2022 was a massive year for the rock, alternative, and heavy music scenes. Through my blog I’ve featured almost 650 different albums and EPs. Below, I’ve created a bunch of lists featuring my favorite releases of the year, first my favorite albums and EPs of the year, then I’ve broken it down into the subgenres that I enjoy. All of the albums are taken from the timeframe of December 2021 through November 2022. I’m not including December 2022 because by the time I started creating this list it was too late to include that month. I also feel like you don’t have time to properly enjoy December re ..read more

November, the last big release month of the year, is now over and with a great slew of releases in its belt. With each new month I have been more and more impressed with all of the amazing albums and EPs that have come out. November has stayed true to that pattern and I’m happy to share with you my favorite releases of the month. Over the course of November’s 30 days we witnessed the return of some iconic rock and metal bands such as Disturbed, Devin Townsend, and Nickelback as well as YouTuber Jared Dines’ first solo album. In the metalcore realm groups like Abbie Falls, Avoid, Borders, Ocean ..read more

Well, it’s December and you know what that means – every music critic, YouTuber, and overzealous blogger (including myself) are just days away from proclaiming their controversial opinions on what albums deserve the title of 2022’s “Album of the Year” and which ones belong in the garbage. But before we get there I want to reflect on some stand-out releases from 2021. Due to Covid, a lot of bands couldn’t tour so they spent time songwriting and recording, thus the sheer quantity of music that came out in 2021 was enormous and the quality sky-rocketed. 2022 has proven to be just as prolific, per ..read more

I’ve gotta say, October was probably the best month for releases so far this year. (Don’t I always say that?) There were several that could’ve been in my top 3 any other month, and many more that I found highly enjoyable. My release list is smaller this month since I’m narrowing down my focus and not doing weekly posts at the moment, but that’s not to say that October is a month to be missed! As far as the “core” scene goes, we were blessed with loads of great returns from Bilmuri, Boundaries, Counterparts, Fit for a King, The Gloom in the Corner. Outline in Color, Sleeping with Sirens, Varial ..read more

I usually try to get my monthly “Best Of” posts out within a week of the month ending, but for right now I’ll settle for just within a month. (Literally.) September was an odd month, in my opinion. It had a lot of albums that I was not expecting whatsoever. Most of my top weekly albums were from bands that were completely new to me. We did receive some good installments from a few prominent artists such as Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Slipknot, Parkway Drive, and Drowning Pool. However, it was the smaller, lesser-known bands that really impressed me including First Signs Of Frost, Ghost Wish, Init ..read more

Last weeks’ releases took me totally by surprise. We got a great cover album from Our Last Night, a deluxe version of Shadow of Intent’s latest album (which is absolutely stellar by the way), and a fun new record from Flogging Molly. Ozzy Osbourne and Parkway Drive also dropped some excellent albums that captured the attention of many, yet it was the bands that were new to me that I enjoyed the most. Of my top 5 I had only ever heard of two of them before and had only listened to a few songs by each so hearing all of these fresh bands was a treat. As always, here are my top 5 releases of the w ..read more

This post is a bit of a first for me. This is the first time a symphonic metal album has made it into my top 5 of the week. Also, the majority of my favorite releases this week are not from more popular bands, but are actually from smaller lesser-known artists. In fact, with the exception of Oceans Ate Alaska, I had never heard of any of these bands until a few days ago. What a week for surprises! On top of this, add great new releases from Megadeth and two SharpTone Records bands: 156/Silence and Miss May I. Of course, I have picked my top 5, but don’t forget to check out the honorable mentio ..read more

Perhaps I’m just getting pickier, but August had much fewer releases that I cared about than previous months this year. Nonetheless, there were still many quality albums and EPs that I did enjoy last month. August especially blew me away with the high caliber of death metal that came out.  I originally thought that January might be the best month for death metal this year with albums by Fit For An Autopsy, Enterprise Earth, and Shadow of Intent. Then August came around with Psycroptic, Arch Enemy, The Halo Effect, and the return of Becoming The Archetype, to name just a few, and now I’m n ..read more

What a week! Becoming The Archetype is back and I am not disappointed! Expect to see them in my Top 3 of August post coming later this week. We also got some cool new albums from long-standing bands like Machine Head and Muse as well as some really awesome newcomers like Nightlife, Ghost in the Ruins, and Westhand. We also got a couple of cool EPs from two bands close to home, A Moment’s Notice and Align The Tide. I picked my personal top 5 releases of the week, but they’re all worth a try. Enjoy! Top 5: Becoming The Archetype – ‘Children Of The Great Extinction’ [progressive death metal] The ..read more