I had a difficult enough time restricting myself to only the Top 10 albums of the year; there was no way I could choose only 10 songs. Instead, I’m going with the my personal favorite Top 25 Best Hard Rock / Metal Songs of 2012, to be posted in increments of 5 over the next few days. I’m sure you can barely handle the suspense…
Briefly, my totally arbitrary self-imposed rules include (1) only choosing one song per artist, (2) selecting only those songs that could fairly be considered radio singles – but including singles on specialized satellite radio networks, and (3) providing a slight boost to songs that I can verify from personal concert-going experience kick ass when performed live as well. Let’s do this.
Best Hard Rock/Metal Songs of 2012: #25 - 21
25. 10 Years – Backlash
I drove to some random venue on the outskirts of metro Atlanta to see 10 Years this December, and I’m so glad I did! I always liked their radio hits (including, of course, this song), but they absolutely need to be seen live to be fully appreciated. The sound quality on the music video isn’t perfect, but it makes the cut based on the utter madness of rocking out to the song five feet from where it was being performed.
24. Devin Townsend Project – Kingdom
Given my current tastes, it’s strange to admit that I wasn’t a diehard fan of prog rock/metal until maybe a year or two ago; I pretty much went straight for the headbanging thrashing stuff. The complexity and creativity of “Kingdom” epitomizes how and why I came to see the light. It’s actually a re-recorded and re-released song from an earlier Townsend album, but it appears on Epicloud this year, and it more than deserves a spot on this list.
23. Vision of Disorder – Set to Fail
This is a killer “F- you, F- everything, F- off” hardcore song, with brief breakdowns that only emphasize the melodic and lyrical rage in the rest of the piece. I can’t even fathom what the pit must be like at one of their live shows. Excuse me while I go punch a hole in my dining room wall, just because.
22. Evans Blue – Beyond the Stars
I went back and forth between “Beyond the Stars” and “Halo” as my Evans Blue pick, but it turns out that “Halo” dropped as a single in late December 2011, so decision made! This song justifies and explains the several-months-long Evans Blue kick I’ve been on.
21. Periphery – Scarlet
I’m a relatively new Periphery fan and “Scarlet” was a major reason I got hooked. It’s an approachably melodic but still undoubtedly heavy progressive sound, and the vocals are outstanding. Incidentally, they’re joining my beloved Killswitch Engage (together with support acts Shadows Fall and kickass up-and-comers Acaro) for a few dates at the end of Killswitch’s tour, and I have never been so tempted to take a spontaneous roadtrip to New England.
Until the next installment, horns up!
