April wasn't as strong a month as March when it came to highly rated metal CDs. After having all 5 CDs last month getting 4.5 out of 5, there were only three in this month's Top 5. Still there were some quality albums in April, and these are the ones I think are the five best. And in my monthly ratings I don't include greatest hits, compilations or reissues.
Evergrey hasn't completely changed their stripes. The songs still have some keyboards and an element of darkness. They've just amped up the melody and the hooks. And as always, Tom Englund's vocals are outstanding. His powerful voice is one of the best in metal.
The songs are well-crafted and polished with big choruses and catchy hooks. There's also a nice mix of ballads, mid-tempo songs and rockers. Cristina Scabbia gets most of the attention because of her stunning looks and haunting voice, but male vocalist Andrea Ferro also does an excellent job. I've had this album for almost three months now and have listened to it dozens of times. It really holds up to the scrutiny of multiple listens.
This is an album that's larger than life with epic orchestral sections, complex solos and painstaking arrangements. It's a work with a noticeable arc of musical ebbs and flows and superb dynamics. The musicianship is outstanding as well. And most importantly they are able to combine emotion with technique.
Impaled Nazarene's musical style is very thrash metal oriented, with breakneck riffs and plenty of headbanging. They also add elements of black metal in the vocals and lyrics. If you like your thrash on the evil side or your black metal on the thrashy side, you can't go wrong with this album.
The music ranges from lush and melodic to abrasive and extreme. There are influences of everything from black metal to prog metal to death metal to mainstream metal. It's a complex album, but has plenty of melody and memorable hooks.
