It’s December, which means that, for the most part, the year in music is over. Almost everything that’s going to come out has already, as the music industry focuses on the holiday shopping rush by pushing everything that’s come out in the first 11 months of the year. It’s also a good time to take stock of what has come out so far this year, and while you’ll be getting our picks in due time, we wanted to first turn things over to some of the people making that music. To that end, here are Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, as well as Miss May I’s Ryan Neff, Red Fang’s John Sherman and rising Jersey band Circuitry. Stay tuned throughout the week as we continue to bring you more artists’ picks for the year.
Scott Ian of Anthrax
Album: Rival Sons – Great Western Valkyrie
Concert: The Eagles at The Forum
Concert: Rival Sons at The Troubadour
Meal: Smoked trout, fried chicken, collard greens and mashed potatoes at Blue Ribbon Brasserie, NYC
TV: Walking Dead (season 5 premiere)
TV: True Detective (season 1)
Movie: The Lego Movie
Movie: Birdman
Movie: Big Hero 6
Book: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Ryan Neff of Miss May I
1) Whitechapel, Our Endless War
2) Avatar, Hail The Apocalypse
3) Suicide Silence, You Can’t Stop Me
4) King 810, Memoirs Of A Murderer
5) Darkest Hour, Darkest Hour
6) Slipknot, .5 The Gray Chapter
7) Machine Head, Bloodstone and Diamonds
8) Foster The People, Super Model
9) Mastodon, Once More Round The Sun
10) Death From Above 1979, The Physical World
John Sherman of Red Fang
1) Tweak Bird, Any Ol’ Way
2) Warpaint, Warpaint
3) Yob, Clearing The Path to Ascend
4) Orange Goblin, Back From the Abyss
5) Lord Dying, Poisoned Alters
Circuitry (in no particular order)
1) Opeth – Pale Communion
2) Bayside – Cult
3) Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter
4) Hostage Calm – Die on Stage
5) Devin Townsend – Z²
6) Issues – Issues
7) Animals As Leaders – The Joy of Motion
8) Finch – Back to Oblivion
9) St. Vincent – St. Vincent
10) Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
