November was filled with nostalgia and new music, bringing us a lot to be thankful for. Before we let December glow in flames, let's recap on five of the best albums and singles released in November.
ALBUMS
1. Armageddon - Between You And Me
I am a firm believer that if a song has feedback before the music hits, it will be a sure banger. Before the first track of this absolutely G-d tier album, we get feedback and a few drum kicks before being fully submerged into pop-punk perfection. If I could wake up to the opening track, "Pleased To Meet You" every day, I would probably become a morning person. Something I never thought I would say, let alone type out for people to read on a post. Every single track has me audibly geeking out, something I try not to do in public yet can't hide with this album. The flow between songs is of the smoothest mixtapes, bringing variety without it sounding randomly patched together and leaving the listener with butterflies. I can confidently say that not only is this album the best from Between You And Me but that Armageddon is for sure my top album of 2021.
2. Iridescent - Silent Planet
Find you an album that can both have you starting a circle pit in your living room, moshpit in the kitchen, and leave you pondering about existence during an existential crisis in your bedroom. This is Iridescent by Silent Planet. Iridescent is a theatrical experience. Much like an IMAX movie, Silent Planet brings you into a whole new realm, an immersive experience you can feel vibrating in every sense. After a thorough listen-through from front to back, the listener will be left in awe, wishing to experience the out-of-body listening experience that is Iridescent once more. An album that is meant to hit you at the core chakra point on repeat. Perhaps we went a bit spiritual with this imagery, yet it is no understatement how this album is essential to spiritual healing.
PHOTOSENSITIVITY WARNING
3. Happier? - Volumes
I'm not sure what that intro to the opening track was, but I was intrigued by it, absolutely hyperfixated by the early breakdowns. Happier? is jampacked with brutal breakdowns to mosh to. Whether in your kitchen or at a live show, roundhouse kicks and circle pits are to be expected. I may have caused myself whiplash from listening to this album on repeat while editing photos, and it was totally worth it. Scattered about are some bangers to sway to, including my personal favorite-- "Bend."
PHOTOSENSITIVITY WARNING
4. The Romance of Affliction - SeeYouSpaceCowboy
Senses Fail, Alesana, and Saosin move aside because SeeYouSpaceCowboy is making me want to log into myspace and make Misinterpreting Constellations the song that plays when you visit my page. I suppose I could do that with spacehey (myspace 2.0), but my point stands. SeeYouSpaceCowboy brings me back to 2009, having me reach for my straightener and eyeliner as I scream to my heart's content and spin circles in my room. Everything from the album title and track titles to the actual music screams "scenecore." The Rawring 20s has only just begun yet the nostalgia with a 2021 twist has me feeling like Warped Tour. If Mayday Parade is an emotion, then so is Warped Tour. Can you taste the Monster Energy and feel the sweat as you stand by the Monster Energy South stage catching In Hearts Wake yet? Listen to The Romance of Affliction and you'll be in the moshpit too.
5. "Thoughtz & Prayerz" - Heart Attack Man
Usually, I don't include EPs in the round-ups, yet I had to make an exception with "Thoughtz & Prayerz." For an EP, this has huge LP energy, a power-punch collection of five tracks that this scene needed to hear. All killer, absolutely no room for a filler. Every track is carefully constructed with hardcore punk values, the message being gut-punched into your whole being. With all that is going on lately, and the forecast predicting more depressing and disgusting chaos, we need an anthem to pull us through. Have no fear, because Heart Attack Man not only understood the assignment, yet sparks hope for a better tomorrow--especially within the scene.
SINGLES
1. "sober exit(s)" - Static Dress
Exits may be sober, but entrances are scene as hell. Static Dress brings us to the good ol' days of 2005, when Silverstein, Underoath, and Alesana reigned the scene; making us believe "sober exit(s)" to be another myspace worthy banger. I mean, it's a year so amazing that The Summer Set had to write a song about it. While this musically was a blast from the past, this track definitely feels timeless and very much relevant in today's scene age. The addition of dial tones in the track was quite the creative mood, working nicely with the opening riff. From start to end I found myself headbanging and shaking ass, wishing I was at a live show.
PHOTOSENSITIVITY WARNING
2. "I Miss 2003" - As It Is
I don't know what is more impressive, Ronnie Ish's (guitarist of As It Is) breakdown on Twitter over missing 2003, the number of references from notable scene bands (we counted 14), or the fact that a band can make me feel nostalgia for not just a year, but a whole decade. Perhaps it's creating a single that truly sounds like a pop-punk anthem instead of a Sunrise Skater Kids parody song. Despite the title, references range from 2001 ("The Taste of Ink" - The Used and "The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World) to 2007 ("Miserable at Best" - Mayday Parade and "That's What You Get" - Paramore). I'm pretty sure that 2003 was a year chosen out of a hat for syntax and rhyme reasons unless there is a reference that we are missing. Regardless, As It Is proves that 2003 is not just a year, it is a mindset. A lifestyle of simplicity and the prime of our youth.
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3. "Bite Me" - Avril Lavigne ft. Travis Barker
Speaking of missing 2003, Avril Lavigne's new single "Bite Me" busts the myth that Avril Lavigne died in 2003 and was replaced by a doppelganger named Melissa. I was never a fan of that conspiracy theory, for Lavigne has consistently put out bangers after bangers. While she has grown as an artist, Lavigne truly went back to her "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" pop-punk anthem roots. As I listened I had vivid flashbacks of childhood me hanging out on the playset after school in my backyard singing to "Girlfriend" on my knockoff mp3 player, which I had downloaded the day before off Limewire. If you remember Limewire you might be entitled to a veteran's discount. Adding to the nostalgia is Travis Barker of Blink-182 slaying away at not only the drums but the toxic antagonist and his property in the music video as well. If this is just a taste of the new album cycle, then I truly can't wait much longer.
PHOTOSENSITIVITY WARNING
4. "Overcome" - Aviana
Lately, I have been digging the direction metalcore has been going. From Bring Me The Horizon to Architects, legendary scene bands are taking strides in a modern and unique direction. While relatively new to the scene, Aviana is adding to the positive shift in direction within the metalcore scene with their absolute banger, "Overcome." One might even say they are on their way to overcoming the genre. The multitude of vocal techniques used by Joel Holmqvist is nothing short of astonishing. Blend in addicting riffs and you've got a single that will have me headbanging and singing/screaming along while doing an evening Costco run.
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5. "The Chapeltown Rag" - Slipknot
Slipping into the end of this round-up is a single from one of the most legendary and successful nu-metal bands of the century, Slipknot. This band has yet to tone down their live performances, going above and beyond since 1995. When I heard Slipknot had released a new single, the maggot (Slipknot fan) in me was boiling with excitement and anticipation. I went in with expectations of simply enjoying myself, yet by the end of the nearly five-minute track, I knew this was going to make this month's round-up. Five minutes is a lot for someone with ADHD like myself, yet for the whole track, I was fully attentive, my mind transporting itself back to when I saw the band live at Knotfest Roadshow. Corey Taylor's voice has aged like top-shelf barrel-aged whiskey while simultaneously bringing back the best of what was their 2001 album, Iowa. This song will absolutely rip when played live, and I am antsy to witness the chaos that will pursue.
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