Best New Music - 2022 edition

My November favorites albums:

  • The Opus Project - Michele de la Barre: Pieces pour la flute travesiere. Livre 1 (Classical)
  • Simple Minds - Direction of the Heart ( Pop Rock)
  • Anima Morte - Serpents in the Fields of Sleep (Instrumental Dark Prog Rock)
  • Phil Manzanera & Tim Finn - The Ghost of Santiago (Pop Rock)
  • Devin Townsend - Lightwork (Alt. Rock)
  • Pat Travers - The Art of Time Travel (Hard Rock)
  • Taboo - Taboo (Metal)
  • Birth Control - Open Up (Hard Rock)
  • Epica - The Alchemy Project EP (Metal)
  • Aurora Clara - Clear Dawn (Jazz Fusion)
  • Song Yi Jeon & Vinicius Gomes - Home (Jazz)
  • Autograph - Beyond (Hard Rock)
  • Skid Row - The Gang’s all here (Hard Rock)
  • UDO - The Legacy ( The Best of) (Metal)
  • Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun (Metal)
  • Eliane Elias - Quietude (Jazz)
  • Suzane - Cameo (French Pop)
 
Last year I used these categories for my end-of-the-year award "gala". Do you have any suggestions for what else I should add this year?

My top 10 albums of 2021
Honorable mentions:

Nominees for the best metal song:
Nominees for the best rock song
Guitar solo of the year
Best production/mixing
Nominees for the best vocal performance of the year (album)
Nominees for the best vocal performance in a single song
Nominees for the lyricist of the year
Nominees for the songwriter of the year
Album artwork of the year
 
Sabaton has the album of the year IMO. Not that I have heard many albums from 2022, but that one stands out. I had huge expectations for the new Avantasia album but it was quite disappointing. Not bad at all, which some good songs, but possibly the weakest since Angel of Babylon.
 
Poto said:
Sabaton has the album of the year IMO. Not that I have heard many albums from 2022, but that one stands out. I had huge expectations for the new Avantasia album but it was quite disappointing. Not bad at all, which some good songs, but possibly the weakest since Angel of Babylon.
Click to expand...
I also rate the Sabaton album very highly, but I completely disagree about the new Avantasia. Angel of Babylon also happens to be one of my favorites (for now), but I don't know what the general consensus for Avantasia's discography is.
 
KidInTheDark666 said:
Last year I used these categories for my end-of-the-year award "gala". Do you have any suggestions for what else I should add this year?

My top 10 albums of 2021
Honorable mentions:

Nominees for the best metal song:
Nominees for the best rock song
Guitar solo of the year
Best production/mixing
Nominees for the best vocal performance of the year (album)
Nominees for the best vocal performance in a single song
Nominees for the lyricist of the year
Nominees for the songwriter of the year
Album artwork of the year
Click to expand...
Looks good to me.
 
I don't listen to nearly as much new stuff as @The_7th_one , evidently, so I am no doubt overlooking a lot, but here's what has stood out to me in 2022:

Ghost - Impera
Blind Guardian - The God Machine
Elder - Innate Passage
Scorpions - Rock Believer

Deströyer 666 released a new album (Never Surrender) this month, and I'm only now discovering it, but it could make the list too.

In the reissue/box set department, I recommend the Revolver remix and the 3-disc box set from Blondie (though I didn't splurge for the super deluxe edition).
 
My end of year top 8. I considered doing a top 10, but it was a scramble for the last couple of spots between a set of albums which I really haven't listened to enough. I've tried to include my 3 favourite songs from each.

8 - Scorpions - Rock Believer
Notable songs: Rock Believer, Seventh Sun, Shining Of Your Soul

7 - Hardcore Superstar - Abrakadabra
Notable songs: Weep When You Die, Catch Me If You Can, Forever And A Day

6 - Amon Amarth - The Great Heathen Army
Notable songs: The Serpents Trail, Saxons and Vikings, The Great Heathen Army

5 - Halestorm - Back From The Dead
Notable songs: Back From The Dead, Psycho Crazy, Wicked Ways

4 - Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society
Notable songs: Welcome To The Shadows, I Tame The Storm, Misplaced Among The Angels

3 - Battle Beast - Circus Of Doom
Notable Songs: The Road To Avalon, Where Angels Fear To Fly, Master Of Illusion

2 - Chez Kane - Powerzone
Notable songs: I Just Want You, (The Things We Do) When We're Young In Love, Children of Tomorrow Gone

1 - Ghost - Impera
Notable songs: Griftwood, Spillways, Darkness At The Heart Of My Love

In terms of best songs, I have a top 3:

3 - The Night Flight Orchestra - Black Stars And Diamonds
2 - Avantasia - Welcome To The Shadows
1 - Ghost - Griftwood
 
My December favorite albums:

  • Compass - Theory of Tides (Prog Metal)
  • Birth - Born (Prog Rock)
  • Talas - 1985 (Hard Rock)
  • Visions of Atlantis - Pirates (Metal)
  • Therion - Leviathan II (Metal)
  • H.e.a.t. - Force Majeure (Hard Rock)
  • Crusade of Bards - Tales of the seven seas (Metal)
  • Parius - The Signal heard troughtout space (Metal)
  • We used to Cut the Grass - We used to cut the grass I (Jazz Fusion)
  • Porcupine Tree - Closure/ Continuation ( Prog Rock)
  • Yaatri - Lucid (Jazz Fusion)
  • Mathew Halsal - Changing Earth (Jazz)
  • Sonja - Loud Arriver (Metal)
  • Michelle Branch - The Trouble with fever (Pop)
  • De Rossi e Bordini - De Rossi e Bordini (Prog Rock)
  • Rosa Brunello - Sounds Like Freedom
  • Wucan - Heretic Tongues (Prog Rock)
  • Charlie Griffiths - Titaalika (Metal)
  • Alestorm - Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum (Metal)
  • Spell - Tragic Magic ( Metal)
  • Galahad - The last great adventurer (Prog Rock)
  • Michael Romeo - War of the Worlds Pt 2 (Metal)
  • Avantasia - A Paranormal evening with the moonflower society (Metal)
  • Amanda Whiting - Lost in Abstraction (Jazz)
  • Dreadnought - The Endless (Metal)
  • Infinitome - Beyond the Beyond (Instrumental Prog Rock)
  • Taku Yabuki - Voyager (Jazz)
  • Captain Black Beard - Neon sunrise (AOR)
  • Avatarium - Death, where is your sting ? (Metal)
  • Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Orlando: Le forme dell ‘Amore (Prog Rock)
  • Cats in Space - kickstart the Sun (Classic Rock)
  • Zadra - Guiding Star (AOR)
 
The time for the 2022 awards has arrived. (part 1)

My top 10 albums of 2022

1. Stratovarius – Survive

2. Sabaton – The War to End All Wars (history edition)

3. Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying…And the Dead

4. Ghost – Impera

5. Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society

6. Billy Talent – Crisis of Faith

7. Battle Beast – Circus of Doom

8. Star One – Revel in Time

9. Three Days Grace – Explosions

10. Blind Guardian – The God Machine

Honorable mentions:

Saxon – Carpe Diem

Jani Liimatainen – My Father’s Son

Papa Roach – Ego Trip

Muse – Will of the People

Dynazty – Final Advent

Nominees for the best metal song:

Megadeth – Soldier On!

Stratovarius – We Are Not Alone

Battle Beast – Eye of the Storm

Blind Guardian – Blood of the Elves (winner)

Queensryche – In Extremis


Nominees for the best rock song

Scorpions – Peacemaker

Papa Roach – No Apologies

Ghost – Spillways (winner)

Billy Talent – End of Me (feat. Rivers Cuomo)

Skillet – Dominion
 
The time for the 2022 awards has arrived. (part 2)

Nominees for the best ballad

Three Days Grace – Lifetime (winner)

Scorpions – When You Know (Where You Come From)

Avantasia – Misplaced Among the Angels

Muse – Ghosts (How Can I Move On)

Rammstein – Adieu

Nominees for the best production/mixing

Arjen Anthony Lucassen: Star One – Revel in Time (winner)

Klas Åhlund and Andy Wallace: Ghost – Impera

Jacob Hansen: Dynazty – Final Advent

Charlie Bauerfeind and Joost van den Broek: Blind Guardian – The God Machine

Zeuss: Queensryche – Digital Noise Alliance

Nominees for the best vocal performance of the year (album)

Todd La Torre: Queensryche – Digital Noise Alliance

Hansi Kürsch: Blind Guardian – The God Machine

Nils Molin: Dynazty – Final Advent

Noora Louhimo: Battle Beast – Circus of Doom

Tobias Sammet: Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society (winner)

Nominees for the best vocal performance in a single song

Klaus Meine: Scorpions – When You Know (Where You Come From)

Noora Louhimo: Battle Beast – Eye of the Storm (winner)

Tobias Sammet: Avantasia – Misplaced Among the Angels

Matthew Bellamy: Muse – Ghosts (How Can I Move On)

Matt Walst: Three Days Grace - Lifetime
 
And finally, part 3.

Nominees for the lyricist of the year

James LaBrie: James LaBrie – Beautiful Shade of Grey

Dave Mustaine: Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying…And the Dead (winner)

Tobias Forge: Ghost – Impera

Arjen Anthony Lucassen: Star One – Revel in Time

Tobias Sammet: Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society

Nominees for the songwriter of the year

Dave Mustaine: Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying…And the Dead

Joakim Brodén: Sabaton – The War to End All Wars

Arjen Anthony Lucassen: Star One – Revel in Time

Tobias Sammet: Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society (winner)

Rudolf Schenker: Scorpions – Rock Believer

Guitar solo of the year

André Olbrich: Blind Guardian – Deliver Us From Evil

Album artwork of the year

Michel “Away” Langevin: Voivod – Synchro Anarchy

Dishonorable award for the most disappointing album of the year

Disturbed – Divisive

Slipknot – The End, So Far (winner)

Def Leppard – Diamond Star Halos
 
These are the most enjoyable albums I’ve listened trough the 365 albums Challenge. As you know I couldn’t complete it with 338 albums listened and 27 left.

Too many new releases. Almost every genre of music: Metal, Prog Rock/Metal, Hard Rock, Jazz, Fusion, Vocal Jazz, Pop, Rock, electronic, ambient, alternative, classical, ep’s, live albums, compilations, soundtracks, remasters…


METAL
  1. Kreator - Hate Über Alles
  2. Darkest Era - Wither on the Vine
  3. Amorphis - Halo
  4. Seventh Storm - Maledictus
  5. Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait
  6. Michael Romeo - War of the Worlds Pt 2
  7. Tony Martin - Thorns
  8. Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun
  9. Avatarium - Death, where is your sting?
  10. Axel Rudi Pell - Lost XXIII
  11. Stratovarius - Survive
  12. MSG - Universal
  13. Stryper - The Final Battle
  14. Megadeth - The Sick, the dying and the dead
  15. Blind Guardian - The God Machine
  16. Battle Beast - Circus of Doom
  17. Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance
  18. Ellefson - Soto - Vacation in the Underworld
  19. Sonja - Loud Arriver
  20. Parius - The Signal heard troughout space
____________
Honorable mentions:
  • Saxon - Carpe Diem
  • Star One - Revel in Time
  • UDO - My Way
  • Seventh wonder - the Testament
  • Visions of Atlantis - Pirates
  • Gathering of Kings - Enigmatic
  • Therion - Leviathan II
  • Eliminator - Ancient Light
  • Annihilator - Metal II
  • Crusade of Bards - Tales of the Seven Seas

PROG ROCK / METAL

  1. Magnum - The Monster Roars
  2. Marillion - An Hour before it’s dark
  3. Jethro Tull - The Zealot Gene
  4. Compass - Theory of Tides
  5. Motorpsycho - Ancient Astronauts
  6. Envy of None - Envy of None
  7. The Tangent - Songs from the Hard Shoulder
  8. Elder - Innate Passage
  9. Wucan - Heretic Tongues
  10. Porcupine Tree - Closure / Continuation
  11. Galahad - The last Great Adventurer
  12. Devin Townsend - Lightwork
  13. Birth - Born
  14. Banco del Mutuo Sorcosso - Orlando: Le forme de’ll Amore
  15. King’s X - Three Sides of One
  16. Lalu - Paint the Sky
  17. Hällas - Isle of Widdom
  18. De Rossi e Bordini - De Rossi e Bordini
  19. The Flower Kings - By Royal Decree
  20. Alan Parsons - From the New World
_______________
Honorable mentions:
  • The Gathering - Beautiful Distortion

HARD ROCK

  1. Scorpions - Rock Believer
  2. White Spirit - Right or Wrong
  3. Pat Travers - The Art of Time travel
  4. Thunder - Dopamine
  5. Black Swan - Generation Mind
  6. The Dead Daisies - Radiance
  7. Thundermother - Black and Gold
  8. Skid Row - The gang’s all here
  9. House of Lords - Saints and Sinners
  10. Ann Wilson - Fierce Bliss
  11. Birth Control - Open Up
  12. Dynazty - Final Advent
  13. AZ - AZ
  14. Talas - 1985
  15. Graham Bonnet - Day out of Nowhere
  16. Skills - Different Worlds
  17. H.e.a.t. - Force Majeure
  18. Autograph - Beyond
  19. The Hellacopters - Eyes of Oblivion
  20. Slash (feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators) - 4

MELODIC ROCK / AOR

  1. Kings of Mercia - Kings of Mercia
  2. Lionville - So Close to Heaven
  3. FM - Thirteen
  4. Zadra - Guiding Star
  5. Captain Black Beard - Neon Sunrise

BLUES

  1. Robin Thrower - No More Worlds to Conquer
  2. Bernie Marsden - Trios

INSTRUMENTAL

  1. Joe Satriani - The Elrphants of Mars
  2. Steve Vai - Inviolate
  3. Anima Morte - Serpents in the Firlds of Sleep
  4. Etrange - Enigme
  5. Marimo Sugahara - Works of Bach, Chopin, Wagner, Beethoven…(Classical Guitar)
  6. Julia Tospern - Frohlich soil mein herze springen (EP) (Jazz)
  7. Jens Bang Rammusen - Solo Works (Classical guitar)
  8. Gunter Teuffel - Neumann, Schubert & Falla. Works for Viola and Guitar
  9. Duo Diversitas - Ex Aequo (classical guitar & flute)
  10. Bokyung Byun - Claricce Assad, Brouwerr/ others guitar work ( classical guitar)

ROCK

  1. The Cult - Under the Midnight Sun
  2. Midnight Oil - Resist
  3. Cats in Space - Kickstart the Sun
  4. Golden Earring - You know We love You
  5. Arthur Brown and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Long Long Road

POP ROCK

  1. Tears for Fears - The Tipping Point
  2. Caroline Savoie - Bruits Blancs
  3. Adrianne A. Malette - Sitka
  4. Bryan Adams - So Happy it Hurts
  5. Suzanne Vega - Close Up Extras
  6. Simple Minds - Direction of the heart
  7. Michelle Branch - The trouble with fever
  8. Suzane - Cameo
  9. Phil Manzanera & Tim Finn - The ghost of Santiago

JAZZ / FUSION

  1. Amanda Whiting - Lost in Abstraction
  2. Aurora Clara - Clear Dawn
  3. Boney James - Detour
  4. Harold Bergersen - Baritone
  5. Song Yi Jeon & Vinicius Gomes - Home
  6. Fazer - Plex
  7. Florián Favre - Identità
  8. We used to cut the grass - we used to cut the grass I
  9. Black Flower - Magma
  10. Steve Slagle - Ballads: Into the heart of it
  11. Simon Phillips - Protocol 5
  12. John Zorn - A Garden of Forking Paths
  13. Don Hanson - Echoes of Light
  14. John zorn - Perchance to Dream
  15. Melissa Aldana - 12 Stars
  16. John Zorn - Spinoza
  17. Ultima Knaus - Old Love and New
  18. Szun Waves - Earth Patterns
  19. Georgie Aué - Desert Cry
  20. Joe Pass - Solo Flight

VOCAL JAZZ

  1. Melissa Errico - Out of the Dark. The Film Noir Project
  2. Laufey - Everything I know about love
  3. Ana Carla Maza - Bahía
  4. Olivia Trummer - For You
  5. Kristina Koller - Get out of Town
  6. Melody Gardot - Entre eux deux
  7. Alma Naidu - Alma
  8. Verónica Sala - Destination Moon
  9. Franziska Loos - Generation Anything
  10. Melissa Lauren - My Voice

SOUNDTRACKS

  1. Volker Bertelmann - Life After Life

BOSSA NOVA

  1. Margaux de Fauchier - Disconova
  2. Eliane Elias - Quietude

ELECTRONIC / AMBIENT

  1. Tangerine Dream - Raum
  2. Lauren Stehlin - Orees
  3. Simón Gof & Katie Melua - Aerial
  4. Bjork - Fossora

CLASSICAL

  1. María Parra - Gea
  2. Philipp Glass / Tana Quartet - String Quartet No.9 & String Quartet No. 8
  3. Friederike Chylek - William Byrd -Keyboard Works
  4. Gian Luca Petrucci & Paola Pisa - Frederik II The Great
  5. Edna Stern - Schubert on Tape
  6. Joana Daunyte - Ciurlionis. On the Harp Strings
  7. Akiko Sawanai - JS Bach. Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
  8. Amanda Lee Falkenberg - The Moon’s symphony
  9. Carlo Ipata - Vivaldi. Flute Concertos Op 10
  10. Metros Quartet - Beethoven. Strings Quartets Op 18/4 & 130
  11. Piccadilly Symphonieta. Antonio Vivaldi. Four Seasons
  12. Thomas Fiorini & Brussels Philarmonic - Concerto for Bass Guitar and Orchestra
  13. La petite Ecurie - The Queen’s favorites
  14. Lola Decours & Paloma Koudier - Basson Steppes
  15. Dimitri Mitropoulos - Berlioz. Romeo & Juliet - Dramatic Symphony Op 17
  16. Francesca Dego & Francesca Leonardi - Mozart Violin Sonatas
  17. Duo Cassado - Hypnotik
  18. Karolina Errera & Lilit Grigoryan - Songs of Rain
  19. Mayumi Hirasaki - Biber. Mystery Sonatas
  20. The Opus Project - Michele de la Barre. Pieces pour la flute traveseire. Livre 1

EP’s

  1. Smith / Kotzen - Better Days and Nights (Hard Rock)
  2. Laufey - The Reikjabik Sessions (Vocal Jazz)
  3. Julia Toaspern - Frohlich soll mein Herze springen (Jazz)
  4. Bryan Ferry - Love Letters (Pop)
  5. Ringo Starr - EP3 (Pop Rock)
  6. Epica - The Alchemy Project (Metal)
  7. Rage - Spreading the Plague (Metal)
  8. Primus - Conspiranoid (Prog Metal)
  9. David Bowie - Toy (Pop)
  10. David Bowie - Brilliant Adventure (Pop)
  11. Billy Idol - The Cage (Rock)
  12. Kirk Hammett- Portals (Metal)

LIVE ALBUMS

  1. Smith/Kotzen - Better Days and Nights (hard Rock)
  2. Moonspell - From Down below. Live 80 meters deep (Metal)
  3. Kreator - Bootleg Revolution (Metal)
  4. Alan Parsons (with the Israel Philarmonic Orchestra) - One Note Symphony. Live in Tel Aviv (Prog Rock)
  5. Gong - Pulsing Signals (Prog Rock)
  6. Fish - The Last Straw. Live in Glasgow 2018 (Prog Rock)
  7. Marillion - Distant Lights. Leicester & Port Zelande (Prog Rock)
  8. Dio - Live at Donnington ‘83
  9. Dio - Live at Donnington ‘87
  10. Djabe- Witchi Tai to Live 2019 (Jazz fusion)
  11. Hawkwind - We are looking in on you (Space Rock)
  12. Allan Holdsworth - Jarasum Jazz Festival 2014 (Instrumental Jazz Fusion)
  13. John McLaughlin - The Montreaux Years (Jazz)
  14. Graham Bonnet - Live Around the World (Japanese Edition) (Hard Rock)
  15. Epica - Live at Paradiso (Metal)
  16. Bill Evans - Morning Glory. The 1973 Concert Live in Buenos Aires (Jazz)
  17. Talking Heads - Vital Signs (Pop Rock)
  18. Chick Corea - The Montreaux Years (Jazz)
  19. Epica - We will take you with us (Metal)
  20. Alice Cooper - Live from the Astroturf (Rock)


COMPILATIONS

  1. Dizzy Gillespie & Lalo schiffrin - Studio and live collaborations (Jazz)
  2. UDO - The Legacy. The Best of (Metal)
  3. Status Quo - Quoing in (The Best of the naughtiest) (Rock)

REISSUES, REMASTERS & BOX SETS

  1. Rush - Moving Pictures (40th Anniversary)
  2. The Police - Around the World. Restored and Expanded
  3. Deep Purple - The Now What. Extra and Bonus Songs
  4. Supergrass - Supergrass (Deluxe edition 2022 Remaster)
  5. Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy (Deluxe edition)
  6. Pink Floyd - Animals (2018 Remix)
  7. Deep Purple - The Infinite B-Sides and Bonus Songs



And that’s it. That's all folks. The challenge of 2022 allowed me to open my music tastes discovering new several bands and artists. The plan was to include my favorites monthly and choose the favorites ones for the year to share with you and on this way you can pick some of them if you’re interested.

I’ll also try to listen a lot of new releases next year.

I wish you a happy and healthy 2023 for everyone

Cheers !!!​
 
I’m barely listening to anything new anymore, but here’s my faves from 2022:

Moonspell: From Down Below
Rammstein: Zeit
Ghost: Impera

2021 was a stronger year for the music I like:

Iron Maiden: Senjutsu
Moonspell: Hermitage
Mastodon: Hushed and Grim
Gojira: Fortitude
 
I’m still listening albums from this year and I have to add the following one:

Manic Sinners - King of the Badlands.
(Melodic Hard Rock)

1673040069286.jpeg

Enjoyable album. Maybe it contains too many songs but it’s a very good album into the genre of Melodic Hard Rock. Great production with the band showing a high level of talent, composition and musicianship.

Recommended!
 
Wolfsbane - Genius (Wolfgenius)
(Metal)

ab67616d00001e02fe7c14e0fef778033121f86b.jpeg

30 min. album but very fun and enjoyable. Blaze sings great and the music is more Hard Rock than Metal but I think it's a mix of both
 
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