As with the last two albums, Flotsam and Jetsam gives us something a little different here – providing a tasty tribute to metal legends Iron Maiden.

‘For All Kings’ not only stands with my favorite Anthrax records – it’s easily the best complete metal album I’ve heard in several years.

Zakk Wylde’s “Sleeping Dogs” makes a good promise for ‘Book of Shadows II.’ Here’s hoping the rest of the album delivers on 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.

Uncompromising, unafraid and utterly cool, the late Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister embodied the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll.

‘Condition Human’ marks the full return of the Queensryche that I know and love.

Experimental French quartet Louis Minus XVI’s ‘Kindergarten’ is easier to like because it’s harder to pin down.

The campy Halloween film ‘Trick or Treat’ doesn’t hold up so well anymore. But Fastway’s original soundtrack? That’s another matter entirely.

‘The Pale Emperor,’ more than any from Marilyn Manson in the intervening years, seems like the natural successor to ‘Mechanical Animals.’

Kiss’ ‘Sonic Boom,’ released on Oct. 6, 2009, was packed with hooks, anthemic choruses, and a lifetime supply of innuendo. What’s not to like?