Best albums

1. Porcupine Tree – The Incident
Yet another masterpiece penned by Steven Wilson, how the hell was that possible? The Incident is a 55-minute song cycle that peaks with Time Flies where Steve pays homage to Pink Floyd in the best of ways. For me, this is how good music can get nowadays.

2. Katatonia – Night Is The New Day
After a long wait Katatonia returned with a dark and heavy album full of soaring melodies. The production is very well balanced with depth that fit the songs like hand in glove. Probably their strongest effort so far, together with Viva Emptiness.

3. Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition
Poland’s finest delivered yet another gem with ADHD. They still work in the progressive rock/metal area and they are doing just fine, to say the least. To rank their discography is an impossible task since they now have 4 strong and even albums without any flaws whatsoever.

4. Long Distance Calling – Avoid The Light
I have never been a fan of instrumental music, but Germany’s Long Distance Calling changed my perception of things. Their dynamic song structures range from heavy passages to atmospheric beauty.

5. Amorphis – Skyforger
Eclipse was close to a masterpiece, Silent Waters almost as good. Amorphis’ 2010 offering Skyforger didn’t fail to impress either and quality-wise it was as good as the first mentioned. When Tomi Joutsen joined ranks with Amorphis this band stepped up into the elite.

Runner-ups: The Mars Volta – Octahedron, Mastodon – Crack The Skye, Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us, Candlemass - Death Magic Doom, Ensiferum – From Afar

Biggest disappointments

- Kamelot @ Sweden Rock Festival
The rain fell and so did Kamelot. Boring setlist and a poor performance.

- Megadeth – Endgame
Sure, the riffs are there but where are the melodies?

Best live concerts

1. Porcupine Tree (Stockholm, Sweden)

2. Y&T (Sala, Sweden)

3. Opeth (Örebro, Sweden)

4. Flogging Molly (Norje, Sweden Rock Festival 2009)

5. Riot (Norje, Sweden Rock Festival 2009)