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37 Albums from 2019 You Need to Hear

Best Albums of 2019

Another Best of 2019 list, you ask? Yes, another Best of 2019 list.

2019 was an excellent year for music. One article could not possibly name every fantastic release, but we gathered just over three dozen that you absolutely must make time for in the weeks and months ahead.

As a leader in digital promotion, Haulix has the great pleasure of helping thousands of musicians share their creativity with the world. GRAMMY nominees and complete unknowns alike turn to Haulix when they want to connect with tastemakers. We don’t have access to everything people promote, but whenever clients choose to share music with us, we make an effort to listen.

Summarizing the last twelve months in music is impossible. We saw more than ten thousand records pass through our system. Those releases covered virtually every genre of music, from ambient synth-pop to crushing heavy metal, and they reached listeners scattered across the globe. We fell in love with new artists on the cusp of stardom and rediscovered longtime favorites delivering their best material in years. We cheered for every artist we got to know, and many worked with us through this blog and our industry-focused podcast.

Through it all, however, the Haulix team kept a list of the records we could not put down. Our team purchased many albums on their day of release, while other artists saw support through tickets purchased to tours or merchandise. We believe there has never been a better time to be a fan of music, especially if you love hard rock, and we want to share with you, our readers, the records that helped us survive this crazy year.

The following rankings are like points on the game show Whose Line Is It Anyway, which is a long way of saying they’re entirely made up and don’t really matter. We know that SEO and social media feeds enjoy listicles, so we made one. We believe every artist on this list (and so many more) is worth your time and money. Try a few, discover something new, and tell your friends what you found. Take all the credit! We don’t care.

37. Kublai Khan TX – Absolute

36. The Devil Wears Prada – The Act

35. The Lumineers – III

34. Issues – Beautiful Oblivion

33. Selfish Things – Logos

32. Sum 41 – Order In Decline

31. He Is Legend – White Bat

30. Bad Omens – Finding God Before God Finds Me

29. Emarosa – Peach Club

28. Megan Thee Stallion – Fever

27. Varials – In Darkness

26. The Acacia Strain – It Comes In Waves

25. Sleep On It – Pride & Disaster

24. Toothgrinder – I AM

23. Pup – Morbid Stuff

22. The Dangerous Summer – Mother Nature

21. Sleeping With Sirens – How It Feels To Be Lost

20. Counterparts – Nothing Left To Love

19. Fit For An Autopsy – The Sea of Tragic Beasts

18. Tool – Fear Inoculum 

17. Waterparks – FANDOM

16. I Prevail – TRAUMA

15. Jinjer – Macro

14. Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties – Routine Maintenance

13. Stray From The Path – Internal Atomics

12. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind

11. The Menzingers – Hello Exile

10. HELLYEAH – Welcome Home

The loss of Vinnie Paul shook metal fans everywhere to their core, including our staff. Thankfully, Paul’s last recordings made its way to fans in the form of HELLYEAH’s best album to date. Welcome Home is a thrilling and deeply moving ode to a fallen friend that comes packaged with soaring hooks and stellar production. It’s hard to imagine anyone hearing this record and not singing along, which is precisely what the man himself would want. We don’t know if there is a heaven, but if there is, then Vinnie Paul is no doubt proud of how his bandmates handled his final work.

9. Creeping Death – Wretched Illusions

Creeping Death’s Wretched Illusions could easily have gotten lost in the avalanche of heavy music that hit in 2019, but eOne’s crafty marketing team refuses to let the band go unnoticed. The record plays like the soundtrack to an epic quest that finds listeners battling orcs and traversing snowy mountaintops. It’s the kind of thing you put on to escape the world and ease that ever-simmering rage that lies just beneath the surface of the ‘happy face’ we all wear in our daily lives. It also points to Creeping Death being a genre mainstay for years to come, so don’t miss out.

8. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors – Dragons

Drew Holcomb is an American storyteller whose ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of listeners is unmatched in music today. His latest release, Dragons, features a collection of stories co-written with friends and peers that encapsulate adulthood for those that choose to live outside the city lights. It’s not quite country music, and it’s not quite folk, but Dragons is as endearing as anything either genre has produced in some time.

7. Grayscale – Nella Vita

Nella Vita is a swan song to youth and the feeling you will live forever. The Grayscale boys become men throughout this record, and they do so by sifting through the experiences that made them. Tracks like “Just Right” speak to the bittersweet taste of nostalgia, while “Old Friends” and deep record cuts acknowledge the fact we can’t go back no matter how hard we may want to try. Nella Vita is an album many will point to in years to come as the album that positioned them for living a better, healthier life, and we hope the band sees the success they deserve for creating it.

6. Knocked Loose – A Different Shade of Blue

Knocked Loose is doing the lord’s work. The hardcore favorites are writing songs that speak to the anxiety and stress of growing up in a time when people feel painfully alone despite being more connected than ever. They recognize that life is not only too short but also filled with false hope and empty promises. That may sound like a downer to some, but the group and their fans see things differently. It is only after we recognize the reality of our situation that we can make changes to improve the world around us. Knocked Loose is exposing what many choose to ignore in the hope that they may inspire a shift in thinking and actions that are desperately needed in the world today.

5. Sleep Token – Sundowning

Sleep Token’s debut album, Sundowning, is a testament to their ability to forge cohesion between their numerous influences. It’s a sprawling release that begins with a piano-lead ballad and builds to a level of crushing heaviness that could shake the most painful heartache from your soul. Sleep Token is not interested in distracting you from the pain you hold inside. Instead, they want you to feel everything, and Sundowning serves as something of a guide to release and growth that acknowledges the full spectrum of emotions that can develop through the human experience.

4. Bad Wolves – N.A.T.I.O.N.

They say when you truly master a skill that it is easy to make even the most challenging task seem simple. Bad Wolves’ Sophomore record is a textbook example of this idea being true. Throughout the twelve songs on N.A.T.I.O.N., the California-based group delivers a masterclass in musicianship and songwriting. They are one of the few groups that can thrive in the radio market as well as the metal underground. Their fans are rabid for the group’s creativity rather than a particular sound, and that allows Bad Wolves to do whatever they please. It’s something to admire, really, and it should give up and coming acts more confidence in pursuing whatever ideas excite them.

3. Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas

Hard work will take you far. Cattle Decapitation has quietly grown from a band many considered to be underground favorites to one of the most prolific groups working today. Their devoted following numbers in the hundreds of thousands, and they were all blessed by the band’s decision to share Death Atlas with the world in 2019. No other release we heard has the relentless ferocity or technical prowess head on this record. It is jaw-dropping from beginning to end, and we are excited to see the group bring their latest material to crowds around the globe in 2020.

2. Heart Attack Man – Fake Blood

Heart Attack Man Is keeping the angst and unabashed honesty that made 90s hard rock so great alive with songs that pull from a world of sonic influences. The Ohio-based group found a way to combine their love of acts like Pantera and Sepultura with riffs firmly rooted in grunge and structures pulled from punk on their Sophomore record, Fake Blood. It’s a chaotic collection of cutthroat lyricism that tells you exactly who the group is and what they want out of life. If there was any sense of catharsis found in alternative music this year, Heart Attack Man created it.

1. Killswitch Engage – Atonement

2019 found many iconic rock and metal bands releasing new material, but few delivered an album as consistently thrilling as Killswitch Engage. Atonement brings together everything the group has built its long career upon and pairs it with more than enough new ideas to keep fans (for lack of a better word) engaged. From “The Signal Fire,” which offers the Howard Jones guest appearance longtime listeners want, to the incendiary “Ravenous,” Atonement is the gift that keeps on giving.

Hate lists? That’s fine. We also took our favorite tracks from all these records, as well as singles from albums set for release in early 2020, and put them into our official Haulix playlist on Spotify. Dive in right now:

What are your favorite records of 2019? Send us a tweet and let us know!

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Artist Advice Business Advice Editorials Industry News News

How to Throw Multiple Listening Parties for $100 or Less [VIDEO]

Listening parties can engage fans, grow your community, and raise awareness about your next release like nothing else in music.

There is no promotional event as incredible as a listening party. For an hour or more, fans gather together to experience the latest release from their favorite artist. The energy and excitement in these gatherings are electric. Everyone there is present because the artist’s catalog does something for them that nothing else in music or beyond can duplicate. Listening parties are a celebration of music’s power to move people, and you deserve to have them for your next release.

But there is a problem. Historically speaking, listening parties are often considered an expensive affair. You have to rent a space, be it a bar or venue, promote the event, create and distribute marketing materials, and perhaps pay for refreshments. Fans have often had to pay for the experience as well, be it through tickets or drinks.

We have a solution. For less than $100, you can plan and execute numerous listening parties all over the world on the same night. We can walk you through everything you need, but it’s up to you to find an audience. The plan below will only work if you have devoted fans who want to see you succeed. If you have those, then follow these steps to create an event no one will forget:

First off, you need to communicate with your fans. Whether this is accomplished through a newsletter or private Facebook group for key followers doesn’t really matter. Tell your audience you are seeking devoted fans willing and able to host small get together for your upcoming release. The only requirements they need to meet are a location for the event, the ability to host the event when you plan for it to take place, a computer, and speakers capable of playing music loud enough for everyone to hear your music. Be selective with your choices. The fans you choose will be representing you and your music for the duration of the event.

Haulix is the platform you will use to share your music with party hosts.

Next, you need a Haulix account. Haulix is the industry standard for music promotion, and right now they are offering one month of service free to everyone who signs up. Visit the Haulix website, pick a plan that works for you (we recommend Beast Mode to begin), and complete your registration. Haulix is the platform you will use to discreetly share your new music with listening party hosts. The service also allows you to control the number of times the music can be played, when people have access to music, and more.

The Promos screen is where you upload your music.

Once your Haulix account is activated, you will need to add your music to the service. Log in to your account and click the Promos tab at the top of the screen. Create a new promo with the music you plan to share through your listening parties. Be sure to add artwork, release information, and any other details you feel fans should know.

After your music is uploaded, begin creating introduction clips for your listening parties. Audio or video introductions are acceptable, but video content adds a personal touch. You may even want to make different videos for each event. That allows you the opportunity to specifically address each crowd by mentioning their cities or states, which again, helps create a connection with those in attendance. You can add the videos to your Haulix promo or upload them to YouTube (leaving them unlisted).

Promo invitations grant party hosts access to your music.

With all your materials complete, deliver the videos and event details to each listening party host with personalized messaging that reinforces dates, times, and any other particulars. Then you need to use Haulix to invite your hosts to engage with the materials you uploaded. You can find a step-by-step guide for sharing music on Haulix using the company’s help site.

After the event, be sure to send thank you notes to the hosts and any attendees. Personalize the messages to ensure people know you appreciate the work and time they dedicated to promoting your work. You should also consider revoking access to the materials through Haulix to ensure the album or single does not leak in advance of its release.

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News

New Data Reveals Nearly 25% of People Skip Songs In 5 Seconds or Less

The internet has ruined our already short attention spans.

In the early days of entertainment, consumers were likely to try anything at least once. New artist? Let’s hear their single. New sound? Let’s see how this compares to what worked in the past.

Today’s consumer is far more fickle, but that didn’t happen overnight. As media has grown, so has the number of options consumers have at any given moment. In 2018, anyone can watch or listen to virtually anything with just a few clicks. From free content to streaming services and (unfortunately) pirate sites, nearly all entertainment ever produced is available at all times all over the world.

With that in mind, who has time for the unfamiliar?

Music blogger Paul Lamere analyzed billions of plays from millions of Spotify listeners all over the world to discover their skip rates. Here’s what he found:

  • 24.14 percent likelihood of skipping to the next song in the first 5 seconds.
  • 28.97 percent in the first 10 seconds
  • 35.05 percent in the first 30 seconds
  • 48.6 percent skip before the song finishes

Digging further, Lamere found that the average listener skips 14.65 times per hour, or about once every four minutes. Females skip slightly more than males at 45.23% to 44.75%.

The mobile skip rate is 51.1% while on a desktop it’s 40.1%. That data suggests that desktop listening is a background activity, something used to fill the void of silence, which makes sense. Most of us listen to music while working, and most of us have a very particular preference when it comes to what sounds help us work best.

Lamere also discovered some interesting correlations between age and skip rates. Teenagers, who are notorious for their short attention spans, skip more than 50% of the tracks they hear. Adults, on the other hand, skip about 35% of the material.

Weekend skip rates are higher than those during the week, which is due at least in part to fewer people listening via desktop. People know what they want to hear on the weekend because they’re often trying to create a mood to accompany a specific activity. Once an attitude or style is identified, skipping anything that doesn’t fit that desired consistency is second nature.

The big takeaway here (and most obvious), is that grabbing the attention of listeners is harder than ever. Artists need to catch us right away if they have any chance of gaining fans, especially if they’re hoping to target a younger demographic.

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