Old Music Tuesdays: Top Fifteen Albums of 2018
Thanks for everyone who has stuck around despite my lack of posts. I had to choose — art or blogging. I picked art. However, I do still want to post from time to time, and every year I post my top albums for the year. Here are my Top Albums 2018.
My top three in this list are my favorite albums of 2018. The rest are in no particular order. Click on the album covers to purchase or to hear samples. If you like what you hear, please BUY IT! Don’t illegally download it. You’re stealing from the artists who enhance your life. Please support them financially, especially the underground artists.
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- Between the Buried and Me Automata I + II: Technically two releases, I’m counting this as one record since the track list on II starts with track 7. BTBAM continue to impress with each release. Voice of Trespass is an insane jazz metal track.
- Azusa Heavy Yoke: I was very sad to see The Dillinger Escape Plan break up, but I understand why they did. It’s worth it to get this album, however. Liam Wilson joins with members of Extol and Sea + Air to release one of the best thrash metal albums in years. Female fronted metal fans rejoice!
- mewithoutYou UNTITLED: Philadelphia’s mewithoutYou continue to be the most underrated post-hardcore band out there. Do yourself a favor and check them out. Their newest release is a great place to start, the first couple songs are perfectly realized.
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- TesseracT Sonder: TesseracT is a prog-metal outfit from the UK. Their shortest album, but my favorite since 2013’s amazing Altered State. The choir is an interesting choice, and I think it pays off.
- polyphia New Levels, New Devils: This album ventures closer to pop music than previous releases, but the prog and math rock are still in there. I hated the addition of vocals at first, but on repeat listens, they’ve grown on me. Still not sure why there’s a parental advisory warning.
- Underoath Erase Me: Underoath is back and this album rocks! They’ve shed their “Christian band” status completely here, and some fans are upset. Which is too bad, because Spencer’s lyrics seem the most honest they’ve ever been and his singing/screaming reflects it. The music shreds, too; their best album since 2006’s Define the Great Line.
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- Legend of the Seagullmen The Legend of the Seagullmen: This is exactly what I wanted from a band called Legend of the Seagullmen. Fans of Mastodon and Tool should feel right at home, as the supergroup features Brent Hinds and Danny Carey. The lyrics are purposely ridiculous, but they paint epic pictures of seafaring and the like. The music is complex and rewarding.
- A Perfect Circle Eat the Elephant: This is the second comeback album on my list. I can’t rank it in my top 3 as the lyrics aren’t top notch and the “rap” song is just odd. However, when it hits, it hits and it easily makes my top 15. The first half is almost perfect. Favorite song – The Doomed.
- Fit for a King Dark Skies: This album is the Texas’ band’s heaviest yet. Fit for a King hits all the bases here: heaviness, melody, thrash, emotional lyrics, and impressive vocals – both singing and screaming. The atmospheric sound effects at the record’s end are perfect. Fans of metalcore need to check this out.
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- Hopesfall Arbiter: The third and last comeback album on my list. After 2002’s The Satellite Years, the band underwent massive lineup changes and a change of genre. I liked the two poppier albums okay, but they paled in comparison to the old stuff. Arbiter is a return to form, with the return of a few original members. The hardcore sound is back, and this album is my favorite of the “comebacks” I’ve listed.
- Clutch Book of Bad Decisions: Clutch’s newest outing is a spiritual companion to their last couple records, which is not a bad thing. The new album is a bit disjointed, but it’s still a solid release and a must have for fans of the band. Go see them live.
- Nine Inch Nails Bad Witch: I’d put this EP on my list even if the only song was Play the Goddamned Part. Reznor continues to put out challenging music thirty years into his career. Wonderful stuff.
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- Jack White Boarding House Reach: I’ll check out anything Jack White does… he continues to put out ambitious, experimental music and this album is no exception. The odd production is notable, with White sort of cobbling the songs together with a reel to reel tape recorder. The finished product is a little inconsistent, but overall is a success.
- Silent Planet When the End Began: Silent Planet has a unique voice in the metalcore scene, with Garrett Russell’s vocal style being sort of half growl, half slam poetry. The music is not riff driven, or beat driven either… each song sort of evolves organically. Couple these factors with songs about war, drug addiciton, disease, and consumerism and you have a special album.
- Coheed and Cambria The Unheavenly Creatures: Coheed has returned to the Amory Wars storyline, and I think it helps. I liked the previous release, but it was missing the epic themes found in Coheed’s version of neo-prog music. I bought the box set and man, is that thing cool. It comes with a full color novella, a mask, and a poster if you’re into that sort of thing.
I’d love to see your list, so share it with me in the comments. Thanks for reading!
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More Music on This Site
Top Albums of the Year
- Best Albums of 2012
- Best Albums of 2013
- Best Albums of 2014
- Best Albums of 2015
- Best Albums of 2016
- Best Albums of 2017
- Best Albums of 2018
Old Music Tuesdays
Click here for my past Old Music Tuesdays posts. There are too many to list!
Concert Reviews
- Tomahawk (feat. Retox)
- Coheed and Cambria (feat. BTBAM & Russian Circles)
- Palms
- Black Sabbath (feat. Andrew WK)
- Vampire Weekend (feat. Beirut)
- Fit for a King & For Today
- ††† (Crosses) (feat. Omniflux & Spirit in the Room)
- Soundgarden & NIN 2014
- Dr. Octagon (feat. Avalon, Gap Dream & No Parents)
- Faith No More (feat. The Urinals)
- Mastodon & Clutch (feat. Graveyard)
- Coheed and Cambria (feat. Seahaven)
- The Appleseed Cast (feat. Adjy & Coaster)
- The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson
- Danzig (feat. Cancer Bats & Saviours)
- Imagine Dragons (feat. Halsey & Metric)
- Between the Buried and Me & Animals As Leaders (feat. The Contortionist)
- Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)
- 2015 Summer Rankings
- Blindside (feat. Hearts Like Lions)
- Puscifer (feat. Luchafer)
- The Black Queen (feat. Drab Majesty)
- Joe Satriani
- Coheed and Cambria (feat. Glassjaw, I the Mighty, Silver Snakes)
- Killswitch Engage (feat. Memphis May Fire, 36 Crazyfists, and Toothgrinder)
- Andrew Bird (feat. John Grant)
- Lamb of God (feat. Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity)
- At the Drive-In (feat. Le Butcherettes)
- The Dillinger Escape Plan (feat. Author & Punisher)
- Guns N’ Roses (feat. The Cult)
- Animal Collective (feat. Stuart Copeland)
- Alice in Chains (feat. The New Regime)
- Temple of the Dog (feat. Fantastic Negrito)
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra (cancelled)- Metallica
- 2016 Concert Rankings
- August Burns Red (feat. Protest the Hero, In Hearts Wake, ’68)
- Norma Jean (feat. He Is Legend, Capsize, Comrades)
- Red (feat. Wolves at the Gate, Message from Sylvia, Death Therapy) (coming soon)
- Mastodon (feat. Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (coming soon)
- Pixies (coming soon)
- Tool (feat. Clutch, Fantomas, Primus, Melvins, Crystal Method) (coming soon)
- Rise Against (feat. Deftones, Thrice) (coming soon)
Green Day- Dead Cross (feat. Neil Hamburger, Ho99o9) (coming soon)
- Banks (coming soon)
- Between the Buried and Me (feat. The Contortionist, Poluphia, Toothgrinder) (coming soon)
- The Offspring (feat. Well Hung Heart) (coming soon)
- Russian Circles (feat. MGR) (coming soon)
- Our Lady Peace (feat. Smashing Hearts) (coming soon)
- Animals As Leaders (feat. Periphery and Astronoid) (coming soon)
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Mike Patton stuff on this website
- Mike Patton’s Guest Spots
- Faith No More concert review
- Old Music Tuesdays: Faith No More
- Faith No More Stripsearch
- Old Music Tuesdays: Mr. Bungle
- Tomahawk concert review
- Tomahawk Red Fox
Chino Moreno stuff on this website
- Chino’s Harder Guest Spots
- Chino’s Softer Guest Spots
- Chino’s Mainstream Work
- Palms concert
- (†††) Crosses concert
- Old Music Tuesday: (†††) Crosses
- Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)
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