Top 10: Best of 2018

Apologies for this being a little bit late. I almost didn’t finish this, but I realized there was a lot of truly incredible music that came out last year that absolutely deserved some credit. So here it is, better late than never.

 

Top 10 Albums of 2018

1. Greyhaven – Empty Black
2. Dance Gavin Dance – Artifical Selection
3. The Wonder Years – Sister Cities
4. Silent Planet – When the End Began
5. Architects – Holy Hell
6. This Will Destroy You – New Others pt. 1 & 2
7. Erra – Neon
8. Fit For a King – Dark Skies
9. God is an Astronaut – Epitaph
10. Hopesfall – Arbiter

 

1. Greyhaven – Empty Black

To be perfectly honestly, I feel bad ranking this album above DGD and The Wonder Years. Those were both incredible albums released by incredible bands, but I think that’s why this one outranked either of those; everyone expected those albums to be great. Those bands just don’t put out bad music. But when a relative newcomer on the metalcore scene like Greyhaven comes out of nowhere and releases an absolutely legendary album like this, it’s hard not to notice. I can’t remember the last time a new band left such a profound impression on me. Empty Black is a chaotic masterpiece that harkens back to classic Norma Jean with the almost bluely swing of old school southern metalcore, and yet it doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of a style of music that was extinguished the moment Maylene released “IV”. This feels fresh and brand new and gives me reassurance that we’ll be hearing from these guys for many years to come, and that’s a very good thing for metalcore as a whole.

 

2. Dance Gavin Dance – Artificial Selection

This is so routine at this point, you could set your watch to it. Dance Gavin Dance puts out a new album every few years, and it tops countless Album of the Year lists a few months down the line. It would be kinda boring if these albums weren’t all so fucking good. I still maintain that Tillian Pearson is the best thing to ever happen to the original guys from Dance Gavin Dance. He’s a perfect fit for the band, and this album really feels like the most cohesive and polished effort they’ve done together. The result is absolutely stunning, especially the closing track, “Evaporate”, which pays homage to a number of tracks from DGD’s back catalog. This track, of course, is really set off by the guest vocals from touring guitarist, and vocalist for the (incredible) band, Eidola, Andrew Wells.

 

3. The Wonder Years – Sister Cities

A new Wonder Years album produces almost as predictable results as a new Dance Gavin Dance album, except this album is something completely different. You could draw a line through The Wonder Years’ catalog like constellations to see the artistic maturation and progression throughout their career, and this is truly the pinnacle of it. It’s such an achingly honest, heartfelt, and raw album that still remains completely relatable with no hints of dramatics. It’s the perfect representation for where The Wonder Years have come; from scrappy pop punk band from Philly, to a perfectly introspective alternative/emo band in such a heartbreaking and beautiful way that hasn’t been touched since Brand New.

 

4. Silent Planet – When the End Begins

When I said that I can’t remember the last newcomer on to the metalcore scene that left as profound an impression on me as Greyhaven, that isn’t necessarily true. It was definitely Silent Planet. And When the End Begins is such an immeasurably massive step above those still truly remarkable albums, it’s really hard to conceive how they can pull this off. The dynamics, the musicality, the sheer vocal range of Garrett Russell, they all come together to create something truly special. And that’s not to mention the hugely lofty topics that they tackle and do beautiful justice to like LGBT+ homelessness, or Alzheimer’s disease. Rarely can a band combine such touching sympathy with such musical brutality and might.

 

5. Architects – Holy Hell

No one really knew how, or if, Architects were going to come back from the death of their guitarist, songwriter, and brother, Tom Searle. His untimely death following a brave and lengthy battle with cancer was such an incredible loss throughout the music scene, it seemed almost unthinkable to be able to pick up the pieces and solder on. But if anyone out there has the strength to continue and a message to deliver, it’s Architects. And you can absolutely feel every ounce of pain in this album. If you want to know what determination feels like, listen to the drumming of Tom’s brother, Dan Searle. You can feel the mourning, you can feel that they set out to do this for Tom. To show him that they remember him, and they knew he wouldn’t want them to give up. And the result is just breathtaking. This immediately silenced anyone that questioned their songwriting abilities without Tom and paid beautiful homage to one of the true revolutionaries in the metalcore scene.

 

6. This Will Destroy You – New Others Part 1 & 2

Technically, I’m cheating here. This is a two part album; the first part was released in September with little to no fanfare or information regarding the second part of the album, save for the “Part 1” in the album title. Then, with absolutely no warning and after speculation that Part 2 would be released some time in 2019, TWDY dropped Part 2 about a month later. If I had to choose, I’d say I prefer Part 2, but I also genuinely feel like these albums are better experienced as one grand piece. This is yet another brilliant post rock composition from one of the most highly respected names in the genre. More of a continuation of the style they developed on Tunnel Blanket and Another Language than on either legendary self-titled album or Young Mountain, it takes a bit more appreciation of the subtle, slow burn that can be found in post rock, but this is yet another masterpiece that proves that even through stylistic evolutions, This Will Destroy You are up there with the best of the best in post rock.

 

7. Erra – Neon

First off, the guitar parts on this album are going to be talked about for years; they’re simply untouchable, I’m not sure anyone in the metalcore scene can even land in the same realm as the guitar work Erra has been perfecting for years now. Neon is the second album with ex-Texas in July vocalist, JT Cavey, and he really fit himself perfectly within this band from day one. Cavey’s vocal range is not only a perfect complement to Jesse Cash’s clean vocals, but it helps bring even more weight to Erra’s formidable instrumentals. This was certainly one of those cases where it seemed nearly impossible for Erra to top their previous album, Drift, and so each new single was met with mounting anticipation as it seemed as though they may just pull it off. And sure enough, as the album dropped, it became immediately apparently that not only can lightning strike twice, it feels as though they managed to mature to an even higher level of technicality combined with song writing ability. This album is a technical masterpiece, and I’m sure it’s one that people are going to be citing as a benchmark for musicality for years to come.

 

8. Fit For a King – Dark Skies

I remember when the first single for Dark Skies dropped sometime around July. It was “Tower of Pain” and the anticipation was immense. Days before the single dropped, a few YouTube videos surfaced showing this song played live. The quality was awful, but holy shit was that song heavy. It was only a short clip, but it was enough to prove to everyone what Fit For a King had in store. And for what it’s worth, “Tower of Pain” genuinely has one of those breakdowns that make you pause and say, “Holy shit.” The studio version managed to surpass the hype from the live video. As did each of the other singles released in the build-up to the record release. This was one of the first times that so many singles had been dropped ahead of a release; this was done to capitalize on potential revenue from streaming platforms according to front man, Ryan Kirby. And of course, this only did more to build the hype. When you have five singles leading up to an album release, it’s easy for the release itself to feel a little lackluster, but this was anything but. Dark Skies really cemented the fact that Fit For a King are some of the true visionaries and tastemakers in metalcore. Putting this album in 8^th place really seems like a disservice to how truly incredible and impressive it was.

 

9. God is an Astronaut – Epitaph

It’s kind of hard to rank a post rock album like this within a list that’s mostly metalcore, it feels like it can lack a little bit of perspective, especially ranking somewhat lower on the list. But make no mistake, Epitaph is a beautiful and haunting album from one of the greatest names in post rock. While not as heavy as some of the bands on this list, they can create an atmosphere of weight, darkness, and sorrow better than any of them. Epitaph also marks a big attempt from God is an Astronaut to step further away from their traditional sound and into something a bit more experimental, drawing influences from all over the instrumental music spectrum, with elements of shoegaze and post metal working their way into the grand compositions found within this album. That fact alone seemed to turn some people off to this album, but the brilliance is impossible to ignore, and the emotions conveyed by this album are absolutely breathtaking. This album was an absolute treat and an emotional burden at the same time, which of course only added to the significance of this piece of music.

 

10. Hopesfall – Arbiter

I honestly never thought I’d be able to write one of these lists and be able to include Hopesfall on it. They were a big favorite of mine growing up in the early 2000’s throughout their hardcore phase, through their legendary Satellite Years record, and into their more digestible post-hardcore of later years. Throughout each of those stages, Hopesfall was a master of their craft, and that continues to reign true with their comeback album, Arbiter. This feels like Hopesfall haven’t missed a minute, yet also feels like they took a decade to reflect on the growth of their music and mature as musicians and songwriters. It’s almost as if the best parts of The Satellite Years met the best parts of A Types and formed a truly brilliant album that will, unfortunately, fly under the radars of so many. Which of course, is oddly appropriate for how Hopesfall have been recognized throughout their careers.