We had my favorite albums of 2017, but there are also a lot of artists who I fell in love with over the last year, that didin’t make THAT list. They still deserve some shout outs!
Wake The Sun
I caught these guys in NYC early in the year as they opened up for friends in Face The King. I was blown away and immediately talked to guitarist, Tommy, to find more information about them – Which they were actually from Long Island. Fast forward to the summer and we featured these guys on a show case and will most certainly be doing the same in 2018!
Streepthroat
This is another band I happened to catch while they were supporting another band I was going to see (Bound By Substance) – And I was immediately hooked. Scheduling hasn’t worked out for 2017, but we are definitely going to get them on something in 2018!
Flight Of Fire
From Boston, I randomly came across “My Last Gamble” and had to dig in. We’ve been in contact with them as well about getting them down to Long Island in 2018 – These gals are SERIOUSLY talented and I can’t wait to hear what’s next from them.
The Protomen
In line with The Megas, These guys are insane. They have a few mega-man (Or proto-man, to be more specific) themed songs (Hell, the singer will also wear the helmet/arm cannon) and I can’t honestly tell if I love their originals or covers more – because they’re BOTH absolutely outstanding. I took some time to watch one of their live performances over on the Youtubez and OH MY GOD, they deliver what you hear on the records and even more. Definitely a band I’d like to catch in person.
The Megas
Mega Man Themed Rock ‘n Roll. Let’s read that again, shall we? I accidentally came across these guys and was instantly hooked – Something about them sounded SO familiar but I couldn’t place my finger on it, until I took a look at their album artwork and realized – Most of their songs are written about the famed video game character, using the music (rearranged, of course) from the Iconic games. It’s SO Catchy!
Bombus
Mindless balls-out rock ‘n roll. Their 2016 release “Repeat Until Death” has been a staple of any listening endeavors throughout this year for me. “Get Your Cuts” and the Title track, “Repeat Until Death” are absolutely wonderful. Turn ‘em up to eleven!
Gunship
These guys came in right at the tail end of the year, as I stumbled across their self-titled 2015 release in early December – and pretty much played it on repeat for the month. “Tech Noir” and “The Mountain” are particular standouts, with the latter featuring an intro/voiceover from the legendary Horror director John Carpenter – and an absolutely AMAZING video!
FM-84
As I had mentioned in my previous writeup on 2017, It’s been a transitional year for me, musically – as I’ve completely fallen in love with Synthwave/Retrowave – And short of Scandroid, I can’t think of an artist that I’ve had on repeat more than FM-84 and “Running In The Night”. If you want to listen to something that’ll make you crave high top sneakers and a Delorean, this is going to be it.
Ruby The Hatchet
Where do I start – The video for their single “VAST Acid” is a total Evil Dead throwback, and honestly the vibe these rockers from New Jersey give off is straight up late 70’s Sabbath meets Grace Slick/Jefferson Airplane. Check out their 2015 release “Valley Of The Snake” And Also their 2017 release, “Planetary Space Child”
The Parity Complex
Another group that came in right at the end of 2017, from Sweden, They take Hard Rock/Metal and mash ‘em up with ambient electronics/synths, with brilliant vocals cutting through with beautifully written lyrics. They dropped their debut self-titled album in November, and I can’t wait to see what’s next from them!
Blood Command
Another group from Sweden – Their 2017 “Cult Drugs” album caught my attention with the opening of “(The World Covered In) Purple Shroud”. As a whole, they remind me of an old favorite, germany’s Guano Apes, and that’s never a bad thing. They go a lot of different directions with the album and incorporate everything from prog to punk/jazzy/pop and nail it EVERY time.
Sin Shake Sin
At first listen “Can’t Go To Hell” caught me, because hey – it was pretty catchy. Then I took a listen to a few other tracks and OH MY GOD, between the biting lyrics (If “Idiocracy” was written last week, it would still be JUST as fitting), and even the feel good track “Coexist” is a standout. The entire2014 “Lunatics and Slaves” album was absolutely a top find for 2017.
