1. Our Last Night – “Stressed Out” Our Last Night is a metalcore (slightly alternative) band that covers various popular songs. If you have listened to the radio in the past year, you will have definitely heard the song “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots. Our Last Night’s cover gives a completely different sound to the song that includes a faster and harder pace and rhythm. The lyrics are sung with both unclean and clean vocals, so if you aren’t a fan of metal, you may not be too excited about this piece.
2. Myka, Relocate – “Playing It Safe (feat. Jonny Craig)” Like all songs from Myka Relocate’s album Lies To Light The Way, “Playing It Safe” is a real treasure. Myka Relocate is a growing metalcore band formed in 2007. This song is a perfect example of how amazing all the members sound as a unified group. Featuring the singer/songwriter Jonny Craig to the song added amazing clean vocals. As a whole, listening to this song without moving is at the very least, impossible.
3. The Story So Far – “Distaste” The Story So Far is a pop punk band with a great vibe. Distaste is a part of their self-titled album from 2015. This song, along with the many on this list, are on albums that are incredible and worth listening. This song gives only a taste of how good the album really is as a whole.
4. Dance Gavin Dance – “Lemon Meringue Tie”/ “Lemon Meringue Tie (Tree City Sessions)” Dance Gavin Dance is a post-hardcore band known for their vocalist changes. The band has had three different clean vocalists since it was created in 2005: Jonny Craig, Kurt Travis, and (present) Tilian Pearson. All vocalists are extremely talented, and despite the constant change in the band, Dance Gavin Dance still manages to create fantastic albums one after the other. And again, this song is only one of many masterpieces the band has orchestrated.
5. Beartooth – “Loser” Almost all of the songs this band creates have great meaning behind them. You can sense this from the lyrics and the emotion they put into the songs. The vocalist, Caleb Shomo, has a distinct sound to his voice, separating Beartooth from all other bands out there.
6. A Day to Remember – “Exposed” A majority of people have listened to or heard of A Day to Remember, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve heard any of their songs from Bad Vibrations. This band is great, but a lot of people may have underestimated them on their most recent album. Some songs have a softer and more chill vibe, but songs like “Exposed” and “Bullfight” certainly live up to A Day to Remember’s reputation for being a hardcore band. They never let their fans down with their extraordinary breakdowns.
7. Issues – “Stingray Affliction” Issues is mainly a trancecore band, which is a mix of metalcore/post-harcore and electronic music. This song, like many songs on their self-titled album, is a good mix between hardcore and soft. The clean vocals have a pop kind of sound to them, but the unclean vocals and the rest of the band scream metal.
8. Myka, Relocate – “Cold War” The reason Myka Relocate is on this list twice, is because no one should live their life without hearing the amazing sound this band creates. In “Cold War”, Myka Relocate goes hard on their guitar pieces, and the breakdowns are like none other.
9. Falling In Reverse – “Guillotine IV (The Final Chapter)” On their album Just Like You, “Guillotine IV” is one of few songs where vocalist, Ronnie Radke, includes an equal amount of both clean and unclean vocals. Not to mention, the chorus is extremely catchy, but what really makes this song stand out is the shining talent demonstrated by former lead guitarist, Jacky Vincent. He has performed outstanding guitar solos in many of Falling In Reverse’s songs, along with lead guitar riffs that bring their songs together.
1o. Convictions – “Healing Hands” Like well-known band August Burns Red, Convictions is a Christian metalcore band. They are smaller than most of the bands on this list, but they will surely be making their way on top. For a new and smaller band, their songs are of higher quality than a lot of other famous bands out there.
