Simon Rushworth
With 2013 just around the corner it’s finally time to cast your eyes over what we deem to be the very best in new music from 2012.
It’s been another vintage year for rock and metal in all of its various guises. And once again we’ve been spoilt for choice in picking our top 20.
Read on to see which band grabbed the coveted Album Of The Year title – and check out whether your favourite made the cut.
RUSHONROCK 2012 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
1. h.e.a.t. – Address The Nation (earMUSIC)
We said: If you like your rock replete with spandex, hair spray, huge choruses, weepy ballads and a large dog (see the album cover) then nobody does it better than super Swedes h.e.a.t.
Following on from the critically acclaimed Freedom Rock this belter of a party record is an unashamed 80s throwback that threatens to put hair metal/pop rock’s new breed – Steel Panther, Reckless Love, Houston and their ilk – in the shade.
If beefy opener Breaking The Silence showcases the band’s heavier side it’s honey-soaked tunes like The One And Only, Need Her and Heartbreaker that prove h.e.a.t have evolved into serious players on the melodic rock scene.
They’ve got the looks, the hooks, the mass appeal and even the dog. With the full package it’s difficult to imagine Address The Nation will fail.
Sleaze Roxx said: All in all Address The Nation will satisfy those that are looking for a good AOR album — but rock aficionados who crave raw, hard, and rusty rock will find this release to be over-polished and over-produced. Did I mention the terms over-polished and over-produced a few too many times? Trust me, there is a reason for that!
2. Gene The Werewolf – Rock N Roll Animal (Frontiers)
3. Rival Sons – Head Down (Earache)
4. Grand Magus – The Hunt (Nuclear Blast)
5. Finsterforst – Rastlos (Napalm)
6. Europe – Bag Of Bones (earMUSIC)
7. Testament – Dark Roots Of Earth (Nuclear Blast)
8. Joanne Shaw Taylor – Almost Always Never (Ruf)
9. 77 – High Decibels (Listenable)
10. 3 Inches Of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media)
11. Hardline – Danger Zone (Frontiers)
12. Delain – We Are The Others (Roadrunner)
13. Wig Wam – Wall Street (Frontiers)
14. Fearless Vampire Killers – Militia Of The Lost (Goremount Records)
15. Graveyard – Lights Out (Nuclear Blast)
16. Black Country Communion – Afterglow (J&R Adventures)
17. The Sword – Apocryphon (Napalm)
18. Ensiferum – Unsung Heroes (Spinefarm)
19. Halestorm – The Strange Case Of… (Roadrunner)
20. Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline (Century Media)