#10. Loathe - Two-Way Mirror
In a year where I listened to harder music and metal less than ever before, it's almost surprising that two of my favourite albums came from harder artists (along with August Burns Red, of course). From the moment I Let It in and It Took Everything kicks off with screaming riffs on "Aggressive Evolution", you know you're in for something special. To date, Loathe has released two records and are signed to SharpTone records, who have an impressive stable of heavier bands including Miss May I, Don Broco and We Came As Romans. For their sophomore record, they deviated from the more metalcore sound of their debut album The Cold Sun and mixed in palm-mute techniques, post-rock ambiance, traditional heavy riffs and even shoegaze to make for a
wonderfully unique and refreshing take on modern metal. "Heavy Is the Head That Falls with the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts", "Gored", "Red Room" and "Aggresive Evolution" are my other two favourite tracks that got good rotation this year.
"Two-Way Mirror" is a unique song on the record in that it does not feature any unclean vocals, despite being as musically crushing as its fellows on the record. Of all of the songs on I Let It in, it is certainly the most shoe-gaze influences, and I think that's what initially caught my ears. Vocalist Kadeem France, who primarily sings unclean actually handled the verses on this song, while guitarist and vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe sings on the chorus. The song has a rather slow tempo considering some of the other frantic songs on the record, but is unrelenting of power and punch. The video for the song has the band playing in both slow motion and real time, and garnered over 500k views to go with the 1.7m streams the song captured on Spotify.
Of all the bands featured on the Countdown so far this year, this is one that I would most expect to see return, after The Broken Relics, of course. It only gets better from here as we breach the top 10!
Favorite Line: "Hoping to find faith, miming dissolving grace, just say I know it's all in our heads"
Title: Two-Way Mirror
Artist: Loathe
Album: I Let It in and It Took Everything
Previous #10s
2019: Fit For A King - When Everything Means Nothing
2018: The Night Game - The Outfield
2017: The National - Carin at the Liquor Store
2016: Miike Snow - Genghis Khan
2015: The Wombats - Give Me A Try
2014: Cut Copy - We Are Explorers
2013: The 1975 - The City
2012: Animal Kingdom - Strange Attractor
2011: FM Static - F.M.S.T.A.T.I.C
2010: Muse - Resistance
2009: Five Finger Death Punch - Bad Company
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