 of 20. The very difficult 2020 year of 2020. Music kept us going. There was no live concerts, unfortunately, but most of the year we got some quality interviews in because a lot of people were just sitting at home waiting for looking for stuff to do. We got some scoops this year because people were recording and they were, you know, kind of interviewed them while they were doing the recording process. We had lots of live streams, so we were helping promote the live streams to get the live music out there. So even though it was a challenging year and we didn't get to meet as many as we'd liked, we still had quite a success and quite an eventful year on here on the metal voice. And you know what, Alan, it's all about this. You ready for it? There it is. There it is, Alan. It's all about that nut. It's all about the nut. The Oscars have their little man, right? The Grammys have that, that record player. And what do we got? We've got the nut. We got the nut. It's all about the nut. Who's going to take on the nut tonight? So here we are. It's electrifying the evening, Alan. It's electrifying. Got my suit on, looks accent. My tie got this. Look at this. Boom. Like that. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. All right. Greetings from Houston. Greetings. Hi, guys. What's up, guys? Jimmy's still on hold. Purely, yes, I am. Don, hello, guys. Best wishes from UK. Klaus is saying, well, hello there. All right. Here we go. We have a hell of a show today, Alan. Then not only are we going to do our top 10. We've got Neil Turbin coming up at the end. Neil Turbin, our friend. Oh, West Coast correspondent. Yeah. And I'm going to do some graphics. And I think we're going to start off the show with a dedication. And I'll let you do the dedication there. And I'll put up on the screen the picture of Claude. I'm sure you'll see that. Yeah. Yeah. I just want to dedicate this show to very, very tragic news. One of my best friends from the past 30 years and more, unfortunately passed away. And I just want to dedicate the show to him. It's a tough time for me and a lot of his friends. And I want to dedicate the show. What picture you got up there? I mean, Claude was always the guy that we know, and he always had an extra ticket to a concert to call him up. Hey, you want to come? And, you know, within 15 minutes he was there. He loved music. Two hundred words. I think supporter of the show. Always joked that we never included the lead of Ford and the greatest female singers. He teased me that ever since the show was launched here almost a decade ago. And he's still teasing me. What do you mean you could put lead of Ford on there? You had to have lead of Ford on there. And he did the camera work on the Killer Dwarf show. And I think one of the pictures there is from the from the concert where we interviewed Russ and Daryl Dwarf. So there you go. And sadly, it was just not even a week, right? It was not even a week ago, was it? Yeah, I got the phone call about a week ago. Yeah, I think it was a week ago today. So a sweetheart of a guy, great guy, a metalhead. And just all all around great person. And it was tragic. It was just so sudden and tragic. Yeah, we're still still all in a little bit of shock. So all right, to Claude. All right. I also have another guest that I want to bring on today because we always start to show off with in memory of the fallen and there was a lot this year, right? So I'm going to bring on Alex Cuveras. He's the son of a Luke Cuveras. And let me just bring him on now. And let's I guess we're going to have to get him on. Alex, you're there. He's connecting to audio. Connecting to audio. Alex, can you hear us? Yes. Can you hear me? Yes, perfect. You can see me? Yeah, we can see you. See you fine. Excellent. All right. So, you know, we do this top 10 show, Alex. And, you know, the I show you the big nut. Yes. That's a great piece. It's the big nut. And not only do we talk about, you know, the cool albums of the year, but we also talk about, you know, a little bit about the year and the sad passings. And I want to have you on because the two things, number one, your dad passed away due to COVID-19, which is the theme of the year, right? Absolutely. And number two, go ahead. And number two is because your dedication to your dad. So feel free to say a few words. Sure. Yeah, Jimmy, as you as you've stated, unfortunately, my father did pass away in late March from COVID-19, where he resided in Long Island, New York. It was when it when New York was was becoming a real hot spot. I don't think anyone really knew what was going on. They really didn't know how to treat it yet. And it was a big impact to a lot of people. I mean, it just so happened to target my dad, whether he was out at the store, or someone from work, a customer, I, you know, those kind of details will always be unknown. But my dad was a one of a kind guy, incredible human being, extremely talented. Many of the viewers will will know, you know, Jimmy, especially in his riot days and in riot act. Not long ago, my dad was, he was ready to do great things, do big things. And I was so excited and so happy. And I was so proud. I mean, he just he would say the name riot act and he would just glow. And, you know, life can be very cruel. And he was taken away from us too soon. So with that being said, with COVID, he wasn't able to have a funeral, a wake or a funeral. No one could see him in the hospital. I had to say goodbye to him through a video call a FaceTime call. And which I will forever be grateful of that technology. If it was any other time prior to now, I don't know if I'd ever be able to see him. So long story short, you know, the band my band quiet like a thief, we had to do something in honor of him. It just had to be done. So I wrote a song for my dad, it's titled L. A. K. to his initials. It's available everywhere to stream and to download. And at the same time, we released an incredible music video. We worked with some really reputable people. Yeah, films and Rai land offices out of New York. And we just had this vision, and they did a stellar job making it come true. They really brought our vision to to our eyes. And I think if my dad's looking down, he'd be very proud. And and yeah, that's that's what I have to say about everything. And I've heard the song. It's excellent. It's sort of like a pop punk, right? And right. And you know, it it depresses me when I listen to it. I hate to say it. It's bittersweet. You know, it's I love the song. I think it's great. It's catchy. And I watch it and it's very depressing. But when I when I read the lyrics, the lyrics are fantastic. I mean, you you nail it home. If anybody thinks this COVID is a joke, read these lyrics because it's the saddest thing you'll ever read. I mean, but but it had to be done. I'm glad you made that video. It had to be done. It really did. It's shocking, you know, it's we have people out there that don't think this thing is real. And it's fine if it doesn't affect you personally. But there are millions of people that are affected by this. And I mean, how could you how could you use such energy and use so much energy to talk about or promote something that wasn't real? I mean, like you said, the lyrics, I mean, it's from the heart, it was truly from the heart. Waking up in the morning, 6am, getting that phone call from the hospital. I mean, my dad was in great shape. He lost a bunch of weight, was going to the gym, and this thing hit him like a ton of bricks. I mean, he could barely talk. He could barely breathe. And I hope I hope many people out there who have suffered a loss, or who have experienced anything related to COVID or even just loss in general, lyrics in the chorus say, you know, I wish that you were still here. You know, I wish I could laugh with you. I wish I could still talk to you. I really hope it provides some sort of comfort to everyone out there that has gone through any sort of loss. And although depressing, I think it is a good song. I think it means well. And I think it's going to continue to touch a lot of people in many ways. You're basically, you know, you're doing this continuation for your dad, the talent is now going to the next generation. And that's what I want to have you on. I want people to listen to it. I want you to people to recognize your talent. And especially I want people to remember Lou, Lou Covarras. So I think that's the most important thing. He was a friend of mine. And talking to you, Alex, when I do talk to you here and there, I feel like I'm talking to Lou. So it's funny you say that, you know, it's a bittersweet moment, Jimmy. I've always been a viewer. I've watched your show many times with my dad on the other end on the camera. And here I am on the camera. And it's weird in a good way. It feels like he's here with me. It feels like my dad's going to come on to the screen at any minute, you know? And Lou had the chance, I mean, not too many people get a chance to relive their boyhood dreams a second time. And he was lining up to do that with Riot Act. And that's why I thank you for the video. I mean, I was extremely touched by it. Reading the lyrics. I mean, you can't help but tear up. But it needs to be said, and people need to see this video and hear these words. So absolutely. I really appreciate you guys, you know, giving me an opportunity to speak. And like you said, this is for my dad. This was all about my dad. And at the end of the video, you can actually see Lou's guitar right at the end there. You see Lou's guitar, which is pretty cool. Really, really well made video. Congratulations. And I really hope you all, you know, give you all all the success in the world. And of course, a great way to always remember Lou, you know, Alex, we're going to let you go because we've got a hell of a show and absolutely so much. Keep watching Alex. Have a great, great night. And I hope we meet again soon. Of course we all. All right. All right. Take care. Take care. Who else? There was a tough year right across the board. I mean, we did some shows. We had Rick Ventura on to talk about Lou. That was a tough time. You had Lee Kirstlake. I think the biggest one, Alan, is Neil Pert. Okay. Here we are. Like the beginning of the year, January 7th. I'm getting these texts. You send me a text. Everybody send me text. Neil Pert died. Neil Pert died. It's like just right out of just that's how we started our year, Alan. Yeah. And then we found out, you know, interviewing Andy Curran from Coney Hatch that, you know, the inner core knew, right? But they respected his wishes. And that's why everybody was so shocked at that point. Also, right? There's an unexpected Lee Kirstlake who, you know, we had to be helped with the heavy metal Hall of Fame to get those gold records finally that he contributed to. And he was able to go to the heavy metal Hall of Fame and be inducted there, even though he was in poor health. And that was another sad one. Sad, but I got to say something. So from the moment he said that he was sick and he was dying, he had eight months to live, he actually lived maybe two years from that point. So he actually, this guy was a beast. This guy was a beast. He would not, I thought he was never going to die. Like honest to God, he was a beast. And he had all the drive and energy and, you know, sad. It's just so sad. But I'm happy the metal Hall of Fame recognized him, got him his plaques, congratulation Pat Giswaldo for making that happen. And the rest in peace, Lee Kirstlake. And Ken Hensley was in your year here. With him, he recently passed away. That's another sad one. Frankie Benally was a sad, sad show. You know, we had Chris Holmes on. Jimmy Waldo, I think was part of that show as well. And it was just a sad day. I mean, you're talking about a beast of a drummer, Frankie Benally. And then Martin Birch, who was a producer, everything. I mean, I can go over here and pull out about 15 albums off the top of my head. And then Martin Birch's name is going to be written all over them, right? So from Rainbow to Black Sabbath to, of course, all the art made in. And then, pardon? Blue Oyster Cult. Yeah. And then we got Eddie Van Halen, right? That was probably the biggest blow. The biggest blow. So, then again, it's like my friend, the Stiff Rod said, right? It's when you're here, musical heroes are passing away. Well, we kind of expect that because they're older and we've been listening to them for years and years. But, you know, when a good friend of your same age passes away, it kind of, it's just a lot harder to take some time. So, so true. Eddie Van Halen was sort of like everyone's hero and, you know, crossing all genres, man, woman, different age groups, generational. I mean, he was the Jimi Hendrix of our generation, right? And I mean, we did a whole show on that. I mean, it's just October the 6th. We did three shows actually. That's right. That's right. I mean, people just wanted to hear more and more about his life, you know? And so we did. That great show with Chris Holmes, by the way, because he was a boy for, you know, friend of Eddie and early on in their career. So it was great to hear those stories and his perspective. So, you know, what happened this year in terms of concerts? I can remember, I saw Ross the boss, I saw Sons of Apollo, went to NAMM, Metal Hall of Fame. That was the beginning of the year. And then everything just shut down. How many shows did you see this year? It's all a blur, Jim. I can't, I can't, I don't know when I saw What anymore. I mean, I know we saw Demons and Wizards, but I think that was last year. That was last year. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. That's right. I don't know if I got any squeezed in early on this year. So. All right. So, you know what? Let's begin, Alan. Let's turn the negatives into positives. Yeah. Let's go. We got some, again, music is a big important. Here's the ground rules. You're ready for the ground rules? Okay. The ground rules are this. Everybody thinks it's going to be like one to 10. Since we can't decide on anything, me and Alan, we're going to have your top five and my top five. So we'll count down from five, four, three, two, one. That's the end. We're going to bring Neil, he's going to give us his favorite album of the year. All right. We're going to start off with you, Alan. And I'm going to put the graphics on. All right. You ready to go? All right. I hope you got this in the good order. We'll see. Better tell me the name of the album first, and then we'll see. Hey, I mean, we had, this is Striper, Even the Devil Believes. So hopefully Jimmy's in sync with me. I'm in sync with you. We're good. Hey, man, you know, from the opening scream and to the guitars throughout this album, it's a beast of an album. I mean, you know, we know Michael Sweet can sing. We know that, you know, Oz Fox and Michael in particular could play guitar, but they've gone to another level on this album. We're lucky. Nice to have Michael on the day of the launch of this album. He's a great, you as always, a friend of the show, a regular guest. I mean, I think if we go back over time, he's probably the one that's been on the show the most. And it's just Striper. I mean, their album, since they reformed, they've always been strong. And again, this, I think this is strong enough to make my top five for sure, just based on the crazy, crazy guitar work. So that's Alan's number five. It's Striper. And it was actually, there's a lot of bleeding back and forth. Like, I mean, that would have been on my list, which would have been on your list. So there's a lot of common ground there. You've been flip flopping. I don't know what your list is. You've been flip flopping for the past three weeks. So I'm anxious to hear your list as well, Joe. All right, here we go. Number five for me, Titans of Creation. That was April the third, their 13th studio album, Top Notch production. These guys are getting better with age. And I would say, Alan, this is the soundtrack to the pandemic. So it's Testament, right? Let's say who it is. Testament Titans of Creation is the soundtrack to the pandemic. I spoke to Chuck Billy. Oh, boy, when the album was being released either a little bit before, and he just got over the COVID, right? Him and his wife. And every remember that a death angel and a Testament, they all were sick. And the drummer of death angel was hospitalized. So to me, that album, I think of the pandemic. And it's got these guys, consistency, that's what it is with Testament, consistency. And it's hard to be consistent and sound so great in the thrash genre. All right. You know, when you sent me your original list, I go, what do you mean, Jim? You didn't put Testament? I know how big of a fan you are. You're a huge fan. It's not, didn't make your list. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's another one I forgot. So again, yeah, I'm anxious to see your list because I know you had probably 20 bands you wanted to squeeze into five. So. All right. Graphics are working good so far. Okay. Check. All right. All right. Number four. All right. For me, number four. You know, I always like to slip in a melodic group, you know, melodic rock. And early on this year was released early in the year. I think it was January Revolution Saints Rise. So I've been listening to it all year long. It's just a great, great album. I mean, Dean's singing is fantastic. Doug Aldridge, of course, his guitar playing is, you know, he's one of the best guitarists out there. So and then Jack Blades, who's doing singing as well, he's got a great voice. I'm glad to see that he's got a few songs on the album. And again, I think it's a stronger album than the first or and I've been listening to it all year. It's a great album that I enjoy thoroughly. And you know, Doug Aldridge and the Dean's interview when they were here with the Dead Daisy's years ago is still, I think, one of the highlights. We had a good time, didn't we? Yeah. It's the only time a band thanked you and I more for interviewing them than us thanking them for being on the show. So two great guys. And it's one of my favorite interviews ever. So. So I'm glad. It sounds like journey for those people who don't don't know this. It sounds like a pop. No, not pop. A melodic hard rock journey. As sound as a sound. Yeah, Dean's been part of, you know, he's been part of so many bands, including Journey. You know, now he's the lead singer drummer. So it's an incredible voice. Incredible. Yeah. Some really strong songs on the album. So. All right, here we go. Number four for me, Alan. I know you're kind of saying, Jimmy, what are you doing? I don't know what you're doing. A lot of people might love me. A lot of people might hate me for saying this, but it's Cloven Hoof, the age of steel. And I gotta say, and I'll give you a little background on this, Alan. And you're probably saying, Jimmy, why is Jimmy picking Cloven Hoof? Cloven Hoof has been one of my favorite bands since 1984. And I'll give you the quick, quick story. I might have told you this before. I was a little young punk in Greece because I used to hang out, you know, in Greece in the, over the Christmas, over the summer holidays. Over the summer holidays, I used to live in Greece to my parents. And in a small little town, there was a record store and there was like a metal section in this small little town. And then I couldn't afford anything. So the sales lady goes, here for 3000 Drachmas, you can buy this tape and it has a mix of all different new wave of British heavy metal bands. And Cloven Hoof was one of them. That's how I got into the band. Incredible new album. You know, it's just a wall of sound. Yeah, there's an Iron Maiden thing there. Yes, there is. They've always had that twin guitar, that soaring power metal vocals. But you know what? It's a damn good album with some great songs. And they deserve to be there and recognize for all the great albums they'd have over the years. That's it. I thought it was Bruce Dickinson. I thought that's what he's doing when he wasn't recording Maiden. He decided to do a Cloven Hoof album. I mean, listen to it. Hey, hey, some similarities there. So if you like Maiden, if you love the twin guitar attack, then Cloven Hoof, the age of steel is for you. All right. Next, let's hope we get this one right. You ready? Yeah. All right, go. Number three for Alan. Number three, I'm going with Leaves Eyes, The Last Viking. All right. Okay, so we're still in the sink. That's good. No, again, a band that should have been on our show could have made a lot of the lists in the past. I'm glad I'm able to squeeze them in here today. Great songs. You know, they've always had this beauty and the beast kind of feel to them, right? She sings like an angel. He comes on with the gruff death metal vocals. And again, being, you know, there's a great video or documentary about Viking reenactments. And the song itself, The Last Viking, over 10 minutes of just a really classic sounding Leaves Eyes, Flames in the Sky and Circlander, also some of my personal favorites off of this album. So again, they've switched the female singer parts over the years, but this is a very strong album, great videos. And I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed this album. So. All right. So here we go. You're ready for it? Everybody, I know everybody's waiting for this one. This is my number three. What is it, Alan? What is it? Where is that album? I don't know. You keep changing your list. I told you. What album is it, Alan? Who will take home the prize today? But anyways, the album is none other than ACDC. Here's the graphics. Power up. Yeah, here we go. Another one that came in late in the year. Yep. 16th or 16th international release, 17th release and a return of Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams, and sadly, the album without Malcolm Young, which is, which is, which is, you know, come back album of the year. We did a whole show on it recently. It also made my list. So I'm glad, I'm glad we were able to get it on our combined top 10 list. The more I listen to it, and again, they're trying, there's different types of production on it. There's different types of, they're trying to, you know, get the classic ACDC sound, but a few songs have a new twist to them. So that's nice to see. And the whole album is dedicated to to the memory of Malcolm. So revitalized, angry, a little more energy and some nice quality tunes. Would you summarize it like that? It's classic ACDC, man. They can do no wrong in my eyes. All right. So now we're going to go to year number two, Alan. Yeah, this one, you know, just impressed when I heard it. UDO, we are one. So they've done this with the Philharmonic Orchestra and, you know, lots of times, Jim, when they get an orchestra, they're like, the orchestra kind of doubles the bass part. It's, you know, it's not really, this songs were written for him and mine, UDO group and the Philharmonic. So it was really written like that. It wasn't redoing songs with an orchestra. It was written together. And it's just a thoroughly interesting album to listen to. I mean, you got Neon Diamonds. It's a great track. It's actually got a sax solo in it. You got Beyond Gravity. It's got like that Celtic feel, kind of some bagpipes happening. And then you even have a, here we go again, where UDO is UDO, sorry, UDO is a rap star. I mean, he's even rapping and that has got kind of this big band beat happening in the background. So again, it's just, I liked everything he's done in recent years. His Navy Night is another one with orchestra that could have made it years ago. And I'm glad this one is in there. It's a very hard album to beat. It's a strong album and UDO, we are one, he's coming in at number two on my list. All right. Here's number two from my list. And I was going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. So this is what I finally came up with. After listening to these albums all week and sending Alan texts back and forth. It's Demons and Wizards. Oh, you did go with them after all. Yeah. Okay, here you go. Hands, when you take Blind Guardian and you mix it with Ice Earth, this is what you get. I would call this album a deep track album. What would you call it? It is three. Yeah, it's called three. The deep track album, the whole album, it's it's proggy, it's progressive. The production is fantastic. There's a lot of care put into these songs. This is not just crank them out and just throw them out there. A lot of care, a lot of great vocals, a lot of great riffs, a lot of great time changes. A very proggy metal album for me. Because of the hard work that was put into this, that's why I had to put it on my list. I just had to put it on and I want the world to see this, recognize it and accept it as number two. Jim, if I was allowed to have a number six, that was going to be my number six for sure. I mean, and again, you know, we got to meet John and Hansy and interview them before the show. That show, you know, this is the third album, right? And we were laughing out. The queue for the show was starting at like two o'clock in the afternoon for a nine o'clock show. So, and they only had two albums out. So I can understand now hats off to all those people. And we enjoyed the show as well. For man, my eyes are open now. I'm a fan. I understand what's going on. It took me all these years. But like you said, maybe this album is stronger than the other ones, but it just affected me a lot stronger than some of the other albums. And John Schaefer is one of the greatest guys I was ever had the pleasure to interview. I mean, he's at the top of the list. And he's always got a smile on his face. And I know you have a you've got this kind of special connection with Hansy. I don't know why, but it goes back to our festivals and heavy MPL years ago. So I think because I had him once on live and it all went to shit. And he never stopped laughing ever since. All right, this is the part of the show. Me and Alan got one album left as our top album of the year. Again, the walnut who will take home the walnut. There's two of them. And you know the history behind us right now. And it was an ancient, ancient Athens. There was three of them, one to Canada, one to Germany, one to Brazil. And there's only three of them in the world. That's the history. But I'm going to bring in Neil Turbin now. Here we go. Hi, Neil. Yeah, always a pleasure. Let's see if we can connect to Neil. We're supposed to do some audio checks before there's them. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Neil is connecting to audio as well. Neil Turbin. Now we've got him. Neil, what's going on? Look at that. Nice. Good job. So what do you got going there? Sing? Hang in there. Hang in there. I got a new background, you know. So what's going on? Tell me what's happening in the 19th of December. Vocal firepower. Yeah, that's my vocal training course that I do this year. All right. Yeah. So we got some great albums in 2020 that are exciting to have heard and checked out. And I'm sure you guys have talked about some of the ones that most people know about. Yeah. I'm anxious to hear your list, Neil. I'm sure there's a few surprises on there. So Neil, we did all our album except for one. So me and Alan have our top, top album each. Our number one each. We have not lunched. The mic is yours. You tell us about your top picks there. Well, thank you, Jimmy and Alan and happy holidays to everyone out there in lockdown land. Hopefully everyone's doing well and hanging in there. All my best to you. Just wanted to say that there's, I like the list that you guys had and I was aware of it ahead of time. So I'm just kind of looking at some notes. I think that one of the albums that is, I'll just go in a reverse because that's kind of you know, Neil, you know what I'm really happy about? You're wearing a suit like us. Well, you know, I didn't want to just have a cool once a year, we got to dress up. Yeah, I got a cool, a cool t-shirt underneath, but I'll save it for later. So anyway, I think, you know, some of the bands that, that don't always get to have the love or the attention are some of these standout bands that, you know, maybe they're not the ACDCs of the world. But of course, you know, ACDC, it's it's a band that everybody knows about everybody is aware of and it's a comeback of the year. I mean, without a doubt, that's going to be on everyone's top 10. And I think, you know, without a question, ACDC is a top band. They're not, they're number three on my list and for top five. And I just wanted to also mention there was a release that came out in 2019 that was by ACDC. It was the, it was like a box set or a bunch of live concerts. Have you guys heard of On the Highway to Hell? We should check that one last year. I know, but we, but that one, that one shouldn't, that one was with Bon Scott and, and with Brian, Brian Johnson. And it's like right during the highway to hell and back in black radio shows and tour and so forth. So King Biscuit Flower Hour. So I was amazed. And if it was a 2020 album, that would have been, people would have said, why did you pick that ACDC album? But that would have been probably at the very top because it's unbelievable. The ACDC album, Power Up. I mean, they're back in form. ACDC is an undeniable force to be reckoned with. And they sound great. And it's just a blessing to have them put out an album during, you know, all that's been going on. So it's an uplifting thing for metal and for music. And it's nice to see something then, you know, Kaka Pupu in the Billboard top 10, you know, it's, it's a lot of Kaka Pupu that's mostly in there. But when we get something like ACDC, thank goodness for ACDC and for the, you know, for young and company. I just wanted to say that another band that's a legacy band that is definitely, it's even above the ACDC, in my opinion, is the Finn Lizzie Rock Legends. The 2018 release now, is it? No, that's the 2020 release. Great. And Alan, Alan probably had a chance to look into that one. And there's, right? When you told me about it, when we did the ACDC review, I started looking at it, trying to shop it and try to find it. So yeah, big thing. They only want a few hundred dollars for it, you know, a little steep. But yeah, it was a little steep, I have to admit. But it's, you know, a phenomenal set of music material I was looking for when I interviewed Scott Gorham for the Metal Voice back in his hotel room when they were touring with Priest back on that tour. Great interview. You know, thank you. That was, Scott had mentioned to me that, or he mentioned in the interview, that, you know, there was this G.I. Joe song. And that was, you know, the boys are back in town before it was named that. So I was hoping that that was going to be on that release. It wasn't, but there's so, there's so many beautiful songs and gems. And, I mean, of course, Phil Lynett was a true poet and a true artist and through different, you know, decades of, you know, practically the 60s, the early 70s, you know, just, and then of course the 80s and just a phenomenal writer. And just to get to hear, you know, the whole side of that from Phil and some of these unreleased demos, which were actually, could have been on albums. I mean, they definitely were high level. So I wanted to mention that. So these are the mainstream bands or bands that people should recognize, but then there's bands that I feel are given less recognition. And I'll just mention two of, two bands that are absolutely worth recognizing and also my top pick. Neal's Dark Horses. Here we go, Neal's Dark Horses. That's right. Put your money down on the, on the dark horses. So there's a band that's out of Sweden and you may have heard, I mean, it's a, it's a number of musicians involved. It's kind of like one of these collaborative musical things out of Sweden. And it's, it's a friend of mine, Johnny Lindquist, who is the singer from the band Nocturnal Rights and a phenomenal singer, great, great guy. And, you know, he came out, he's one of the, the singer is one of the people involved with Gathering of Kings. And if, if you like power metal or melodic heavy metal and great singing and great songs, they have an album called Discovery. I would check that one out. It's definitely something that got my attention. I mean, it sounds amazing. And it's, you know, pretty much anything out of Sweden is going to get people's attention these days for melody. And then there's a band that's also worthy of mention that's been around for a while. And they, and they just kept getting stronger and stronger. And they're also Swedish bands, surprise, surprise. And the band is called Ambush. And they have an album called Infidel. Another, you know, very much in that, that Judas Priest, Iron Maiden-esque kind of sound or accept. But I think, you know, they're coming into their own. I mean, a band evolves over time. And I think this band is definitely an exciting band to see live. I mean, they've been on festivals a lot. And they've, you know, toured and come up with better albums after the other. And I think this one is definitely, you know, one that's noteworthy. And that was number five on my list. But the number one, Hold on. A legacy. Where's the walnut? Hold on, here's the walnut. Hey, what you got in that? You said there's three of them. I can't say, I can't say what's in here. There should be three, Jimmy. You said there's only two. There should be three. Jimmy, is there really three? Tell me that this is not in your walnut. A rubber ducky. Rubber ducky is my bathtub. It feels real good when I show her this. So what's in the walnut though? What are you keeping there? Beer or something? Strangely enough, I don't want to say nothing. I'm not going to expose what's in the walnut. Go ahead. Okay. So there's a band that I really think deserves a lot more attention. And, and, you know, there's these bands that have the, the YouTube singer sensation where they, they select their singer off of YouTube. I mean, we know that happened with Journey. We know it happened with other bands. And you have, you know, bands that got sound-alike kind of singers where they wanted to replace their singer and they try to find a sound-alike singer. I don't know that you can. Like Joey Baladonna. I know that you can, you can try to find someone that can sing like Brad Delp from Boston, but that's good luck with that. And, you know, they didn't really find someone that sounded like Brad Delp. They found some good singers, but Brad Delp is in his own category, kind of like Freddie Mercury. You know, how are you going to, you know, I liked it when they did the Paul Rogers version of Queen. It was different, you know, of Queen and Paul Rogers, but, you know, he sang it his way. And that's because his range is different than Freddie Mercury. It's kind of like someone who's pitched way high and someone who's pitched a little bit under that. So both amazing singers and great artists, but I think that with that in mind, not to lose sight of the point here, that is getting a singer that really sounds like the singer you had in the band and because people are used to it. And I think that's why people like to cover music so much. But I think there's also a point where a singer or a band should branch out and they like ACDC, you know, they should do something new. And that's why when we were reviewing the ACDC album, we talked about those songs where you heard, you know, Brian Johnson's voice in a lower pitch and it's like, who is that guy? Who's this other singer on the ACDC album? It was Brian. It wasn't someone else. I didn't know. But that's the kind of thing I think that I want to bring to light. And I think that the album for me that's album of the year, both in metal and in rock and in progressive would be Kansas, the absence of presence. And they've got some songs. I mean, they have a large, a high order, a tall order to live up to. I mean, with Steve Walsh, who is an amazing singer, just like Brad Delt, you know, just like Steve Perry, just like Bobby Kimball and Toto. I mean, these kind of singers that are just, you know, radio gold. Yes. I would say that if you check out the song, Animals on the Roof. I mean, this is a brilliant song, the absence of presence, Circus of Illusion. There's so many amazing, I mean, this is a band that's interesting. And not unlike bands that I've experienced where you have the drummer who's running the show. I mean, it's his band. So it's kind of weird because for me, because it's like, okay, you have this amazing voice, this amazing frontman, Ronnie Platt. And he's a, you know, he plays keyboards extremely well. And he's like the second keyboard player or an additional keyboard player. And he stands in the background and plays. So it's an interesting configuration because it's not, it's not like the singer or the guitar player was driving the band. And you also lost one of the key songwriters back in the early days, you know, Kerry Livgren, who's, you know, he did some stuff with Dio at one point, you know, some collaborative stuff, but such an amazing writer, a guy who wrote, you know, on those first few albums and, you know, some of the classic songs that we're all familiar with, you know, point of no return, carry on wayward sun, dust in the wind, songs like that and so on. I mean, you just can't, you know, you want to after you write songs like that, how do you, how do you stand up for that? That's a high level to jump up to. And I think with this new album, the songwriting is reminiscent. It does capture, it's truly the Kansas sound. It's fantastic. And, you know, how many bands can, how many bands can say, hey, you know, they, they're around a 2020 putting out albums and they, they did this back in 1977. And they put out great albums then they're still doing it on that same level. So I think that's, that's one of the reasons that I thought Kansas was the band. And also I've seen Kansas a few times. I saw them recently at the Orpheum Theater and they did an acoustic and then they did an electric type of set, kind of a two, two for one set. And it was just phenomenal. I saw them before at the world train, but this was even better at the Orpheum. And, you know, I wasn't expecting, like, when I first heard this album, I listened to it and I heard, oh, you know, I, you know, why is Driny Platt trying to sound like Steve Wall so much? And I kind of put it down for a minute, but then I re-listened to it. And after the second go around and so was like, wow, there's really a lot more to this. And, you know, sometimes we can be deceived by just playing at a first time, but, but listening through that, I mean, this is, you know, you want to talk about, you know, other bands that are worthy of mentions, Sons of Apollo, you know, some great bands out there is, there's a long list of them, Dark Tranquility. But before we get there, but before we get there, Neil, before we do the honorable mentions, we got to do our last two albums. Yes, yes, but then we'll throw some honorable mentions. But I just had to mention this, that people consider metal to be a lot of different things. Like, if you say heavy metal or metal today, you know, people are thinking, you know, growling voice, they're not thinking of a melodic voice, they're not, they have a certain perception, or they might be thinking of new metal. So there is a lot of different aspects to metal, but I think as far as songwriting and the value of that, you know, without a doubt, you know, Kansas is a band that, you know, people should not overlook, they should check them out. And if you get a chance to see them live, a phenomenal band too. So it's something to lift people's spirits up and something to look forward to that's, you know, Kansas is a class act. And I think during the holidays, you know, it's a nice, a nice thing to discover some new music that is uplifting in that way. All right, great choice, Neil. I agree with you. A very overlooked underrated band at least today, right? And, and I had to mention Diamondhead did a reversion, a re, a remade version of, you know, Lightning to the Nations has four cover songs on it that they did a great job with. They actually covered Metallica. And I just talked with their, one of their manager, you know, one of their manager management companies today. And that is a band that also worthy of mention, you know, Diamondhead and their, I think they sold like 4,000 units of vinyl on their first week of, or pre-order. So yeah, definitely a band. We're going to bring it on home now. We're going to bring it on home. We're going to bring it in. Allen? Okay, Allen. You're, please. You got that walnut. Yeah, I'm ready. You're number one pick and hopefully everything will align here with the graphics this year. Number one pick of 2020. What is it? Long day. Good night. Fates warning. Here's a band. I mean, they're hotter now than they ever were. I mean, Arch, Arch Mateus, two fantastic albums. I think one of them made that my list last year or the year before. And I've been listening to this and I mean, these guys are strong as anything they released in the 80s or 90s. So that's great to see. Not a band, a band that's influenced many others, but maybe they never got the success that they deserve. So all you have to do is take out the longest shadow of the day. It's the longest song on the album. And this has everything about this band. It's a brilliant, it's a masterpiece, actually, that song. You got Jerry Vera on bass. And you got everybody on the drummers. They've always had strong drummers. Bobby Jarzambic on but I mean, going back to Steve Zimmerman and the first albums and then I think all the way through Mark Zander played on some of their albums. I mean, all the way through, I think they've always had great drummers in that band. And Jim Mateus is, I mean, he's a genius as far as I'm concerned. So all right, so there we go. And now we're ready for mine. Here's my last face warning again, again, and I'll actually take it out of the wallet because Allen's not here. I couldn't take his out. So no, no, don't play with me and do the protocols here properly. Here it is. Take it out of the wall out so everybody knows it's real. You see, you see, and what is it? It's blue oyster cult. The symbol remains. Put the graphics up for everybody. The symbol remains. And Jim, is this like the heaviest thing they've ever done? Because just the first song alone is heaviest. You know, they've never been a truly heavy metal band. They've had heavy metal aspects to their music. I would call them a quirky consistent band. You know, you know, when you think of, you know, Godzilla, that's a heavy song, right? I'm burning for you. It would be more of a pop song. But this album has all the elements of blue oyster cult that all the cult lovers love. Man, it's just, I think the whole album, and I know Neil likes this, like blue oyster cult as well, it's just the whole album consistent, varied, great singing. And now you have their new guitars they're singing. So the buchards aren't there. But you know what, they made up for it 19 years since our last album. And I definitely, and the quality, the production quality is, is fantastic. The songs are great. And it's just such an enjoyable listen. I haven't stopped listening to it since it's been released. So that's my top pick. I mean, it goes back to what Ania was saying earlier, right? Back in the early 80s, you had like, Plasmatics was considered heavy metal, Blue Oyster Cult was considered heavy metal. Now, probably a lot less Kansas and Blue Oyster Cult. What are you talking about? This is called the metal voice, you know, but, but back in the day, that's, they were all kind of being lumped in together. So. So I guys, a couple of honorable mentions. And David Reese, Cacophony of Souls, Cacophony of Souls, like David's like a friend. So it's difficult to say, you know, I'm going to put David on the list. It just seems like I'm playing favoritism, even though I do believe that this is nepotism. Yeah. Fantastic album, Cacophony of Souls. I could second that. That was one of my early favorites too. When it came out, I think it's a super strong album. But that's, you know what, I think I might have forgotten about that, wouldn't you? You know, Eric Clayton, which I kind of, he was on my top five list, a thousand scars. It's sort of like David Bowie and metal, but at the end of the day, me and Alan kind of decided, you know what, it's not metal, but it's an enjoyable doom like album. I mean, sort of like David Bowie on steroids. So I just thought Eric Clayton, who's from Savier Machine from California, by the way, Neil, and now in Germany. And I think another honorable mention would be Metal City by Raven, another great band. You know, if we had 10, if I had 10, then I would definitely put them on my six. But you also had, you also had, you had Armored Saint Purchase in the sky. Yes, yes. What do you mean? You forgot Armored Saint Purchase. You know what, yes. So I'll put the graphic on that. Armored Saint would probably have been my sixth as well, or seventh. You got three sixes now. Three sixes. That's appropriate for the show. Yes, yes. Do you guys have any honorable mentions? Yeah, go ahead, Neil. But I'm going to let Alan go first. Well, I'm glad demons and wizards made your list because that was coming in number six on mine. And here's another Canadian band that I just absolutely adore. I'm really sad that I couldn't get their album on to my top 10 today, but it's Unleashed the Archers, a hot upcoming band out of Vancouver. And their album Abyss. There's a lot of different things on there that they're trying out. And it's a very mature album for them. And they're about to hit the big time. So I'm glad I'm glad I'm able to put Unleashed the Archers and Oz, a band from the 80s. We're going way, way back that have released some of their strongest albums, as far as I'm concerned, with forced commandments that came out earlier in the year. Again, it doesn't really sound a lot like the old Oz, but the music they're making today is really, really good. And that's one of my honorable mentions. All right. I have I have an interesting honorable mention for a, you know, an artist who is, you know, like a guitar music kind of artist. And, you know, someone that's obviously can play anything, but but their music is really, I think it's one of the most exciting guitar players out there right now. And he came out with an album. He's actually works with a company that I work with it at NAMM, Blue Guitar, which I have, you know, their amps. And I know he was doing the same shows that I did. I wish I would have realized it at the time that I did it at NAMM earlier this year, because he was on the same bill and he's working with the same companies. And, you know, very interesting, but the guy is very successful. And it's not Joe Bonamassa. It's not, I know it is. It's not, it's not my friend Taj Farat, who's an amazing 11 year old kid who shreds the hell out of the guitar, Australia. But it's a gentleman by the name and a fantastic guitar player, great, great guitar player. His name is Eric Steckel. Oh, I don't know Eric Steckel. And he has an album that came out this year. And it was called Grand View Drive. And he is, you know, I just happened to come across him online and I was listening to, you know, his playing and I'm just like, wow, this is how I would play guitar if I could play better, you know, one of those type of things. And, you know, just from a soloist standpoint, from a, from an attack standpoint, and, you know, very, he's like a rock and a blues and a metal guitar player, but just someone who, you know, very interesting approach. And I know he was taken under the wing at a young age, you know, by a very famous player of a band. So, you know, it helped his career. But one of those people that early on, you know, got recognized. But I just had to mention Eric, because his playing is definitely off the chart. And, you know, people don't know about him. You should check out Eric Stechle, Grand View Drive. Your buddy, Angelo Batio, what's his name? Oh, Michael Angelo Batio, yeah. Michael, I believe he has a release. Yeah, I like the one with Nitro. Nitro's guitarist with four guitar decks, right? Yeah, well, he's a really nice guy. Yeah, Michael's a busy man. He's busy with, you know, with Sawtooth. Yeah, Sawtooth. And Chroma Cast, and I know Michael's busy. He's been out to California a lot and been doing a lot of live streaming, a lot of lessons online. So definitely you got to check out Michael Angelo Batio always because, you know, to play on Michael's level, you got to put in a lot of time and a lot of perfect practice makes perfect. So yeah, I love Michael and, you know, definitely check out what he's doing. I think he's doing it weekly, you know, on Thursdays. I think he's on Facebook Live and doing, you know, a lot of live streams, but, you know, it's obviously hard for people who are used to playing live on tour constantly and to not, you know, be doing that right now because of things that are going on. But phenomenal albums and, you know, Eric Stechel, there's a few other bands, I'm sure that I'm not thinking of at the moment, but I think, you know, these are some of the ones that are ones that don't make the mainstream charts, you know, like you have the typical ones. And also, honorable mention, even without it being on my top five list, not that it would have been on the top 10, would have been Armored Saint Punching the Sky. I mean, great album. That was, again, like for me, too, was sort of like hovering on. It was on his list right up until today. I don't know what happened. I don't know. I just, I kind of was listening to everything carefully and I go, even though it's a great album, it would be like number six if I had. But I just like to thank Neil for all his work and being on the show here today, because Neil captures exactly where this show was made to begin with. It's to educate, to bring in bands and talk about bands that people might not know about. And every time Neil's on, we learn something new and we discover new bands. So we're going to go check out Ambush from Sweden and everybody else that he's mentioned here today. And that's what this show has always been about is discovering new bands and sharing our views with everybody out there. So yeah, that's why we always, like Alan, we always like to sneak in a couple of those albums that kind of not, instead of going right, we're going left and then just sort of things that we love during a week year, not only that everybody loved, right? And I know, I know you guys just interviewed Wolf Hoffman, but I just have to mention, you know, the Undertaker and Wolf Hop, you know, Accept and Udo. I mean, both delivered excellent albums in 2020. And, you know, Udo surprisingly had that reunion of people on his album and it sounds great. It's definitely, you know. But Accept is in 2021, the official release date. Oh, okay. So we'll have to head back to you next year. I heard a couple of songs, so I thought it came out this year. Yeah, yeah. So do I know. Sounds good. Sounds good. All right, on that note, there we go. We're on the hour. We're on the hour. Everybody, thank you so much. We will put the walnut away. Another year, Jimmy. We managed another one. I'm going to call up the armored truck so they could like put it and seal it. Lock it away from you. Lock it away somewhere in the northwest territories in Canada. Lock it away until next year. And thank you, Neil. Thank you so much, Jimmy. Thank you, Alan. And thank you, everyone, for watching the metal voice and a little golden little nugget. There's also a Kansas Live album from 1980 at the New York Palladium. Check that one out. That'll go to our 1980 show, our top album 1980s. No, vocal lessons, vocal lessons. Hammerfall also did a live album in 2020. And they're playing it so excellent that anything that Hammerfall touches, I mean, live is golden. So I would definitely check that one out as well. So I just wanted to mention that and there's probably more, but we don't have time for the whole catalog today. All right, so sing with you. Well, we're talking live albums. I'm going to squeeze in Eclipse as well. It's as if you're listening to them in the studio. Those Swedish guys, like Neil said, what quality musicianships and a really melodic band that I thoroughly love is Eclipse. And they came out with their album, Live Album. And Noreen Mayden actually came out with a Live Album as well. But we won't go there. Okay. Breathe, fire, sing with vocal and power, vocalpower.com, Neil Turbin. If you want to take some vocal lessons, learn. Vocal firepower. Vocal firepower, learn from the best Neil Turbin. If you want to sing like Bruce Lee hits, that's the way we do it. There you go. All right, guys.