Tag: Metalcore
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Norma Jean ‘Bless The Martyr And Kiss…’ (2002)
There was a point in my life during high school where unrelenting heavy guitars and throaty intense vocals were all the rage. Couldn’t get enough of it. It usually played out with more pop-oriented post hardcore bands like Underoath or more metal-tinged acts like Killswitch Engage, but there was definitely some space left for bands…
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Bad Omens ‘The Death of Peace of Mind’ (2022)
There’s been a real influx of heavy metal bands who are blending the pop sensibilities of Justin Bieber, the metalcore of Underoath, and the prog-metal heaviness of bands like Animals As Leaders. Bad Omens’ The Death of Peace of Mind is one of those albums, whose propensity for dense synths and guitars dropped about 8…
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Bilmuri ‘American Motor Sports’ (2024)
Bilmuri’s American Motor Sports is far from the most interesting conglomeration of music genres I’ve listened to over the past three years (that honor would go to Carmen’s 1973 album Fandangos In Space which blended flamenco music with prog-rock sensibilities) but it’s certainly an album that has stuck with me in a similar fashion. American…
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Architects ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ (2021)
For Those That Wish to Exist is basically a metal pop album. Arena-friendly and radio-ready filled with a collection of bangers that dip their toes into the heavy-heavy and melodic side of metal. Drummer Dan Searle remains the band’s anchor and secret weapon. He’s a total bad ass with his polyrhythmic fills and crushing double-kick…
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Arch Enemy ‘War Eternal’ (2014)
The Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy was already a powerhouse in the genre by the time 2014 rolled around, but War Eternal marked a new era for the band with Alissa White-Gluz as the lead vocalist. Former singer Angela Gossow, who had fronted the band for over a decade, stepped down to focus…
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Avenged Sevenfold ‘Waking The Fallen’ (2003)
Waking the Fallen sits alongside Killswitch Engage’s The End of Heartache as a massively influential album in my love for contemporary metal music. As I’ve detailed endlessly over the past few years I was a huge punk rocker during my formative years. Avenged Sevenfold was one of those bands that, despite being a heavy metal…
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August Burns Red ‘Sleddin’ Hill’ (2012)
Sleddin’ Hill has fast become one of my favorite Christmas albums for a variety of reasons– for starters, the whole thing is instrumental which makes it pretty accessible for everyone in your family around the holidays. And even though it’s on the heavier side of the coin, blending the uplifting nature of Christmas music with…
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Underoath ‘Define The Great Line’ (2006)
After the success of They’re Only Chasing Safety Underoath had a choice to make when recording their follow up album— double down on the polished pop screamo sound that made that album a cult classic, or further explore some of the metalcore aspects littering that album. They chose the latter and they were decisive, as…
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Maylene & The Sons of Disaster ‘Self-Titled’ (2005)
I first learned about Maylene & The Sons of Disaster after falling in love with Underoath’s album They’re Only Chasing Safety in 2004. That album is a magnum opus in the post-hardcore genre, I was completely obsessed, and I soaked up everything associated with the band. Upon doing a little bit of research and listening…
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Knocked Loose ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’ (2024)
American hardcore music is kind of having a moment as of late, and Knocked Loose’s third album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is a good representation of what it’s all about– thick as all hell, with a mixture of post-hardcore screams from mid-aughts heavyweights like Underoath and the rhythm section of industrial metal…
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As I Lay Dying ‘Shadows Are Security’ (2005)
Shadows Are Security was one of those albums I discovered in high school when I was first getting into melodic metalcore. I was a punk rock kid through and through for most of my early teens, but around the time Underoath dropped They’re Only Chasing Safety in 2004 it set me off on a path…
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Spiritworld ‘DEATHWESTERN’ (2022)
Spiritworld’s DEATHWESTERN is an apocalyptic deluge of distorted guitars set in a dystopian American West populated by blood-thirsty demons and tales baptized in blood. It’s thrash metal meets hardcore in the arid desert, a brutal and heavy affair that doesn’t let up on the gas pedal throughout its entire 36-minute runtime. If you’re looking for…
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Every Time I Die ‘Radical’ (2021)
Any time I’m looking for a shot of straight adrenaline to get the juices flowin’ there’s few bands I’ll turn to more regularly than Every Time I Die. Their 2007 album The Big Dirty is a personal favorite of mine (“We’rewolf” being the best song in their entire discography in my opinion), but despite that…
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Fear Before the March of Flames ‘Odd How People Shake’ (2003)
Fear Before the March of Flames is the kind of band that parents around the United States heard playing from bedrooms 20 years ago and collectively were like “this doesn’t even sound like music, this is just noise” and for the first time in forever they were probably right. They’re the definition of that teenage…
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Killswitch Engage ‘The End of Heartache’ (2004)
I was a sophomore in high school when The End of Heartache first dropped. It represented my first foray into what I would call pure modern metal. I’d been listening to the forebears of metal like Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy for a minute, but hadn’t quite dabbled in the true dark arts yet. And…
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He Is Legend ‘I Am Hollywood’ (2004)
I remember seeing He Is Legend live with From First To Last shortly after this album was released and being absolutely floored by the energy they brought to their live show. I’ve always been a sucker for southern rock metal and all the epic guitar-driven lead parts that come along with that genre, and this…
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