Top Ten (+15) - Albums by Swedish Bands

I rated 104 albums by 39 Swedish bands, but six bands (Hammerfall, Krokus, Morgana Lefay, Nostradameus, Tad Morose and Yngwie Malmsteen) are responsible for half of the releases. As always, there are a few items of interest here. Although newer music dominates the list (16 of the 25 albums were released in 2000 or later), Krokus placed four albums in the top 25. No other band has more than two. And Sweden's (arguably) most popular musical export, Yngwie Malmsteen, has only one album in my top 25, but that may change after I rate the rest of his discography.



Top 25 Albums:

90.12 -- Krokus - Headhunter (1983)
90.18 -- Wolf - Black Wings (2002)
90.00 -- Trettioåriga Kriget - Trettioåriga Kriget (1974)
89.36 -- Grand Magus - Iron Will (2008)
89.28 -- Silver Mountain - Shakin' Brains (1983)
88.96 -- Lefay - Symphony Of the Damned (1999)
88.56 -- Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi (2004)
88.14 -- Wolf - The Black Flame (2006)
87.36 -- Overdrive - Let the Metal Do the Talking (2008)
87.35 -- Lion’s Share - Dark Hours (2009)
86.47 -- Silver Mountain - Breakin' Chains (2001)
86.39 -- Tad Morose - Undead (2000)
86.39 -- Hammerfall - Glory to the Brave (1997)
86.04 -- Krokus - Metal Rendez-vous (1980)
85.97 -- Morgana Lefay - Sanctified (1995)
85.65 -- Persuader - The Hunter (2000)
85.28 -- Hammerfall - No Sacrifice, No Victory (2009)
85.22 -- Dogface - In Control (2002)
85.07 -- Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force (1984)
85.04 -- Lost Horizon - A Flame from the Ground Beneath (2003)
84.96 -- Krokus - Hellraiser (2006)
84.65 -- Dream Evil - Dragon Slayer (2002)
84.52 -- Krokus - Heart Attack (1987)
84.47 -- Persuader - Evolution Purgatory (2004)
84.29 -- Nostradameus - The Third Prophecy (2003)

Top Ten - 1993

The early to mid 90s seemed to be a transitional time for hard rock and metal. Grunge was in full swing while many of today's top metal acts were either in their infancy or not yet formed. As a result, the number of releases (of the style of music I prefer) dropped significantly during this time, culminating in 1993's low of only 30 albums reviewed.

1993 Top Ten:
90.28 -- Rage - The Missing Link
90.18 -- Saviour Machine - Saviour Machine I
87.77 -- Metal Church - Hanging in the Balance
85.64 -- Candlebox - Candlebox
84.59 -- Joe Stump - Guitar Dominance!
82.58 -- W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
82.51 -- Threshold - Wounded Land
82.00 -- Gamma Ray - Insanity and Genius
81.89 -- Morgana Lefay - Secret Doctrine
81.86 -- Morgana Lefay - Knowing Just as I

Other 1993 releases:
80.89 -- Coverdale•Page - Coverdale•Page
77.98 -- Triumph - Edge of Excess
77.94 -- Aerosmith - Get A Grip
77.91 -- Pink Cream 69 - Games People Play
77.88 -- Blue Murder - Nothin' but Trouble
77.45 -- Savatage - Edge of Thorns
76.92 -- Diamond Head - Death and Progress
76.15 -- Tad Morose - Leaving the Past Behind
76.02 -- Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon
75.66 -- Deep Purple - The Battle Rages On
74.66 -- Motörhead - Bastards
73.09 -- Scorpions - Face the Heat
72.64 -- Angra - Angels Cry
72.34 -- Masters of Reality - Sunrise on the Sufferbus
71.62 -- Blues Traveler - Save His Soul
70.24 -- Pat Travers Band - Just a Touch
65.85 -- Praying Mantis - A Cry for the New World
65.81 -- Warrior Soul - Chill Pill
63.11 -- Pretty Maids - Stripped
58.23 -- Hawkwind - It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous

Top Ten - 1995

Savatage tops the list of 43 albums reviewed from 1995. But this great album featured a 3 minute and 12 second song that eventually put Savatage on hold indefinitely. The popularity of "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" led to the band members forming the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which became so successful that they literally couldn't afford to put that aside in order to record another Savatage album. No matter, though. Now we can enjoy the Savatage albums as well as TSO, Circle II Circle, Jon Oliva's Pain, and Chris Caffery. Not a bad trade-off!

1995 Top Ten:
88.57 -- Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
88.10 -- Rainbow - Stranger In Us All
88.04 -- Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
87.97 -- UFO - Walk on Water
86.88 -- Rage - Black In Mind
86.61 -- Running Wild - Masquerade
86.60 -- Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side
86.52 -- Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings
85.97 -- Morgana Lefay - Sanctified
85.19 -- Motörhead - Sacrifice

Other 1995 releases:
84.38 -- Gov't Mule - Gov't Mule
83.97 -- Sun Red Sun - Sun Red Sun
83.69 -- Aria - Night is Shorter than Day
83.64 -- Dokken - Dysfunctional
83.34 -- Iron Maiden - X Factor
80.33 -- Krokus - To Rock or Not to Be
80.16 -- Blitzkrieg - Unholy Trinity
80.07 -- Bow Wow - Bow Wow #1
78.60 -- Stratovarius - Fourth Dimension
78.10 -- Ted Nugent - Spirit of the Wild
77.96 -- Hawkwind - Alien 4
77.35 -- Uriah Heep - Sea of Light
76.93 -- Symphony X - The Damnation Game
76.88 -- Fight - Small Deadly Space
76.56 -- Tad Morose - Sender of Thoughts
75.00 -- Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
74.99 -- Saxon - Dogs of War
74.48 -- Kamelot - Eternity
74.02 -- Van Halen - Balance
72.73 -- Pat Travers Band - Halfway to Somewhere
72.71 -- AC/DC - Ballbreaker
72.69 -- White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000
71.07 -- Praying Mantis - To the Power of Ten
70.44 -- Carmine Appice - Guitar Zeus
69.61 -- Jethro Tull - Roots to Branches
69.10 -- Yngwie Malmsteen - Magnum Opus
69.08 -- Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis
68.74 -- Black Sabbath - Forbidden
65.19 -- Edguy - The Savage Poetry
61.71 -- Blackfoot - After the Reign
55.14 -- Queen - Made In Heaven
51.45 -- Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth