My 2015 Soundtrack

I’ve been reflecting on my favorite songs of 2015… I always find it difficult to narrow down anything to a list, but that’s especially true of music.  There is just so much good stuff out there!  After much debate, these are the ones I think I really enjoyed most this year, in no particular order.   Surprisingly, one of my favorite bands, Shinedown, did not make the cut this year… I haven’t been duly impressed with their newest material.  Same goes for Pop Evil, though initially I liked “Footsteps (Go Higher)” until they played the hell out of it.  If you haven’t heard some of these, you should! 

1.       “Do You Know Who You Are?” – Atreyu --- the perfect blend of hard and melodic + amazing lyrics!  If you haven’t heard it, go find it NOW!

2.       “This is the Time” – Nothing More --- I loved this band when I heard Mr. MTV, likening them to FTM… When “This is the Time” and “Jenny” came out, I fell really hard for this band and all their music. My favorite song off the album is probably “God Went North”.  We took an overnight trip to see these guys earlier this year.  Most energetic, dynamic rock show I’ve seen in ages.  If you like their sound, check out their previous album, “The Few Not Fleeting”!  You won’t be sorry.

3.       “Failure” - Breaking Benjamin --- I picked this song because it was the first from them in a REALLY long time. This was followed by the release of “Angels Fall” and then the whole album. It worked out that we got to see them play The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC this summer and I have to say, I love the new band members and the vibe.  So thankful Breaking Benjamin is back on the scene.

4.       “Save Today” --- Seether --- this is my favorite so far off the newest album.  I admit it took awhile to grow on me, mostly because their previous album, “Holding on to Strings” is my favorite from them and I always tend to be a little hyper critical of new material, holding it in measure… however, I can say I truly do love this.  I find with Seether a lot of their music grows on me, rather than resulting from a love at first listen.

5.         “I Am the Fire” – Halestorm --- I’m haven’t been a huge Halestorm fan, but I really really dig this song!  It has a grit and passion about it, combined with killer lyrics that just pull you in… Lovin’ it!

6.        “Lydia” – Highly Suspect --- this song came at a good time, when I needed something unique.  I also like their follow up “Bloodfeather”… there is something about them that I haven’t quite pegged.  They are a little heavy on the language, (not FFDP heavy, but more than a sprinkling) so be careful of your audience. 

7.       “Just Be Held” – Casting Crowns – Sometimes a simple reminder that our focus is what trips us up, and that He is in control and on the throne is what I need to make my day better, more peaceful and positive.  This song definitely gets me there.

8.        “Your Words” – Third Day – Strong lyrics and harmonies.  Working on getting Luke to learn it so we can duet. 

9.       “All That He Says I Am” – Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe – Not sure when this song came out, but the reminder that we are His plus more intricate harmonies make it fun to sing!

10.    “This Probably Won’t End Well” – All That Remains – Honestly, I’m not sure what it is about this song but I always find myself cranking it up.

 A few for good measure, because there can never be too much music!

 

11.   “Until the World Goes Cold” – Trivium --- I didn’t immediately love this song, but after hearing it on Octane a few time, I stopped tuning it out and actually found myself enjoying it.  Sometimes those songs that come to you softly are the ones that have staying power on the favorites list. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

12.   “Jekyll and Hyde” – Five Finger Death Punch --- truthfully this is a band I would love to love, but the lead dude’s attitude and the heavy language kind of turns me off.   I find I only like about one of every 5 songs these guys put out.  I’m not against a carefully placed word for emphasis, but the ignorant sounding every other word is just not necessary.  On a positive note, however, my favorite FFDP are “Remember Everything” and “Cantu 34”.

13.   “The Light” – Disturbed --- the lyrics to this song are stellar and thought provoking… Really happy David Draimin is focusing on Disturbed again because Device never really grabbed me.

14.   “Stars” – Sixx AM ---  so it’s not the most intricate,  and perhaps a bit cliché in the lyric department, but the hard driving rhythm really gets me going and keeps me motivated!

15.   “Come as You Are” – Crowder --- this song just blessed me.  It’s so simple and real. “Come out of sadness from wherever you’ve been, come broken hearted let rescue begin, come find your mercy, oh sinner come kneel, earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t heal…”  What a powerful reminder.

16.   “Oceans” – Hillsong United --- Yes, I know it’s cliché’  EVERY one loved this song when it came out.  I was a little late to the game, but I did like it enough that I learned to play and sing it.  ;-)

 

Okay, I’ve really gotta stop… the list just goes on and on…

So what songs did you rock out to, find comfort in, or would recommend to your friends, and why?

-d