Josh Thieler’s Favorite Records of 2018

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2018 has been quite the year. It was a roller coaster personally, nationally, globally, and in the realm of metal. There are people that I loved that are gone now. There are people who are gone that I should have loved more. I failed a lot of people. I’ve struggled in so many ways. If you are curious about that, just listen to the last Slaves BC record or read any interviews I did during that release cycle. I got fatter, fitter, quit smoking, joined five or six more bands, did artwork for some bands, did PR for some others, and spent a lot (but never enough) of time with my wonderful wife and animals.

Anyway, I listened to a ton of music again in 2018. I didn’t get a chance to talk about any of it very much, but I listened to a ton. 2018 was another fantastic year for metal/hardcore/whatever. I’ve been altering this list for months and I had a real hard time narrowing it down as much as I did. Just like last year, I have compiled my favorite 50 full length metal/hardcore records, favorite 10 non-metal records, and my top 10 favorite EP’s/singles/etc.

I made this playlist with one track from each of the records that are on Spotify for you to listen to a sampling of everything below. Thank you for checking this out and here’s to a better 2019!

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The Nine Circles ov… DEUTSCHLAND 2015!

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Deutschland is known for many things. Not all of them good. But they do make a hell of a bratwurst, some terrific beer and some mind blowing metal. That is, of course, balanced with their love for industrial music, the European Union and excessive amounts of vinyl clothing. But what the heck, right? Corey and I were discussing how great 2015 has been for Germany. In fact, we easily came up with over twenty albums from Germany alone that deserve recognition. Thus, we decided to do a two part series of Nine Circles ov… this time focusing on Germany’s best metal releases of 2015. So first up are my (Manny-O-War) Top 9. Continue reading