Blog

1. How did you get into 29? Dead To Fall
I think they were one of the bands that was on a Victory Records sampler back in like 2003, when i was really starting to get into metal/metalcore. I learned about pretty much every good heavy band on their roster because of that record.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? Horse The Band
I was worried, when i saw this question, then i would get a band that didn't really have a breakout song... but alas there couldn't have been a more appropriate pick than this. Cutsman is an amazing song and to this day, my favorite by them.

3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33? Botch
Actually i'm going to cop out and pick a movie sample that Botch used on their rarities/oldies compilation album from the movie "Gandhi." Here you go.
"We cannot lose. We cannot. They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then, they will have my dead body. NOT my obedience!"
Powerful stuff.

4. What is your favorite album by 49? Emmure
Yay they have a new record coming out next week. Can't wait. Nonetheless, their first full length record Goodbye To The Gallows is clearly their best work, and i hope they return a little more to that sound.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? Unearth
Quite a few. All five of their full-lengths including their last one by Eulogy to release a bunch of old songs.

6. What is your favorite song by 50? The Red Chord
I like how they started to experiment a little with their sound on Clients, and i really like the song Love On The Concrete there. It's clearly the song that stands out the most by them on that record. You sure can't do wrong with Dreaming in Dog Years though...

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? A.C. 8100
Haha yeah... this is my stupid electronic music facade that i did in college for a year. I'm not sure if i can answer this because i literally made all these songs on my computer, but sure, i'll pick one... Synth Sounds. It makes me sad because it's the last song i ever made and it is arguably one of my best.

8. What is your favorite album by 15? Poison the Well
There's no doubt here, while most people point to The Opposite Of December, i honestly love Tear From The Red much more since that's the record that solidified them as one of my very favorite bands back in college.

9. What is your favorite song by 5? Between the Buried and Me
Crap, it HAD to be this band to pick a favorite song? Geez, i mean, their last album was incredible, every song on it was amazing. But i have to go back further and pick the song that i first heard from them that is still to this day one of my favorites of all time: Ad A Dglgmut. Nothing will beat that.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? Bleeding Through
Ha, such a happy band! Actually yeah, there is, For Love and Failing. Not because that song is even near their best (obviously, it's good), but because i was so anxiously anticipating their album The Truth in 2006 and when i first heard the first track on it, i was so happy to know that they sounded as good as ever and didn't sell out to anybody.

11. What is your favorite album by 40? Animosity
Without a doubt, it's clearly Empires. They'll never had a record that good again, although their others are also great and consistent.

12. What is your favorite song by 10? Chimaira
Hm, this is actually really tough. But i'm going to have to go with Painting the White to Grey from their first full length. The first half of that album just builds and builds with one great song after another until this track just steals the show and annihilates the rest of them. I need to listen to this again now!

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? Every Time I Die
I had heard a few songs by them, but i remember buying Hot Damn! and listening to it for the first time in 2003 i think, realizing that all their songs were just as good as the couple i had already heard. It made me realize i had found a band that didn't sound much like anyone else (at the time, there sure are copycats now) and i loved them.

14. What is your favorite song by 38? Discordance Axis
Yikes, i sure have a lot to pick from! But i'll go with the popular pick and say Castration Rite. Such power and intensity.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? Converge
Another "happy" song huh? And naturally we have another pissed off band to answer this question for. I will just pick Black Cloud, once again because it was a long break between albums and everyone was just itching to hear their new stuff, so when this song came out we all realized they were just as good as before.

16. How many times have you seen 25 live? Remembering Never
Just like as with almost all of my top 50, zero.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? Terror
Hm, let's see. It was probably on a Trustkill sampler, or maybe as a free mp3 download from their website. So that means that more than likely it was Push It Away. Great song.

18. What is your favorite album by 11? Killwhitneydead
Great choice. Their best record is almost certainly So Pretty So Plastic, even though i know many of their fans say it's an earlier one. I just like this one a little more.

19. Who is a favorite member of 1? 311
Good thing this was asked about #1 because i don't know band members all that well for most bands. 311... yeah, i know them. There's no doubt that it's Chad Sexton, the drummer. Whenever i read the liner notes in albums and look at the credits for individual songs, the heaviest ones are always co-written by him. He's the man, and you gotta love an 8-minute drum solo in concert during Applied Science too.

20. Have you ever seen 14 live? Trivium
Nope.

21. What is a good memory involving 27? Norma Jean
Probably when i first bought O' God, the Aftermath and was relieved that even though they complete changed their sound with Josh out of the band, they were still amazing.

22. What is your favorite song by 16? Hopesfall
Good question, actually. I'll pick one from my favorite album (all the songs on it are great) and say Decoys Like Curves.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? Across Five Aprils
Hm, it was probably Blue-Eyed Suicide as a free mp3 or something. But honestly i'm not sure because i had about 4-5 songs from that album before i purchased it.

24. What is your favorite album by 18? Atreyu
I actually think The Curse is their best record as i was thinking their first full-length got really played out and i needed something new. So when i heard it, it surely lived up to my expectations.

25. What is your favorite song by 21? Underoath
The Last. As with most long-time Underoath fans, i think their early stuff is just amazing, so this is the best from their first couple albums, no doubt about it.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? The Dillinger Escape Plan
Now this question i know for absolute certainty. It was a song featuring Mike Patton... When Good Dogs Do Bad Things. It's still, also, my favorite track by them.

27. What is your favorite album by 3? Nasum
Actually it's the huge rarities/discography album they put out after their lead singer died, Grind Finale. How can you NOT love 160something tracks in 2 hours on 2 discs?

28. What is you favorite song by 2? Pig Destroyer
Alright, another absolute without a doubt answer... Towering Flesh. Just listen to it and be floored.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? Comeback Kid
I got into them a little later than many fans, so it was actually Wake the Dead from the great album of the same name.

30. What is your favorite song by 8? Killswitch Engage
Phew, quite a few from which to pick but i'll go with early stuff (i.e. non-Howard) and say Self Revolution. Great lyrics, good hook, really heavy and fast. Classic.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? Eighteen Visions
What a shocker... ZERO.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? Misery Signals
Yep. Five Years. I know it's a song about being pissed off at a chick for screwing you over, but it makes me happy to listen to it since i've gone through the same crap and know that i'm so over it and past it and moved on by now... it makes me realize how happy i am to be where i'm at right now.

33. What is your favorite album by 12? Darkest Hour
Absolutely it's Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation. They'll never have a better or more complete record than that one.

34. What is the worst song by 45? Verse
Ah, a different question. Good one. Let's see. I have no idea... they're so damn consistent. Alright i guess i have to pick. I'll say Sons and Daughters from their last album. It's okay, but it closes the record and, i dunno, it's just not really a good album closer to me. This was tough. They have no bad songs...

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? Nile
Execration Text. I didn't get into them nearly early enough but i downloaded this track for free off Relapse's website and immediately released there was a whole genre of music i had not yet appreciated... death metal. They remain my favorite from that genre, and led me to search for more.

36. What is your favorite album by 48? Demon Hunter
Probably their second album, Summer Of Darkness. I was really anticipating it and it delivered for sure when i first bought it many years ago.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? Swarm of the Lotus
DUH, NONE.

38. What is your favorite song by 36? Ion Dissonance
Hm, i didn't realize they were this far down. That has to change. Anyway, it has to be the first song i know from them, The Girl Nextdoor Is Always Screaming... So heavy and crazy and great.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? Scars Of Tomorrow
You know, i think this is another one due to the Victory Records sampler. So that would mean the first song from them i heard was more than likely Abandonment. Good stuff.

40. What is your favorite album by 7? Bury Your Dead
Oh there is no question here, Cover Your Tracks is absolutely their best record, hands down. It's far and away better than anything else they've done. Also the best drumming on a hardcore record i've ever heard.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? On Broken Wings
Okay, sure, this stupid happy question again (there's one more later? great.). I guess i'll just have to settle for the song their recorded three times on three different albums, I Do My Crosswords in Pen. HEARTLESS! Yay breakdowns.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? Isis
Ask any Isis fan and they will give you different answers since they've had so many phases, but i'm going to go with the one i know the best, Panopticon. I'll never get sick of that record.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? Hatebreed
Oh man, another super consistent band, but i'll pick one of the ones i know best when i first started listening to them: i'll just sell out and go with This Is Now. It got me into them so it'll always have a special place for me.

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? From a Second Story Window
I remember talking about this band with my friend Alec and he only wanted to listen to them because they had a song named Vespers (long story), and i got him to like them just because of the title of a song. Oh, yeah, it's also freaking awesome.

45. What is your favorite song by 35? The Acacia Strain
I'll pick another older one and go with Smoke Ya Later, one of the couple songs i first heard from them that really got me into the band bigtime.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? As I Lay Dying
Finally, the last "happy" question. Okay, i don't know the answer to this really at all so i'll just pick one of the songs i like the most... The Beginning really solidified them as one of my favorites so, yeah, it's an important song to me.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? Throwdown
Lots to pick from! But i just have to say Haymaker, for sure. The perfect blend of hardcore and metal, i think, on a record, with great lyrics, a good message, crazy breakdowns, and overall great repeatability.

48. Who is a favorite member of 37? August Burns Red
Geez, they asked this about a random band that far down? I don't know any names in this band but i'll just say the drummer, whoever he is, because he's pretty ridiculous.

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? Avenged Sevenfold
It's funny, the first song i heard by them i did not like (originally) at all. It was by request from my friend Eric that i listen to Eternal Rest and i thought the opening riff was so silly and dumb that i just did not like the song at all. I heard one or two more and thought "okay let's give this band a chance," bought Waking The Fallen on a whim, and said "damnit Eric, you sent me the one song i didn't like by them, the others are amazing!"

50. How many albums do you own by 20? Meshuggah
A few. Six of them, if i remember correctly.