#and then following it with dystopian sci-fi <3 (Starset)

[goldengodcannibal]

There's something about that back half of Paladin Strait that makes a guy wanna rip his own vocal chords and still-beating heart out.

[grigori77]

2019 in Music - My Top 5 Favourite Albums

5.  AURORA – A DIFFERENT KIND OF HUMAN (STEP 2)

After her impressive debut album All My Demons Greeting Me As a Friend, Norwegian singer-songwriter completes its follow-up, an ambitious two-part concept album (opening with last year’s more introspective Infections of a Different Kind (Step1)), with her most impressive record to date, a concise but compelling mixture of electronic-flavoured exoticness and seductive layered vocals.  Given that she’s still only 23, this incredibly talented artist has a bright future ahead of her.

Standout tracks: The River, Animal, Daydreamer, Soulless Creatures, In Bottles, A Different Kind of Human, The Seed

4.  STARSET – DIVISIONS

The sci-fi obsessed alt-rock band digs deeper into their geeky toy-box on their third album, a blistering succession of edgy, synth-heavy pounders perfectly capturing the album’s theme of a dystopian future in which mankind becomes enslaved by technology.  Spiky, thunderous power chords are perfectly offset by Dustin Bates’ deceptively pure voice.

Standout tracks: Manifest, Echo, Where the Skies End, Perfect Machine, Stratosphere, Solstice, Waking Up, Other Worlds Than These, Diving Bell

3.  BIFFY CLYRO – BALANCE, NOT SYMMETRY

My very favourite Scottish rock band tried to slip a sneaky little fast one past us this year, but I just managed to catch them on it – while technically a soundtrack album for a movie frontman Simon Neil co-wrote with director Jamie Adams, this is, in every possible way, a true, bona fide Biffy album, the offbeat alt-rock trio having once again crafted a collection of top-notch ear-burners that perfectly encapsulate their endearingly unique sound.  True fans will love it.

Standout tracks: Balance Not Symmetry, All Singing and All Dancing, Different Kind of Love, Sunrise, Colour Wheel, Gates of Heaven, Fever Dream, Tunnels and Trees, Plead, The Naturals, Touch, Following Master, Adored

2.  CORY WELLS – THE WAY WE ARE

I’ve been following the career of indie singer-songwriter Cory Wells with great interest these past few years, falling increasingly in love with each under-the-radar offering as I waited for his inevitable debut record, and I couldn’t be happier for my patience being so thoroughly rewarded.  This is a simply exquisite album about love, loss, grief and hope, a rewardingly stripped-back showcase for Wells’ powerful, devastating lyrics and raw, naked vocal talents.

Standout tracks: Keiko, Wildfire, Broken, Fall Apart, End of a Good Thing, Patience, Walk Away, Lost, Cement

1.  TOOL – FEAR INOCULUM

Was there ever any doubt? We’ve been waiting YEARS for this fifth album from one of my favourite bands OF ALL TIME, and now that it’s here it surpasses all expectations, the ridiculously talented quartet delivering what’s arguably their best release to date.  So what if the full version (only available digitally) clocks in at a staggering 90 minutes?  That means it’s an hour-and-a-half of pure bliss for all true Tool fan, as Maynard and co. blow us away with a hypnotically intricate multi-layered soundscape dominated by some of the most awesome guitar work ever recorded.

Standout tracks: Fear Inoculum, Pneuma, Invincible, Descending, Culling Voices, 7empest