It’s that time of year again, where we count down our favorite things of the year while welcoming in the new year! I will be counting down my top 10 favorite songs that I have been listening to all year long. 2017 was a great year for metal, a lot of bangers and heavy hitters were released this year. Did any of your favorites make the list?
IMPORTANT!!!! I play these songs, along with many others, during my set on WKNC!! Come head bang with ya girl on Friday nights from 10pm-midnight! To listen online, go to WKNC’s website and click on “MP3” in the “High Quality” section. Don’t be lame, come hang out with The Saw!
10. Attila – Three 6
I’m back at it with my Attila jams. Okay, so this song came out on Halloween and I was ~~~SHOOK~~~ Attila is that band where party metal is acceptable. I honestly feel like I need to go to a rave or something after seeing them. This song goes back to their “heavy s***” as Fronz likes to put it, and I agree with him. This song is more of a banger because the anthem is so catchy. “If you’re down with the devil say hell yeah, I’m burning down your church like 666.” It reminds me of their song Party With The Devil and I’m vibing with it. The riffs are super chunky and that is a 10/10 in my book. Ever since I heard this song I instantly considered it a bop. Say what you want about Attila, they put out some really catchy music.
They seriously need to tour with BROJOB. I would love to see that, it would be super weird but very entertaining.
9. Make Them Suffer – Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria)
This song is off Make Them Suffer’s newest record, Worlds Apart, and this is my favorite song off that record. It has that metalcore aspect that I like with the clean vocals but with riffs that still make it heavy. You just want to mosh it up and jump around when this song kicks in. The singer also throws in some “BLEIGH” that we all know I go insane for. Honestly how can you not get hyped when they start randomly growling weird things in the mic. Is it just me? Okay, moving on. The vocals are really great, you can hear the highs and lows, along with the harmonizing with the keyboardist. They incorporated a lot of different aspects in this song and they pulled it off. It is such a bop. I love it so much.
8. Code Orange – Forever
Code Orange snuck up on me this year. I’m really digging this band recently. I didn’t get to see them when they came through North Carolina… stupid finals. BUT this song is a banger, the opening riff just makes you want to bang your head. If this song was on a “try not to headbang” challenge… yeah, I would lose immediately. Jesus Christ the riffs in this song are just great, I listen to it almost every day because I love how chunky this song is. Their new record is such a bop 10/10 would check it out if I was you.
7. Volumes – Finite
Now this song is kinda mellow for me, but hey, it’s a bop. It is like my party song because I sing it when I’m in the shower. It’s so groovy and I do some really weird dance moves when I play it. Honestly, Finite is just so catchy and the guitars really make it a bop. I feel like this song would be in some YouTube sorority recruitment video because it just makes me want to run around with my girlfriends and awkwardly smile and do hand symbols at the camera. But that wouldn’t happen because 1) I am not in a sorority and 2) they wouldn’t play this song in one of their videos.
6. Wage War – Stitch
You know I gotta put my boys in Wage War in here! This is the first song I heard off their new record “Deadweight” and if you’re sleeping on this band, you are definitely missing out. This band is going to be BIG; just wait. So again, going along with my theme of literally every song that made this list, the riffs are great. Briton’s voice is amazing and his deep growl that he does on the end makes me want to throw chairs around and mosh. You just want to bounce and headbang when this song comes on. They are literally one of the best metalcore bands that I have ever seen and heard. This entire song is so catchy and really shows how they are developing their sound.
5. Arch Enemy – First Day in Hell
This is literally one of my favorite Arch Enemy songs of all time. Alissa’s voice in this song is really powerful and I love the eerie vibe that I get from the beginning. The reason I like this song so much is because of the chorus and how there is a breakdown after it. It’s a banger and will literally make anyone bang their head. Like I said before, if this song was on a “try not to headbang” challenge, I would totally lose. The guitars’ harmony is really beautiful and really make this song complete.
4. FRCTRD – Negative
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. FRCTRD is a new deathcore band from France and I am so happy that I discovered them. The guitars are really chunky in this song have some type of electronic sound in the background and it sounds so cool. The singers voice is very thick and his pig squeals are a major key. He can pig squeal and then transition to deep growls flawlessly. Now what makes this song so great is the ending. The breakdown at the end has me ~~~SHOOK~~~ it is an offbeat sound with chunky riffs that just make you want to go into total mosh mode. This band is something else, I love them.
3. Thy Art Is Murder – Puppet Master
This song is such a heavy hitter – oh my god. CJ’s voice is incredible and I can always tell when Thy Art is on because he has such a strong, distinctive voice. The drumming technique is amazing and really brings this song together. How this guy drums is awesome, I don’t know how he sits there with a straight face and pounds away. This song has a bouncy vibe to it that you can’t help but jump to. And when the breakdown hits, oh boy, its’s great. I can’t help but start jamming out when the breakdown hits. Puppet Master really sets the vibe of how their whole record goes.
2. Miss May I – Swallow Your Teeth
Obviously, I had to put one of my top favorite bands on this list. This song is a complete anthem and makes me want to bounce. The riff that starts in the first few seconds of the song reminds me of “Hero With No Name.” This is a sing along song that I really enjoy. The chorus is very catchy and has great harmony from Levi and Ryan. Speaking of Ryan, when he sings his clean vocals before the breakdown hits, oh my lord, it is beautiful. Then Levi comes in with an “OHHH” and BAM breakdown begins. I absolutely love it. The song basically talks about the fact that you shouldn’t put up with anyone’s crap and that people just need to learn when to shut up sometimes. It has a mainstream vibe to it that I can see being played on the radio (minus the cussing), but all in all, it’s a banger and you should check it out.
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Dying Fetus – Fixated on Devastation
If you listen to my DJ sets on Friday nights, then this song shouldn’t be a surprise (and if you don’t listen to my set, what’s up man? You’re really missing out). This song starts off like a typical death metal song but then it gets groovy. AND I LOVE THE GROOVE TO THIS SONG!! I do some weird dance move with my hands that I can’t really describe but it’s great. They played this live when I saw them at Summer Slaughter and I automatically fell in love with it. If you could dance to death metal, this would be the song. It has components of death metal that are very traditional but then they start jamming with a groovy breakdown that I have never heard another band do. Around the last few minutes of the song, they start to groove again and bring in a slow breakdown that just makes me lose my mind. When the groove starts with the guitars, and the deep growls, it is impossible to stay still. This song is an automatic bop. If you are trying to get into Dying Fetus start off with this jam, you won’t regret it.
The Saw