Top Ten Lists - 1997

1. Tiamat A Deeper Kind Of Slumber
2. Kong Earmined
3. The Gathering Nighttime Birds
4. Holocaust Covenant
5. Voivod Phobos
6. Alchemist Spiritech
7. Ocean Machine Biomech
8. Spastic Ink Ink Complete
9. Red Tide Themes Of The Cosmic Consciousness
10. Dismal Euphony Autumn Leaves - The Rebellion Of Tides

1. Megadeth Cryptic Writings
2. Bruce Dickinson Accident Of Birth
3. Judas Priest Jugulator
4. Machine Head The More Things Change ...
5. The Gathering Nighttime Birds
6. Stratovarius Visions
7. Gamma Ray Somewhere Out In Space
8. Entombed To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth
9. HammerFall Glory To The Brave
10. In Flames Whoracle

A Deeper Kind Of Slumber received wildly conflicting reviews, some noting it as one of the best releases of the year, others finding it unmetallic and worthless. I'll opt for the former opinion. The original version of the list below was on the weak side, but recent additions such as Ocean Machine, Alchemist, and Dismal Euphony have improved the overall quality, making 1997 a good BNR metal year.

Bruce's strong showing here was one of the biggest surprises of my entire poll -- that is, until I actually heard a song or two.