ust a small list of records that I bought during 2014 and my thoughts on each, in no particular order:

Mastodon; Once more 'round the sun

Thoughts: Mastodon, to me, is a band that is more interesting to me to listen to based on how they play rather than the feeling I get from most of the other stuff; I want to pay attention when it's on rather than jump around. And Once is certainly worthy of all the praise it gets for the techincal achievement, because it's brilliant and diverse and certainly worth listning to.

Standout tracks: Tread Lightly, Feast Your Eyes

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Judas Priest; Redeemer of Souls

Thoughts:A return to form as some will call it after what some considered a disappointment in Nostradamus (not me, Nostradamus was what got me hooked on Priest), Redeemer of Souls is straight up classic heavy metal with all the guitar soloes, sword waving, mythological creatures and strange saviours you'd expect to find on a Priest record. And despite most of the guys having now been playing since the 70'ties and replaced a legendary guitarist, the record bears no real marks of age, perhaps to do with new man Ritchie Faulkner whom Halford likes to credit for keeping them going now. Redeemer is a great record in all respects save that it's hardly a reinvention... but hey, it's worked for them for so long, why change?

Standout tracks: Battle Cry, Sword of Damocles, Halls of Valhalla

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Motörhead; Aftershock

Thoughts: From a band that hasn't changed much, to one that hasn't changed at all for nearly as long we have had Motörhead, as ever with Lemmy at the helm despite a close encounter with death during the past year. And as always the trio delivers on the front of heavy rhythms coupled with lyrics about death, guns and evil women. There is no change to the formula here, but thats pretty much Lemmy in a nutshell. And the recent Grammy nomination for Heartbreaker just proves again to them that their formula works (not that they really care about winning, it's about proving a point).

Standout tracks: Heartbreaker, Death Machine, Queen of the Damned

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Triptykon: Melana Chasmata

Thoughts: Now this was something new for me, as frontman Tom G. Warrior is a bit of a legend within extreme metal, but a guy I never heard of or had any experience with any of the bands he's been in. Which is why I was genuinely delighted in my dark heart that this offering from Triptykon is fuking awesome, as dark and creepy as patron H. R. Geiger's paintings on the cover really while married with thunder and force that will crush your head under the weight. This is another great record for me and I will be looking for these guys (and gal).

Standout tracks: Aurorae, Tree of Suffocating Souls, Boleskine House

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Note: H. R. Geiger passed away in 2014 some months after the release of the record. Rest in peace, father of the Xenomorphs and countless nightmares on canvas.

Iron Maiden; Powerslave

Thoughts: Iron Maiden is to me a bit of a mystery, it has all the same things that make stuff like Judas Priest appealing to me, but Maiden has never really caught my ear. Only other record I own prior to this one is Final Frontier, which had some appeal but not much as individual tracks were a bit too long and 'light' for me. So I tried going retro when I heard more seasoned listeners had found Frontier a bit of a misfire. And this is where I am going to get into trouble with Maiden fans... because I sadly couldn't hear much of a difference between the two and there is just something about Bruce's voice that bores me. His voice soars, granted, as every track is meant to grab 100.000 people in a stadium (which he aims to do), but it might be that it soars that kinda makes me feel he speaks over me rather than at me that does it, or it might be that I can't detect any edge or brute force in that soaring. So at the end of it, I can't see myself getting any deeper into this mastodon of metal.

Standout tracks: 2 Minutes to Midnight, Aces High

Dark Fortress; Venereal Dawn

Thoughts: Dark Fortress is the enduring legacy of me having played the game Brütal Legend, and damn happy I am that the game included a track from a previous album, because this 2014 offering is effing brutal and effing awesome on most tracks. Unlike Mastodon, Fortress is a band I listen to for the feeling the record evokes, since the lyrics are nearly incomprehensible and dealing with subject matter that deals mostly in apocalyptic themes before ascension to some higher form of being. Compared to their other records it's sorta in the middle for me, the last track ruins much of the pondus the rest of the record carries, but overall I consider it well worth the money.

Standout tracks: Lloigor, Luciform

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Disturbed: Ten Thosand Fists

Thoughts: Like Iron Maiden, this was purchased primarily to sate my own curiosity since quite a few people had mentioned the band around me, so in I went and left with Tryptikon. Despite this, I have found Fists to be a quite enjoyable record worthy of a few singalongs when I trundle around in my car. It's not epic, not super dark or anything like that, it's the appeal of imagining seeing this played live during the summer and everyone else (as drunk as they will be) will be singing along if they aren't trying to trample each other. I used to think Disturbed was just some less successful cousin to Slipknot that primarily appealed to easily distracted teenagers, but I am happy to say this is not the case, and thank fuck for that, because I can't stand Slipknot :)

Standout tracks: Ten Thousand Fists, Sons of Plunder, Deify

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Behemoth; The Satanist

Thoughts: This was the second happy first in my year, while it initially slipped me by, as Behemoth wasn't a name that compelled me to give it a go, the numerous 'best of year' appearances the Poles made at the end of the year however did (and because I was looking for something new). And what I found was a delightfully satanic gem that marries heavy sound with rhythm and lyrics that would make parents toes curl because the praising of satan is often done with vocals clear enough to hear it properly. I imagine Behemoth is actually the band faith-strong parents think acts like Slayer and Marilyn Manson are, which I think is hilarious.

Standout tracks: The Satanist, O Father O Satan O Sun, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer

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Finally: Things I am still wondering if I'll ever buy:

In Flames; Siren Charms (purely a result of their records becoming less and less 'metal' as time as passed on with the last one being a massive disappointment)

Lacuna Coil; Broken Crown Halo (a consequence of the tracks I do have from them are frequently skipped over in search of heavier stuff on my playlist)