Before the review of the new Dragonforce platter hits, the power nerds at AMG wanted to nerd out with a ranking of their noddle-fests. We let them for some reason.
Fellowship
Angry Metal Guy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023
What, you thought I wasn’t going to make a list?
Mystfall – Celestial Vision Review
“Symphonic metal is an overstuffed genre with precious few top-tier acts. Success depends on compelling vocal performances, ear-worm choruses, apocalyptic orchestral arrangements, and diligent production to meld it all together. Not even a year old and recently signed to Scarlet Records (alongside last year’s power metal standouts Fellowship) Greece’s Mystfall has wasted no time in bringing forth their debut album Celestial Vision.” Bombast in the myst.
Twilight Force – At the Heart of Wintervale Review
“Twilight Force’s Dawn of the Dragonstar should have been on my 2019 year-end list. Hell, I should have at least written a Things You Might Have Missed piece on it. Yet in retrospect, at the time, the prospect of fully embracing Twilight Force was borderline embarrassing, even for me.” Return of the GammaStrataWeenie.
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2022
Another year has reached its close and Angry Metal Guy is still standing—both the metal review site and the man. Come inside for reflections and rampant, unbridled listing.
El Cuervo’s and GardensTale’s Top Ten(ish) of 2022
El Cuervo and GardensTale have lists. You’ll need to study them carefully to get maximum value. Get started!
Sentynel and Twelve’s Top Ten(ish) of 2022
Sentynel and Twelve crafted Top Ten(ish) lists with great care and you must stuff them in your stockings or beware.
Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy Review
“We already know what’s going to happen here: I review Imperial Triumphant’s fifth album, Spirit of Ecstasy, and the comments section here will explode with remarks from the peanut gallery, explaining how much they can’t stand this type of music and how it’s “hipster drivel” of the highest magnitude. Ah, yes… the most divisive band we’ve ever reviewed that’s not named Impure Wilhelmina, Fellowship, or Wilderun, New York’s guttural black-death-jazz miscreants have no less stirred up the masses here in such a tizzy that you’d half-expect them to have somehow personally violated your dog. But no, all they did was make music.” Opulence amid the decadence.
Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles Review
“I know that most of you have already eyed my score on this review, and have nearly broken your damn necks from the whiplash of rapidly scrolling up for answers. For many, this choice will come across as confusing and misguided, but as someone who’s listened to Fellowship’s self-titled EP on repeat for two years, it’s anything but. That EP might be the reason I survived the early pandemic days with my sanity intact. It’s a bottomless wellspring of joy, dominated by gorgeous melodies, exhilarating solos, and clever, heartwarming lyrical turns. On the strength of those three songs alone, Fellowship’s debut LP would have probably been my power metal album of the year. The fact that every song on the record is as good as or better than any song from the EP puts it in another class entirely.” Off to see the Wizzard.
