The 2013 Jester One Top 20 Countdown - Intro and the songs that didn't make it.

The year 2013, like any other year came with the promise of many great albums. There were several bands that had high charting songs of previous years and brought albums in 2013 with high anticipation. There were also a lot of older bands trying to make ill-advised comebacks. We'll start with a few high-charting previous bands who didn't quite make an entry this time around.

The National (#4 2010), Michael Buble (#5 2009), Five Finger Death Punch (#10 2009) Matt Nathanson (#4 2011) and Alice in Chains (#4 2009) all fell short with their newest installments. The AIC album had a few solid songs but didn't quite hit the chart like I had hoped it would. The National's album is great but not as catchy as the last two. Michael Buble's newest effort feels very forced as opposed to the laid back offerings of years past.  There was also a Red album that made me want to claw my ears off, and a Phoenix album that failed to meet my expectations, but expecting them to duplicate their previous albums was asking a lot for the band.

With all that in mind, here are 5 songs that were good (but just not good enough) in 2013. We'll start with a band who charted in 2011 with the #16 hit. Amaranthe has a fairly good formula for making pop/dance metal, but "The Nexus" is essentially "Hunger" 2.0. Again, another fantastic video. The band definitely has a great theatrical attack.

The Neighborhood burst on the scene in 2013 with the song "Sweater Weather", which is a solid song but it's not entirely indicative of the sound of their album "I Love You". The next song released was "Afraid", which just barely missed out on the 2013 countdown. This video is a little trippy, and the blinking eye definitely will mess with your head. As far as the album goes, I didn't entirely enjoy it but it's not terrible.



Youngbloode Hawke blew up in the beginning of 2013, but the more I hear this song, the more I despise using a choir to fill an empty song/chorus. It's not a bad song at all and it definitely soars at it's apex, but the more I heard it the less I liked it. The video is great but I could not tolerate the album at all. Alas, the perils of indie/alt rock albums. One hit wonders abound. This is "We Come Running"



One of my favorite metal albums of 2013 was Soilwork's 2CD effort "The Living Infinite" The first disc is full of pounding melodic metal, led by the song "This Momentary Bliss". The second disc is equally solid, but the band fell just short of making the top 20 in 2013 after a very strong run.



Finally, a song and band that I downloaded because of the name alone. Generally I browse album and song titles and listen to a song or two on youtube before downloading albums online from bands I've never heard about. But when you're called Shreddy Krueger, you deserve at least one listen. And this album is worth about one list, but the opening track "Hazel The Apparition" definitely kicks hard. Great track, solid breakdown, solid lyrics. And it's a good lyric video as well.



Honorable mention - J Roddy Walston and the Business- Heavy Bells; Killswitch Engage - The Turning Point; Fitz and the Tantrums - Spark; Extol - Open the Gates; Happy Chichester - Motorbike; Ra Ra Riot - Dance With Me.