Well, 2016 is finally over, and now we're starting fresh in 2017! This past year was one heck of a year for all of us! Despite all the bad stuff that has happened, we also recieved some good things (like numerous major scientific breakthroughs in diseases such as AIDS and Cancer, the United States Women's Gymnastics team won big at this year's Olympic Games, and the fact that Leonardo Dicaprio finally won an Oscar). Also, if you haven't seen my last article (My Top 10 2016 Albums), I thought we had great music this year!

Now, I can't predict the future, but I can assure everyone that 2017 will bring plenty of awesome new music. After going through tons of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and the Alternative Press website, I got a good scoop on what's to come next year. Most of this stuff isn't official yet, but only time will tell the answer. Still, with everything from Metal to Pop-Punk, we're going to begin looking ahead at the Most Anticipated Music of 2017. Starting...NOW!!!

1) Ice Nine Kills / Safe Is Just A Shadow (Re-Shadowed)

Genre: Metal / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: 1/6/2017

On November 30th, 2016, Ice Nine Kills have announced that they will release a re-recorded version of their 2010 album, Safe Is Just A Shadow, on January 06th. Here's what vocalist Spencer Charnas had to say about it:

“With the evolution of our skills as musicians, and the original producer, Steve Sopchak, having established himself at the top of his craft, we felt this was a perfect time to re-record the album and give it that extra attention that it always deserved. We’ve also repackaged the album with the impressive Toby Fraser produced artwork that was originally supposed to accompany the release."

Song To Check Out: "The People Under the Stairs"

2) You Me At Six / Night People

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: 1/6/2017

Three years since their last release, acclaimed Surrey rockers You Me At Six return with their fifth studio album Night People, which also drops January 6th. With this being the band’s first record to be named after a track since their debut Take Off Your Colours, a quick reflection reminds us just how far the five-piece has progressed since their humble beginnings.

Once again, You Me At Six prove yet again why they are one of Britain’s biggest rock bands, producing hit after hit in their latest effort. Everybody will have their own opinion on the band’s best album is, and while we will always love the classics, some tracks on Night People are You Me At Six at the best we’ve ever heard them.

Songs To Check Out: "Night People", "Plus One", "Heavy Soul", "Swear", and "Give"

3) One Ok Rock / Ambitions

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: 1/13/2017

Japanese rockers One Ok Rock announced the official release date of their English-language album Ambitions, scheduled to be released January 13th via Fueled By Ramen / A-Sketch.

The track listing for Ambitions features the likes of All Time Low's, Alex Gaskarth and 5 Seconds Of Summer, and this isn't the first scene-studded release for the band. Their 2015 album, 35XXXV, featured Issues' vocalist, Tyler Carter, and Sleeping With Sirens' vocalist, Kellin Quinn.

Songs To Check Out: "Taking Off", "I Was King", and "Bedroom Warfare"

4) As It Is / Okay.

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: 1/20/2017

UK-based pop rockers As It Is are set to drop their sophomore album Okay. January 20 via Fearless Records. Here's what vocalist Patty Walters had to say about the writing process of the record.

“These are by far the most personal and honest songs we've ever written. We made a conscious effort to truly push ourselves musically and lyrically, to create something that didn't feel entirely safe or calculated. We wrote songs about our families, our personal lives, and our struggles more vulnerably than ever before, hoping to encapsulate sincere moments in our lives. We feel a huge sense of pride having created this record, and we're immensely excited to share it with the world. We love and cherish you all for supporting us and giving us this opportunity."

Songs To Check Out: "Pretty Little Distance", "Okay", and "No Way Out"

5) Youth In Revolt / The Broken

Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: 1/20/2017

Alternative rock outfit Youth In Revolt have announced their debut album, The Broken, which will also be released 1/20/17 via Outerloop Records. After adding former Brightwell members Tanner Manoir (Vocals) and Arvin Sarathy (Drums) to an impressive lineup with original members Kenny Torres (Vocals, Bass), Alex Ramos (Guitar), and Chris Coletti (Guitar), Youth In Revolt are in their biggest year yet. Here is what Kenny Torres had to say about the release:

"This album is a collection of experiences we can all relate to, and each song is significant in it’s own way. However, the title track The Broken is not only our favorite song but one that describes what we went through in the process of writing this record. We as a band were broken and had basically broken up but we’ve been able to piece ourselves back together and are now joined by our good friends Tanner and Arvin and original guitarist Chris. We couldn’t have pulled through and made this record without the guys at Oceanic Recording, The Foundation Studio, and and all of our fans who support us and give us the drive to continue to do what we love to inspire positivity and creativity. ”

Songs To Check Out: "The Broken" and "Not Giving Up"

6) Palisades / Palisades

Genre: Post-Hardcore / EDM

Release Date: 1/20/2017

Rise Records' Palisades have returned with the announcement of their self-titled record—to release Jan. 20. Palisades succeeds 2013's Outcasts and 2015's Mind Games. Pre-order the new album here.

Songs To Check Out: "Fall", "Aggression", and "Through Hell"

7) DangerKids / Blacklist_

Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: 1/27/2017

We've been waiting on the follow-up to DangerKids' 2013 debut Collapse for a long time, and as time went on, things were starting to seem dire for the band. 2017's about to change all of that up.

The band's long-awaited Blacklist_ is due out on January 27, 2017 via Paid Vacation Records. The band has been working on material for nearly two years now, revealing the title of the record all the way back in 2015. It seems the band has parted ways with former record label Rise Records, which may be the reason why.

With the two singles we have so far, they show a growth of the band's sound and leaves Blacklist looking very promising.

Songs To Check Out: "Things Could Be Different" and "Blacklist_"

8) Carousel Kings / Charm City

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: 2/10/2017

Victory Records welcomes Carousel Kings to their roster. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania band has anchored their name as one of the most ambitious and creative pop/rock/punk machines in recent years. To celebrate the band brings you the video for “Bad Habit,” from their full length Charm City, which hits earth on February 10th, 2017.

“Signing with Victory is an amazing accomplishment for us,” says singer David Alexander. “We’ve grown up listening to Victory bands, and we have friends that are on the label. Signing with them has just made us feel really valued and wanted. After meeting the whole crew, we definitely feel the mutual respect and look forward to doing great things with Victory!”

Songs To Check Out: "Bad Habit" and "Here, Now, Forever"

9) Sleeping With Sirens

Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: TBA

With each of their albums, it’s Sleeping With Sirens' goal to evolve and continue to grow as a band. That’s always the main focus every two years: Go into the studio and surprise themselves. If they can do that, they can make a great record that everyone can get behind and be excited about, and they've been doing that since 2010.

Song To Check Out: "Better Off Dead"

10) New Found Glory

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Expect It: Spring 2017

Lyrically, their next album looks at our culture and where we’re at—even in themselves. New Found Glory thinks that we live in a place where people, themselves included, spend so much time pointing the finger at others. They point at everything else they want to fix with the world, but they never really point at themselves. This album will be more vulnerable, but it’s a different kind of vulnerability and honesty which is different from their other records. Also, there were no challenges... I mean how long has New Found Glory been making music together at this point? ... 20 YEARS!!!

Song To Check Out: "Selfless"

11) We Came As Romans

Genre: Post-Hardcore / Metalcore

Release Date: TBA

With this new record, you can still tell it’s We Came As Romans, but now they kind of dug back into their past and brought back some things they haven’t done in the past couple records. They’re going heavy with the programming again, using really modern synths, bringing back a lot of the Metalcore stuff they lost with their last two records, more running riffs. To be honest, they miss being a heavy band. They miss playing Metalcore. So they’re bringing back a lot of it.

Song To Check Out: "Wasted Age"

12) I The Mighty

Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore

Expect It: Summer 2017

I The Mighty is stoked to bring some of the progressive back to their music—Satori had five or six different songs with weird time schemes. With Connector, they allowed ourselves to be simple and mess around with other sounds and synths and styles, but now they want to combine that with what they used to do.

The challenge was finding the right producer to make it all work. It’s finding someone who has a nice blend of input while letting us have creative control and handle a large portion of the writing—it’s trying to find a marriage between those two concepts.

Song To Check Out: "The Lying of Miss Erray"

13) Black Veil Brides

Genre: Rock / Metal

Expect It: Fall 2017

Like fine wine, Black Veil Brides predicts that they get better with age! As hilarious as that sounds...they're right! With their next record on the line, especially when it comes to working with John Feldmann (5 Seconds Of Summer, Blink-182, All Time Low, etc.) again, who knows what will happen. Looking back on Wretched & Devine: The Story Of The Wild Ones (the first record the band did with Feldmann), however, it will rock!

Song To Check Out: "The Outsider"

14) Knuckle Puck

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Expect It: Fall 2017

With Knuckle Puck's next album on the line, they want it to be heavier—not in a heavy way. They want to keep the intensity but… Okay, a song like “Untitled” is the perfect example. The only challenge to them is trying to make this next record better than Copacetic.

Song To Check Out: "Pretense"

15) PVRIS

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop

Release Date: TBA

The thing about PVRIS is that they're pretty diverse and all over the place, but they still have their PVRIS flair to everything. So, their new record will definitely be more different than White Noise. There will be a lot of new and unique sounds added in that will be prevalent throughout.

Song To Check Out: "You & I"

16) Sleep On It

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: Summer 2017

These guys just put out an EP, Lost Along The Way, less than a month ago and they're already back inside the studio. So, they pretty much didn’t stop writing from the EP. On the full-length, they’re really going to push the boundaries a little bit more; they’re going to have a little bit more diversity in the songs. We’re really kind of tapping into a lot of our different influences more than just the straightforward Pop-Punk. But at the same time, it’s still gonna be Sleep On It, and the sound they’ve been trying to narrow in on.

Song To Check Out: "See You Around"

17) Paramore

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop Rock

Release Date: TBA

Eleven years and four albums later, the word "Paramore" has become synonymous with "revolution." Over and over again, they've set themselves as the benchmark for an entire family of genres, cementing their legend status despite various sound and lineup changes. Since we last saw Paramore on their self-titled record, they lost longtime bassist, Jeremy Davis. But, that's not stopping them, and they're making a new record now...like as we speak!

Song To Check Out: "Still Into You"

18) Neck Deep

Genre: Pop-Punk

Release Date: TBA

Neck Deep's next album will be very much more mature. I know that’s a cliché thing, but it is. They’re a little bit older now. Thanks to their latest release, Life Is Not Out To Get You, they've experienced a pretty heavy dose of life in the past year or two. Instead of the songs all being really hyper-energetic, how about we have the same vibe but maybe chill it out a little bit.

Song To Check Out: "December (feat. Chris Carrabba)"

19) All Time Low

Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop-Punk

Release Date: TBA

Somehow, two years have already passed since All Time Low’s sixth album, Future Hearts. We know (thanks Twitter and Snapchat) that frontman Alex Gaskarth has already headed into the studio for some time, and peeped guitarist Jack Barakat and drummer Rian Dawson there as well. This time two years ago, the band were busy telling us how Future Hearts would be a throwback to their earlier work (2006’s EP Put Up Or Shut Up and 2007’s So Wrong It’s Right, but it all seemed original as it climbed up the charts and became #1 all over the world (when it was released). All Time Low never disappoints, so there's no need to worry about their next masterpiece.

Song To Check Out: "Something's Gotta Give"

20) Ice Nine Kills (Again)

Genre: Metal / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: Winter 2017

Back with Ice Nine Kills again! Just because they're re-releasing an old album doesn't mean there won't be something new! The boys think that they want to continue to be unpredictable. They did some stuff on the last album, Every Trick In The Book, that was risky. Even though they're not sure exactly which risks they want to take this time, but they want to take them. They want to do everything in our power to separate ourselves from the clichés in our genre.

Song To Check Out: "Communion of the Cursed"

21) Our Last Night

Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Hardcore

Release Date: TBA

Out of all the bands on this list, this is the one I'm really excited for! I love Our Last Night, and their music (along with their songwriting) has becoming better and better! I have been following these guys since Age Of Ignorance (2012), and their other releases, Oak Island (2013) and Younger Dreams (2015). On their YouTube channel they do a lot of covers of old and mainstream songs (which I think are SO much better than the original versions), challenges, and updates. Right now, they have a new single out! We're definitely getting a new Our Last Night album this year... We just don't know when yet.

Song To Check Out: "Common Ground"