitious track ever at over 12 minutes of length, across multiple distinct sections, representing a journey that reflects the album’s overarching themes of epic battles and personal growth. I particularly love the multi-layered vocal lines of different lyrics that crop up towards the end of the song, giving shades of Savatage at their peak.
Thanks for following me to the end of part 2 – see you in part 3!
Top 100 Album Countdown 2024 – Part 1: 100-81
Top 100 Album Countdown 2024 – Part 3: 60-41 (coming a week after part 2)
Top 100 Album Countdown 2024 – Part 4: 40-21 (coming a week after part 3)
Top 100 Album Countdown 2024 – Part 5: 20-1 (coming a week after part 4)
While you are waiting for the next part, why not revisit last year’s countdown? It starts here: The Top 100 Album Countdown of 2023 – Part 1: 100-76
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