25 Days of Metal Day 18: Non-single song the Year: Within Temptation - "Covered by Roses"

Rating: 9/10 Covered by roses When this dance is over We all know our beauty will die. This song is so amazing but I really don't know what to say, everything about I just love so much, the verses are amazing, the chorus is beyond amazing, the instrumentals are amazing, the guitar solo is amazing, even the video which was released recently release with their live DVD is amazing, maybe I'll figure out something more to say before my top 5 songs of the year next week, but this song is just fucking amazing.

25 Days of Metal Day 17: Single of the Year: Sonata Arctica - "The Wolves Die Young"

Rating: 9/10 This is the day when the wolves die young They'll never see a new midnight sun The time has come to announce winners! Holy shit I am in love with this song, having listened it to a more and thought about it a bit and the song tells a really interesting, if a bit generic story which made me appreciate it even more, honestly I was a bit disappointed with the general quality of the singes released this year, but this one was certainly excellent.

25 Days of Metal Day 16: Album of the Year Nominations #4: Edguy- "Space Police: Defenders of the Crown"

Rating: ?/10 I always really liked Edguy and this album is no exception, they generally produce really solid power metal with somewhat of a comedic twist, and this album is no exception, normally Tobias Sammet has incredibly spot on vocals, and this album is no exception. Basically this album is more of the same Edguy format and is really solid for it since they are really good at what they do. See also: Edguy - "Love Tyger"

25 Days of Metal Day 15: Album of the Year Nominations #3: Sabaton - "Heroes"

Rating: ?/10 I really like Sabaton, and this album is no exception, Sabaton consistently deliver high quality songs about people, battles, and events from historical wars which as someone who is really interested in military history is excellent for me. This album focuses specifically on individuals, mostly from World War II. Although I don't like the individual tracks as much as some other albums, this album really impressed me since every single track is super good. See also: Sabaton - "Night Witches" Sabaton - "Resist and Bite"

25 Days of Metal Day 14: Album of the Year Nominations #2: Sonata Arctica - "Pariah's Child"

Rating: ?/10 This album was really interesting for me, Sonata Arctica's was generally disliked and they have been really moving away from their older heavier style and a lot of people don't like it. Personally I'm fairly neutral towards it, but I think album came out really and had a lot of really fun songs. I wasn't expecting a whole lot coming into it and it turned out really solid with a lot of really unique ideas and a wide variety of songs. See also: Sonata Arctica - "The Wolves Die Young"

25 Days of Metal Day 13: Album of the Year Nominations #1: Within Temptation - "Hydra"

Rating: ?/10 Obviously this is going to be here considering I four songs from this album have been nominated. This album was released right the beginning of the year and I really loved it then and I still love it now. Following up to their excellent album from last year, Within Temptation have quickly become one of my favorite bands. The songs are generally fairly simple but just really solid. Also they did quite a few colabs with several really high quality musicians, all of which turned out excellent. See also: Within Temptation - "Paradise (What About Us?)" Within Temptation - "And We Run" Within Temptation - "Covered By Roses" Within Temptation - "Silver Moonlight" Within Temptation - "Whole World Is Watching"

25 Days of Metal Day 12: Music Video of the Year Nominations #4: Hammerfall - "Hector's Hymn"

Rating: ?/10 Hammer high to the sky Follow the warrior and the king Call of Hector's Hymn This video is really interesting and unique, I really like the combination of the band playing with the comiclike almost pop-up-booklike style for this song and I think it fits really well. I think they nailed the visuals and this song is really good too.

25 Days of Metal Day 11: Music Video of the Year Nominations #3: Within Temptation - "Whole World is Watching" ft. Dave Pirner

Rating: ?/10 What are you waiting for? What are you fighting for? Cause time's always slipping away. The whole world is watching. There are actually two versions of this song featuring different male vocalists, but this is the version used on the album and the version I like better. The song and video are very inspirational about doing your best and believing you can accomplish anything.

25 Days of Metal Day 10: Music Video of the Year Nominations #2: Epica - "Victims of Contingency"

Rating: ?/10 If you blame all your failures on someone else, without any remorse, if you don't face the weakness of your own self, you will take the same course. Whoops, I missed a day because I was busy with finals so two posts today! Anyways, when I saw this video it really caught my eye, I'm a super big fan of the song, but the music video is really interesting. A song about taking responsibility for your actions and the video represents that well.

25 Days of Metal Day[9]: Music Video of the Year Nominations #1: Edguy - "Love Tyger"

Rating: ?/10 They call me Love T-T-Tyger I'm gonna save your soul - never mine I don't even know, this song and video are so incredibly 80's, but I kinda like it, I don't really know what to say, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting from Edguy on the music video front, but it was actually kinda interesting.

25 Days of Metal Day 8: Non-single song of the Year Nominations #4: Within Temption - "Silver Moonlight"

Rating: ?/10 Screaming at the walls of fire But I'm still running free In the silver moonlight I can't breathe Look, this album has too many good songs that weren't released as singles, I can't just pick one, this song is also amazing, it's really simple, but uses the contrast between Sharon's vocals and death growls well and I love the whoaaaaaaa almost as much as highlander.

25 Days of Metal Day 7: Non-single song of the Year Nominations #3: Epica - "Unchain Utopia"

Rating: ?/10 We're in a time where all enterprises fall, we should beware of the wolves that haunt us I've always had somewhat mixed feelings about Epica, on one hand I think Simone Simmons is the best active symphonic metal vocalist, however I often don't like their composition and often feel they focus too heavily on death growls, however I feel they struck a really good balance with their album this year and I think this track showcases this very well.

25 Days of Metal Day 6: Non-single song of the Year Nominations #2: Sabaton - "Night Witches"

Rating: ?/10 Undetected, unexpected Wings of glory, tell their story You can never go wrong with some heavy power metal, honestly it's fairly generic, but it's just really really good. The subject is also fairly interesting, the Russian all female 558th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Union in World War II. An excellently written and sung song from an excellently written and sung album.

25 Days of Metal Day 5: Non-single song of the Year Nominations #1: Within Temptation - "Covered by Roses"

Rating: ?/10 Covered by roses Sometimes I question artists' choices in singles, and this is definitely a song that would have made an amazing single. This is a song I can just listen too over and over again and I still love it. I feel the instrumentation is fairly simple and a bit repetitive, Sharon absolutely nails the vocals which solidifies this as one of my favorite songs from this year

25 Days of Metal Day 4: Single of the Year Nominations #4: Hammerfall - "Bushido"

Rating: 7/10 I'm the warrior, I am In the rising sun I stand A really solid song and a good choice for a single from Hammerfall, really showcasing their vocalists skills well, a song about a samurai, honestly I don't have a lot to say about, but it's really solid.

25 Days of Metal Day 3: Single of the Year Nominations #3: Sonata Arctica - "The Wolves Die Young"

Rating: 9/10 I'm gonna make sure the prophecy is undone, find out where those children have run This is definately my favorite song from Sonata Arctica's new album and I think it represents the band and album very well with a focus on vocals and a combination of both the keyboard and guitar in the melody. I think the lyrics speak for themselves. Although I don't think it is intentional, the lyrics really remind me of Game of Thrones. I really like the instrumentation and the vocals in the chorus in particular. I really don't like the music video for this song but you can easily find it on youtube if you want to. Overall, this is probably my favorite Sonata Arctica song in quite a while.

25 Days of Metal Day 2: Single of the Year Nominations #2: Sabaton - "Resist and Bite"

Rating: 8/10 And we run with a lonely heart And we run for this killing love This song was one of the songs off this album that immediately caught my attention when I first heard this album, the guitar riff playing throughout this song is so amazing. As with all Sabaton songs, this song is about a historical person, group, or battle. This one is about NChasseurs Ardennais, a battalion that fought at the Battle of Belgium in World War II.

25 Days of Metal Day 1: Single of the Year Nominations #1: Within Temptation - "And We Run" ft. Xzibit

Rating: 8/10 And we run with a lonely heart And we run for this killing love I'm back with 25 days of metal counting down to Christmas and doing awards in five categories. Best single, best non-single track, best music video, best album, and finally best song. The first 16 days I will announce and review the my four nominations for the first four categories, days 21-24 I will announce the winners for the first four categories, the 17th to the 20th I will announce the winners for those categories and on the last five days I will count down my top 5 songs of the year. I will keep the scores hidden for these songs until I announce the winners so I don't spoil the results early. Enjoy 25 days of NOTHING BUT METAL!!! Anyways, on to the review. The singles for this album are a bit awkward since half of them were released before the album at the end of 2013, and the other half were released after the album in 2014, of the 2014 singles, musically this one is my favorite. The contrast between Within Temptation's vocalist Sharon den Adel and American rapper Xzibit make a unique symphonic metal track that I find amazing.