Jimmy NaNa – Consciousness: As you may know, my latest album was released this year. If you’d like to check it out you can do so on the MERCH page. Look forward to another new release in early 2016.
Coheed and Cambria – The Color Before the Sun: I’ll admit, this one took me about a dozen play-throughs to fully appreciate the strength of these songs. They broke free from the conceptual lyrics of past albums (which doesn’t bother me) and really hit home on some emotions and experiences I could fully relate to at this given time. They also broke from the complex, progressive song structures and technical playing they’ve come to be known for. That being said, the energy on this album is probably the closest they’ve come to that on their first album, Second Stage Turbine Blade. This could be, in part, because they recorded a majority of this album in a live studio setting, playing together, as opposed to isolated parts normally present in modern recording. The songs are full of hooks and grooves and this proves to be another diverse and memorable release from this ever-expanding band.
Alien Ant Farm – Always and Forever: After a long break AAF are back with what I would consider their best album to date. I’ve always liked them, but I felt like their albums have always had a bit of filler (except for truANT). This one is perfect, though. There’s not a song I don’t love and they all become immediately stuck in your head for days. There’s an awesome variety of styles going on too, ranging from piano-laden ballads to metal-tinged rockers and everything in between. I hope this isn’t their last album, especially if they continue in this direction.
Dance Gavin Dance – Instant Gratification: A few songs from this band were always on my radar, but I never really liked the previous incarnations of them. The addition of Tilian on vocals is exactly what they needed to hold my attention. The sung vocals are pure sugar and mix perfectly with the vibe of rest of the band. The guitar playing on this album is fantastic. It’s heavy, groovy, funky and shreddin’ all at the same time. The songs are the complete opposite of generic leaving you surprised at how well they meld together such genre-bending compositions. After the each listen, I hear something new. The production is top-notch as well, giving every instrumental and vocal part space to breathe or standout when needed.
Third Eye Blind – Dopamine: Being what I would consider my favorite band, the anticipation of this 3EB release would have made anything difficult to live up to. Leaving such a long time in between albums made it impossible to predict what direction they would go in. Especially since they scrapped so many songs along the way. What they came out with, however, was the exact opposite of what I expected. Thinking of Third Eye Blind, one would be accustomed to shimmering pop/rock songs with clever lyrics, catchy melodies and a bit of an edge. This album is none of that. In fact it might be the first time their music has come close to the darkness of Stephen Jenkins’ lyrics. The no-frills production on Dopamine employs biting guitar tones, bass, drums, some piano and a direct vocal approach. As with any 3EB album, there are catchy hooks all over the place, but there is a distinct lack of the upbeat tone of their past releases. It’s a somber, intensely reflective effort and it’s all the better for it. Similar to the Coheed album, it took me a while to “get it,” but once I did, I was hooked. Some of my favorite tracks on this album are the singer/songwriter style acoustic tunes.
From Under the Willow – Ungrateful Misguided
I found this album on Spotify under the list of similar artists to another band I was listening to. The album combines the de-tuned guitar playing of modern metal-core with catchy vocal parts and the great production of metal from an earlier era. The songs just explode with a momentum that cannot be stopped until the last song has ended.
It also buy viagra in uk works are relaxant, and lessens risks to few health conditions turning into serious events. The twelve-step programme provides treatment buy cheap levitra dentech.co and a objective. Its consumption aids facilitates the blood circulation of the blood into the male reproductive organ which is mainly blocked with the strong functioning of the PDE5 enzymes. levitra prescription dentech.co Therefore, the Pacemaker Implantation comes as a rescue buy brand levitra to the dangerous heart condition.
Household – Time Spent: I came across this album about 2 weeks ago. It has an energy that has been missing from hardcore recently. It reminds me of a band called Align who has been defunct for about a decade. Household is punky, heavy and melodic. The drummer can really pound out a catchy beat and the guitars know when to rip and when to build the tension. I look forward to listening to this album more, as well as hearing what they do next.
Bring me the Horizon – That’s The Spirit: This is an interesting album that I’m still trying to get an understanding of. It’s tame compared to their previous metal-core releases. They seem to have put a greater focus on cohesive songwriting and creating structured, melodic compositions. The production is ear grabbing, with a mix of electronic effects and dense guitar tones. The vocals are also layered with lots of harmony and background parts. The album sort of drones on toward the end but the songs still have intriguing moments here and there.
Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Coming off of what I thought was a great album (Save Rock and Roll), I had high hopes for Fall Out Boy’s American Beauty/American Psycho, but it just didn’t do it for me. It was almost irritating, to say the least. A couple of the singles are okay, but overall it’s probably their least appealing album to me. Maybe they tried to capitalize on their new sound and rushed out another release too soon? Who knows? Hopefully they come back strong with whatever they do next. Oh yeah, and the remixed version of the album is even worse.
Honorable Mentions: These are some fantastic albums that came out last year but I didn’t hear them until 2015.
Beartooth – Disgusting
(hed)PE – Evolution
Hail the Sun – Wake
Nick Thomas (Spill Canvas) – Shadowars