#15: “Starboy” by The Weeknd (from the album Starboy)
Overplayed? Yes. Is the Daft Punk feature a total gimmick? Absolutely. Does it matter? Nope. This song is just that good. It’s a perfect radio pop tune, but in the way Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” or Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is. It’s pervasive, but it’ll take a lot more than that to wear out its welcome. “Look what you’ve done”, indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Na4j8AVgA
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#14: “(The New) Jesus” by Cane Hill (from the album Smile)
Taking up the mantle Marilyn Manson fumbled about 15 years ago, Cane Hill deliver one of the year’s strongest anthems with (The New) Jesus, a delightfully blasphemous slab of nu-metal. In addition to Manson, the song also heavily echoes the best of young Slipknot, and the horror-themed sound effects accompanying the grinding guitars and taunting cheerleader chants just complete an unmistakable atmosphere: that of a mosh pit about to go the fuck off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukhy2ciV-Vw
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#13: “Stacking Bodies” by Fit For A King (from the album Deathgrip)
Fit For A King somehow got even heavier between their third and fourth albums, and while Deathgrip has ups and downs as an album, its ups are meteoric. “Stacking Bodies” has a slow tempo, but it makes the foundation-rattling drops and roars peppered through this song even more devastating. Be prepared before seeing them live: someone broke his hand on my face during this song when FFAK came through KC back in September, and I am surprised that was the only severe injury of the night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTzeUXA5894
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#12: “Fountain Of Youth” by Cane Hill (from the album Smile)
Frontman Elijah Witt opens this song with a rhetorical question: “Everyone says that the good die young, but if I die young what will you say about me?”. The song sets about answering it in the most vulgar, pessimistic way possible, and offers a deeply personal twin to the fatalism of (The New) Jesus, gladly laughing the entire way to hell. Hop in the passenger seat and enjoy the ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehqLWW0pxow
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#11: “Deathgrip” by Fit For A King (from the album Deathgrip):
Another amazing song from FFAK, Deathgrip finds them flipping the metalcore trope of heavy verses and soaring, melodic choruses, opting instead to drift gently through minimalist verses and explode into a massive fist-pumping chorus that still relies on Ryan Kirby’s guttural snarls to carry the tune. TL;DR, they made one of the heaviest choruses of the year and it’s catchy as the plague too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbUKoahqmg
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