Anniversary Blog - 10 Years of Rock

[Elena]

Hey everyone!

You might have noticed that on the Community we're celebrating a big milestone - our 10th anniversary and in honor of that we're writing some blogs that will lead us down memory lane. I'd like to take a walk on the wild side as Mötley Crüe once sang and write about rock and metal music throughout the years. Let's dive in and let nostalgia rain over us like we're at a summer festival in the UK.

I'll highlight some outstanding songs and bands from the last decade that have left a mark in my mind and musical taste and there will also be 2 guest writers from the Mod team for 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2022!

I sincerely urge you to leave a comment with your fave song or iconic band/album from the last 10 years - as we know reminiscing is always more fun with a friend. 

2012:

One of my most vivid memories from the time is singing along to Amaryllis by Shinedown with my dad in our car. And I surely wasn't alone in my fondness of the album - it debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and gave the band their highest entry on the charts.

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No good year went by without a Linkin Park album back then. In 2012 they released their fifth studio album - Living Things. It was the highest debuting hard rock album in the US for about a year.

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Lastly, I'd say that the music world would not have been the same without Stone Sour's House of Gold and Bones pt.1 . Not only the the beginning part of the metal saga but also as a critic of the time says - ''a milestone for Stone Sour and for modern rock music''

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2013:

If you didn't hear Hail to the King at least once a day blasting from a random kid's earphones, were you even paying attention in 2013? The song had taken over the scene and Avenged Sevenfold spend 10 weeks in a row, and 11 weeks cumulative, atop of the Billboard Mainstream Rock songs chart because of it.

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Another album that had a huge influence at that time (and still does) was AM by Arctic Monkey which made its debut at number 6 on the Billboard 200. Looking at all users on Tumblr at the time for making this happen - I personally had at least 3 posts quoting lyrics from the songs and asking myself Do I wanna know?

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And while we're talking about Tumblr fame I can't help but mention Paramore and their self titled album that came out that year. Ain't it fun won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song and the hearts of many people.

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2014:

2014 kept up the girl power in rock as The Pretty Reckless's single Heaven Know topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and stayed there for five consecutive weeks and for a good reason. The anthem-like track gets you bopping your head and singing along with Taylor from the very first listen of the song!

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As a big Slipknot fan myself, I have to include their fifth album that came out that year .5: The Gray Chapter. It was their first studio album in six years and in memory of the original founding member and bassist Paul Gray. I used to listen to it every time on the bus heading back to my home town and thinking how much I love The Devil in I and Lech (I still do)

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Finishing the year off with another chart topper - none other than Godsmack's single 1000hp. The song was at the peak of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for three weeks and I had it on repeat for much much longer.

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2015:

In June of 2015 Muse released their seventh studio album, Drones and overnight a lot more people knew about the film Full Metal Jacket. With this I mean the most popular song Psycho and its references to Kubrick's work. It might be possible that I am overexaggerating the connection and influence of these two, but the fact that later their album wins a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is not an exaggeration at all.

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After being ''down with the sickness'' for a couple of years, Disturbed officially announced the end of their hiatus in 2015 and the coming of their new album named Immortalized. Love them or hate them (or somehow both), their influence on the scene is undeniable and the single The Vengeful One made it to the top of Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for a week. 

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A month later Bring Me the Horizon released their fifth studio album That's the Spirit and with that, they got their fist song to top the Mainstream Rock chart for 2 weeks with the single Throne. They have changed their sound from their earlier years, which did cause some debate, but I enjoyed the song quite a lot and it seems the world did as well as it's their most listened song on Spotify now.

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2016: thanks to @Yordan 

During the mid-2010s Iceland became a pivotal household in the extreme subgenres of metal, giving birth to many formidable names such as Svartidauði, Misþyrming, Carpe Noctem, Sinmara and Wormlust, which developed a sound that was so distinguishable and unique for the country, that one could easily tell the band was from Iceland without hearing them sing. Dissonant, soaring guitars create a bleak atmosphere which blends perfectly with Iceland's harsh climate and desolate landscapes.

But the band that does this the best in my opinion is definitely Zhrine with their Unortheta - an album that captures all the brutal elements that black and death metal are known for, and fuses them with melancholic elements that are as beautiful as they are disturbing. Unortheta represents a dystopian society in a crumbling desolate world, where there's no hope left. With each passing track, the earth collapses into oblivion and you just stand there, motionless, awaiting the inevitable end.

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2017:

On a brighter note, can we have a list about heavy music and not include Metallica? Of course we can, but this is not such a list. Metallica's Hardwired... to Self-Destruct was declared top rock album of 2017 by Billboard and the only platinum album from a rock band in 2017, so I'd say we need to include them in here. 

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And from the veterans in the scene, we jump to Greta Van Fleet with their single "Highway Tune". It debuted at number 1 in the Billboard Mainstream Rock, which makes them one of the few bands who topped the chart with their very first single sent to the it. I'd deem that as quite impressive!

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And to finish off 2017 strongly, I present to you the song nominated for Grammy Award in "Best Metal Performance" - Invisible Enemy by August Burns Red. With their amazing blend of harmonious, melodic instrumentals and rough deep vocals, at least to me it's quite clear why they got the nomination.

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2018:

For 2018 it seems I'll be presenting only Scandinavian bands - starting with the Swedes from Ghost. That year their single Rats topped the Mainstream Rock chart for seven straight weeks. If you love amazingly diverse and catchy guitar riffs that is definitely the song for you, vocals aren't half bad either.

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Next up we have the Finnish band Amorphis and their latest album to this day -Queen of Time which received very positive reviews upon release in 2018. The album included a big variety of instruments used such as flutes, saxophone, reeds, or xylophones, which is not unusual for the band overall. I've loved their music ever since Skyfroger in 2009 and have yet to be disappointed by their work.

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The Scandinavian sandwich will be topped off by none other than the Swedes from In Flames and I am above from their album that came out in the next year. The song was released as part of the promo for the new album and got fans quite hyped up for what is to follow.

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2019:

In 2019 Tool released their first album in 13 years, Fear Inoculum and their music became available on Spotify as well. Joy to the world! The new album topped the US Billboard 200 all-format albums chart, making it  the biggest debut for a rock album in 2019. I believe I speak for a lot of people when I say that the excitement for this was great and it did not disappoint. 

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In the year of comebacks Rammstein also released their first new music since 2011. "Deutschland" quickly became their second No. 1 single in Germany and spread all over the world. Back then we were all still working at the office and would mildly annoy innocent colleagues by playing it on a regular basis. Ah, the good old times!

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In 2019 I Prevail's second album, Trauma came out and it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. I'm not gonna lie, I did discover the album in 2020, but better late than never as they say. 

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2020: thanks to @MafeG 

The new decade welcomes us with an album from a band that never fails to deliver and that's Deftones. After 25 years, they keep finding the way to renew themselves with a fresh tone while keeping their iconic gritty and alluring sounds, they even hit the No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

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This list can't be fully completed without mentioning the "Godfather of metal". With more than 20 albums released through the last 40 years, Ozzy's legacy still stands strong to this day, with the help of Elton John we have a rock ballad that reveals us Ozzy's view on his career and what his legacy will be.

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Last pick for the year comes from @Elena and I chose Poppy and her ''I disagree''. You might have spotted that I have a soft spot for women in metal/rock and Poppy was a great find for me. With the song "Bloodmoney" she was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making her the first female solo artist to ever be nominated in the 30-year history of the category. How awesome is that?

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2021: thanks to @MafeG 

Even in the new millennia, the blues still inspires us a great deal. And in this occasion, The Black Keys gift us with some incredible covers such as Crawling King Snake, Poor Boy a Long Way from Home or Louise. A definite innovative take to the genre that started it all.

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With this one, we finally have the 10th album from Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl announced they were taking a break in 2018. Even though their direction switched to a more groovy and upbeat sound, it still contains a good dose of their post-grunge style.

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Last pick here also is from @Elena and I'll feature another female vocal - Courtney LaPlante from Spiritbox. I can't say enough nice things about their music even if I tried 😄 The incredible variety in their songs, Courteny's mind-blowing vocals backed by perfect instrumentals are what got Eternal Blue debuting at number thirteen on the Billboard 200.

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2022: thanks to @MafeG 

This year has just begun but it's impossible to not mention this single that has been composed with the exclusive purpose of being the tune of the mind-blowing anime Attack on Titan's opening credits. With half the length of a regular song, it gives twice as much emotion as other songs. It proudly stands No. 3 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs.

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and many many more to come!

That's all from us for this blog, folks! I just wanna put in a little disclaimer that these are songs that we, the Mods, chose according to our own humble taste in music and we hope you enjoy them.

You can find all the songs mention and more in this playlist:

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Rock on!

🎶

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