It's really interesting reading the "Best Of" lists that come out at the end of each year. I tend to be a fan of hard rock, post-hardcore, metalcore, electronic and punk so my favorite albums usually don't end up on these lists. I noticed that most critics had Yeezus by Kanye West, Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend, Reflektor by Arcade Fire, Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and AM by Arctic Monkeys at or near the top of their lists, but it was pretty cool seeing Sunbather by Deafheaven at the top of the Metacritic charts. My top three albums for 2013 are as follows:
1. Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon
2. The Blackest Beautiful by Letlive
3. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Sempiternal is simply a blast from beginning to end and that's important to me because a lot of music nowadays struggles to hold my attention over the course of an entire album. Sempiternal gets in your face and doesn't go away for the entire 40 minutes it lasts. For me it's the perfect blend of metalcore with a splash of electronics thrown in for good measure. "Shadow Moses" is the standout track and not just because it gets its name from Metal Gear Solid. I'd recommend Sempiternal to anyone who's even remotely interested in metalcore or heavier music.
The Blackest Beautiful is much the same as Sempiternal. It was very difficult choosing between the two because there's just as much, if not more energy coming from Letlive here. I think the deciding factor between the two was the addition of electronic textures on Sempiternal but The Blackest Beautiful is just as heavy, in-your-face and lean. There is no fat whatsoever on this album and "Empty Elvis" might just be my favorite song of the year. "Younger" is another highlight.
Random Access Memories was an album that grew on me over the months. At first I knew it was definitely Daft Punk's second-best album because I liked Discovery more but even Daft Punk's second-best is better than most other artists' bests. It's an album I can listen to from top to bottom without getting bored and as I said earlier that seems to be the most important thing for me nowadays. I still don't know how I feel about Daft Punk having so many guest artists on the album but it seems to have worked out really well in the end. "Instant Crush" (feat. Julian Casablancas) is probably my favorite song on the album along with the very underrated closer "Contact", which may be the most epic song Daft Punk have ever written.
So what do you guys think are the best albums of 2013? Anything you'd recommend or think I should give a listen to?
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