Simon RushworthThe sweet sound of melodic rock soundtracked another busy year at Rushonrock HQ and 2022 was all the better for it.
AOR, hair metal, glam, sleaze and more made a play for top billing as scorching solos, tear-jerking ballads and jukebox ready choruses jostled for position.
But did your top pick make our Best Melodic Rock Albums Of 2022?
10. Coreleoni – III (Atomic Fire Records)
Straddling Whitesnake’s mid-80s evolution from blues-soaked hard rockers to hair metal heroes, III was Coreleoni’s coolest record to date.
Coverdale clone Eugent Bushpepa sugar coated 11 tracks carefully crafted by ex-Gotthard axeman Leo Leoni.
And there was plenty to love for devotees of Deep Purple, Bad Company et al.
Guilty Under Pressure ticked the power ballad box but Deep In My Soul — with its sweeping Hammond keys — did it better.
Coreleoni dropped one of the classiest rock records we heard all year.
9. Crashdïet — Automaton (Golden Robot Records)
Crashdïet caused quite a stir at 2022’s Call Of The Wild Festival.
And little wonder.
The glammed-up Swedes arrived in Lincoln riding high on the back of career-high Automaton.
An unrelenting gem of a record, the pace never slackened from start to finish as tunes like Shine On, Dead Crusade and Shell Shock shook Scandi rock’s very foundations.
There was even a chance for Steel Panther’s Michael Starr to make his presence felt on the Reckless Love-styled Powerline.
8. The Big Deal — First Bite (Frontiers)
Touted as melodic rock’s next big thing, The Big Deal didn’t disappoint.
Fast-paced hard rock segued into symphonic metal as a full-on axe attack showcased a band with no time to lose.
That First Bite lacked a Love Bites (or similar) was a little disappointing.
And a power ballad or two wouldn’t have gone amiss.
But Ana Nikolic has pipes to die for and her decision to Power On proved to be the right move.
The Big Deal don’t lack confidence.
And First Bite sounds as good as the band looks.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
7. Dare — Road To Eden (Legend Records)
Out of the shadow of Out Of The Silence, Dare continued to develop their unique brand of Celtic AOR.
There’s no doubting Darren Wharton’s talent as a keysman par excellence.
But his is a surely a tale of what might have been.
And if he’d only been bolder as Dare’s main man things might have been different.
Road To Eden was Wharton’s best work for decades.
Cradle To The Grave, Only The Good Die Young and Thy Kingdom Come oozed emotion and creative flair.
And Vinny Burns was on fire as the fret-flaming foil to ex-Lizzy man Dazzler.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
6. Palace — One 4 The Road (Frontiers)
In 2020 Rock And Roll Radio soundtracked Rushonrock’s Top 10 Melodic Rock Albums Of The Year.
Two years down the line and follow-up One 4 The Road proved Palace’s foundations are reassuringly firm.
We raised a glass or two to one of the most polished AOR sets of the year.
And got blind drunk on the energy of fist-pumpers Fifteen Minutes, Time Crisis and more.
Multi-talented helmsman Michael Palace went back to the mid 80s and made a record Journey would die for.
Leading the charge as the standard bearer for nostalgia-rich melodic rock, the Lithuanian-born master of his craft dropped an absolute banger.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
5. House Of Lords — Saints & Sinners (Frontiers)
James Christian’s a name synonymous with melodic rock majesty.
His House Of Lords canon is a watermark for quality, class and consistency.
But Saints & Sinners upped the ante as Christian upped his game.
Given the success of New World – New Eyes, the pressure was on to repeat the trick.
Job done.
Mistress Of The Dark sounded like bad-ass Bad English.
And Roll Like Thunder was a lightning strike of Leppard meets late 80s Heart.
Piano-led ballad Avalanche delivered a blizzard of emotion as Saints & Sinners left House Of Lords fans swooning.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
4. H.E.A.T — Force Majeure (earMUSIC)
We described Force Majeure as a ‘melting pot of peak melodic rock’.
And one of this summer’s smash hits has bagged regular rotation ever since.
Returning frontman Kenny Leckremo picked up where Skid Row-bound Erik Grönwall left off.
But he wrapped up a stunning set in the layers of retro Scandi rock H.E.A.T have missed in recent years.
Not For Sale, Harder To Breathe and Hold Your Fire were explosive examples of Leckremo’s latent threat.
And power ballad One Of Us was AOR perfection.
Forget that soaring energy bill…and turn up the H.E.A.T.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
3. Reckless Love — Turborider (AFM)
Rushonrock’s favourite Finns roared back to form with the turbocharged Turborider.
Call Of The Wild festival’s standout headliners brought the party to Lincoln on the back of a brazen pop metal triumph.
And if this electro-fuelled 80s throwback divided the critics, then it united long time Reckless Lovers.
In Olli Hermann — a latter day David Lee Roth — and Eddie Van Halen devotee Pepe Reckless, this brilliant band boasts double trouble.
And the duo never sounded better as they blasted through future live favourites Kids Of The Arcade, Eyes Of A Maniac and Outrun.
2. Iconic — Second Skin (Frontiers)
The dude who decided to pair Nathan James with Michael Sweet deserves a medal.
But two of melodic rock’s most iconic frontmen had plenty of help off the bench.
Step forward Marco Mendoza, Tommy Aldridge and Joel Hoekstra to put the ‘super’ into this dream supergroup.
Egos parked and ambition fuelled, this powerful project from Frontiers put the pedal to the (pop) metal.
And the result was a pin-sharp AOR-inspired masterpiece coloured by Purple, Whitesnake and Dio.
James and Sweet represented the past, present and future of a genre reborn.
Iconic’s Second Skin was first class.
Read the full Rushonrock review here
Topping The Best Melodic Rock Albums of 2022 list is…
1. Chez Kane — Powerzone (Frontiers)
Chez Kane’s self-titled solo debut squeezed into last year’s Best Melodic Rock Albums list by the skin of its teeth.
But 12 months down the line and the rising star of the pop rock world is Rushonrock’s fastest mover.
Powerzone was all killer and no filler as producer Danny Rexon (Crazy Lixx) allowed Kane to let rip.
And the pocket rocket AOR queen seized her opportunity in flawless fashion — powering through Powerzone like a AAA Duracell.
Rock You Up’s Leppard-esque refrain was irresistible.
The sultry sax on Love Gone Wild was another Rexon masterstroke.
And there was more than a hint of Meat Loaf’s operatic rock bombast on the evocative Children Of Tomorrow Gone and epic set closer Guilty Of Love.
Missing peak Pat Benatar? Love to lose yourself in Lita Ford and Lorraine Lewis?
On Powerzone, Chez Kane took us back to the future.
Enjoyed The Best Melodic Rock Albums of 2022 list? Check out 2021’s round-up here.