 here we are on the metal voice. And what is it? What are we doing? Let's get the party started. Let's get the party started. Here we are at the biggest night of the year. Long anticipated top 10. We're down to the top picks for night 2023. Alan, I got a bit of flack. People are saying this is the top 10. They're going top 10. This is not a top 10. You're not going 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Listen, when we can decide and we have some sort of consensus, then we all go, let me and I'll go 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. We can do it. I know. Well, no, no, but we're beyond that, Alan. We can't go back. We can't go back. Well, not for next year. So what we're doing this year is there's 10 albums it's just Alan's five and my five and we count them backwards. See what I did there? I used the, that's how it works. Okay. So this is our top 10 list, but five each. And of course, go ahead, the metal voice top 10. Yes, there's lots of good suggestions that come over while we're doing the shows. I was able to go and check out some of the suggestions that worked on our list. Yes. And yeah, some very, very good suggestions, some great albums, but again, this is our list. And we're gonna stick by it. That's it. We can't go back. We're doing it our way our way or the highway. Okay. I'm gonna say hi, Ron. Hello there, Michael. How you doing? Tanvir Tanvir is our is the balance between me and Alan when we're speaking. Is it okay? Or am I too loud to see too loud or is it well balanced? I like to always get a good audio when you have a shitty audience. It's not it's not a good client experience. It's not a good client experience. So all right, we we did something a bit different to build the anticipation. We went down by four, three, my three, and we stopped there. So we'll start with your three. And we'll work our way up to the number one. And before we hit our number ones, we're gonna bring on our pal Neil Turbin. West Coast correspondent here at the metal boys West Coast is a West Coast preparing and preparing for the show. Yeah, he's he's he's already he's just he's just waiting for your cue. All right. Okay, good. So Neil Turbin will give us his top album of the year and maybe an honorable mention here and there. So here we go, Alan, we're gonna we're back at number three. Okay, this is my pick for number three. Let me just bring it up here. That's not it. That's the middle voice intro. Not that that that I got all these graphics going. Here it is. Number three overkill scorched. There you have it. Now album that really wow took the world by the middle world by storm. Consistency, consistency, consistency. These guys wrote this album over COVID as they were locked down like the rest of the world was locked down. The idea is the anger, always the anger with overkill. But I got to say that after so many consistent album, this is probably a better one than the last one. I have to say the last one wasn't good. They just just had a lot more anger, a lot very technical and they've always maintained their thrash roots. songs like scorched, the surgeon, which I love the surgeon because it's got this, the vocals are just the phrasing is a very melodic tribal kind of way of singing it. The whole song, the whole album is great. I mean, I love every track. I'm not going to go through every track. I just love the anger, the melody and the tribal sort of drum beats, as well as the bass lines just man far out great bass lines DD gets better all the time. What did you think? Great vocals. I agree with everything you said. And a few of the songs even made our top 10 songs of 2023. So yeah, yeah. All right. It was a bit of a unanimous choice because our good friend Kenny also chose it. And strange enough to be on his list and Todd LaTorre also chose the surgeon. Yeah. And I'm seeing a lot of number one. Maybe it should be number one, Jim. Who knows? Maybe a strong album. Maybe. So what does everybody think about Overkill that didn't make your top 10 list? And I like what Tanvir says, punchy and full of attitude. I think that's a great way to sort of summarize this album. That's it. Yeah, you ready for yours? Sure. You ready? Number two, yep, a band that tends to make the list every time they release an album. This is their already 10th studio album. I'm going with Megalomanium by Eclipse. I mean, they're just too damn catchy to leave off of any list. They're great melodics, great album opener with the hardest part is losing you. Anthem is a particular highlight off of that. And like I said, the musicianship, the production, the songwriting, everything these guys do. And they're crossing boundaries all over the place. I mean, 100 million streams. I mean, they got to be doing something right. And I can't believe they've already had their 10th album, been following them from studio album number one, live album, and just love everything these guys do. And they're, you know, like I said, they're crossing over, you get the, you know, heavy rock with massive, massive hooks. But you know, they're finding new new audiences, new genres, they're transcending genres. They're transcending any type of they don't want to be pigeonholed, Jim. No, we don't. I notice you have a theme this year, Swedish, Swedish noreden. Really? Well, I mean, okay, well, who'd you pick? You pick Parames, they're Danish. Okay, that's not Swedish. They're in the Nordic area, right? Everybody together. Okay. Maybe you're better saying Scandinavian Alright, Scandinavian. All right. You got bloodbound. They were Swedish. Hey, you mentioned it. Yeah. Now, bastard sons, all for metal. There was an Italian singer and that so But they were, aren't they Norwegian? Parames, there's an American. I think an American, please keyboard is a pyramid. I'm just saying there's a theme here. Got a theme going. I didn't realize it until now, Jimmy. There's you and the Scandinavians. I know there's something going on over there. Now that you're brought it up, you might be right. I never realized it. Yeah. Well, I agree with you, Alan, it's got a punky, melodic, super melodic, super melodic, super punky. And it's just across. It transcends, transcends the genre. So I agree with you on my list, I had prog metal. I had power metal. So this is more melodic metal the way I see it. So I'm trying to get a lot of different genres in the top five. Only it's only five. So it's hard to fit everybody in. Well, you got to take the best of the best. All right. Here we go. Let's go to my number two. This is this is going to surprise a few people if you're ready for this. There we go. Doro, conquerors forever, strong and proud. That's a mouthful. Isn't it conquerors, forever, strong and proud? Yes. Conquerors forever, strong and proud. We got the right phrasing. What can I say, you know, Conquerors forever, strong and proud. So I have a theme too. It's women. I think my theme this year has been women. I had girl school, right? I had within temptation and you have Doro. So I don't know, the women are like far and off. Very strong album. You know what, this might be actually my favorite solo by hers. There's just so much variety. You have your traditional metal there. You got your anthem, your anthemic songs. You have your punky sort of up and up beat, Joan Jettish kind of tracks there. You have your, I don't know, your Eurovision metal, you know, sort of like it's kind of border's metal and maybe dance, you know, and duet and that kind of stuff, maybe within the temptation gothic kind of metal. It's got some gang vocals. It's got some Viking metal. It just has and it has, of course, duets with Rob Halford, which is living after midnight and total eclipse of the heart. Which I think, and I even told Doro this, I go, I think, I much prefer total eclipse of the heart with you and Rob than, you know, hearing the thousandth version of living after midnight, right? Because it's a great song, but we've heard it just so many times. There's nothing new and exciting about that. But I don't know, I think she does it. This was getting even close to maybe my number one. But I mean, there's a couple of songs off that I could have made our top 10 list for the songs of the year. There's two that we can particularly close. For me, stand-ups are all for you and Rise. I think Rise is the strongest. I don't know if she released it as a single, but I just love that song. I think it's one of the strongest on the album. Doro always, always carrying the metal flag. Her enthusiasm, every time we interview her, or second to none, she's just a complete delight and I wish her all the success in the world with this album. This is just a fantastic and strong album. Yep. You know what? Congratulations to her. After all these years to make an album better than her prior albums, it just blows my mind how we used to think in your 20s was when bands were at their peak, right? But we're talking about 50s and 60s now. Tanvir says Doro makes me tingle. I'm not going there. I'm not going. I don't know. And by the way, Alan Tanvir also says, who are you kidding? You've picked power metal, power metal, and more power metal. I would say Scandinavian. It's just running in your blood. Power metal, I don't know. I don't think so. Anyways, that's why the chips fall sometimes. This wasn't done on purpose. These are just the albums I find myself going back and listening to. I get that Eclipse was released the 1st of September. So there are some late entries coming in. Prior years, I'd get an album early in the year. And that's the one that everybody else has to measure up to. I didn't really find one earlier in the year this year. So some of them are maybe some more release. Recent releases. Michael's saying, can't wait till I hit 50s so I can peak. Listen, buddy. We're talking musically here. So he can peak. So he can peak. You know, peak. Like, you know, his musical peak, you know what I mean? I don't, I guess. Who's 50, Doro? No, Michael. Michael says, can't wait to hit 50. He can't wait till he hits 50 so he can peak. Doro, is that what you're saying? I don't know. Who's 50? He's turning 50. All right. So we're waiting for Neil Turbin. Neil Turbin, if you're out there, can you call him there, Alan? Neil, we're selling out the metal voice bat signal. You're the blades in the sky. Have a look up. We're waiting for you. Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Neil Turbin. A West Coast correspondent. Neil has been with us for years and years now. And it's always a pleasure to find out. Talk about enthusiasm. Oh my gosh. Neil's got enthusiasm and we can't wait to hear what his top picks are for 2023. There's always a surprise in there, right, Jim? There's something that we weren't expecting. There's always a surprise there. There's always a surprise. Neil always has a surprise. I mean, I'm sure he's, he's supposed to be at, we're at the 45 minute mark here. Let's see if he jumps on. Ah, before he jumps on Alan, let's talk about our honorable mention since we're trying to do that. We're trying to kill some time. Trying to kill some time. Stretch it out. Stretch it out. You know, some of the ones you had on your list would have been, you know, if I did a complete top 10. But then we get criticized because it's 20. It's not 10, it's 20. So, yeah, Dora was a stronger, for me, it was, again, it's more hard rock and maybe melodic. I like Temple Balls, Avalanche. I've listened to them over the years, but this, I thought this was one of their strongest albums, Avalanche. And also, Michael Abdow, who was, I did this guitar work for Fates Warning, he released an instrumental album called Seance in Black. And it's, if you like Fates Warning and you like that type of, I guess, progressive guitar sound with a lot of variations, I would certainly invite you to give a listen to Michael Abdow's Seance in Black. It's really, really good. I'll also mention this guy here. Now, this was a tough one. I knew that would make it. I knew that would make your honorable mention. Honorable mention, if there was a top 10 list, I would definitely, this would kind of be in number six or number seven. That's where it'd be. You know what? Again, just like the German power machines of Doro and Udo and the rest of them, these guys, they don't let up. Probably one of his better albums in the past 15 years, I would say. And he just keeps cranking them out. And with his son, Sven, I think he's sort of brought in a new energy to the band. This is the guitar work on this album. It's just incredible. It's a very, not only it's melodic and his voice is in fine form, but I could see a lot more musicianship in this album, like a lot more work on the songs. Versus 10 years ago, it sounded like there was a drum machine, they were just playing a couple of power chords, and then he was just singing over it. But this is more of a song, well written, played album. So hats off to Udo. Definitely probably be in my like number six, if I had a top 10 list like you. What else you got out? You know what that album came out, what made me realize is just the sheer volume of work he's put out the last eight years. There's something like six albums in eight years, if I remember correctly. And like you said, it's like you know, Doro, it's like Saxon. I mean, these guys, Anvil, and all these guys are still quality, quality work, and that's a great pick, Jim. Udo. I prefer some of the other albums to this one, but I can see why it would make your honorable mention. I think you got a second one on your honorable mention too, if I remember. Metal Church. Again, if I had a top 10, this would probably be like sort of hovering at six and seven. Here's a band that has had so many tragedies. Two singers have passed away, unfortunately, over the years. And you think when they're down for the count, oh my god, they're back again. Kurt van der Hoef has this knack of picking phenomenal singers. Mark Lopes, who was the singer for Rasta Boss, now he's the singer of Metal Church, I think. The way I'm going to say this is he's kept the legacy of the old band, but he's also brought in a new ingredient, sort of to bring it to make the album more current. And you just put in his own little twist and there's a part of him on the album, as well as a part of the legacy of Metal Church in there. Listen to that album, like I said, I think one of the songs made our top 10 list for Songs of the Year. Man, that's the Metal Church that takes you right back to their first album, I mean. They're not trying to reinvent the wheel, they're doing what they've always done. And like you said, even with all the personnel changes, the core, that core sound that Metal Church always had, is still there and shines through like the first album. I mean, it's amazing that they're able to do that after all, like you said, the tragedy that, so another strong album that's, I think that would have been a unanimous choice to be done in our top 10, so. I agree. Do you have anything else? I think we're gonna have to move to number one. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, look, see from Neil here, so yeah, I mean no problem. All right, so let me get it up here. Okay, let's go to your number one here, so. Steel Panther. Here we go, Alan. It's not, well, that's your, is that your honorable mention, Steel Panther? No, I just showed you. Okay. All right, here we go. I'm getting the graphics ready for you. There we go. All right, so I'm going with Ray of the Reaper by Sorsberg, so these guys have been on my radar for the last two or two or three of their albums. I think this is the year, right? You gotta pull out the walnut. This is the year these guys deserve to be in the walnut. There you go. There, oh, Neil Turbin is coming on, but let's finish what you want to say. You know, all the songs, you know, I try to find a standout. They're all great, I mean, there's The Eternal's Sleep, Morning Star, The Lead-off Track, The Underworld. You know, they got that Death's Metal vibe. They've got the Gloom and Doom. That reminds me of Tony Martin, the era of Black Sabbath, but there is songwriting and their variety has really come up a notch on this album. It was released on the 27th of October, and I'm glad they released another album. They worked hard over the pandemic, and it's just a great album that everybody should check out for sure. So Sorcerers, Rain of the Reaper. Neil? Hey, great to see you guys. Great to see you too, Neil. But before we get into that, I just want to make my comments about Alan's number one pick. Alan, you know what? Sorcerer, Rain of the Reaper, I have to say Alan. I was pleasantly surprised when I put that album on. You know, it's just a throwback to Doom, to Power Metal, to Sweden, to Sweden, to Sweden. Alan's been picking all these Swedish bands. They're Swedish, correct? What did you say, man? I'm not getting roped into this debate. All right, so Alan's number one pick is Sorcerer, and you know that I think that's a really good pick, Alan. I think a lot of people need to know more about this band. It's just, I was surprised. I put it on and go, wow, man, these guys are pretty good. More people should know about them, and I guess that's what it's all about, right? Spreading the word, man. Spreading the word like COVID. Neil, what's going on, man? Hey, how you doing, Alan? How you doing, Jimmy? All right, Neil, thanks for having me. You know, it's only been, this is going on 10 years. Next year, it'll be my 10th year with Metal Boys. Oh my Lord, we got to get you a cake. I've got to get you a cake. You're getting a key to your own bathroom, Neil. Well, I think it's a little square thanks to the mic. That's it. We'll get you a Metal Boys pin. Square thing for the mic, you know. It's like a big grown-ups, you know. Neil, you're doing a great job for us on the West Coast. We appreciate everything, and it's a pleasure to have you yet again, like you said, on our top 10 list. And we're anxiously awaiting your picks, because they're always interesting, and you always got a lot to say about them. Well, thank you, Alan. And yeah, we had, in the past, you know, we had some interesting choices. You know, I kind of veer a little bit away from the typical usual suspects, you know, the mainstream obvious choices. You know, there's obvious choices this year, quite a few, quite a number actually. And some of my past ones, just as an example, you know, was, what was it? Gosh. Riot, why can't I think of their last part of the name, but you know who it is. Riot Act? No, Riot City. Riot City. Okay, so Riot City was one of the bands that I, you know, picked in the past, had some other bands that are kind of not, you know, the obvious choices, like your Metallica's and your, you know, G&R's and your ACDC's, and, you know, these are obvious choices, and Megadeth, and I mean, certainly they're great bands, you know, but the question that I like to put out there is, you know, like, ACDC's a really good example. I love ACDC's, it'll get me wrong. Every, you know, version of ACDC has its great moments, especially for me, Bond Scott, you know, Brian Johnson, I certainly love them, but is every album the same as, you know, Back in Black? Is every album the same as Highway to Hell? You know, we kind of look at it like that and, you know, we compare it to kind of like, maybe we expect a lot, but getting a, getting the last album from ACDC was really fantastic because, you know, it was, it was a lot of fun, it was great. You didn't pick that as your 2023. No, no, that's old, that's old by now, right? It's not your 2023. But I'm just saying, like, you know, that's kind of the level that we want to kind of reach to. You know, we want to have, so I think there's, there's part of me that says, okay, old school, you know, I really love the old school and, as you know, Jimmy, because you, you're aware of this, that I had picked a band that's disqualified from being in the running because it's not brand new material. It's been Lizzie. Alan, show it, show it, Alan. Look at this, Alan's, show it, show it, show it. And just because Alan has it, it goes to show you how badass that thing is, you know. Look, show it, show it, Alan, show it, think it is. I got this on vinyl. My friends gave it to me over my 50th birthday. And when I found that, they were releasing all eight CDs, all that tour that that album was based on, I couldn't wait to get it. And I can't wait to listen, but I haven't opened it up yet. So you're going to love it. And I could just say this, I mean, can't, it can't live as the, as my pick for album of the year for 2023, but that is probably the greatest live album of all time. I mean, there's UFO strangers in the night. There's a few others that can pretty much, you know, belong in the top list, but certainly thin Lizzie, you know, live and dangerous and super deluxe, all the cuts, all the tracks that were from, you know, the sound checks, the live shows that made that album. So for me, that's a love affair with, you know, thin Lizzie that isn't going to go away anytime soon, ever. So that's, that's your honorable mention as an album that doesn't qualify, but it's an honorable mention. That's what I said in 2023. Let's say that that came out in January, I think this year, and it was like, you couldn't even buy it because it disappeared, you know. Let's go with, let's go with your second honorable mention. I actually ordered it online and then they, they sold out. So I didn't get it. They stole Alans. They stole Alans. I still heard the tracks. Yeah. So yeah, Neil, Neil, they stole Alans. They delivered it and then someone stole it. Yeah, I believe it. And that's exactly how it is in the world today. On the porch, on the porch. Somebody stole it off the porch, exactly. So I also wanted to mention, you know, that level of, you know, obviously, you know, to reach, to reach, you know, kind of a watermark, you know, high watermark. So with that being said, you know, Riot City being one of the picks in the past, Haunt is another band that I picked in the past, you know, one of, you know, honorable mention bands. And, you know, these are younger bands that are certainly, you know, carrying the flag. And I want to mention, I have a tie between two bands. So one. No, no ties. Are we allowed ties, Alan? What do the rules say? Well, you guys, you guys. Alan, what are the rules? Bring out the rules. Come on, it's feel. You're going to have to hear. You're going to have to have a tie. You guys will have to decide for me then. But, okay, so there's been this band, Sortilish, that's from France. Okay. All right. They may have, they have an amazing album, Apocalypse, though. And I mean, this band, if you look online, I think the number of views they have on their YouTube or something, like less than 2000 or something ridiculous. But this band is fucking amazing. And they were amazing back in 1984 when I met them at the Breaking Sound Festival. I met Stephane or Stephon. Stephon. The original guitar player who was, you know, really gracious and cool. And we were hanging out with Metallica and, you know, and the band that I was there with and also, you know, all the, you know, Venom was there and Gary Moore and, you know, Dio. I mean, it was an amazing, amazing show. But hanging out with, with Sortilish, you know, I got to know them and they're a great band from France and it was in France at this festival was. And, you know, I was talking about Sortilish back then, because we were at rehearsal at Red Forrester at the time, and Rhett was like, Sortilish, what are you talking about? You know, I didn't get it. You know, he didn't understand because he never heard of Sortilish. And it's a, you know, a very, you know, that was the days when bands like Loudness sung in Japanese. You know, that was the days when bands from Germany sang in German. I mean, it was, you know, when the guys from Inge's band, they were still in Silver Mountain. So it was a cool time. You know, he was still on Alcatraz then. So the idea is that this band, this is like, we're talking 1983, they had this album and they have the song that I always loved. It was called, in English, it's called Delirium of a Mad Man. Check that one out if you want to check out Sortilish first and then check out this new album Apocalypse, Apocalypse. I mean, it's epic. It's a great songwriting, great singing, great musicianship, you know, shredding and, you know, great drum sound. I mean, the band sounds great. I mean, just fantastic. I love it. And, you know, I found it late in the game, to be honest. But I also wanted to give credit to a newer band that- Wait, wait, no, wait, wait, let me just add to that. Yes. Because I remember the Metamorphose album back in 1984 when they came out. Sortilish loved it. Never had the money to purchase it. So when I saw this, I had a preview of your pick. Thank you for picking that because it gave me a chance to listen to their new album. I didn't even know they had a release. And it's just as strong as that album I remember back in 84. So a great band out of France. But I guess next year we'll be looking for the new Trust album, I guess. Yeah. You guys speak French, right? So you can- I can translate the lyrics for you. I was thinking about that today, Neil. I said if Neil wants me to translate the lyrics I'll be happy to do that for him. Yeah, I mean I just love it. It's that good that it's epic. It's, you know, some of it is symphonic. Some of it, you know, bordering on that it's even soundtrack worthy in some cases, you know, heavy. Definitely got the heavy. For the legs. The brutal. But we should mention they sing in French. Yes. Like completely in French. They have sung in English before but it's kind of like, you know, with a heavy accent. So it's like- I don't mind- You know, Neil, it says a lot about a singer and a way people write songs that when you do it in another language and people still like it, it says a lot about how well constructed the melody really is that language doesn't matter. Yes, exactly true. And that's the universal language of music. That is what makes the connection from here to here like BB King said to me once. And that is exactly what we're talking about. And if it can reach you, no matter how it does, then, you know, that's the job that's the intention in the first place. So that's what we're trying to do. And that's what the song, that's what a great piece of music should do like, you know, Bohemian Rhapsody, you know, I mean, that's that's what it should do. So this band, that's from Hungary, okay? I want to say, I want to say, we're still on sorry last year. Let me just say that I heard about them and I go, let me just put this on because, you know, suggested it, right? Yeah. Holy crap, these guys are really good. So it was a great- I want to just say that you had a great pick, Neil. And you know what, I really enjoyed it. I understood the lyrics, but at the same time, I found that it's got to, because they sing in another language, just like Rammstein, right? It gives it a different flavor. You know, it just gives it a different flavor. So that's what makes it cool. Yeah. Sort-a-lish, you know, Stefan, he gave me two shirts. I had like a t-shirt and a sweatshirt back then which is very generous, you know, gift for someone you just met. And, you know, I wore it all the time. I love Sort-a-lish and, you know, I was talking about Sort-a-lish before, before I got to France in 84 a week after leaving Anthrax. And then while I was in France, you know, that's all they heard from me was Sort-a-lish, Sort-a-lish. Because, I mean, I heard this Delirium of a Madman song and I was just like, and Dior, and, and, you know, both the first album and second album. And at that time, they had an album out in 83. So they're, they're brilliant bands and they're a band that's been underrated. They haven't gotten, you know, the credit, the credit that's due. And I think it's time that they definitely get a lot of credit because they're still doing it and how many years later is it? Yeah, exactly. At the same level. And they've grown. So who's your, who's your other number one there? Because we'll get the votes happening here. Yeah, yeah. So, so I just had to express the fact that I am an old school guy, as you know. I mean, that's pretty obvious and it's hard to hide that. So I had to go with Sort-a-lish, Sort-a-lish. But also a band that I also thought was really deserving of a high number, high rank, was a band that's from Hungary. And this band is a Frontiers band, of all things. And, you know, they're pretty, they have some commercial-sounding music, but they're also quite, you know, melodic and heavy at the same time and shredding. And this band is called Stardust. Okay. And I'm trying to remember the name of a kingdom of- Illusion. Illusion. And- Because I had it right on the- I got Michael Shaker and I had Victim of Illusion. But, but uh- Illusion. Illusion is a great album. It has, you know, there's a couple of singles that are already videos that Frontiers has on their website. And, you know, Heroes. It's a great song. And also In Fire or The Fire. And that one is just, you know, also very well written at first. You know, I listened to it and I thought, you know, it was reminding me of Dockin-ish kind of sounds. But, but the singer actually kind of gives me some Brian Adams vibes in his voice. Oh. It wasn't really like a, you know, one of these super high vocal singers, but it was a nice kind of approach. You know, really, you know, something maybe not exactly what you expect from a power metal band with the super high vocals, which they're not, you know, they're more of an AOR type of band, but they're heavy. And, I just think, you know, bands like that understand, you know, the 80s and they understand, you know, that appeal, but they're also modern in a sense. They have, they have some modern impact as well in their songwriting. And I did, before I forget, I just wanted to mention a couple of quick thoughts. Okay. Really quick. So we could elaborate on it, but Jimmy, in the last show, which was part one, you know, that was 10 through, I don't know, you got all the way up to three. I thought you're going. We've messed that all up. Butchered it. You know, we just butchered it all. You guys left me with a few pieces of chips in the bowl left, huh? In the walnut. A few pieces of walnut left, but, but one of the people that passed away, that was a huge, huge one for me because I saw him live at the Palladium in New York City with Jeff Beck. I know he's not exactly considered heavy metal, but, you know, he's, he's everything, you know, he could play anything. And certainly, you know, that was one I wanted to mention, give remembrance to. And also there was a, there was a few songs that were released. You guys did an episode, a show on the top songs of 2023. And there's some songs that really truly deserve to be talked about, or at least touched upon. And I don't have to get deep into it, but just to touch on it. So the first one out of the batch, there's three. And that would be, Well, let me set it up. Neil's top three songs of 2023. Number three. These songs were, were, you know, incredible to me. And I thought, of all people, who's, how is this person, how's this band gonna write something that stands up to, you know, songs that you expect. And that, even that I covered, you know, I'm 18, or school's alpha summer, or no more Mr. Nice guy. How is somebody gonna, you know, def, write a career defining song that's gonna stand up to that same level that we've talked about with ACDC. Same, you know, is it, is it up, then Lizzie, you know, is it up to that same level? And that song is welcome to the show. I mean, Alice Cooper absolutely nailed it with that song. And I was, I was blown away. I was like, this is exactly, you know, if you listen to this, off of his album road, that was released in 2023. I didn't pick the album as a top pick for the year because there's other songs, but that song to me is, you know, career defining. It defines who he is and what he does and how he does it. And it's amazing. And it's well written and it's very catchy and, you know, it's brilliant. And it's a perfect song for his, his, his concert. You know, you would hope to see that in this, in this set way. Another, another band that I had to, also give recognition to, two of them, one of them, number two, number two. There he goes. Number one. Number two. This is not even number two. This is just in. Well, we'll say it's number two. There's no way that it's number two. And you'll, and you'll. All right. So the band has two of my friends in the band and on the album, at least, and they're playing on the tour. And also someone that I also played with on bass for. And so I know the drummer and the guitar player. And that is Bruce Dickinson. You know, the Ragnarok, I'm trying to remember the the the the Mandring project, but it's a, oh my god, the afterglow of Ragnarok. Afterglow of Ragnarok. Yeah. Mandring project. It's a mouthful. Afterglow of Ragnarok. I mean, of course, we expect great things from Bruce Dickinson, but this was very, you know, this is like, wow, you hear that and it's like, it's very deep and it's very epic. And it's also, you know, this is like a book. You know, this is not just like, you know, it's it's super you know, feet. You know, this is this is like a rock opera or something. It's it's super deep. And your friends with Roy Z. And you did an interview with Roy Z this year too. Roy and also Dave Chilli Moreno and the drummer. I just saw, I just saw Dave on the weekend. So great guy, great band, and also a bass player, you know, I jam with her once. So it's great. It's crazy that, you know, how great that song was, in my opinion, and I'm not going to run out just because it's Iron Maiden and say, oh, you know, I'm going to get this album. But I was impressed, you know, really it was flooring. And then another one, which also deserves, is this the number one? Is this Neil Turman's number one? So, okay, wait, I want to say it's Neil wills turn number one. Alan. Number one. Pioneer has for Neil Turman. No, no, it was. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. The other one was number one. Number one for Neil Turman. No, the Alice Cooper one, definitely to me was. Oh, that's number one. So we give, what do we give the walnut to Alice Cooper or which one? We're going to give it, we're going to give that walnut to Sortilish and to Stardust. Okay. Okay. And that's, that's who deserves it for album of the year. No, you don't. And the little walnut goes to this next one. Definitely take out Stardust. I think I know what you're talking about. Also as a friend of mine is a singer for the band, Jacob, Jacob Bunton. And that is, Mick Mars. He has two songs, one that just came out, but the first one about Lies Kingdom of Lot, what is it called? You don't remember. Liar, Liar, Pads on Fire. Yeah, something like. Well, it's, it's a brilliant song. And it is, it was good. It's good. Definitely. I thought that, you know, people may not be used to, you know, they're used to Motley Crue, but I thought that it was not only modern, it had a modern element, but it also had a very authentic element. And I thought for Mick Mars, it was really a step in, you know, an artistic direction, which it defines him, you know, further into his career. I think it's something that's the next step. And, you know, it's unfortunate, the things that went down with Motley Crue. It's a big, it's a big corporation. And, you know, there's crazy people, obviously, you know, running the kitchen there. So who knows? So, I mean, I'm not trying to take a shot at, I'm just saying, you know, it's like, it's, Neil Turbin says, Motley Crue is a big corporation. Next headline. It's a big business, a lot of money, a lot of, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of decisions and, you know, Mick's not in that band anymore. So, I mean, if we're to have a reason that you can't, you know, we're on the outside, so we don't know. I agree with you, Neil. The, the Mick Mars songs were good. I agree. He was a driving force in Motley Crue. He was a key songwriter and someone who was, you know, an equal share and a very important part of that band. And to me, you know, it's a shame that he's not in Motley Crue, because I think it brings a certain authenticity, a certain quality. It's kind of like when you have a band that has, you know, one remaining member or not even any remaining member, or maybe there's two, you know, and it's not, the songwriting is totally different now. So I don't know how they'll ever go back. I mean, John Five is great. Great, I see it. I love John Five's play and I love his, his, you know, music, musicality, but it's different. It's a different band. You know, it's like Van Halen once they had, you know, a different singer or different people, you know, different bass player. It's just not the same thing, at least not to me or thin Lizzie, for that matter. How can your place fill in it? Although there are some great people that followed, but, you know, it's still not the same band. So really, where are we? His direction is music. You can't expect Motley Crue from his writing. You know, he could have, he probably could have written songs like Girls, Girls, Girls, or, you know, Kickstart My Heart if he wanted to do what he already did a bunch of times over. But I think his, his writing is, is at the top of the line, really. And, and Alice Cooper as well. I mean, just brilliant. And, you know, and, and Bruce Dickinson, just brilliant, you know, concept. You know, his concept is brilliant. I mean, it's, it's, it's fantastic. And, you know, Mick Morris deserves that credit as well. I mean, he's, he's absolutely. You know, it's interesting. And Alan, maybe you could weigh in on this. It sounds a lot like 6 a.m. in a way. Yeah, I mean, Mick Morris songs. Nikki Six is on record saying Mick Morris is his favorite guitarist, got a tattoo of his face on his leg. And, and I wouldn't want his solo album to sound like Motley Cruise. So I'm glad it doesn't. And, I don't, I don't hear the 6 a.m. influence. And I'm a huge 6 a.m. fan. But I didn't really give it that much of a list. You could be right, Jim. I didn't hear it first. Yeah, I mean, there's so many great albums this year. There's a lot of, you know, a lot of output from bands. And in fact, I had an album that wasn't a whole album. Here it is. Here it is. It's called Loyal to the Lie. That's great. That's great. Thank you, Lucia, who wrote that in. Yeah, there's another one too. There's a second one. And I also talked to Jacob about trying to interview him. And he said, you know, after Mick, you know, after Mick, that's his interviews that we can talk about it. But next year. And I had the same question for Dave, Jillie, Marino trying to talk to Bruce. You know, that's a hard one to pin down as well. Bruce is busy. Busy. Have you guys ever interviewed Bruce? We're trying. We're trying. Still, we're on the list, but it's a long list. All right, guys, you ready? Neil, we got your picks. We've got your songs. We got your albums. I think we got one left. They got mine, right? Yeah. Go ahead, Jim. Should I bring out the wallet? Should I bring out the wallet? Because that should be a wallet. Yeah, bring out the wallet. What's in there, man? You got me. You got me. Evergreen in there. What's going on? Guys, since Alan is not at my house, Alan, pretend like you're passing it to me. Okay. You ready? Okay. Ready? Because this is no, no, the other way. The other way. Push that way. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Neil, you want to touch it, Neil? Here, let me here. Just bring it down here. Just go. Put your hands up. Hands up that way. Hands up that way. No, the other way. The other way. Up, up, up. He's really dragging it out, Jim. Okay, there we go. There, he's touching it there. There you go. Okay, good. There we go. So in this walnut, we have Alan. Alan picked back again a disorcer. Neil picked as his number one. There was a tie, right? But what's inside the wallet for me? What is this beauty? What's inside this beauty, guys? What is the protocol, Alan? What are we doing again? What are we doing again? You can hear, can you hear the echo in the walnut? Sounds like something's in there. Guys, you know what? This is actually all year round, I have it like in a secured area. My wife gets mad at me because I pay about 200 bucks to put this in a sort of like a vault in a sense. It's like a vault. And every year I have these guards who take it out with the, you know, bricks, bricks. And they bring it to my house and here it is. And this is what we're going to see. This is my pick. And I'll let you guys weigh in after I give my two cents. My number one pick for 2023. Drumroll, Alan? Drumroll? Drumroll? That's as close as you can. KK's Priest. The center rides again. Rides again. There you go. And a lot of people are saying, KK, it's very polarizing, I find. Did he out Priest Priest? I'm sorry? Did he out Priest Priest? That's right. You know, first of all, people criticize him for the name. I think, you know what? He was one-third of Priest. He deserves to have Priest in this name. He is KK. Some of us will put Priest. This album is relentless. And you know, when you think of heavy metal, this is heavy metal. When you're in your car, you just keep pressing the gas more and more. The more this album is played, it's just Ripper. There's just so many things to say about this. Ripper finally found his home. Like, you know, Ripper's always been in so many bands. This is the band for him. This is what Judas Priest should have made if Ripper would have continued after demolition. I just love this album. And I think of my most played album of the year. This probably would be it. Never a dull moment. Yeah, sure. The lyrics might be a little corny sometimes, but it doesn't matter. The sheer energy, the sheer musicality of the whole band. And Neil, you probably know a couple of these guys, right? You know, from, you know, the drummer, right? What's his name? AJ, not AJ. AJ's the guitars. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Is it? AJ Mills guitar, Tony Newton bass guitar, and Sean Eld, that's who I was thinking of. Sean Eld on drums. And my god, these guys are a force to be reckoned with. And I'm sure if they play in your town, it will be, people will just go wild. I don't know what else to say about this, but you guys, if you want to weigh in, go right ahead. I mean, Ripper did a fantastic job. I mean, he lifted it up. And of course, you know, KK is, you know, a major force coming from Judas Priest. I mean, a co-songwriter, someone who was, you know, part of their originality to begin with. So, yeah, you can kind of expect that KK would bring something fierce and with high energy and integrity and, you know, consistency on a level. And actually, I knew this girl, her name was Kim, she was an Asian lady, very nice girl. And she was, this was back in like the 19, I got to say sometime in the 80s. And I was with a lady named Lucy Forbes, who I first met when I came out and played in the country club, Heavy Metal Night Productions. And she was hanging out with Kim, and that was actually KK's girlfriend. So she was, you know, they were dry, you know, she got, unfortunately, she died on a head-on collision on Laurel Canyon, but it was KK's girlfriend. So I would see her and, you know, I didn't see KK, but I did meet KK once at the limelight. Him and Glenn Tipton, when I went backstage with John Zazzula one time, it was great wide opening for priests at the Madison Square Garden. So we actually, as a band, we went backstage and it was cool. And then we hung out with, I had the opportunity to kind of hang out with KK at the limelight. So this was interesting for me, you know, I was still pretty young, you know, just brand new, you know, it was probably 1983 or two or four. It's hard to even remember exactly when that was, if I look it up. And when the Defenders of the Faith tour, a green one, all of it. Yeah, Defenders of the Faith, all of that. That's what it was. 84, 84. The Defenders of the Faith, you're right on, Alan. Boom, right on point. So I did see Screaming for Venge's tour with Iron Maiden number of the beast opening up. That was pretty phenomenal, but getting a chance to actually meet Halford at that time, that's the only time I met him. I did see him at Lemmy's funeral, but I met him when I was backstage that time, talked to him, shook his hand, and then also, you know, just hanging out with KK. And he was kind of a happy-go-lucky guy backstage as far as I know. I mean, not backstage, it's a limelight. They were running around, you know, they were drinking a little bit and they were just having a good time. So it was like very light-hearted. It was fun people, you know, Judas Priest, as I'd never seen him before, you know, hanging out at a club, hanging out with me and John Zazool and the rest of the band, my band at the time. And then I also knew another side to Judas Priest, which was from this guy, Jonathan Fallon. He's a drummer who played under the stage at Turbo. One time he told me a story. Nico McBrain was walking by and he saw him, he heard, you know, obviously double bass and it's like, you know, Dave Holland's on the stage playing single kick and it's like, where's that, du-du-du-du-du-du-du, you know, painkiller kind of stuff coming from. We're veering off there, Neil. We're veering off. I know that. Let's go back. Here's my point. So my point is this. It's that they were very hardcore, hardcore businessmen. So in other words, when it came to, you know, don't tell anyone signing a non-disclosure agreement and NDA and, you know, you can't tell anyone you're playing under the stage. I mean, it was a time where they did Turbo. They were, you know, doing a lot of other people's songwriting and stuff, you know, trying to, you know, business. That's what it was. And, you know, he didn't stay with Judas Priest for long. He was in the band for a tour or maybe longer. But I heard that it was like, it was no walk in the park dealing, doing business with the organization. From that standpoint, you know, as a person who's doing it. So I'm like, whoa, you know, like, I love Judas Priest. They were really nice, lighthearted guys hanging out with him. And then I'm here in, you know, his version. But let's go back to KK. Let's go back to KK. Let's go back to KK. I'm sure that he's, I'm sure that he has very high expectations. So in other words, working with KK, I'm sure, you know, it's very demanding and high expectations. So yeah, I can see how he comes out with a fantastic album because he has a very high level of expectations. And, you know, he's used to working at that high level. And it's not a surprise. That's what I mean. The guitar work, the guitar work is unbelievable on it. Ripper, we all know he can sing, but I mean, I think he tries out to do a Helford on this. High, high, high notes he's singing. I don't care about the name. I don't care about the name that it has a sinners in it. He's allowed to do whatever he wants. And it's a great album to listen to KK. I mean, if he's doing all that guitar work, I can't, I don't know who's playing which solo or what, but it's really impressive when it comes to the guitar work and the song writing that he said. Guys, this album is just the experience of each player on this album is bar none. I mean, the experience KK brings to this band, the experience Ripper brings to the band, and AJ and Sean, who was a drummer, I guess you worked with, right, Neil, these guys are just the sheer magnitude of the experience of these guys bar none. Like people could say, oh, it's not breeze or this. Oh, it's cliche. Let me tell you, get a young band to sound like this. I don't think so. You do not hear up-and-coming bands sound like this. This is like pure experience and each song is well-crafted. So hats off to them. Yeah, KK is uncompromising. I mean, he has the knowledge after how many great albums, great songs he's written and awards and so forth. And I wanted to say this also that I had the pleasure this year of playing with Tim Ripper Owens for the second time, singing with him on stage. We sang a bunch of songs together. We did a show in Romania in the middle of summer, but I also played with him back in 2005 in Mexico because he was gracious enough to join my band on stage and sing one of my songs with me back then. So I just, you know, Tim has always been a stand-up guy and I think he's taken a lot of crap, you know, from, you know, when you feel the shoes of someone who, you know, you're the replacement singer. I mean, it's a tough world to take and, you know. Tim, he is one of those replacement singers that was just as good as the original singer. You know what I mean? And he's even, I wouldn't say he's better, but Halford's amazing and Ripper is on the same level as a professional singer, right Neil? This is a, Ripper is not a half-ass singer. He is a, we've seen him, me and Alan, we've talked to Ripper, the guy's a professional, he's funny, he can write songs, he's the whole deal. And you know what? It's amazing that KK has joined forces with him and I hope that they keep cranking out great music. Yeah, it was a, you know, probably maybe an obvious choice, you know, since he worked with Judas Priest, you know, so there's some, you know, thoughts in that respect. I think, I think there was unfinished business because on Demolition and Juggulator, they came out in times when Metal was really not doing well. These are two albums that I love, by the way, but it didn't catch on because of those albums. I'm sure if KK's Priest album was released back in the 90s or maybe it would have done a lot better for the name of Judas Priest at the time instead of Juggulator, Demolition. It's just, it's heavy metal, man. It's freaking heavy metal that we love. All right, there we go. That's it, guys. I will show the wall, and that wraps up another year. Guys, here it is. This is whatever, and I will now put it away. I will now put it away. Back in the vault. Back in the vault. So hopefully we've all had some homework to do. We've all learned some new bands. Stardust is what I'm going to check out right away. And that's what the show is all about, right? Learning and appreciating new music. Neil, I want to thank you for all that you do. We should say that. I mean, thank you. Thank you for being there. And that's it. All right, we're making some awesome pedals. There you go. Stay well, Neil. We're from our school. Talk to you. Show the shirt again. Show the shirt. One more time. There you go. There it is, okay. Solo down. There it is. You might as well. All right, guys. All right, stay well. Thanks, have a nice night, everybody.