Heavy music had a massive triumph over the weekend, with Polaris taking out the top spot in The Faction’s Hardest 100 of 2019.
Having first launched back in 2018, The Faction’s Hardest 100 has kept fans of heavy music satisfied for a few years now, allowing them to have their say in what the best song of the previous year was in the harder genres.
While the first two years of the countdown saw England’s Architects hitting the #1 spot thanks to their songs “Doomsday” and “Hereafter”, this year looked like we could finally see a new winner crowned. Now, following a massive day of tunes on Sunday, it’s been revealed that none other than Polaris have been named as the winners of 2019’s poll, with “Masochist” taking out the top spot.
“I was not expecting that,” Polaris drummer and songwriter Daniel Furnari explained to Browny and Pricey following the win. “I thought we might do ok, but this is incredible, thank you so much to all the people who voted!”
Of course, Polaris fans probably had an inkling the song would fare well. After all, with “Masochist” serving as the first single from their album The Death of Me – which not only hit #3 on the ARIA album chart, but topped the vinyl chart – the group’s dedicated fanbase ensured it received the love it deserves.
Elsewhere in the countdown, it was a pretty massive year for Aussie artists, with six of the top ten featuring local talent, and 57 tracks across the whole list. This Aussie representation was also helped by the likes of Northlane and Thornhill, who charted a huge five times teach. Meanwhile, Tool appeared four times, while Slipknot, Alpha Wolf, Ocean Grove, and Dealer all popped up three times.
While the longest song of the countdown was Periphery’s “Reptile”, the countdown also featured a massive uptick in listeners, with an increase of 278% peak listenership on last year’s event.
With The Faction revealing the Hardest 100 will return this time next year, listeners should start making their shortlists now to ensure they’re not faced with a difficult decision come voting time!
The Faction’s Hardest 100 of 2019
100. ‘Drones’ – Osaka Punch
99. ‘Primrose’ – Dream State
98. ‘Stop The Clocks’ – Enter Shikari
97. ‘The Entire History Of You’ – Stepson
96. ‘If Only’ – Void of Vision
95. ‘The Offering’ – Sleep Token
94. ‘Reptile’ – Periphery
93. ‘Tapping Out’ – Issues
92. ‘Paradise and Plague’ – Counterparts
91. ‘Drawn Together’ – Cog
90. ‘Behold The Crown’ – After The Burial
89. ‘Creature of Habit Pt. 2’ – Slowly Slowly
88. ‘Dark Sources’ – Pridelands
87. ‘Views From The Sun’ – Thornhill
86. ‘Unbroken’ – The Butterfly Effect
85. ‘Head Hunter’ – Dance Gavin Dance
84. ‘Invincible’ – Tool
83. ‘Safety Switch’ – Slowly Slowly
82. ‘You Never know’ – Beartooth
81. ‘Replace Me’ – Reside
80. ‘Russian Roulette’ – Alpha Wolf
79. ‘Details Matter’ – Northlane
78. ‘Damien’ – Mirrors
77. ‘Self-Destruct’ – Kublai Khan TX
76. ‘Crowbar’ – Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
75. ‘Kickback feat’ – Stray From The Path
74. ‘Eclipse’ – Northlane
73. ‘What You Wanted’ – A Swift Farewell
72. ‘Can I Rock’ – (hed) p.e.
71. ‘Freedom/Fiction’ – The Daily Chase
70. ‘Burn It Down (feat. Caleb Shomo)’ – Silverstein
69. ‘When Everything Means Nothing’ – Fit For A King
68. ‘Paralysed’ – Rumours
67. ‘…And Still I Wander South’ – Knocked Loose
66. ‘Breaking Down’ – I Prevail
65. ‘No Going Back’ – A Past In Ruins
64. ‘Make America Hate Again’ – Thy Art Is Murder
63. ‘Death Squad Anthem’ – Thy Art Is Murder
62. ‘Hate Me Like You Mean It’ – Ocean Sleeper
61. ‘Pretty Stupid’ – Dealer
60. ‘Forget Me’ – Belle Haven
59. ‘Medicine’ – Bring Me The Horizon
58. ‘Familiar Drugs’ – Alexisonfire
57. ‘Incredulous’ – Rumours
56. ‘Deutschland’ – Rammstein
55. ‘Drugs’ – Falling In Reverse
54. ‘Change (In The House Of Flies)’ – Architects
53. ‘Pneuma’ – Tool
52. ‘Mercury feat’ – ATLVS
51. ‘Deceiver’ – The Beautiful Monument
50. ‘Bathed In Venom’ – Deadlights
49. ‘Wonderful life (feat. Dani Filth)’ – Bring Me The Horizon
48. ‘The Signal Fire’ – Killswitch Engage
47. ‘BURN IT’ – FEVER 333
46. ‘Coven’ – Thornhill
45. ‘Misanthropic’ – The Gloom in The Corner
44. ‘Hate Me (Sometimes)’ – Stand Atlantic
43. ‘Sunny’ – Ocean Grove
42. ‘Boomslang’ – Kublai Khan TX
41. ‘Phantom Pain’ – Gravemind
40. ‘The Sitch’ – Windwaker
39. ‘Solway Firth’ – Slipknot
38. ‘Volgin’ – Gravemind
37. ‘Clementine’ – A Somerset Parade
36. ‘Fear Inoculum’ – Tool
35. ‘Into You’ – A New Way Home
34. ‘The Guilty Party’ – While She Sleeps
33. ‘Low’ – Wage War
32. ‘No Name’ – Alpha Wolf
31. ‘Jellyfish’ – Slowly Slowly
30. ‘Light In My Dark’ – Ocean Sleeper
29. ‘Attitude Error’ – 23/19
28. ‘Nero Forte’ – Slipknot
27. ‘Grotesque’ – Dealer
26. ‘7empest’ – Tool
25. ‘IT Is The End’ – Ice Nine Kills
24. ‘Lily & The Moon’ – Thornhill
23. ‘Bulls on Parade (triple j Like A Version)’ – Denzel Curry
22. ‘Shadow Boxing’ – Parkway Drive
21. ‘Innocence’ – Splinter
20. ‘Crooked’ – Dealer
19. ‘Sub-Zero’ – Alpha Wolf
18. ‘Junkie$’ – Ocean Grove
17. ‘My Empire’ – Windwaker
16. ‘Mistakes Like Fractures’ – Knocked Loose
15. ‘Talking Heads’ – Northlane
14. ‘Bow Down’ – I Prevail
13. ‘Where We Go When We Die’ – Thornhill
12. ‘Degenerates’ – A Day To Remember
11. ‘Popular Monster’ – Falling In Reverse
10. ‘Nurture’ – Thornhill
9. ‘Hollowed Heart’ – Make Them Suffer
8. ‘Bloodline’ – Northlane
7. ‘4D’ – Northlane
6. ‘Unsainted’ – Slipknot
5. ‘Resentment’ – A Day To Remember
4. ‘Ludens’ – Bring Me The Horizon
3. ‘Ask For The Anthem’ – Ocean Grove
2. ‘All My Friends Are Dead’ – The Amity Affliction
1. ‘Masochist’ – Polaris
