Probably the most popular list from last year, and most anticipated this year as well. We welcome back Billy Mourned's top albums. Nobody recommends better hip hop to me than he does and he always has a good variety. Take it away!
10.) Interpol: Marauder
Interpol is a band I slept on for a really long time. They were one of those bands where I knew I would probably love them if I just sat down and really listened to them, but I just never would. Lluckily, that’s not the case anymore thanks to my girlfriend, Ashley (yet again) who finally got me to check them out. And let me just say, I am thoroughly impressed. Marauder is such an enjoyable listen with upbeat tracks like The Rover or Mountain Child even though the lyrics are somewhat dark. Vocalist Paul Banks almost sounds like he could front a doom band like Pallbearer or something. He’s just got one of those voices, know what I mean? No? Well then check out the album, dummy!
Favorite song: The Rover
9.) Takeoff: The Last Rocket
This one surprised me. Although I don’t know why, because I would consider myself a fan of Migos and Takeoff is my favorite member of the trio. I feel like he’s underrated and I find him hilarious even though he doesn’t try to be. This record is just fun to listen to. Simple as that. The album clocks in at around a half hour or so, which is much easier to take in than an hour or even 75 minute long album that Migos and Quavo put out. The Last Rocket also kind of follows a space theme which I enjoy. Banger beats, classic Migos triplets, catchy hooks... There’s even a dance pop song on it. Granted the guest singer isn’t the greatest, but it still gets stuck in my head every time I hear it. Takeoff also gets a little personal on a few tracks which is something I never thought I would hear from him. I’m all for it though. I love this album.
Favorite song: Insomnia
8.) Vince Staples - FM!
I don’t know about you, but I am a big fan of these super short, 20-something minute long rap albums. They are so quick and to the point and it makes them so accessible and easy to listen to. And Vince Staples really nailed it with this one. The first time I listened to FM!, I immediately started it over and listened to it again 2 or 3 more times because I fell in love with it so quickly. One of my favorite things about this record are the beats. I love the low-key, icy synth leads all over tracks like Relay, Tweakin’, and Feels Like Summer (as ironic as that is). If you have 20 minutes to kill or you’re a Staples’ fan and this one just slipped under your radar, definitely give this album a listen. FM radio has never sounded so good.
Favorite track: Don’t Get Chipped
7.) Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want
I’m not going to lie, the first time I heard this album, I did not like it at all. I remember being busy and sort of in a sour mood. I didn’t understand the appeal of it and in more general terms, I didn’t really understand Daughters as a whole. They seemed like one of those “I like the music, but I just don’t like the vocals” bands. However, a few days after my first full listen, I heard the track Satan In The Wait playing while I was 75% asleep in a van on a long drive home and suddenly everything just clicked with me. The vocals and the little melodies that eventually kick in to the song really resonated with me and I realized I loved it. I re-listened to the album and really paid attention this time. I found myself enjoying everything I had claimed to dislike before. Chaotic, frigid, beautiful, horrifying. These are words I would use to describe songs like Guest House and Daughter. I began picturing the scariest images imaginable when hearing lyrics like “Is something burning in here, or is it me?” while absolute chaos ensues in the background in the song The Flammable Man. I simply understand it all now.
Favorite song: Less Sex
6.) Tomb Mold - Manor Of Infinite Forms
This band is unbelievable. I gotta thank my good friend Dave “DaveDrum619” Coughlin for getting me into the crushing, ferocious titan that is Tomb Mold. As soon as they dropped a song called Abysswalker, I knew I was gonna love this album. Now if you know me, you know I love death metal. And I also love Dark Souls. But death metal AND Dark Souls combined? That is some next level shit. Not to mention the band name, Tomb Mold alone is straight out of Bloodborne. Manor Of Infinite Forms is laden with heavy, disgusting riffs that literally knock the wind out of you when they hit. Like on the songs Gored Embrace or Chamber Of Sacred Ootheca. The production is what I consider near perfect for modern day death metal. Filthy enough to sound mean and heavy, but clean enough to hear every note and growl. If you love pure, ripping death and you haven’t heard Tomb Mold, this record will tear you to shreds.
Favorite song: Final Struggle Of Selves
5.) Joji - Ballads 1
I never paid attention to Joji in the past. I knew OF him because he was featured on Rich Brian’s latest record Amen which I enjoyed quite a bit. But I found Joji’s feature to be sort of lackluster. Then I learned he was Pink Guy and Filthy Frank, which I also never really paid attention to but I couldn’t believe it was the same person. So honestly, I wrote him off for a long time. That is until he dropped his single, Slow Dancing In The Dark. My jaw literally dropped the first time I heard it. I truly consider that song to be one of my favorite tracks of the year. After that, I was really looking forward to this record and ooooooh boy, did I love it. I love the somber and beautifully melancholy beats and vocal melodies on songs like Wanted U and Test Drive. I really don’t think there’s a bad song on this album. Which is crazy to say because Trippie Redd is on a song and I can’t stand him, but I don’t even dislike that song. My one criticism is that I seriously want Joji to continue to really show off his vocal skills the way he does on some of these songs, in the future. Because the man can sing and sometimes I feel like he doesn’t take full advantage of how good his voice is. But other than that, this record is amazing.
Favorite song: Slow Dancing In The Dark
4.) Outer Heaven - Realms Of Eternal Decay
I’ve been looking forward to this album for quite some time now. After a few years of lineup changes and constant grinding to write this record, Outer Heaven churned out one of the most vicious, pulverizing death metal records I’ve heard in a long time. It is total brutality from the very beginning to the very end. Incredible production, heavy, pummeling chugs, melodic riffs, death metal breakdowns, blast beats, low, cavernous, guttural growls from vocalist Austin Haines... What more could you possibly ask for? If Realms Of Eternal Decay were to manifest itself into a creature, it would be a giant, slimy, disgusting monster that rose up from the depths of a viscous, murky swamp just to rip people in half for fun. In other words, this is easily the best death metal album of the year in my opinion and you should absolutely listen to it.
Favorite song: Sacrificial Evolution
3.) Denzel Curry - TA13OO
After Denzel’s last album, Imperial, I was highly anticipating his next release. Yet somehow, I completely missed the initial release of the first single Percs. But once I DID hear it, I remember just going absolutely nuts in my car. Once the record dropped, the first thing that immediately blew me away was the album art. Some may look at it and think “juggalo”, others look at it and think “black metal”. I chose the latter, which is 100% backed up by the fact that there is a song called Black Metal Terrorist on the record. TA13OO is a slow descent into madness, as it starts off mellow and kind of low-key and slowly gets more manic and twisted. Denzel Curry even explained that the album is separated into 3 acts, Light, Grey, and Dark, with each song on each act being written during light and dark times in his life. And I think it really shows. Songs like the jubilant Cash Maniac and the boisterous and hard-hitting Sumo fall on the Light act. Nightmarish tracks like Vengeance and Black Metal Terrorist fall on the Dark Act. And in case you couldn’t gather, the Grey acts consists of everything in between. Every single song on TA13OO is phenomenal to me and although it’s not my #1 spot overall, it’s my #1 for rap albums this year.
Favorite song: Super Saiyan Superman
2.) Vein - Errorzone
2018 was Vein’s year. They gained traction last year and just blew up like an atom bomb. Then they released their masterpiece... And to put it bluntly, Errorzone is fucking ruthless, with each song being more and more relentless than the last. I absolutely love the raw, blunt force of songs like Old Data In A Dead Machine and Broken Glass Complexion. Will Putney’s production is immaculate and really compliments Vein’s sound as well. Listening to this album makes me feel like I’m on the island with the Regenerators from Resident Evil 4, but in addition to the spikes that shoot out of their bodies, they also have surgical tools and I’m just being mutilated for about a half hour. That is until the title track, Errorzone which is definitely the most beautiful song on the album. The clean vocals and piano at the end is like the end of RE4 when you escape on the boat and you’re free from the sonic assault that occurred previously. Real gamers will understand.
Favorite song: Errorzone
1.) Twitching Tongues - Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred
That’s right. We made it. When all is said and done, this new Twitching Tongues record takes my #1 of the year spot. I have listened to this album more times than I can count and it just never gets old. Gaining Purpose is the follow up to their 2015 album Disharmony (which took my #3 spot that year) and features an almost entirely new lineup besides the Young brothers, Colin and Taylor. So I was anxious and excited to see how this album would sound. All I can say is wow... Twitching Tongues took my expectations and blew them out of the water. The first and last songs, AWOL (State Of The Union) and Defection (Union Of The State) feature some of my favorite choruses they have ever written. And that says a lot because I find singer, Colin Young’s vocal melodies to be insanely catchy so it’s hard to choose favorites. Speaking of catchy, I’m a HUGE fan of the track Kill For You which is super reminiscent of Type O Negative and was stuck in my head for about 3 months after this record came out. I wish I could go through every song but I’ll put it this way, Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred has it all. We get heavy ass beaters like Gaining Purpose and The Sound Of Pain. We get super pissed off but fun and headbanger-friendly tracks like Harakiri and The Fourth Reich. We get the saddest, most beautiful piano ballad that Twitching Tongues has written so far, Long Gone. And we also get the wonderfully crafted and rather diverse, Forgive & Remember. Hey, I guess I did go through every song! I had to. I loved this album way too much not to. It is 110% perfect.
Favorite song: Kill For You
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