This was one heck of a good year for music…

	#20: POISON THE WELL – You Come Before You (Atlantic). Bands constantly say that they are pushing new boundaries with each release, but few live up to their words. “You Come Before You,” is a tremendous leap of progress for the metalcore genre that fails to sacrifice any intensity while pursuing atypical song structures. With superbly recorded lead vocals, guitar theatrics that emulate an out of control pulse, and thunderous production, this disc comes out of the stereo and aims for your throat.
	#19: BOY SETS FIRE – Tomorrow Comes Today (Wind-Up). Although not as “scream at the top of my lungs” exciting as their previous full-length, “After The Eulogy,” this release reinforces the power of strong melodies making songwriting enriching and memorable. Nathan Gray’s inpenetrable vocal are the “it” factor that make sure I never keep this disc far from my stereo. Even with the band’s slight turn to softer, but no less thorough material, “Eviction Article,” might be on the angriest tunes of 2003.
	#18: ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES – Sirens (Revelation). I feel like it took forever for this release to come out, but when it did it left me quaking on the first listen. OTMOP’s emocore stylings have often made references to the defiant, uncontrollable nature of water, and “Sirens,” is no different, as its whirlpool effect delivers wave after wave of crushing emotion. I have a soft spot for haunting music, and listening to this release with headphones on, with the lights off creeps me out to no end.
	#17: DARKEST HOUR – Hidden Hands of a Saddist Nation (Victory . It took this band a trip to Sweden to bring out the best in them, but it was 100% worth it. One of this band’s true talents is to take absurdly heavy music and meld it into song structures that are inviting to the listener. Imagine crafting a sculpture with only a circular saw – it sounds unwiedly at first, but after some intense practice and confidence, it’s a challenge worth undertaking. And oh yea…the drumming on here is pure insanity.
	#16: CAVE IN – Antenna (RCA). I’ve probably done more studying to this disc than anything else in 2003. It’s hard to describe, but I feel like my brain just turns it up when CAVE IN is crankin’ in the background. With the exception of the air-guitar induced mayhem caused by the epic “Inspire,” the sublties of “Antenna,” keep it conducive to secondary focus. Some people listen to Mozart while studying Constitutional Methodology, and other’s, well, me, find savior in CAVE IN’s post-hardcore mindspring.
	#15: SINCE BY MAN – We Sing The Body Electric (Revelation). I think I got this release in January – it’s not often an early year release stays relevant for an entire year (hooray for the internet generation), but SBM’s dance-influenced metalcore is fiesty, gripping, and cathartic. Everytime I play “The Enemy,” I feel like doing a backflip off a bookcase. Smart, stylish, and dynamically intriguing, “We Sing…” makes it clear that hardcore and metal has nothing to do with tough guy posturing.
	#14: BLEEDING THROUGH – This Is Love, This Is Murderous (Trustkill). Although it wouldn’t be too hard to dismiss the cartoonish aspect of this band as “cornycore,” BLEEDING THROUGH come out swinging, and land themselves on the 2003 All-Shreddery Team. Rigid, booming production give “This Is Love…” a stiff, hard-nosed feeling, and it’s that kind of coldness that allows this music to slice with terror. Guitars squeal, keyboards darken, and gutteral vocals disembowl your intestines and string them up like sausages hanging off a clothesline.
	#13: STRIKE ANYWHERE – Exit English (Jade Tree). The best thing about STRIKE ANYWHERE is that they bring “the show” to you on their releases. With the assistance of producer extroadinare Brian McTernan, every track on “Exit English” feels like it’s being played live in your bedroom. With a greater emphasis on diverse song tempos, and a stronger recording of Thomas’ vocals, these guys seem well on their way to becoming the BAD RELIGION of the next generation.
	#12: PAINT IT BLACK – CVA (Jade Tree). When I listen to “CVA,” I’m immediately overcome by fond memories of my first time listening to SICK OF IT ALL’s “Blood, Sweat, and No Tears,” when I was 14, and the fatefall day in 1999 when KID DYNAMITE’s “S/T” showed up in my mailbox as the result of some magazine subscription. I hope that for a new generation of kids, “CVA” can have that effect. This disc bristles with energy and spit.
	#11: SCRAPS AND HEART ATTACKS – Still Sick (Triple Crown). “Still Sick” was easily the biggest suprise of the year for me. I was promised good things by these guys, but I had no idea they were capable of dropping one of the best hardcore releases since AMERICAN NIGHTMARE’s “Background Music.” In only 20 minutes, these guys get my vocal chords raw, and if the last song, “Don’t F With S,” isn’t one of the best album closers to ever be recorded, I don’t know what is.
	#10: CHILDREN OF BODOM – Hatecrew Deathroll (Century Media). It is entirely true that much of the music we listen to is a result of who our peers are, and if it was not for the kind graces (i.e. extortion, threat of a knife fight) of Kevin Wade, I would have probably not sought out this release. Simply stated, BODOM make my jaw drop. At times, I’m not even sure how music this complex, dramatic, and precise can even be created. But that’s not a question I need to have answered – I have faith in anything that makes my subwoofer, an inanimate object, look tired.
	#9: THE AGONY SCENE – S/T (Solid State). When I rode the DC metro to work this summer, THE AGONY SCENE was my soundtrack to most morning commutes. Although I was gracious to take mass transit and not face the awful DC area traffic with my imaginary car, the ridiculously overcrowded, faceless aspects of being jammed like cattle into a barely moving steel box had some minor drawbacks. Thankfully, THE AGONY SCENE’s riff-tastic metal goodness kept my mind sharp as I people-watched and peered into the tortured souls of the many dispirited peons that comprise the local economy. Huh?
	#8: RISE AGAINST – Revolutions Per Minute (Fat). This disc is essentially melodic hardcore at its finest level. Fast and furious with lyrics that beg to be sung along to, covering both personal and political subject matter. Tim McIllrath’s distinct vocals display an inordinate amount of range, and these guys know just when to drop a breakdown that defines the emphasis of a song. RISE AGAINST raise the ante on what it means to write an “anthem.”
	#7: PARK – It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going (Lobster). This is perhaps the most dark and disturbing release in my entire musical collection. Normally, it’s not a good thing to describe that one of the best qualities of a band is that their singer seems like he must absolutely suffer from a chemical imbalance, but with PARK, this is a band that seems to fueled to no end by the pains of desparation. Mid-paced, guitar driven post-hardcore normally does not coincide with such a dreary premise, but PARK pull it off in grand, disorienting fashion.
	#6: COMEBACK KID – Turn It Around (Facedown). BANE didn’t put a record this year, and ENSIGN hasn’t had a release of all new, original material in about three years. Thankfully, “Turn It Around,” fills that gap nicely with some of the best sounding old-school hardcore to grace these ears. With slight metal touches, and loads of speed, COMEBACK KID take it to the house. The first track, “All In A Year,” is destined to become a classic.
	#5: DEATH BY STEREO – Into the Valley of Death (Epitaph). On their third full-length, DEATH BY STEREO drag in numerous influences to their hardcore foundation, doing certain things no other band would ever have the guts to pull off. Efrem Schultz is the ringleader of this musical circus, and he skillfully commands this raging fireball of calamity. It’s the “little” things that show up on here that make it so great, like the inclusion of an operatic breakdown, and the band’s bitingly sardonic lyrics seethe with passion.
	#4: BRAND NEW – Deja Entendu (Triple Crown/Razor and Tie). One of the most attractive songwriting features of a band in a certain genre is how well their songs communicate tension. In fast, bouncy pop-punk, this is non-issue, but with slower, more textured music, sometimes tension is what makes or breaks a release. “Deja Entendu” thrives in its serious, ghost-town demeanor. Pensive vocals, jarring guitar riffs, and swelling melodies make this disc impossible to cast aside. Loaded with originality, and raw with emotion, BRAND NEW connect where it counts.
	#3: BELOVED – Failure On (Solid State). As opposed to faster, gruffer equivalents, BELOVED’s take on metalcore is sheer methodical gracefulness. Armed with a technical vision that matches searing melody and gigantic guitar crunches, BELOVED’s mid-paced seismic delivery is akin to the proverbial white elephant that occupies almost every bit of space in a tight corner. If you can imagine the refined sounds of FURTHER SEEMS FORVER being abused by MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, this is the result.
	#2: RANCID – Indestructible (Warner/Hellcat). With their best release since 1995′s legendary “And Out Come The Wolves,” RANCID prove that their broadly influenced sound is timeless, and true to the influences of punk rock’s forefathers. Exceptionally thorough songwriting and lyrical subject matter makes this disc tick with a chip on its shoulder for all 50 minutes. The personal lives of RANCID’s members may have taken some hits in the past few years, but its only made their minds sharper and hungrier.
	#1: THRICE – The Artist In The Ambulance (Island). Why a person likes certain characteristics of a band’s music is a nebulous concept to pin down. But sometimes there are just certain things a band does that makes their music an absolutely thrilling experience to listen to. THRICE does that for me. THRICE makes me smile; makes me sing or scream along; makes me air drum until most of my upper body aches; and most importantly, makes me respect the power of music. I can’t guarantee you’ll feel what I feel when I listen to this disc, but if this disc isn’t in your collection, you might not realize what you’ve been missing.

Honorable Mentions (In no particular order) THE JULIANA THEORY – Love EVERYTIME I DIE – Hot Damn! MAXEEN – S/T THE POSTAL SERVICE – Give Up AFI – Sing The Sorrow A STATIC LULLABY – And Don’t Forget to Breath DENALI – The Instinct THE FIRE THEFT – S/T THE BLED – Pass The Flask THE WEATHERTHANS – Reconstruction Site HASTE – The Mercury Project ARCH ENEMY – Anthems of Rebellion THURSDAY – War All The Time VAUX – There Must Be Some Way to Stop Them ARMOR FOR SLEEP – Dream to Make Believe JOE STRUMMER – Streetcore FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES – The Fiction We Live NORA – Dreamers and Deadmen MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK – I Am The Movie I DEFY – The Firing Line SHAI HULUD – Blood Ill Tempered Within TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS – Hearts of Oak Favorite EPs 1. SAOSIN – Translating the Name 2. AGE OF RUIN – The Longest Winter Woes 3. SALEM – Love it or Leave Me 4. BRANDTSON – Death and Taxes Favorite Home Dancing Audio Soundtrack 2003: ANDREW WK – The Wolf Favorite Compilations/Retrospectives: KID DYNAMITE – Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems NO DOUBT – Singles 1992 – 2003 THE CLASH – Essential Clash V/A – Atticus – Dragging the Lake II Major label releases that were terribly neglected by their labels: THE DISTILLERS – Coral Fang CAVE IN – Antenna THE JULIANA THEORY – Love HOTWIRE – S/T Favorite “Under The Radar” disc of 2003: CLOSER THAN KIN – The Machineries of Breath Most Anticipated Release of 2004: Law of Inertia’s Tribute to GUNS N ROSES BAD RELIGION – TBA Favorite Live Musical Performance DVD of 2003: 1. JIMMY EAT WORLD – Believe In What You Want 2. HELLFEST 2002 Favorite Packaging of 2003: THE BLED – Pass The Flask Favorite “Comeback” Release of 2003: INTEGRITY – To Die For Favorite Print Zine of 2003: LAW OF INERTIA