Metal Goddesses Awards 2021 – Staff Members Choice

Dear readers, musicians and fellow metalheads, after the Metal Goddesses Awards 2021 – Readers Choice, you may have guessed, that there might be something more. You guessed right. Here are the Metal Goddesses Awards 2021 – Team Members Choice. Before going ahead, there are some minor things. Not every team member was able to contribute due to private reasons. Our apologies. Additionally we all took a different approach to said MG Awards. Beware! This is going to be a longer post! But have a look yourself.

Ralf Hartung’s Choice

Best Vocalist 2021

What Melissa Bonny undertakes, turns out to be gold. With numerous collaborations, the second album with her band Ad Infinitum plus the new project The Dark Side of the Moon… Currently there is just one direction: uphill. Well, a good voice, talent plus hard work are paying off.

Best Instrumentalist 2021

It appears Merel Bechtold had a prophetic gut feeling when she left Delain and founded her own band Dear Mother.

Best Band 2021

The success of Ad Infinitum has skyrocketed for a good reason. Their album release party in October 2021 was easily the best live show I saw in 2021.

Best Death / Thrash / Groove Metal Album 2021

You’re in for some brutal stuff? Then Akiavel is is your go-to band. For me at least it is. Their album Vae Victis is a rich album that offers a good mix of catchy riffs, brutal drums and voice as well.

Best Symphonic / Gothic Metal Album 2021

Several months after Ad Infinitum released Chapter II: Legacy it is still running up and down on my players.

Best Rock Album 2021

Sometimes when you ask yourself, what genre Living Dead Girls album Exorcism is, the answer is hard to tell if this is more Rock or more Metal. Some songs appear to tend more towards Metal, others towards Rock. All in all a well rounded mixture with ear worm potential.

Best Progressive / Industrial / Alternative Album 2021

Aeraneas album A Voice For The Lost is combining classic elements with more modern and progressive approaches spiced with some pinches of Gothic Metal. Another endurance runner on my players.

Best Debut Album 2021

Soulglass’ album Odeth answered a question, I never asked: What would a combination of Melodic Death Metal and Symphonic Metal sound like? Well, here is the answer. It was not the bands debut, but their first full length album, so this counts for me. It was one of the discoveries of the year for me and I cannot get enough of it.

Best Music Video 2021

Best Heavy / Power Metal Album 2021

Autumn Bride’s album Undying offers catchy Melodies, a soft, yet powerful voice and euphonious riffs, that make this album easily enjoyable for beginners, who just started to discover Metal as well as for old stagers.

Best Album by a big player 2021

Epica – Omega. Not much to talk about here.

Chrisy Berryman’s Choices

Best Vocalist of 2021:

Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox – Not only has Spiritbox swept over and conquered the music scene, Courtney, herself, has displayed a vocal range often unseen in the Metal world today. With angelic highs, and gloomy lows her voice seems to rise and decimate any challenge that appears in her way be it harsh, held, or fading.

Best Instrumentalist of 2021:

Fabiola Bellomo of Frozen Crown – Not to be fooled by her youthful appearance, Fabiola has displayed an array of rhythmic work worthy of admiration. With solos reminiscent of tavern-era bards and feverish finger work, it’s easy to see why she was my choice for Best Instrumentalist.

Best Band of 2021:

Ad Infinitum – After the release of their album Chapter II: Legacy, it was hard for me to move forward in absolute awe of anything else. With tracks flowing from Gothic Metal, to Symphonic, and even Power subgenres, they put forth the effort, and the dedication worthy of this award with not only their musical range but, their live performances as well.

Best Death/Groove/Thrash Album of 2021:

Aephanemer’s “A Dream of Wilderness” – an album that starts off in an ethereal realm is quickly enveloped in chaos. Vicious vocal prowess combined with tremor-like instrumental left me in wonder. Touching on their French roots and mixing it with orchestration they sink it in with wild guitars and untamed drumming to make it one of the most chaotic but, favourable Death Metal albums of the year.

Best Gothic/Symphonic Album of 2021:

Ad Infinitum – Chapter II: Legacy – if you didn’t see this coming, you weren’t paying attention. Filled with track after track of unique instrumentals and beautiful vocals, this album was one I kept listening to over and over again and do so even now. Tracks like “Afterlife” and “Son of Wallachia” haunt my mind endlessly, making my vote for this category more than clear.

Best Rock Album of 2021:

Cobra Cult’s “Second Gear” – an album worthy of any old-school AC/DC fan, with the foundations of hard rock solidified in their veins. “Second Gear” was a shocker of an album for me, and one I couldn’t quite shake from my head with infectious riffs, simple but passionate lyrics, and an overall backseat of an old car feel that I adored.

Best Progressive/Industrial/Alternative Album of 2021:

Aeranea’s “A Voice For The Lost” – killer drums combined with balanced vocals worked well to win my vote. Tracks like “Puppet of Misery” are haunting and strangely lingering with chimes and constant beats, brought together by harsh vocals that leave this an earworm; whereas tracks like “Rise Again” hit that alt-vibe with absolute fury in quick pace and vicious builds that lead to some crazy drops.

Best Debut Album of 2021:

Ewiniar’s “Burning The Night” – a brilliant balance of light and heavy with classical touches and passionate depth that struck me repeatedly. With tracks like “Midnight Sun” adding a lighter touch, “Suspiria” adding a catchy upbeat, and the title track “Burning the Night” bringing in heaviness with eerie highs this was a sure-fire way to climb the ranks in my awarding, and why they earned my vote for Best Debut Album of 2021.

Best Heavy/Power Metal Album of 2021:

Temperance’s “Diamanti” – Beautifully classical and amplified with some wicked melodies and balanced vocals made this an easy pick in my books. Tracks like the title “Diamanti” touch on the ballad elements of power, keeping lyrics long and lingering while the beat rises, and the rhythm quickens. “Black is My Heart” offers the speed we expect with Power Metal, while opposing tracks like “Litany of the Northern Lights” brings in that Fantasy-feel, like a Bard lost on a shop across the sea. The levels of Power Metal and its subgenre content on this album is astonishing and a journey I’d take many times over.

Best Video of 2021:

Epica’s “Skeleton Key” – not to be outdone in 2021, Epica brings about a Gothic music video that’s one for the history books of Metal. With masked figures haunting every shadow, and contrasting colours countering the blackness, this video only begins on a high, and continues upward. A literal ladder can be taken higher while Simone serenades us from a darkened corridor. Add in some maddening costumes and thought-provoking imagery and you’ve got one hell of a Music Video.

Best Big Player Album of 2021:

Spiritbox’s “Eternal Blue” – I was not a fan upon first listening, with my Spotify playlists quickly being flooded by “Holy Roller” and “Circle with Me” on every playthrough. I sat down to listen to this album in its entirety and was swallowed by its vision. There is such broad ranges of emotions, talent, and music in this album that each layer peeled away is another ten revealed. It was tracks like “Secret Garden” and “Hurt You” that really stuck with me, a perfect light to dark if you will in a musical sense. While “Secret Garden” harbours deeper, painful emotion, “Hurt You” offers up anger, and ferociousness. This album deserves the attention and praise it has garnered both in the underground Metal community, as well as the mainstream, and I’m more than hopeful for what they’ll unleash in the future.