My Top 5 Albums

1.  Shinedown: Sound of Madness

As I mentioned in an earlier post this is a great all around rock album that has good in your face rock with songs like Sound of Madness and Sin With a Grin.  It also has great ballads with songs like Second Chance and my personal favorite If You Only Knew.  All the songs are good I always enjoy listening to it all the way through.

2. Leatherwolf: Leatherwolf

My second album is Leatherwolf's self titled album.  These guys may look like the typical 80's band at first but after listening to this album you will think differently.  They are a heavy and dark, you get that feeling when you listen the opening song Rise of Fall, a song about a king being murdered.  Another example is Princess of Love, which is about a ghost ship haunting the seas.  Along with the lyrics these guys are great musicians and they showcase it well on this album.  While it may not be the most famous album to come out of the 80's it is a good one and one worth checking out.

3. The Gazette: Toxic

Like I said in my post about this one, it a good alternative metal album with something for a lot of people.  My personal favorite of this album is the song Red.  With its heavy opening riffs and melodic guitar solo it makes for one great song,  If you are looking for a nice softer ballad you can turn to Pledge.  It has a nice piano intro and the double lead solo in this song is great.  What I like most about this album is how they can through in heavy music and make nice melodic solos work with it.  This is one worth owning for sure.

4. Iron Maiden: Brave New World

 Now Iron Maiden has many great albums but for me this is one of their best.  The guitar melodies are amazing and of course Bruce Dickinson's voice is great in most if not every song he sings.  This also the first album they did as a six piece band with the return of Adrian Smith and Janick Gers staying in the band upon his return.  Now a lot of people believe that three guitar players in a band is too many but in my opinion it is the perfect amount and this album showcases how that can work. This may not be one of Iron Maidens heaviest or darkest albums but it really showcases the bands musicianship and is worth getting.


5.  Queensryche:  Operation Mindcrime

This album is without a doubt one of my favorite concept records.  Not only does is tell a good story but the songs are great and they flow well together making this album great to listen to.  The musicianship on this album is amazing and it was very ground breaking for its time.  Geoff Tate's voice is amazing and he does a really good job presenting how dark and mysterious the songs are supposed to be.  This album has been recognized as one of the best concept records ever and when you listen to it you will see why, get it now.