It’s officially 2014 and what better way to start the new year than to look back on last years music. 2013 was a year of amazing year of music and saw some bands come back with amazing follow up albums and some bands come out with amazing debuts.
Check out what our team put at the top of this lists below and keep an eye open for our Rock Editors top 10 coming very soon!
James Paul Matthews
1. Cult Of Luna – ‘Vertikal’
After an extended 5 year break, Sweden’s very own Cult Of Luna came back with their sixth album ‘Vertikal’. Not only did they just make an absolutely stunning comeback album, but they also made in my opinion what is to be the best metal album of the year… no doubt about it. A bleak yet atmospheric conceptual journey loosely based around the theme of Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’, this album is every bit as compelling listening, as it is a highly rewarding musical, production-based, and critical merit. Absolutely stunning.
2. Kvelertak – ‘Meir’
3. Turnstile – ‘Step 2 Rhythm’ EP
Jenna Young
1. Fall Out Boy -Save Rock’n’Roll
It was Fall Out Boy’s return this year that made me realise how much I truly loved them. The only fault on this album isn’t even Fall Out Boy, it’s Courtney Love, so really this is a perfect FOB album and I cannot wait to see it live!
2. Paramore – Paramore
3. Black Veil Brides – Wretched and Devine
Lizzi Hart
1. Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal
Words really fail to emphasise how much this album changed the face of the UK metal scene this year, and there really couldn’t have existed a better and more prolific band to do so. With tracks like Sleepwalking, Can You Feel My Heart and Shadow Moses, Bring Me The Horizon employed huge melodies and riffs, beautifully poetic lyrics and passionate yet urgent vocals from our favourite frontman Oli Sykes. Need we say more?
2. letlive. – The Blackest Beautiful
3. State Champs – The Finer Things
Jamie Hampshire
1. Jamie Lenamn – Muscle Memory.
WHY: A fantastic return from the much-missed Reuben mainman. Crushingly heavy in the first half with some intelligent satire of modern culture, quirky and heartfelt on the second ‘folk’ influenced disc, it’s nothing short of genius.
2. TesseracT – Altered State.
3. Queens Of The Stone Age – …Like Clockwork.
Kayla Elliot
1. Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends (Re-Release)
Tell All Your Friends was such an iconic album the first time round I was almost reluctant to buy this album acoustic, but I’m so glad I did. From start to finish its beautiful and really reminds you of that band from 2003 that a lot of us fell in love with.
2. Blessthefall – Hollow Bodies
3. Lights – Siberia Acoustic
Antoine Omisore
1. Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal
‘Sempiternal’ saw Bring Me The Horizon step up their game. The addition of electronics whizz Jordan Fish made a significant impact, refreshing their modern metal sound. Oli Sykes transforms his sound replacing his screams for clean vocals. Never has such a heavy album been so engaging.
2. Deaf Havana – Old Souls
3. State Champs – The Finer Things
Calum Thompson
1. A Day to Remember – Common Courtesy.
Anyone who knows me won’t find this too shocking. A Day to Remember are an incredible force in the music industry at the moment and this has been an iconic year for them. They’ve managed to highlight this year with their most mature album to date. You can really hear within the vocals and the guitar tones that this is a band that have grown up and know exactly where they want to be. Although not the perfect album in the fact that some of the choices in track ordering is a little iffy, but in the end you judge a band by the number of memorable tracks they produce, and this album has a tonne of them. A Day to Remember have staked their claim on the music industry and are certainly going to be one of the big hitters in years to come.
2. We Came as Romans – Tracing Back Roots
3. Alter Bridge – Fortress
Emma Younger
1. Biffy Clyro – Opposites
With endless genius and creativity, it is the comeback record of the century.
2. Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal
3. Deaf Havana – Old Souls
Amber Carniegie
1.Listener – Time Is A Machine
Taking it up with every notch they had Listener truly outdid themselves with ‘Time Is A Machine’ combining every perfect idiosyncratic element from their previous work into this engaging, poetic and musically innovating.
2.Defeater – Letters Home
3.Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
Solomon Radley
1. TesseracT – Altered State
Djent quickly became the genre no self-respecting metal band wanted to be lumped in with. Well, bollocks to that – bands like TesseracT prove playing djent is nothing to be ashamed of. ‘Altered State’ is cutting edge, boundary-pushing melodic metal at its finest. Blessed with the ‘triple threat’ of stunning musicianship, strong song-writing capability and some frankly ethereal vocal work (courtesy of Ashe O’Hara), the band came together to produce one of the finest records I’ve heard in years on this sophomore release.
2. The Wonder Years – The Greatest Generation
3. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
Faye Ducker
1. Paramore – Paramore
They’ve been off the scene for nearly 2 years but managed to come back with such a inspiring record. The diversity throughout the album is astounding. It’s hard to jump from pop to hard rock on the same album, but Paramore manage it with ease.
2. Haim – Days Are Gone
3. New Found Glory – Kill It Live
Robbie Doran
1. Palm Reader: Bad Weather
Palm Reader are possibly the most energetic and intense live band I’ve ever seen, and that raw, chaotic sound has transpired perfectly onto this album. Flowing seamlessly for the duration of the 10 tracks, Bad Weather is pure brilliance. This coupled with the fact there’s appeal for fans of anything from Black Flag to Converge…Gallows to The Chariot makes this album a masterpiece of heavy music.
2. Letlive: The Blackest Beautiful
3. Mallory Knox: Signals
Mattie Borucki
1. The Devil Wears Prada – 8:18
8:18 is not only The Devil Wears Prada’s best material to date, it’s the best metalcore album to be released this year. ‘Gloom’ and ‘First Sight’ have set a new benchmark for heavy, yet the melodic nature of ‘Care More’ shows they’re not one-dimensional. It’s still rough around the edges, but that is exactly how we like it.
2. A Day To Remember – Common Courtesy
3. Attila – About That Life
Sam Lawrie
1. Paramore – Paramore
This self-titled Paramore album is, in my eyes, their best to date. It’s a brilliant example of how to overcome difficulties and come back stronger than ever, giving anyone who doubted you the middle finger. Tracks like Ain’t It Fun show how the band are growing up and developing as musicians, while songs such as Still Into You are still fun and youthful, giving us the Paramore we know and love, striking the balance perfectly.
2. Mayday Parade- Monsters In The Closet
3. Emily’s Army- Lost In Seventeen
Mikey Baird
1. The Bronx – IV
The Bronx are possibly the best live band in the world and with album number 4 they show again that they cannot write a bad song!
2. Dillinger Escape Plan- One Of Us Is The Killer
3. Tomahawk- Oddfellows
