We'll be entering the teenies/tennies/whatever soon, and this got me pondering. You might know that I strongly defend this decade and its musical/artistic output, more so than any previous decade. I wondered which albums most affected and inspired me than were released from the year 2000 to the present. I could quite easily make a top 100 but i'll be vaguely reasonable and narrow it down to just my 20 absolute vital final favorites. This a historic moment, you might want to get this down
20. Hits Of The 80's by AtomizedThe only release thus far by this band. An unusual project by Lea Cummings AKA Kylie Minoise and Russell McEwan of the doom mongers Black Sun where they perform (in their own words) "raped versions of pop classics by Madonna, Visage, Howard Jones, Haircut 100, & Culture Club." That being said the 5 absolutely horrid and barbaric offerings of guttural noise sound abosultely NOTHING like the original songs. Its an incredibly difficult album but rewarding for those with an appreciation for extremity, especially their drawn out painfully deathly cover of the song "Lucky Star".
19. Initiations by Burial HexMany artists claim to create evil and horrific music, most of them are about as scary as a slightly vexed hamster. Burial Hex however has the bite to back up his eloquent and steadfast claims to blackly atmospheric noise/ambient music. Of the 4 tracks the first 2 are the strongest. "Will To The Chapel" begins with a tense and suggestively violent religious clamour which erupts into a screeching dissonance i've yet to hear be matched for its cruelty and ferocity. "Eight Pentacles" is completly different in its subterranean minimalism that its almost unbearably slow. Just when your concentration and nerves are at strecthing point a huge metallic explosion rips through the rumbling quiet. Each song is at least 20+ minutes long which clocks the entire record in at 1 hour and 13 minutes.
18. Silent Shout by The KnifeWhilst the song "Girls Night Out" from Deep Cuts will almost certainly remain my absolute favorite song by The Knife, I know that Silent Shout is more deserving of the title of best album. I'm impressed by any band that manages to sound even vaguely different in an age of creative brinkmanship. The Knife however have suceeded in sounding like no one else. Deep, perversely club orientated dancefloor fillers that retain an edge of esotericism and otherwordliness.
17. Take Them On, On Your Own by Black Rebel Motorcycle ClubThis was the first rock album I ever liked. About 10 years ago my musical tastes were quite limited. Drum n' bass and scranz techno were my forte and nothing else. However after listening to this record via a recommendation from a friend I quickly realized that I didn't have to fully follow just one overarching genre. This album has on it a song I hold very close to my heart, that being "Suddenly", which astounded me at the time with its genuine lovelorn sad sound. I credit that song to beginning my obsession with depressive and emotionally turbulent music. The rest of the album is much more ballsy though no less inspiring. Who would of thought an American band could 'outbrit' most Brit Rock styled outfits.
16. Drukqs by Aphex TwinDue to the amount of times that one or more of this two disc albums songs crop up on my iPod's shuffling sessions its earnt a place on this list. Definately Richard D. James most interesting and enthralling releases to date it veers wildly between unfathomably complicated IDM/breakcore and on the opposite end of the spectrum we are treated to mechanical and slightly demented shortlived tappings on a keyboard. After all the madness and eclecticism the simple, tiny but highly affecting song "Kesson Dalef" never fails to bring a tear to my eye.
15. Mass III by AmenraThis album would make the average bog-standard metalhead shit his pants, all the more remarkable due to the fact its a hardcore record, a genre much reviled by fans of other perhaps more complex and extreme genres. Luckily for us Amenra have ditched macho grunting and bree flavored breakdowns on Mass III in favor of predominantely down tempo, expansive and atmospheric heavy music that melds the afforementioned hardcore sound with stoner, sludge, doom and progressive genre elements. The fruits of which are forbidden by small minded music fans but savored by the rest of us.
14. Panic Drives Human Herds by Panic DHHIn an age where heavy goth and EBM bands come ten a penny its encouraging to think that there actually are still some bands who retain all the barbaric machine-like deathly quality of old school industrial bands. However this isn't mere griping for a more extreme and less polished age in music. There are very contemporary elements in this bands sound. This isn't a record that can immediately grasped on the first listen. The songs feel coherantly distorted and all of them possess a strangely cut-n'-paste feel. But for patient music fans this albums tendrils will coil around the dark annals of your memory and become vital. They have all the ferocity of punk music, the infectiousness of less extreme darkwave acts (i've got nothing against bands like Bruderschaft or VNV Nation, I do genuinely like them) and all the shuddering electronic experimentation any self-respecting industrial fan needs.
13. Bazooka Tooth by Aesop RockAll of rapper Aesop Rock's material is worthwhile, but if pushed to pick just one album i'd have to settle on Bazooka Tooth. I find his lyrical analgamation of blunt New York reality and wonderland absurdisms at its best on this record. No song sounds like the other and his surreal brand of old school hip-hop is full of eccentric samples, off-kilter beats, an abundance of equally evocative guest rappers and unstable basslines. The only familiar thread in all of these tracks is Ace Rizzle's laconic and world weary vocal style.
12. Oath Bound by SummoningBlack symphonic Tolkien inspired metal at its best. This record is remarkable in that the militant classical elements of the band are the stars of the show and the monstrous metal vocals and raw droning guitar work is simply there to bring darkness to an otherwise bombastic and uplifting collection of lengthy songs. Despite this depth and layering of classical/black metal styles its refrershingly straightforward and catchy, even if some of the tracks go way past the 10 minute mark.
11. Beyond The Apocalypse by 1349Raw, unrelenting, unpretentious black metal at its most barbaric and memorable. I personally think this record is better than the much lauded Hellfire in that it remains coherant throughout without losing any momentum or atmosphere. For vast majority of its running term Beyond The Apocalypse is an uncompromising exercise in hellish speed and precision whilst resisting the wicked temptation to be clever or clinical. This album is essential for anyone who craves blastbeats and devilish riffs.
10. Gulag Orkestar by BeirutWhilst these songs genuinely sound like the recordings of an entire Eastern-European gypsy orchestra they are infact they are the soulful and overwhelmingly wonderful compositions of one Zach Condon, with the help of guest musicians and associates. For anyone with even a vague interest in world and folk music Gulag Orkestar will rapidly imbue you with cultural pride and contentment and eventually after repeated listens will be so vital for your mental well-being that they'll sustain you. At the very least, I know I need Gulag Orkestar in my life after partaking in its charm.
9. Strange House by The HorrorsI love the punky theatricality of this record and was slightly disappointed with their unexpectadly mundane release this year called Primary Colours. However in 2007 The Horrors created Strange House and it deserves to be remembered as one of the best indie albums of the 00's. They put together a rock n' roll selection of tracks full of kooky and polarising extreme elements such as spoken vocals, pained yelps, campy haunted house organ music, oscillating instrumental interludes and much more besides.
8. Apocalypso by The PresetsA recent classic from 2008 this record on vinyl gets plenty of spins on my turntable. Any fan of ultra catchy synth pop, electronica and dance music would be hard pressed to find anything to dislike on this album. It manages to stay varied and interesting despite the majority 4x4 beat format. Admittedly theres no chin stroking plumbing-the-depths-of-human-experience elements to be found herein, but with tracks of such utter joyousness and class (my personal favorites being "If I Know You", "Together" and "Kicking And Screaming") who cares?
7. Run Come Save Me by Roots ManuvaOne of the first hip-hop albums I ever liked in its entirety. I feel a bit nostalgic about this record admittedly because I discovered it at a time when I expanding my horizons, despite what my know-it-all younger self thought not all rap was crap
Teary eyed rememberances aside this album has stood the test of my interest. When other rappers and hip-hop producers have lost their appeal Rodney Smith stays cool and collected enough to not have to declare his greatness whilst still making this a lyrically very personal and though provoking work. His later albums are good but (in my oppinon) have yet to top this.
6. Sylvester Anfang II by Sylvester Anfang IIIts hard to describe how good this funeral/freak folk record is. Its a near flawless blend of psychedelic satanic sentiment and earthy pagan kraut bluntness. This is protorock having an orgy. The two best tracks here are the two part "The Devil Always Shits In The Same Grave" which resembles a groovy anthem to some sexually deviant video nasty. But better still is the slow building but steady "Burkelbos" which has a repetetive bass line almost too cool to exist. An album that gets you dancing as much as it bewilders you with swirling, eldritch, vibrating sky riffage. Listening to this on vinyl is a must.
5. Nouveau Gloaming by <Code>One of the most stunning and original black metal records to emerge from the abyssal depths in five years. The songs arrangements aren't simple or straightforward, but when they finally click I can't imagine any but the most browbeat metalhead not finding perverse pleasure in <Codes> victorian styled dramatic metal. Its a unique album in that unlike a vast majority of BM it isn't an anti-Christian rave set in snowbound woods. It suggests (lyrically and in tone) of the all to real evils of urbanity, of demons and supernatural beings in alleyways and abandoned buildings. Its as soul disturbing as it is theatrical.
4. Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters by The Twilight SadDo you like shoegazer music? You haven't heard it unless you've listened to this band. This album is full of contradictions. I've yet to hear anyone make painfully loud and distorted guitar work beam with such clarity and sad beauty. Their extremist take on lo-fi depressive recording with often quite horrifying lyrics sung unashamedly in the accent of their homeland Scotland, which is a wonderful thing in a age when emotional singers tend to sound remarkably samey.
3. Perils by Miasma & The Carousel Of Headless HorsesAn absolute gem of a instrumental progressive album that very nearly made it into my number one spot. Let yourself imagine the most atmospheric and well-crafted dark Victoriana horror film conceivable, Perils would be its soundtrack. Equally dramatic and eerie as it is beautiful and mesmeric, its takes the listener into Lovecraft and M.R. James territory. It doesn't sully itself with the novelty of vocals and as such makes you appreciate the complicated but memorable arrangements all the more. It would be a crying shame if this record was forgotten in ten years time.
2. Oriflamme by WraithsOne massive barbaric dark noise track over an entire 12". However this isn't a static relentless drone designed to test your endurance and patience. For those initiated with noise and ambient you'll probably find this to be an extremely dynamic and complex piece of music. It never gets boring despite being over 50 minutes long. Its strangely catchy in places with pulsating stabs of looped sound engulfed in progressively rawer layers of distortion and field recordings pushed to painful limits. Ritualistic in production and spirit.
1. Black Ships Ate The Sky by Current 93I've listened to no other album more than this. One of David Tibets most lyrically surreal and varied releases to date and certainly the best album i've ever heard. Few artists could get away with having guest artists perform one song (that being "Idumæa") 9 times on an album but Tibet managed to curate 9 very unique singers, and none of the Idumæa songs sound similiar in style or mood. Despite being the focus of this album my favorite songs on this are the apocalyptic metallic rantings of the title track, the cosmic otherness of "The Dissolution of the Boat
Millions of Years", and the palpable sadness of "Abba Amma (Babylon Destroyer)". Wether I listen to record in full order or just come across one of its tracks through shuffle, Black Ships Ate The Sky never fails to grab my attention.
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Please post your own top 10/20/+. I'll think abvout extending the list in due course but please feel free to format your lists however you wish.