Best albums

- Testament - The Formation Of Damnation
Thrash has been on the rise for a while now, and to me Testament provided the pinnacle of this year.

- Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine
Not as good on his own as with Nevermore, but you still go very far with strong personal lyrics and a voice that is godsend.

- Metallica - Death Magnetic
I am not sure yet if Death Magnetic features any future classics, but hey, Metallica is back, for real.

- Black Stone Cherry - Folklore And Superstition
Convincingly performed hard rock with a strong scent of the south, this album is filled with powerful songs and ultra tight playing.

- Sabaton - The Art Of War
Sabaton, about the only good thing that comes out of ages of war in the world. Perhaps their most even and further strongest album so far with loads of classics to be.

Runner-ups: Falconer - Among Beggars And Thieves, Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God, Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery, In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose, Tesla - Forever More

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DVD's worth mentioning:

- Iron Maiden - Live After Death
Scream for me Long Beach! One of the best live albums in the history in time doesn't become less mighty along with quality footage.

- Nevermore - The Year Of The Voyager
Finally the Nevermore DVD- debut arrived, about time their amazing live-performances was made for all to see.

- Tesla - Cumin' Atcha Live!
They did great at Sweden Rock Festival, and this DVD feature a resembling setlist and a sparkling performance. Nostalgia at the same time as they still can kick it with new stuff.

Biggest disappointments

- Those who died
Michelle Meldrum of Phantom Blue and Meldrum, Gus Chambers of Grip Inc. and Squealer, Michael A. Baker of Shadow Gallery and all other creative minds that met a far too early death. R.I.P.

- Scars On Broadway @ Trädgårn, Gothenburg, Sweden
One of the most arrogant performances I have witnessed. It was too obvious that they didn't want to be there, all they wanted and all they did was ripping off the songs in a boring and uninspired manner as fast as they could in order to get off the stage after about forty minutes.

- Iced Earth and Judas Priest's concept-albums
In general these are actually good albums, but merely good and I think you could expect more of these bands. The thing they have in common is that the story takes over the album and the musical side becomes secondary, which makes listening kind of dull mostly.

Happiest/biggest news

- Camp Covenant @ Sweden Rock Festival 2008
This is starting to become a tradition, and a most pleasant one.

- Bandit Rock Radio in Gothenburg
The new home for the worlds best morning radio show: Rivstart ( formally known as Morrongänget, at another station.)Finally a decent radio station in the area around Gothenburg, not as heavy as I would like though, but still a major step in the right direction.

- Thrash Metal
Not only that I have had a huge thrash metal frenzy on my own in 2008, but more that the genre in general has been on a huge rise this year with a lot of new bands surfacing.

Best live concerts

- Iron Maiden @ Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
As I was too young when the Powerslave tour rolled around the world, I had to settle with this. I have said it before, and I will probably say it many times more; Iron Maiden is the best band in the world, and to see, hear and experience Rime Of The Ancient Mariner live is something I wish for everyone. Pure magic.

- Testament @ Sweden Rock Festival
The new songs worked out well, and the old ones, well, they are classics. And what could be better than classic thrash performed live by a band that seemed to have gained a new sparked flame.

- In Flames @ Metaltown Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden
In Sweden we have a saying that you can never become a prophet in your hometown. Well, you can screw that as In Flames rules Gothenburg, and they showed it at more than one occasion as well, as they did two sold out concerts that was just as good as this performance.

- Avantasia @ Sweden Rock Festival
Sammet was as happy as ever, the many great guest-artists seemed thrilled to be there, the crowd were ecstatic, the setlist was splendid, and it all felt historic.

- Down @ Trädgårn, Gothenburg, Sweden
When Pantera don't exist anymore and Corrosion Of Conformity don't exactly spit out albums, Down comes right in-between and fills the void. Being ultra tight and ultra heavy they run you over live, and all you do is smile over how great it is.

- Overkill @ Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, Sweden
Couldn't leave this one out. One of my all-time favourite bands, and it feels so damn great to see that they are still alive and still perform so damn well. This was thrash metal mayhem in a very delightful way.