2004 Metal & Hard Rock Albums

The second studio album, a concept record drawn from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and the band's last for Relapse Records. It opens with "Blood and Thunder".

A debut eight years in the making, home to "Steel Lord on Wheels" — the record that carried Brazilian power metal abroad.

The first album by Tak Matsumoto's international hard-rock group with Eric Martin and Jack Blades — fourteen songs where Japanese and American rock instincts meet head-on.

Honkin’ on Bobo revisits blues standards as rough, living Aerosmith rock and roll.

This Darkened Heart introduces All That Remains through cutting riffs, raw vocals and racing rhythm.

Divinity brings together thick guitars, bright keyboards and soaring vocals in a focused Altaria record.

Wound Creations introduces Amoral through rapidly changing guitar riffs, abrupt rhythmic shifts and raw growls at high density.

Temple of Shadows combines fast guitar, classical arrangement, Brazilian rhythmic color and soaring vocals to tell a story on a large scale.

All for You keeps Annihilator’s cutting guitar work and bold shifts in arrangement while bringing more singable melody to the front.

The Greater of Two Evils revisits familiar material through the voice, production weight and arrangement sense of its recording period.

Silent Nation joins expansive keyboards, polished guitar and melody-rich writing in a mature Asia statement.

The Curse combines Atreyu’s sharp riffs, intense screams and highly singable choruses.

Time Machine joins Axxis’s bright melodic instinct to muscular guitar work with real care.

Hangover Music Vol. VI steps away from Black Label Society’s usual riff-heavy attack toward acoustic guitar, piano and melancholy melody.

The Art of Dying brings Death Angel back to the thrash-metal front through sharp riffs, shifting rhythms and tense vocals.

Hell to Pay is built around fluid guitar phrases, thick riffs and shadowed melody in a steady Dokken form.

The Book of Heavy Metal uses thick riffs, racing beat and proud choruses to state Dream Evil’s love of heavy metal without hesitation.

Second to None introduces Eclipse through hard guitar riffs, clear melody and a polished modern sound.

Shine layers clear vocals, bright keyboards and heavy guitar to create Edenbridge’s fantastical soundscape.

Hellfire Club combines racing rhythm, thick guitars and theatrical choruses on a grand Edguy scale.

Start from the Dark moves Europe away from its brightest 1980s image toward low, heavy guitar riffs and shadowed vocals.

Tempo of the Damned reasserts Exodus through slicing riffs, accelerating beats and a raw vocal attack.

FWX uses sharp guitar, restrained rhythm and shadowed vocals to create progressive metal that turns inward.

Jupiters Darling naturally places heavy-guitar rockers beside quieter songs shaped by acoustic texture.

Soundtrack to Your Escape combines sharp guitar riffs, a mechanical rhythmic feel and shadowed melody in a more compact In Flames form.

Battering Ram joins metallic guitar riffs, machine-precise rhythm and powerful vocals in classic Iron Savior fashion.

Lost in the Translation centers on Jeff Scott Soto’s soaring, expressive voice while moving between hard rock, AOR and soulful nuance.

The End of Heartache tightly joins Killswitch Engage’s heavyweight guitars, urgent screams and soaring clean vocals.

Ashes of the Wake packs low, rolling riffs, sharply shifting rhythm and raw roars into overwhelming density.

Abyss brings together thick guitar riffs, shadowed keyboards and emotionally rich vocals in a focused Lionsheart setting.

The System Has Failed sharpens Megadeth’s identity through cutting riffs, shifting rhythm and Dave Mustaine’s distinctive vocal delivery.

11 Dreams tightly combines heavy riffs, shifting rhythm and the contrast between clean vocals and growls.

The Weight of the World uses hard guitar riffs, heavy-footed beat and forceful vocals to push traditional heavy-metal weight to the front.

Jericho layers bright keyboards, firm guitar and dramatic vocals with great care.

Never-Ending connects low, heavy riffs, powerful vocals and commanding choruses in a direct Mystic Prophecy statement.

Once unites heavy guitar, large-scale orchestra and operatic vocal power into a cinematic Nightwish statement.

New World Messiah gathers fast twin-guitar lines, steady rhythm and commanding vocals into a focused Nocturnal Rites statement.

Thunderdome brings Pink Cream 69’s heavy guitars and polished melodies together inside a tightly focused sound.

Devil’s Ground connects heavy guitar, a solid rhythmic foundation and piercing high-register vocals in the most direct Primal Fear manner.

Symphony of Enchanted Lands II layers fast guitar, grand orchestra, choir and narration to build a vast fantasy world in sound.

Unbreakable brings Scorpions back to a hard-rock core of low-slung riffs, steady beat and powerful vocal delivery.

The War Within uses slicing twin guitars, heavy breakdowns and fierce vocals while still pushing memorable melody to the front.

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) keeps Slipknot’s destructive riffs and urgent vocals while drawing in more melody, silence and strange texture.

Reckoning Night brings fast keyboard work, sharp guitars and soaring vocals together in dramatic Sonata Arctica power metal.

Into the Now returns Tesla to the kind of rock and roll built on unadorned riffs, sturdy rhythm and seasoned vocals.

My Religion places TNT’s vivid guitar movement and soaring melody inside tightly built songs.

Plague-House Puppet Show uses hard guitar, bright keyboards and light-footed vocals to create colorful Twilightning melodic metal.

Still Hungry revisits songs from the Stay Hungry period with a more immediate, heavier performance feel.

Thunderball runs on short, cutting riffs, an unshakable beat and Udo Dirkschneider’s unmistakably rough vocal character.

The Neon God: Part 1 – The Rise uses heavy guitar, shadowed vocals and dramatic movement to tell the story of a central character.

The Neon God: Part 2 – The Demise takes the story begun in the first volume into darker, heavier territory.

The Silent Force combines heavy guitar, cinematic orchestra and clear, luminous vocals to create large emotional waves.