#16
2009 - Chris Isaak - We Let Her Down
Album: Mr Lucky
Look, every year there's at least one surprise. Everyone knows Chris Isaak from his 1990 hit "Wicked Game", but there in 2009 he had a song that was played a lot on our work muzak and caught my ear. It's spent its time on my vaunted Sad Songs playlist since then and continues to get occasional play from year to year. It's a good song for tugging at the heartstrings, especially in terms of being a disappointing human being. I can all but guarantee I haven't listened to another Isaak song since then and I'm pretty sure I don't plan on giving him any spins elsewhere. There's just... this. Lol
2010 - Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish (feat Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
Album: Plastic Beach
Speaking of things that everyone knows, Gorillaz were about as high as they could get at the time of Plastic Beach. "Stylo" and "On Melancholy Hill" were the big hits from this record, and there were a couple other big singles at the time, but it was "Superfast Jellyfish" that caught my ear and spent the most time on my MP3 player. It's mostly rap with a little of Damon Albarn sprinkled in, which works just as well as when it's just him doing all of the work. All hail King Nepture and his water-breathers! It's a silly song that's fun and fantastic all together. I'm really liking what I'm hearing from 2018 Gorillaz, and hope they make it onto this years edition.
2011 - Amaranthe - Hunger
Album: Amaranthe
I don't even remember where I first heard Amaranthe, but holy cow, they hit me like a stack of bricks. Elize Ryd is a monster and the whole male-female clean vocalist, male unclean vocalist dynamic mixed with pop-metal guitars made for something almost transcendent in music. They haven't released anything on this level since their first album, but they've steadily gained steam and popularity over the last few years. The opening keys on this song immediately hook you in and leave you wanting more. I wish they were able to better build off of this model rather than just releasing the same album with different lyrics, but that's life I suppose. Listening to this song as I write is making me fall in love with this record all over again.
2012 - Imagine Dragons - It's Time
Album: Night Visions
Here's an intriguing one. Imagine Dragons initially blew up on their EP Continued Silence, which also featured their massive hits "Radioactive" and "Demons". The EP had two different sounds to it... the softer, less abrasive and more realistic version featured on things like "Demons" and "It's Time", and the modded vocal, utterly irritating sound of literally every single they've released since "Radioactive". I mean, it works, but I absolutely HATE it. What was initially a promising band with a real chance to change the rock scene (for the better) ended up going in the opposite direction and just Nickleback-ing it in the worst possible way. What a shame. However... this is still a great song, and worth revisiting. For a few minutes, at least...
2013 - Colossus - Beacons
Album: Time & Eternal
"All I am is a broken promise, don't let me disappoint you again. Every sin is another nail in the cross. Why do I do this to you, why do I do this to myself?"
Holy cow. It might have been that line alone that catapulted Colossus all the way up to #16 in 2013. Initially I had heard their song "Transgressor" on Radio U's Battle of the Buzz, and immediately went out and grabbed the record. It's a solid crusher in the metal-core genre, and the band put together their second record in less than a year. Since then they've been largely quiet while contemporaries like For Today and Plea for Purging broke up and disappeared. Hopefully there is more time and music for this group in the future, and they had hinted at the end of 2016 that new music was coming. But after 5 years of almost non-existence online, I don't hold a lot of hope for it.
2014 - Winds of Plague - Say Hello To The Undertaker
Album: Resistance
In 2014 there was a massive deathcore battle going on at J1 between Winds of Plague, Impending Doom and Whitechapel. All three had several hits in rotation with their most recent records, and while Whitechapel just missed the cut, Impending Doom shot up to #7 and WoP landed at #16. 2014 had a lot of good metal and Winds of Plague just recently released another solid record that is making waves for me this year. I don't love deathcore as much as I did these days (even though that was only 4 years ago; I suppose I just don't love the new direction of metal) but "Say Hello..." is a thunderous hit with the line "I am relentless!" being repeated during the Blue Jackets playoff runs in recent years.
2015 - Ghost Ship Octavius - Silence
Album: Ghost Ship Octavius
One of my favorite records from 2015 was Ghost Ship Octavius' self-titled debut record. The name of the group is what initially drew me to them, and when I saw that they had Nevermore's drummer Van Williams helping lead the project, I knew it was worth my time. "Silence" has a driving drum and guitar part that forces itself upon you and wrenches your neck around. It's catchy, cathartic, and keeps you hooked from start to finish. The guitar solo at the bridge is truly a treat as well. I can't wait til their next record drops!!
2016 - van Canto - Time and Time Again
Album: Voices of Fire
For 3 consecutive albums, van Canto's epic blend of "heroic a cappella metal" finished just outside of the Top 20 before finally breaking through in 2016. They're one of those bands that you really have to be in the right mood for, but they made great and fascinating music with every passing record. In 2016 I was stuck between "The Bardcall" and "The Oracle" before finally settling on "Time and Time Again". These guys are definitely a band that belong on the Countdown every time they release a disc.
2017 - Demon Hunter - Raining Down
Album: Outlive
Pardon my surprise, but here's Demon Hunter! The group are legends of the countdown and it should come as no surprise that they made it once again in 2017. But for several months I wasn't really feeling this record, and it's first single "Cold Winter Sun". Somewhere midway through the year I picked up the record again and immediately started jamming to "Jesus Wept" and especially "Raining Down", which is once again another one of those less harsh, still heavy and kicking DH songs that keeps you coming back for more.
Amusingly, after starting with Chris Isaak, the #16 has proved itself to be big on the metal. I wonder if that tridition will continue into 2018? Stay tuned!!
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