Let’s get right to what the title says. Here’s the list:
1. Tool – Fear Inoculum
Tool returned to the music scene after a 13-year gap and the decision to have all their music available on digital platforms was met with mixed opinions. However, when Fear Inoculum released, listeners seemed really glad about that decision. It’s everything one can imagine a more-than-a-decade-in-the-making Tool album to be: new sounds, greater levels of maturity and sophistication, and more of the band’s progressive instrumentals and comparatively less Keenan.
Stand-out tracks: Pneuma, 7empest, Fear Inoculum
Listen to Fear Inoculum here.
2. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind
In what’s their 20th year of creating and performing in the music industry, the aptly-titled album by the masked freaks is rich in its rhythms and melodies. Corey Taylor’s vocal prowess surely keeps ascending levels, and several tracks from the album are quintessentially eargasmic. The track-spillover is also something to watch out for, and it’s masterfully done on more than one occasion.
Stand-out tracks: Nero Forte, Unsainted, Solway Firth
Check out Slipknot’s latest album here.
3. Korn – The Nothing
Korn waltzed into our lives mostly when we were all dealing with teen angst, meeting expectations, and struggling to get by. The band’s voice resonated greatly with our inner demons, and just like many other nu-metal acts of the era, brought out some incredible compositions. The Nothing features Jonathan Davis’ wailing screams fueled by the agony that stemmed from the loss of his wife in 2018. It isn’t their heaviest (or their best), but it’s probably their most striking work in years.
Stand-out tracks: Cold, You’ll Never Find Me, Can You Hear Me
Catch the compelling record here.
4. Alter Bridge – Walk The Sky
Treading the thin line between hard rock and heavy metal, Walk The Sky is probably Alter Bridge’s greatest piece of work since Black Bird (I’m definitely not undermining the cracker that The Last Hero was). Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti are incredible musicians and they create nothing short of art in their latest outing. The album features a number of hard rock bangers that warrant spots on your playlist for a good while.
Stand-out tracks: Indoctrination, Pay No Mind, Wouldn’t Your Rather, Dying Light (actually, the entire album is a knockout!)
Click here to stream Walk The Sky.
5. The Black Keys – Let’s Rock
What a simple name choice for an album name. And rock it does! Even if it’s been five years since their last record, The Black Keys sound exactly as good as where they left off. The record hits the mark in many of its tracks, all the while retaining the vibe that we’ve always loved The Black Keys for. Great riffs, great vocals, some psychedelic influences – it’s an album totally worth rocking out to!
Stand-out tracks: Lo/Hi, Tell Me Lies, Go, Sit Around and Miss You
Stream the complete album here.
6. The Raconteurs – Help Us Stranger
It’s been over a decade since their last record and The Raconteurs are back with a fantastic set of tracks. Jack White stays on top of his vocals and coupled with the band’s screeching guitars, they literally pull off a bluesy, rock and roll stunner. Help Us Stranger is an album best savored on vinyl than on a streaming platform. This is an instant jukebox classic comprising tracks that carry an essential throwback state-of-mind.
Stand-out tracks: Help Me Stranger, Bored and Razed, Only Child, Thoughts and Prayers
Listen to the record here.
7. Rammstein – Rammstein
The German rockers, best known for their pyrotechnics-driven performances, left an impression yet again with their self-titled album. The band’s NSFW videos have always been the subject of controversies and this year’s efforts haven’t been any different. Rammstein centres their songs around the most audacious of themes, and that reflects strongly in Till Lindemann’s vocals.
Stand-out tracks: Deutschland, Radio, Puppe, Ausländer
You can listen to the industrial metal album here.
Here are some songs that released in 2019 and worth checking out in my opinion:
- Black Pumas – Colors
- Lindemann – Frau & Mann
- Falling In Reverse – Popular Monster
- Glass Animals (with Denzel Curry) – Tokyo Drifting
- Milky Chance – We Didn’t Make It To The Moon
- American Authors – Calm Me Down
- Bad Wolves – Better Off This Way
- Bon Jovi – Unbroken
- Tame Impala – It Might Be Time
- Broken Bells – Good Luck
- Dirty Honey – Rolling 7s
- Skillet – Legendary
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