Graham
Top Five of 2005
 | 5. Cursed - Two (Goodfellow)
The loudest band in Canada came roaring out of the gate this year with a sophomore release so vicious it left claw marks on anyone who heard it. Adding a few new dynamics and stellar production from Ian Blurton to their trademark hardcore/crust blitzkrieg, Toronto's Cursed stepped it up a notch and delivered in spades, with tracks like "Head of the Baptist" and the Neurosis-like dirge "Model Home Invasion" raising the bar for intensity, and leaving the rest of their contemporaries scrambling to catch up. | | |  | 4. Black Mountain - S/T (Scratch Recordings)
Channeling the spirit of "Volume Four"-era Black Sabbath through a grainy filter of post-punk and fuzzed-out garage rock, Vancouver's Black Mountain released a debut this year that knocked everyone on their ass. From the sweet, heavy grooves of tracks like "Druganaut" and "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" to the positively haunting "Heart of Snow", this 8-song full length could make Bill O'Reilly fire up the bong. | | |  | 3. Modern Life is War - Witness (Deathwish Inc)
Straight up, this album reminded me of why I love hardcore. Building on the foundation set by their debut "My Love, My Way", Iowa's Modern Life is War did with "Witness" what every hardcore band currently living in the shadows of long-dead innovators wishes they could do: extract that indescribable, intangible ingredient of passion and conviction and inject it into a soundtrack that moves your heart as easily as it can move a dance floor. Powerful, honest and uncompromising. This shit is as real as it gets. | | |  | 2. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
Released at the beginning of 2005 along with the slightly-more-inconsistent electronic effort "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn", "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" shows Bright Eyes mastermind Conor Oberst falling into a sweet little groove of alt-country/folk tributes to love, loss, alcoholism and impending war. Possibly the tightest and most focused collection of tunes he's ever written, the steady and mature pace of this album is astonishing when you consider that dude is still in his early twenties. And if that isn’t all, the guest vocals by country legend Emmylou Harris are enough to buckle your knees. | | |  | 1. Against Me! - Searching for a Former Clarity (Fat Wreck)
Let the squeegee kids cry themselves to death. They may have ditched the stripped-down instrumentation and bare bones production of their early days, but the damn-near-flawless songwriting and brilliant marriage of the personal and political in Tom Gabel's lyrics have made this not only the best album of the Against Me!'s career, but easily the best punk album of the year as well. It rocks, it soothes, it inspires and it saddens. All in all, it's a stunning new plateau for a band whose possibilities, at this point, seem endless. | | |
Best Label of 2005
 | Abacus Recordings
As if having a roster that included such killer acts as Ion Dissonance and Swarm of the Lotus wasn't enough, Abacus' A&R department seemed to have their shit together a lot more than many other labels during 2005. While others spent a large amount of time and money inking deals with any band to sport a fashionable haircut and a paint-by-numbers sound, the people at Abacus snapped up some of the greatest bands around, bolstering their roster and their reputation. From new signings like Sick of it All and Ignite to Planes Mistaken For Stars and Turbonegro, the new diversity of this label is going to be incredibly interesting, and the amount of potentially stellar releases they have lined up for 2006 will make heads turn. Look for them to grow huge this year. | | |
Most Anticipated Release OF 2006
 | Mastodon - Blood Mountain (Warner Bros)
The last album from the Atlanta, GA powerhouse known as Mastodon, 2004's "Leviathan", made the top of many a reviewer's year-end list, and garnered them enough to attention to ink a deal with Warner Bros this past year. One can only imagine, given "Leviathan"'s complex and ambitious blueprint, what Mastodon will conjure up with a major-label budget. Obviously, there always exists the possibility of disappointment, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that "Blood Mountain" has all the makings to be the best release of 2006. | | |
Anthony
Top Five of 2005
 | 5. Bright Eyes - Digital Ash In A Digital Urn (Saddle Creek)
It's a toss up between the two 2005 Bright Eyes releases but I find "Digital Ash" to be a more progressive and creative record than "I'm Wide Awake" which often feels more like Conor Oberst is simply going through the motions of wanting to do an alt-country record. | | |  | 4. Matt Pond PA - Several Arrows Later (Altitude)
This one definitely flew under the radar and if you listen to any of the previous Matt Pond PA material you can see why, they have never been able to put together a release as complete and well written as this one. Fans of Death Cab, Youth Group and Nada Surf should be all over this one. | | |  | 3. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (Atlantic)
Another great release by Death Cab not at all hindered by their move to a major label. | | | | 2. Modern Life Is War - Witness (Deathwish Inc)
The best hardcore release of the year, I find it a bit odd that a hardcore release is even this far up my list. This release will be looked back on as one of the best of it's generation, truely a classic hardcore record in the making. | | |  | 1. The Static Age - Neon Nights Electric Lives (Tarantulas)
Before this year I had never heard The Static Age and this is simply the most consistant and addictive record I've heard. Nothing like anything else I listen to, this band is unique and as talented anyone out there. Buy it now! | | |
Best Label of 2005
 | Deathwish Inc
Modern Life Is War, Converge, Doom Riders, Killing The Dream, Blacklisted, Embrace Today.
This years crop of releases on Deathwish simply dominated it's genre like no one else. Everyone a nomination for hardcore release of the year. The consistency of this label is unmatched. Every release is superbly put together from the recording to the packaging. | | |
Most Anticipated Release OF 2006
 | The Bronx - TBA (Island)
One of the most fun bands around right now looks to release its major label debut on Island in the summer of 2006. Recorded in the same one off/raw style that their self titled full length was, this record should prove to be one of the best and most exciting of 2006. |
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