The Top Ten Albums Of 2018

Each January, when I turn the calendar over to a new page, there is an excitement over having a fresh start. The next twelve months can contain anything, including the prospect of finding the next piece of music that changes my life. While that did not happen this year, this cycle around the sun did give to us a plethora of releases that made the hard times go by just a bit faster. Most years, I come to this task in the difficult position of trying to decide which albums should get the last slot or two on the list, because there aren't necessarily ten I would say will remain with me for years to come. This time, however, the script is flipped, and I had difficult choices in which albums to leave off the list. It can be argued whether the very top of the list is as strong as some years, but the depth of 2018 has been remarkable. For that reason alone, I have to say this was one of the best years, for me at least, since I started keeping track of my listening habits.

There's one piece of business to attend to first. As the ways we listen to music change, so to can our definition of what a record/album is. That reality comes to the forefront here, as I'm not entirely sure how to consider an album that was released in pieces, across several years. The way I'm choosing to handle the situation is to hand out two top awards; one for the best album released this year, and one for the best record (in sum) that came together this year. I think that's fair.

Anyway, on to the list.

Honorable Mentions: Graveyard - Peace, A Light Divided - Choose Your Own Adventure

These were the hardest to cut from the top ten. Graveyard is one of my favorite bands working right now, and they rebounded from what I felt was their weakest effort with an album that put them back on the right track (that previous record made my list, while this one doesn't, showing what a strong year this was). Greta Van Fleet got all the retro-rock attention, but Grvaeyard are still the masters of it. A Light Divided was a surprising find, but they hit a home run in a style that I am a bit of a sucker for. Their energetic pop/rock is fueled by their quite aggressive female vocals, which lets them be catchy while being heavier than many of the bands like this I have been so high on in recent years (Shiverburn, Letter From The Fire, Forever Still, etc.). They are more than worth checking out.

10. All That Remains - Victim Of The New Disease

There are bands and albums you tell yourself you shouldn't like. There is enough bad blood surrounding All That Remains that for someone like me, who never encountered them during their best period, to get into something they're doing now doesn't make much sense. This record, though, is one that has gotten under my skin. Their radio rock detours get blended into traditional metalcore, which leaves us with an album that is a bit of a hodgepodge, but chock full of great melodic hooks. I knew "Everything's Wrong" and "Wasteland" had promise, and it's nice to hear the entire record, save for the vomit-inducing "Fuck Love", is better than anything I could have expected from this group.

9. Ghost - Prequelle

Ghost continues to grow bigger, and with the exception of "Infestissumam", better with each release. This time around, they fully embrace their pop influences, delivering an album of songs that is filled with their traditional occult-tinged rock, but with a pop sheen that makes the poison go down like candy. Their most infectious songs yet litter this album, with "Dance Macabre" and "Witch Image" standing out as some of the best songs of the entire year. The only thing holding this album back is the brevity. With two long instrumentals, there simply isn't enough of Ghost doing what they do best here.

8. Myja - Myja

A few years back, my list was assaulted late in December by an album I wasn't anticipating from Steven Adler's band, of all people. That album was entirely the work of Jacob Bunton, who is one half of this project as well. Have you ever thought of combining power pop and grunge? I hadn't either, but that's essentially what this album does, and it feels so much more natural than I would have imagined. The melodies are soft and sticky, while the tones and vocals are distant and dark. There's probably a metaphor in there, but let's just leave it at saying this is one of those surprising little albums that makes the hunt for new music so rewarding.

7. The Jayhawks - Back Roads & Abandoned Motels

The one thing The Jayhawks have never been is consistent. With constantly changing lineups, and a sound that shifted multiple times, there are only a few stops along the way I have been keen on. This album is nostalgic, taking me back to those Jayhawks albums I love. There is a heavy dose of "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Rainy Day Music" in these songs, which hold together as an album far more than their genesis would imply. There is something timeless about great music, and this is timeless music.

6. W.E.T. - Earthrage

Melodic rock is often cheesy. Myself, I don't mind that. That charge can be leveled against W.E.T., but these veterans don't care. This project is an outlet for them to have fun, and play music that isn't as serious as their main gigs. You can sense that lightness in these songs, which feature big melodies, bright arrangements, and a relaxed atmosphere. Jeff Scott Soto sounds better here than he has on his other recent appearances, and he's given the best material he's had to sing perhaps ever. The only problem with this album is that its main songwriter released another melodic rock album this year that's even better, which makes this one a touch harder to talk about. We'll get to that shortly.

5. Amaranthe - Helix

I doubt it was intentional, but I find it fascinating how Amaranthe has replicated the plastic, synthetic writing of modern pop music with guitars and real drums. Musically, this is the end result if Max Martin plugged in to a cranked Marshall stack, only with even better hooks. Amaranthe has always been at the forefront of fusing pop and metal, but they go even further this time, and the results are stunning. Song after song, we get a mechanically precise assembly line of ultra-heavy pop. It is an extreme overcorrection to the idea that pop and rock don't go together anymore. They do, and Amaranthe proves it.

4. Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises

Speaking of pop music, this is easily the best pop album of the year. Pale Waves caught me by surprise when I first caught wind of them, and since thne they have grown on me as the logical continuation of where I left off with the genre. They have taken Taylor Swift's "1989", rocked a little harder, and given the whole thing a darker vibe. They are the purveyors of what I call 'Daria rock', and it is oh so sweet. This is pop music that plays hard to get, giving you a look from across the room, making you come to her. I don't know if it will be just a moment in time, an endorphin rush that can't last, but even if it is, we've been given a heck of a gift in this album.

3. Nordic Union - Second Coming

The first Nordic Union album was a pleasant surprise, coming in very high on my year-end list. The second album would have to live up to those expectations, and does it ever. Though very similar, this record has a slightly darker tone running through it, which only plays into what made the first record so good. Melodic rock can often by too fluffy and flowery, but Nordic Union is anything but that. This album is crunchy, heavy, and yet unforgettably catchy. Yes, there are a lot of European rock albums that sound like this, but none that are better. This is pure bliss.

2. Light The Torch - Revival

A month before the release date, when "Die Alone" finished playing for the first time, I thought to myself what I was hearing could be special. When I finally got the album, I was proven right. Howard Jones is a massive vocal talent, and his era of Killswitch Engage is the one I grew attached to, the 2009 self-titled album especially. This album is the natural extension of that one, which is just what I needed. Jones and his band play at their most melodic, giving us an album of songs that are simple, direct, crushingly heavy, and packed with the muscular melodies that defined the entire metalcore genre. Howard has never been better than this, nor has he been given as much room to showcase his melodic ear. This album is why I love heavy music.

1. Halestorm - Vicious

Why do I love this new Halestorm album? Well, I can't really put my finger on it. There are lyrics the poet in me wishes were more nuanced, a couple songs with a focus on rhythm that normally isn't my thing, and yet I keep finding myself wanting to come back again and again. Lzzy Hale is a charismatic supernova, and the greatest vocalist of her generation, but more than that it's when Halestorm writes a great modern rock track, there is no one better at selling it. In fact, this album is so good it's made me revisit my opinion of their previous record, which now makes far more sense. How about that? "Vicious" made me love two albums at the same time. Mostly, the decision to put this at the top of the list came down to the simple fact that there was nothing that came out in 2018 I spent more time listening to, or that made me pick up my guitar and try to figure out a few of the songs. That is the ultimate test of when something has taken over my brain. So yeah, this album, and the fact that Halestorm is now only the second artist to ever top my list twice, has cemented my opinion that Halestorm is clearly the best modern rock band in the world now. I said it.

Now for the special award. While this record wasn't released in its entirety this year, the final piece was, and in total it is the record that most defines the year for me. Therefore...

The Record Of The Year:

The Spider Accomplice - Los Angeles

Each of the three EPs released by The Spider Accomplice has been a different thread in the web they have been constructing. Now that we are able to put them together, step back and see the delicate patterns glistening in the sun, we are confronted with a record that challenges our interpretation of what modern rock can be. As sprawling as its namesake city, "Los Angeles" is the soundtrack to a million lost souls trying to find their way together, a city that hangs together because everyone is in the same boat, searching for themselves. VK and Arno constantly amaze me with the way they are able to blend the light and dark, maintaining their identity while experimenting, all the while writing songs that speak to our collective truth. If you press me, there is no other record that sums up 2018 more than "Los Angeles", even if it is a reality I have constructed for myself. How de rigueur, eh?