#15 - Ex-Nihilo - Enemy
Ex-Nihilo was one of the first bands I covered for Music in Motion - Columbus (see article here). I was immediately impressed by their self-titled EP as well as their on-stage energy and musical abilities. They're a relatively young band who are currently working on making new music and playing the occasional gig around town when they can to promote themselves. The EP has two other tracks that I loved this year - Industry and Zoning Out. All together it's a great bit of music and hard to discern that it was produced and recorded locally. And trust me - this isn't just a homer pick. These guys are legitimately fantastic.
Enemy is the obvious standout track, with more than twice as many streams on Spotify than any other song on the record. It opens with a poppy chanting chorus line before guitarist Joel Sheppard launches a screaming opening chord that is featured through the entire song. It's one of those songs that made me happy every time I heard it this year, and deserves more recognition than it is given around town. The band put together a video of them performing at a show from earlier this year for the song. It highlights singer Austin Hafner's on-stage charisma that makes the songs pop live even more than they might sound like on the record. I'm hoping that the group sticks together for more than a few years and drops several more red-hot singles like this one!
Title: Enemy
Artist: Ex-Nihilo
Album: Ex-Nihilo
Previous 15s
2016: Brian Fallon - A Wonderful Life
2015: Foo Fighters - Something from Nothing
2014: Five Iron Frenzy - I Am Jack's Smirking Revenge
2013: The Features - This Disorder
2012: A Plea for Purging - Heart of a Child
2011: Texas in July - Magnolia
2010: Day of Fire - Lately
2009: Silversun Pickups - It's Nice To Know You Work Alone
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #16
#16 - Demon Hunter - Raining Down
This marks the 5th consecutive year that a metal song has rang in at #16. Demon Hunter is no stranger to the countdown, coming in at #8 in 2012 (Dead Flowers) and #19 in 2010 (Collapsing). I can honestly say that, with the exception of 2014's "Extremist" (which I eventually learned to love), every album they have ever released ended up being one of the most played for me in that given year. In fact, it would have been quite difficult to pick just one (or two, or three) songs on 2007's "Storm the Gates of Hell", but I digress. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time, and even though their sound has evolved with each album they've still been able to churn out hits and ride up the charts. They reached #2 on the Hard Rock Charts for the third time in their careers, and also landed at #25 on the Billboard Top 200, while impressively debuting at #1 on the US Indie list.
Raining Down is one of many songs that I enjoyed off of "Outlive", including singles Cold Winter Sun, Died in My Sleep, as well as Jesus Wept and One Less. Raining Down opens with keys and a thumping drum number. It's a suprisingly melodic number on a heavier disc, but it follows the typical Demon Hunter formula for their more ballad-esque rock pieces. It's a song about perseverance and strength in the face of adversity. Solid State released a lyric video for the song featuring a single light shining into a dark room. It's hard to believe that the band is 8 albums deep into their career right now, but I'm excited to see that they're still able to punch home a meaningful and powerful record.
Title: Raining Down
Artist: Demon Hunter
Album: Outlive
Previous 16s
2016: van Canto - Time and Time Again
2015: Ghost Ship Octavius - Silence
2014: Winds of Plague - Say Hello To The Undertaker
2013: Colossus - Beacons
2012: Imagine Dragons - It's Time
2011: Amaranthe - Hunger
2010: Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish
2009: Chris Isaak - We Let Her Down
This marks the 5th consecutive year that a metal song has rang in at #16. Demon Hunter is no stranger to the countdown, coming in at #8 in 2012 (Dead Flowers) and #19 in 2010 (Collapsing). I can honestly say that, with the exception of 2014's "Extremist" (which I eventually learned to love), every album they have ever released ended up being one of the most played for me in that given year. In fact, it would have been quite difficult to pick just one (or two, or three) songs on 2007's "Storm the Gates of Hell", but I digress. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time, and even though their sound has evolved with each album they've still been able to churn out hits and ride up the charts. They reached #2 on the Hard Rock Charts for the third time in their careers, and also landed at #25 on the Billboard Top 200, while impressively debuting at #1 on the US Indie list.
Raining Down is one of many songs that I enjoyed off of "Outlive", including singles Cold Winter Sun, Died in My Sleep, as well as Jesus Wept and One Less. Raining Down opens with keys and a thumping drum number. It's a suprisingly melodic number on a heavier disc, but it follows the typical Demon Hunter formula for their more ballad-esque rock pieces. It's a song about perseverance and strength in the face of adversity. Solid State released a lyric video for the song featuring a single light shining into a dark room. It's hard to believe that the band is 8 albums deep into their career right now, but I'm excited to see that they're still able to punch home a meaningful and powerful record.
Title: Raining Down
Artist: Demon Hunter
Album: Outlive
Previous 16s
2016: van Canto - Time and Time Again
2015: Ghost Ship Octavius - Silence
2014: Winds of Plague - Say Hello To The Undertaker
2013: Colossus - Beacons
2012: Imagine Dragons - It's Time
2011: Amaranthe - Hunger
2010: Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish
2009: Chris Isaak - We Let Her Down
Monday, December 4, 2017
The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #17
#17 - Tinashe - Flame
I don't have a whole lot to say about our #17 artist, Tinashe. Unlike previous R&B acts on the countdown, she's not an artist I care terribly much more. Her most recent album features a lot of unnecessary swearing and bizarre dark song topics, and her most recent single is amusingly titled Me So Bad. The album Joyride is now two years in the making and still has only spawned two singles, so I can't really touch on that either. As it stands, I was scrolling through the music channels on TV and landed on this song on VH1.
Flame was released back in the spring of '17 and failed to chart in the US. It features a genre-shift for the singer, who usually sticks to rap and R&B on her songs. Her singing voice reminds me of a less annoying, more intelligent Keri Hilson. The song is about a relationship that has seen better days, and Tinashe's attempt to re-ignite the passion. The video features her singing to her disenchanted lover in varying degrees of sultry lingerie. She ends up setting her apartment on fire in the end, making you wonder if she's just a psycho ex who wants to torment her lover, no matter how much he gives to her. Despite the lack of promotion, the song did register 15.6M streams on Spotify this year.
Title: Flame
Artist: Tinashe
Album: Joyride
Previous #17s
2016: Trivium - Until The World Goes Cold
2015: Big Data - The Business of Emotion (ft White Sea)
2014: Foster The People - Coming of Age
2013: Sevendust - Decay
2012: Morning Parade - Headlights
2011: Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow (Ft Michael Bolton)
2010: Slash - Baby Can't Drive (ft Alice Cooper + Nicole Scherzinger)
2009: DevilDriver - Another Night In London
I don't have a whole lot to say about our #17 artist, Tinashe. Unlike previous R&B acts on the countdown, she's not an artist I care terribly much more. Her most recent album features a lot of unnecessary swearing and bizarre dark song topics, and her most recent single is amusingly titled Me So Bad. The album Joyride is now two years in the making and still has only spawned two singles, so I can't really touch on that either. As it stands, I was scrolling through the music channels on TV and landed on this song on VH1.
Flame was released back in the spring of '17 and failed to chart in the US. It features a genre-shift for the singer, who usually sticks to rap and R&B on her songs. Her singing voice reminds me of a less annoying, more intelligent Keri Hilson. The song is about a relationship that has seen better days, and Tinashe's attempt to re-ignite the passion. The video features her singing to her disenchanted lover in varying degrees of sultry lingerie. She ends up setting her apartment on fire in the end, making you wonder if she's just a psycho ex who wants to torment her lover, no matter how much he gives to her. Despite the lack of promotion, the song did register 15.6M streams on Spotify this year.
Title: Flame
Artist: Tinashe
Album: Joyride
Previous #17s
2016: Trivium - Until The World Goes Cold
2015: Big Data - The Business of Emotion (ft White Sea)
2014: Foster The People - Coming of Age
2013: Sevendust - Decay
2012: Morning Parade - Headlights
2011: Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow (Ft Michael Bolton)
2010: Slash - Baby Can't Drive (ft Alice Cooper + Nicole Scherzinger)
2009: DevilDriver - Another Night In London
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