Recent years have made way for Metalcore acts with a strong sense of melody along the lines of Counterparts, The Ghost Inside, or Hundredth to explode with popularity. It never quite made sense to me that such a talented and passionate band like It Prevails was never able to catch up with their brother bands during their eleven year run.

I’ve always had a soft spot for It Prevails. I had the privilege of opening a gig for them with one of my older metal bands about five or six years ago. The kids running the show were not able to pay the full guarantee so we collectively decided to throw together a cookout for them. The five piece hailing from Portland, Oregon were extremely humble, down-to-earth dudes that watched all of the opening bands and spent the evening conversing with us.

Their live performance that evening was absolutely incredible. Never before have I witnessed such overwhelming passion and positivity from a band and such was displayed equally from each of the members. Vocalist Ian Fike was able to impressively switch back and forth between commanding growls and beautiful cleans with ease and sang with such sincerity the entire room could feel his emotional pain. I was always beat myself up for not catching them the very few times they returned to the area following that evening.

The band announced the recording of their fourth LP Perdition was underway and released two demos from the upcoming release in early 2012. The hype began to strengthen and it appeared as if this would be the record that would finally give It Prevails the attention they deserve.

Time passed, hype died down, and there was no update on the record’s progress whatsoever. I would occasionally check Fike’s facebook page to see if he posted anything regarding a possible shelfing of the album or the band’s dissolution but all I could see were tragic and heart-breaking posts regarding the current state of his life. The man has had an incredibly rough life the past few years and I felt overwhelmed with guilt for only being concerned with the man’s art as opposed to his current state of life.

A few months later was met with the official announcement from the band to hang up the towel, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Perdition was finally going to be released at the beginning of 2015 after years of delays. The record sadly received virtually no promotion and slipped under the radar due to the announcement of the band’s plan to part ways.

It Prevails’ final LP is a beyond underrated masterpiece filled with beautiful melodic leads, a powerful vocal performance from Fike, and encouraging lyrics with a powerful message. I have a specific emotional connection to the track “It Starts Today.” I dealt with depression and extreme anxiety in the past year that lead to severe self-loathing and mistreatment of that I cared about. The chorus of this song constantly would encourage me to push forward and stay positive regardless of my circumstances and what I was going through. The fact Fike could be going through so many trials and tribulations in his life and still manage to stay positive while I wallowed in negativity over petty things strongly put things in perspective.

Fans of the popular melodic metalcore bands previously mentioned must absolutely listen to this record. This particular genre is not necessarily my cup of tea, but it is a craft It Prevails mastered and executed beautifully during their decade long reunion. The blood, sweat, and tears put into Perdition comes across clearly with each listen. This record deserves your attention. Don’t let it fade into obscurity.

Florida’s rock quartet Torche has made a name for themselves in the alternative music community for bravely taking attributes of aggresive genres including Sludge metal, Stoner Rock, Doom metal, etc. and adding a poppy layer to the mix.

The band has continued this year’s ongoing theme of applying a “less is more” tactic to their sound with their fourth LP titled Restarter. This release contains the band’s most straightforward songs in their catalogue such as “Minion” and “Bishop in Arms”, but also contains some of the group’s heaviest moments as heard in the head-bang anthem “Barrier Hammer.”

Restarter has it all: Groove, sludge, and melody. Fans worrying that Torche was beginning to stray from their heaviness and become a radio friendly shell of their former selves need not to worry. While the group’s approach to writing is more simplistic, it just as authentic and fun as any of their previous efforts.

My high school and college years were centered in the art of writing incredibly long essays almost every night. I suppose that is the price one must pay for taking AP English and eventually pursuing a writing degree. During these troubling times, I would need some sort of background music to put me in the right mood but most music proved to be distracting.

Post Rock acts such as Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai always proved to be perfect for such occasions. A productive mindset was almost always born from listening to long, drawn out, instrumentally driven pieces.

I would have been incapable of focusing on any homework if I had access Caspian’s latest LP Dust and Disquiet back then. From start to finish there is so much going on that by the time the album concludes, there is nothing left to be desired. The atmosphere and landscapes this album will paint in your brain are limitless.

To pigeonhole Caspian as a Post Rock band is unfair for the hardworking sextet. The band successfully has implanted elements of jazz, metal, electronic, folk and many other genres throughout their twelve years of existence. To utilize minimal vocals and yet have the passion and emotion come across so clearly is one of the many aspects that make Caspian far more than just a post rock band.

Dust and Disquiet is a masterpiece that should I highly recommend listening to from start to finish. Don’t allow it to be the background music while you chip away at an English essay. Sit down, listen to it, and get lost in it.

The Industrial metal influence introduced in earlier releases is stronger than ever with moments reminiscent of early Godflesh. The album relies heavily on predictable breakdowns, but they are so crushingly heavy that it cannot be viewed as a flaw. Rust is a simple yet fun half hour of sheer brutality.

If you’re looking for the ideal soundtrack to get some testosterone flowing as you perform dead lifts at the gym or perhaps take out an entire army of cyborgs with your bare hands, Chicago’s Metalcore outfit Harm’s Way has you covered with their latest LP. Rust features the motif of decay and corrosion coupled with production that manages to be both polished yet disgustingly dirty.

While this record may not have the depth of Isolation it succeeds in different ways. Harm’s Way took a similar route to Turnstile by crafting a straightforward and catchy release, but the outcome is anything but similar to Nonstop Feeling. Rust is not some accessible dance party your grandmother could comfortably participate in. Rust is a relentlessly powerful punch to the face that will prompt you to pack two pairs of underwear in your gym bag.
The industrial metal influence introduced in earlier releases is stronger than ever with moments reminiscent of early Godflesh. The album relies heavily on predictable breakdowns, but they are so crushingly heavy that it cannot be viewed as a flaw. Rust is a simple yet fun half hour of sheer brutality.

Last year, a band called Manchester Orchestra released an album titled Cope that confused its fan base. They are an outfit known for blending high energy rock and roll with beautiful, vocally driven ballads, but this new release seemed to focus on the aggressive nature of their sound entirely. The album felt like it was missing a vital element of what made Manchester such a great band.

Just as Cope seemed to be fading into irrelevancy, an accompanying album titled Hope dropped without any sort of announcement from the band. It contained alternate versions of all the songs completely bare of all abrasiveness or distortion. With minor changes to the lyrics, the songs now felt like beautifully written ballads capturing the missing aspect of their sound entirely. Manchester Orchestra played a brilliant trick and restored all hope in their fan base. They successfully split their sound in half and used the element of surprise to their advantage.

This year, Baltimore’s dream pop duo Beach House pulled a similar move in the complex chessgame that is the music industry. August saw the release of Depression Cherry, the highly-anticipated follow up to Bloom. The new record confused fans in the same way Cope did, because of its headfirst dive into shoegazing production. Bloom to Depression Cherry did not exactly seem like a smooth transition.

Two months pass and Thank Your Lucky Stars is dropped without any announcement whatsoever. Is it a B-sides record? No. Is it Depression Cherry Part 2? No. Should it be a viewed as a complementing half of Depression Cherry? No. The move Beach House pulled may have been similar to Manchester’s but not identical. The band’s sixth LP is a darker, more politically-based album that should be viewed as a separate entity entirely. Beach House does make it difficult for fans to not compare two albums released a mere two months apart, but that’s the challenge.

Thank Your Lucky Stars sounds like the bridge that separates Bloom and Depression Cherry. The songs are less spacey and the vocals float more peacefully above the mix as opposed to being drowned within. The instrumentation is more guitar-based and full band sounding along the likes of Teen Dream.

If you are looking for the modern version of the Cocteau Twins, check this album out. Beach House has been a huge part of bringing Dream Pop back to the mainstream spotlight and every album in their catalogue in worth checking out.

It has not gone unnoticed that the popularity of Baltimore’s Turnstile has completely skyrocketed in the past year. Some even consider the five piece to be the biggest band in the hardcore scene currently. Why is that? What is it about this band that has given them such an explosive fan base in 2015? The answer is quite simple: they have a formula and that formula works.

Nonstop Feeling showcases a smorgasbord of 90’s nostalgia with the band’s influences written proudly on their sleeves. Instrumentally the five piece combines elements of crossover bands of the era with elements of radio hit bands of the era such as 311. Vocally the Zach de La Roche worship is obvious, but done very well. There is even a song titled “Out of Rage” that sounds like it could easily pass as a Rage Against the Machine track, but it comes off more as an homage than plagiarism.

The common critique of this album tends to deal with the overall silliness and absurdity with the lyrics, but Turnstile’s primary objective appears to be centered in keeping the listener entertained and to have a blast doing so. The pressure to succeed paid off because this album had me rocking out from start to finish.

Nonstop Feeling is twelve tracks of catchy, fun, accessible hardcore that your grandma could groove to. Turnstile’s refusal to take themselves seriously is what really makes this record stand out. If you’re looking for a fun album that is absolutely perfect to do cardio to, I recommend adding this LP to your workout playlist.

Stock up on your smokes and get ready to brew up a fresh pot of coffee because every hipster’s favorite Canadian dork is welcoming us back into his world via his new mini LP titled Another One. If Salad Days was a full course meal, this is the dessert to hold us over until his next release.

The opening track “The Way You’d Love Her” will immediately sent waves of comfort and relaxation throughout the body. Forget all of the stress encompassing your life. Forget how much of a jerk your boss is. Forget about how massively in debt your college loans have made you. Mac wants you to kick off your shoes, relax and be serenaded by his twinkly guitar-work.

Another One may feel like more of the same if you are familiar with Mr. Demarco’s discography, but such is implied in the title. The addition of synthesizers brings depth of sincerity to the straightforward and simplistic writing style the cigarette-obsessed gap-tooth charismatic has become known for over the past couple of years.

“My House by the Water” concludes the mini LP with the sounds of synth, lapsing waves, and a blunt invitation to hang out with him at his house reinforcing the theme of comfort and relaxation. If you are looking for relaxing, twinkly jangle pop laced with positive vibes along the likes of Kurt Vile, give Another One a shot.