Powhertz' favorites in music in

... a golden year !

Guitars legend
Weak presence of electric guitar(s)	Somewhat heavy, but should be OK for a large majority of listeners	A true heavyweight! Sensible ears, keep away!

1	Gone Sovereign/Absolute Zero	Stone Sour
Not only my #1 of the year, my #1 of the past THREE years! What a pleasure to listen to! I long hesitated between writing in Gone Sovereign and Absolute Zero as two tracks or just one. It must be known that they are two songs commercialized under the same track, in a logical continuation, without any pause between the two. This concept goes further than We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions from Queen, almost inseparable, but treated as two different tracks even if they are always played one after the other, on the radio and in concert. FM radios only played the Absolute Zero portion, but XM satellite radio and Stone Sour's Web site always played them both as a single track. It's the first time that I am facing this situation, whereas my dilemma. My first idea was to separate them and place them #2 (Gone Sovereign) and #3 (Absolute Zero)... or #2 and #4... or #1 and #3... or #1 and #4?!? Progressively, I convinced myself that the logical solution was to keep them tied, and suddenly everything became clear in my mind: it's my #1 and it fully deserves it! Even after tens (a hundred?) spins, it still gives me the same vibrations with its "devilicious" drumming, its superb guitar sound, and the great vocal performance by Corey Taylor. As much as I was finding him ordinary as a singer in his first years with Slipknot, I find him extremely solid today. He gained a lot of maturity and is now unarguably part of the international elite of metal and hard rock singers. And Gone Sovereign/Absolute Zero is, according to me, the best proof of that to date. Note: unbelievable but true, singer Corey Taylor is having his 3rd Powhertz top 10 in 5 years under 3 different banners! In 2008, he was finding himself at #1 with his band Slipknot for the song Psychosocial and at #10 as a collaborator for Apocalyptica, and he did it again in 2012 with a #1 as part of his original band, Stone Sour!

3	Bringing Down the Giant	Saving Abel
Wow! What a surprise it was for me, this new single from Saving Abel! Not that Addicted was bad, not at all, but Bringing Down the Giant sails in a different style, more intense, much more addictive! I am very disappointed that it didn't have a better commercial success, but we can some consolation with a big, well-deserved #3 in the chart of Powhertz' favorites!

4	Hats Off to the Bull	Chevelle
Although I have no hesitation to prefer Face to the Floor, my #2 of last year, Hats Off to the Bull is clearly in the same trend and remains among the best rock songs of the year. One must admit, Chevelle starts being some very serious stuff! This year, they launched a compilation album of the best songs in their career...and their radio hits are not even all on it! It's not a Pearl Jam yet, but nonetheless a very well-established band that has such a nice career! Hats Off to Chevelle!!

5	Eyes Wide Open	Staind
Staind is on fire! Two songs in my top 5 in two years! Eyes Wide Open is intense, and mostly benefits from an excellent guitar riff, exploited right from the track's 18th second. Was unarguably in my top 3 during at least the first 8 months of the year, before the big guns from Stone Sour and Saving Abel came in.

6	Enemies	Shinedown
Hard to stay indifferent to such a lively song! I would go as far as declaring it THE best in Shinedown's career, which means even better than The Sound of Madness!

7	I Like It	Foxy Shazam
First song by a new artist in this chart. Actually, an American band that exists since more than 8 years but had its first hit only this year, with I Like It. Although I appreaciated it quickly, it took me some time to really appreciate it at its full value. It's a rather "rock & roll" song, that somewhat recalls the new style of Slash as a solo artist, but in better! I think it's a song that can reach a very wide range of listeners, ranging from younger solid rock fans to a little more "mature" "rock & roll" fans.

8	Sweet Sour	Band of Skulls
This time, pure new artists! Originating from England, the rookie band Band of Skulls has delivered an intriguishing, interesting and originale piece of rock. I don't really like the singer's voice, which lacks of virility/maturity to me, but except for that it is excellent! Without that slight downside, Sweet Sour would certainly have gained one position...

9	No Reflection	Marilyn Manson
Very good song from Manson! Surprising that it didn't have more commercial success; it's like his mysterious character, that served him so well to get known in the '90s, is now turning to a harm... And what a mysterious video, it's giving chills!

10	Carry On	Avenged Sevenfold
Not only the music is at the level of the big thing Avenged Sevenfold has become, even the lyrics are interesting! As (almost) ever, intense with an excellent performance from the guitarists, the singer and the drummer.

11	Live to Rise	Soundgarden
A comeback from Soundgarden!?!?! I didn't see that coming! Very nice surprise! Live to Rise is definitely not one of the main songs we will think of when we'll speak about Soundgarden in the long term, but it ended up catching me and I often had it stuck in my head during a few months. I think that it was just feeling so good to find Kim Thayil's guitar meet the famous voice of Chris Cornell (on top of Soundgarden: Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, and a solo career) again!

12	Figure it Out	Serj Tankian
Right at the first time I heard it, it was clear in my head: it is some System of a Down that singer Serj Tankian is selling under the banner of his solo career! It was the 1st time that I had this impression while listening to Tankian in solo. It would not be one of SOAD's career best, but it would not really be disappointing neither.

13	Headlong Flight	Rush
I would have never beleived that one day, I would place a Rush song so high in a personal chart! I have never been a fan (even though I sincerely think that's it's a good band), but this time I cannot ignore Headlong Flight, a truly good piece of rock, not "oldish" at all! My only negative comment is that it is a little too long; they could have cut about one minute from it without really affecting its process, which would have given a more intense, hence better, result. For the rest, hats off!

14	Now	Staind
What, an album's THIRD radio single?!? Wow! Who can boast still having such big guns for a 3rd single?! There are so many artists that will never come close to Now in their whole career; for Staind it's only a 3rd single, and indeed at best the 3rd best track of the album! It's up to you, the path that you choose.

15	No Resolution	Seether
One more solid sample of their style both post-grunge and hard rock / metal at once. #15 because 2012 is a big year, but it would have certainly been #10 if it was released in 2011.

16	Still Counting	Volbeat
The best from Danish band Volbeat to date. Melidious and yet intense, this track did hook me up.

17	Backlash	10 Years
Impressive! I had never liked much the previous (small) hits of 10 Years (Wasteland, Beautiful, Fix Me), which were always lacking of "punch". Backlash completely breaks with their usual style. The result practically resembles more Tool than 10 Years, which is very appreciated as far as I'm concerned!  :-)  Congratulations, it is delicious!

18	Bridge Burning	Foo Fighters
Not exactly the same quality as Rope, which had taken my #4 last year (and I regretted all 2012 long that I hadn't place it 3rd!!), but no less intense! The finale is particularly "vibrating" and leaves us on a high! A track that reminds a little bit more some of the first albums, while keeping a good touch of the recent albums.

19	Criticize	Adelitas Way
I didn't see this one coming! I liked it right the first time, but moderately, more like a #40-45­. But, very slowly, it progressed, progressed again, progressed even more... and finally finds itself in mon top 20, surpassing at lease 3 songs that I would have never thought possible that it surpasses! It is not the song of the century nor the best band ever, but it's very successful. Very good use of the 2 guitars and of multiple voice tracks, track without too much pretention but nonetheless catchy.

20	C.O.B.R.A.	Marie-Mai
A true BOMB!!! An instant success that conquered Québec as soon as it was released! The production of that track, it's just huge! If the song had been sung in English by an American-born, it would have certainly been one of the biggest international hits of the year. From an impartial point of view, it is unarguably better than any recent track from international female pop stars such as Kathy Perry, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, etc., etc.! A very brief but efficient intro, an expert mix of rock and electronic pop, an attention for details in the various sounds and special effects, and a bewitching Marie-Mai when she does her: "Viens, vers moi ah ha!". To me, is the French-language song of the year and the English countries missed something big!

21	Heavyweight	Our Lady Peace
A successful return for the legendary Canadian rock band! Not their career's best, obviously, but I had it stuck in my head for a good part of the year... in fact, the verses, because I don't like the choruses that much.

22	Bully	Shinedown
One of the biggest rock hits of the year. It was among my favorites in the beginning of the year, but the effect quickly faded, probably for hearing it too often! I still like the lyrics as much, though. A very topical subject (bullying) these days.

23	Blood	In This Moment
OUCH!!! I can't remind me of a singer with such character since Courtney Love on the Live Through This album in 1994!! And as if it wasn't already enough, that Maria Brink is a major hottie!! See for yourself: She really has to have a powerful voice to lead Blood to such a solid result, because actually, the guitars are pretty ordinary in this song, except MAYBE the little solo before the last chorus. The special effects on her voice during the choruses are also a a big plus. A song that I loved listening to in 2012.

24	World Scum	Soulfly
A track that tested my limits, and probably pushed them!  :-)  It's very hard, the hardest of this whole chart. It's kind of a shock at first, but the more we listen to it and the more we understand that it's some very good material from the gang of legendary Brazilian Max Cavalera (best known for his role in Sepultura).

25	Been Away Too Long	Soundgarden
Another very good song from Soundgarden's return, maybe a little less catchy than Live to Rise, but still of similar level.

26	Same Old Trip	Chevelle
Yet another excellent one from Chevelle! The bass and guitar riff is a great trip to listen to, and the voices a very melodious. A song that certainly suffered from its release late in the year, else it would have certainly worthed Chevelle a 2nd spot in the top 20...

27	Garde la Tête Froide	Obey the Brave
A TON OF BRICKS!! Extremely solid performance from the Montréal-based English-language metal band, that would certainly benefit from singing more often in French because these are very good lyrics that clearly demonstrate that French can sound as solid as English in metal music. A band that I did not know before that track and that I will continue to follow in the future.

28	Sixteen Saltines	Jack White
Very fun as a whole, but especially starting from 2:19 as the guitars become soooo much fun!

29	Soldiers	Otherwise
A rock track simple but efficient, and I think pretty universal. The lyrics could also serve as a rally in many occasions : "We are the ones who will never be broken With our final breath We’ll fight to the death We are soldiers, we are soldiers "

30	Left for You	Nonpoint
It's even better than first first hit Bullet with a Name which, out of nowhere, had grabbed my #28 of 2008! A good start for the Floridian band!

31	Smells Like a Freakshow	Avatar
One of many lesser-known bands that I discovered strictly and only thanks to XM satellite radio, an asset that's become almost essential. This band comes from Sweden and makes some good dirty rock!  :-)  I like the quick riff that follows all the song's length, and I especially like the segment starting at 2:20, remarkably intense! Note: I prefer the version that you can find in my Grooveshark playlist than the one from my YouTube playlist. It is slightly longer, but most importantly more intense on the guitar and voice aspects.

32	For the Animals	The Cult
Just like Rush that took away my #13, another very old band (1981) that came back in 2012 with an excellent track of well-experienced rock.

33	Freedom at 21	Jack White
Instant like!

34	For Your Vulgar Delectation	Cradle of Filth
Yes, the venerable Cradle of Filth finally makes it to one of my annual charts! Very lively, full of unexpected developments, I like that! After all, it is not THAAAAT "fucked up"!  :-)

35	Look Around	Red Hot Chili Peppers
Once again, an excellent bass riff from Flea, which makes a success out of this song!

36	Man of Constant Sorrow	Charm City Devils
I was disappointed to learn that it was a cover, but otherwise the result is pretty interesting! I really enjoy their different ways to use the voices.

37	Youth Without Youth	Metric
Good little song from the Canadian band, which reminds me The Joy Formidable a bit.

38	Little Black Submarines	The Black Keys
I really like the progress in this song, and the guitars within the last minute. Among the best from the Black Keys!

39	Native Blood	Testament
Big track from the veterans of Testament (whose first album was in 1987). To be watched preferably with the video. It helped me understand the meaning of the lyrics.

40	Chalk Outline	Three Days Grace
Lacking a bit of energy, but the lyrics are interesting, and Adam Gontier's voice remains a guarantee of success for me!

41	Live and Die	The Avett Brothers
My tacky side!! I find that extremely nice, cute, practically touching! In this style, I was more hooked to this song than Mumford & Sons.

42	Bamboula	Les Trois Accords
I don't want to criticize too much because I do like it anyway, but it's undeniable that my 1st reaction was deception. It is clearly, and by far, their "less good" 1st single of a studio album (how can one compare Bamboula to Hawaïenne, Grand champion or even Caméra Vidéo?...). Nonetheless, it is still lively and would probably have made my top 30 in a less crowded year.

43	J'aime ta Grand-mère	Les Trois Accords
Not the musical style of Les Trois Accords, but so funny! I challenge you to listen to this and not at least smile when he sings: "Je veux faire à ton père, plein de demi-frères" [I want to make to your father, full of half-brothers]!

44	Still Swingin'	Papa Roach
I would have liked that the rythm doesn't slow down so much during the chorus, but overall it's an energetic song and a nice step up from Papa Roach. It's best track in years!

45	Harakiri	Serj Tankian
Very mixed feelings! There are parts of the song that I love and others that I don't like at all! For sure, it's a touching video. I really appreciate that he talks about events of massive deaths of birds and fishes, too rarely mentionned.

46	Go Right Ahead	The Hives
It's having a bad start, but it progressively transforms to a very energetic and very intense song. By that means, it suddenly becomes one of the best of the year!

47	America	Deuce
Former singer of Hollywood Undead, a band that I've never liked, Deuce does better in solo with America, a relevant song, at least by moments. I also like hearing him say: "We'll flip us back and say fuck that, FUCK THAT!"

48	Turning Into You	The Offspring
An instant like! The pop punk band is back to its roots with a song that's simple but catchy, while respecting the identity of the band that I loved so much in the '90s.

49	Boy Division	My Chemical Romance
Surprising that it didn't have more visibility! Not saying that it's their best ever, it is among MCR's bests. Intense all along, but my favorite part is at 2:02.

50	You're a Lie	Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
Slash's guitar falls right in place, and I like singer Myles Kennedy in this song, even though I am not a fan of him in general.

51	Unspoken	Red Line Chemistry
Big track! Obviously lacked of promotion, never managing to reach the Billboard charts with such a high-quality product! I like the lyrics' subject as well.

52	Lost in Forever (Scream)	P.O.D.
Happy of this comeback from P.O.D. It had been 4 years since their last album, and I think we can say 9 years since their last hit! Welcome back!

53	Legendary Child	Aerosmith
It's Aerosmith... they could have released any super dull cliché ballad, but no! They rather opted for some true rock, original, with good guitars, risking to get lesser commercial success. I say bravo and thank you! Very good song!

54	J'attendrai mon Tour	Marie-Mai
Another good song from the Quebecer singer. Major importance of the string instruments in this track.

55	Just A Beautiful Day	Danko Jones
A veteran band of Canadian rock that I discovered only this year, with this track. A saturated sound for sure, but very living and I would even dare say "happy".

56	Baby Come Home	Bush
I liked it in the beginning of the year, enough to really think that it was having chances to be "top 20", but its attraction faded away very quickly and in the end it's only good for a #55!

57	Blood for Poppies	Garbage
On one hand I really like the intro, the verses and the finale, but on the other end I really, really don't like the choruses! So here's the final result: one of my favorites of the year, but definitely not enough for the top 50.

58	Gold on the Ceiling	The Black Keys
In a nutshell, I love the intro and the guitars at the end of each verse, but I don't like the rest! Nonetheless, after hearing so often on the radio all year long, it ended up getting in my head a little bit!

59	Take a Walk	Passion Pit
My favorite tacky song of the year! Clearly better than the average "all audiance" alternative, and accompanied by lyrics that are positive without being annoying.

60	I Will Wait	Mumford & Sons
I find Mumford & Sons increasingly redundant, but their energetic play on many instruments always somewhat ends up getting me moving!

61	Jump into the Fog	The Wombats
A song that I quickly liked, but that I already didn't really like at the end of the year. I make an average of all that, and it results into this position!

62	Whore	In This Moment
Less powerful than Blood, that's for sure, but still a very nice sound and another implacable proof of Maria Brink's efficiency as a power female singer, as sreamingful as she can be in this song. "Let me tell you something baby: You love me for everything you hate me for!"

63	Days go By	The Offspring
Definitely disappointing first single, very pop and very few content. Drums and bass boring to death! But after getting over that, at least Noodles' main guitar riff had ended up sticking in my head!

64	The Celestials	The Smashing Pumpkins
Clearly not the song that we will remember from the pumpkins' highly successful career, but a good developing song that's nice to hear. Another song that lacked of promotion; not even a video for a first single?!

66	Call me Maybe	Carly Rae Jepsen
Yes, I know that it's not grandiose music despite the little symphony orchestra, which actually just repeats the same 6-second sequence during the whole song!! But, it's so rare we see pop (furthermore, teenage pop) that makes the effort to incorporate many instruments to get a richer sound, let's just appreciate it! And we can't say that the melody isn't catchy neither, and I also appreciate that the guitar is not completely "choked"  (not really at the front, but we clearly hear it). And above it all, it's a song that reminds me my trip made last September! And I loved the video! Very funny!  :-)

67	Gentleman	Theory of a Deadman
"Girls don't want a gentleman, they want a loser like me!". True or false? You're free to make your own mind on this, but one thing's for sure, here a rock song a bit traditional, but authentic and rousing.

68	RU486	Stone Sour
Clearly inferior to my favorite song of the year, but that's still some good material! A bit disappointed of singer Corey Taylor's performance though, less convincing than in Gone Sovereign / Absolute Zero and I'm Not Jesus. A track that also suffers from its late release in the year, and that will continue to progress in my esteem in 2013.

69	Rocky Mountain Way	Godsmack
A cover, and it shows; much less intense and deep than the usual Godsmack! Hopefully, Godsmack puts its own touch with a loud guitar sometimes and a singer that's always offering a good presence.

71	Oh Love	Green Day
Obviously disappointing for a 1st single by Green Day. The so-called punk band falls into the easiness of a little pop song conceived specifically for the commercial pop radio. And it worked; in an extremely spectacular way, the track entered the Billboard's rock chart directly at #1, an extremely rare phenomenon. But after a few weeks, it started to fall quickly, as almost any instant success... Despite the deception, they managed to make their chorus enter my head, not to mention the guitar solo that I like.

73	You Waste Your Time	Tremonti
Very good rock track from Creed's legendary guitarist, Mark Tremonti, into its new solo project. Although it seems to have been released in May, I only discovered it on December 31st, which explains its low ranking. I think it deserved better, but I can't say that a loved a lot a song in 2012 if I new it for just one day. I think that this #73 is the best I can do under these circumstances. A question of timing!

74	It's Time	Imagine Dragons
I mostly like the mandolin. Light but efficient song.

75	Here and Now	Seether
Reminds me Rise Above This a lot, or the "soft side" of Seether... in even softer than Rise Above This, except for the harder part that starts at 2:33, and that is by far my favorite of the song!  ;)

76	Radioactive	Imagine Dragons

77	Way too Far	Korn
Third single from their album Path of Totality, fruit of their collaboration with famous DJ Skrillex. This track in particular is officially a collaboration with 12th Planet and not Skrillex, but we still hear very well the strong influence of Skrillex. Not my favorite era in Korn's long career, but I continue to find this form of rock different, refreshing and modern.

78	Forget You	Digital Summer

79	Standing in the Sun	Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators

80	Let Yourself Go	Green Day
Juvenile punk, but we can't accuse them to be old and boring!

81	Weatherman	Dead Sara

83	Street Jesus	Aerosmith
Another pleasant surprise from Aerosmith this year!

84	Télé	Les Cowboys Fringants

86	Arrange-toi avec ça	Bernard Adamus

87	Jumping Ship	Counterparts

88	So You're Afraid	Tremonti
Another track by Mark Tremonti that I only discovered on December 31st and which automaticaly can't be ranked very high in this chart of the songs that I liked the most throughout the whole year. I liked So You're Afraid right on the first time, but clearly less than You Waste Your Time.

89	Omnipresent Perception	Beyond Creation
Just like the two tracks from Tremonti, another one that I discovered too late, only on December 31st, and which is strongly penalized here! A song that I will continue to tame and appreciate more and more in 2013. Not really a fan of those voices, but what a music performance from the Montréal-based band! Very technical.

91	Somebody That I Used to Know	Mayday Parade feat. Vic Fuentes
Already a cover! It took less than 10 months before a band releases a cover of Gotye's hit! So... it is obviously MUCH inferior and MUCH less credible than the original, but it's really not bad enough to scrap such a good song! Even this relatively bad cover easily deserves a place in my top 100.

92	Something to Remind You	Staind
I find that Aaron Lewis did not make an effort to find a vocal melody, as if he was just reading his text while trying to improvize notes randomly. Not their best ballad, but I nonetheless really liked the simplicity of arrangements and the overall softness.

93	Shooters	Les Cowboys Fringants
Emotive and dark song in honor to the 1,300 workers of the city of L'Assomption, Québec (population: 20,000) who find themselves unemployed following the shutdown of the Electrolux shop to move those operations to Memphis, Tennessee in the U.S.A., where the government's grants were more generous...

95	Alive	Adelitas Way

96	Afterlife	Switchfoot

97	Fanatic	Heart
Did you know that Heart was still making music?! I was very surprised to find that out, and honestly, it's not bad! I find that it lacks a bit of punch, but it's still a unique song.

98	Lover Alot	Aerosmith
By far the worst of their 3 radio singles this year, and it's still sufficient to make my top 100! They are old, but they are still able!

99	Confessor	Black Country Communion

100	Heaven nor Hell	Volbeat
I really don't like the harmonica in this song, just remove this harmonica and that song could have gained a few spots! It nevertheless good to close my top 100!

101	Bury my Bones	Pure Love

The regrets

The Top Sucks!

Powhertz
2013/03/06