You know what? 2018 wasn’t that bad after all. Although we gave you eight pretty decent reasons why this year was the worst ever, we’ve put together another eight summing up why 2018 didn’t suck that much.

A band 50 years into a career has no right to make an album as good as Firepower, but we’re not talking about men here, we’re talking about the metal gods. Even with Glenn Tipton fighting through Parkinson’s Disease, Judas Priest released their best album since Painkiller in 2018, while penning Loudwire’s pick for Metal Song of the Year in "Lightning Strike." Not bad for a band rejected from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Maybe Firepower will finally convince the Rock Hall, but if not, it’s their loss.

Gene Simmons may think rock is dead, but four kids young enough to be his grandchildren proved him wrong. After a promising 2017, Greta Van Fleet exploded in 2018 with their debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, selling 80,000 copies in its first week alone. That’s more than Disturbed’s Evolution or Ghost’s Prequelle. They landed four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, and will be touring amphitheaters in the U.S. next year.

The saga of Jered Threatin is one for the ages — a true exercise in zero self-awareness and outdated rock star vanity. Threatin booked an entire European tour by defrauding promoters, pretending to have an actual fanbase and posting fake videos on YouTube. Even Threatin’s bandmates were tricked. Still, the memefication of Jered Threatin was one of the most entertaining spectacles of the year and gave us plenty of laughs at the expense of the Tommy Wiseau of rock and roll.

Check out the 8 Reasons Why 2018 Didn’t Suck THAT Much in the Loud List above.

30 Best Metal Albums of 2018

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