The intent of this list is as always to give our readers visibility to some music they may have missed in 2022 and a strong T-Mak World endorsement to check these offerings out. Unlike many years in the past we did not have a very solid favorite at number 1 and really anything on the top 10 could have claimed top spot depending on our mood of the day. Really great offerings from legends and even an appearance of brand new band. As always some true legends of classic rock are releasing albums as good as any in their career and even the prince of darkness is not showing any signs of slowing down his output. Check them out.
10. Queensryche – Digital Noise Alliance
It is now 10 years since classic era singer Geoff Tate is no longer in Queensryche yet the band delivers a killer album in Digital Noise Alliance. The Seattle rockers deliver a great prog metal album recorded during the bleak lockdown years. The half minute song Forest stands out as a classic hard rock ballad as does Tormentum a 7 and a half minute banger that can easily be confused for Iron Maiden at their best. This album can be consumed in one long sitting for a killer rock trip.
9. Classless Act – Welcome To The Show
We got to interview singer Derek Day of Classless Act earlier in 2022 which you can check out here. They were on the road most of 2022 opening up The Stadium Tour (Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, and Joan Jett) and played their asses off every night. Welcome To The Show is a fun and fast paced rock album that doesn’t get too heavy but rocks with guests such as Vince Neil and Justin Hawkins. The album more than any other on the list tries to touch many various sub-genres of rock and really shines when it delivers the hard rocking sounds we love in songs This Is For You and Time To Bleed. We are always on the alert for the saviours of rock in the future and for sure this album is one of the many from new bands that stands out.
8. Talas – 1985
In 1985 Talas had a bunch of songs written for a new album but bassist virtuoso Billy Sheehan took off to join Diamond Dave on his solo band after his departure from Van Halen. Clearly a good move at the time for Sheehan one only wonders what would have happened if Talas continued to knock on the door of mega-stardom. Our very good personal friend Phil Naro was a vocalist in the realm of Daltrey and Plant and his time in Talas was short but very impactful. Fast forward to the 2020’s and Talas gets back together to record this album just as Naro was dealing with terminal cancer (who he lost the fight to in 2021 – RIP my friend). The band took all those songs written in 1985 and released a killer record that we can’t get enough of this year. Check out hard rockers Crystal Clear and I’ll Take The Night for a sample of what to expect. Thank you for the final gift Phil.
7. Sammy Hagar and the Circle – Crazy Times
Take half of Van Halen, add in a Bonham and a killer guitarist and you have The Circle – Sammy’s band of choice the last few years. Hagar has an incredible voice and it shows no signs of slowing down. Incredible rhythm on the whole record compliments of Michael Anthony and Jason Bonham. Slow Drain builds up like a heavy Zeppelin ride while Vic Johnson rides the guitar as good as anyone on this list. Funky Feng Shui is a perfect example of this record, hard rock with a lot of fun thrown in … just because…
6. Def Leppard – Diamond Star Halos
Standard Def Leppard delivery of polished arena rock is served in Diamond Star Halos. Take What You Want, Kick and Fire It up are the opening three tracks of the album and all three seem to have been created to be played in 50,000 people stadiums in the summer heat complete with slick visuals. Nobody is as polished as Def Leppard and the band continues the lessons learned from Pyromania and Hysteria to a new generation of rockers. This album is best served at your next summer bbq with a cold beer.
5. Ozzy Osbourne – Patient Number 9
In 2020 the prince of darkness released what we fully expected to be his last album ever – age, disease, injuries all seemed to be slowing him down. That was not the case as Ozzy dropped studio album number 13 (which coincidentally equals Black Sabbath’s studio output). Guest include Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde, Mike McCready and the best of all Tony Iommi for 2 killer tracks. Thankfully no rappers this time around. Degradation Rules and No Escape From Now feature the first time ever Iommi guests on an Osbourne record. For those familiar with the excellent ’13’ album by Sabbath will immediately think of how naturally No Escape From Now and exactly 48 seconds into song Iommi delivers his distinct riff style that is the absolute highlight of the album. The rest of the album give us the standard Ozzy sound and we just love it.
4. Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings
Myles Kennedy makes two appearances on this year’s list (see album in the number 3 spot) and rightfully so. He is leading the pack of this century’s lead singers and leads Alter Bridge to a killer new album this year. Alter Bridge is huge in Europe but for some reason did not get the modern day rock awareness here in North America. This album comes in heavy and polished to try and change that. Chorus heavy hard rock is delivered in a very crisp sounding record that has treasures throughout the album. Silver Tongue and Pawns & Kings stand out as perfect sample of what this band does best – insanely good vocals, heavy riffs, and pounding rhythm. Not as hard as Metallica and not as soft as Def Leppard but a nice balance of sounds – huge commercial opportunity for this band to bring rock to the masses.
3. Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – 4
If you just read our number 4 entry you will know Myles Kennedy appears here once again with a solid vocal appearance once again. The difference between the aforementioned album is the DNA and grit of the songs. To be exact a force known as Slash – dirty slick riffs totally reminiscent of the classic Guns N Roses sound. 4 sounds like more classic hard rock album than anything the band delivered before. The River is Rising has incredible guitar solos that establish Slash as the best active living guitarist in hard rock right now. Call Off the Dogs had me wondering if Axl was doing guest vocals on that one as Kennedy shows his vocal range.,
2. Scorpions – Rock Believer
Nothing new here except that signature Scorpions sound, and we love it. Gas In The Tank kicks off the album with a sound similar to the classic Can’t Live Without You. The first time you hear the German accent tinged lyrics of “Give me a dirty riff my friend, There’s gotta be more gas in the tank” you stand up and get ready to rock out with the Scorpions once again. The 50 year career continues with rock anthems as good as any the band has delivered. For a change of pace check out our favourite song of the album, Seventh Sun with its slow burn rock and penetrating rhythm. Once again we feature a band at their end (or close to) of their career, who prove they still can deliver high quality rock.
1. Porcupine Tree – Closure/Continuation
13 years have passed since the album’s last album as mastermind and group leader Steven Wilson has been focusing on his excellent solo output. Porcupine Tree delivers musicianship of insane proportions with the three members being virtuosos with unprecedented musical mastery (imagine Rush but with a much much wider range of sounds including hard rock, pop, funk and even techno. The album is less hard sounding than the previous offerings from the band but still exudes prog “rock” sounds (and yes I really use the term rock loosely here). Wilson and his darkness are featured on Rats Return which he claims that “The rats are politicians who express having an interest in the public but, when it comes down to it, only want to save themselves. Having lived through Brexit, Trump and Boris Johnson, it wasn’t hard to get depressed about what’s going on in the world.” Herd Culling (a song about UFO sightings in a real place in Utah) once again brings in an amplitude of the dark sound of Wilson that fans love. This has been said to be the final Porcupine Tree as Wilson does get bored easily and is always looking for new directions.
Top 10 Albums of 2022 article by Terry Makedon
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