Surprises 2008

Since we have this, we need THIS (I couldn't find anything similar, Gods of the Search Button):

What new releases in 2008 went above and beyond your expectations?

For me:
Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles. I loved the first single, but didn't know how they would fare on a whole album.
AC/DC - Black Ice. Haven't really been into AC/DC for years, Stiff Upper Lip didn't sound impressive enough to make me ever wanna own it, but this album is great.
Metallica - Death Magnetic. I figured they would deliver, I just didn't know they'd do it so well.
Buckcherry - Black Butterfly. The first Buckcherry album I love. The rest of'em are just "okay".
Steelheart - Good 2B Alive. The Just A Taste EP was really strong, and so is the rest of the album.
GNR - Chinese Democracy. Have heard most of the album for years, but there were still a few unleaked tracks left and I think they're just as good as the leaked stuff.

Gama Bomb-Citizen Brain(this is a great cd in the old school vein.Regardless of whether you call it Retro or what,its just Damn good.)

Hexen-State of Insurgency(another great Thrash release for the year.The songwriting really shines on this.)

GAMA BOMB!!!

Gemini Five - Sex Drugs Anarchy. A return to the glam/sleaze style of their first one

Shinedown - Sound Of Madness. Really surprised by how heavy this one is.

Soho Roses - Whatever Happened To. Never even heard of this band before but excellent glam.

Metallica - Death Magnetic - I wasn't expecting anything spectacular and I think it's their best work since the black album and AJFA!!!

AC/DC - Black Ice - well, with AC/DC you pretty much know what to expect, but it was better than I thought!

Judas Priest - Nostradomus - I was expecting to suck and be on the level of ram it down bad (the priest I like the least). I was suprised and I like it!

Def Lep - Sparkle - with that title, I thought it would suck, but I found a good, hard rock album!

Quote :

Def Lep - Sparkle - with that title, I thought it would suck, but I found a good, hard rock album!

I liked that one a lot initially but for some reason it got old fast for me. Not bad but I just found that it got boring over time.

Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again.

I thought the "return to form" thing was just another marketing gimmick, but John Levin really shines on that album. It sounds like Dokken should sound like in the 00's.

Eden's Curse - Second Coming.

Their first album was good but not amazing. The second albm is a much more cohesive project that sounds like it was created by confident musicians.

Scarlet Angel - Enter The Magic

Shiney got me into these gals and guy. Classic metal sound with Heart tendencies. Sounds weird when typed out, but the album was a nice surprise for me.

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

Thought it was going to be a percussion filled nu metal sounding turd (Roots Part II), but it is a really intense and strong album by the Cavalera brothers.

I was surprised at how much I liked ENSLAVED - Vertebrae...

Chinese Democracy

Bloodbath - Unblessing The Purity
Helstar - The King Of Hell
Jeff Loomis - Zero Order Phase
Venom - Hell
X-World-5 - New Universal Order
Gravehill - Metal of Death & The Advocation of Murder
Hail of Bullets - Of Frost And War
Hate Eternal - Fury And Flames
Unleashed - Hammer Battalion
Guillotine - Blood Money
Hexen - State Of Insurgency
Holy Moses - Agony Of Death
Testament - The Formation Of Damnation

Whitesnake - was surprised how solid this album was

Metallica (Death Magnetic)- Not earth shattering but was surprised it is the first album I liked since Black

Judas Priest (Nostradamus) - what an amazing album and concept, although I hope it is a one time attempt, either way amazing.

AC\DC (Black Ice) - none stop toe tapping

Blaze Bayley (Man Who Would Not Die) - I think all his solo stuff is great but this was by far his strongest work, hope it does well this guy has had a tragic year.

The Breeders (Mountain Battles) - I know it isnt metal but still what an amazing album.

Tesla (Forever More) - This album has revived my love of this band. They are timeless and constant rockers not forgetting who they are in the years.

Sebastian Bach (Angel Down) - This album is heavy and good, it puts Chinese Democracy to shame, not sure why Bach kisses Axls butt when Bach still keeps it real, this album proves it.

Portishead (Third) - OK again not metal but absolutely fantastic album.

NIN (The Slip) - Free and good!

Metal Church - not as heavy as I hoped and not as earth shattering as Wieght of the World, but a great album.

The Mars Volta (The Bedlam in Goliath) - the world is not ready for this band, so unique and interesting, special album here.

Metallica - Death Magnetic

I had pretty much given up on these guys and didn't care much for the 1st single. I waited till ebay was flooded with used copies and picked one up cheap. While it's not in the same class with their first four, I'm really enjoying it more than I thought I would.

That Hexen record just came out of nowhere, I had zero expectations, and it hasn't left my player since. It's definitely in contention as my favorite of the year also.

My biggest surprise was Whitesnake's Good To Be Bad. It actually led me to getting the rest of their records. Then feeling stupid for what I had been missing out on all these years.

Wow, three people hailing the Hexen album. Nice! Good to see local boys have an impact.

ac/dc - for me black ice was a let down with barely any memorable tracks.
metallica - surprised at how good the new metallica album is even though i thought it would be good
gnr - no surprise that this album is terrible.

For me, the biggest surprise was that my local favorites Bad Biscut released not one, but two archive CDs ("We Still Believe The Hype" and "Shag Abbey") in 2008... I never dreamed I'd hear another note from that band again!!

tohostudios wrote:

Soho Roses - Whatever Happened To. Never even heard of this band before but excellent glam.

Great comp of a great band.....even more remarkable that the band had 16 quality songs from only two years of existence between 1987-89.

One of my top releases from last year. God bless Full Breach Kicks records for their amazing Soho Roses and Joneses reissues.

albums this year i didn't think i'd like, but surely do...
1.) Tiamat - Amanethes (heaviest thing they've released in a long time)
2.) Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted (i thought they would go all tribal, or focus on Igors DJ Dance sh*t. luckily i was wrong)
3.) Ihsahn - angL (not as progressive as i had fear it be. it actually is pretty damn heavy.)
4.) Melvins - Nude With Boots (Melvins always surprise me. sometimes good, sometimes bad. you never know how they're going to land)
5.) Six Feet Under - Death Rituals (after the last couple of lack luster releases, i had lost faith in them. this is a step forward.)
6.) Lord Belial - The Black Curse (Revelations was too soft of an album. this one brings some intensity back)
7.) Opeth - Watershed (i've always considered Opeth to be one of the most grossly overrated bands in extreme metal. with this album, i kinda see what the hype has been about. )
8.) Straight Line Stitch - When Skies Wash Ashore (Alexis is what makes this group stand out from the gazillion other metalcore bands.)
9.) Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Perpetual Flame (Yngwie sounds awesome with Ripper on vox.)
10.) Metal Church- This Present Wasteland (the past couple of MC albums have been mediocre at best. this one is a step or two above.)

Biggest surprise was that Chinese Democracy was released. I expected that would never happen.

Bands that I discovered and surprised how good they are:
Hail of Bullets - Of Frost and War
Airbourne - Runnin' Wild
Bullet - Bite the Bullet
Kissin' Dynamite - Steel of Swabia

I was also happy that Death Magnetic turned out to be good.

I was listening to Death Magnetic yesterday...and I thought how nice it was that they put such a good CD out. Very good surprise.

I was pleasantly surprised to see TWO solid releases from DIRTY LOOKS.

I was surprised I like "Death Magnetic" as much as I did.

The new AC/DC is fantastic. I can't stop listening to it. I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting to like it that much.

mc666 wrote:

8.) Straight Line Stitch - When Skies Wash Ashore (Alexis is what makes this group stand out from the gazillion other metalcore bands.)

I agree with ya.I really dig her vocal style.And I dont normally like female fronted bands.

Have to add (non-metal)

The Cure - 4:13 Dream - I think it's the best thing they have done in years. I was really suprised and impressed with this one!

Amaseffer! A brand new band for me, and a good one at that.

Stormwarrior - "Heading Northe" - Awesome album and took me by surprise.

Judas Priest - "Nostradamus" - I was very exited about the album, I jst didn't know it would be this good.

Dragonforce - "Ultra Beatdown" - I know it's almost embarrasing in some metal circuits to say you like this band, but if I'm in the mood, I find their Melodic Speed Metal to be infectious. (BTW, this is an album I don't have myself).