2013 Metal & Hard Rock Albums

District Zero joins Aldious’s fluent twin guitars, bright melodies and headlong rhythm in a particularly focused form.

The Nexus sends clean vocals, harsh vocals, electronic texture and heavy guitars across one another at high speed.

Circle naturally weaves together heavy riffs, Nordic shadow, folk-shaped melody and progressive movement.

Feast is built around Annihilator’s cutting riffs, tense rhythm work and technical guitar playing.

The Mystery of Time uses multiple vocalists, thick choirs and symphonic arrangement to tell a large-scale rock-opera story.

Hail to the King puts thick riffs, slow and heavy-footed beats, and arena-sized traditional-metal choruses at the front.

13 returns Black Sabbath to low, rolling guitar riffs, sticky rhythm and an apocalyptic atmosphere.

EVERGREEN re-records Blindman’s key songs from its early years through the early 2000s with the then-current lineup, bringing the strength of the band’s melodic hard

What About Now frames Bon Jovi’s large choruses, polished guitar work and open melodies as contemporary arena rock.

Life, Love & Hope uses layered choruses, clear guitar color and wide-opening melodies to revisit the best qualities of Boston’s long-developed sound.

Confessions is built from Buckcherry’s rough guitar tone, direct beats and emotionally exposed vocals.

Epic Obsession joins thick guitar riffs, bluesy lead work and powerful vocals to deliver classic melodic hard rock with real heat.

Halo of Blood puts Children of Bodom’s slicing riffs, high-speed keyboard exchanges and rough vocals in the foreground.

The Savage Playground layers the glamour of eighties-style glam metal with a rougher street edge and a darker mood.

Lady Made combines sparkling keyboards, fluent twin guitars and soaring vocals to put melodic metal’s brightness in full view.

Ars Musica builds a fantasy-metal world through classically shaped melody, symphonic keyboards and elegant guitar work.

Construct uses cool keyboard texture, detailed riffs and restrained melody to create melodic death metal that turns inward.

The Dream Calls for Blood gathers Death Angel’s tight-chopped riffs, rough vocal attack and tense rhythm work into a fierce thrash-metal statement.

Now What?! lets Deep Purple’s organ-and-guitar exchanges, thick bass and flexible drumming carry a mature version of the band’s long-standing identity.

The self-titled Dream Theater joins complex rhythm, precise ensemble playing and dramatic melody inside a heavy sound world.

The Bonding combines weighty orchestration, transparent vocals and lyrical guitar to create grand symphonic metal.

Sundancer uses soaring vocals, delicate guitar phrases and naturally opening choruses to paint high-quality melodic rock.

Darkness in a Different Light builds complex rhythm, hard-edged guitar and introspective vocal melody inside a quiet field of tension.

The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 drives forward on Five Finger Death Punch’s heavyweight riffs, hard beats and vocals that move betw

The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 carries forward the year’s first chapter while showing more of Five Finger Death Punch’s heavy groo

Rockville uses warm vocals, smooth keyboards and tasteful guitar to present FM’s mature melodic rock.

Rockville II stands alongside Rockville and offers more of FM’s soft-edged melodies, polished keyboards and restrained guitar work.

C'mon Take on Me throws rough guitar, urgent beats and poisonous vocals forward with force.

Mood Swings II revisits familiar material through the voice, production weight and arrangement sense of its recording period.

Straight Out of Hell delivers power metal’s exhilaration through fast rhythm, bright sharp guitars and soaring choruses.

Disarm the Descent links Killswitch Engage’s sharp-chopped riffs, explosive breakdowns and clean choruses that open with real emotion.

The Paradigm Shift centers Korn’s low, rolling guitars, bouncing rhythms and anxious vocal expression to restore the band’s unmistakable uneasy groove.

Novum Initium combines thick guitar riffs, classically colored keyboards and dramatic choruses to deliver traditional melodic metal with force.

Super Collider keeps Megadeth’s cutting guitar identity while giving more room to mid-tempo groove and vocal melody.

Through Our Darkest Days combines Mercenary’s sharp melodic-death-metal riffing with power-metal-sized vocal melody.

Generation Nothing puts Metal Church’s hard-chopped guitar, solid rhythm and rough vocal force at the front, reaffirming the power of traditional American heavy metal.

Killhammer stacks sharp guitar riffs, heavy rhythm and forceful vocals to deliver Mystic Prophecy’s hard-edged power metal.

Ceremonial balances Pink Cream 69’s melodic-hard-rock accessibility with weighty guitar riffs.

The self-titled Queensrÿche places sharp riffs, dramatic vocals and tense arrangements in the foreground, restating the band’s traditional progressive-metal identity.

Spirit packs bright synthesizers, flashy guitar and sing-along choruses into Reckless Love’s glam-rock world.

Dark Wings of Steel combines heavy guitar riffs, grand keyboards and orchestration, and dramatic vocals in Rhapsody of Fire’s power-metal world.

A Life to Die For uses classical-leaning keyboards, layered choruses and dramatic vocals to build Royal Hunt’s grand progressive-metal world.

Sammy Hagar & Friends brings together various guests for a relaxed run through hard rock, blues and melodic rock.

The Living Infinite uses the scale of a double album to explore Soilwork’s sharp melodic death metal, modern groove and clean-vocal songfulness in wide detail.

Ceasing to Breathe combines heavy breakdowns, sharp guitars and melodic clean vocals to bring Still Remains back into metalcore with real heat.

House of Gold & Bones – Part 2 brings the story begun on its predecessor toward a conclusion through heavier riffs and urgent vocal melody.

Nemesis brings fast rhythm, fluent guitar and sparkling synthesizers together with a more contemporary electronic edge.

Everblack packs high-speed blast beats, slicing riffs and dark melody into a concentrated Black Dahlia Murder attack.

Tour de Force uses powerful vocals, energetic guitar and memorable choruses to capture Swedish melodic hard rock at full color.

Vengeance Falls packs Trivium’s sharp riffs, tight rhythm and memorable clean choruses into a focused, compact form.

Steelhammer delivers traditional heavy metal through U.D.O.’s steel-hard riffs, forward-driving rhythm and instantly recognizable vocal character.

Rise Up builds modern melodic hard rock from strong vocals, thick choruses and focused guitar riffs.

The Q-Music Sessions is best heard not simply as a covers-related entry, but as a record that shows how WITHIN TEMPTATION translates outside material