My favorite 10 of ‘11
Counterparts - The Current Will Carry Us: Emotional, melodic hardcore done to absolute perfection. Never has an album punched such a hole in my chest lyrically. The best record of the year by a long-shot.
For The Fallen Dreams - Back Burner: Not what anybody expected and not what most people wanted, but for those that didn’t jump ship it turned out to be another round of passionate, emotional tunes from one of my favorite bands of all time.
Chelsea Grin - My Damnation: It’s next to impossible to make a deathcore album unique or original, but Chelsea Grin did just that with a stripped down, straight-from-the-amp sound and face piercing banshee screams.
Volumes - VIA: By not straying far at all from the sound of their EP, Volumes stuck with the technical, ambient, dual vocalist style and made a bigger, better album than I ever anticipated.
Born Of Osiris - The Discovery: Winning the most improved award, these guys leap from two un-listenable releases to a fantastic, ridiculously technical and unexpectedly atmospheric record.
Suburbia…(Blahblahblah) - The Wonder Years: Round three from the champions of anti-negativity pop-punk doesn’t disappoint.
Lifeboat - Currents: Hair-raising, intensely emotional and heavily melodic hardcore that has riffed its way in to regular listening rotation for me.
It Prevails - Stroma: It Prevails released what is my least favorite album from them so far earlier this year, but their tremendous talent and connective lyrics keep them far above the norm.
Lower Than Atlantis - World Record: Just damn good music.
Decoder - Self-Titled: Eerie, creepy, slightly unsettling and at the same time beautiful. Everything that I hoped Oceana would continuing doing.
I agree with ALL of this. But I might have snuck in Confession, Structures, and Legend.
