The first few months of 2018 have flown by and brought a ton of great and not so great music! Who has the best album of 2018 so far?
As most of you know, I keep up with new rock releases, tours and gossip as best as I can. Hell, that’s exactly what The VORTX is.
Today I wanted to sit down and express my thoughts on my top five records of the year up to this point because we’re almost halfway through 2018. If I’m honest, this year has just been an okay year thus far. There are a lot of releases yet to come including new albums from Halestorm, Greta Van Fleet, Bullet For My Valentine and more, but there have been a few that stood out to me in this first six months or so.
Top 5 Albums of 2018 So Far
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- Breaking Benjamin, Ember – This, to me, is no surprise. These guys come back every album with new songs that embody what the band has established with their sound in their previous albums while still sounding fresh and new. Not only do these guys shred on their albums, but they are probably my favorite band to see live. Although, I do love this record as a whole, I do have a couple favorites. My favorite tunes from Ember include “Tourniquet,” “The Dark of You,” and “Torn in Two.”
- A Perfect Circle, Eat the Elephant – A Perfect Circle returned in 2018 with their first new album in 14 years. Eat the Elephant is everything you could ask for in a record from APC. Maynerd’s awesome vocals mixed with beautiful music and strong lyrics make this album worth the wait. Standouts on the album include the songs “The Contrarian” and “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish.”
- Underoath, Erase Me – Although, Underoath is probably a little too much on the heavy side for a lot of our listeners, they returned with their first album since 2008 and absolutely crush it and a lot of their fans souls. Why would I include that last part? Underoath was considered a “Christian” band when they first came on the scene. They decided back in 2008 to not be a Christian band anymore, but it all became a reality when they released the first song off of Erase Me and they dropped the F bomb. Other than losing some of their Christian fan base, the new record has been amazing for the band. My favorite off the album has to be “Rapture.”
- Shinedown, ATTENTION ATTENTION – Why is the new Shinedown record not higher on the list? It’s a great album, but not full of hits. As a collective piece of music, the record is outstanding, but I’m afraid that the only radio hit they will have off the album is “DEVIL.” I could be wrong, but we’ll see what happens. My favorites on the new album include “DEVIL,” “BLACK SOUL,” and “GET UP.”
- THE FEVER 333, Made An America – These dudes came out of nowhere and are killing it! They’ve got a heavy vibe with extremely powerful vocals. I highly recommend hopping on Spotify or wherever else you get your music and checking out their record. You also need to check out their live show. It’s amazing. My top tunes from their debut include “Soul’d Me Out,” “Walking in My Shoes,” and “POV.”
Honorable Mention
- Three Days Grace, Outsider
- Ghost, Prequelle
- Godsmack, When Legends Rise
There is still a lot of music to be released this year, but I feel very strongly about my top five so far. Have someone else in your top five? Tweet at me or email me at [email protected]. Let’s chat.
