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2005 has been a great metal/rock year... very great, maybe awesome ! I can't make a full review of the year with full sentences etc. or it will last ages... So there is a long listing, with my Top 10 albums of the year (very difficult to make it but I did it), all the other albums which deserve to be mentioned (and there are a lot), the most impressive new bands and also... the biggest disappointments ! Here we are, with some comments:


My Top 10 Albums of the Year:

- 1/ Mago de Oz - Gaia II La Voz Dormida (BRILLIANT MASTERPIECE ! No lame songs, even the ballads are great, what else to say? I've decided to rank it 1st, in front of Helloween's album, that's a big surprise anyway)
- 2/ Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part III - The Legacy (Oh my god, they stroke again! Another masterpiece from Helloween, maybe the best album after the 2 original Keepers and "Walls of Jericho"... best album with Andi Deris so far)
- 3/ Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor (Explosive 1st album from this new band, all the band members are great and no lame songs... really great, I love their "old-Blind Guardian-esk" way of composition)
- 4/ Kamelot - The Black Halo (Powerful power metal with great orchestral arrangements, superb voice from Roy Khan, a lot of great melodies and splendid tracks... great guests too... very good album, best Kamelot album so far)
- 5/ Timeless Miracle- Into the Enchanted Chamber (One of the biggest surprise of the year!! Great new band from Sweden, mixing speed power metal and great epic passages, very happy, and always powerful! Great album from beginning to end, a perfect mix between Freedom Call, Heavenly, Stratovarius or Rhapsody)
- 6/ Masterplan - Aeronautics (One of the 1st 2005 album I've heard, but I've still kept it in my heart since then... Jorn Lande rulz so as Roland Grapow)
- 7/ Vision Divine - The Perfect Machine (Oh yes, brilliant! Michele Luppi's voice is amazing, Olaf and Oleg's work is awesome, vocal melodies at their best... no real lame tracks)
- 8/ Gamma Ray - Majestic (Very good album, almost a masterpiece though there are 2-3 lame songs... but also great hits! Not the best Gamma Ray, but Kai Hansen is still god)
- 9/ Freedom Call - The Circle of Life (After 5-10 listenings, I considered it as a masterpiece and as the best Freedom Call ever. Since that, I've made up my mind, still a great album but not as awesome as I thought...)
- 10/ Secret Sphere - Heart and Anger (Very good surprise for me too! Before this album, I don't like this band very much... but now, things have changed, this opus is a real pleasure, mixing perfectly epic orchestral parts and powerful speed elements)


Honourable mentions:

- Russell Allen & Jorn Lande - The Battle (Great hard rock project with Symphony X and Masterplan singers, a brilliant album though a bit repetitive)
- Demons & Wizards - Touched by the Crimson King (Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian and Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth made a very good album, better than their 1st, almost in my Top 10 if could extend it)
- Dream Theater - Octavarium (Great progressive metal... though a bit too rockish/poppish, but still great catchy songs and good music by the crazy Americans)
- Epica - Consign to Oblivion (Perfect voice for great music, lots of great songs, though I still prefer their 1st album)
- Sabaton - Primo Victoria (Big surprise as I didn't know this band, great harsh vocal and quite epic power songs, quite a solid album)
- Primal Fear - Seven Seals (Almost all tracks are good, no real great masterpieces in it but very regular opus)
- Thy Majestie - Jeanne d'Arc (Great epic power metal a la Rhapsody, good songs, this band will be very impressive soon)
- Seyminhol - Septentrion's Walk (Good surprise too, those Frenchies have great possibilities, this album has some great hits and a good epic atmosphere)
- Karelia - Raise (Still French, and still good... great dark power atmosphere, I love it, though a bit repetitive sometimes)
- Domain - Last Days of Utopia (Didn't know about this band, but now I know!! Very good album with 2 masterpieces in it, I love their kind of "symphonic heavy metal")
- Cryonic Temple - In thy Power (That's pure power metal, full of cliches but full of very catchy songs too)
- Galneryus - Advance to the Fall (A good continuation of their 1st album, great melodic speed power metal album from Japan)
- Crystal Eyes - Confessions of the Maker (Very well-built album, no lame tracks though no real big hits... and great vocals from ex-Lost Horizon singer)
- Galloglass - Heavenseeker (Maybe not as good as their 1st release, but still some great moments in this CD)
- Firewind - Forged by Fire (Solid power heavy metal from the Greek (and Swedish) freaks, I love the new singer: a guy I discovered with Swedish band Moonlight Agony)
- Power Quest - Magic Never Dies (Good release, maybe their best, great happy power metal a la Freedom Call)
- Dreamtale - Difference (Not a masterpiece, not very original, but rather good Finnish power metal with one of the songs of the year in it: "Wings of Icaros")
- Thunderstone - Tool of Destruction (Hey, not bad at all, this Finnish band seems to have found its own way, yet not very original but technically and musically good)
- Axenstar - The Inquisition (They're getting better and better, this 3rd album is their best -though a bit too short-, very promising Swedish power metal band)
- The Storyteller - Underworld (Very cool power metal from Sweden, very entertaining album)
- Evil Masquerade - Theatrical Madness (Very good power metal opera from Denmark, their 2nd album)
- Stream of Passion - Embrace the Storm (New Arjen Lucassen's band, and another good project with a great female voice)
- Pagan's Mind - Enigmatic, Calling (These guys still rule, not the kind of album I would listen a lot but still I like it)
- Redemption- The Fullness of Time (Thanks Blackthrone -a metal friend of mine-, I didn't know them until you mention it here... good surprise, very attractive prog metal)
- Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution (Hey, not bad from some old metalheads! The "old school heavy metal" album of the year I guess, not great surprise there)
- Korpiklaani - Voice of Wilderness (Happy power folk, a pleasure to hear some freakin' out songs, let's play this album during your beer parties lol)
- Kiko Loureiro - No Gravity (Great instrumental album from Angra's guitarist)
- Xandria - India (Just another female fronted metal band a la Nightwish, some would say... but hey, quite good, this album is far better and far more epic that the last one)
- Edguy - Superheroes EP (Well, hard to judge an EP, but still 3 songs out of 5 are good, and one of them is one of the best 2005 song... so, worth to mention it)
- Freak Kitchen - Organic (Another good album from this Swedish crazy band led by Mattias IA Eklundh, a fucked up guitarist)
- The Rasmus - Hide from the Sun (Well, don't laugh at me, I think this is a great rock album, with lots of fresh tracks)
- The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell and Back (Don't laugh at me - Part 2... well, their Queen-like style attracts me, that's a good funny album)
- System of a Down - Mesmerize Good release, great melodies ans emotions among powerful songs, not far from "Toxicity" concerning the overall quality)
- Rammstein - Reise Reise (A good surprise, very good songs, though still inferior to "Mutter")


Great newcomers (good 1st albums from new bands):

- Aquaria - Luxaeterna (Good prog-power-epic album from young Brasilians)
- Nightscape - Symphony of Night (power symphonic metal from a very young and talented band (18-20 yo), from Sweden)
- Raintime - Tales from Sadness (Good debut from this Italian band mixing power and death melodic metal, very interesting)
- Hamka - Unearth (The last 2005 CD I've listened so far - "Unearth", only released in Japan for now, is actually a good if not awesome debut album, with great vocals from Elisa C. Martin and great epic/oriental arrangements from these ex-Fairyland Frenchies)
- Beyon-D-Lusion - Intuispection (A brand new French band, a kind of dark epic metal with female vocals similar to The Gathering... very very promising)
- Circus Maximus - The 1st Chapter (Great new prog metal band from Norway, pure melodies and interesting talent there)
- Place Vendome - Place Vendome (Can we call this a "new band"? Well, it's their 1st release, but Michael Kiske and his buddies are not really newcomers :d)
- Starbreaker - Starbreaker (same as above, 1st release, great melodic hard rock album... though no real new names in this band lol)


Disappointing albums:

- Stratovarius - Stratovarius (Quite lame in my opinion, only 2 great songs)
- HammerFall - Chapter V (Same as above, 3 great songs among lame rip-off of previous albums)
- Falconer - Grime vs. Grandeur (2-3 great songs but very irregular album with some lame tracks, I still miss their 1st singer btw)
- Children of Bodom - Are you Dead Yet? (Quite lame compared to the previous releases in my opinion)
- Shaaman - Reason ("Ritual" was far more superior, only 3 very good songs in this album)
- Dark Moor - Beyond the Sea (Only the first two songs are good for me, I've found the rest of the album quite boring...)
- Dreamaker - Enclosed (Compared to the 1st album... I don't know why but I didn't like it, maybe because they did "too much", not enough simplicity in this CD... and I clearly prefer Elisa's voice in Hamka)
- Nocturnal Rites - Grand Illusion (Very disappointing compared to their 2 previous albums)
- Brainstorm - Liquid Monster (I never got into this album... not a big disappointment -one great song in it- but fairly lame overall)
- Grave Digger - The Last Supper (One great track and then ? I'm still searching for another interest...)
- Labyrinth - Freeman (Far from their last albums which were close to masterpieces, here we're close to huge disappointment)
- System of a Down - Hypnotize (Compared with "Mesmerize", it seems to be a B-side tracks album)
- Rammstein - Rosenrot (Same as above)
- 30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie (One of these "non true metal" band that I like... but here, I only regret their 1st album)


Well, that was long, isn't it ? If you've read till there, I congratulate you for your patience ;) ... Oh btw, to conclude, I should add some bands I've discovered this year, not mentioned above because they aren't discoveries based on their 2005 albums. So these are bands I strongly recommend:

- In Extremo (German Folk Metal)
- Olympos Mons (Symphonic Power Metal band)
- After Forever (The "big brothers" of Epica
- Both (French Rock/Metal band)
- The Birthday Massacre (Kind of Industrial Gothic Canadian band)
- Turisas (Folk Metal from Finland close to Ensiferum)
- THE ALFEE (Famous J-Pop/Rock band)
- Persuader (Powerful Swedish metal band)
- Beyond Twilight ("weird" Epic Cinematic Metal)
- Orphaned Land (Great metal band from Israel, hard to describe their style: prog/folk/oriental/death maybe lol)
- Dornfall (French Dark Progressive Metal)
- Seven Seas - Pax in Terror - Dragonlance - Balflare - 403 (Japanese Power Metal bands quite unknown in Europe)
- Synthesia (my own Ambient Metal band, but there it's just a free ad lol)


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone, let's hope we'll have another storming Metal/Rock year in 2006!