50 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2017

Instrumental rock albums are a very tricky thing to get right, hence why only one of them makes the list this year (sorry Intervals, I still love you!). While the instrumental prog metal niche has produced many a great band – pg.lost and Modern Day Babylon instantly come to mind as my favourites – the subgenre is also one prone to excessive levels of technical w*nkery.

I’m looking at you, Animals as Leaders!

Mercifully, however, the guitar god Marty Friedman gets the balance between w*nkery and accessible hooks just right on his new album Wall of Sound. But how could he not, when the man is a thirty-year veteran not only of metal, but also of rock, prog and pop.

Techy rhythms drive Wall of Sound, all while Friedman himself frequently alternates from “djent”-like heaviness to acoustic quietness. To those not in the know, the down-tuned crash of “Self-Pollution”’s main riff couldn’t fathomably be from the same artist, as something as classical as “Sorrow and Madness”.

A massive part of that diversity comes courtesy of Wall of Sound’s plethora of guest stars. Shining frontman Jørgen Munkeby lends his pipes and signature sax to “Something to Fight” while Shiv Mehra adds a post-blackened gloominess to “Pussy Ghost”. Friedman even makes Black Veil Brides cool as he invites violinist Jeremy “Jinxx” Ferguson to add some vintage class to “Sorrow and Madness”.

As far as instrumental, experimental music goes, Wall of Sound is right up there with Friedman’s own prior masterpiece Dragon’s Kiss (1988) in terms of quality.