TOP 20 ROCK AND METAL BANDS AND ALBUMS- ePISODE 2(APRIL-SEPTEMBER 2020)

Welcome to the second edition of the monthly chart in which I look back at my most played rock and metal artists and albums of the past 6 months. Let’s have a look at the charts and compare the current hierarchy with the one recorded a month ago:

TOP 20 BANDS(APRIL/SEPTEMBER 2020)

1. Kreator- 101 plays(+2)
2. Megadeth- 100(+7)
3. Testament- 99(=)
4. Slayer- 97(+12)
5. Nightwish- 97(-1)
6. Motorhead- 90(-1)
7. Paradise Lost- 89(-1)
8. Iron Maiden- 88(+6)
9. Amorphis- 88(+2)
10. Black Sabbath- 87(+2)
11. Metallica- 84(-9)
12. Therion- 81(-2)
13. Rainbow- 77(-5)
14. Overkill- 74(-1)
15. Judas Priest- 71(+3)
16. Pantera- 70(-9)
17. Bad Company- 65(-3)
18. Ozzy Osbourne- 62(New Entry)
19. Stratovarius- 55(New Entry)
20. Firewind- 55(-1)

TOP 20 ALBUMS(APRIL-SEPTEMBER 2020)

1. Paradise Lost- Obsidian – 34 plays(+1)
2. Nightwish- Human:II:Nature- 34(=)
3. Kreator- Phantom Antichrist-34(-2)
4. Testament- Titans of Creation-31(+3)
5. Megadeth- Rust in Peace-30(+7)
6. Halford- Resurrection-28(=)
7. Warbringer- Weapons of Destruction-27(-3)
8. Pantera- Cowboys from Hell-25(=)
9. Pantera- Far Beyond Driven-25(-5)
10. Bad Company- Holy Water-24(-2)
11. Rainbow- Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow-23(-1)
12. Amorphis- Queen of Time-22(N.E.)
13. Bad Company- Here Comes Trouble-22(-3)
14. Amorphis- Under the Red Cloud-21(N.E)
15. Judas Priest- Painkiller-20(N.E),
16. Primal Fear- Metal Commando-20(N.E.),
17. Slayer- Seasons in the Abyss-20(N.E.)
18. Corrosion of Conformity- Eye for An Eye-20(-6)
19. Iron Butterfly- Heavy(-6)
20. Dio- Holy Diver-20(-2)

Bands which left the top 20 compared to the previous edition: Helloween, In Flames, The Cult

Thrash metal dominated my chart in the past 6 months as the furious and energetic music of titans like Kreator, Megadeth or Testament matched my mood in these dark times. German legendary outfit Kreator, with its piercing riffs, angry vocals and powerful lyrics took the lead in my top 20, replacing Nightwish at the top, while Slayer had a signficant rise, becoming strong contenders for the first position.

I have two mention the two newcomers in the bands chart: Ozzy Osbourne whose first two albums were back in my playlist after the death of former drummer Lee Kerslake, and Stratovarius, the great Finnish power/neoclassical metal which might become a regular presence in my countdown since I’ve always considered it a fantastic band.

That’s it for the second episode of what I hope it will become a regular feature of my activity here in WordPress. I’m looking forwards to see the changes that will occur in my top next month. Until then, rock on!

My Top 20 Most Played Bands and Albums of the Last 6 Months

All-focus

During the last 6 months I spent a lot of time at home, just like everyone else, so I also listened to more music than I used to, which is absolutely logical, since enjoying my favorite hard rock and metal tunes is the best remedy I can get for the negative thoughts and states of mind caused by the dark period we live în. În this interval I tried to listen to a variety of artists and subgenres of rock and metal, and I think my top 20 most played artists of this period(March-august 2020) reflects this diversity of tastes which caracterize my musical universe. Anyway, this chart is based on my Last.fm stats and it based almost exclusively ontracks scrobbled from two main platforms: Spotify and Youtube, so here is my top 20 of the last 6 months:

TOP 20 ROCK/METAL BANDS(MARCH TO AUGUST 2020)

1. Nightwish- 102 plays

2. Metallica – 95

3. Kreator & Testament- 89

5. Motorhead – 82

6. Paradise Lost- 79

7. Pantera & Rainbow- 78

9. Megadeth – 76

10.Therion- 74

11.Amorphis-71

12.Black Sabbath-70

13.Overkill-67

14.Bad Company & Iron Maiden-66

16.Slayer-57

17.The Cult-55

18.Judas Priest-54

19.Firewind-53

20.Dio, Helloween & In Flames-59

Fortunately, thanks to the internet there is so much great rock music available nowadays that I often find it hard to make up my mind what to listen to, but it’s certainly a pleasant dilemma. Anyway, here are some conclusions I can draw after looking at my Last.FM chart:

-Nightwish took the first place mostly because of the ambitious and grandiose album they issued int he spring of 2020,but they are the only band with a female vocalist în my top 20, we’ll see if that will change in the following months;

-Metallica’s second position is due mostly to my desire of revisiting their classical 80s albums which I don’t think I will ever grow tired of;

-Kreator and Testament are jointly în third place because theese bands sound aș vital and aenrgetic aș they were în the beginning, and their latest records are truly great;

-the big names of traditional heavy and thrash metal occupy most of the slots în this chart, which reflects the fact that, even if I enjoy discovering new acts from time to time, I still tend to listen more frequently to the classical bands I have known and loved for decades.

I am going to update this top 20 at the beginning of each month because I find it fascinating to see how my musical tastes evolve, and I am also going to look at the stats of my favorite albums of the last 6 months, so here they are and rock on!

TOP 20 ALBUMS(MARCH TO AUGUST 2020)

1. Kreator- Phantom Antichrist – 44 plays

2. Nightwish- Human II Nature – 34

3. Paradise Lost- Obsidian- 33

4. Pantera- Far Beyond Driven- 27

4. Warbringer- Weapons of Tomorrow-27

6. Halford- Resurrection-26

7.Testament- Titans of Creation- 25

8. Bad Company- Holy Water – 24

8. Pantera- Cowboys from Hell-24

10.Bad Company- Here Comes Trouble -22

10. Rainbow- Ritchie Backmore’s Rainbow- 22

12.Corrosion of Conformity- Eye for an Eye- 20

12. Iron Buttefrly- Heavy- 20

12.Megadeth- Rust in Peace- 20

15.Black Sabbath- The Dio Years- 19

15. Rainbow- Long Live Rock n Roll- 19

15. S.O.D. – Speak English or Die- 19

18. Celtic Frost- Into the Pandemonium- 18

18. Dio- Holy Diver- 18

18. Havok- V- 18

This is it for my first countdown of my favorite bands and albums I’ve been listening to lately. I will post a new chart at the beginning of October. Until then, take care and rock on!

My Top 5 Metallica Albums

One of the aspects which I’m going to deal with frequently in this blog is my favorite type of music, which is hard rock and heavy metal, and what better way to start blogging about metal than to reveal my ranking of the best albums from world’s most popular heavy metal band, Metallica? Here are my top 5 Metallica albums along with my my favorite 3 tracks from each of these records.

5. Metallica (1991)

The Black Album is basically the first metal album I have listened to and it had a deep impact on me aș it encouraged me to dig deeper and discover Metallica’s 80s great stuff. It marked a significant change from the thrashing greatness of the previous decade to a more commercial sound, but it still was heavy enough to be considered a great metal album. With five videos and two hugely popular songs, Enter Sandman and the touching ballad Nothing Else Matters, it became one of the best selling albums of all times. I don’t listen it too frequently nowadays, maybe once or twice a year, since I grew tired of some of the songs, especially the two I mentioned before which I head too many tiems throughout the years, but if I hear it the black album in its entirety once a year, I can still enjoy it.

RATING: 8.5/10

TOP 3 TRACKS: 1. Wherever I May Roam; 2. The Unforgiven; 3. Sad But True.

4. Kill em All (1983)

For me the first Metallica record represents a raw and unrelentless display of speed and virtuosity, a cornerstone în the history of metal that would announce greater things to come for the band and the emerging genre of thrash metal. The youthful energy and the breakneck speed of a song like Whiplash always make me listen to it with great pleasure.

RATING: 9.5/10

TOP 3 TRACKS: 1. Seek and Destroy; 2. The Four Horsemen; 3. Whiplash.

3. …And Justice for All(1988)

The first album featuring bassist Jason Newstead after the tragical death of Cliff Burton în a bus accident in1986, ...And Justice for All contains, among others a great tribute to Cliff, To Live Is to Die, and the fabulous One, for which Metallica’s first video was made and which represents one of the greatest songs about war and its devastating effects it has on tohse who are affected by it ever created. It has mostly long, proggy songs which offer an intense and diverse experience to the listener.

RATING: 9.5/10

TOP 3 TRACKS: 1. One; 2. Blackened; 3. Harvester of Sorrow.

2. Ride the Lightning(1984)

When choosing the greatest Metallica’s greatest album în my opinion, I have to think a lot because both ‘Ride the Ligthning” and my number one choice are masterpieces, there’s very little în my mind to separate them, so I picked the other one aș my top album simply because it contains my favorite Metallica song on it. Nevertheless, their 1984 album takes on an incredible ride which contains a mixture of fast and furious thrashing(Fight Fire With Fire, Creeping Death), mid-tempo greatness(For Whom the Bells Toll?), hearbreaking melancholy(Fade to Black) and instrumental prowess(The Call of Ktulu) that represents a true delight to the listener’s ears.

RATING: 10/10

TOP 3 TRACKS: 1.Creeping Death; 2.For Whom the Bells Toll; 3.Fight Fire with Fire.

Before revealing the number one, let’s have a brief look at my ranking of the other Metallica albums:

10. St.Anger(2003)- Rating 5/10. Favorite rack- St. Anger

9. Reload(1997)- Rating 6/10. Favorite track- The Memory Remains

8. Death Magnetic(2008)- Rating 7/10. Favorite track- The Day that Never Comes

7. Load(1996)- Rating 7.5/10. Favorite track- Until It Sleeps

6. Hardwired…to Self- Destruct(2016)- Rating 7.5/10. Favorite track- Hardwired

And now, the obvious winner is:

1. Master of Puppets(1986)

For some people it is the greatest metal album ever made, and for me it is definitely în my top 10. of all time. I think ‘Master of Puppets’ is that great because it reaches perfect balance between speed, agression, technicality and thoughtful lyrics. The breacknecking speed of Battery, which makes you bang your head on and on, the lyrical complexity and technical mastery of the title track and my favorite Metallica song, the mixture of melancholic passages and heavy riffing of Welcome Home(Sanitarium), the slightly repetitive, but still crushing heaviness of The Thing That Should Not Be, the instrumental magic of Orion, which takes my mind far away on a journey to the stars whenever I listen to it, or the attitude-fueled, highly critical thrashers Disposable Heroes or Damage Inc., which bring me back to Earth and to the evils of society, all these things justify the opinions of those who think that this is one of the greatest albums of all times.

RATING: 10/10

TOP 3 TRACKS: 1.Master of Puppets; 2.Orion; 3.Welcome Home(Sanitarium)

Here is my Spotify playlist cotaining my top 4 songs from each of the 5 Metalllica albums I discussed about in my post: