I've purchased very few albums this year. So this is going to be a short list. However, it's been a tough year, and some of these albums have helped me through some difficult times. You won't find me bashing on anything here. I appreciate the talent it takes to make music, especially since I don't have a lot (if any) musical talent to speak of. So without further ranting, here are the albums I bought this year. Keep in mind that they're in no particular order, and some of them didn't come out in 2018.
Atreyu
In Our Wake
Atreyu is one of those bands that reminds me of simpler times. Not that there's anything simple about their music, but they've matured musically as I have matured mentally. I can still remember purchasing their album The Curse back in 2004 and then immediately buying their first album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses after several playthroughs. While they're less post-hardcore these days and more rock, it's nice to see they're still at it, alongside many of the other great musicians from the 2000s. If you want to hear that last statement in a song, the last song on this album "Super Hero" features the vocal talents of M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold and Aaron Gillespie of Underoath.
Bear's Den
Islands (Released in 2015)
Sometimes, when you let YouTube autoplay you get something magical. Bear's Den popped up after about six different bands that YouTube thought sounded like Caamp, but didn't sound anything like them. This British folk band has a way of reaching you through both their lyrics and the somber melody of their songs. There's an agonizing human aspect to their music that makes you see just how tragic life can be, but also emphasizes the importance of pressing on through difficult times. Love, life, sorrow, there's a little bit of everything in this album.
Caamp
Boys (Side-A) EP
If you're in the mood for something folksy, Caamp is definitely worth checking out. I found these guys while putting together a sildeshow for a friend's engagement. He wanted their song "Misty" in the slide show. I listened to it and instantly became a fan. There's something about the lead singer's raspy voice and honest lyrics that reminds me of times when life felt simple and finding contentment was as easy as breathing.
Casey
Where I Go When I Am Sleeping
Casey is an interesting band in the fact that they have some of the most honest lyrics I've ever heard. Those lyrics also revolve around mental illness, something that I am intimately familiar with. Every song from the start of the album to the end, talks about the lead singer's struggle with mental illness, depression, anxiety, and those feelings of being absent from your own body and dealing with the disgust and lack of understanding that comes from your family and friends. This is the only album that's actually made me cry while listening to it, because I've been there, and I know the struggle. Where I Go When I Am Sleeping is a masterpiece.
Coheed and Cambria
The Unheavenly Creatures
Coheed and Cambria is one of those bands that has consistently released good music. When they announced in 2015 that their next album would be a departure from the Amory Wars music that their other albums had been soundtracks to, it concerned a lot of people. However, even today, I can safely say that The Color Before the Sun is a beautiful album that highlights the joys and tragedies of love and raising a child. Their latest release, The Unheavenly Creatures is a return to the world of the Amory Wars, and for lack of a better term, is a rock opera that tells a complete story from start to finish. While 2005's Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1 From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness will forever be my favorite album by them, their newest entry in the Amory Wars saga did not disappoint.
Corey Wells
End of a Good Things/How to Tear Apart the Ones You Love/Walk Away
The singer/songwriter genre is - at the best of times - oversaturated with musicians that have one or two great songs but very few others. I stumbled upon Corey Wells through a music promotion group on Facebook called Dreambound. As a fan of early 2000s screamo I was immediately drawn to his voice and lyrical content. Never before have I heard acoustic "screamo." The way that Wells tells stories through his music with raw emotion and screams makes him stand far above any other musician I've listened to in this genre. He doesn't have an LP out yet, but you can get his singles on iTunes, and I would recommend you do so, because his music is heart-wrenching, yet, tragically relatable.
Deaf Havana
RITUALS
Sometimes you have to listen to albums several times before figuring out if you like them or not. I've been a fan of Deaf Havana since I bought their 2009 release Meet Me Halfway, At Least. Back then, they were a screamo band. Each release since then has transcended into a different genre. While it's all remained fairly hard-rock sounding, their latest release is a departure from everything I know and love about Deaf Havana. Gone are the heavy guitar riffs and quickly paced drum beats, and in their place is a more pop sounding album, like something you would hear at the Universal City Walk down in Hollywood. Their lead singer James Veck-Gilodi is by every definition a storyteller for my generation. He's like Bob Dylan, but he's actually good at singing. While this album sounds like something that belongs on KISS FM, the heartfelt lyrics are still there, and the album still scores above a seven with me.
Fatherson
Sum of All Your Parts
I sometimes get asked where I find some of the bands that I listen to. The answer is this . . . every once in a while, I'll switch the country of origins on my iTunes account over to Ireland or the United Kingdom. That might sound like an exercise in exhaustion - and sort of weird - but it has resulted in the discovery of some great bands. Fatherson, for example, is a band from Scotland. This is their third full length album, and while it's sort of a departure from the soft melodic riffs of 2014's I Am an Island and 2016's Open Book, there's enough raw emotion and intellectual lyrical content to keep you invested from the first track to the last.
Foxing
Nearer My God
I've never been a huge fan of synth pop/alternative styles of music, but having been a fan of the indie band Foxing since 2015's Dealer, I was more than prepared to give their latest release a listen. That listen turned into several listens. Eventually, this became one of my most listened to albums of the year. There's something melodically haunting about the way the lead singer portrays war, life, and growing up. Foxing's new album Nearer My God isn't so much a twelve track musical piece as much as it is an experience. Each track brings a new sound, and by the time the album ends, you'll experience a pretty broad range of emotions and ultimately end up satisfied.
God of War (Soundtrack)
by Bear McCreary
When it comes to video games, one of the most important aspects of the game itself is the soundtrack. Does the soundtrack help move you along emotionally on your journey? With the soundtrack to the latest God of War game, I can assure you it does. God of War's creative director Corey Barlog didn't leave the 2018 Video Game Awards empty handed, and after listening to the soundtrack and playing the game, you'll understand why.
Hopesfall
Arbiter
When I first started listening to Hopesfall, I was the shy kid who sat alone on the bus in high school. Hopesfall's music helped me through a lot of difficult times. Every album they've made since 2002's The Satellite Years has created a unique sound that tears out your soul and leaves you afloat amongst the cosmos. After they announced a hiatus back in 2008, I honestly didn't think we'd ever hear from them again. Ten years later, we got Arbiter. After having the privilege of interviewing their drummer Adam Morgan and listening to the album from start to finish, several times, I can assure you that they've not only reinvented themselves, but they've somehow managed to reinvent the post-hardcore genre they've become famous for helping build.
New Year Memorial
I'll See You Tonight Wherever You Are
New Year Memorial is the side project of the lead singer of There Will Be Fireworks, another band I discovered through the iTunes page of another country. I'll See You Tonight Wherever You Are has all of the lyrical content and melodies of a There Will Be Fireworks album, but with a little more heaviness to it. The album captures the joy and tragedy of growing up, living, loving, and everything that comes with it.
Pinegrove
Skylight
It breaks my heart that the lead singer of Pinegrove got caught in a scandal that was nothing more than a journalist seeking notoriety in the midst of the #metoo movement. This album is heartbreaking and emotional from start to finish. It has all of the folk style sounds that made 2016's Cardinal such an amazing album and has still managed to bring something new to the table. The tragic thing about this album is that it's only available on their bandcamp page because the other bands on the label they're on (or were on?) wanted to distance themselves from them. Listen to the album, read the articles, make up your own mind. I personally love every track on this album.
Thrice
Palms
After ten albums, Thrice is still going strong. Their latest album Palms mixes the hard rock sound that Thrice is known for with a more electronic sound. It's a slight departure from what fans might be used to, but hey, it isn't bad, and it's more Thrice. So, can we really complain? Dustin Kensrue and friends have done it again. Keep up the good work boys.
Valleyheart
Everyone I've Ever Loved
Valleyheart resonates with me more than any other band I've ever come across. Their raw, honest, and emotional lyrics, mixed with well-written music makes their latest album something I can listen to over and over again. As somebody who has been burnt by the church and has experienced the fear of losing God that they describe in their music, I feel this album in a way that I've never felt any other album ever. They don't have all of the answers, but they ask the right questions, and these are questions that we should all be asking.
The Young Hearts
Honestly, I'm Just Thinking (Released in 2017)
The Young Hearts are another band I discovered through Dreambound. They don't exactly reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but they bring me a feeling of nostalgia and remind me of bands like Hawthorne Heights and Story of the Year. Their music takes me back to Middle School and High School when every social interaction felt like walking on a knife's edge. I look back at those times now, and while I wish I could make some decisions differently, it was a time that I don't exactly miss. However, I'm more than happy to listen to this album and take a walk down memory lane.
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