Nita Strauss, Extreme, Overkill, Winger and Ad Infinitum are among the others who appear on Fred Phillips’ Best of 2023 hard rock and metal albums list.

I wanted to offer up some quick thoughts on my favorite records of the first half of 2023 because it has been a strong year.

Gloryhammer’s Sozos Michael is probably better from a technical standpoint than Thomas Winkler. But the better technical singer is not always a better fit.

It’s not until you actually start combing through the hundreds of records you’ve listened to over a decade that you realize how daunting the task really is.

Fred Phillips’ Best of 2019 list includes Gloryhammer, Tom Keifer, Soilwork, Sturgill Simpson, Wind Rose, Parkway Drive – yes, Parkway Drive – and others.

I can, without a doubt, say Gloryhammer’s recent stop in Dallas was one of the favorite concert experiences of my life.

Gloryhammer continues to brilliantly satirize power-metal genre clichés and traditions on the final album of an impressive trilogy.

If you pull your kid out of school and drive five hours to see Alestorm and Gloryhammer at a club, you may have a metal problem. It was more than worth it.

Picking a Best of 2015 list wasn’t easy. A few albums were outstanding, but I sometimes had a hard time finding new music that connected.

Much like Christopher Bowes’ other band Alestorm, Gloryhammer doesn’t take its themes too seriously. The music, however, is another matter.