Best albums

- Threshold - Subsurface
Progressive metal cant hardly be much better than this. Threshold keeps growing with every album they make and this is a strong album, really strong.

- Fates Warning - FWX
After ten albums they are still on top with a continuous evolution. Might and beauty with calm yet lively music from the progressive masters.

- Moonlight Agony - Echoes Of A Nightmare
Like thunder from a clear blue sky these newcomers stroke down with an awesome debut album. Symphonic and progressive power metal with influences from all over the place that melts into a perfect combination.

- Iced Earth - Glorious Burden
Even if Barlow is missed, Ripper proofs himself to be a worthy successor while Schaffer delivers some of his best with the musical war-drama of Gettysburg.

- Wuthering Heights - Far From The Madding Crowd
They wrote a new chapter in the book on how folk inspired power metal is supposed to sound with this album.
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Runner ups:
Exodus - Tempo Of The Damned, Damageplan - New Found Power, Persuader - Evolution Purgatory, Nightwish - Once, Evergrey - The Inner Circle, Therion - Lemuria/Sirius B
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Not albums but most worthy of mentioning are the DVD's:
- Anthrax - Music Of Mass Destruction
A massive adrenaline rush from one of the greatest thrash bands with intensity so high that you start up your own living-room mosh-pit.

- Blind Guardian - Imaginations Through The Looking Glass
"Valhalla, Deliverance, Why've you ever forgotten me". Talk about getting goosebumps.

Biggest disappointments

- The murder of Dimebag Darrel
What has the world gone to? And as the man doing this ill deed was killed himself by the police we will never now the reason behind this evil act.
Rest in Peace Dimebag, your heavy and bone- crunching riffs will surely be missed but your music and spirit will live on forever in the hearts of the metal crowd.

- Karmageddon Media
It's a shame that Karmageddon Media is robbing money from fans by releasing old and ill sounding demos with Chuck Shuldiner's Zero Tolerance Part I & II, not once but twice in a year. Grave robbery is another word that comes to mind.

- Grip Inc. - Incorporated
I really expected more from this band, I know they have it in them.

- Skid Row cancels Sweden Rock Festival
And I that skipped their concert in Gothenburg since I was going to see them in just a couple of months anyway, bummer.

- Flotsam & Jetsam - Live In Phoenix (DVD)
They just cant be this bad, they are one of my absolute favorite bands, dammit. Lousy sound, lousy picture and sadly enough a lousy performance as well made this painful to watch.

Happiest/biggest news

- Metaltown
Finally we got a metal festival in Gothenburg, it was about time. With a good mix of bands and genres the inaugural festival turned out to be really good apart from the rain that was pouring down constantly.

- Iron Maiden to play in Gothenburg July 2005
This might very well come to be the best concert in my life. And when they are about to focus on their older material this simply cannot go wrong.

- All the great new bands I have discovered this year
It has been a great year and thanx to helpful labels and distributors I have discovered a lot of new and great bands. Special thanx to Sound Pollution for their contribution with promos and interview offers.

Best live concerts

- In Flames x 4
Four times have I seen them this year, and they have surely delivered at all occasions. Most impressive.

- Metallica @ Ullevi, Gothenburg
Not their best concert but still mighty as hell.

- Judas Priest @ Sweden Rock Festival
The Metal Gods, enough said.

- Evergrey @ Storan, Gothenburg
Intimate, magical and can bee seen on their upcoming DVD.

- Queensrÿche @ Trädgårn, Gothenburg
Just too hear songs from Operation: Mindcrime played live is enough to make a grown man cry, can it be much better than that?