SuppliedDo you remember that catchy, poppy album you played on a continuous loop, on your iPod classic, in the pocket of your highlighter yellow, skinny jeans from Stitches as you loitered at the transit station at Southgate, instead of going to Social 8 with your ten closest confidants? Or that angsty, heart-wrenching ballad that would emanate through your Skullcandy headphones as you laid on your black and red patchwork quilt, eyes closed behind your greasy, Pete Wentz inspired bangs, and reminding you that indeed, the world was out to get you? The Gateway looks back to those awkward years to share our favorite teen albums with you. Let the cringe-worthy nostalgia commence. Try not to judge us too badly
Suicide Season: Bring Me The Horizon
What a treat of an album. Released in 2008 from Metal-core/Post-hardcore band Suicide Season, Bring Me The Horizon was my coming of age tale from an androgynous, non-complacent pre-teen, to a tumultuous, rebellious, 14 year old train wreck. For some outlandish reason, this album really resonated with me—at the time, I truly thought the squelching, thrashing sounds of lead singers Ollie Sykes shredded vocal chords was the only way I could truly articulate the inconceivable teenage angst I was experiencing. With a similar-minded, metal head friend, we would spend Friday nights, drinking stolen Budweiser’s from our parents and blasting “Chelsea Smile” and “Diamonds Aren’t Forever” in her basement and practicing our head banging, all while recording it on my iPod Touch to pour over and critique later. I am still trying to recollect the brain cells lost from those nights of thrashing and banging, while simultaneously trying, very hard, to forget. – Alyssa Demers
Various Artists: Big Shiny Tunes 12
Maybe this is cheating because it’s a compilation album, but I don’t care, this album showed me a side of music that I had been embarrassingly unaware of for far too long. While the name of the album (along with most of the music) is fairly cringe-worthy, there are a few gems on this album that ended up having a huge impact on my musical taste. Most notably, this album featured “Rough Hands” by Alexisonfire, a band that I had heard about but never really paid proper attention to. The album’s mix of hard rock and various punk sub-genres allowed uninformed listeners access to music that they normally never would’ve found. As far as compilation albums go, Big Shiny Tunes 12 was surprisingly solid, and most likely helped a lot of people discover the type of music they truly enjoyed. – Jason Timmons
Hedley: The Show Must Go
You can pretty much guarantee that between the years of 2005-2010 I was listening to anything by Hedley. When The Show Must Go came out it was a big freaking deal, and I can promise that little fifteen-year-old Me was jamming to those twelve songs almost exclusively. Of course, I was also unconditionally in love with Jacob Hoggard at that point—at least until Storms came out and I hated it. Even though Hedley’s newer material is kind of sucky )seriously, what’s with Lost in Translation?!) their old stuff is golden and still cycles through my playlists to this day. You can’t really beat that mix of teenybopper nostalgia and timeless, young rock. – Rachael Phillips
Billy Talent: Billy Talent 2
Billy Talent’s second studio album was very much the album of my teens. Whether I was getting pumped for rec. league hockey or jamming to 100.3 The Bear in my dad’s car on the way to school; Billy Talent was a keystone part of my rebellious youth. As a kid growing up in an upper middle class community, songs like “Devil in A Midnight Mass” and “Fallen Leaves” perpetuated my need to create problems in my privileged life. Songs like “Red Flag” spoke to the punk that was being suppressed by the fascist authority at my Junior High school. Each song sounded unique and different and helped define my otherwise meaningless existence. You and your talent haven’t been forgotten, Billy. – Joshua Storie
What about you? What’s your favourite album from your teens? Leave it in the comments below!
