Top 10 Records of 2019, With Phil Ryabkin

With 2019 on the edge of its ending, we decided to pick our ten favorite albums of the year. This was a very difficult choice honestly, as so much fantastic work came out this year. But, we did not want to leave any stones un-turned at all. Here we go!

10. Despised Icon- Purgatory

The pioneers of the deathcore genre have returned once more to deliver a very Visceral musical experience. With an album that takes a number of music quo’s from heavy hardcore and brutal death metal,  Despised Icon’s sixth studio album is probably their most raw album in terms of production and  can DEFINITELY  be considered their most extensive one yet. With plenty of blast beats, sick riff patterns and breakdowns to keep on your toes. Purgatory is a fantastic deathcore album that shows that the genre has plenty of power that shouldn’t be underestimated.

Stand out tracks: Snake in the Grass, Dead Weight & Moving In.

9. Gatecreeper- Deserted

This Death Metal ensemble’s second full length album returns to pack a punch. With Converge’s Kurt Ballou helping out with the production, Gatecreeper’s old school death metal sound has a greater vision than ever before. With callbacks to groups like Bolt Thrower and Entombed, Gatecreeper packs a death metal sound that should have been locked away in a time capsule. But, it was reawaken for 2019 and boy does it deliver. With raw double bass drum patterns, low fidelity rhythm guitars, scouring vocals and deep bass lines, Gatecreeper is a modern-day act that cannot be missed.

Stand out tracks: Everlasting, Boiled Over and Puncture Wounds.

8. Whitechapel- The Valley

Whitechapel’s “The Valley” is the bands most personal album to date. This album continues to show how much the band is willing to grow in not only the center of deathcore, but also in groove metal. With fantastic cleans by respected front-man Phil Bozeman, ultra sonic riffs and heavy down tempo, The Valley showcases some of the new tastes you’ll receive with this latest record. Some parts of the album are not afraid to slow down to show what kind of madness can come to be when you wait for the right time with a buildup. But, when the intensity picks up, Whitechapel doesn’t show any remorse at all with the heavy madness it can produce. This album also truly finds the balance between previous works and new creative ambition. If you’re looking to hear one of the best growth’s found in deathcore, look no further. It’s like Pantera like rhythms and At the Gate’s styled fretwork are not to be missed at all.

Stand Out Tracks: When A Demon defiles A Witch, Doom Woods & We Are One.

7. Korn- The Nothing

Building upon the success of “The Serenity of Suffering”, Korn channels in so much energy to make one of the darkest metal albums of 2019. After the death of Jonathan Davis’s wife Deven, you can’t imagine how the front-man was truly feeling. All of that sorrow and rage have been fleshed out to make an album that shows off how much a band can grow throughout their 25 year career. The Nothing features the trademark clicky basslicks, hip hop styled guitar patterns and of course Davis’s extremely anguished voice. Korn truly shows off their agony by refining their pioneered Nu-Metal sound and this album shows it off very well. For those looking for a very emotional roller coaster ride, The Nothing will absolutely provide that.

Stand Out Tracks: Idiosyncrasy, You’ll Never Find Me and Finally Free.

6. Killswitch Engage- Atonement

The metalcore icons return to refine their sound even further than ever before. Building upon the return of Jesse Leach with 2013’s Disarm the Descent, the front-man continues to refine his screams and cleans to a perfect cut. Killswitch Engage is 20 years into their career as well and the band is continuing to find the perfect gap. With a mixture of accessible rock anthems and punishing metalcore aggression. Killswitch Engage is a band that truly can offer up something for everyone, from the die-hard Life of Agony fans to the casual Misfits fans. Plenty of breakneck riffs and vocal harmonies thrown in for everyone. Plus, hearing the return of Howard Jones scream for “The Signal Fire”, the new Killswitch Engage single was an excellent surprise. The dual screams from both vocalists really put on a short but sweet excellent showcase. KSE’s most recent album is definitely a metalcore roller coaster ride that nobody should miss out on.

Stand Out tracks: The Signal Fire, The Crownless King and Ravenous.

5. Toothgrinder- I AM

Initially starting off as a full-on djent band that played in the style of Periphery, Meshuggah and Born of Osiris. Toothgrinder has made a 180 degree transition into rock, but they still hold on to their heavier roots ever so slightly. With lots of some calming samples, happy harmonics and a few scowls thrown in. Toothgrinder is definitely trying to bridge their gaps with not only a heavy metal sound but a sound that could definitely fill arenas in an absolute heartbeat. “I AM” is by far Toothgrinder’s most experimental album to date, but the musical ambition that the band has been working has not been lost at all. Definitely be sure to keep an eye on these guys, Toothgrinder provides something for everyone.

Stand Out Tracks: My Favorite Hurt, too soft for the scene TOO MEAN for the Green and The New Punk Rock.

4. Born of Osiris – The Simulation

Born of Osiris’s new record is a bit shorter than their last two major releases, but the band has definitely aimed for way more quality than quantity this time around. I could feel the band continue to strive high with their deathcore & djent sound. But, they’ve even managed to sprinkle in some major technical death metal love on some songs with a few tracks taking influence from bands like Soreption and The Faceless. With plenty of shreddy guitars, lots of screams, lots of breakdowns and awe inspiring samples. Born of Osiris have made an album that takes you back to their New Reign era in terms of its pace, but they added a lot of fantastic new features that show the band is willing to grow even further than before.

Stand Out Tracks: Disconnectome, Silence the Echo & Under the Gun.

3. Wage War- Pressure

Three main albums in and Wage War begins to shed their skin to become way more natural as a band. The last two releases by Wage War were hard hitting, very angry metalcore that really pulled in the listener with very aggressive chugs and many scowling screams. The band paid homage to metalcore giants like August Burns Red and Architects on previous albums. With Pressure, you could feel Wage War was aiming to gain a greater fan base. With main vocalist Briton Bond continuing to sing way more than ever before on this album. The band sprinkled in melodies that could be found in bands like Linkin Park and Bring me the Horizon. But, that’s not to be said Wage War still hasn’t abandoned their heavier metalcore Roots. You’ll still be getting plenty of intensity when you give Pressure a listen. With efficient choruses, tight breakdowns and speedy riff passages. Wage War is set to be the next unsung heroes of metalcore and this album is their next step toward that transition.

Stand Out Tracks: Grave, Low and Take the Fight.

2. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind.

The most rambunctious and most ambitious heavy metal band on the planet has finally returned to deliver an album that sets in another new era of Slipknot. With powerful chugging, extremely catchy choruses from Corey Taylor and some of the most fun fretwork Slipknot has done. WANYK will not only please longtime fans, but newcomers will definitely dig into the intensity that Slipknot has to offer. You might think that Nine people in a band is a bit too much, but Slipknot uses all of its members in the best way possible to provide an experience that’ll keep you coming back for more. WANYK is highly recommend.

Stand Out Tracks: Nero Forte, Unsainted & Spiders.

1. Tool – Fear Inocolum

You might think it’s a joke that Tool’s latest album is number one for us on Bloodlines. But we gotta set things straight. It may have taken thirteen years for the band to write their follow up to 10,000 Days. It was honestly worth the efficient wait to get one of the most insanely feature rich albums of 2019. There is so much on this album to keep fans busy. Plenty of fantastic build up interludes to each song and absolutely incredible execution keep this album a must listen every time. Maynard James Keenan still sounds just as proficient as he did before, not missing a beat at all. With many brooding melodies, extremely dissonant sounds and an incredible layer of musical integrity. This amount of work truly blurs the gap between Tool’s progressive metal style and their straightforward alternative rock formula that makes for one incredible musical experience Tool stuck to making what they truly knew what was best and made one of the best albums of 2019.

Stand Out Tracks: Invincible, 7empest & Descending.

Honorable Mentions

Fit for an Autopsy- The Sea of Tragic Beasts.

A heavy assault on your senses that will leave you wanting more. It expands on how powerful a rhythm section can truly be.

Stand out tracks: Mirrors, Shepherd & Warfare.

Motionless in White- Disguise.

What happens when you blend the ultra iconic image of Marilyn Manson and Aiden? While also mixing the chaotic sounds of metalcore, industrial and nu-metal? You get Disguise by Motionless in White. Although, it seems like a gimmick to try to mix too many things at the same time, MIW does it to excellent results. An ambitious vocal performance by frontman Chris Motionless does not let up in this album at all, plus plenty of breakdowns and electronics are all tossed about in this chaotic album.

Stand out Tracks: Thoughts & Prayers, Headache & Brand New Numb.

Varials- In Darkness.

The super heavy metalcore group has returned to put a slight spin on their sound. With a taste of Deftones and Incubus thrown into their sound which adds a great amount of melody, we could have never imagined seeing from Varials. There’s plenty of heavy beatdowns that are featured throughout this album with a great amount of ambition thrown in.

Stand Out Tracks: In Darkness, Deathsong & South of One.

AngelMaker- Self Titled.

Deathcore with a great amount of musical integrity and extremely powerful dual vocals.

Stand Out Tracks: I Long for Rest, Bloodthirster & Origin.

Nile- Vile Nilotic Rites.

The tech death messiahs return to bring forth an album that will give you an intense ride. Extremely powerful blast beasts, inhuman guitar work and the most insane vocals in death metal will give you an experience you will not forget.

Stand out Tracks: Snake Pit Mating Frenzy, Seven Horns of War & Long Shadows of Dread.

Norma Jean- All Hail.

Despite numerous lineup changes, Norma Jean continues do what they do best. Make an incredible scene with noisy and arrogant metalcore. This album captivates the sound that the band has been building on since their inception. Harsh noises and plenty of grooves can be found in All Hail.

Stand Out Tracks: [Mind Over Mind], Full Circle in Under a Minute & Translational.

Obey the Brave- Balance.

A furious mix of hardcore that doesn’t need to re-evaluate its sound and metalcore that’s fast on its feet. Plenty of future contender mosh anthems will be found on this album.

Stand Out Tracks: No Apologies, Seeing Red & The Tide.

Counterparts- Nothing Left to Love.

The anger and beauty of melodic hardcore is absolutely on show when a song from this album comes on. Earth Shattering breakdowns, lyrics that really push you to the edge of thinking and mesmerizing guitars licks are all on show throughout Nothing Left to Love. This is by far the hardest work that Counterparts have ever put into an album and all of their skills are shown throughout. This is the true definition of the Thinking Man’s Hardcore Unit.

Stand Out Tracks: Your Own Knife, Ocean of Another & Imprints.

Knocked Loose- A Different Shade of Blue.

The furious Kentucky outfit returns to make an album that will shatter all expectations. With a crisper production, vigorous beatdown riffs, extremely intense vocals and no room to breathe at all once any song comes on. Knocked Loose will provide the heavy hitting aggression that hardcore is truly known for. Knocked Loose doesn’t pull any punches at all and no song is left unchecked to provide the chaos that is needed.

Stand Out Tracks: Belleville, Mistakes Like Fractures & Guided by the Moon.

World War X- Carnifex

Carnifex begins to really show how much the genre of death metal truly means to them despite them being labeled as a deathcore band. Genres or not, this band is trying to escape the barrier that they’ve been placed in and I’ve give them props for that. With bellowing guitars, black metal like vocals by front-man Scott Ian Lewis and a feeling of dread that very few modern day bands can accomplish. Carnifex’s World War X is both an evolutionary statement to their musical charm.

Stand Out Tracks: Visions of the End, No Light Shall Serve Us & Hail Hellfire.

After the Burial- Evergreen

The technical madness of progressive metal and bitter power of deathcore come together to make a very extraordinary moment that hits you hard at first, but in the end it gives you a very gratifying experience. Bouncy djent riffs, masterwork melodies and hard hitting breakdowns are all included when you take a listen with Evergeeen. This is an album that’s not afraid to leave anything on the table.

Stand Out Tracks: In Flux, The Great Repeat and Behold the Crown.

As we end the decade at Bloodlines, we hoped you enjoyed the albums that we picked for this list. We highly recommend that you check out everything that we put on for show! See you all in 2020, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!