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Musicians share their most anticipated record of 2018

Pictured, L-R: Against The Current, Waterparks, Marmozets, Real Friends; photo credits: Andrew Lipovsky, Jawn Rocha, Steve Gullick, Megan Leetz]

Because two Most Anticipated lists aren’t enough (ICYMI, we compiled our most anticipated heavy and alternative releases, and there are so many amazing albums to look forward to), here’s a third list—this time recommended by the bands and musicians themselves. From Moose Blood’s Mark Osborne to Waterparks’ Awsten Knight, find out which albums these bands will be spinning in 2018.

Read more: Our staff picks the 28 best songs of 2017

AGAINST THE CURRENT’s Chrissy Costanza is excited for… STATE CHAMPS

Against The Current’s record! [Laughs.] The State Champs record. I’m really excited to hear what they put out. I love those guys, and they’re some of our really good friends, so I’m excited to see what their new stuff is going to sound like.

DON BROCO’s Rob Damiani is excited for… MARMOZETS

Marmozets are a band that we’ve done quite a lot of shows with in the U.K., so it’s been really awesome seeing them grow up as a band. The first time we did a headline show in Leeds, it was their first ever show or something. You can only talk about it so much until you actually see a band, and it was one of those moments when we were like, “What the fuck? These guys are still in school and they’re, like, some of the best musicians we’ve ever seen before.” They were just tearing it apart. Me and Simon [Delaney, guitarist] are big Dillinger Escape Plan fans, and the early Marmozets stuff was some proper crazy tech shit. I don’t wanna say that it a Dillinger rip off in any way, but it definitely had elements of that within some of the songs. It’s been really interesting seeing their growth. When they put out their first album, they completely revamped their sound, and definitely that’s something that appeals to us. For me, I get really excited when bands take risks and are prepared to do something a little bit outside the box. I think I’ve only heard one song from the new album, and it sounds awesome. So, I think it’s gonna be super-exciting to hear that.

REAL FRIENDS’ Kyle Fasel is excited for… OWEN

There’s a band called Owen that I really like—an acoustic act—he’s releasing new material in 2018. For me, personally, that’s probably what I’m looking forward to the most.

THE ROCKET SUMMER’s Bryce Avary is excited for… RADIOHEAD and TWENTY ONE PILOTS

Does Radiohead have a new album coming out next year? I’d like to see what twenty one pilots will come up with next year.

MAYDAY PARADE’s Derek Sanders is excited for… THE DANGEROUS SUMMER

My most anticipated album as of now is the new Dangerous Summer record, which I’m pretty sure is coming out in 2018. I know it’s finished, and they’ve already released a song from it that’s really good. I love that band, and I’m really glad that they’re back together. They’re really good folks, and I’d love to bring them on a tour again.

MOOSE BLOOD’s Mark Osborne is excited for… DON BROCO

The Don Broco record. They’ve always been a band that fully I respect but never really massively got into. I always knew they were good and put out good songs, but [it] never really got to that point that I was really excited to hear what they do next. I’m not being disrespectful or detrimental; they’re are a fantastic band. But the last four singles they’ve put out blew me away. The songs are great, and I don’t know of anybody else who’s making music like that.

SPEAK LOW IF YOU SPEAK LOVE’s Ryan Scott Graham is excited for… STATE CHAMPS

Should I say State Champs? I am really excited for that record. We’re making that right now, and it’s been a really, really fun process.

MARMOZETS’ Becca Macintyre is excited for… KIM CHURCHILL

There’s an amazing artist called Kim Churchill from Australia, and I really like his stuff. There’s a lot of amazing Australian bands coming out at the moment. There’s a lot of excitement going over that way. It’s a lot more acoustic stuff; it’s not like heavy rock, so it might be nice. It’ll be like,”here’s a nice chill album.” Hopefully he’s going to bring out another album, but I think some people need a bit of chill music in their life, don’t they?

BOSTON MANOR’s Henry Cox is excited for… TROPHY EYES

I tell you what, I’ve heard some of the new Trophy Eyes demos, and they sound great. I think the Trophy Eyes record next year is going to be a big one.

TINY MOVING PARTSDylan Mattheisen is excited for… PUP

Whenever PUP puts out a new record. We still jam their past two albums hard in the van. Awesome dudes with awesome tunes.

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PALISADES’ Lou Miceli Jr. is excited for… BLACKBEAR

One of my favorite artists right now is blackbear, and he just dropped that full-length [digital druglord]. It was incredible, and he’s got more music on the way, so I’m really excited to see what he’s going to be coming out with soon. I’m really stoked about that. All of the new blackbear music I’m really excited to hear.

THE WORD ALIVE’s Tyler “Telle” Smith is excited for… POST MALONE, BLACKBEAR, VANCOUVER SLEEP CLINIC

I don’t know [everyone who is]  putting out records necessarily, but some of the artists that I’ve been listening to the most—and a lot of our band has actually—are Post Malone and blackbear. And then there’s this artist called Banners who’s from the U.K.—he’s putting out new material. And then a friend of mine, [Tim Bettinson], who sings for the band Vancouver Sleep Clinic, they’re putting a new album out. It might be late 2017, but I think it’s early 2018. They’re from Australia, but he moved to LA, and he’s so talented it’s insane.

GOOD TIGER’s Derya “Dez” Nagle is excited for… BØRNS

I’m a big fan of a pop act called BØRNS. I know they’re going to be releasing an album in 2018, and I’m really looking forward to that. I’m sure that bands like Deftones and Thrice will probably be aiming for a release at some point in 2018. I always try to keep an ear out for new music, but in terms of most anticipated, I’m interested to see bands which have had a track record of releasing good albums for 10+ years. I’m always excited to see what they do next because to be surprised is always a good thing in this day and age.

KNOCKED LOOSE’s Bryan Garris is excited for… VEIN and HARM’S WAY

Next year, Vein… I assume that they’ll be releasing a record next year because they’re kind of blowing up right now. I’d love to see where they go. Harm’s Way. I heard that they’re going to be dropping a new record. I can’t wait to hear that.

WHITECHAPEL’s Zach Householder is excited for… SUICIDE SILENCE

That’s a tough one. I’m interested to hear what Suicide Silence comes to, honestly. Because they have something to prove now. They’re good friends of mine, and I’ve always been a fan, because knowing those guys, the way they are, they’re gonna throw a curveball any way they can, and they’re gonna do it the best way possible.

I PREVAIL’s Steve Menoian is excited for… BEARTOOTH

It seems like a lot of big players are probably due for an album next year. I’m super-stoked to hear what Beartooth puts out next. We’ve seen Caleb [Shomo] and the guys around different festivals and stuff, so they may be writing right now. Bring Me The Horizon’s probably due pretty soon, too. Sempiternal is one of my favorite albums of all time—they’re definitely a band that I always like to see what they do.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES’ Andy Biersack is excited for… THE FEVER 333

I know there are certain bands working on records that haven’t been announced yet. It’s hard to remember what I’m allowed to say! [Laughs.] The record I think people are going to love is that record by the Fever. [John Feldmann] produced it, and what I’ve heard was amazing.

AVATAR’s Johannes Michael Gustaf Eckerström is excited for… DEVIN TOWNSEND

Personally, as a humble citizen of Avatar Country, I usually fail to keep track on exactly what's going to be released. Every release of a band that I like or am interested usually ends up being a pleasant surprise to me. That being said, I personally hope and think, if I don't get things wrong, that 2018 will be the year we get to hear Devin Townsend's Symphony.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE’s Matthew Tuck is excited for… SLIPKNOT

Hopefully, we’ll get some Slipknot music. I’m a huge fan of that, always have been. It’s always albums I look forward to, and the rumors are it’s in the making, so, if that could happen, I’d love to hear that.

WATERPARKS’ Awsten Knight is excited for… CHAPEL, FALL OUT BOY, TWENTY ONE PILOTS

I've been so busy. I haven't been paying attention to anything. I'm excited for the first official Chapel release to come out. I don’t know if it's an album, but I'm excited for it. M A N I A [by Fall Out Boy]. I bet the twenty one pilots album will come out.