I've got a river running right into you, I've got a blood trail, red in the blue



5. The Summoning by Sleep Token

-In the rock world, these guys were the big winners of the year. And nobody knows who they are! It must be near impossible to remain truly anonymous in the 2020s but Sleep Token has pulled it off so far. They started the year as a tiny font band and were damn near a headliner at the end of it. And deservingly so. The Take Me Back To Eden album was such a breah of fresh air in the progressive rock genre. Adding metal elements to their sound really just pushed them from being a good band into being a great band. Yet its not exactly traditional is it? Most songs will begin with the soft parts and build up into the raging guitar riffs. The Summoning is the opposite. It starts heavy, gets heavier and then just ... relaxes. It feels not only like a completely different song, but a completely different band. If you started this song at 4 minute mark, and said it was from a solo artist and not a band, it'd actually have a chance at becoming a hit on billboard. It's so fucking smooth and sexy, almost like an R&B singer covering the song happening in the first four minutes. I know that sounds completely random and ridiculous, especially with the screaming coming right before the transition, but I swear it works. You'll be hearing all about these guys, their music, their masks and overall presentation alot in the years to come.

Innocence is a game that I have lost



4. Angel Eyes by Spiritbox

-Spiritbox's new EP, The Fear of Fear, is a near perfect piece of music. So much so that is almost works against them here on the song charts. Each and every one one of the six songs feels weird to listen to without the others lol. So why is Angel Eyes my favorite of the six? Well that riff during the chorus is such a hype monster and that alone may be the best singular thing to come out of 2023. I almost love how it bounces up and down in the same that Holy Roller, one of their other best does. Yet despite being so heavy, it also impossible to not dance to. For real, the Prince Nana dance works as well here as it does with Swerve When I Drive. Though you'd probably want to bounce to Angel Eyes a little bit more. Keep an eye out for TFoF on the albums chart (coming tomorrow?)

I turned that off after 30 secs but thanks for reminding me to listen to the ABBA song

Whеn the darkness comes, I beg you don't follow me



3. Living In Tragedy by Currents

-If you thought the brutality level couldn't get any higher, lets crank it up to about 90% for this next song. For the mostpart at least, the heavy intro jam, the screaming first verse, the clean chorus... It's metalcore to the tooth. However, its on verse #2 that Living In Tragedy sets it itself apart and gets as close to 100% brutality as you can get without destroying people's ear. The increasing ferociousness of the repeated command lines are breaking line is as deathcorey as I can go for (yes there are subgenres of metal that are too much even for me if that can be believed.)

If anyone is still hanging in there after the four metal songs in a row onslaught, I'll be posting the top two in about an hour. One of the songs is probably obvious, the other is probably not.

Bloodsucker, fame fucker, bleeding me dry like a god damn...



2. Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo

-If Olivia was doing Paramore on Good4U, she is doing My Chemical Romance on this one. Though I guess she kept it different enough this time to keep the writing credits to two! I think this is a perfect example of how she grew between the two albums. Not only is she a stronger vocalist, but the music builds throughout the song to reach a very rousing bridge. She's able to weaponize her feelings in a way that only the best emo writers can. That she still managed to keep her spot near the top of pop power rankings is pretty amazing. She's building a strong fanbase, and while she hasn't gotten weird quite yet I think they'll stick to her stronger than some of her generational rivals. And lets be honest, the cursing is a lot of fun in songs like this. The censored radio version is an abomination. She's ditched those restraints already and just does whatever she wants. Maybe not music, but a punk attitude and I'm here for it.

Immoveable heart!
Tired Waves fold against the stone, broken in the quiet, like glass against the immortal soul



1. Immolation Of Night by Invent Animate

-I first heard Invent Animate for the first time back in the beginning April, their fourth album Heavener popped up on the metalcore reddit who usually have pretty good suggestion ... but never one quite like this. And while I did love the whole thing, I was immediately taken in by this song. Every one of the previous several songs could have been #1 in a normal year, and each one flirted with the idea of being the best of this year, but never for very long. Immolation of Night's throne was never seriously challenged.

First off, what a cool title, am I right? Sounds like it could be a whole band on its own. I love how we have the creepy intro that explodes into the hook (if you could call it that) of the song. I love how the tempo changes from verse to verse, never letting the listener get too comfortable. I love how there's an eye of the storm that lets you rest for a brief half minute before this hurricane of sound sweeps you away again. And most of all - I love the lyrics. A lot of times, the lyrics to these type of songs are not the most important part of the journey. And maybe that is also true for some people here, but to me these words get me as hyped as the pulsating drums and guitars. I am enough! First uttered by Invent Animate, later stolen by Ken. The entire song can uplift your body or spirit into exerting its full potential.

Djent is a word that I learned for the first time this year too. It's a subgenre of progressive metal which itself is a subgenre of metal which itself is (arguably) still a subgenre of rock. And since this is rock music, that naturally lead to the devlopment of Djentcore. That might be a bunch of babbletalk nonsense to most, but for some reason it just fits perfectly. Metal owned 2023 so hard that it deserves to create nonsense words like that even more than usual.

So all that and more is why I suspect Immolation of Night will rank as one of my all time favorites in the near future. And once again, there was never much doubt about it taking #1. Even in the very heavy seas of 2023, it clearly stood out as the best.

What remains is what has always been, a resolve I thought to be dust, sifting through my fingers when I needed it the most

Thanks for tuning in once again! I always mention how wildly the tides turn for different genres and this year was the ultimate proof of that. Metal had 0 songs in the top ten in 2022 and then just turned around and completely dominated the following year. Maybe next year alt-rock, which placed zero songs in the top ten this year, will dominate? We have Vampire Weekend and Cage the Elephant as the top anticipated albums so it is off to a great start!

Album of the year will be up tomorrow! It will be mostly the same people, but in a slightly different order.

I prefer Get Him Back and Can't Catch Me Now to Vampire

Apologies for delay. Haven't had a lot of time or motivation the past few days. Usually I'd put more pomp and circumstance (oh yeah) into the album list since I consider it to be the most important award of the year, but whatevers...

Here are all the previous #1s:

2022: Being Funny In A Foreign Language - The 1975
2021: Below - Beartooth
2020: Evermore - Taylor Swift
2019: Dedicated - Carly Rae Jepsen
2018: Art Of Doubt - Metric
2017: Need To Feel Your Love - Sheer Mag
2016: In Our Bones - Against The Current
2015: Chasing Yesterday - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
2014: 1989 - Taylor Swift
2013: Modern Vampires Of The City - Vampire Weekend
2012: Be The Void - Dr. Dog
2011: Something To Die For - The Sounds
2010: This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem
2009: It's Blitz! - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2008: Death Magnetic - Metallica
2007: Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
2006: The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
2005: Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
2004: To The 5 Boroughs - Beastie Boys
2003: Meteora - Linkin Park


and the 2023 album of the year goes to...

Utopia by Travis Scott

Yes, despite the year being overall dominated by the metal genre (4 out of the top 5), Travis takes the award home in another big upset. Sicko Mode made a huge impact back in 2018, but I never considered Travis one of my favorites and didn't even give this one a midnight listen. Like the rest of the world, I was ready to treat him like the Houston Astroworlds and never give them another chance. Was immediately blown away once I did though as the opening trio of Hyaena, Thank God and Modern Jam just set the perfect tone of "yeah this is the Travis you know, but he is both pissed off and humbled from the Astroworld tragedy." Is that enough to make up for the deaths? Probably not, but its enough to say 'ah maybe it wasn't all his fault' ... Which to be fair, its not like he oversold the venue. Once you're over all the baggage that comes with Travis now, the album gives you some time to rest with a few slow songs in a row (though all 3 have grown on me) before getting to Meltdown, which goes hard as fuck (I'm still not sure what tea time is even though its been mentioned in two of the best songs of the last 14 months.) Now, a common problem with hip-hop albums is that they just go on for so damn long and Utopia is no exception, clocking in at 19 songs and about 75 minutes. So surely he just loaded up all the best songs at first and now we're just gonna wait around until its over. Right? Hello fucking no cause the best stretch it still ahead with "I Know" "Topia Twins" (aka twin bitches hopping off a jetski), "Circus Maximus" "Schizo" "Lost Forever" "Loooooove" and the star packed "K-Pop." Can't remember a really long album ever having a run like that so deep into it. The whole thing is just packed top to bottom with killer songs with a killer attitude. Some critics have noted that the album plays "too much like Yeezus" but I don't think such a thing exists. Thus why Utopia wins the album of the year and will likely (eventually) place in my overall top ten hip-hop albums of all the time.

2. The Fear of Fear - Spiritbox
3. Heavener - Invent Animate
4. The Death We Seek - Currents
5. Take Me Back To Eden - Sleep Token

6. Guts - Olivia Rodrigo
7. This Is Why - Paramore
8. So Here We Are - Foo Fighters
9. Nadie sabe lo que va a pasar manana - Bad Bunny
10. A Kiss for the whole world - Enter Shikari

11. Good Witch - Masie Peters
12. Magic 2 and 3 - Nas
13. So much for stardust - Fall Out Boy
14. Moments Elsewhere - Johnny Booth
15. Cracker Island - Gorillaz

Forgot the full recap!

1. Immolation Of Night - Invent Animate
2. Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo
3. Living In Tragedy - Currents
4. Angel Eyes - Spiritbox
5. The Summoning - Sleep Token
6. The Surface - Beartooth
7. Modern Jam - Travis Scott
8. Monaco - Bad Bunny
9. Is It Over Now? - Taylor Swift
10. Rescued - Foo Fighters
11. Cest Comme Ca - Paramore
12. Lost The Breakup - Maisie Peters
13. It Hurts - Enter Shikari
14. Picture Perfect - Hannah Diamond
15. Prodigy - Chika
16. Brass Bell - Screaming Females
17. Collapse in the Key of Fireworks - Johnny Booth
18. Have Fun - CMAT
19. Bloom - Necry Talkie
20. The Hillbillies - Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem
21. Just The Once - Metric
22. High Road - Kelly Clarkson
23. Greedy - Tate McRae
24. You’re On - Kicksie
25. Skinny Ape - Gorillaz
26. TSK - Nas
27. Jaws - Dizzy
28. 72 Seasons - Metallica
29. Library of Broken Bindings - Sincere Engineer
30. Its In Me - The Musalini
31. What The Peephole Say - Queens Of The Stone Age
32. Selfish - Slowthai
33. People Are Vomit - The Used
34. Countdown To Shutdown - The Hives
35. Ghosts Again - Depeche Mode
36. Love From The Other Side - Fall Out Boy
37. A Few Tomorrows - Meet Me At The Altar
38. Take My Nirvana - Pvris
39. I Think I Might Be Weird - Fucked Up
40. Knockoff - Poppy
41. Pretty Impossible - Caroline Polachik
42. Classy - Bia
43. Parasite - Grade 2
44. Shiner In The Dark - Royal Blood
45. Going Through Some Shit - Juicy J
46. Everything Is Fine! - Periphery
47. Arsenal - Mike Dimes
48. Little Dogs - Mudhoney
49. Just Pretend - Bad Omens
50. Shy Boy - Carly Rae Jepsen

And as a bonus, my top played old songs (10+ years) of the year!

1. In Between Days - The Cure
2. Nookie - Limp Bizkit
3. Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
4. 45 - The Gaslight Anthem
5. I've Seen Footage - Death Grips



If I do another mid year FF it'll probably be the 2002 list I started last year before switching to the 70s. I don't know if I could fill out 50 from the 60s without doing alot of research or just putting a bunch of Beatles songs. Plus doing a single year from 22 years ago sounds like a fun challenge and people will probably know most of the songs ... maybe lol.