GEM's Top Albums of 2015
We feel the need to be honest right off the rip here - we really enjoyed Justin Bieber’s Purpose – how much street cred do we lose for that? Go ahead, we can take it. While that album didn’t make this list (don’t worry, it made plenty of others), these 10 albums that did make the list are more than worthy. And we don’t want to pat ourselves on the back, but this might be the most unique year end list you’ll see to wrap up 2015 in music.
Album of the
Year: No Devotion – Permanence (Collect)
Permanence is
as memorable as it is lush. It’s captivating and transcendent, immersing and
moody, and a whole bunch of other high highfalutin adjectives as well. But above
all, it’s brilliant. Its reminiscent of The Cure, which is a nearly unheard of comparison,
one we choose to never use lightly. Permanence
is special to say the least. You’d do well to get this album in your playlist
immediately.
Permanence, No
Devotion, it’s not Thursday, it’s not Lostprophets, and while the band contains
those parts, this is something much, much more. And trust us when we say that
because we were/are huge fans of those bands. Permanence is swathed in a compendium of heavily synth-addled
dreamy alt-rock with just enough picturesque shoegaze, making for gigantic orchestrations
very reminiscent of The Cure (“Break,” “10,000 Summers,” “Stay”). With Permanence, No Devotion has something
truly special, and we are all lucky enough to bear witness.
Knuckle Puck –
“Copacetic” (Rise)
Simply put, Knuckle Puck is pop-punk done right. The
band’s debut album Copacetic is
unlike many pop-punk albums you’ll hear today, because while there’s your
typical straight-to-the-point pop-punk fare full of frenzied guitars and
copious amounts of gang vocals (“Wall to Wall (Depreciation),” “Evergreen,”
“Pretense”), it’s the album’s emotionally-charged peaks and valleys that cause Copacetic to shine (“Ponder,” “In Your
Crosshairs,” “Untitled”), an undeniable maturity that allows this record to
stand head and shoulders above many, if not all, of its like-minded and
like-sounding brethren. Not only is this debut a truly promising one, it’s one
of 2015’s top pop-punk releases.
The Dreaming – Rise Again (Metropolis Records)
The Dreaming have long been one of the most unrecognized
rock bands on the scene today, but Rise
Again should be the record that corrects that egregiousness. No offense to 2008’s
Etched In Blood or 2011’s Puppet, but The Dreaming’s third full
length shows that the old saying ‘third times a charm’ is more than just words.
Rise Again is bursting at the seams
with industrialized hard rock teeming with massive, explosive hooks buoyed by
driving riffs and bellowing low end (“Kisses Taste Like Death,” “Still
Believe,” “Rise Again”) and well-paced, well-structured ballads (“Throw It Away,” “Blink Of An Eye”). This
was one of 2015’s great rock records.
Feed Her to the
Sharks – Fortitude (Victory)
Metal fans listen up - harkening back to the early days
of metalcore (before it became a four letter word), when albums like Unearth’s The Oncoming Storm, As I Lay Dying’s Frail Words Collapse and Shadows Fall’s The Art Of Balance roamed the playlists
of metalheads everywhere, Fortitude
is a sheer and unabashed guitar clinic. This album is a venerable
fire-breathing beast; a hulking mass of heavy riff-centric metal housing some
of the best guitar work this side of a Dragonforce record. Fortitude is a literal non-stop thrill ride of colossal
proportions.
Coal Chamber – Rivals (Napalm Death)
An easy candidate for comeback record of the year, Coal
Chamber’s Rivals sees a return for
the band to all of their glory. Rivals
is a cacophonous barrage of stellar down-tuned riffs led by Miguel Rascón; menacing
guitars that toe the line between nu and modern metal. This album is teeming
with bouncy, driving metal tunes ripe for copious headbanging (“The Bridges You
Burn,” “Another Nail in the Coffin,” “Bad Blood Between Us,” “Light In the
Shadows,” “Over My Head”). Taking into account that Coal Chamber had ceased to
exist over the past decade plus makes this record all the more impressive. Rivals
is pretty much everything and more that you could hope for from a Coal Chamber
record in 2015. It may be blasphemous, but Rivals
may just be this bands best release, ever.
The Relapse
Symphony – Born to Burn (Standby
Records)
As one of the true surprises of 2015, Born to Burn is one part pop metal, one
part glam rock, one part pop punk and all awesome; an all-killer no-filler
thrill ride that shows nothing even remotely close to a sophomore slump. Pissed
and brash angst-ridden anthems (“The Perfect Lie,” “Born to Burn,” “Terror
Generation”) pair effortlessly with heart pounding, chest thumping pop metal
(“The Bitter End,” “Dirty Little Tricks,” “Goodnight, Goodbye”) to give Born to Burn its unique dynamic. We can now
officially remove the next big thing tag from the Relapse Symphony because the
ascension is over. With Born to Burn the
Relapse Symphony has arrived. It must really suck to be any other band
releasing an album this year.
The Ongoing
Concept – Handmade (Solid State)
The Ongoing Concept’s Handmade
is a complete mindfuck. This is true sonic chaos, a complete and
cacophonous smattering of screamo, rock, roots, folk, Americana, Southern rock
and metal, or ‘Americana-core’ for short. To say there is a lot happening on Handmade would be the understatement of
the century; there’s some Every Time I Die influence (the spastic short but
sweet “Trophy”), plucky front porch Americana that doesn’t seem out of place
whatsoever (“Melody”), driving anthems fueled by caustic guitars (“Prisoner,”
“Survivor”), bouncy borderline club bangers (“Unwanted”), Southern fried rock
with a twist (“Soul”) and even some Top 40 radio aspirations (“Falling”). This
may be perhaps the most ambitious record of the year.
Atreyu – Long Live (Spinefarm Records)
Perhaps THE comeback record of the year. Yep, Atreyu is
back…with a vengeance. It takes but two minutes of their aptly titled new
comeback album Long Live to come to
that realization. In those two minutes, all the feels come flooding back - Alex
Varkatzas’ gravel-throated screams, Brandon Saller’s melodic clean tone,
impeccably crafted and inescapably catchy hooks, Big Dan Jacobs and Travis
Miguel’s vaunted crushing guitar frenzy – it’s all there. How else would you
want an Atreyu record to end? With Long
Live, a mere dozen tracks, Atreyu has turned the metal world on its ear,
after six years spent in oblivion.
Alien Ant Farm – Always and Forever (Executive Music)
Another true surprise of 2015. Perhaps the best thing
about Alien Ant Farm’s fifth studio album, and first in nine years, Always and Forever, is that AAF is back
and they are making music again, especially now that fellow quirk merchants
Foxy Shazam have called it a day. But even then, before there was a Foxy, before
there was a Ludo even, the true kings of quick-rock were AAF, and with Always and Forever they have returned to
claim their throne. When it comes to Always
and Forever, one thing is certain - this album is fun. There’s absolutely
no denying that.
Breaking Benjamin
– Dark Before the Dawn (Hollywood)
Dark Before Dawn
was an incredible return to form for Breaking Benjamin. Hell, it even debuted
at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. So, that’s something. This record is everything
you’d ask for in terms of a comeback record for Breaking Benjamin, even though
it’s just frontman Benjamin Burnley with a new backing band. Regardless.
“Failure,” “Bury Me Alive” and “Defeated” are classic Breaking Benjamin, as are
some of the more tempered outings, “Angels Fall” and “Hollow.” Suffice to say,
it’s good to have Breaking Benjamin back.
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