(#15) Low - Double Negative
Admittedly, I was taken aback by this duo's foray into electronically-driven music. However, this one has grown on me quite a bit--and I now look at it as their most dynamic effort in several years. If you haven't listened, do so. Be prepared to be depressed but intrigued.
(#14) Biffy Clyro - MTV Unplugged Live At Roundhouse London
This is the most important Unplugged album to come out in quite a bit because it's a triumphant return of the program (albeit in the UK) and it's actually GOOD. The cover of a Beach Boys song really pushes it over the top--but to hear Biffy's songs in a stripped back format really brings out the emotion within the individual tunes. The stage and the set list really hit every mark! The DVD is worth a watch, as well. 'Mon the Biff!
(#13) Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross, No Crown
The awesome return of Pepper Keenan back to the helm of COC. After 12 long years and it's SO mighty! Songs like "The Luddite" and "Cast the First Stone" will be mainstays in the live set for quite a while--but I'm personally drawn to "Nothing Left To Say." Taste the sludge!
(#12) The Pineapple Thief - Dissolution
I'm ashamed to say I've missed out on these guys for years (and 11 albums). Erin D saw them mentioned on a Steven Wilson page--and the "proggies" there always stick together. So when this was recommended by so many on the page, I had to go hear it for myself. This album is the perfect example of what great players can bring to great songwriting, and vice-versa. It's haunting and unforgettable. I love it this much, and I've only given it a handful of listens. Without a doubt, it'll continue to grow on me.
(#11) Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Another effort from Deafheaven which doesn't fall short of expectations. Most of this listen is spent wondering how something can be so devastating and so beautiful. I don't this is quite at the the level of "Sunbather"--but it's close. "Canary Yellow" and "Worthless Animal" are standout tracks on a fully standout album.
(#10) A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant
I'm betting you won't find a more divisive album on my list. APC fans instantly split into factions. Is this a sellout attempt? Is it weak songwriting? Or is it just a brand new APC album that completely breaks from their formula? For me, it's the latter. I think they created an album which is very atmospheric. Much in the same way you'll find on Acid Bath's When the Kite String Pops album, this album's more reserved moments are filled with unrelenting tension. If you swore this off after a couple of listens, it probably missed you. This is a great album and, in my opinion, it's APC's most unified piece.
(#9) Judas Priest - Firepower
I don't need to say much about it. It's just Priest's best album in a couple of decades. The most balls-out, straight-forward metal album of the year. It just happened to be crafted and performed by 70-year-olds. Absolute legendary material from absolute legends!
(#8) Muse - Simulation Theory
Truly, I never expected these guys to get so huge. I was first introduced to them by a friend in 1999. I skipped a chance to see them in Kent circa 2003, and was fortunate enough to catch them at the Agora for $20 around 2006. Now, a ticket to the upcoming tour will run you well over $100 if you actually want to be able to SEE them from your seat. Matt's voice is too unappealing to a mass audience--so I thought? But this is a theme album which let's them be as experimental and electronic as they want. Also allows them to become Prince for a second on "Break it to Me" and then move on to emotional-eletrodroning like "Something Human." It just really works as a whole, which is a place where Drones and The 2nd Law faltered. A fun album with some rather danceable moments.
(#7) Myles Kennedy - "Year of the Tiger"
When an artist does a fully 'solo' effort, he/she must make a choice--try to sound like what you do with your full band, or branch out into something different. A couple of efforts--Weiland's 12 Bar Blues and Cornell's Euphoria Morning (Mourning), for example--show the musician stretching beyond their comfort zone. Tiger lets Kennedy dig into folk, rock, country, and many other points in between. His vocal range is, as always, impressive. Check out "Songbird" and the amazing "Nothing But a Name" and take in what is a very cohesive and enjoyable album. As a side note, he's also the voice on one of my very favorite songs of the entire year, Slash's tune, "The One You Love Is Gone."
(#6) YOB - Our Raw Heart
This band's guitarist almost died recently, and they come out with their most inspired and earnest album. Every song remains fresh throughout--which is especially impressive since most of the songs range between 9 - 16 minutes in length. Much like Pallbearer's last album Heartless, this album's power is found in the vocal delivery. I will continue to revisit this record for years to come because I find something new in it with every session. It's really good. Honestly, it probably should sit higher on my list.
(#5) - Ghost - Prequelle
Ghost is now fronted by the Cardinal. Who's actually Tobias Forge. Whatever. Opus Eponymous was my favorite album of 2010, and I didn't even know about the stage theatrics. I just loved the album. Honestly, I figured they looked like Deep Purple back then. With each additional release, Ghost has gotten a little more mainstream. I simply don't care. The music is so good. Some say it should be more satanic, but when I started seeing Metallica-shirt-wearing jocks at their shows in 2012, I knew they were heading towards widespread appreciation. This album is excellent. It would probably be my favorite, but I find the two instrumental tracks to be underwhelming--along with the intro track. So really, this album only has 7 new songs on it, in my opinion. Songs like "Rats" and "See the Light" are wonderfully written, and "Dance Macabre" might be the catchiest song Forge has ever composed. Haters be damned, I love this band. Also, they're great live. Likely my favorite show of this past year. Maybe.
(#4) Internal Bleeding - Corrupting Influence
Gotta set the scene for this one. In 1999, 21-year-old me was about to graduate from college and step into the intimidating world of adulthood. So I needed something angsty to fight off the future demons. Enter Internal Bleeding's Driven to Conquer. It's still one of my favorite slam albums of all time. Every song had 200 riffs in it, and it just fit all together. They'd released only two albums since then, and I often found myself bored by some of it. Then, the band tragically lost their drummer, Bill Tolley, who was a firefighter in New York City. He fell to his death on the job, and the band's future was in doubt. However, they've reemerged with this effort, and it is their most complete album since the aforementioned Driven to Conquer. It's a slam record, with unrelenting brutality. Without question, my favorite death metal album in 2018.
(#3) Alice In Chains - Rainier Fog
If you're still a stubborn "Layne was Alice In Chains" person, then you're really missing out on some wonderful music. AIC continues to write excellent music (which is far more inspired than their self-titled 1997 dog album, btw)--I just don't understand how people can cast off the importance of Jerry Cantrell and ignore what they're doing now. This album is melancholy, heavy, and memorable. Of the ten songs, eight of these are high-caliber jams which I'd put up against most of their past catalog. "Never Fade" is my personal favorite. By the way, I think this is Erin D's favorite album of 2018. I say that because she won't quit listening to it every single day.
(#2) Pennywise - Never Gonna Die
I haven't enjoyed an entire Pennywise album since 1995's About Time. Jim Lindberg has been back on vocals since 2012, but this is the first album of FULLY NEW MATERIAL with him dating back several years. The album just feels really inspired. Also, oddly enough, the band sounds a little loose at times, which makes me love this album even more. It's not all Pro-Tools perfect. Some of the little flaws is what makes me love it so much. Songs like "Keep Moving On" and "Live While You Can" have been a time bomb ticking in my head (ticking in my head) since its release in April. A solid pop-punk record! Check it out!
(#1) Stone Temple Pilots - "Stone Temple Pilots"
Okay. It's really crappy they made this a self-titled album, since they already tried that in 2010 with a lame album with Scott. Jeff Gutt, their new vocalist, certainly has the pipes and the conviction to pull off a new-age rendition of this band. Scott Weiland was one of my favorite singers, so I was ultra-bummed to see them try to pull it off with Chester (which was a rather failed EP experiment). But this new album has so many great songs. The more I listened to it, the more it climbed up my list of STP albums. It's not their best album. Not their second best, either. But it might be their third best album (below Core and Purple). Ever. If you're not into mellow STP, this album won't make the immediate impact it made on me. But "Thought She'd Be Mine" and "The Art of Letting Go" are both songs that really have memorable vocal hooks that aren't in Weiland's style. They show Gutt is willing to make this band his own. I'm ready to suspend my dedication to Weiland if the DeLeos continue to prove they can write wonderful songs. Of all the albums I listened to in 2018, this one has gotten the most spins. I can't wait to see what they do next.
That's it. Thanks for checking out my list. A few other albums I loved in 2018:
* Longshot - Love Is For Losers
* Between the Buried and Me - Automata I & II
* Nothing - Dance on the Blacktop
* At The Gates - To Drink From the Night Itself
* Kids See Ghosts (Kanye and Cudi) - Kids See Ghosts
* Mogwai - Kin Soundtrack
* Alkaline Trio - Is This Thing Cursed?
* Failure - In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind
* Death Grips - Year of the Snitch
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