:: Spotlight :: Best of 2007 - MusicBy: Carmine Pascuzzi and the Mediasearch teamOur team at Mediasearch has compiled “Best Of” lists for 2007. CHRIS BRADY Best albums
Top 10 Australian Albums Top 10 International Albums Top Singles
NICK JANKULOVSKI Top 5 Albums (in no particular order) Top Concerts JUSTIN DONNELLY Top Ten Albums 1. The End - Elementary (Relapse Records/Riot! Entertainment) Breaking free of the confines of their former sound, this Canadian based outfit finally emerged with an album that blew away many of the preconceptions that most had about them (especially the one about them being a carbon copy of The Dillinger Escape Plan), to eventually became a real force to be taken seriously. 2. Threshold - Dead Reckoning (Nuclear Blast Records/Riot! Entertainment) If there’s a year that boasts a brand new Threshold release, then it’ll be in my top 10 for the year. Once again, this is a band that dared to experiment a little more beyond their standard sound, and came out with their strongest release ever! Where they go from here is anyone’s guess (especially given the departure of vocalist Andrew ‘Mac’ McDermott), but there’s no doubt that I’ll be following. 3. Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell (Epitaph Records/Shock Records Distribution) I was a latecomer to Bad Religion, but I have been a devoted follower ever since. Sure, some may criticise the band for becoming more melodic and sticking to the same style and sound for the last twenty-five years, but there’s something to be said for the talent to be able to craft a strong, melodic anthem with a messages, a quarter of a century after they first started out, and yet still manage to connect with the current generation of punk fans. 4. Heaven & Hell - Radio City Music Hall Live! (Rhino Entertainment/Steamhammer/SPV/Riot! Entertainment) I’m a huge fan of Black Sabbath, but unlike most, I actually love all incarnations of the band. But having said that, I can’t help but feel letdown with the original line-up’s struggle to move beyond the reunion show that has been doing the rounds for the last decade. Thank God for Ozzy Osbourne’s demanding solo career, and Ronnie James Dio’s opening schedule. This live show is nothing short of stunning, and validates the chemistry between Dio and (Tony) Iommi under the Black Sabbath banner outside the long shadow cast by Osbourne. 5. Paradise Lost - In Requiem (Century Media/Stomp Records Distribution) They may have alienated a large proportion of their audiences with some of their prior releases (although I am one of the few that have enjoyed all their albums), but Yorkshire based morbid heavy rockers certainly found the happy medium between rock, morbid gothic influences and metal on ‘In Requiem’. Many may have claimed that Paradise Lost had disappeared for the better part of five years, but I’m inclined to think that a lack of exposure (Rectified with their signing to Century Media Records) and fans willingness to accept the growing musical maturity has allowed the band the last laugh. 6. Tesla - Real To Reel (Tesla Electric Company Recordings Inc./Stomp Records Distribution) It was the last thing I expected from the classic rock outfit, but just what the doctor ordered! Classic (and some not so classic, but none less worthy) covers were given the Tesla makeover, and reintroduces the band as one of the world’s premier hard rock acts to survive the times. It might not be a brand new album, but I’ll be damned if it’s not the next best thing! 7. Freestate - Surrender (Crusade Records/Modern Music/Sony/BMG Music Entertainment) Speaking of hard rock, Melbourne based outfit Freestate finally emerged with their debut full length album this year, and what a stunner it was. The group’s heavy guitars, mixed with equally huge melodies make this album one of those debut’s you hoped would deliver in a big way. And thankfully, it did! 8. Lump - Choose Your Weapon… (Independent Release/Riot! Entertainment) Emerging out of the Gold Coast scene, Lump has not only become one of the state’s biggest live drawcards with their two releases, but a real major player with their second full length release ‘Choose Your Weapon…’. Expanding their line-up, and growing as songwriters, Lump finally come up with an album that allowed to them to forge a style and sound of their own with an album that was meant to be played live, and loud. The fact that they’re still unsigned is all too telling about the lack of foresight within the recording industry today. 9. Gorefest - Rise To Ruin (Nuclear Blast Records/Riot! Entertainment) Looking back, ‘La Muerte’ was simply a testing of the waters. ‘Rise To Ruin’ is very much the definitive comeback album for the Danes. Experimental, daring and steeped in their trademark death metal sound, Gorefest officially returned with ‘Rise To Ruin’, an album that truly qualifies as an equal beside their three classic releases from the early ‘90’s. 10. Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade (New West Records/Shock Records Distribution) Although having been a fan for many years, it was until 1996 that country/rock artist Steve Earle finally created, what I consider to be, his ultimate masterpiece release ‘I Fell Alright’. It boasted rock, blues, country, bluegrass and folk influences, but without sounding out of place and disjointed. It may have taken over ten years to find the right mix, but Earle has once again created an absolute classic with ‘Washington Square Serenade’. Earle may have left his hell raising days of old well behind him, but he maintains his reputation as a unique, outspoken and controversial spokesperson for the working class. Top Music DVD Releases Top Five Concerts 1. Alarum/Dreadnaught/Testament – The Prince Of Wales Hotel, St.Kilda - February CARMINE PASCUZZI Top International Albums Top Australian Albums Top Concerts Top Singles |
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