What was your No.1 musical discovery of 2018?

[Stadler]

I'm thinking Bend Sinister might be on my 2019 list.   

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

The only band I can think off is Insomnium, I got ridiculously hooked on Shadow of a dying Sun at the start of the year and I still listen to it.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Nightwish. Don't know how it took me this long.

[SoundscapeMN]

I'm thinking Bend Sinister might be on my 2019 list.   

 

[Dreammajesty]

Soen  the excerpts i heard from the first record made me think of a Tool replica  and i didn't bother for the rest .However i came across words and from there i explored the rest Lykaia is a really great album. I've pre-ordered Lotus as a vinyl. I think the parts that Opeth songs now miss is here in the Soen songs.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Soen  the excerpts i heard from the first record made me think of a Tool replica  and i didn't bother for the rest .However i came across words and from there i explored the rest Lykaia is a really great album. I've pre-ordered Lotus as a vinyl. I think the parts that Opeth songs now miss is here in the Soen songs.

I call it the Martin Lopez factor.

[JLa]

Been browsing through my Spotify and I think I have to give my vote to Gareth Emery. He does electronic / trance music, so probably not too well known on here. I don't usually listen to that stuff, but occasionally I do and there's just something about his tunes.

Try looking up "Sansa" if you're interested. So melodic and uplifting, makes me feel like pure joy inside.

For more proggy stuff, Votum hit my radar this year and it is awesome.

[angelmistry]

Thank You Scientist is definitely my biggest discovery. I heard Blood On The Radio on a podcast (although, annoyingly, I cannot remember which podcast it is), fell in love with the song and then bought the 2 albums and EP, and they've been in constant rotation on my listening ever since then.

Really hoping they come over to play in the UK again soon, can't wait to see the songs performed live.

[Cyclopssss]

We came from space.

Jinjer.

[Fritzinger]

REM, good call! I know and like Around The Sun quite a bit, but the album that I've been listening to for around 15 years (yes, since I was 10) is Automatic For The People. One of the best 90s albums for me!

I know I already called Document my favorite, but Automatic is up there too - I love the introspective vibe of the whole record, and Try Not to Breathe, Sweetness Follows and the last few songs in particular are great tunes.

I haven't heard Around the Sun yet, but it's interesting that you mentioned that album, because I read that it was widely regarded as a disappointment at the time and the band even thought about breaking up afterwards.

Well when ATS came out, I was 11 My dad liked the band a lot back then and had this CD and so we listened to it a lot. Of course I didn't care about overall reception, I just liked the songs, and I still do There are some great tunes on there. I love Leaving New York.

[crazy climber dude]

Angra - Another ProgPower band but legit never heard until this year. Omni is an awesome album.  I didn't go back to their other albums, but I will one day.  They were really cool and I'm sure they have more music I would love.



Leprous - They toured with Haken and I started listening before seeing them.  I got two albums and while both are different, I enjoy both and I really like this singer.  Thought he was amazing live and the band had a ton of energy (same as Voyager too).

Yes, Angra......amazing band. Guessing the long time fans will primarily pine for the older discs, but I love the Fabio Lione era so far! He seems to fit them perfectly.....and he tones down (compared to his Rhapsody stuff) just enough to make it work. If you think Omni is awesome, you have to check out Secret Garden next! Love that album!

I discovered Leprous the same way......ended up more looking forward to see them than Haken (though Haken was incredible!). Vocalist grew on me as I listened. I really like the way they seem to shun convention, and their albums reflect accordingly. Each one has different elements......very creative, expressive band!

[romdrums]

Hey ccd, glad to see another map.com refugee over here!

[crazy climber dude]

Hey ccd, glad to see another map.com refugee over here!

Thanks! Good to be here.....I figured I would see some familiar names!

[jakepriest]

The Ocean (Collective)

I've heard Pelagial back when it came out, but I've only started to appreciate the band with the relase of their latest album. Incredible atmosphere these guys create.

[Adami]

Jinjer. Definitely.

At least I think it was 2018.

[ProfessorPeart]

Didn't really discover much this year. Discounting bands that put out their first record this year, there are only 2 that I can think of.

Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Beardfish leader's other works. Bought the boxset and new record. Still listening to them, especially the new album Friendship. That ended up as my album of the year.

A Light Divided - An indie band that has self-released all of their material. Really enjoying their music. They keep evolving.

Looking at the artists I added to my library and realized I left a few out.

Riverside - Didn't realize it, but I took the plunge in 2018 and bought their whole catalog. Might be the #1 find.

Deathwhite - An American Katatonia. That's really all that needs to be said.

The Haxans - A cool side project from Ash Costello (New Years Day) and Matt Montgomery (aka Piggy D from Rob Zombie's band).

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Didn't really discover much this year. Discounting bands that put out their first record this year, there are only 2 that I can think of.

Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Beardfish leader's other works. Bought the boxset and new record. Still listening to them, especially the new album Friendship. That ended up as my album of the year.

A Light Divided - An indie band that has self-released all of their material. Really enjoying their music. They keep evolving.

Deathwhite - An American Katatonia. That's really all that needs to be said.

I just got that Deathwhite album in my roulette. It's a really good album.

[dparrott]

There's a couple I can think of

Bend Sinister
John Wesley
Mystery
North Atlantic Oscillation

I've been an NAO fan since they came out.  Love the first and the last album, but Fog Electric is brickwalled to DEATH!  I had to bring the volume down and add some EQ to make it tolerable.

[crazy climber dude]

Into the Great Divide. I'm a sucker for instrumentals, love Mike's drumming, and the rest of band is great too. My favorite album of the year! 

[Ruba]

It's a tie between Jinjer and Glassjaw.

Jinjer is a band which is a rising star in the metal world currently, I think the studio live video of "Pisces" has at the moment around 14 million views in YouTube at the moment. It was my gateway for the band also. I'd wager most people are drawn into by Tatiana's amazing vocals, but the whole band is insanely talented. They released new EP Micro last week and while it didn't really hit me like King of Everything did, I think the complexity of the new material makes it more of a slow burner.

Glassjaw is a post-hardcore band that I think had the tools to break into the mainstream in the early 2000s, but the record label screwing them over and vocalist Daryl Palumbo's health problems got into the way (also the lyrical content of their debut Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence didn't help, it's been criticized for misogyny but you can take my word it's great listening when you're having relationship troubles ) They combine aggression and catchiness like few can do and their musicianship is top-notch. After 2002's Worship and Tribute, it took them 15 years to release another LP, but 2017's Material Control has all the makings of a modern-day classic.

I also want to mention another post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance, who released my two favourite songs of the last year (Care and Midnight Crusade). They are another very technically proficient band, even proggy at times and Will Swan is an absolutely amazing guitarist.

Oh, and Pantera! Why did no one tell me how awesome they are before? Dime and Vinnie are definitely among the best guitarists and drummers ever respectively. I started listening to them about a month before Vinnie Paul passed away  .

Some other great bands I got into in 2018:
At the Drive-In (no I don't like post-hardcore or anything...)
Savatage
Christian Death
Faith No More
Ladytron
Autolux
Morbid Angel
Deicide
The Smiths