The Top 15 Albums of 2015

Hey, guys.

So, first of all, I'm sorry this isn't a full text post with like essays and explanations and shit. Long story short, I've had a shitty January, school is overtaking my life, I haven't been sleeping well, my life is sort of a massive clusterfuck right now and I've not the time nor the motivation to sit down and write a full length dissertation and still manage to get these lists out by the end of January like I promised.

Therefore, this and my Top 50 Songs of 2015 (which is coming over the weekend, I promise) are not going to be fully written out or explained at all. This is going to be a quick thing where I'm only going to show what the albums are and what my favorite tracks on them were, no more. Again, sorry that this isn't a proper blog post, but my life is fucky right now and I just wanted to get the year-end lists overwith.

So, I guess without any further ado, here are my Top 15 favorite albums of 2015:

 

~FlamingScribblenaut

Some Spooky and/or Halloween-y Songs For A Halloween Playlist or other Halloween-related event or activity (Halloween Special)

MWAHAHAHAHA!

Ah, that good ol' evil laugh. Always love it.

Hey guys, FlamingScribblenaut here, and today we're gonna be doing something special.

Seeing as how it's the week of Halloween, and I fucking *adore* this holiday to no end, I always like to have the perfect music for this time of year, as I do with every time of year. 

There are lots of songs that are widely regarded as Halloween classics, you have your Enter Sandman, your Thriller, your This Is Halloween, etc., etc., and those are all certainly great songs, especially for the holiday, but today, I'm going to be sharing some of my personal favorite Halloween tracks, the ones that always get me in that perfect Halloween mood.

This is a personal list and it's not gonna go in any particular order, so just sit back, grab some candy and/or some pumpkin spice flavored something, and enjoy the music.

Happy Halloween.

~~~

"Halloween" by AFI

(All Hallows EP, 1999)

~~~

"Cemeteries Of London" by Coldplay

(Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, 2008)

~~~

"Ride The Wings Of Pestilence" by From First To Last

(Dead Trees, 2015)

~~~

"Die And Rise" by Lacuna Coil
(Broken Crown Halo, 2014)

~~~

"Body And Blood" by clipping.
(CLPPNG, 2014)

~~~

"Bodies" by Drowning Pool

(Sinner, 2001)

~~~

"Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold

(Nightmare, 2010)

~~~

"Devil's Night" by Motionless In White

(Infamous, 2012)

~~~

"Spirit" by Ghost BC

(Meliora, 2015)

(Or just the whole album, really.)

~~~

"Falling Away From Me" by Korn

(Issues, 1999)

~~~

"Haunted" by Evanescence

(Fallen, 2003)

~~~

"Nightmare Night" by WoodenToaster

(MLP fan song, 2012)

~~~

And finally,

"The Hills" by The Weeknd

(Beauty Behind The Madness, 2015)

~~~~~~~

TesseracT: "Polaris" Album Review

https://open.spotify.com/album/1PCD14Vo3hiTbz0l5580Gi

You know, I gotta say, as a fan of progressive metal, 2015 has been one hell of a year.

Seriously, not only have there been some absolutely excellent releases from the likes of Between The Buried And Me, Periphery, Widek, Shattered Skies, Plini, and more, but with upcoming records from Skyharbor, Uneven Structure, Scale The Summit, 2015 has been a prog-head's dream. If this keeps up, I'm kind of afraid my Best Albums of the Year list is gonna consist of almost entirely this genre. I mean, I love me some prog metal and all, but geez, give the other genres and artists some room to breathe, will ya?

And as the proverbial whipped cream on top of the milkshake, we have a new release from Tesseract, one of the leading bands in the scene and one any fan of djent-infused, bass-heavy, atmospheric progressive metal should definitely be familiar with. Especially with their masterful 2013 release Altered State, a must-listen album in my opinion and easily one of the best albums of that year, hell, maybe even of this whole decade.

So when the news came we were getting a new release from these guys, needless to say, I was excited.

I'm happy to say those expectations were met. TesseracT have delivered another masterful work here on Polaris. 

The album begins on a slow, foreboding buildup before exploding into the first track Dystopia, which sets the tone for the record perfectly. The chugging lead guitar and bass work harmonize together beautifully, and Daniel Tomkins' vocals, whispery, reverberating, yet urgent and powerful, show Tesseract's knack for complex, layers, and atmospheric bliss in terms of the technical musical standpoint, and the rest of the album lives up. All the arrangements, progressions, and pure instrumental talent and complexity shown on this record is impressive, as well as being absolute heaven on the ears. When this album slows down, it reaches a state of sounding hypnotic, almost trancelike, as every instrumental flourish, every note is strewn together beautifully. Not a single bit of musical space is wasted, and it forms a beautiful and massive landscape of sound.

Most tracks on this record don't flow into each other like they do on Altered State, as well as lacking the multi-act story structure, yet it still manages to feel as cohesive and large in scope as the band's previous releases.

Every song adds a new flavor to this album's sound and scale. From the soft guitars opening up the track Torniquent, to the heavy, dark tone set in the ethereal opening of Cages, before that soft, gentle guitar leads into the track proper in the most beautiful way possible, this album proves to be one of the band's most diverse releases to date.

Some moments on this album are outright breathtaking, and there is no better example of this than the closing track Seven Names. Seven Names may very well be one of the best songs released this year. It's intense, dark, emotional, and passionate in all the right ways. Tesseract has always been very abstract in their songwriting, but Seven Names feels much more personal and intimate, and the soaring instrumentation and Tompkins' screaming leads to the song feeling epic and grand, almost apocalyptic, and serves as a perfect closer to this album.

All in all, if you're a fan of Tesseract or this kind of music at all, Polaris is a must, another great release from a great band. If you're new to this band, well, I'd probably recommend Altered State above anything (seriously, that album is fucking great, go listen to it now if you haven't), but Polaris is definitely worth your time as well.

BEST SONGS: Seven Names, Torniquent, Cages, Messenger, Survival

WORST SONG: N/A

Final Score:

9/10

Bring Me The Horizon: "That's The Spirit" Album Review

https://open.spotify.com/album/7FqHuAvmREiIwVXVpZ9ooP

It's time to tackle one of the big ones.

Concept albums can be a difficult tightrope to walk, especially when dealing with heavier and more sensitive material. When done well, they can go down as magnificent pieces of art, really touching or powerful records that can resonate closely with lots of people. But when done wrong, be it through poor execution or complete misunderstanding or even blatant disrespect of the subject, they can turn out pretty damn horrid, even insulting. It's tricky to do a heavy subject well, and it takes either some real balls or a real personal and well-informed understanding of the subject material to try to pull it off.

Case in point? That's The Spirit, the 5th major release by British metal outfit Bring Me The Horizon, an album telling a story of dealing with depression, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. Yeah, that's some heavy shit, and this record does not shy away from getting pretty deep into that swirling, dark feeling of hopelessness and hatred.

But before we delve into the psychological insanity and darkness that is this album, let's talk about Bring Me The Horizon for a bit.

A deathore-turned-hard rock outfit from Sheffield, England, and that's gathered up a fair bit of controversy over the years for their drastic shift in style.

From the head-splitting deathcore of Count Your Blessings and Suicide Season to the more light, melodic sound of 2013's Sempiternal, their drastic shift from throat-shattering screaming and gory, messy instrumentation to a more nu-metal and electronic rock influenced radio metal sound, a lot of fans were turned off by the quote-unquote "selling out" the band was doing (and this is just a personal peeve of mine, people, please only use the term "selling out" if you know what it fucking means.).

Where do I stand on it?

Well, I did briefly mention my affinity with this band in my Bullet For My Valentine review, but I'm a huge fan, both of the old and the new. In fact, if I'm gonna be a bit controversial here, I kind of prefer their later stuff. Yeah, the scream-heavy deathcore of Suicide Season and especially the extensively-titled There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret did certainly have its appeal, it kinda started to get old after a while and the more accessible and melodic sound of Sempiternal was a big breath of fresh air.

And while that sound does mostly carry over from Sempiternal here onto this record, I'd say they improved upon it even more, keeping the eclectic blend of electronica-tinged hard rock and screaming metalcore with a dash of radio-friendliness, but they also vary it up a fair bit here on this album, each track having a different sound than the last, instrumentation that weaves in and out from anthemic screaming and explosive energy to bleak, never-ending sadness back and forth seamlessly, perfectly in tune with the emotional weight of the storytelling, making this a record that truly sounds like a descent into depression just as it tells the story of one.

By adding in touched of violin, piano, and even a harp onto the heavy blast of the metal instrumentation or even over the more somber and dark tracks, this record achieves a massive, almost symphonic sound that makes this descent into darkness feel all the more apocalyptic and hit with all the more potency.

Speaking of which, let's finally dive into the individual tracks on this album, as well as the lyrics and themes and see what makes this descent into hatred and madness so incredible.

Kicking off on the softer track Doomed, the album just begins on that note of hopelessness. The minimalist instrumentation and wispy falsetto of frontman Oliver Sykes set up the atmosphere perfectly, and the songwriting pulls that feeling through perfectly, with lines such as:

You must have made some kind of mistake

I asked for death, but instead, I'm awake

Followed up directly by the chorus, where Sykes just screams:

The sun won't shine here, it never did

And when it rains, it fucking pours

But I think that I like it

And you know that I'm in love with the pain

Implying this sick, twisted fascination and enjoyment the narrator somehow extracts from this hopeless depression adds and extra layer of twisted darkness and insanity to the storytelling, and this is a theme that permeates the entirety of the album, making the story this album tells all the more morbidly fascinating.

Through the following two tracks, the singles Happy Song and Throne, the album continues its theme in trying to find beauty in the sickness, Happy Song being about trying to escape from the depression through music and escapism, and Throne being about rising from the ashes, and for the record both are musically two of my favorites on the album (the bridge to Happy Song is one of my favorite moments in music in 2015 so far, period, and the synth work and massive anthemic chorus of Throne are just downright incredible), before the song True Friends comes in, a song that starts to portray this depression, this sadness and destructiveness as some sort of character that's (metaphorically of course) stabbed the narrator one too many times, but despite the desperate attempt to shake it off, it won't go away. It never goes away.

I wasn't too big on this particular track at first, but hearing it in the context of the record made it make so much more sense and it quickly became one of my favorites, especially being probably the most heavy and metal-centric song on the album.

And from True Friends we go into the track What You Need, a song of the narrator confronting himself on his issues, through a heartbreaking and powerful display of Oli just screaming at himself to stop this, yet deep down, he knows he can't, he just feels he wants it even though he knows he;s killing himself, making this lyrically one of the most potent tracks on the album. This is also true of Avalanche, the point where it finally takes a toll on him and he loses it. It's a very striking track, both in the instrumentation, and in the way the lyrics just perfectly display the narrator's state of hopelessness and sadness.

I never stood a chance.

My heart is frozen over.

And in the track Run, that theme continues, showing him trying to run away, escape this hell he's put himself in before the leadoff single Drown shows him finally breaking down and begging, screaming for help, screaming for an escape, even though he knows he can't get there. That is why, in the context of the album, Drown proves to be one of the most striking tracks on the record.

As a final track, Oh No serves as a perfect closer to this story, a very minimal song showing just how empty and hollow the struggle with his inner demons has left him and, honestly, this bitter, bleak ending serves the perfectly potent finish to this emotional wildride of an album, leaving it on a somber and saddening final note.

In short, That's The Spirit is an instrumentally diverse, lyrically potent masterpiece of musical storytelling and emotional power, detailing a struggle with mental issues and depression, and doing so in a way that lets us see into the mind and life of our protagonist and take that wild descent along with him, whether we want to or not, because it's not like he has a choice either.

The problem with a lot of modern rock albums is they tend to have a section of filler or tracks that just don't stand out, which can really distract from the experience of listening to the full album. That's The Spirit does not have this problem. Every track adds something different and something only improves the record's musicality and storyline while running at the perfect length. It's an album better listened to as a whole.

As a brilliant and emotionally intense concept piece and possibly the best rock album of the year, as well as the band's magnum opus, That's The Spirit is a harrowing listen, attempting to make light of the demons that haunt them but, in the end, shows the pain in its most potent and true form.

Classic Bring Me The Horizon fans may be somewhat disappointed in terms of the lighter sound, but anyone looking for a fascinating and hard-hitting record that diversifies its style and delivers an incredible narrative will not be disappointed. That's The Spirit may very well go down as a modern rock classic.

BEST SONGS: Happy Song, Avalanche, Throne, True Friends, Oh No, What You Need, Drown, Run, Doomed

WORST SONG: N/A

Final Score:

9.5/10

Bullet For My Valentine: "Venom" Album Review

https://open.spotify.com/album/1YjxZhd158jSm2906JqzXF

Metalcore and its many subsidiaries are certainly polarizing genres, to say the least.

And I don't mean the general consensus when it comes to the genres under this label, I mean in terms of quality. Some metalcore bands line up with some of the best artists of the 21st Century, while others line up with some of the worst. For every fantastic group of artists like Bring Me The Horizon or Motionless In White, we've unfortunately had to deal with an absolutely atrocious act such as Atilla or Brokencyde.

Which brings me to arguably the biggest and greatest of the genre, Bullet For My Valentine, who first hit the scene in 2005 with their absolutely classic album The Poison, which has gone down as one of the staple metal records of the 2000's, and with excellent tracks like The End, Hit The Floor, and of course the certifiable classic Tears Don't Fall, one of my personal favorite songs of all time, it's pretty clear to see why.

And they followed it up with the incredibly solid duo of Scream Aim Fire in 2008 and Fever in 2010, which while not quite matching The Poison, were still fantastic metal records nonetheless, and produced quite their fair share of great songs.

But then came the album that nearly killed the band's reputation, 2013's massive misstep known as Temper Temper. A radio-friendly, mainstream hard rock album that the metalcore community completely shunned. Now, I personally didn't hate the album as much as others (I was more lukewarm towards it), but I completely understood the heavy fire it came under and personally, alongside the majority, consider it Bullet's weakest album by far.

So when Bullet announced a new album earlier this year and released the excellent, excellent, excellent leadoff single No Way Out, while simultaneously claiming it would be their heaviest release to date, I was stoked, with an excitement that only grew with each successive single.

You Want A Battle? (Here's A War), Army Of Noise, Worthless, all brilliant songs harkening back to Bullet's classic material while introducing a more traditional metal style with the heaviest guitars, drums, and screams of the band's career, and they were only previews of what the full album would hold.

So, when the album finally dropped, I was in full hype mode and came into it expecting one of the best albums of the year.

And is that what I got?

Well...

Venom by Bullet For My Valentine is a fantastic album and a massive improvement over the one that came prior, and it is filled with some amazing songs, and while on the whole it's not quite the utter masterpiece I came in expecting, it's still a fantastic metal record and an easy contender as one of the best albums of 2015.

That's not to say it doesn't have its flaws, so let's address those first.

I think my biggest problem with this album is the same problem that a lot of modern rock albums suffer from; there are many points where the album devolves into filler. It's not quite as filler-tastic as Temper Temper, but there are definitely several songs, specifically towards the middle and end of the album, that don't really stand out or grab my attention when compared to some of the other songs on the album. Tracks such as The Harder The Heart (The Harder It Breaks), Skin, and Playing God just seem less interesting and memorable than most of the album. None of these songs are really bad, just forgettable and, well, they do drag the album down a bit.

But that said, I don't really have any other major problems with this album.

Yes, aside from a few filler tracks that do distract just a little bit, there is almost not an element of this album I do not love. I'd dare say it's nearly if not completely on par with The Poison. Yeah, we're going there.

First and foremost, the general sound of this album. Matt Tuck said they were going for their heaviest and most powerful sound to date here on Venom, and by god, do they deliver. The guitars are heavy, fast-paced, and deliver some absolutely insane solos, specifically on tracks like Broken and Pariah, and the drumming is loud, pounding, and hard-hitting. And the vocals? I'm gonna say it: Matt's vocals are the best they've ever been on this album. They're aggressive, cathartic, loud, and powerful. In his singing, screaming, and growling throughout the record, he makes it all sound so incredibly easy, not like he's straining or stretching at all. His screaming alongside that of new bassist Jamie Mathias manages to be incredibly loud and sound absolutely righteously pissed-off without being ear-bleedingly obnoxious or whiny, which is a true sign of a good metalcore band.

For a good example of this, let's talk about the track Broken, one of the album's biggest highlights. It starts with some gut-punching drum work, and speedy guitar riffs from both Matt and guitarist Michael Paget, and proceeds to have some of the best instrumental work, screaming, and songwriting the band has pulled off in a long time.

This also shines through in the aforementioned singles, all of which were fantastic (seriously, great choice of singles here), and they make for some of the best stuff on this record. No Way Out (with the added atmosphere of the opening segue track simply titled V), Army Of Noise, Worthless, and You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) is just a four-piece face punch of pure heavy metal awesomeness, and serve as an amazing opener to the album.

The chanting opening and chorus of You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) is one of the most memorable parts of the album, and would make for an epic part of a live performance (seriously, just imagine a whole massive mosh pit chanting that opening in unison... god, that sounds amazing.).

This album also has moments of real emotion, points of hopelessness and betrayal (both of which are strong themes throughout all of BFMV's discography), where the songwriting really shines through. Hell Or High Water is a good example of this, as not only is it musically very different, but fits the rather bleak songwriting really well, really giving of the feeling of sinking and drowning, just as the lyrics portray a similar feeling (albeit more metaphorically). The emotion also shines through on the slower title track Venom, which has a much more subtle tone then the rest of the album, especially in the opening instrumentals.

I think it's safe to say No Way Out was the prefect first taste of this album. Aggressive, heavy, and an all-around heavy metal track. That's what Venom is: no-bullshit, heavy-as-fuck, loud, aggressive, angsty, and kick-ass heavy metal.

Whether you're a BFMV fanboy, looking to get into the band, or just a casual rock/metal fan, Venom is a fantastic album that is a must-listen for anyone who likes modern metal, and aside from a couple of rather unimpressive tracks, is definitely one of the best albums of the year thus far.

BEST SONGS: Broken, No Way Out, Army Of Noise, Hell Or High Water, You Want A Battle? (Here's A War), Pariah

WORST SONGS: The Harder The Heart (The Harder It Breaks), Skin

Final Score:

8/10