Hey, dudes. Here’s my top 5 releases of 2012. All of these albums were (And still are) pretty significant to me. Some of them I would listen to almost every day for months, some of them I listened to on and off for a few weeks. Regardless, here they are:

#1. Place Called Home: Eternal Sunshine
This album was very important to me during the summer. I listened to it a lot. And I mean a fucking lot. It’s impeccable lyrically, it flows pretty much perfectly as far as I’m concerned, and it isn’t your typical emo/screamo album by any means. Listening to this album was an experience that I think more people should have had this year. Since I started listening to this album, some of the guys in Place Called Home have become good friends of mine. I think if there’s any album you should listen to on this list, it’s this one. Place Called Home has since released a split with Southtowne Lanes, but I think this album in particular will always have a place in my heart.

#2. Acidic Tree: Dead On Our Feet
Dead On Our Feet has a really unique, refreshing vibe to it. I was introduced to them through friends of mine (Shouts out to Thom and Billy) and it wasn’t at all what I expected. I immediately enjoyed it and even have it on tape. The Acidic Tree guys are really cool guys. They’re really into the DIY aspect of music, and I think that’s important when it comes to certain bands.

#3. Lord Snow: Sovngarde
I don’t remember how I got introduced to this album (It was probably the “skramz” tag on Bandcamp to be completely honest.) or when I started listening to it, but it’s without a doubt one of my favorites of 2012. “Oh, how the wine talks” is one of the most memorable tracks I heard in 2012. This album just leaves me with a really comfortable feeling in my chest, amongst other feelings I wouldn’t really know how to explain. I’d really like to see Lord Snow in the near future. Since Sovngarde they had a lineup change, but they’re still fucking sick from what I hear.

#4. Beau Navire: Lumens
Anybody that knows me well enough knows that iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook is my favorite band, and that I’m a big fan of the bands stemming from them (Beau Navire, Punch, …who calls so loud). Having not heard any emoviolence that really caught my attention for a little bit, I was glad Lumens came out when it did. I’m pretty sure I’ve missed Beau Navire playing within driving distance of me more than a handful of times, and that upsets me more than it should. Admittedly, I do like Hours more than Lumens overall,  I’ve listened to Hours more, and it holds more significance to me, but even so Lumens is a damn solid album.

#5. Gnaw Their Tongues: Eschatological Scatology
So a lot of people aren’t into drone/noise/doom, and that’s alright. But when I found this album (I believe through theneedledrop) it opened up a new world to me (Jesus fuck that sounds cheesy as fuck but you get what I mean) of noise music. I remember more than one occasion where I was feeling upset/angry and this album, did, uh, something I guess. Not so much depress me and not so much cheer me up, it was kind of just a good background noise. Anyway, if you’re not a fan of black metal influenced drone, I wouldn’t say there’s a big chance you’ll like this. But hey, give it a shot. You never know.