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 Andrew Haak's Top 10 of 2005: Being a Webzine editor always pays off at the end of each year; I get to make a year-end list, and there's an audience for it. As with every other year I've done this, my top 10 selections aren't what I call the 10 best releases of 2005, but my 10 favorite of the year. If you don't agree, it doesn't really matter. These are the records that I liked the most this year, and I'm not holding anything back for the sake of false credibility. Enjoy!
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Number 10: |
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Seventh Star - Brood Of Vipers / Facedown (Review)
Seventh Star underwent some substantial lineup changes between releasing their debut full-length and recording this effort, but the results were completely in the band's favor. Brood Of Vipers is a lumbering, massive beast. Not only is this some of the most overwhelmingly heavy and crunchy metallic hardcore I've heard, the production is killer and the textured, in-your-face vocals are rarely matched. Make no mistake, Brood Of Vipers is ridiculously heavy, and I love it. |
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Number 9: |
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Plain White T's - All That We Needed / Fearless (Review)
Plain White T's write good songs, and, really, nothing more has to be said about All That We Needed. But I've got more. Sure, the album's 13 songs are formulaic in their tried-and-true verse/chorus dynamic, but they're so memorable, so capably written, and so enjoyable in their simplicity that I can see even music elitists letting their guard down and soaking them in. There are times for challenging music and there are times for easily accessible music, and, when it comes to accessible stuff, the Plain White T's are all that I need (holy pun!).
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Number 8: |
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Since By Man - Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse / Revelation
Although Since By Man has endured some lineup changes since releasing We Sing The Body Electric in early 2003, the band seems to have entirely recovered. Still working with a distinct cross between spacious post-hardcore and contemporary, dissonant metalcore, Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse is as jarring, tense and explosive as the band's debut full-length. This is a contemporary style to be sure, but Since By Man's sound is natural and sincere. |
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Number 7: |
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Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation / Earache
There's an element of humor to Municipal Waste's name and demeanor -- their artwork, song titles and promotional photographs reek of sarcasm and wit -- but their music is serious business. Hazardous Mutation is a defining, contemporary crossover record; Municipal Waste expertly fuses energetic, metallic thrash riffs with ragingly fast-paced drumming and rapidly shouted vocals. While the entire record -- a brief, 26-minute effort -- is catchy and rather lighthearted, it's in-your-face and aggressive at the same time.
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Number 6: |
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Between The Buried And Me - Alaska / Victory (Review)
I'll let my review of Alaska do the work: "Despite its abundance of grinding, non-stop drumming, all-over-the-place, metallic guitar riffing, abrupt tempo shifts and throaty screams, Between The Buried And Me has further embraced their progressive, ethereal side and written an album that truly flows. This is not the average technical metal record. As scathing as it can be, and often is, Alaska is a developed album; not a mere collection of wildly acrobatic songs."
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Number 5: |
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Allegiance - Overlooked / Rivalry (Review, Featured release, 2005 Interview)
Blending traditional, raging hardcore with a destructive, metallic crunch, Allegiance has complete control over efficiently balancing conventional styles with modern twists. Overlooked is a crisp, straightforward effort, and the lyrical content and strained shouts serve to add loads of character.
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Number 4: |
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Darkest Hour - Undoing Ruin / Victory (Review)
After 2003's entirely solid, but fairly conventional Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation, I didn't expect Darkest Hour to push their boundaries and outdo themselves. But Undoing Ruin is a marked improvement for the band. While the explosive, high-speed drumming and fiery, thrashy guitar riffs are still firmly in place, Darkest Hour's songs are more streamlined, more varied, and more accessible (the guitar melodies and subtle, almost-clean vocals work tasteful wonders) than in the past.
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Number 3: |
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Pelican - The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw / Hydra Head (Featured release)
The Fire In Our Throats... is Pelican's second venture into full-length territory. While the prospect of an hour of instrumental music might seem painfully bland to some, Pelican works enough tempo variety, instrumental texture and momentum into the music to keep it a consistently riveting listen. With gradual transitions between delicate acoustic parts, atmospheric ambience, and rhythmic, gloomy metal, as well as colossal, moving climaxes, The Fire In Our Throats... is ideally structured and most likely my favorite instrumental album.
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Number 2: |
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Paint It Black - Paradise / Jade Tree (Review, Featured release)
While Paradise is a bit more melodic and developed than Paint It Black's debut full-length, CVA, straightforward aggression and intellect fuel its fourteen tracks of hardcore/punk. Paint It Black plays with brains and an endearingly gimmick-free, no-bullshit vibe, and I simply find it hard to not like their stuff. Paradise is heartfelt, raging and distinct; that's all I need in a hardcore record.
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Number 1: |
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Modern Life Is War - Witness / Deathwish Inc. (Review, Featured release)
I feel, in all honesty, that I've drifted away from contemporary hardcore bands throughout 2005. I still love the music, as well as the hardcore records I've fallen in love with during the last five years, but I'm much more selective in choosing what hardcore bands I'll listen to. Most often, a certain distinct take on the style is what draws me in, and Modern Life Is War has gradually developed into a unique entity; no hardcore listener can rightfully deny that claim. Witness is wholly original, exchanging the generic elements of hardcore for a creative, moody, mid-paced approach and an unmatched lyrical theme and delivery. Witness affected me more than any other album in 2005 -- hardcore or not -- and it's not an effort I'll forget.
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Honorable Mentions: |
A Wilhelm Scream - Ruiner
Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
Bane - The Note
Blacklisted - ...The Beat Goes On
Cave In - Perfect Pitch Black
Comeback Kid - Wake The Dead
Cursed - II
Go It Alone - The Only Blood Between Us
Lights Out - Overload
Lorene Drive - Romantic Wealth
Mae - The Everglow
Marathon - Marathon
Most Precious Blood - Merciless
Nightmare Of You - Nightmare Of You
Ramallah - Kill A Celebrity
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses
Smoke Or Fire - Above The City
Stretch Arm Strong - Free At Last
The Holy Mountain - Entrails
The Letters Organize - Dead Rhythm Machine
The Red Chord - Clients
Thrice - Vheissu
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Top EP/MCDs of 2004: |
1. This Is Hell - This Is Hell (State Of Mind)
2. Arsis - A Diamond For Disease (Willowtip)
3. Ruiner - What Could Possibly Go Right (1917)
4. Pelican - March Into The Sea (Hydra Head)
5. City and Colour - The Death Of Me
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Favorite Sugar-coated Pleasures: |
Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit
Motion City Soundtrack - Commit This To Memory
Over It - Silverstrand
The Audition - Controversy Loves Company
The Rocket Summer - Hello, Good Friend
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Album I Discovered in 2005 Way Too Late: |
Snapcase - Progression Through Unlearning
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Disappointments: |
Coheed And Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV
Death By Stereo - Death for Life
Every Time I Die - Gutter Phenomenon
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