Rae
06-03-2007, 09:16 PM
I know I started this thread once before... I tried to find it in response to the "head bangers" thread below, but it looks like it was lost to a software change somewhere over the years.
Bonus points for any record that isn't metal. I'll start with a few:
Suicide - First Album -
The kind of no wave that Bruce Springsteen gets into, Suicide issued a statement of purpose with the first of their two self-titled LPs. Alan Vega moans and shreiks over Martin Rev's pulsating synthesizers-- and that's it. These guys don't need a rhythm section; hell, they don't even need melody, just the same insistent, pulsating riffs sketching out their entrapment in an ever-decaying world. Hell yeah, it's repetitive! These guys even have the nerve to sequence the same song back-to-back on the a-side. If you're not beaten down and begging for mercy by the end of "Frankie Teardrop", well, chances are you've already resigned yrself to the same bleak clutches of despair.
Swans - Children of God/World of Skin -
If Suicide is claustrophobic, then Swans are suffocating. M. Gira layers dense atmospherics over all manner of abrasive instrumentation and frequently holds forth with his ominous intonations, but it's co-vocalist Jarboe who really takes the group to an unsettling place. Swans have the ability to be absolutely pummeling, but they dismantle yr fragile psyche most in their quieter moments. Gira dedicated this album to Jesus Christ, but it's the dark master whose invisible hands seem to be conducting his orchestra.
Frodus - And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea -
Easily the best album of Frodus' career, this one bursts out of the gate with "Red Bull of Juarez". Is that bass a living animal? It sure seems to growl and gnash its teeth. Of course, vocalist Shelby Cinca does some growling of his own as he spits "I'm left for dead, now" over the intensly rhythmic rif***e. If we're left for dead after only one track, how dare they assault us with ten more? And is that guitar mimicing circus sounds in "The Earth Isn't Humming"? Welcome to the carnival of the macabre, my friend.
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come -
They say that the classics never go out of style, and this one is no exception, still sounding as punishing as it did the day it was released. Refused didn't write the book on tension and release, nor did they invent the fusion of metal and hardcore that would be mimiced by so many MTV2-ready emo bands a decade later, but they did combine those elements with bursts of jazz and electronica in a way that nobody else has matched. I still find myself compelled to bust a few ninja moves every time I spin this one. "I've got a bone to pick / and a few to break."
Khanate - Things Viral -
Ever wonder what it would sound like if you took Black Sabbath riffs, ran them at half-speed, and put Bon Scott vocals over them? Wonder no more.
Napalm Death - Scum -
Yeah, these guys pretty much cranked out the same cartoonish grindcore over and over throughout their career, but it did sound agreeably crusty the first time. I mean, if dirt listened to music, this is what it would be.
Hammerhead - Into the Vortex -
I could basically put the whole AmRep catalog on this list, but it reached its pinnacle IMHO with this sophomore release from the boys in Hammerhead. Al Burian called this "easy listening for the tinnitus-afflicted". Really, if you're from North Dakota, what other kind of music could you be inspired to make?
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow -
Maybe not the purest coalescence of their sound (that honor probably goes to Ride the Skies), but production value-wise, this bass-and-drums duo never sounded heavier than it did on this record. Did anyone else see that Lightning Bolt documentary where one audience member gamely covers his ears until he is overcome and simply points at drummer Brian Chippendale, awestruck and slack-jawed? I've been that guy.
The Locust - s/t -
The Locust are ridiculous. They dress up like bugs, they play minute-long songs that seem to consist mainly of running up and down the fretboard at blinding speeds, and they title them things like "Moth Eaten Deer Head" and "Cattle Mutilation". Oh yeah, and they rip off the cover art for this album from Queen's News of the World, which while not being particularly heavy musically at least gets my vote for most terrifying album art of all time.
The Melvins - Ozma/Gluey Porch Treatments -
The Melvins rock like they are emerging from primordial ooze. Underwater. While doing huge bongs of Scotchguard. Basically, they are excellent.
Sleep - Dopesmoker -
The title track from this record is one gigantic stoner-metal jam. That lasts for sixty minutes. There are no other tracks.
Slayer - Reign in Blood -
I had to mention it!
All right, now you.
~Rae
Bonus points for any record that isn't metal. I'll start with a few:
Suicide - First Album -
The kind of no wave that Bruce Springsteen gets into, Suicide issued a statement of purpose with the first of their two self-titled LPs. Alan Vega moans and shreiks over Martin Rev's pulsating synthesizers-- and that's it. These guys don't need a rhythm section; hell, they don't even need melody, just the same insistent, pulsating riffs sketching out their entrapment in an ever-decaying world. Hell yeah, it's repetitive! These guys even have the nerve to sequence the same song back-to-back on the a-side. If you're not beaten down and begging for mercy by the end of "Frankie Teardrop", well, chances are you've already resigned yrself to the same bleak clutches of despair.
Swans - Children of God/World of Skin -
If Suicide is claustrophobic, then Swans are suffocating. M. Gira layers dense atmospherics over all manner of abrasive instrumentation and frequently holds forth with his ominous intonations, but it's co-vocalist Jarboe who really takes the group to an unsettling place. Swans have the ability to be absolutely pummeling, but they dismantle yr fragile psyche most in their quieter moments. Gira dedicated this album to Jesus Christ, but it's the dark master whose invisible hands seem to be conducting his orchestra.
Frodus - And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea -
Easily the best album of Frodus' career, this one bursts out of the gate with "Red Bull of Juarez". Is that bass a living animal? It sure seems to growl and gnash its teeth. Of course, vocalist Shelby Cinca does some growling of his own as he spits "I'm left for dead, now" over the intensly rhythmic rif***e. If we're left for dead after only one track, how dare they assault us with ten more? And is that guitar mimicing circus sounds in "The Earth Isn't Humming"? Welcome to the carnival of the macabre, my friend.
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come -
They say that the classics never go out of style, and this one is no exception, still sounding as punishing as it did the day it was released. Refused didn't write the book on tension and release, nor did they invent the fusion of metal and hardcore that would be mimiced by so many MTV2-ready emo bands a decade later, but they did combine those elements with bursts of jazz and electronica in a way that nobody else has matched. I still find myself compelled to bust a few ninja moves every time I spin this one. "I've got a bone to pick / and a few to break."
Khanate - Things Viral -
Ever wonder what it would sound like if you took Black Sabbath riffs, ran them at half-speed, and put Bon Scott vocals over them? Wonder no more.
Napalm Death - Scum -
Yeah, these guys pretty much cranked out the same cartoonish grindcore over and over throughout their career, but it did sound agreeably crusty the first time. I mean, if dirt listened to music, this is what it would be.
Hammerhead - Into the Vortex -
I could basically put the whole AmRep catalog on this list, but it reached its pinnacle IMHO with this sophomore release from the boys in Hammerhead. Al Burian called this "easy listening for the tinnitus-afflicted". Really, if you're from North Dakota, what other kind of music could you be inspired to make?
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow -
Maybe not the purest coalescence of their sound (that honor probably goes to Ride the Skies), but production value-wise, this bass-and-drums duo never sounded heavier than it did on this record. Did anyone else see that Lightning Bolt documentary where one audience member gamely covers his ears until he is overcome and simply points at drummer Brian Chippendale, awestruck and slack-jawed? I've been that guy.
The Locust - s/t -
The Locust are ridiculous. They dress up like bugs, they play minute-long songs that seem to consist mainly of running up and down the fretboard at blinding speeds, and they title them things like "Moth Eaten Deer Head" and "Cattle Mutilation". Oh yeah, and they rip off the cover art for this album from Queen's News of the World, which while not being particularly heavy musically at least gets my vote for most terrifying album art of all time.
The Melvins - Ozma/Gluey Porch Treatments -
The Melvins rock like they are emerging from primordial ooze. Underwater. While doing huge bongs of Scotchguard. Basically, they are excellent.
Sleep - Dopesmoker -
The title track from this record is one gigantic stoner-metal jam. That lasts for sixty minutes. There are no other tracks.
Slayer - Reign in Blood -
I had to mention it!
All right, now you.
~Rae