Best albums

- Opeth - Watershed
Mikael Åkerfeldt has yet again delivered a masterpiece that will live forever. Those who feared that the line-up changes would have a negative effect on the outcome were proven brutally wrong. This brilliant album might actually be Opeth's finest effort to date. Considering what Opeth has done earlier one could ask how the hell that was possible?

- Ayreon - 01011001
Arjen Lucassen's conceptual project continues on the beaten path. Even though 01011001 was released in the first month of 2008 it is still frequently played with enormous great pleasure. An astonishing piece of work that almost received the gold medal in the end.

- Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thundergod
Oh my God (Odin of course…)! The Vikings of Metal surely know how to cook the most heavy and catchy riffs in Asgaard. With their 2008 offering Amon Amarth delivered their most solid album to date. Extremely cheesy lyrics but what the heck; Hail Odin!!!

- Draconian - Turning Season Within
Finally I understood the brilliance of Draconian that a friend of mine has tried to convince me of in years. Melancholic, beautiful and totally addictive!

- Tesla - Forever More
Who would have thought? A brand new album of my long lost love Tesla that knocked me off my feet! I still don't get it…

Runner-ups: Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine, Sabaton - The Art Of War, Testament - The Formation Of Damnation, Tiamat - Amanethes, Pendragon - Pure, Bob Catley - Immortal, Stormwarrior - Heading Northe, Brother Firetribe - Heart Full Of Fire

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DVD's worth mentioning:

- Opeth - The Roundhouse Tapes
Looking beyond the fact that Opeth is one of the best bands out there today, this DVD contains all that you could ask for. Buy or die!

Biggest disappointments

- Triumph @ Sweden Rock Festival
A show that nowhere near reached my expectations. A big disappointment regarding the setlist as well as the performance.

- Evergrey - Torn
Torn wasn't bad at all but still a big disappointment considering the brilliance they previously have spoiled us with. Soundwise not as dynamic as desired and songwise a never ending recycling of old ideas.

Happiest/biggest news

- Peter Wichers reunites with Soilwork
It might not help, but hopefully he will be the man to straighten things up in this band that I used to be a big fan of. Anyhow, his work together with Warrel Dane this year is enough evidence that he still knows how to do it.

- Porcupine Tree's year off
When Steven Wilson declared that 2008 would be an inactive year for Porcupine Tree it resulted amongst others in great Wilson related albums such as No-Man and a brilliant solo album. Resting is sometimes good…

Best live concerts

- Tesla @ Sweden Rock Festival
Finally I got to see my long time favourite band live and what a show it was! After the opener Cumin' Atcha Live I was floored with tears in my eyes. One of the greatest live experiences in my life!

- Opeth @ Debaser Medis, Stockholm
Despite the fact that Mikael Åkerfeldt at the time was ill he delivered the goods and more. The last show of the tour resulted in a couple of exciting setlist changes. A fantastic and memorable evening even if Deliverance was deeply missed.