The selection of this month of June is marked by the unexpected come back of Porcupine Tree (12 years after its "The Incident") or the one in the shape of a farewell of Midnight Oil which are opposed to the releases of the last albums of Axel Rudi Pell, Dirty Shirt, Michael Monroe or The Faim, without forgetting the contingent of bands made in France with the albums of Bullet Ride, Deficiency, Disconnected and so much of the others
But before lifting the veil of this new TOP WAVES, let's take a look at the French Rock artists ranking (Snep source):
the first representative of this scene is "Closure / Continuation" by Porcupine Tree at the 24th place (exactly at the same position as Rammstein last month)
"Mercury - Act 1" by Imagine Dragons holds at #48 for its 42nd week (!) in the chart.
Rammstein's "Zeit" s 43 places to #67
"Unlimited Love" by Red Hot Chili Peppers reaches #74.
And what about the ranking of physical albums ?
"Closure / Continuation" by Porcupine Tree enters directly in 6th position.
"Zeit" by Rammstein is 21st just before "Unlimited Love" by Red Hot Chili Peppers 23rd
"D'rop Out Boogie" by The Black Keys goes to #36
"Never Let Me Go" by Placebo remains at 46th
Metal is honored with the entry of "Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum" by the pirates of Alestorm directly 51st
Although no longer on the digital chart, Scorpions continue to hold out at #59 with "Rock Believer"
Arcade Fire's "We" is 61st "Hate uber Alles" by Kreator lands at #81
Def Leppard's "Diamond Star Halos" s to 95th
Ghost's "Impera" remains at 103rd
TOP WAVES - GENERAL
It will not be a surprise to see "Closure / Continuation", the album of the great comeback of Porcupine Tree, honored in this TOP WAVES.
"If this album had nothing new to add to Porcupine Tree's repertoire, it would never have been released. That's probably why this album is good" (Darialys)
PORCUPINE TREE Closure / Continuation
In second place, it is not one, not two but three who share this coveted place.
The first of them is Shape of Despair and "Return to the Void", which is half a surprise when you know that this album follows seven years after "Monotony Fields".
"With "Return To The Void", Shape Of Despair begins a return to the meanders of pure funeral doom without renouncing its more atmospheric and emotional impulses." (Childeric Thor)
SHAPE OF DESPAIR Return To The Void
The second one is "I Live Too Fast to Die Young" by Michael Monroe.
"Michael Monroe is far from losing his legendary positive energy and he succeeds with "I Live Too Fast To Die Young" to release one of the best opus of his talented career." (Loloceltic)
MICHAEL MONROE I Live Too Fast To Die Young
Third album to share this second place, "Everything to Everyone" by Bjorn Riis
"With 'Everything to Everyone', Bjorn Riis takes the ingredients dear to his original band, but adds an extra component through much more rock passages. The whole thing can be enjoyed with relish, surpassing even the recent Airbag productions." (Tonyb)
BJORN RISS Evertything To Everyone
The detailed ranking
PORCUPINE TREE: Closure / Continuation (Progressive Rock) 19
SHAPE OF DESPAIR: Return To The Void (Doom) 8
MICHAEL MONROE: I Live Too Fast To Die Young (Hard Rock) 8
BJORN RIIS: Everything To Everyone (Progressive Rock) 8
SOUP: Visions (Progressive Rock) 7
CHARLIE GRIFFITHS: Tiktaalika (Progressive Metal) 6
DISCONNECTED: We Are Disconnected (Progressive Metal) 6
ENNEADE: Withered Flowers And Cinnamon (Progressive Metal) 6
THE DALI THUNDERING CONCEPT: All Mighty Men (Metalcore) 6
TIM BOWNESS: Butterfly Mind (Atmospheric Rock) 6
DIRTY SHIRT: Get Your Dose Now! (Alternative Metal) 5
AXEL RUDI PELL: Lost Xxiii (Melodic Metal) 5
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR: Abrakadabra (Hard Rock) 5
MERZHIN: Marche Et (c)rêve (Rock) 5
BLOODHUNTER: Knowledge Was The Price (Death Metal) 3
MIDNIGHT OIL: Resist (Rock) 3
DEFICIENCY: Warenta (Thrash) 3
THE TANGENT: Songs From The Hard Shoulder (Progressive Rock) 3
VENOM PRISON: Erebos (Death Metal) 1
MYSTIC CIRCLE: Mystic Circle (Black Metal) 1
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Out Of This World (Melodic Hard Rock) 1
SYLVAINE: Nova (Black Metal) 1
CROWN COMPASS: The Drought (Progressive Metal) 1
TOP WAVES - METAL
So what about the METAL TOP WAVES? Shape of Despair as the winner that nobody would have seen coming?
Well no, the big winner is "Tiktaalika" by Charlie Griffiths.
"Blending the many influences of the Haken guitarist, "Tiktaalika" is a masterful and devilishly formidable debut [...] that easily qualifies as one of the best progressive metal albums of the year" (Darialys)
CHARLIE GRIFFITHS Tiktaalika
As for the general ranking, three albums share the second place.
The first of them is "Lost XVIII" by Axel Rudi Pell
Not surprisingly, "Axel Rudi Pell does not reinvent himself but he still excels in melodic heavy metal. With this album he should delight the many fans of the genre." (Noise)
AXEL RUDI PELL Lost Xxiii
Then we find "We Are Disconnected" from Disconnected.
"We Are Disconnected" is a brilliant confirmation of the talent of Disconnected. The band mixes the atmospheres with talent and an impressive ease. It has all the cards in hand to make a hit and seduce both modern metal fans and fans of unstoppable melodies." (Noise)
DISCONNECTED We Are Disconnected
And finally, Enneade's third album, "Withered Flowers and Cinnamon".
"Tears In Morning Dew" had propelled Enneade to the forefront of the scene. Ten years later, "Withered Flowers and Cinnamon" confirms this position. Thanks to the sublime beauty of its melodies, its luminous arrangements and its fluidity, "Withered Flowers and Cinnamon" is a superb record full of grace, a landmark record of this year." (Thibautk)
ENNEADE Withered Flowers And Cinnamon
The detailed ranking
CHARLIE GRIFFITHS: Tiktaalika (Progressive Metal) 13
AXEL RUDI PELL: Lost Xxiii (Melodic Metal) 11
DISCONNECTED: We Are Disconnected (Progressive Metal) 11
ENNEADE: Withered Flowers And Cinnamon (Progressive Metal) 11
SHAPE OF DESPAIR: Return To The Void (Doom) 10
THE DALI THUNDERING CONCEPT: All Mighty Men (Metalcore) 10
DIRTY SHIRT: Get Your Dose Now! (Alternative Metal) 6
POWER PALADIN: With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel (Melodic Metal) 6
WNTRHLTR: Deu.ils (Post Metal) 6
MUDWEISER: The Call (Stoner) 4
VENOM PRISON: Erebos (Death Metal) 4
SYLVAINE: Nova (Black Metal) 3
BLOODHUNTER: Knowledge Was The Price (Death Metal) 3
CROWN COMPASS: The Drought (Progressive Metal) 3
DEFICIENCY: Warenta (Thrash) 3
GONEZILLA: Aurore (Doom) 1
HYPERIA: Silhouettes Of Horror (Thrash) 1
KOZH DALL: Deaf Mute (Thrash) 1
MYSTIC CIRCLE: Mystic Circle (Black Metal) 1
TOP WAVES - ROCK
Without surprise, Porcupine Tree crushes the TOP WAVES ROCK of June, beating the last Michael Monroe.
But who to complete this podium? While we all logically expected Bjorn Riis, it is finally Soup and "Visions" who takes the third place.
"Remaining faithful to his style, Soup delivers us once again with "Visions" a work of a great quality full of emotions. (Corto1809)
SOUP Visions
The detailed ranking
PORCUPINE TREE: Closure / Continuation (Progressive Rock) 31
MICHAEL MONROE: I Live Too Fast To Die Young (Hard Rock) 16
SOUP: Visions (Progressive Rock) 15
BJORN RIIS: Everything To Everyone (Progressive Rock) 13
TIM BOWNESS: Butterfly Mind (Atmospheric Rock) 12
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR: Abrakadabra (Hard Rock) 8
MIDNIGHT OIL: Resist (Rock) 8
THE TANGENT: Songs From The Hard Shoulder (Progressive Rock) 7
MERZHIN: Marche Et (c)rêve (Rock) 5
DEVICIOUS: Black Heart (Hard Rock) 5
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Out Of This World (Melodic Hard Rock) 3
SKILLS: Different Worlds (Rock) 3
More informations on http://www.musicwaves.fr/