Hello everyone and welcome to my list for what I believe to be the top 40 albums of 2017! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for years and I now finally have a platform to do it on!
Just a few things before we get to the list:
This list will pretty much just be rock and metal albums. So if you don’t like these genres, you probably won’t get much out of this list.
Main reason I like these kind of lists is discovering new music. So if something interests you, please check out the Youtube videos I added!
If you feel like I’m missing an album, let me know! I might have missed out on a great album.
So let’s get to that list…
40. Enter Shikari – The Spark
It pains me to rank this album at the bottom of the list. In general, I like the direction the band took with this album. But it causes the album to lack the oomph I think it needs and causes some songs to sound too samey.
39. Arch Enemy – Will to Power
There are very few bands these days that I listen to that feature pretty much all harsh vocals. Arch Enemy is definitely one of those exceptions. Mainly thanks to the melodic guitar riffs. But after hearing “Reason to Believe”, I wish they would let Alyssa sing more…
38. The Unguided – And the Battle Royale
This is the second time vocalist/guitarist Roland Johansson has left a band I love… But the outcome is much better this time around. New member Jonathan Thorpenberg’s vocals are great and help keep The Unguided one of my favorite current melodic death metal/metalcore bands.
37. Eclipse – Monumentum
Sometimes there are hard rock bands that sound like they are from over 20 years ago that I just fall in love with. Eclipse is one of those bands. They may not do anything “special”, but they are one of the best at what they do.
36. Nothing More – The Stories We Tell Ourselves
I loved this band’s major label debut. I may not like this album as much, but this is still a really good album. They are still one of the best band’s in the current radio rock scene and Jonny Hawkins has one the most unique voices in rock.
35. Stone Sour – Hydrograd
Stone Sour is one of those bands who I feel each album has a certain “feel” to it. This album has more of a Rock n Roll feel to me, at least compared to their other albums. This style definitely compliments Corey Taylor’s vocal style. But I think it could have benefited from having a few less songs.
34. I the Mighty –Â Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let It Go
I was looking forward to this album because I was curious what direction the band would go in after their last album, Connector. As I feared, they went a poppier direction. But my fears were somewhat misguided. A lesser band that tried to go this direction would have made something completely generic and boring. But I think I the Mighty transitioned to this style really well. Main complaint is some of the lyrics are really weak.
33. Nocturnal Rites – Phoenix
After 10 years, Nocturnal Rites has finally released a new album. While not doing anything particularly new, it’s great to see this band back with their brand of power metal. Also adding Per Nilsson from Scar Symmetry to your band never hurts…
32. The Contortionist –Â Clairvoyant
Well, we can officially say goodbye to heavy Contortionist. The band has gone full atmospheric prog. I think this is for the best. The band did a great job easing into this direction and I’m more excited to see where the band goes from here than I previously did.
31. He Is Legend – few
When it comes to the hard rock scene, He Is Legend is extremely underrated. They consistently write great hard rock albums filled with catchy songs that make you want to headbang. This album is no different.
30. Bloodbound – War of Dragons
I just love some cheesy power metal. How cheesy is this band? This album is mainly about dragons and one of their previous albums is about Game of Thrones.
29. Anathema – The Optimist
This album ended up much lower than I thought it would be before it came out. The album has more post rock influence than their previous albums with mixed results. But this album still has some of the most emotional, beautiful songs I’ve heard all year.
28. Soen – Lykaia
I have trouble describing this album. This album is very melodic and relaxing to me, but also heavy. Joel Ekelof’s smooth and powerful voice fits this band’s style perfectly.
27. Battle Beast – Bringer of Pain
This has been a break out year for Battle Beast. Before this year, I didn’t see much about this band. But now I see this band mentioned everywhere and have seen a lot of people wearing their shirts at the kind of shows you would expect. This is all earned as this album straight up kicks ass. Noora Louhimo is going to be known as the next great vocalist in this genre.
26. Eluveitie –Â Evocation II: Pantheon
This is a weird album. A folk metal band makes an acoustic album featuring a new singer, guitarist, and drummer, with all lyrics being in a dead language… Sounds great to me!
25. Cellar Darling – This is the Sound
If you read the notes for the album above this one, this band features the former members from that band. I have always loved Anna Murphy’s voice and am glad to hear her as the lead vocalist of a band. I also need my hurdy gurdy fill.
24. Mutiny Within – Origins
I am just happy this album exists. Not too long after their debut album in 2010, Mutiny Within stopped being a full time band. I unfortunately never got to see them live, but at least we have gotten two albums since then! I love the direction they went with this album. It mixes the progressive elements of their first album and the catchiness of their second album, as well as adding some heavier elements for flavor. I also just love Chris Clancy’s voice.
23. Ne Obliviscaris – Urn
This band has everything I love in a heavy band. Great harsh vocals, great clean vocals, extreme metal elements mixed with progressive elements, and they even have a violin player! The only reason this isn’t higher is I just discovered this band recently and haven’t had the time to completely digest it.
22. Vuur –Â In This Moment We Are Free: Cities
Anneke van Giersbergen is in a new band? I’m in. I love her voice and am pleasantly surprised to hear her on an album this heavy that’s not a Devin Townsend album.
21. Diablo Swing Orchestra –Â Pacifisticuffs
Probably the weirdest album on the list. And also one of the most fun. What you think the band sounds like based on their name is probably both correct and wrong at the same time.
20. While She Sleeps – You Are We
I’m always happy to hear a great new metalcore record. This album is filled with songs that just make me want to jump up and down, sing along, and headbang. Anyone who has an itch for a great metalcore album: listen to this album.
19. Leprous – Malina
Each release, this band gets less and less metal. And I’m perfectly okay with that. Their current sound allows them to take full advantage of Einer Solberg’s unique vocal delivery. It’s no surprise that they are becoming one of the biggest names in modern prog.
18. Queens of the Stone Age – Villains
Nothing new from QOTSA. Their unique style of rock is why I keep coming back to their albums.
17. The Dark Element – The Dark Element
I love hearing Anette Olzon, formerly of Nightwish, sing in a metal band again. The pop elements really help to make her shine on this album and help to separate this album from the ones she made with Nightwish.
16. Seven Spires – Solveig
I would consider the debut album from Seven Spires to be symphonic metal with some theatrical and extreme metal elements throughout. This album has a lot of variety and makes me very excited for whatever direction this band goes in next.
15. One Desire – One Desire
This was my favorite debut album of 2017. This melodic rock disc is definitely “all killer, no filler”. This is one of the few albums this year where every song has been stuck in my head at some point.
14. Ayreon – The Source
For people who don’t know, Ayreon is a band from Arjen Lucassen that writes progressive metal “rock operas” that feature about a dozen guest vocalists. This album features a lot of my favorite vocalists such as Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, Seventh Wonder), Simone Simmons (Epica), James Labrie (Dream Theater), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), and much more. The only “negative” to listening to these albums is it can be overwhelming. But I love Arjen’s work and it’s worth putting the time into it.
13. Voyager – Ghost Mile
Voyager continues being one of my favorite bands in the current prog metal scene. Their unique brand of metal, now featuring some djent, makes them one of the most accessible prog bands out there. If you feel like you have trouble getting into prog metal, this could be a great gateway band.
12. Ankor –Â Beyond the Silence of These Years
I am so happy we finally got another album from this band. I like their shift to a more metalcore influenced sound and think it works for them. I also surprisingly like the rap they added on a couple songs. Now if only this band would finally tour the United States…
11. Stick to Your Guns – True View
My favorite hardcore band is back! I really did not like Stick to Your Guns’ last album, Disobedient, besides a couple songs. I just felt it lacked something that its predecessor, Diamond, had. Diamond is my favorite hardcore album of all time and this feels like the follow up that I have been waiting for the last five years.
10. Caligula’s Horse – In Contact
This concept album from Caligula’s Horse is simply amazing. Like the band’s other works, it blends the lighter side of prog metal and alternative rock perfectly. I think this is the band’s best album and each time I listen to it I find something else that makes me love this album even more.
9. Daniel Cavanagh – Monochrome
This is much closer to what I was hoping for from Anathema’s new album. As a songwriter, Daniel Cavanagh is the best at writing music that just feels like a punch in the gut and I mean that in the best way possible. Also adding Anneke van Giersbergen to your album never hurts.
8. Persefone – Aathma
Albums like this make me wish progressive melodic death metal was more of a thing. It combines a lot of the things I love in music. It’s heavy, it’s complex, and it has plenty of melody. “Living Waves” is one my favorite songs of the year and is one of the most beautifully brutal songs I have ever heard.
7. Silverstein – Dead Reflection
It’s an odd numbered year, so that means it’s time for another Silverstein album! Silverstein has consistently been one of my favorite bands since I got into “heavy” music close to ten years ago and one of the few bands from then that keeps me consistently excited for a new release. I would definitely put this album close to the top of the band’s discography.
6. Trivium – The Sin and the Sentence
It brings me great joy to have a new Trivium album ranked this high. I’ve enjoyed their last couple “lighter” albums more than most, but I didn’t feel they were nearly as good as Trivium’s best albums, Ascendancy and Shogun. The band seemed to have taken elements from their last couple albums and combined them with elements from their older, heavier albums to make an album that stacks up with their best.
5. Pain of Salvation – In the Passing Light of Day
Two of Pain of Salvation’s older, more proggy albums make up two of my top five albums of all time, so I had high expectations when the band said they would be returning to that sound. That claim was partly true. Like Trivium, they seemed to have combined elements from their older albums with their newer stuff. And I’m okay with this! I love both eras, so naturally I loved this album. The 15 minute title track might be my favorite song this year.
4. Orden Ogan – Gunmen
Unfortunately, power metal as a genre has been pretty stagnant for a while. So it’s great to see a power metal band get bigger in popularity and getting better with each album they release. Nobody writes a chorus as big or epic as Orden Ogan does.
3. Need – Hegaiamas
Need’s last album, Orvam, was my favorite album of 2014. So I had high expectations for this album… And it completely surpassed my expectations. After two absolutely amazing albums, I can safely say Need is one of my favorite prog metal bands. Their style of dark and emotive prog just connects with me like few bands do.
2. Alestorm – No Grave But the Sea
This might be the album I have listened to the most in 2017… And probably the one that stands out the most on this list. Like all of Alestorm’s albums, it is an album filled with fun, epic songs about drinking and being a pirate. Sometimes you need music that is just pure fun. This band almost makes we wished I drank… Almost…
1. Daydream XI – The Circus of the Tattered and Torn
This was the only album on this list where I 100% knew where it was going to place before really working on it. I know this sounds weird, but around half way through the album on my first listen I knew it was going to be my album of the year. It is probably my favorite album of the last few years. It just checks all of the boxes for what I want in a prog metal album. In my eyes, vocalist/guitarist Tiago Masseti is the star of this circus. (See what I did there?) His passionate, soulful vocal style helps elevate this album to greatness. Also the music itself is very varied. It has both heavy sections that get the blood pumping and beautiful acoustic sections that make me feel something. It’s also a concept album with lyrics I feel actually tell a story. The title track I linked below is the perfect example of all I have written. But I urge anyone who is intrigued by what I have said to listen to this album in full. It is just an album that begs to be played all at once.
Nerds at Large 
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