Pretty Maids is Denmark's most active band since 1984 and their recent albums we always get some great melodic metal.

Let me start by saying that there are no weak songs here, all songs are amazing. My favourites are "Serpentine", "Firesoul Fly", "Runaway World", "If You Want Peace (Prepare For War)", "Shadowlands", "Black Thunder" and "Strength Of A Rose". Almost all of them!

The recent albums by Pretty Maids are all great but this time they have nailed at maximum score. Album of the year!

HammerFall needs no introduction if you're a fan of power metal, they keep the flame burning since 1997 and here we have their album #11.

There are one or two songs here not on the same standard as the others and the two ballads done by HammerFall this time didn't quite work for me. The highlights are "Dominion", "(We Make) Sweden Rock", "Scars Of A Generation", "Dead By Dawn", "Bloodline" and "Chain Of Command".

Even though some points off, I have rated this album quite high as they can put some power metal anthems on their albums, and they have done it again.

CyHra was formed in 2016 after the departure of Jake E from Amaranthe and right now we have their sophomore album two years after their amazing debut album.

The album stars brilliant with the ultra-catchy "Out Of My Life" and goes on with some melodic modern metal and this time they bring some more ballads than on their debut. Other highlights are "No Halos In Hell", "Battle From Within", "Bye Bye Forever", "Dreams Gone Wrong", "Kings Tonight" and "I Had Your Back".

This is just as great as their debut album but I prefer a little more their debut which caused a great impact upon the first time I listened while this one I had to go over some more listens to grow on me.

Metalite has come with their sophomore album taking us some modern melodic power metal and with the addition of new vocalist Erica Ohlsson.

All songs here are catchy as hell and full of great melodic guitars/keys, my favourites are "Apocalypse", "Biomechanicals", "Warrior", "World On Fire", "Eye Of The Storm", "Social Butterflies" and "Victory Or Death".

This time they are more melodic than on their debut album and this one is definitely on my top 10 albums of the year.

Since the addition of Patrick Johansson to the band's ranks, they have become one of my faovurite power metal bands and always delivering great albums.

This time they have not delivered a full album with great songs and we can find some just Ok songs. The highlights are "Rise Of The Dragon Empire", "Skyriders And Stormbringers", my favourite "Giants Of Heaven", "The Warlock's Trail" and "Balerion".

I think that the use of chants on the choruses here are way too much and even though I find this to be a great album, this is my least favourite with Patrick on vocals.

Vision Divine returns 7 years later with album #8 with the addition of Ivan Giannini on vocals and Mike Terrana on the drums.

What we have here is prog/power metal done at the best quality and while some songs are not so catchy they are very well done. The highlights are "The 26th Machine", "Fall From Grace", "Were I God", "Now That All Heroes Are Dead" and "The King Of The Sky".

This new line-up of Vision Divine is full of great musicians and let's hope another new album from them doesn't take another 7 years to be released.

Art Nation with this new release presents us some change on their music style, from the hard rock/AOR on their first two albums to some melodic metal in "Transition".

The album starts with "Fallen Worlds", the heaviest song they have ever released and my favourite on the album. Other highlights are "Tick Tock", "Infected", "Blaze The Trail" and "Cracks In The Sky".

As their countrymates Dynazty did a big change on their sound back in 2014, now they have decided to make a change on their third album, this doesn't contain that much metal as Dynazty have done. I still prefer their debut album over this new one and their previous album.

Since their 2012's "Bleed & Scream", Eclipse is one of my favourite bands on the melodic rock genre and with every new album, we know what to expect from these Swedes.

The songs here again grabs you instantly at the first time you listen. There are many songs to highlight and I would stand out "Mary Leigh", "Blood Wants Blood", "United", "Delirious", "The Masquerade" and "Take Me Home".

I don't care if their albums sound the same as some can judge and wish for a change from them. We have another winner here from Eclipse.

Crazy Lixx hails of course from the land of melodic/hard rock, these Swedes never fails to deliver a great album and we can always expect good stuff with every new album announcement from them.

This time they are more melodic than ever and you will for sure sing along in all of the songs on offer here. My favourites are "Wicked", "Break Out", "Silent Thunder", "Terminal Velocity", "It's You" and "Never Die (Forever Wild)".

They have released their best album to date, magnificent melodic rock album.

Hardline have released one of the best hard rock debut albums back in 1992 but unfortunately it took some time for them to be back again on the studio, right now we have their album #6.

Johnny and the "new guys" sure knows how to make some great melodic rock and ballad songs. This is one brilliant album with no fillers, the stand out songs are "Take A Chance", "Page Of Your Life", "Out Of Time", "Handful Of Sand", "Who Wants To Live Forever", "Chameleon" and "My Friend".

This is definitely their best album since their debut masterpiece.

Of course I heard their name before but GloryHammer is a band that even though they only have two albums prior this one, I don't know many of their songs, just that they play some cheesy power metal.

To review this album I'll start by saying that there are no weak songs and some of them are just way to catchy that it makes you chant the chorus out of nowhere, such as "The Siege Of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust)", "Masters Of The Galaxy", "Gloryhammer" and "Hootsforce".

I have re-visited their earliers album and my conclusion is that GloryHammer have released their best album so far, the songs here are way more catchier and grabs you at once at the first listen.

Freedom Call has released one of the best debut power metal albums way back in 1999 and 20 years later they bring their album #10.

You know what to get from these Germans in every release, a mixture of power metal with lots of "happy metal". There are no weak songs here and the ones that stand out are "Spirit Of Daedalus", "Ace Of The Unicorn", "Fly With Us", "One Step Into Wonderland", "Wheel Of Time" and "Ronin".

Comparing with their recent albums, this is the less happy they went on the songs and what an amazing power metal album this is.

Moonlight Haze were bring to life by ex-Temperance members Chiara Tricarico (vocals) and Giulio Capone (keys/drums) and here we have their debut album.

There are lots of varieties on the songs here and also Chiara's vocals differs a lot during the songs, such an amazing performance by this lady. Many highlights here and the stand-out songs are "Ad Astra", "Time", "Dark Corners Of Myself" and "Goddess".

This is one hell of a brilliant debut album and let's see if they will have that sophomore album syndrome when it comes out. Symphonic female-fronted metal at the best quality.

After all the splits and lots of band names from Luca Turilli, we now have the debut of Turilli / Lione Rhapsody.

There are many different varying in the songs here and my favourites are the opener "Phoenix Rising", the amazing "D.N.A. (Demon And Angel)" featuring guest vocals by the phenomenal Elize Ryd and the cinematics "Decoding The Multiverse" and "I Am".

This is way more cinematic and symphonic than Rhapsody's earlier albums and I have really liked this album since I'm a big fan of Lione's vocals. Now let's wait and see if they will release any new album under this name or a new band name will come out of nowhere in the future.

In the end of 2017, Beast In Black really caught my attention with their debut album and earlier this year they have already released their sophomore album.

The album starts with the powerful "Cry Out For A Hero" but the rest of the album we have a very high amount of pop/techno elements that it didn't fit well into some songs. Other highlights are "Repentless", "Die By The Blade" and "No Surrender".

This is not a weak album but I was expecting more from the beasts in black after their amazing debut album.

Hollow Haze has been active since 2003 and we have seen many vocalists on the band's roster, with their new album we have the debut with vocalist Fabio Dessi.

The album comes down like thunder with the amazing opener "Destination" and continues to deliver such great power metal throughout the album. Other highlights are "It's Always Dark Before The Dawn", "Through Space And Time", "The Upside Down", "A Different Sky", "You're My End And My Beginning" and "Behind The Wall".

With their new album, they have really put their name in the power metal scene. Amazing album by these Italians.

The Defiants, featuring Paul Laine (former vocalist of Danger Danger), brings their new album 3 years after their acclaimed debut album.

Don't expect any variety on the songs here, they are all melodic rock songs with some catchy choruses. The highlights are "Love Is The Killer", "Hollywood In Highlights", "Fallin' For You", "U X'd My Heart" and "It Goes Fast".

I have read many great reviews on their new album and I was expecting this to be a classic, but this is a good to very good melodic rock album.

After some line-up changes, Crashdïet brings us album #5 simply entitled as "Rust".

The first half of the album is pretty good but the second half contains just Ok songs. Highlights on the album are "Rust", "Into The Wild", "In The Maze", "We Are The Legion" and "Crazy".

I was expecting more with this new Crashdïet album with the singles released, nothing more than just an Ok album.

It took 9 albums from Sabaton for me to have a first full listen on an album from these Germans. So I have listened all their discography recently and damn I was missing something good.

On this new album, many of the songs are not over the 4-minute mark and also most of the songs follows the same song structure which will most likely make die-hard Sabaton fans enjoy all of them, not my case here. The highlights are "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom", "82nd All The Way", "The Red Baron", "A Ghost In The Trenches" and "Fields Of Verdun".

The formula on Sabaton albums might be the same over and over again but as long as you like it, what's to complain?

One thing we can expect every year is a release from Michael Sweet. Either with his main band, a solo album or some guest vocals in a project. Here we have Sweet's #8 solo album.

There are some great songs here and some songs that didn't grab my attention at all. The highlights are "Better Part Of Me", "Lay It Down", "When Love Is Hated", the catchy "Shine" and the brilliant "With You Till The End".

Forget about his hard rock/AOR early solo albums as recently we sure can find more metal than hard rock on his solo work.

While I thought Fighter V hailed from Sweden, they are actually from Switzerland.

The album consists of 12 catchy hard rock songs that makes you sing along for days. I would stand out the songs "Frontline", "Heat Of The City", "Fighter", "Can't Stop The Rock", "City Of Sinners" and "Into The Night".

This is one strong debut album from these Swiss hard rockers that I've been listening to a lot recently. Anyways, I'm afraid to say if this will be on my top albums of the year as I still have to re-listen some albums released early this year to have my final judgement.

Ray Alder, famous from his vocals at prog metal band Fates Warning, brings his first solo album through InsideOut Music.

What we can find here is a prog metal album tending to some hard/AOR influences. The highlights are "Crown Of Thorns", "A Beautiful Lie" and the brilliant "Wait".

During my first listen I was really amazed by his debut album, but after some spins I think this is a good album.

Sinner has quite a long discography and here we have album #19 which has the addition of female vocalist Giorgia Colleluori.

The album diverses from some rock tunes to some blues tunes and I tend to like the rock tunes more. Highlights on the album are "Fiesta Y Copas", "Santa Muerte", "Last Exit Hell", "Lucky 13", "Craving" and "Stormy Night".

If there was a short tracklist without the blues tunes, I would've rate this album higher. Anyway, this is another great album from Sinner.

Italian folk metallers Elvenking add another chapter to their discography and this time with a more melodic power metal album.

After the short intro, we have the great "Heathen Divine", which is followed by the other highlights of the album: "Divination", "Silverseal" and "The Misfortune Of Virtue". Unfortunately the songs in the second half of the album are just Ok and I would only highlight "Under The Sign Of A Black Star".

This is an Ok album from Elvenking, they have better albums!

NorthTale is a new band on the power metal genre of known musicians such as Christian Eriksson, Bill Hudson and Patrick Johansson.

Don't expect anything new here from these guys, this is power metal in the same style in all 13 songs. The stand-out tracks are "Higher", "The Rhtyhm Of Life", "Time To Rise", "Shape Your Reality", "Everyone's A Star" and "If Angels Are Real".

Did they bring back the amazing golden years of power metal as they wanted? I'm not 100% sure about that, but they have come up with a very good debut album.

Australian prog metallers Teramaze set another step on their journey with album #6.

There are some songs more in the prog style and some more in the melodic style and I tend to like the melodic songs more. The stand-out tracks are "Are We Soldiers", "From Saviour To Assassin", "M.O.N.S.T.E.R.S." and the brilliant "Weight Of Humanity".

The album clocks in over the one hour mark and although I'm not that much into listening to long albums, but still sometimes I give this album a listen every week or so.

I had friends 'showing' this band to me for quite some time, but their sound didn't grab my attention at all. With their new release, I gave them a shot again and it was well worth it.

I have played this album a few times now and my favourite songs are "You've Lost Yourself", "Dance", "Monster In My Closet", "No Holding Back", "Mersal" and "Darkness Arise".

Myrath's music is full of different elements and while some songs are done in a positive way, others stand out more than the music itself, which is not what I'm really looking for. Apart from that, I can now say that I'm a fan of them.

Sweet Oblivion is yet another new project led by Frontiers Music and this time we have the great Geoff Tate on vocals.

What we have here is some prog metal mixed with hard rock, the highlights being "True Colors", "Sweet Oblivion", "My Last Story", "A Recess From My Fate", "Disconnect" and "The Deceiver".

After some poor releases by Geoff Tate under the Operation Mindcrime name, we finally have good music with him on board.

Back in 2003 Timo Tolkki released a metal opera under the Avalon name, which is up to now one of my favourite albums. The sophomore album was quite disappointing. After a five year absence, we have part #3 from his metal opera.

There are songs here that grab you instantly while others are just OK. The highlights are "Promises", "Return To Eden", "Now And Forever", "We Are The Ones" and "Wasted Dreams".

This is a good power metal album, but it would have been a better release if it was not filled with stand-alone songs. Overall, this is much better than their second one, but it's not even close to the quality of the brilliant debut album.

If you're a fan of power metal band ReinXeed, you must be aware now they have changed their name to Majestica and here we have their "debut" album.

It has been quite some time that I don't listen to a new power metal album that grabs me at once and has such powerful songs with great choruses. This one has finally arrived and there are so many songs to name here, but my favourite ones are "Above The Sky", "Rising Tide", "Mötley True", "Night Call Girl", "Future Land" and "Alliance Forever".

I would like to compare their debut album with the brilliant debut albums released by Freedom Call and Sonata Arctica back in the late 90s. This is for sure one great power metal album and is definitely work checking out.

Jeff Scott Soto is for sure one of the most hard working vocalists out there and with his SOTO band he has album #3 out this year.

There is a lot of variety in the songs here and the highlights are opener "HyperMania", the fast-paced "World Gone Colder", the funky "AfterGlow" and the melodic "Vanity Lane".

This is not the album that will get you instantly with melodic songs such as Jeff's other bands, though. After some spins I have really enjoyed this album, out of his three SOTO albums this is for sure my favourite.

Toby Hitchcock is already a famous name in the AOR scene with his vocals on the Pride Of Lions albums. Here he brings his sophomore solo album.

The album starts with the melodic and amazing "No Surrender" which is my favourite on the album, alongside "Gift Of Flight". Other highlights are "Promise Me", "Behind The Lies", "Fighting For My Life", "This Is Our World" and "Someone Like You".

This is what AOR is all about and Toby really knows how to deliver such an amazing performance.

Tobias Sammet is the one who started all these metal operas back in 2000 and here we have Avantasia album #8.

My favourites of the album are "Ghost In The Moon", "Book Of Shallows", "Moonglow", "Starlight", "Alchemy", "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" and "Requiem For A Dream". The ballad "Invincible" and the cover of "Maniac" are just OK songs and that's the reason I took some points off the rating.

I can honestly say that after the first spins of their new album, it wasn't what I had been expecting. For me "Ghostlights" was a better album than this one, but the last couple of weeks I listened more since I attended their concert last Sunday in Brazil and damn this is a great album!

Another band featuring the hard working Tim "Ripper" Owens, but this time with other known members that have caught my attention.

There is not a single weak song here on this short album and I could highlight all of them. The stand-out songs are "The Distance Between", "The Way", "Never Let You Go", "Glorious", "Enemies & Lovers" and "Here's To Us".

This is one incredible debut album which mixes melodic rock with some metal. Let's hope this is not the only album they release!

Battle Beast arrives with album #5 with some new elements on their sound.

Opener "Unbroken" is the right choice to get things going, but the next two songs are really disappointing. Other highlights are "Unfairy Tales", "The Hero", "The Golden Horde" and "World On Fire".

With the singles released, I was quite worried for this new album, but luckily the other songs on the album are really great ones. Not the best from Battle Beast but it's an enjoyable one to listen to.

Robbie's vocals have caught my attention back in 2005 with Blanc Faces and we were lucky to have him again with Find Me's debut album back in 2013 and right now we have album #3 from them.

What we have here is AOR at the best quality, even though some songs can sound alike, I just don't care at all as long as they are done just great. My favourites are "No Tears In Paradise", "True Believer", "Straight For Eternity", "Can't Let Go", "Living A Lie", "Show Me What You'd Die For" and "Desperate Dreams".

I have enjoyed all Robbie's work with Blanc Faces and now with Find Me, this is another strong AOR album!

After some delays on the release of their new album, Whitesnake brings album #13 just right after celebrating their 40th anniversary.

Here we can find some great songs, other OK songs and some that are not that memorable. The highlights are "Good To See You Again", "Shut Up & Kiss Me", my favourite "Always & Forever", "Flesh & Blood", "Heart Of Stone" and "Sands Of Time".

This is a good classic hard rock album by Whitesnake, but not an album I'll be listening too much to in the months to come.

Leverage has been on a hiatus for ten years, but now they strike back in 2019 with a new vocalist and guitarist.

Opener "Burn Love Burn" with its short intro, amazing chorus and the different ranges through the song starts the album just brilliant. This new album is full of diversity in each song. Other highlights are "Wind Of Morrigan", "Red Moon Over Sonora", "Afterworld's Disciple", "Heaven's No Place For Us", "Rollerball" and "Troy". I must also point out the song "When We Were Young", which is one of the best ballads recently recorded. This song really gave me some goosebumps with a brilliant performance by Kimmo Blom.

The band's previous albums are all amazing efforts and with this new one, they have done it again, with a different line-up and a change in sound. I enjoy this album as much as I've enjoyed their previous albums.

Their debut album marked my life back in the late 90s as it was one of the first power metal albums that I've listened to and still do from time to time.

There are some great songs here, but it lacks those memorable ones like the early Iron Fire. The highlights here are "Beyond The Void", "Final Warning", "Cold Chains Of The North", "Old Habits Die Hard", "One More Bullet" and "Out Of Nowhere".

On their last album they already changed their sound towards more power/thrash and it was not their best release, this one follows the same path. I personally like this one more than "Among The Dead", but still they have better albums on their already long discography.

Even though their debut album was released in early 2017, it was only at the end of last year that I've listened to their debut album, which is great. Right here we have their sophomore album.

After the short intro we have the song "My Darkest Days", which is just OK, but then we have "Limbo" that is so powerful and sticking in your mind instantly. If we had this song as opener of the album, it would've get things going already at the beginning. Other highlights are "Arrival", "Dear Saviour", "Embers In The Rain", "My World" and "In Memoriam (Immortal)".

If you enjoy Borealis, make sure to listen to this band as they have similar sounds but with female vocals. Their new album is better than the debut, it's time for a label to sign them for a future release!

Iron Savior has been on the road for quite some time and they always tend to deliver great speed/power metal albums.

Even though the songs sound alike here and the same goes on with their past albums, I really don't care as the final result is always positive for me. The stand-out songs are "Kill Or Get Killed", "Roaring Thunder", "Eternal Quest", "Sinner Or Saint", "Stand Up And Fight" and "Never Stop Believing".

I've never been a die-hard fan of Iron Savior, but their albums always have those anthemic songs that grabs me at once and makes me sing along for days. This is what happens again on their new album, definitely one great power metal album to bang your head!

After some mediocre albums, and I include "Operation Mincrime II" on this list, a new rise for Queensrÿche was settled back in 2013 when Todd La Torre has been added to the band's line-up.

The new album starts in the good old classic Queensrÿche style, with the first four songs being my favourite ones. Other highlights are "Bent" and "Launder The Conscience".

This album is just amazing, it's for sure their best album since "Empire" back in 1990.

Dream Theater is without a doubt the most known band in the prog metal genre and I was really looking forward to listen to this new album after so many great reviews.

There are some amazing songs here, I would like to mention "Untethered Angel", "Fall Into The Light", "S2N" and my favourite "Paralyzed". I also need to point out the song "Out Of Reach", which is just really disappointing.

Comparing to the band's last albums, this is for sure the best they have released recently, I would also put this one on my top 5 DT albums.

Evergrey is a band that I don't listen to much nowadays. I used to listen a lot to them some years ago since my brother had an Evergrey cover band.

What we have here is dark prog metal at the best quality. There are so many songs to highlight here, but my favourites are "A Silent Arc", "Weightless", "A Secret Atlantis", "Currents" and "This Ocean".

This is probably the best album they have put out in recent years. After I've listened to this album, I've been listening more to old Evergrey classic songs and the new album too. What a brilliant release!

I wasn't really expecting Last In Line to bring another album until the news came out end of last year and luckily we have another one from these guys to listen to.

The first half of the album has the best songs on offer, with tracks like "Black Out The Sun", "Landslide", "Year Of The Gun" and "Give Up The Ghost", while on the second half the quality falls and we have the good songs "Electrified" and "False Flag".

Overall this is another good classic hard rock album with some old Dio influences. Definitely worth checking out.

Inglorious is already back on track with a new album. Just three years after their debut album, we have their album #3

The album starts amazing with "Where Are You Now?" but the next songs are not in the same vein and maybe if it wasn't for the amazing opener, I could have enjoyed the next songs a little bit more. Other highlights here are "Queen", "Time To Go", "I Don't Know You" and the brilliant ballad "Glory Days".

This is not a bad album, it's just that their previous albums were more enjoyable. Just my opinion now, I'd like to see Nathan in a band or project with a heavier sound, it would for sure be a phenomenal album.

Temple Balls debut album back in 2017 came unnoticed to me, but fortunately this one I was able to have a listen.

The new album is full of hard/sleaze rock tunes. Opener "Infinity" is the right choice to start the album which has other strong songs such as "Kill The Voice", "Distorted Emotions", "Ball And Chain", "Leap Of Faith" and my favourite "Seven Seas Of Wonder".

Even though Finland is known for the melodic power metal bands, now we're surprised on this hard rock Finnish band, and what a nice surprise it was for me to listen to them. This is one great hard rock album! Also check their debut album, it's very good!

Darkwater's third album comes nine years after their last record.

I can honestly say that I have not heard any of the band's previous albums before and this new record is full of great prog elements. My favourite songs are "A New Beginning", "In Front Of You", "Alive Part II", "Insomnia" and "Burdens".

Please don't take so many years to release a new album, but if the time was precious to record this, OK we can wait!

Not so long after the release of their debut album, DeVicious brings us "Reflections".

What we have here is melodic rock with some catchy songs. There are many highlights here and I would pick "Long Way Home", "Never Let You Go", "Desire", "Hungarian Girl", "We're Dying", "Run Together" and "Feel The Heat".

If you're a fan of Ammunition (Age Sten Nilssen even has guest vocals on one song), this is one great melodic rock album to check out. I gave this more spins than their debut album.

Even though Within Temptation has been on the road for quite some time, I got involved more into their music last year.

On this new album, there's a strong change of style from song to song and this is what I like it. My favourite songs here are "The Reckoning", "Raise Your Banner", "Holy Ground", "In Vain" and "Mercy Mirror". Another thing to point here is how amazing Sharon's vocals are on this album, such an angel voice!

I can understand some complaints about the change on their style, but I still like their early sound and their more alternative rock nowadays. Resist or not, this is Within Temptation!

I remember like it was yesterday when Frontiers announced this new line-up and I was really shocked and waiting to hear the outcome.

With the singles released, it definitely lost some of the high hopes I had. I would only highlight here "It's Everywhere", "Never To Return" and "Alone In The Darkness".

This is one album that will soon be forgotten with so many good releases that is yet to come this year. Another point here is the production, it is beyond weak!

Imperia has been active since 2003, but it was only last year I heard about them with news of a new album, their album #5 entitled "Flames Of Eternity".

The first set of songs here are very nice, but the last couple of songs the quality fails a lot. The highlights here are "Fear Is An Illusion", "Unspoken Words", "Book Of Love" and "Blinded".

With a long list of symphonic female-fronted bands nowadays, is Imperia trying to reign with this new release? I'm afraid not! With a couple of songs cut from the tracklist, this could be one huge album.

Viana's debut album was a very enjoyable album and here we have their second effort with new vocalist Bryan Cole.

The album starts brilliant with the catchy "Forever Free". Other highlights are "Heart Of Stone", "Who Do You Think You Are", "Do You Remember", "Friday Night" and "We Will Never Say Goodbye".

If you're into melodic rock, be sure to check out this album!