The new year gets off to the best possible start with a selection as rich and varied as ever, including the latest releases from one of the leading bands of the 1980s, Duran Duran, and one of the founders of Depeche Mode, Erasure... Vince Clarke and Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, not to mention Saxon, Magnum, Neal Morse, Eldritch, Glass Hammer...
But before we look at this first TOP WAVES of the year, let's take a look at the official French rankings for physical sales in the genres we're interested in:
"Green Day's Saviors is 11th
Maneskin's "Rush" is 21st, one place ahead of the latest The Rolling Stones and Saxon (22nd and 23rd respectively)
Peter Gabriel's "I/O" is 35th
New Model Army's "Unbroken" comes in at number 37
Shaka Ponk's eponymous album stays at number 46
Imagine Dragons' "Mercury Act I" is 76th
Metallica's "72 Seasons" remains at No.82
"Charcoal Grace" by Caligula's Horse (111th)
TOP WAVES - GENERAL
Somewhat to everyone's surprise, it's a young German quartet who take the prize with their modern 'progressive' metal in the broadest sense of the word, somewhere between djent and metalcore...
"... Unprocessed's "And Everything In Between" is a musical adventure in which you never really know what to expect, exploring all sorts of directions without worrying about genre labels". (Rhum1)
UNPROCESSED ...and Everything In Between
In second place, we find a sure bet in heavy metal, better a precursor of NWOBHM.
"Epic, heavy and melodic, Hell, Fire And Damnation is a lesson from Saxon at the top of their game. (Noise)
SAXON Hell, Fire And Damnation
And it's a sure-fire progressive rock star who completes the podium.
"Varied and exciting, "The Restoration" won't surprise Neal Morse fans, but it will certainly delight them". (Corto1809)
NEAL MORSE The Restoration - Joseph: Part Two
Detailed general ranking
UNPROCESSED: ...and Everything In Between (Progressive Metal) 21
SAXON: Hell, Fire And Damnation (Heavy Metal) 16
NEAL MORSE: The Restoration - Joseph: Part Two (Progressive Rock) 14
MAGNUM: Here Comes The Rain (Melodic Hard Rock) 9
SHAÂRGHOT: Let Me Out (Industrial Metal) 9
GALAHAD: The Long Goodbye (Progressive Rock) 6
SCREETUS: Into The Ether (Alternative Rock) 6
DURAN DURAN: Danse Macabre (Pop) 6
DEGENERATOR: The Abyssal Throne (Alternative Rock) 5
DES ROCS: Dream Machine (Rock) 5
DOMKRAFT: Sonic Moon (Stoner) 5
GOTUS: Gotus (Melodic Hard Rock) 5
ELDRITCH: Innervoid (Progressive Metal) 4
ADVENT HORIZON: A Cell To Call Home (Progressive Rock) 4
ABDUCTION: Toutes Blessent, La Dernière Tue (Black Metal) 3
DIRTY HONEY: Can't Find The Brakes!! (Hard Rock) 3
HUMULUS: Flowers Of Death (Stoner) 3
MOTHER BLACK CAP: Caveman Tv (Progressive Rock) 3
SYNDONE: Dirty Thirty (Progressive Rock) 3
COREY TAYLOR: Cmf2 (Rock) 2
AUTUMN'S CHILD: Tellus Timeline (Melodic Hard Rock) 1
THE SPACELORDS: Nectar Of The Gods (Progressive Rock) 1
THE STRUTS: Pretty Vicious (Rock) 1
TOP WAVES - METAL
In line with the overall rankings, Unprocessed and Saxon share the top two places on the TOP WAVES METAL podium.
And it's one of the first transalpine progressive metal bands to take third place.
"With "Innervoid", Eldritch offer a pleasant progressive metal album that unfortunately lacks of originality". (Gyvy)
ELDRITCH Innervoid
Detailed Metal ranking
UNPROCESSED: ...and Everything In Between (Progressive Metal) 21
SAXON: Hell, Fire And Damnation (Heavy Metal) 20
ELDRITCH: Innervoid (Progressive Metal) 17
SHAÂRGHOT: Let Me Out (Industrial Metal) 14
DOMKRAFT: Sonic Moon (Stoner) 8
ABDUCTION: Toutes Blessent, La Dernière Tue (Black Metal) 6
DISPLAY OF DECAY: Vitriol (Death Metal) 5
HUMULUS: Flowers Of Death (Stoner) 5
SECRET SPHERE: Blackened Heartbeat (Melodic Metal) 2
HYPERIA: The Serpent's Cycle (Thrash) 1
TOP WAVES ROCK
TOP WAVES ROCK is topped by the latest Neal Morse.
In second place is a dinosaur of melodic hard rock, with his last (?) album.
"Here Comes The Rain", the probable final chapter in Magnum's career after the death of Tony Clarkin, resonates sadly in our hearts. (Lynott)
MAGNUM Here Comes The Rain
An Indian progressive rock band rounds off the podium.
"With "Into The Flesh", Screetus strikes a blow and enters the world of progressive alt rock and ambient through the front door." (Calgepo)
SCREETUS Into The Ether
Detailed Rock ranking
NEAL MORSE: The Restoration - Joseph: Part Two (Progressive Rock) 25
MAGNUM: Here Comes The Rain (Melodic Hard Rock) 11
SCREETUS: Into The Ether (Alternative Rock) 10
GALAHAD: The Long Goodbye (Progressive Rock) 8
DIRTY HONEY: Can't Find The Brakes!! (Hard Rock) 6
DURAN DURAN: Danse Macabre (Pop) 6
COREY TAYLOR: Cmf2 (Rock) 5
DES ROCS: Dream Machine (Rock) 5
THE SPACELORDS: Nectar Of The Gods (Progressive Rock) 5
ADVENT HORIZON: A Cell To Call Home (Progressive Rock) 4
GLASS HAMMER: Arise (Progressive Rock) 3
SYNDONE: Dirty Thirty (Progressive Rock) 3
MOTHER BLACK CAP: Caveman Tv (Progressive Rock) 3
THE STRUTS: Pretty Vicious (Rock) 2
VINCE CLARKE: Songs Of Silence (Others) 1
HEAVY WATER: Dreams Of Yesterday (Hard Rock) 1
AUTUMN'S CHILD: Tellus Timeline (Melodic Hard Rock) 1
More informations on http://www.musicwaves.fr/