Day 1: Top Five Most Anticipated Albums of 2015

It’s not even two weeks into 2015 and I’m already eagerly anticipating many albums that are coming out this year. While there is a huge list, I’ve narrowed it down to my five most anticipated albums of 2015.

5. Veil of Maya

Until Jan. 1, I was not even remotely excited for this album. I have been a huge fan of Veil of Maya for a few years now, [id] being one of the most listened to albums in my library. They released a song titled “Subject Zero” in late 2013 and it was in my opinion their worst to date, then in mid 2014 they announced that their vocalist, Brandon Butler, had left the band. After that, I mostly stopped paying attention to them. Then, on Jan. 1, they released a new track titled “Phoenix” and it blew me away. This one track was enough to re-spark my interest in the band, and even though they haven’t officially announced an album yet, they did start a trending hashtag (#VeilHasRise), so it’s giving many fans hope. Veil of Maya is definitely a band I’m going to be following in the coming months. Check out “Phoenix” below to see why I believe this is the band’s revival.

VEIL OF MAYA – Phoenix

4. Sianvar Full Length Album

Sianvar is basically the ultimate super group of my favorite musicians. It is made up of Blue Swan Records band members and aids of Blue Swan, such as Donovan Melero from Hail the Sun, Will Swan from Dance Gavin Dance, Sergio Medina from Stolas, and Joseph Arrington and Michael Littlefield from A Lot Like Birds. They released a five track self-titled EP in January of 2014 and have recently been talking a lot about how many songs they’ve written for their new album. In their most recent Facebook post, they said they have written eight songs. I really enjoyed their EP, but it left me wanting more. That’s why I’m so excited to see what they do with a full length album now that they are all more comfortable together as a group. There is no release date yet, but fans have been told it will be out sometime in 2015. Check out their self titled EP below!

Sianvar – Self Titled Full EP (2014)

3. Michael Franzino’s alone.

If you know me, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see another Blue Swan Records band on this list, especially this one. Michael Franzino is the guitarist of A Lot Like Birds, and last May he put up an Indiegogo page asking for support for this “alone.” project. Since he posted that, I have been closely following the project and staying updated. Franzino stated that the project will be released in March, and March can’t come quick enough. To read more about the project, check out the interview I did with Franzino below.

Michael Franzino’s New Project: “alone.” – FHNtoday.com

2. Death Cab For Cutie – “Kintsugi”

Death Cab For Cutie has been one of my favorite bands since I was for about eight or nine years. They have inspired me more than most bands. Both “Plans” and “Transatlanticism” are in my top ten favorite albums. While their last release, “Codes and Keys”, may not have been my favorite of theirs, it was still good and had very solid tracks on it. This album should be different though, as it’s not only been four years since “Codes and Keys” came out, but also, this is Chris Walla’s last album he is working on with them. Walla is one of the founding members of Death Cab and has been involved for 17 years. He is sure to have given this final album his absolute best and I cannot wait to hear what comes from it. “Kintsugi” is set to release on March 31. To read more about the album and Walla’s departure, check out the article from Rolling Stone below.

Death Cab for Cutie Reveal Symbolic Title of ‘Evocative’ New Album

1. Between the Buried and Me‘s Eighth Album

Between the Buried and Me is my all time favorite band. They have never put out a bad album, and it seems like every album they put out just keeps getting better. They are the face of progressive metal and will likely stay that way given how huge and supportive their fanbase is. The last album they put out, “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” came out in 2012 and since then they have been constantly touring and even filmed a DVD of them playing “The Parallax II” in it’s entirety. They have been making Facebook updates regularly, and they stated that they are already tracking the songs and the drums are almost completely done. There is no release date or a title for the album yet, but I am looking forward to this album more than any other that is set to come out this year. Check out a BTBAM classic below.

Between the Buried and Me – White Walls (FULL VERSION WITH LYRICS) HD quality!!

There are many other great albums that are coming out this year, and I have a few honorable mentions that just didn’t quite make the list. Silverstein’s “I Am Alive In Everything I Touch” would have been the number six spot. Closely behind it is Periphery’s “Juggernaut” and Childish Gambino’s new album. Also, Ferret Records band that has been on hiatus for nine years Boys Night Out put up an Instagram account, uploaded a picture of them playing, and captioned the photo “New year. New songs.”, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed we get something from them this year as well. 2015 is surely going to be a great year for music.

Day 2: Matt and Kim Updates

Matt and Kim are set to release a new album titled “New Glow” on April 7. They will be touring throughout April and May and are making a stop in St. Louis on Friday, May 8. The band just released a new song titled “Get It”. Check it out in the link below!

Matt and Kim – Get It (Lyric Video)

Day 3: Warped Tour Lineup Update

This weeks Warped Tour lineup announcement consists of five more bands. They are BoyMeetsWorld, Candy Hearts, I Killed the Prom Queen, Sirens and Sailors, and Youth in Revolt. For the current full lineup, check out the link below.
Vans Warped Tour

Day 4: Free Music Friday

This weeks installment of Free Music Friday is yellowbirddd‘s “CENTINELA”. This is an incredibly relaxed album that has both amazing lyrics and instrumentals. It’s mostly acoustic but does have some other instruments at times. I’ve listened to this album many times in the past week and I see myself listening to it a lot more in the weeks to come. My favorite track is “When Lightning Hits You Twice”.

CENTINELA, by yellowbirddd