The 2025 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #18

  #18. Demon Hunter - The Pain In Me Is Gone

 

Title: The Pain In Me Is Gone
Artist: Demon Hunter
Album: There Was A Light Here

Is there another artist that has been as prolific as Demon Hunter? #11 in 2019, 16 in '17, 8 in '12 and 19 in 2010. They've only released one album, 2022's Exile that didn't chart in the Top 20 since I started recording things, and they return with what I believe to be their best album since 2014's Extremist. They keep making great singles and hits but There Was A Light Here is excellent from top to bottom, with several other songs vying for a spot in the Countdown. "The Pain In Me Is Gone" honestly wasn't my first (or second) choice for top song off of the album, but as the year progressed it just kept slapping me and getting more plays. It's one of those songs that you get stuck in your head and you're still humming it as you lie down to sleep. Way to go, boys. 

Favorite Line: "Am I right in feeling wrong? Can we cauterize our wounds?"

 

 

Last five #18s:

2024: Badflower - Teacher Has A Gun
2023: VNV Nation - Before the Rain

2022: The Foxies - Overrated
2021: Daymare - Control
2020: Little Hurt - Alaska

The 2025 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #19

 #19. Wolves at the Gate - LAW OF THE (Waste) LAND

Title: LAW OF THE (Waste) LAND
Artist: Wolves at the Gate
Album: Wasteland

Spoiler alert: The theme of this year is heavier music, and it begins with Wolves at the Gate, making their first appearance on the Countdown. I had listened to other WatG albums before, but nothing truly hit me as hard as this one did, and it definitely was one of my favorite records of the year. LAW OF THE (Waste)LAND is a groovier track that still packs the punch of songs like SYNTHETIC SUN and PARASITE. Top to bottom, this album will rattle your bones and shake your neck off its moorings. 

Favorite Line: "It's time to break it down - Another victim of the thoughtless self-defining truths that we throw around. Another victim for the lawless. We play judge, jury, executioner. Watch out, kill or be killed, cause everybody does what's right in their own eyes"

 

Last five #19s:

2024: Vampire Weekend - Capricorn
2023: Switchfoot - On Fire (Ingrid Andress version)
2022: Bad Omens - Like A Villain
2021: Royal Blood - Typhoons
2020: The Broken Relics - Goodbye Tennessee

The 2025 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #20

  #20. Dinosaur Pile-Up - Big Dogs

Title: Big Dogs
Artist: Dinosaur Pile-Up
Album: I've Felt Better

I'm not sure what I expected from a band with a name like Dinosaur Pile-Up, but the first time I heard this song I was hooked. That admiration only grew after I've Felt Better was released and I realized just how ridiculous this group can be. It's honestly cliché to write discordant songs about how much you hate the world now, but Dinosaur Pile-Up did a pretty great job with this one. There isn't much to this song, but that's what makes it click for me. 

Favorite Line: "Oh yeah, big dogs eat for free... cuz big dogs eat"

Last five #20s:

2024: Courtney From Work - Superfun!
2023: Dreamers - Wallow In It
2022: Halestorm - The Steeple
2021: Grabbitz - Pigs in the Sky
2020: Seether - Dangerous