HEAVY PARADISE'S 2013 MELODIC AWARDS

So, here we are folks at the time of the year that we, @ Heavy Paradise, are givin' the awards for the best albums of the year that has passed by! Firstly, I would like to say that 2013 was a great, musically speaking, year; that's a fact!! Some really amazing releases and, I would dare to say, future classics has been released and that made the final decision of the final list too damn difficult!!! Secondly, let me say a big THANK YOU to all of you readers that continue to support this web-zine for another year.

I would also like to give a special shout to the following people :: Chris Siloma, Redrum, WildRose, Micke Larsson of Coldspell (You Rock!!!), Axel @ Rock 'N' Growl (RAWK), Piepaolo Monti "Zorro" , all of the artists for the great interviews, I really appreciate it guys, Carlos Lage, Dustin Hardman, the ROCK-WAY family and the list goes on and on!!!! Once again THANK YOU, words are not enough!!!!!! Here we go......and the Oscar goes to....

**BEST 20 ALBUMS OF 2013**

1. FIND ME,   "WINGS OF LOVE"
2. PRETTY MAIDS, "MOTHERLAND"
3. DARK MOOR,  "ARS MUSICA"
4. W.E.T., "RISE UP"
5. EPYSODE,  "FANTASMAGORIA"
6. WILD ROSE,  "DANGEROUS"
7. CHARMING GRACE, "S/T"
8. VEGA, "WHAT THE HELL"
9. NIVA, "MAGNITUDE"
10. RAGE OF ANGELS, "DREAMWORLD"

 11.  DOGFACE,  "BACK ON THE STREETS"
 12.  REDRUM,  "VICTIMS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES"
 13.  RECKLESS LOVE, "SPIRIT"
 14.  EDEN'S CURSE, "SYMPHONY OF SINS"
 15.  LANESLIDE, "FLYING HIGH"
 16.  BAI BANG, "ALL AROUND THE WORLD"
 17.  LAVALLE, "DEAR SANITY"
 18.  ASSIGNMENT, "INSIDE OF THE MACHINE"
 19.  FAIR WARNING, "SUNDANCER" 
 20.  COLDSPELL, "FROZEN PARADISE"




".....So, the oscar goes to Find Me's amazing debut release "Wings Of Love"! Yes that was a damn fine and extremely melodic piece of AOR with attitude! To be honest, for the three first places I was a kinda of sure over the last months. I, also, have to add that there are albums that took higher ratings and they aren't in this Top 20 list; the fact is that this year I decided to put in Heavy Paradise's Top 20 albums that were in regular daily basis in my cd player......"

**BEST 10 TRACKS OF 2013**

"...Another hard to decide list but it goes something like this...."

1. Dancing To A Broken Heartbeat / FIND ME
2. On The Run / W.E.T.
3. Perfect Life / NIVA
4. Bullet For You / PRETTY MAIDS
5. What The Hell / VEGA
6. Bad Lovin' / RECKLESS LOVE
7. Underneath / ROBIN BECK
8. You Can't Buy No Hero / REDRUM
9. Tonight / WILD ROSE
10. See You Walking By / RAGE OF ANGELS

**BEST 10 MELODIC POWER/SYMPHONIC METAL ALBUMS OF 2013**

1. DARK MOOR, "Ars Musica"
2. EPYSODE, "Fantasmagoria"
3. ARTICAL, "Illusion X"
4. IRON MASK, "Fifth Son Of Winterdoom"
5. TRAGEDIAN, "Decimation"
6. INFINITA SYMPHONIA, "S/T"
7. HEIMDALL, "Aeneid"
8. HOLLOW HAZE, "Countdown To Revenge"
9. TWINS CREW, "The Northern Crusade"
10. ACHILLEA, "Fight Or Fall"

**BEST ARTWORK OF 2013 **

".....Yes, DARK MOOR except of the great music of "Ars Musica" they achieved, also, to 'deliver' a magical front-cover artwork!! Well done!!"

**HONORABLE MENTIONS**

• SEVENTH KEY, "I WILL SURVIVE"
• HARDREAMS, "UNBROKEN PROMISES"
• MIKE TRAMP, "COBBLESTONE ROAD"
• TAINTED NATION, "F.E.A.R."
• HEAVEN AND EARTH, "DIG"
• MAGNUS KARLSSON, "FREEFALL"
• BURNING RAIN, "EPIC OBSESSION"
• FAITH CIRCUS, "TURN UP THE BAND"
• ADRIANGALE, "SUCKERPUNCH!"
• NEWMAN, "SIREN"

**BEST DEBUT ALBUM OF 2013**

1. FIND ME :: WINGS OF LOVE . A great record all the way. Excellent tracks, a tight as hell musicianship and solid performances in this really amazing album. Hope for more releases from this project to come in the near future.....

 2. LANESLIDE :: FLYING HIGH. US-flavored with a modern-hard rock pinch, Laneslide landed to earth with this solid release!!

3. FARRAFAY :: SHADE OF LOVE. Pure 80's AOR delight in 2013.....'nuff said!!!!

.....and some more debut releases that they really surprised me in a very good way....such as...

4. Diamond Dawn :: Overdrive
5. Lucid Dreams :: s/t
6. The Winery Dogs :: s/t

**BEST LIVE ALBUM**

• Def Leppard :: "VIVA Hysteria - LIVE AT THE JOINT, LAS VEGAS"

.....so this is it ladies and gentlemen! The Heavy Paradise's awards of 2013!!!!! Let's hope that 2014 will bring, also, some excellent albums as 2013 already did! Thanx again for the ongoing support to Heavy Paradise and I would like to wish you from the bottom of my heart all the best for 2014....and keep on rocking @ heavy paradise! Thank you all!!!!

Vassilis Hassirtzoglou