So, we’ve reached the pointy end – who will take out 2022’s Album of the Year Gong – read on, dear reader, read on!
25. Tony Martin – Thorns (Battlegod Productions)
“Tony Martin is one of the finest hard rock vocalists to have emerged from the UK, make no mistake, and Thorns is a superb addition to the man’s already-impressive canon”. – Scott Adams, 24/12/21
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #2 – Read Scott’s full review of Thorns HERE
24. Giant – Shifting Time (Frontiers Music)
“Giant v.2022 is very much it’s own master, and should be approached as such. And, on those terms, Shifting Time is an unmitigated success”. – SA, 12/01/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #6 – Read our full review of Shifting Time HERE
23. Symphony Of Sweden – Saints of Yesterday (Own Label)
“It’s pretty rare in this day an age that a band covers all the bases without leaving the listener feeling that they are trying just a bit too hard to please everybody, but on Saints of Yesterday that never happens”. – Gavin Strickmann, 14/01/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #2 – Read Gavin’s full review of the Album HERE
22. Imprecation – In Nomine Diaboli (Dark Descent Records)
“Once again on In Nomine Diaboli, Imprecation prove the all-consuming, all-enveloping nature of true death metal – and prove it with consummate skill”.- Michael Stronge, 13/10/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #3 – Read Mick’s unexpurgated thoughts on In Nomine Diaboli HERE
21. H.E.A.T. – Force Majeure (earMUSIC)
“Many will throw their hats into the melodic hard rock ring this year; very few of those pieces of headwear will even manage to get in the same post code as H.E.A.T., let alone close…” – GS, 10/08/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position – #18 – Read Gavin’s full force eulogy to H.E.A.T. HERE
20. Silent Knight – Full Force (Own Label)
“There really aren’t any chinks in Silent Knight’s armour here – if you love fast-paced heavy metal crammed with melody and memorability, then quite simply you must own this record!” – Ferry Templeton, 30/08/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #9 – Read Ferry’s full review of Full Force HERE
19. Teramaze – Flight of the Wounded (Wells Music)
“Despite the Stakhanovite work ethic, Teramaze show no signs of either repetition or fatigue on Flight of the Wounded; They continue to produce progressive heavy metal of the very highest order, a fact for which we should be very thankful indeed. Essential listening”. – SA, 19/09/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #4 – Read our full appraisal of Flight of the Wounded HERE
18. Saxon – Carpe Diem (Silver Lining Music)
“Of course, Saxon don’t really make bad albums, but this is certainly one of their best in recent memory and perhaps even going right back to those mid-eighties halcyon days. Seize the day indeed…” – SA, 08/02/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #1 (6 weeks) – Read our Carpe Diem review in full HERE
17. Sartori – Dragon’s Fire (Rockshots Records)
“This is genuinely good music, and I send my hearty congratulations to all involved for creating such an enjoyable record”. – GS, 30/12/21
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #5 – Read Gavin’s full outpouring on Dragon’s Fire HERE
16. Riot City – Electric Elite (No Remorse Records)
“When the band lock in together on the proggy closer, the quite excellent Severed Ties, you get the sense that, with a bit of luck and a following wind, they might just be traditional heavy metal’s new Guardians of the Flame”. – FT, 21/09/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #16 – Read our full review of Electric Elite HERE
15. Girish and the Chronicles – Hail To The Heroes (Frontiers Music)
“The heyday of this kind of music may be long gone, but luckily nobody told Girish and his chroniclers; is it too much to hope for that songs like this album’s staggering title track might usher in a new golden age of hair metal?” – GS, 03/02/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #6 – Read Gavin in full on HTTH HERE
14. Avantasia – A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society (Nuclear Blast)
“It’s sprawling, it’s ambitious – but you knew that already. Never before has ‘more of the same’ been such a welcome descriptor. Please don’t change, Tobi – we love you too much as you are” – SA, 16/12/22
13. De Profundis – The Corruption of Virtue (Transcending Obscurity Records)
“The Corruption of Virtue deserves a place in all discerning metal album collections, believe me… One of the must-listen British death metal albums of 2022″. – MS, 05/10/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #14 – Read Mick’s analysis of The Corruption of Virtue in full HERE
12. Generation Landslide – Ruling The Street Scene (Weapon Records/Vanity Music Group)
“Other eighties-referencing albums are available, for sure, but few of them are referencing that decade with the sheer pizzaz and panache that Generation Landslide manage here. And for that reason this is a must-buy album if you love the glory of eighties hard rock” – GS, 05/12/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #20 – Read Gavin’s thoughts in Full HERE
11. Living Wreckage – Living Wreckage (M-Theory Audio)
“Like the great metal albums of days gone by, Living Wreckage effortlessly marries melody to muscle, in the process producing a memorable set of songs that all concerned with this project can be justifiably proud of. My new favourite band? They just might be!” – Hideous Destructor, 13/09/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #2 – Read our full review of the album HERE
10. Hellsingland Underground – Endless Optimism (Wild Kingdom)
“I’m happy to report that there is quite literally no weak spot on this record; The band analyse every aspect of the ludicrous proposition of being fifty and in a rock n’roll band with grace and wit throughout – lyrically this is a beautifully strong album – and fans of supremely well crafted, and yes, endlessly optimistic, it would seem – rock n’roll are going to lap this absolute diamond of an album right up”. – GS, 01/11/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #2 – Read Gavin Strickmann in full on Endless Optimism HERE
9. Skid Row – The Gang’s All Here (earMUSIC)
“The whole band sounds energised and just downright happy to be back and making vital, relevant heavy metal… As the good-time When The Lights Come On belts out of the speakers, driving a line direct through the space-time continuum to 1989, you find yourself realising that we’ve waited a long time for this. And my word, we’ve been rewarded for our patience handsomely”. – GS, 12/10/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #14 – Read Gavin’s full dissection of TGAH HERE
8. Hydranaut – Hydranaut (Own Label)
“Hydranaut have created one of those rare albums that, despite being packed with great moments, doesn’t boast a single song you’d want to single out as ‘the best’. Everything here has something going for it, and whether you love stentorian old school metal (check out the glorious main riff of Hunt) or gutter-bound, oil-encrusted filth, these blokes have got what you need”. – MS, 14/11/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #7 – Read our full thoughts on Hydranaut HERE
7. Venom Inc. – There’s Only Black (Nuclear Blast)
“If there’s a better end to a song than the Slayeresque mayhem of Don’t Feed Me Your Lies to be heard this year, I’ll be a very happy man indeed when it’s brought to my attention… Venom Inc. have spawned an absolute monster in There’s Only Black – and it ‘s an album that demands the attention of right-thinking noise lovers everywhere. Buy or die!” – MS, 14/09/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #6 – Read our full review of the album HERE
6. Cats In Space – Kickstart The Sun (Harmony Factory)
“Remarkably for a fifteen track album, there is little or no material on Kickstart the Sun that could be dismissed as filler; from it’s opening Uriah Heep-styled backing vocals to it’s gong-assisted guitar freakout at the end, this is an album of one hundred per cent prime musical muscle, and should be celebrated as such. As the old guard continues to whither on the vine in a weakening farrago of studio-enhanced live performance and general timid acceptance of advancing years, Cats In Space stand as a beacon for proper, all guns blazing rock and roll. That’s why we love them, and why you’ll love this big beast of an album”… – SA, 01/07/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #1 (4 Weeks) – Read Scott’s full-length review of KTS HERE
5. Talas – 1985 (Metal Blade)
“All in all, it’s nigh-on impossible to find fault with 1985 – even the newly written track, the more seventies-influenced Black and Blue, keeps it’s end up despite not really being able to live with the more ‘classic’ material on offer – with the result being an album that absolutely demands your attention if supremely crafted hard rock brings a smile to your dial”. – SA, 07/09/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #5 – Read more about 1985 HERE
4. Stöner – Totally… (Heavy Psych Sounds)
“For all their smirk-laden Cheech & Chong wittiness, at the root of Stöner‘s latest bout of reefer madness is staggeringly good musicianship… the bottom line is that for every moment of goofy silliness there are ten of diamond-hard musical brilliance, making Totally… absolutely one of the must-hear straight-up hard rock records of the year, bar none”. – GS, 05/05/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #1 (5 weeks) – Read our full review of the album HERE
3. Burnt Out Wreck – Stand And Fight (Burnt Out Wreckords)
“By some way this is the most epic Burnt Out Wreck album yet; it feels weighty, it feels portentous. But Gary Moat’s cheeky grin is always smirking away in the background, like a heavy metal Cheshire cat, ensuring that any whiff of pomposity is stopped at the door and sent packing. This is still good time boozing music – but it’s good time boozing music packed with a heck of a lot of substance. Make sure you get a hold of it at your earliest convenience”. – GS, 28/10/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #1 (1 week) – Read Gavin’s full report on Stand And Fight HERE
2. Xentrix – Seven Words (Listenable Records)
“Joking aside, however, it has to be said that Xentrix have done the business in fine style on Seven Words, their second album since getting back together ten years ago. In tandem with mixmaster Andy Sneap they’ve created a gargantuan old-school thrash sound on tracks like Spit Coin and Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead that won’t fail to transport you back to thrash glory days with a sound that sits somewhere between Among The Living and the Black Album; The good news though is that, whilst certainly bringing to mind those two great albums, Seven Words never merely apes them. This is seriously great heavy metal in it’s own right, make no mistake!” – MS, 25/10/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position – #1 (6 weeks) – Read Mick in full flight on the subject of Seven Words HERE
All of which brings us to the main event – ladies and gentlemen, children and wild things of all ages – here is Sentinel Daily’s selection as the best album of 2022…
1. Dynazty – Final Advent (AFM)
“The deliriously OTT Instinct does what I thought couldn’t be done – tops everything on The Dark Delight, but this album isn’t really about competition; It’s about progression, it’s about the refinement of an ideal to razor sharpness and maximum pleasure production. In Final Advent, there’s no doubt that Dynazty have made their best album ever. Can they top it? Who knows. For the moment, let’s just enjoy this ridiculously good album…” – GS, 27/07/22
Highest Sentinel Daily Chart Position: #1 (6 Weeks) – Read all about our album of the year HERE
So there you have it – it’s been another splendid year for ‘our kind of music’ – thanks to everyone who has contributed to Sentinel Daily this year and here’s to 2023 being even better!
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