2011 Albums of the Year

[Andiferum]

The first album has always been their best

 

[Nickstervarius]

This is a toughy for me. I cannot pick a top 3 and I certainly can't pick a top 5, so I'm going to mention the albums I really enjoyed:

Power Quest - Blood Alliance
Stratovarius - Elysium
Edguy - Age Of The Joker
Machine Head - Unto The Locust
Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Devin Townsend - Deconstruction

Honorable mentions:

Alestorm - Sunk'n Norwegian
Edguy - Two Out Of Seven
Machine Head - Be Still And Know
Stratovarius - Elysium
Children Of Bodom - Shovel Knockout
Symphony X - Iconoclast
Devin Townsend - Juular

 

[Andiferum]

Most of those are song titles from the latest albums

 

[Thematt202]

Here's my top 4 albums of 2011. I couldn't choose a fifth from last year that I can honestly say I enjoyed enough to make it onto the list!


1 - Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
2 - Nightwish - Imaginaerum
3 - Symphony X - Iconoclast
4 - Power Quest - Blood Alliance

 

[Astrolis]

It's that time again! There's nothing coming out the rest of the year that I'm looking forward to (except Sonata Arctica's live DVD on the 15th), and I already have my top three albums of the year. From #3 to #1:

Symphony X - Iconoclast

Brilliant album, I love this! Completely took me by surprise, too, as I've never been a big fan at all of the band, and Paradise Lost kind of got me interested but still had some meh tracks. Iconoclast rules though. The title track is one of the best songs of the year, in my opinion! And When All Is Lost's guitar solo... wow!

Power Quest - Blood Alliance

Sorry boys, it was an extremely tough decision between this and #1, but let's just say you're tied for first place anyway What can I say about this album that hasn't already been repeated a thousand times here? Absolutely spectacular and I still play it all the time, which is great seeing as it was released almost a year ago! Better Days, Time To Burn, and Sacrifice have entered my top favorite Power Quest songs, but all of them are classic! Every member is on fire and they sound so comfortable, they all gel together very well.

Album of the Year: Stratovarius - Elysium

As a massive Stratovarius fanboy, I think I might be biased, but this album still blows me away in every possible way. Every song is a winner - Move the Mountain has a 'chilly' atmosphere to it and it's a really beautiful ballad, and Lauri Porra and Matias both prove themselves to be amazing songwriters. Lifetime In A Moment is so strange for a band like Stratovarius and yet it sounds so good. Elysium is the best song of 2011 to me - I can't remember the last time I heard such an epic song with such a powerful last section. I get chills and really get that 'wow' sensation every time the last keyboard/guitar solos come in... and the choirs! I would have loved to hear the song when it was originally 30 minutes. Much like Blood Alliance, everybody on the album shines.

Honorable mentions:
Rhapsody of Fire - From Chaos To Eternity
Tyr - The Lay of Thrym
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Alestorm - Back Through Time

Thumps up to this post! /agree across the board!