All 20 gigs in order

Now that I've seen my final gig of 2011, I thought I would put them in order of preference. I never expected the top one to be that band but it's good to be surprised like that. Here is the list in reverse order:

20. Lazarus AD and Bonded by Blood - An ok thrash gig. I went for BBB in the main. They were fun. Laz AD were a little bit boring.

19. Paradise Lost and Ghost - Quite a disappointing gig. It was being recorded live for a DVD but the sound was completely lacking in balls although they did play the whole of Draconian Times which was good to hear. I'm not a fan of Ghost either. Don't get the hype.

18. Atheist and Exhumed - A good gig although Exhumed were boring for me. In the end it was worth it to finally see tech death giants, Atheist and especially their fantastic young bassist.

17. Redemption and Kingcrow - Not into Kingcrow but Redemption were really solid and played well and sounded tight.

16. Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth and Ensiferum - Strangely enough I enjoyed CoB more than AA on this occasion.

15. Symphony X and Power Quest - Enjoyed PQ a lot. Sym X were less impressive. The sound was unclear and Russell was sounding too brutal on the mic.

14. Cynic and Chimp Spanner - No interest in CS but Cynic were musically perfect even if they didn't play all of Focus like i had hoped.

13. Firewind, Breed 77, Primitai - Not fresh in the memory as it was in January but I always enjoy Firewind live and Apollo's vocals were ace as always.

12. Houston, Vega and Serpentine - AOR extravaganza. All 3 bands were cool. The new singer of Serpentine blew us all away with his amazing vocals that night and it was the band's first ever ever live gig would you believe. Houston were fun with very memorable if somewhat cheesy tunes.

11. Orphaned Land and Arkan - Both bands were cool and interesting to watch with OL being musically more compatible with my taste. The oriental theme of the night made it a unique experience and I would go to see OL again given the chance.

10. Power Quest and Neonfly - Neonfly were cool but PQ were excellent with Chity as their front man in their own headline gig rather than as support.

9. Saxon and Hammerfall - Just yesterday so fresh in the mind it was a great gig with both bands doing well but not a classic in the end.

8. Journey, Foreigner and Styx - Melodic rock overlords got together for a great gig although the sound could have been better. Foreigner probably stole the show.

7. Cathedral and Grand Magus - Cathedral's last gig and they went out with a bang and GM were also good.

6. Pagan's Mind and Neonfly - First time with PM and they did not disappoint despite Nils being injured with his broken hip. They somehow replicate the amazing sound of their records pretty closely in the live arena.

5. Sabaton and Hell - Sabaton were there usual amazing energetic selves and Hell were fun to watch.

4. Evile, Elimination and Mutant - This gig was fucking mental. Love Mutant and they killed it. Elimination were good but not great. Evile tore the place to shreds!

3. Iron Maiden and Trivium - Trivium were ok but not my cuppa. Maiden were absolutely fucking amazing! As good as I have ever seen them probably.

2. Iced Earth and Fury UK - Fury UK were average but Iced Earth were phenomenal and Stu made us forget about Barlow although the gig was pretty short. Even so the band was on top form and sound like a band reborn with Stu at the helm.

1. Accept and Wolf - Wolf were merely solid but not totally energised however what I can I say about the Teutonic Terrors. They completely blew the place apart! I think my ears are still ringing now from the sound that night! Their energy levels for a pretty old band were also amazing and when I left the venue I remember thinking holy shit did they kill it that night!

That's it so let's hope there's a few more great gigs to come in 2012. I've got a ticket for Edguy so far.