13. Ringworm - Hammer of the Witch
This is Ringworm's best album since Justice Replaced by Revenge. Hands down. Less of a focus on noodling solos and speed, but finally mixing those elements into the DNA of the songs themselves rather than bookending a track or blind aggression. They have some their catchiest songs ever on this record and they are as violent as ever as the reigning thrashy hardcore kings. Only one listen to "One of Us is Going to Have to Die" will prove that. "Violence, devastation, final battle cry. An end to all confrontation. One of us will have to die."
12. Pianos Become the Teeth - Keep You
Under normal circumstances, this might score high on my list as time moves on, but I hesitated with this album because I wasn't really familiar with anything else the band had together or put out. I finally caved in and check them out after seeing them build with Circa Survive, and boy am I glad I checked out this new record. Melody as dreary as rain against your window on a gray day with a slow and methodical rhythm keeping track, this record brings to mind the darker places that The National could go if they were so inclined. This record feels familiar even if it is the first time I've ever heard this band. I love that and I love this album.
11. Code Orange - I Am King
After having seen this band and played with them a few times, I knew that this band was on to something unique and special within the heavy hardcore realm. Like a young Converge with a taste for the uniquely chunky riffing of someone like Disembodied or The Banner more than the wave of "Entombed-core" bands of late. But no one was prepared for the thinners of the herd to come claim their scalps.
When the music video for the title track hit peoples laptop screens and earbuds across the internet, I swear the earth shook with that 17/16 end breakdown. If there was one award that I would give this album, it would be "Most Unsettling." The damnation the trio of vocals spew into "My World" might make a monk consider immolation. "Starve" gave me the same uncomfortable, "nothing's right with the world" feeling that the 2009 Lars von Trier film Antichrist did. This album is made by 4 amazing young musicians, and honestly, they kind of terrify me.
10. Toothgrinder - Schizophrenic Jubilee
Like a dream blend of Dillenger Escape Plan, Botch, Animosity (from whom I hope is their namesake), and Faith No More, the thing that this band blew me away with in a short 5 song EP (the only EP on my list) was they were really able to create aura and mood in their excellent use of space. Yes, they are technical, brutal, precise and capable of writing fantastic hooks in time signatures that only Alice in Chains would typically pull off for a metal hook (looking at you "Polar Complex: Schizophrenic Jubilee"/"Them Bones"), but the tone of early parts of "Reality Juggernaut" and the softer side of "The Hour Angle" show this band really can branch out and range like tech-metal giants Between the Buried and Me and not feel as forced as some contemporaries like Periphery.
A label needs to throw this band a lot of money for two things: 1) so they can get a killer producer and sit in a studio for months and explore their deeper recesses and come out with an insane killer debut (my expectations for that will be VERY high) and 2) so they can be marketed correctly - this band should be touring with every different kind of metal fan you can get them in front of. Put em on with Machine Head or Trivium and watch them steal the show. Put em on with Dillenger so the obvious people who would love them will gobble it up. Put them in front of Slipknot's maggots so they can taste some real metal instead of King 810. Get these tracks on video game soundtracks, bad TV shows and shitty scary movies. They will be huge with the right push. I am sure of it.
09. Killer Be Killed - s/t
Metal's latest super group, and finally one worthy of the moniker. A legend and 3 members of three of the best bands of the last decade have taken their individual styles and really amalgamated something unique. It leans heavily on Cavalrera's songwriting style, but filled in with the edge and virility only Puciato is capable of, and Sanders' distinct voice comes through in big ways. The rhythm is laid expertly by Elitch. While not really a "sum of all it's parts" like throwing Dillenger Escape Plan, Mastodon, Sepultura/Soulfly, and Mars Volta into a blender, it definitely doesn't feel THAT far away from any of the bands material (though Mars Volta would definitely be the biggest departure). A drop of that experimental side from Mastodon comes through, but mostly, it is a straight forward wrecking ball of modern metal with more memorable hooks or parts than a lot of their contemporaries are putting forward.
08. Rude Awakening - Collateral Damage
Owners of one of the best debut EPs in modern hardcore, Massachusetts/New Hampshire's Rude Awakening (MVHC!) now come into 2015 having notched Collateral Damage onto their belt, and the album is an absolute banger. The tone of the guitar and bass punch perfectly into some of the hardest hitting, fastest and rage inducing hardcore I've heard in some time. No frills, no experimentation, no branching out - but it's still short, to the point, memorable and leaves you wanting just a little more. An absolutely perfect hardcore record, no more or no less.
07. Mastodon - Once More ‘Round the Sun
Speaking of Mastodon, the way the Atlanta four piece dance into this album absolutely separates it from every other album they have done. It's got more in common sonicly with The Hunter than their previous concept-driven opuses, but this record has some of the best, catchiest metallic rock (is that a thing now? Metal has always influenced rock, I suppose) songs I've heard in so, so long. Songs like "The Motherload" and "Ember City" are just as catchy as their hits like "Curl of the Burl" but even riffier and more streamlined than ever before - which is what makes Mastodon like no other band in the world today. They have incredible, creative talent that is expertly applied to their parts and instruments, yet they are now creating what is essentially radio rock.
Songs like these should dominate modern rock airwaves (a brief look at the Billboard Top 40 Rock Songs, it took me down to 22 until I got to anything I considered metal influenced in Five Finger Death Punch) but to align themselves with a band like that would be an insult. They are better than that. They are better than every band on the top 40 rock hits. Hell, they're better than every band on the top 40, period. They don't need to keep writing "Rush in a post-metal band" esque albums like Blood Mountain or Crack the Skye to flex their creative muscles - they have covered that ground many times with their first few albums. This is a step in the right direction, reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Ozzy's solo material that showed the world metal is more than the visual aesthetic bullshit, but can be catchy and can sell. This record is absolutely that.
06. Coldplay - Ghost Stories
There is something ironic in that this scaled back, more intimate album, preceding their apparent final album titled A Head Full of Dreams due out in 2015, is easily their most dream sounding record. Not quite dream-pop, but more like pop-dream-pop, this band took a break on the arena filling drums, overdriven poppy bass and huge hooks (though they left a few in) and replaced it with more complacent, relaxed keys, drum machines, and dreamy Blue Sky Reverberator sounding guitar riffs to create a record that sounds like it lives in the clouds. The mopey intro track "Always In My Head" is probably being tagged at the last scene of about 100 romantic comedies where they finally reconcile and kiss magically and fade to black. "Ink" has the upbeat stuff made for elevator radio stations everywhere. But tracks like "Midnight" which screams modernized Radiohead meets EDM, and the mostly acoustic "Oceans" or the beautiful album closer "O" reminds us why we love Coldplay, even they can be the punch line to a "Know how I know you're gay?" joke. This album soothes, hurts, and lifts. Sad that it is their penultimate album, but it leaves enough room for Coldplay to bring back their arena rock once more.
05. Irreversible - Surface
To this day, no debut has moved me as much as Irreversible's Age did in May 2006. It is a perfect adventure of post-metal and post-rock, traversing highs and lows in dynamic, heavy, melodic and haunting. Progressive. Since then, it seems they have traveled down that "progressive" hole for quite some time - the follow Sins was dirtier but a lot more long winded (and in some cases, less memorable). Then onto Light and their near unabashed Tool worship. I honestly started to check out at that point. The music was great but I never was as in tune with it as I was with Age.
After taking in the heavier releases of Ashes and Thorn, I wasn't blown away with the direction of the band. Plucked Up By the Root, however, was the step back in the right direction I hoped for. The 24 minute track/album/release (which is now broken down by tracks on their Bandcamp) was the right taste of things to come. Finally Surfacing hit late 2014, and seeing 3 tracks and a 40+ minute run time, that cheshire grin spread across my face until I couldn't contain myself anymore. This was the Irreversible that moved me in early 2006. Moody but not too indulgent, dark but not oppressively so, and a nice balance of heavy and melodic. Their 8 minute build up to start "Degloving Injury" is some of my favorite material they have ever put out. I don't love the production of this album. In fact, if the production were Sins or Light level quality, or maybe big money studio quality, this might sit even higher on my list. But the reality is, this some of the best "post" shit I've heard in a long, long time.
04. Behemoth - The Satanist
What more can be said about this album that hasn't already been said? Topping nearly every metal blog's Top lists, the story of Nergal overcoming cancer (proving you sure as fuck don't need God to do that), and writing one of the best black metal albums in years, just sells itself. Dark melodies ring but don't drone; the drums are as ferocious as ever. The rhythm section is not as heavy as Evangelica but the tone is as moody as ever - up and down, dynamic and captivating. The guitars are airy and paint bleak streaks of red and purple across the sky while the earth turns to black in the depths of the attacking bass and drums. "O Father O Satan O Sun" might be the most jovial I've ever heard a black metal vocalist sound, but it sounds like true emotion pouring through. And by all means, "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" is the anthemic, blackened death we all need and crave from Behemoth. The record is heavy, more in tone and subject matter than actual weight of riffs and chunkiness, but the story lends itself to that. This album isn't so angry, but you will feel it none the less.
03. He is Legend - Heavy Fruit
Leading up to the release of this album, I read review after review, and one came up with a comparison that made my head spin. Once I got my hands on the album, I listened over and over and tried to reconcile this comparison a site made, and it didn't click. It wasn't until I saw He is Legend live recently, playing material from this and the impeccable It Hates You that it really clicked. The comparison was that this album feels like a combo of a more aggressive Red Hot Chili Peppers meets the melodic heaviness of Alice in Chains. At first I laughed - you wont find Schuyler scatting to a slap funk beat, but the AiC comparison makes some sense. You see, one of the things they did best especially with AiC's Unplugged release was they were able to show that their riffs created ambiance, and the vocal melody was a light, even if it was a black light, twisting through the darkness and ambient world created by the music. HIL does just that with tracks like "Miserable Company" and "Something, Something, Something Witchy."
Alternatively, the drive and energy of songs like "ABRACADABRA" and "No Visitors" show the maturation from some moves made on It Hates You where they were more akin to something like Deftones and Glassjaw's later material meets some of Every Time I Die's more sophisticated material, and while that comparison could still hold up, it definitely reached into new places. The swing and funk of "Be Easy" actually made the RHCP reference make some sense, especially in the live setting. But when this album hits its stride, taking ideas from the best of It Hates You and giving them the shine of this new found mood, Heavy Fruit really sores. "Time to Stain" hurts burns your soul with smooth acoustic guitars and layered guitar melodies, build a slow but bright burn. "Beethozart" dances around its dark melody into one of the heaviest smashing parts HIL have ever put together. Lastly, the title track and album closer "Heavy Fruit" dip into that "That's Nasty" darkness and heaviness they touched on It Hates You, while dipping between the bouncy beats and the new found RHCP influence, closing out as the best track on the album. The album is dense, and at times not as easy to slide into like their last outing, but it is a meaty, sweet treat once you work your way through the smoke and haze.
02. Gates - Bloom & Breathe
I preface this with saying my anticipation of this record was higher than any record I've had in the last few years. Perhaps too high as every time I listen to this album I feel like I'm still waiting for something...that being said, the album STILL blows its competition out of the water. After 2012 (and the subsequent 2013 rerelease) of You Are All You Have Left to Fear, if Gates hadn't been on my radar before, they sure as fuck were now. Melding the melody of late 90s emo, the layered textures of post-rock, and the energy of modern post-hardcore, they created a sound dripping in luscious melodies through the storming clouds driven by powerful rhythm, bringing to mind a more riff conscious Thursday. They have a lot in common with fellow NJ band Moving Mountains, and they often sound like a combination of the energy of early MM records and the polish and maturity of their later records. Moments remind me of Taken's Between Two Unseens but with a much more melodic vocal approach akin to Further Seems Forever. Their first EP The Sun Will Rise and Lead Me Home showed promise, but not the polish Fear displayed. They were ready for something bigger.
Bloom & Breathe starts with a slow build and crashes into "Bloom," the quasi title track, which showcases everything this band does, and does EXTREMELY well within its first 90 seconds - three part guitar harmonies, driving rhythm, catchy vocals with low and high dynamics, and a tone that remains heartfelt yet not so upbeat that it would be at home on a pop punk album. "The Thing That Would Save You" is a heartbreaking head-nodder with a beautiful tap riff leading into the swinging beat to start it off while guitar swells build up huge just to crash down to nothing but a subtle hum, and then slow get up and walk away head held high. "Born Dead" almost brings to mind later Thrice, where vocalist/guitarist Kevin Dye brushes alongside Dustin Krensue's mid-range voice being pushed to the point of a near scream.
No track hit me this year like "Low" - not the best on this album by any means - but in its construction as it was revealed by the band that it was built on by the tom fill pounded out harder and harder as the song progresses first, then the riffs filled the holes and melody, lastly the vocals and the lyrics. It's simplicity lends itself to their ability to layer dreamy synth-like guitar swells alongside guitar harmonies, then build into huge choruses. This band basically takes the sound of post-rock like This Will Destroy You or Explosions in the Sky and turns it into the best alt-rock songs you'll hear in a long time. Do yourself and listen to this song. Listen to this album. Buy this fucking thing, now.
01. Circa Survive - Descensus
It's a strange thought that it's already been a decade since Anthony Green started pushing his post-Saosin project with members of This Day Forward and Taken. At the time, Translating the Name was far and away my favorite release in so long, and the other two bands building up the band were huge for me as a young kid. The idea of this super group was fascinating, but Juturna exceeded all expectations. And the reality is, 10 years later, Circa Survive haven't stopped doing exceeding expectations.
Descensus starts off more chaotic and energetic than anything on Violent Waves (ironically) with "Schema" but it never strays far from a Circa sound. The riffs build and slide around a start and stop style that drummer Steve Clifford drops to build space in their songs. This is something they really explored in Waves - using empty space to open up songs and explore longer winded ideas and slow the tempo down from their typical path. But Descensus continues on, with more attention to guitar effects than ever before - Colin and Brendan really come out blazing with ideas and exploration where they seemed more subdued on Waves. Beard drives the bass and chord progressions with his memorable distorted bass and pocket playing. Where Blue Sky Noise faltered in that its dynamic and pacing felt off kilter, and Waves took the lower energy and came out with some of their best material even through the lens of something less driving, Descensus might be their best tempo'd, paced and balanced tracklisting since their post hardcore masterpiece in On Letting Go. This album is the first since then where each member shines equally.
Most importantly, this record contains possibly the best ending and material they have ever put together. Five records in ten years, with a consistent touring schedule makes it seem hard to believe one might be better than the other, but this band has created a sound that is most definitely their own, and the last 3 songs on this album really accentuate the high points of everything they do. Like a slip-hook-cross combo that drops the listener, "Phantom," "Sovereign Circle," and "Descensus" are push everything this band has done to its best and steps beyond that level. "Phantom" rolls with ethereal and dreamy guitar while Anthony bends and winds his melody around the slow hypnotic beat. "Sovereign Circle" is classic Circa, with the driving kick drum and catchy clanking riffs, textured in delay. Brilliant would be underselling the chorus and ending of this track. And right into "Descensus" we fly into their most progressive and post-rock influenced track yet. A perfect amalgumation of post-rock, prog-rock, alt-rock, post-hardcore, and every other weird bullshit genre you want to try and tack on to this band, the title track of this album closes with one of their best driving, rhythmic, powerful endings. This may not be their best album but it might be their most consistent. All hail Circa.
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