Our second instalment of the Albums of the Year lists features the Escapist Records family, with Light Years, Foxfires, Territory, Sweet Weapons, and label owner, Michael Phillips. Click the Read More… link to view the lists.
Pat Kennedy, Light Years vocalist/guitarist Title Fight - Floral Green (SideOneDummy Records)This band just keeps getting better. Everything they do is awesome, from their songs to the way they present themselves as a band. No gimmicks, no bullshit, just jams. |
 Hostage Calm - Please Remain Calm (Run For Cover Records)This record was such a breath of fresh air into a music scene that is becoming more and more bland with copycat bands just trying to ride the waves of the current trends. The songs on this record can hold up at a DIY Punk show or could be used in movies or even on mainstream radio. Love it. |
 The Menzingers - On The Impossible Past (Epitaph Records)I was never really a big fan of this band until this record came out. I spun this record a lot during the course of 2012, it is very fitting for long drives across America. |
 Taylor Swift - Red (Big Machine Records)Yeah. Fight me. Great songs. |
 blink-182 - Dogs Eating Dogs EPHasn't even come out yet and I know it will be better than anything else released in 2012. Even if it sucks I'm still going to say it's amazing. Fuck it. |
Josh Lyford, Foxfires vocalist Mountain Man - Two EP (No Sleep Records)I may be a bit biased on this one as Jesse who sings and plays guitar plays in Foxfires as well, but I have loved following this band's growth since day one. Awesome Massachusetts Hardcore that has mixed things up on every release and this one is no different. Can't wait to see what they come up with next. |
 Power Trip - Power Trip EP (Lockin' Out Records)While on tour with Mountain Man we stayed in Texas and I heard a little about these guys. Right after getting back home they played at Anchors up in Haverhill. They had one of the coolest sets I've seen in a long time. So thrashy and this record makes me want to head bang through the windshield of my truck. |
 Hot Water Music - Exister (Rise Records)This album is awesome. Hot Water Music has been one of my favorite bands since high school and it makes me so happy that they are still putting out great music this far into their career. |
 Fire & Ice - Not Of This Earth (Reaper Records)I had listened to this band a few times before heading to Sound And Fury this year but seeing them really set it in stone for me. This is a really cool Hardcore album and also gets jammed in the cruising vessel regularly. |
 No Trigger - Tycoon (No Sleep Records)This may be another biased opinion as their guitar player is my roommate and Foxfires shares a bass player in Brad but I love No Trigger and this release carries on their tradition of writing awesome music that makes you want to conquer the world. |
| Title Fight - Floral Green (SideOneDummy Records) I love Title Fight. I love that they have an almost "throwback" sound and they are really genuine guys. I knew this album was going to rule, but I didn't know that it was going to be this good. It’s seriously an amazing album. |
| Taylor Swift - Red (Big Machine Records) This may be a controversial opinion, but I can't help it. I shit all over Taylor Swift forever and then one day We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together came on a Pandora station at the trails and it was all over. I feel like I'm swimming in sugar every time I listen to this album. |
 Tinnitus - GehennaHaving played with these dudes about a million times, I thought I knew what to expect from these guys. I didn't. Massachusetts Powerviolence/Hardcore that is fast and mean as hell; this is a great release. |
 Amy Winehouse - At The BBC (Universal Music Group)I fucking love Amy Winehouse. She makes me want to drink whiskey until I die. I didn't even know this was coming out but it makes me so happy that it did. |
 Propagandhi - Failed States (Epitaph Records)I am a gigantic dweeb and I must have been living under a rock because I wasn't the biggest follower of this seminal band. I had the pleasure to hit the road with these guys and Comeback Kid this year and my ears were finally opened. If you are a fan of the band, get this album. If you are not already a fan, go get this album. |
Ryan Bram, Territory
1. Tragedy - Darker Days Ahead (Tragedy Records)2. The Secret - Agnus Dei (Southern Lord Records)
3. Deathspell Omega - Drought EP (Season Of Mist Records)
4. Gaza - No Absolutes In Human Suffering (Blackmarker Activities)
5. Pig Destroyer - Book Burner (Relapse Records)
Jake Lang, Sweet Weapons
1. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (RCA Records)2. Title Fight - Floral Green (SideOneDummy Records)
3. Sharks - No Gods (Rise Records)
4. Whirr - Pipe Dreams (Tee Pee Records)
5. Bad Liar - Yours Truly (Conditions Records)
Michael Phillips, Escapist Records Deftones - Koi No Yokan (Reprise Records)I have loved the Deftones since their very first album, which came out seventeen years ago now. That’s almost half my lifetime that I’ve spent listening to this band. And throughout all those years, with all their albums and what they have had to overcome as a band, they have persevered and continued to write music that is true to what they want their sound to be, but daring at the same time. Koi No Yokan is proof that bands can continue to push boundaries no matter how long they’ve been around. |
 The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (Mercury Records)If I had to nominate a band as the current quintessential Rock And Roll band it would be a toss up between Foo Fighters and The Gaslight Anthem. The New Jersey natives just personify Rock And Roll in all that they do. There was a lot to live up to on their previous LP coming off of The ’59 Sound, but I think the lack of expectations (as some saw American Slang to be lacking when compared to its predecessor) surrounding Handwritten played into their favor, allowing the band to produce and album that is quickly becoming one of my favorite albums to listen to at any time. |
 Xibalba - Hasta La Muerte (Southern Lord Records)A few years ago I was on tour with Crucified and Withdrawal. In between shows we stayed at a house in Pomona, CA. About year later I see music video for Xibalba’s song Cold online. The majority of the footage was a house show at that same house; kids were backyard wrestling, jumping off of couches, and just having a blast. This is all I think of whenever I listen to Xibalba. Hasta La Muerte is ridiculously heavy, but there are moments between the mayhem that allow for reflection. I just love this record so much. |
| Title Fight - Floral Green (SideOneDummy Records) The evolution that bands go through is part of what makes seeing them early on so interesting. The growth of Title Fight from their Kingston EP up to the Shed LP and eventually to what we hear Floral Green shows tremendous creativity in songwriting. Title Fight is a truly special band deserving of all the praise they receive. |
 Neurosis - Honor Found In Decay (Neurot Records)When you’re a band that has literally helped define heavy music, what exactly can you do at this point in your career? For Neurosis they have carved their niche and they’re not going to give us anything new, which is good because I’ve quite enjoyed the textural metal landscapes the band has been giving us over the years. Honor Found In Decay is no exception to that and there is solace to be found in the thought that some things don’t change. |
6. Taylor Swift - Red (Big Machine Records)
7. Minus The Bear - Infinity Overhead (Dangerbird Records)
8. Annabel - Youth In Youth (Count Your Lucky Stars Records)
9. Elizaveta - Beatrix Runs (Universal Music Group)
10. Swans - The Seer (Young God Records)
