My Votes for the Scene Daddy Music Awards and Why

 For this week’s (ha, implying I actually finish two posts a week) additional post I wanted to do something a bit different. Normally I review whatever records I’m listening to a bit more than normal and of course we go over the weekly winners each week as well. The thing there is you guys don’t get to hear much of my opinions beyond what I like. That being said, this week is the SDMAs, the only award “show” I really care to take notice of because it takes the opinions of the alternative scene and awards the artists by shining a light onto them. Now, I know we don’t only cover scene music here but that is where my interest in music started. So, I thought it’d be fun to go over the categories presented and make my case for why you should, or should not vote for each of my choices. You can vote for these categories here all week and we’re gonna go over them a bit rapidly below. Normally I try to make this nice and presentable with images and things like that but I wanted to get this to you in time.

Keep in mind this is for last year (2020) and Scene Daddy himself said he thinks you should vote for who’s most deserving not so much who you are most a fan of. That being said, let’s dive in.

Award for Best Vocalist of 2020

Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic
Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox

Halsey

Henry Cox of Boston Manor
Landon Tewers of The Plot in You
Tilian Pearson of Dance Gavin Dance

As much as I am a fan of a lot of people here, maybe even more than Courtney I think Spiritbox just defined a very specific side of the scene and heavy music in general all of 2020 and Courtney was a huge part of that. Whether it be how iconic her look in the “Holy Roller” video was and caught on, her one-take vocal videos and just so much more I just don’t think there’s a better choice here at all.

Halsey, not that I’m gatekeeping her from the scene as an individual but as a musician I just think she’s more so involved in the mainstream.

You could choose anyone else on this list just as a fan but I for sure think as far as work in the scene goes no one else really out shines Courtney here.

Award for Best Guitarist of 2020
Aaron Marshall (Intervals)
Amy Love (Nova Twins)
JB Brubaker (August Burns Red)

Reba Meyes (Code Oragne)
Ryan Siew (Polaris)
Will Swan (Dance Gavin Dance)

Award for Best Bassist of 2020

Alex Dean (Architects)
Austin Cressey (Movements)
Billy Hamilton (Silverstein)
Ryan O’Leary (Fit for a King)
Tim Freeick (Dance Gavin Dance)

Zachary Merrick (All Time Low)

I mixed these two together and to be honest I’m gonna throw all my logic out the window from the vocalist award here. I know very little about what the individuals above do outside of playing their instruments, mainly because I’m not always super aware of band members' personal goings on. I’m sure everyone here works very hard for their respective bands but outside of Will Swan and Billy Hamilton I just don’t know much about them, which as of writing this now I feel very ashamed of. So I went with my favorite band and record of last year for both. I could see Aaron Marshal for sure because he is the sole driving force of Intervals but it’s not a project I personally am a fan of.

Award for Best Drummer of 2020

Aric Improta (Fever 333)
Chris Turner (Oceans Ate Alaska)
Dan Searle (Architects)
Evgeny Novikov (Slaughter to Prevail)
Rian Dawson (All Time Low)
Travis Barker (blink-182)

What? No Matt Mingus? You got every other member of DGD but no Matt Mingus?

This is one of those where it’s so clear to see who is most deserving even if you are not a fan of any of these bands. Travis Barker was so busy last year producing and drumming on everyone’s tracks that he revived a lot of facets of the scene in general. The credit to blink is fairly just a formality because they did nothing in all of 2020. (Oh, I’m sorry, they released that quarantine song that no one liked.) Love or hate the projects he took part in you can’t deny that Travis just carried so much on his back this year so I have to give this to him.

Award for Breakthrough Artist of 2020

Dropout Kings

Hollow Front

If I Die First

Patient Sixty-Seven

Saving Vice

Spiritbox

Look, this is another obvious one. Not that any of these other bands didn’t have a great year but Spiritbox just shook so much of the community and even got into mainstream metal without so much as actually having an EP or album out yet. To me there’s just no other real choice here.

Award for Most Dedicated Fan Base of 2020

Dance Gavin Dance

Ice Nine Kills

Motionless in White

Movements

My Chemical Romance

Underoath

Okay, here’s where I throw some shade and actually get into every option involved. DGD fans, yes are stubborn in loving their band but the thing is they cannot even stand united on what singer they respect more as a person. Motionless in White is so similar to Metallica in that so many kids absolutely love this band, will hate you if you don’t, but like maybe a record and a half. Not sure what’s going on with Movements. Underoath fans were so ready to throw that band away for shifting their sound ever so slightly and not being religious anymore. So to me there are two viable options.

Ice Nine Kills fans, yes, are dedicated. A lot of people in the metal world really wanna shame fans of this band for the horror movie “gimmick” and they love them in spite of that. There are so many people in this scene who wait at baited breath for everything this band puts out that I do agree with that choice.

My Chemical Romance, on the other hand, has some… admittedly dedicated to a fault fans overall. They begged and begged for the band to come back. A tour was booked that was borderline impossible to get tickets to and believe me, I tried. That’s only the start though. They insist they want a new record yet they didn’t even like the last two things the band released. They take every simple social media post as THE RECORD IS COMING PEOPLE as if all logic for a release doesn’t need to exist. There are people who will never give up on this band and while that is a beautiful thing and makes it worthy of this award, it’s also a bit… insane.

Best Livestream Band of 2020

All Time Low
Architects

Boston Manor

Code Orange

Motionless in White

Underoath

Oh, what’s this? DGD missing again? They played a show on the San Francisco bridge that’s high quality!

Livestreams were a huge part of 2020 seeing as COVID made it so actual concerts couldn’t be a thing for 10 months out of the entire year. That being said I did not see many myself and took part in none of these. The only one I “took part in” was Underoath but I listened to the live albums on streaming services later. That livestream was certainly big and does deserve recognition. Playing three albums in their entirety is no easy feat and they did it to keep live music alive in some way where it laid dormant.

The only other one I could see as being deserving of the vote is Motionless in White. The Creatures 10th anniversary is a big deal that’s an album that means a lot to a lot of people. When it came out Motionless was doing things a lot of metalcore acts were not like including industrial elements and using fashion as a part of their image.

In spite of everything above, I think Architects deserve the vote here. Royal Albert Hall is a massive venue in both size and scope and Architects lead up to For Those Who Wish to Exist really shook up the metalcore side of the scene in a big way. I heard everyone talk about this livestream and I just think as a whole it meant a lot more to the scene.

Best Comeback Band of 2020

Attack Attack!
Conquer Divide

D.R.U.G.S.

Invent Animate

System of a Down

The Used

I’m going to get SoaD out of the way immediately and say I do not think they deserve this at all. They dropped one double single and it was for charity, which is great, but they will remain what they have been for years. A band that plays festivals and nothing else. This is not a return.

Attack Attack! really played up their return. They used the “pioneers of crabcore” so hard and honestly when they hit back it was a little offensive. “All My Life” sounds like every other octane band, it isn’t even a crabcore song. Since dropping that one single they band has just been totally inactive. I get it, 2020 was hard to stay active in, but you completely abused a legacy to get streaming numbers. It was a totally new band.

D.R.U.G.S. dropped one demo, I didn’t hear anyone talk about Conquer Divide and the hype around Invent Animate died in about a week.

The Used never truly went anywhere so this isn’t truly a comeback. The thing is Imaginary Enemy and The Canyon were not taken well at all and Bert McCraken knew that, hell he said he expected that! They weren’t albums for you! They were for him! So Heartwork was the real return to The Used and they were better for it. The album mixes so much of the old, the weird middle section and this new form of gross pop that it’s an album that made people believe The Used were back after an 8 year non-hiatus.

Best Feature of 2020

BABYMETAL in “Kingslayer” by Bring Me the Horizon

Halsey in “Forget Me Too” by Machine Gun Kelly

Kellin Quinn in “Into the Dark” by Point North

Nova Twins in “1x1” by Bring Me the Horizon

Ryo Kinoshita in “Holy Roller” by Spiritbox

YUNGBLUD in “Body Bag” by Machine Gun Kelly (also featuring Bert McCracken)

“Into the Dark” and “1x1” are both great songs but aren’t quite deserving here in my opinion more for the fact that the other songs stand higher than these. The newer version of “Holy Roller” featuring Ryo is not as good as the original but it speaks more to Courtney’s ability as a vocalist, the song just doesn’t sound right without her at those parts.

Machine Gun Kelly had a big year and will probably rake in a lot of votes. We’re going to get more into him in the album and artist awards. My thing is this, if you compare the two MGK tracks here, “Forget Me Too” was much more popular with even just his fans. “Body Bag” is on the deluxe edition of his album and I don’t think it had the reach to even be considered here.

“Kingslayer” was everywhere in 2020, even in spaces outside of the scene. So many people celebrated this track when it came out and it makes sense. BABYMETAL and BMtH is a big deal collaboration and BMtH is constantly trying to bring in new talent from all sorts of genres. Just on that same EP they had YUNGBLUD and Amy Lee (and, you know, Nova Twins) as features. Them attempting to shed light on other artists makes them a band that deserves its features being pointed to. This track being as big as it was and as good as it was makes it the clear choice here.

Best Album Art of 2020

Afterburner by Dance Gavin Dance

Heartwork by The Used

How to Survive a Funeral by Make Them Suffer

Into the Raging Sea by Broadside

Splinters from an Ever Changing Face by END

The Slow Decay by The Acacia Strain

The Slow Decay had such a unique way of delivering it’s album cover in that the band released five EPs, one for each letter in “decay,” and the covers of them made for one grander album cover. The other five, while great pieces of art, are just regular album covers and I gotta give credit for taking it to the next level.

Best Song of 2020

“Forget Me Too” by Machine Gun Kelly feat. Halsey

“Holy Roller” by Spiritbox

“Infinite” by Silverstein feat. Aaron Gillespie

“Monsters” by All Time Low feat. blackbear

“Ratking” by Boston Manor

“Teardrops” by Bring Me the Horizon

In this scene, outside of like emo songs from the early 2000s we do not get many big singles that make it in a big way. I think in the past few years we’re having those big songs again and all of these, outside of “Infinite” and “Ratking,” (Not that those aren’t good.) had the attention and quality of song writing to win here.

“Forget Me Too” and “Monsters” reached a more mainstream audience mostly reliant on their features and while that is okay I don’t think they quite did much for the scene. We’ll get into why I don’t think MGK wins scene points that well this year but All Time Low has always been a bridge band that no one ever crosses? (That make sense? Yes? No?)

That being said I still see how someone could vote for any of these songs. “Teardrops” and “Holy Roller” reached radio while still giving the scene that bridge between two worlds. “Holy Roller” to me isn’t just the better song it was everywhere. I heard everyone talk about this song. I had friends of mine who don’t really follow the scene tell me how excited they were about this song. I think if touring were a thing this would be that song that drew a crowd to check out an entire show.

Best Music Video of 2020

“Constance” by Spiritbox

“Hypa Hypa” by Eskimo Callboy

“Landmine” by Polaris

“Parasite Eve” by Bring Me the Horizon

“Strawberry’s Wake” by Dance Gavin Dance

“The Drug in Me is Reimagined” by Falling in Reverse

As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of music videos I almost feel like I don’t have a horse in this race. All of my opinions here are based on one watch but thankfully I did see most of these on release. Here’s the thing, to me, there are only three that stand out here. “Constance” really did hit me in the feels and depicts a really touching subject. “Strawberry’s Wake” initiated a whole meme in the scene with Jon Mess’ facial expression as he stares into a moving, flying plane window and that has to count for something.

“Hypa Hypa” was just a genuine piece of comedy and I think would entertain you even if you had no interest in scene music whatsoever. That and as I’ve been saying with most of my picks this just had the reach. Everyone was talking about this video and the song was kind of a scene hit for the summer.

Best EP of 2020

Eggy Pocket by Bilmuri

Home Truths by Patient Sixty-Seven

GlitchGang by Dropout Kings

My Poison Arms by If I Die First

POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR by Bring Me the Horizon

Wrong Generation by Fever 333

I mean this in the most respectful way possible, but literally only BMtH and Bilmuri have a horse in this race. Basically all of these releases came and went. People liked them, yes that is true, but as far as staying power only those two projects really withstood all year.

That being said, I think POST HUMAN will win here and honestly, rightfully so. It is 100% the better EP in terms of songwriting, quality and what it did for the scene. This was honestly the release that defined the scene in 2020. Everyone loved it. It was my number 1 EP of the year when I wrote my list and it wasn’t even a question.

Best Album of 2020

A Beautiful Place to Drown by Silverstein

GLUE by Boston Manor

Heartwork by The Used

How to Survive a Funeral by Make Them Suffer

Pink Elephant by Stand Atlantic

tickets to my downfall by Machine Gun Kelly

I said I wouldn’t do this and I’m going to break my promise  here a bit. Every album on this list except tickets to my downfall was on my top 50 albums of the year. Pink Elephant was my number one. I think as far as scope in the scene any of these albums would rightfully be number one.

Unfortunately tickets to my downfall will win but hopefully I can explain to you why I don’t think it should. When that album came out it really polarized the scene. Lots of people wanted to hate it, lots of people did hate it and a lot of them ate their words. Whether or not you think the record is good it is objectively bad for the scene. Not only did it cause a lot of arguments in the scene (and yea, I started a lot online but the man just riled me up so I apologize.) I am glad this brought you enjoyment if it did but it was not a scene album. People said this would be a gateway album for people to get into things like a Stand Atlantic, a Neck Deep, etc. It did not do that. Instead the album literally made this brand of pop punk the norm with other bands like Girlfriends and led people astray from bands who had built their momentum in the scene and now have their former fans reject them altogether. Now, we didn’t have tours, so instead let’s look at the features. Halsey, Trippie Redd, blackbear and iann dior are not part of the scene, though they are scene adjacent. Bert McCracken and YUNGBLUD are featured, Paramore is covered… on the deluxe edition. Why is it we have to get to the less accessible version of your record to get the scene content. Now, I know what you’re thinking; “Travis Barker co wrote and produced.” Why is that we reject blink-182 as a part of the scene because they haven’t released good music in so long? They take out the small bands, they are accessible for features and production. They help the scene. Yet we reject them until they do something we accept as well written. You cannot both accept and denounce any member of blink as part of this scene at the same time. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Look, like I said, this will win. Hell, even Shane Told of Silverstein named this one of his top albums of the year. Even Scene Daddy himself did. I just think this is not doing the scene any favors and I think it’s creating a gatekeeping rift, not from the fans, but from the bands.

Artist of 2020

Bring Me the Horizon

Code Orange

Fever 333

Machine Gun Kelly

Silverstein

YUNGBLUD

For these next two I am not going to put what my vote is. I think all of the artists above can pull this out. I think, to be honest, it’s a race between BMtH and MGK, but I still think all the artists are deserving.

BMtH continues to push the envelope year after year and this year was no different. In the year of the quarantine they did not falter, they released what they wanted, had great songs and the EP of the year by a mile. They just work hard and keep people in awe of what they’ll do next. I covered them enough throughout this entire write up though so we can leave it at that.

Code Orange did something similar to Spiritbox this year in that they bridged two worlds that are often not bridged despite the fact that it feels like they should be one and the same. The scene is a very different place than the metal scene. When I heard the Code Orange record I did not think the scene would be able to claim it as metal is so often gate kept by it’s listeners. This band, their album, brought those worlds together and I revel at the tours missed out on from the lost year.

Another thing that happened this year aside from the virus was the protests in response to police brutality and systematic racism. Plenty of bands had social media posts and tracks in favor of the protestors. I think Fever and their EP this year best represented that as far as scene music goes. I believe they even took part in protesting but I do not have a source to back that up. 2020 is often defined by COVID-19 but this was such an important piece of history and for a band to make that their mission statement is something noteworthy.

I gave a lot of reason to hate Machine Gun Kelly in my album write up. That being said, I do think he in part could deserve artist of the year. He shook us all up to the point that we were always talking about him. For better or worse he had our attention. So, if you want to vote him as artist of the year, I couldn’t blame you.

Silverstein celebrated 20 years as a band this year, embarking on a huge tour that they were forced to come home from due to the shut down. They released two albums. Their singer Shane led two podcasts and did not let even a lock down stop him from interviewing artists to get them attention and broadcasting a minimum of five new albums a week. (That work is done by his co host but he still gave it the platform.) They are also basically the only band of their era to never have stopped, have barely any member changes and frankly maintain quality in terms of everything they do for so long.

YUNGBLUD is something this scene does not get a lot of in the male pop star. He does, wears, sings what he wants and doesn’t let societal norms get to him. He also wrote the type of music MGK, Girlfriends, etc, wrote and made it good. He 100% deserved the attention those other artists got.

Scene Daddy of 2020

Johnny Franck (Bilmuri)

Chris Motionless (Motionless in White)

Machine Gun Kelly

Oliver Sykes (Bring Me the Horizon)

Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills)

Ronnie Radke (Falling in Reverse)

I’ll let you 100% decide for yourself here. This is more of a figurehead award and I don’t feel any of these are more deserving of the other.

I hope I was able to help you make a decision and show you my opinions on the scene a bit more. This was the year I was most aware of what was going on so it’s the first year I feel I could make real informed decisions. Let me know how you guys feel about these and I’ll see you later in the week.