ATCB's Top 100 Albums Of The Bastard's Decade: 10-1 

Presenting the final installment in this ongoing, self-obsessed series. A Spotify playlist featuring all available recommended tracks is being built daily alongside the list, and can be found by clicking here.

10. Killing Joke – ‘Killing Joke’ (2003)

When Killing Joke kicked out finally kicked out an album after a seven year hiatus that followed the sub-par ‘Democracy’, few expected it to hit with the raw passion and rage that it did. A violent burst of deathmarching industrial metal with a tribal vibe, it not only brought them back to the loving arms of their longterm fans but also bought them a whole new generation of followers who were foaming at the mouth to check out the ancestors of acts like Static-X and Fear Factory. As their second eponymous release, this could be seen as a reinvention of sorts. Yet all the old Killing Joke ingredients are still in the mix – Jaz Coleman’s apocalyptic howl, Geordie’s hypnotic guitars, Raven and Youth’s pulsing bass tremors. Yet all of these are turned defiantly up to 11 to produce their heaviest record before or since, adding yet another string to their bow that has in the past confidently fired arrows ranging from post-punk to goth to prog rock. A guest starring Dave Grohl on drums only served to further add fuel to the fire, with the revolving percussion acting as a driving instrument in a way that is ignored by many bands. Lyrically it’s all conspiracy theories and barely restrained moral outrage, the band setting themselves out as 21^st century urban primitives crusading for the downfall of the enemies of mankind. For many other acts this would seem contrived. It’s a credit to the enduring power and honesty of Killing Joke that they pull it off flawlessly.

Recommended Tracks: “The Death & Resurrection Show”, “Asteroid”, “Loose Cannon”

9. Jesu – ‘Jesu’ (2004)

When Godflesh were disbanded and Justin Broadrick moved on to field Jesu as a main project, it seemed natural that he would expand on the drone and shoegaze elements that had pervaded Godflesh releases for a number of years. With this eponymous debut release he managed to concentrate these aspects of his old band into an expansive yet focused post-metal sound. There’s a slow rolling thunder to many of the tracks on offer, like recordings of geological change sped up into coherency. Ancient slumbering gods turn over in their sleep under a black ocean, as drums pound out a slow rhythm with Broadrick’s vocals diving deep into the surface overhead. The decision on which Jesu album to include in this list was a difficult one, with this LP only just edging out 2007’s follow-up ‘Conqueror’ at the last second. In many ways I do prefer the latter – it takes the monolithic crush of this release and blends in an almost-pop element that gives way to a truly unique sound. But ‘Jesu’ is both more consistent and more coherent as an album – one you can spin any number of times and lose yourself in, sinking gently into Broadrick’s bittersweet dimension of intensely physical sound.

Recommended Tracks: “Friends Are Evil”, “Tired Of Me”, “Sun Day”

8. Bat For Lashes – ‘Two Suns’ (2009)

I have to confess to a certain amount of guilt that there are relatively few releases featuring female artists on this list. I’d like to think that this is down to a gender-biased music industry rather than any inherent sexism or preference on my part, but feel free to make your own judgements. Regardless, this is the highest entry for a solo female artist, and though the inevitable comparisons to the likes of Kate Bush and Tori Amos can be made (and unlike most muso clichés, it isn’t entirely inappropriate in this case), Natasha Khan constructs her own universe of shimmering glass and flickering stars to perform against. In ATCB’s opinion ‘Two Suns’ is far superior to her 2006 debut, largely down to a voluminous increase in range and imagination. Traditional instrumentation collides with the more obscure, all of it bounded by occasional stabs of synths and beats. It is eclectic, but never feels as though this was the intent. Rather, the images woven by Bat For Lashes made themselves known through certain sounds – and these just happened to be of a varied nature, while Khan’s voice comfortably transitions between a husky whisper and soothing angelic crescendos. The album as a whole feels like a strangely familiar folk tale told just out of reach of comprehension, a childhood story only half-remembered. It leaves you in an oddly melancholic state, softly smiling at memories left unfinished. And I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I find that is a beautiful place to be.

Recommended Tracks: “Glass”, “Daniel”, “Siren Song”

7. dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip – ‘Angles’ (2008)

Proving themselves much more than a music video gone viral, the combination of acid-burbling electro wizard Dan le Sac and emotively musing MC Scroobius Pip in a full debut release made for an appealing prospect . Said debut ‘Angles’ showed a variety and innovation that wasn’t exactly absent from hip-hop in the ‘00s – but neither was it particularly prevalent. Rhymes on topics as varied as rambling esoteric dreams, self-harm, musical elitism and Tommy Cooper are perched studiously on top of equally varied beats and synthlines. It’s the synchronisation between the two that pushes the record up above the ramparts, defiantly giving you a friendly thousand-yard stare unless you sit down and pay some damn attention. The production feels raw and slightly unfinished, which swings between being slightly disappointing and strangely satisfying. It certainly brings an immediacy and urgency that was sadly lacking from 2010’s follow-up ‘The Logic Of Chance’. Nevertheless, ‘Angles’ for me proved to be an LP that came along just at the right time. It hit the hipster zeitgeist sideways with rocket-powered precision – a nod, wink and tweak of the beard that aims to make you laugh, cry and wave your hands in the air all in one go.

Recommended Tracks: “Look For The Woman”, “Angles”, “Thou Shalt Always Kill”

6. Combichrist – ‘Everybody Hates You’ (2005)

There’s not much to write about Combichrist that hasn’t already been said in the online world of alt. electro journalism. They’re a niche act who have managed to claw their way out of the scene and almost crack the alternative mainstream through sheer bloody-minded infectiousness. And those support slots with Rammstein probably helped too. Come to think of it, they’re probably the ONLY act of their kind to ever crack that chrome-strengthened glass ceiling. That they have done this all way after the release of ‘Everybody Hates You’ just shows how late the rest of the globe is to the party. Whatever you want to term them – aggrotech, industrial, harsh EBM – Combichrist are a sexualised (and undoubtedly sexist) injection of harsh beat-driven adrenalin mainlined right to the frontal cortex and this is undoubtedly their best work. Stripped down to the core necessities of looped crunches, bass kicks and occasional synthlines, the only humanity dripfed into the mix is a combination of female vocoder samples and Andy LaPlegua’s pseudo-metal roar. To say that this is an album packed with dancefloor fillers is both obvious and a potential understatement. For a period of several years I don’t think I went out to an alt. electro night without at least three tracks off this album turning the club into a heaving sea of cybergoths, freaks and rivetheads all mouthing along to sado-masochistic terms of endearment. Six years on it’s probably reduced to two tracks a night and ‘Everybody Hates You’ still dwarfs a flood of imitators (including, one could argue, Combichrist’s output since this), only stopping now and then to strap listeners down and thrash them bloody before fucking them in the most inappropriate way possible.

Recommended Tracks: “This Shit Will Fuck You Up”, “Today I Woke To The Rain Of Blood”, “Like To Thank My Buddies”

5. Biffy Clyro – ‘Puzzle’ (2007)

Selecting this album might lead me to being censured by the community of hardcore Biffy Clyro fans. Fortunately I find them as irritating as I find all groups centred primarily around nerdrage, so no loss there. When ‘Puzzle’ was released it showed a far more poppy direction than the band had taken previously, dialling down their obtuse time signatures and dynamic shifts (though not eliminating them entirely, as shown by album opener “Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies”) and ramping up the catchy bubblegum guitar hooks and soaring yet surreal lyrics. It certainly worked for the band in terms of audience base and airplay, catapulting them from slightly underground odd indie rock darlings to one of the biggest current UK exports in alternative rock. It also worked musically, because they have a genuine knack for constructing pop songs that maintain a real biting edge – a common talent for bands in the ‘80s that has since fallen far by the wayside. ‘Puzzle’ is still quirky and innovative, but is also approachable and appreciable on a number of different levels – from the snorting indie hipster all the way down to the primary colour bracelet-and-eyeline teen punk wannabe. It’s a transition that makes so much sense in context of their wider career. While 2003’s ‘The Vertigo Of Bliss’ was the quizzical pseudo-masterpiece that brought them much acclaim, 2004’s ‘Infinity Land’ was an also-ran follow-up that failed to ignite in the same innovative way. This LP is a response to that, a callback to simpler times and sounds that maintains the sparks of ingenuity that lifted them out of the crowd in the first place. It’s a record with a startling capacity to make me happy, and when you’re as grossly pessimistic and misanthropic as me that is something to hold on to.

Recommended Tracks: “Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies”, “Saturday Superhouse”, “A Whole Child Ago”

4. The Birthday Massacre – ‘Violet’ (2005)

A combination of an early released EP also named ‘Violet’ and re-recorded songs from their fuzzy fairytale 2002 debut ‘Nothing And Nowhere’, this album defies the usual gothic rock conventions by being fresh, personable and unbounded by genre cliché. The subculture-baiting and abstractly personal lyrics of Chibi are sung in a clear, unforced manner while electronic drums, fey twinkling keyboards and distorted-but-mostly-unheavy guitars play like rabbit-suited children in the background. Unless you are familiar with 21^st century goth music, it’s difficult to express how much of a relief all of that is. It’s long been a sub-genre built around atmosphere rather than genuine talent, but The Birthday Massacre are blessed with a surfeit of both. Many blackclad creatures of the night would shudder in private horror to hear me suggest this, but I am convinced ‘Violet’ is the best unrecognised pop album on the whole damn planet. Every single track sounds like the closing credits of a nostalgically inspiring 1980s kids film about travelling to a magic land filled with cowardly bears who need to find their inner rage, and Victorian couples dancing waltzes over starlit meadows. Only y’know, that film was cancelled pre-production. And now all we have is the leftover soundtrack from The Birthday Massacre, discovered at the back of a dusty, empty antique store.

Recommended Tracks: “Play Dead”, “Blue”, “Nevermind”

3. Alkaline Trio – ‘Good Mourning’ (2003)

Alkaline Trio had been spinning pop-punk webs of bitter lost love, addiction and gothic flames long before the release of ‘Good Mourning’, but with this album I would argue that the ingredients all finally came together into a wickedly delightful witch’s brew. Both Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano’s songwriting contributions coalesce into a single flowing black and red stream, and where other bands would suffer from having alternating vocalists Alk3 seem to positively thrive on it – one taking over when emotional exhaustion sets in with the other. Most tracks feature complimentary vocal harmonies that pick up the central melody and dash forward while giggling maniacally. The music itself starts to favour a more mature rock feel than their punkier days of old, but there is still plenty of speeding bounce on a few tracks. It’s an album whispered sadly but wryly to the ceiling in a rotten room filled only with an old vinyl collection and a half-collapsed campbed, the other occupants long since left to set fire to abandoned houses. Many of the other artists on this list have succeeded in making music that is by turns funny, sad, happy and energetic. But ‘Good Mourning’ may be the best example of an LP that manages all these things all the way through, all at the same time. It’s one long barking and fatalistic laugh into the void, and that is definitely my favourite way to spend time.

Recommended Tracks: “This Could Be Love”, “Fatally Yours”, “Blue Carolina”

2. Aereogramme – ‘My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go’ (2007)

Previous Aereogramme records had a distinctive quiet/loud alt. indie aesthetic that bought them fans in all the right places – if by ‘right’ you mean critical acclaim but pretty much zero in the way of sales. For this, their final release, they focused almost exclusively on the quiet side of things. It’s a record which I struggle to describe in terms other than simplified adjectives of appreciation. Beautiful, gorgeous, lush, affecting. Lyrically it’s superlative, building imagery up in your mind’s eye before rendering it down again with a line that leaves you breathless and torn. It has a deep intensity in the gentlest way possible, lulling you with soft whispers before dropping you through clouds and treetops to an uncertain landing. Mostly utilising variations on a traditional rock setup, there are acoustic and electric guitars, bass and drums aplenty but also piano, strings and keyboards. Each track feels like a specific project and design of its own accord, and frankly it’s a miracle that the album holds together as well as it does. But for reasons unbeknownst to the likes of me it does manage it. It’s a journey without a destination through bleak desert lands with a single flower erupting powerfully out of the grim road ahead of you, a dive into murky waters where your only guiding light is a shifting golden glow from a locked box on the ocean floor containing treasures unknown. I am having to use this language because nothing else works for me. That this comes in at #2 rather than the top spot is because of matters perhaps more intellectual than heartfelt. As an internalised expression of the ebb and flow of human emotion, no other album of my decade comes even close.

Recommended Tracks: “Exits”, “Trenches”, “Nightmares”

1. iLiKETRAiNS – ‘Elegies To Lessons Learnt’ (2007)

Here we are at last. I have been surprised how mentally exhausting yet stimulating this list would be to write, and I have to ask myself whether the end result has been worth the effort. Well, if the end result pushes anyone towards listening to ‘Elegies To Lessons Learnt’ then the answer is a resounding yes. Leeds post-rockers iLiKETRAiNS were primarily notable in their early years for the lyrical content. On top of their tidal guitars and insistent military drums, David Martin’s sonorous and somber tones told of historical people and events that have mostly slipped through the cracks of textbooks and general knowledge. A cast of martyrs, fools and deluded heroes are pitched together to produce a tapestry of humanity. That the overall sense one gains of this humanity is its inherent capacity for both hope and despair is telling. This release was their first LP, following 2006’s equally superlative EP ‘Progress, Reform’ in both spirit and style. It gives over a sense of both rambling travel between times and place and an internal consistency in theme and mood, painting sometimes miserabilist pictures of the folly and insanity of mankind. By no means an easy record to listen to or appreciate, it nevertheless builds and builds in the retelling until the lines blur and you find yourself as a deranged sailor giving way to his own hubris and delusion, a bitter assassin enraged by poorly aimed self-righteousness, a shattered and broken survivor reliving nightmares of slaughtered glory. iLiKETRAiNS place small carved stone idols of these individuals in front of you for your consideration and take a step backwards, daring you to claim you are any different. That you’re not one of them. That you wouldn’t, couldn’t do the same. Then when you collapse weeping and begging forgiveness for transgressions committed years before your birth they bend over, remove that piece and put the next in its place. That I have focused on the content and not the structure so far does not imply the latter is weaker. Guitars, bass, drums, brass and trumpet rush across your mind in foaming waves of purity and decay where every ebb is matched in kind by a new crashing swell of trembling strength. Don’t mistake me. This isn’t a record for everyone. It’s intense, unforgiving and at times coldly arch. It is not a happy record. But it is a record that moves beyond its state as a physical collection of songs recorded in a studio by men playing instruments. It is, dare I say it, art. It comments on, and therefore becomes part of, the human condition. In the face of that, the superb songcraft and musical innovation almost seem like afterthoughts.

 “Death. It is the end. More or less.”

Recommended Tracks: “The Deception”, “Spencer Perceval”, “Death Is The End”

Many thanks to everyone who has sat through each and every one of these entries. And what the hell, thanks if you just clicked onto one of them from a random Google search for extremely specific pornography. ATCB will be following this up with a couple of similarly self-indulgent appendices as well as some fresh new articles and reviews over the New Year. I hope you enjoy them as much you bitterly tolerated this.

ATCB's Top 100 Albums Of The Bastard's Decade: 20-11 

Presenting the penultimate installment in this ongoing, self-obsessed series. A Spotify playlist featuring all available recommended tracks is being built daily alongside the list, and can be found by clicking here.

20. Rival Schools – ‘United By Fate’ (2001)

Yet another band on the list who are frequently framed as ‘post-hardcore’ – a term that really only tells you that said band will sound nothing like any other band who are labelled post-hardcore – Rival Schools are made up largely of alumni from old school hardcore bands. Notably this includes Walter Schreifels of Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits, but Rival Schools is a more grungey and less urgent prospect than either of these. Fuzzy guitars weave chaotically through steady percussion, mellow basslines and Schreifels’ gravelly murmur, occasionally beefing up to pummel a more harder-edged riff. It’s a difficult album to both classify and describe, other than in how it pulls together influences too numerous to mention from all veins of punk rock, fusing them together to provide a listening experience that is as comfortable and tender on the first spin as it is on the hundredth. Splitting quite shortly after this release, they left many wanting more and have thankfully reformed quite recently – eventual second album ‘Pedals’ has shown they still have what it takes.

Recommended Tracks: “Travel By Telephone”, “Everything Has Its Point”, “Used For Glue”

19. Time In Malta – ‘A Second Engine’ (2002)

Melodic hardcore of the kind seemingly obsolete since the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, Time In Malta never made the splash they could have with a touch more promotion behind them. ‘A Second Engine’ was their first LP, and significantly more powerful than the 2004 follow-up ‘Alone With The Alone’. Placing the emphasis firmly on the melody and emotive pressure in their songs, there is an expressive side to even the heavier songs with roared vocals and stomping beatdown guitars. Elsewhere on the album this tendency towards a gentler touch is more overt, with a few tracks dialling down the hardcore elements significantly until the band threaten to become one of the most intriguing alt. rock bands of this century. It’s an almost claustrophobic tightness that the release binds you in, as each song flows into the next with a sense of real progression while maintaining a definable sound in and of itself. ‘A Second Engine’ is a prime example of an album where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, simply down to maintaining a sonic authority all of its own.

Recommended Tracks: “This Revolution”, “Against The Tide”, “Grant’s Stand”

18. Assemblage 23 – ‘Storm’ (2004)

Tom Shear’s Assemblage 23 is a future/electropop project that has long trodden the boards around the electro scene while maintaining a healthy distance from the limelight. Undoubtedly it’s one of the best and most consistent acts on the circuit, but somehow never manages to become a floorfilling high profile frequent headliner. But that’s fine by me - because understated genius has an honesty and joy all of its own. Mixing equal parts modern cyber synth love and Depeche Mode, ‘Storm’ is for these ears the most powerful and glorious of all the A23 releases. This is partly down to the end-to-end quality, with nary a filler track in sight. It’s also partly due to the soaring silver choruses that can be found on tracks like “Human” and “Ground”, catapulting you into windswept grey skies before bringing you crashing back down to earth for the beat-driven verses. But mainly it’s because Shear manages to compose instrumentation and lyrics that carries a whole range of emotive markers – fear, ecstasy, regret, ego – without sacrificing integrity or giving in to self-indulgent personal obsession. Of special note is closing track “30kft”, a self-contained monologue with a minimalist electronic/string backing and a gutwrenching ending that I wouldn’t dream of spoilering on something as crass as a review blog list.

Recommended Tracks: “Human”, “Ground”, “30kft”

17. Engerica – ‘There Are No Happy Endings’ (2005)

Bitter and twisted pop-punk with unexpected screaming spazz-outs, Engerica were for a short while the creepy little brother of the UK alt. rock circuit. You know the kind. The ones who sit in the corner staring blankly at you before cackling maniacally when someone relates a particularly harrowing piece of bad news. ‘There Are No Happy Endings’ was their debut (and, it turned out, only) LP and it’s a shamelessly addictive cut of lean festering meat that leaves a more-ish rotten taste in your mouth. The off-kilter wordplay and song construction are pleasantly at odds with a rather slick production sound, and any potential bleakness inherent to the material is tempered by humour and weirdness. If you’ve been tempted by nothing else in this entry, perhaps the real clincher will be that this is a band unafraid to write a chorus solely consisting of the lyrical refrain “I look like an arsehole! Arsehole!”

Recommended Tracks: “Roadkill”, “My Demise”, “Crooked Sex”

16. Hundred Reasons – ‘Ideas Above Our Station’ (2002)

The majority of Hundred Reasons fans would struggle to argue that they have dipped significantly in quality since this, their debut album. But for one shining moment they were the pinnacle of fresh UK talent – their youthful emo rock more than capable of bringing the sunlight out of the clouds even in our dank, rain-sodden country. ‘Ideas Above Our Station’ is in many ways the perfect example of a debut release. You know within seconds of pressing the ‘Play’ button what is in store for you, celebratory anthems that bloom readily from one moment to the next. Bubbling over with harmony and modest grandeur, I would struggle to think of a better summertime pop album. It’s an LP that infects you directly on the brainstem with irresistible optimism – and for those of us able to briefly set aside our cynicism, that’s a beautiful thing.

Recommended Tracks: “If I Could”, “Shine”, “Silver”

15. autoclav1.1 – ‘Visitor Attractions’ (2006)

Beat-driven ambient utilising a wash of different synthesised instrumentation, sometimes autoclav1.1 comes across as akin to a darker version of early Moby. Perhaps with a fishnet top and some threatening tattoos on his bald, bald head. There’s a warmth to the sound that belies the potential bleakness of the song structure and melodies, while beats are used primarily as a framework for the song as a whole rather than the driving force behind them. There are a couple of other solid releases from this decade, but ‘Visitor Attractions’ picks up this medal simply by sounding the most intuitive and natural of all of them. The only vocals or samples present on the entire recording reside on the track “Miags” which utilises a cut-up monologue on the subject of misanthropy to good effect. If you are in desperate need of a good album to listen to on headphones while walking thoughtfully past poorly-lit allotments in the dead of night, I can’t think of a better choice than this.

Recommended Tracks: “Nothing But Pillow Teeth”, “Dead Sea Tears”, “We All Have A Window”

14. Hopesfall – ‘The Satellite Years’ (2002)

I think by now I have said all I need to about bands being described as ‘post-hardcore’, so this entry can remain sanguine and free of bile. Subsequent releases from Hopesfall brought with them lineup changes and massive disappointment in equal measure, but ‘The Satellite Years’ has a blissful sound all of its own, composed of roughly painted guitars raggedly sewn over a background of echoes and deep black water. Vocals range from strained, mournful singing through to biting growls – and the band is unafraid to throw in seemingly dissonant elements such as gang vocals and hand claps when they deem it necessary. It’s an album bounded by nothing at all, so expansive at times that listening to it intently leaves you floating in orbit, your limbs stretching to infinity and your eyes full of stars. The atmosphere that pervades throughout has the feeling of being constructed instinctively with little to no conscious thought from the band members, providing an easy sense of honesty that pulls the LP back from a progressive brink that it is led to with a reverb-glazed spacey production. There are many albums I absolutely love while feeling unable to articulate precisely why, and this is one of them.

Recommended Tracks: “Decoys Like Curves”, “Escape Pod For Intangibles”, “The Bending”

13. Raging Speedhorn – ‘We Will Be Dead Tomorrow’ (2002)

UK sludgecore stalwarts Raging Speedhorn were never a band to feel diluted or restrained, and ‘We Will Be Dead Tomorrow’ is possibly the best example of their spit-soaked, knife-to-the-spine delivery. Rumbling bass and deep-fried Sabbath guitars roll forwards like a rusting juggernaut driven by a dying tiger, sustained only by irresponsible amphetamine consumption and truly vast blood-alcohol levels. Percussion akin to constant meteor impacts strains to pin everything into place while the screaming/screaming a bit harder dual vocal delivery serves to hammer home what you probably already knew – this is not music for the faint of heart or pretty of face. There’s more variation on show that on their eponymous debut, with a couple of tracks being quick, deliberate and approachable enough to make it as singles. It’s maniacal stuff and heavy as well, but remains just about accessible for anyone not completely given over to riffs ragged enough to leave raw, bleeding wounds.

Recommended Tracks: “The Hate Song”, “Iron Cobra”, “Heartbreaker”

12. Front Line Assembly – ‘Improvised Electronic Device’ (2010)

‘Improvised Electronic Device’ is a masterclass in metal-tinged EBM, delivered by the fathers of the genre in the third decade of their existence. It’s a reminder that though it is tempting to dismiss musical pioneers once their initial burst of productivity and inspiration has run dry, one should never assume they cannot continue to shock and awe you years later. Almost effortlessly the best record put out by FLA since 1992’s definitive ‘Tactical Neural Implant’, this album takes the prospectively disparate elements of industrial beats, clipped and bruised metal guitar riffs and trancelike EBM synthlines before guiding them together with such confidence you feel like firmly kicking genre conventions back into the gutter where they belong. It’s almost shameful that this isn’t an ability shared by their peers and descendants, many of whom have had more than enough time to ease these transitions into place. Backed by a gaggle of younger rivetheads (and on one memorable track, eternal brain terrorist Al Jourgensen), scene stalwart Bill Leeb lurches with his machine voice like some gargantuan spider constructed of repurposed circuit boards and shattered glass. This is all especially impressive given the lack of sometime-member and electronic guru Rhys Fulber for this LP, since the quality of an FLA album can typically be measured against whether he is on board or not. Perhaps the injection of youthful energy helped make ‘Improvised Electronic Device’ what it is – regardless, it is a glorious thing when old favourites manifest themselves again and prove that they’re just as vital now as they ever were.

Recommended Tracks: “Angriff”, “Shifting Through The Lens”, “Pressure Wave”

11. mclusky – ‘mclusky Do Dallas’ (2002)

Oh, mclusky. You are missed, in the very special way that comes with leaving a decent swathe of follow-up bands in your wake. But though the former members have gone on to great and good things (on this very list, in fact) nothing may ever match writing and singing the lyric “Cartoon monkeys got you hard / It must have been the hair.” They were a dry heave to the face of the alt. rock mainstream, a punk-tinged raw noise in the middle of the night that left you shivering under the covers and masturbating furiously to drive away the demons. At times schizophrenic in the best (and most incorrect) sense of the word due to having two songwriters at war with each other, ‘mclusky Do Dallas’ makes the most of its bubonic Steve Albini production and embraces you like a seductive co-worker in evil clown facepaint. Guitars and bass played by devious insects writhe alongside bile-strewn oddly intoned vocals under a vast cracked lens made by socially awkward scientists for purposes best left unmentioned. It would be great music journalism cliché if I could confidently say there was some beating, tender emotional heart under all this. That there was something to tether to other than a creeping sense of addictive discomfort. But no. No. There is just mclusky. Stood there, trousers down and blunt instruments in hand. Waiting for you to stop screaming so they can tell you what is wrong with your haircut inbetween each crushed nerve and broken bone.

Recommended Tracks: “Dethink To Survive”, “To Hell With Good Intentions”, “Alan Is A Cowboy Killer”

ATCB's Top 100 Albums Of The Bastard's Decade: 30-21 

Presenting the eighth installment in this ongoing, self-obsessed series. A Spotify playlist featuring all available recommended tracks is being built daily alongside the list, and can be found by clicking here.

30. Hatebreed – ‘The Rise Of Brutality’ (2003)

This album is the aural equivalent of doing 500 press-ups in a row. On a concrete surface, strewn with broken glass. The testosterone given off by 10 seconds of exposure is enough to drive you to wear wifebeater vests and cargo shorts for the rest of your life. Just one song will expand your neck muscles – specifically, those used to gurn and bellow – by up to 300%. It’s hardcore thrown so hard into metal that it might as well just stop pretending and admit it’s the latter. There’s far more Slayer in here than Minor Threat by a factor of infinity plus one. This is better than the rest of Hatebreed’s 21^st century output, since their other releases might only cause you to punch strangers and not your loved ones. It’s all a matter of perspective, but I have a perverse fondness for any album that turns me into a whirlwind of raging fists. I mean that literally. The only reason you haven’t heard of it happening is because there are never any surviving witnesses.

Recommended Tracks: “Facing What Consumes You”, “Doomsayer”, “This Is Now”

29. Will Haven – ‘Carpe Diem’ (2001)

‘Carpe Diem’ is probably the most easy to listen to of all Will Haven albums. But that’s not really saying much for this bunch of experimental sludge metal noise type people. Their songs give off a sense that they’re being played backwards, which is probably both an acquired taste and a specific form of madness unique to me. Sharing common elements with fellow Sacramento bands Deftones and Far, they are firmly heavier than both while utilising the same atmospheric swamp and odd rhythmic structures. This album saw them sprinkle small bits of electronic noise over the top of their songs and strip back their material to a slightly more accessible level - all without sacrificing their oil-soaked gravel guitars, tightened rubber band bass and Grady Avenell’s ridiculously distinctive howl.

Recommended Tracks: “Carpe Diem”, “Dressed In Night Clothes”, “Moving To Montana”

28. The Decemberists – ‘The Crane Wife’ (2006)

I like including albums like this on my list, for no other reason than that people might say to each other “He likes THEM? That I did not expect.” They would then turn to each other, kiss and establish a lifelong sexual relationship. Because that’s the kind of thing my writing drives people to. The Decemberists have a sound that could only really be called indie folk rock, and sing immensely twee songs penned about folk tales and oddments. The stories they conjure up seem permanently stuck in that timeless age usually occupied only by fairy stories, and there is an innocence to them despite their frequent use of death, violence and lost love. ‘The Crane Wife’ is their most coherent album, centred around two song cycles and lacking some of the self-indulgence that comes with the territory of their musical style. It’s love-it-or-hate-it stuff composed entirely of straightforward instrumentation and structure, and I find something really appealing about that – the closest touchstone I can think of is obscure-indie darlings Neutral Milk Hotel. But you probably shouldn’t judge it as falling on either side of your taste barrier until you have listened to it while reclining on a small wooden boat, drifting slowly along a Victorian riverbank on a slowly dying summer’s day. Get back to me on how that goes for you.

Recommended Tracks: “The Crane Wife 3”, “Summersong”, “Sons & Daughters”

27. ohGr – ‘SunnyPsyOp’ (2003)

Nivek Ogre’s solo project is industrial only in the loosest sense of the word, with speedy beats and squelching synths covering both the bass and the melody. It’s not quite electroclash or synthpop either, but some unholy union of all three. Bizarrely, ‘SunnyPsyOp’ at times also sounds a little like mainstream r n’b. Oh, I give up. It’s just bloody weird but accessible and poppy at the same time. You don’t care anyway. You’re just sat there, smiling and nodding like some fucking bedazzled dog. What it comes down to is that this might be the only album to which the terms ‘industrial’ and ‘shake your booty’ can both be applied. It’s intriguing and quirky and mental but also friendly, like a scab-covered hobo inviting you back to his corrugated iron shack to drink tea and browse his collection of deformed animal drawings. If that doesn’t intrigue you, you might be visiting the wrong site.

Recommended Tracks: “HiLO”, “JaKO”, “EnDai”

26. Jimmy Eat World – ‘Bleed American’ (2001)

Sunny and glowing emo rock from the masters of the genre, ‘Bleed American’ marked both a renewed pop-punk angle to the band’s sound and the subsequent explosion of their popularity into the alternative mainstream. It’s not a popularity they have managed to quite hold on to, and this album in all likelihood remains their commercial high point. That’s not to say their consistently solid later releases from the decade aren’t worthy of them – indeed, it was more or less a coin toss whether to include this or their latest LP ‘Invented’ which manages to consolidate their later, more rock-oriented sound with that of their 1999 masterpiece ‘Clarity’. But ‘Bleed American’ (or ‘Jimmy Eat World’, if you bought the bizarrely renamed post-9/11 re-release) clinches it, since almost every single track on it is a simple but elegant lesson in how to construct a catchy, touching pop song. If this album is to be believed, the only thing Americans bleed is sunshine and bittersweet glory.

Recommended Tracks: “Bleed American”, “A Praise Chorus”, “Sweetness”

25. Neurosis – ‘A Sun That Never Sets’ (2001)

I use a lot of adjectives in my writing. You may have noticed this. A lot of them are rough hyperbole spun out beyond reasonable lengths in order to kickstart the correct image or atmosphere. But when I refer to this band, and more specifically this album, as ‘primal’ – I mean exactly that. Towering slabs of stone carved out with guitars and drums, intricately indented with shamanic vocals that wail from the depths of some forgotten age. It’s music shaped by old earth, fresh blood and burnt offerings that grows organically into a vast pillar of flame, dwarfing the listener against a backdrop of pulsating red stars. This is tribal metal in every sense of the words, noise created by tapping into some internal Neolithic wanderer before being rudely translated via modern instrumentation. Closing track “Stones From The Sky” chants out a neverending melodic crush that is brought to an abrupt close by piercing shrieks of machine noise, an effect roughly approximate to the culture shock inherent in ending this album to return to the 21^st century.

Recommended Tracks: “A Sun That Never Sets”, “Watchfire”, “Stones From The Sky”

24. Coheed And Cambria – ‘The Second Stage Turbine Blade’ (2002)

I spout off a lot about peculiar genre classifications and how they link in to people’s perceptions of bands. One of my lovely little bugbears concerns Coheed And Cambria and whatever piss-soiled music hack decided to describe them as ‘emo’. Whatever interpretation of the term you pick up on, its only real link to this band is that it is constructed of the same basic modern Latin alphabet letters as the band’s name. Coheed And Cambria are a bizarre hybrid of prog rock, pop-punk and modern alt.rock, all jammed in together with Claudio Sanchez’s at-times gender defying vocals. They are a prog band in more than just a sonic sense as well, with all their albums linked together as part of a huge semi-incomprehensible sci-fi story. ‘The Second Stage Turbine Blade’ is their debut release, and was picked over a couple of other excellent albums this decade purely because it sounds more raw and fuzzy. And we like raw and fuzzy here at ATCB. From an initial gobsmacking blast in the first four tracks there is some meandering loss in quality, but the album as a whole has hiked its way further up the list just by simply not sounding like anything else out there. That’s something else we like at ATCB.

Recommended Tracks: “Time Consumer”, “Devil In Jersey City”, “Everything Evil”

23. Skinny Puppy – ‘The Greater Wrong Of The Right’ (2004)

The fact that many Skinny Puppy tracks are actually coherent pieces of music feels almost like an afterthought – contrasting pieces of industrial noise and fractured vocals somehow synchronising into an accidental whole. With ‘The Greater Wrong Of The Right’ this chaotic element was downplayed somewhat, allowing the listener a glimpse into what a world would be like if they chose to become a more straightforward industrial act with metal bits thrown in. The answer? What it lacks in innovative soundscapes it more than makes up for with powerful and precise songcraft. Previous records such as ‘Rabies’ and ‘The Process’ dabbled with this, but for the first time they sounded as though they could play an alt. mainstream festival slot and not walk off to a sea of bemused faces. There are still random sounds aplenty from cEvin Key, and Nivek Ogre’s voice remains a heavily processed random lyric generator. But if you were to try to convert an average unbeliever to the world of Skinny Puppy, this LP is definitely your best chance of doing so without destroying their mind like some Lovecraftian tentacle-faced nasty.

Recommended Tracks: “I’mmortal”, “Goneja”, “DaddyuWarbash”

22. Invasion – ‘The Master Alchemist’ (2009)

I have raved about these guys on the august pages of this site before, but here’s a chance to do it again. They’re a threepiece stoner metal act who pitch concise blasts of groove-ridden riffage in your face, topped with almost Motown-esque female vocals and monolithic drums. Oh, and their lyrics are about sorcerors and dragons and stuff. Which is always great value. ‘The Master Alchemist’ is their debut release, and manages to deliver a refreshing pure rock roundhouse kick from a hefty army boot inscribed with secret arcane sigils. I have a serious thing for excellent albums that clock in around the twenty minute mark – this does so, and the only reason there aren’t more on the list is because hardly anyone seems to be able to write short, punchy tracks in the 21^st century. Invasion certainly can, and for that reason and a multitude of others they deserve your attention.

Recommended Tracks: “Conjure War”, “Spells Of Deception”, “Evil Forest”

21. Godflesh – ‘Hymns’ (2001)

Godflesh were an act who didn’t believe in stagnating or sitting on their laurels as God-Emperors of wreckingball-heavy industrial metal, and ‘Hymns’ displays this with ease. It’s a stripped-down battlefield of stabbing guitars, nauseatingly churning bass and drums that can switch between precisely clipped and primordially tribal at the blink of an eye. All this is overseen by Justin Broadrick’s voice, sometimes falling like a wounded angel deep in the mix and sometimes bellowing with barely restrained violence over the top of it. Musically it carries elements of previous releases – the metal hypnosis of ‘Songs Of Love And Hate’, the melodic underpinning of ‘Selfless’ – but as with all of their LPs it is definitely a unique shuddering beast. One of the most interesting aspects to ‘Hymns’ (interesting for Broadrick nerds, at least) is how it is an overt stepping stone towards his later work as Jesu. Some of the songs could flawlessly slot into a Jesu album, and indeed the closing track carries that name. It is therefore ironic that said closing track is as punishing, brutal and rending a song as Godflesh ever produced. It’s a leaden battering ram that crushes your limbs and leaves you unable to do anything but writhe in anticipation for the next blow. “You’re fucked. You’ve lost.” spits Broadrick at the end, over and over. Since this was the last thing released by Godflesh before disbanding, he was 100% correct.

Recommended Tracks: “Defeated”, “Regal”, “Jesu”

ATCB's Top 100 Albums Of The Bastard's Decade: 40-31 

Presenting the seventh installment in this ongoing, self-obsessed series. A Spotify playlist featuring all available recommended tracks is being built daily alongside the list, and can be found by clicking here.

40. Cyclefly – ‘Crave’ (2002)

Cyclefly’s 1999 debut ‘Generation Sap’ was a glam-tinged alt. rock gem that went undiscovered by many, and this follow-up certainly went in a slightly more mainstream direction. It’s a weaker record but still packed with a blend of ideas and sounds that carries on sounding fresh nine years later. Declan O’Shea’s pinched vocals bring to mind the likes of Billy Corgan and Brian Molko, and while a musical comparison to Smashing Pumpkins and Placebo overall would not be entirely unbelievable Cyclefly carved out their own niche confidently. Indeed, it is interesting to note – spoiler alert - that neither of those bands released anything in this decade decent enough to make this list. I can also confidently spoil that this is the only album on this list to feature a guest performance from Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. What a shocker.

Recommended Tracks: “Selophane Fixtures”, “Drive”, “Crowns”

39. Seabound – ‘Double-Crosser’ (2006)

Seabound specialise in bright, glittering electropop that can occasionally pump out fast-paced floorfillers but it mostly comfortable with more measured, sombre songs that manage to steer clear of the term ‘ballad’. ‘Double-Crosser’ fine-tuned their sound – and while their releases are always subtle displays of excellence rather than proud, forceful anthems, the tracks collected here brought Seabound to a potential push through to the higher echelon of electro acts. The vocals are warmer than most of their peers, and their synthlines wash beneath them like an underground silken sea. One of the most consistent albums on this list, this is end-to-end quality blissed electronica.

Recommended Tracks: “Doubleplusungood”, “Domination”, “Castaway”

38. Iron & Wine – ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ (2004)

Iron & Wine is the country-folk musings of Samuel Beam, a man with prodigious talent and an even more prodigious beard. ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ is a stripped-back release that is mostly acoustic guitar and his semi-whispered vocals, weaving simple images and experiences together into spellbinding songs that linger in your head long after they have any right to be there. Listening to this LP comes pretty close to glimpsing a gleam of sunshine through rustling summer leaves. It’s always gentle, but it is a gentleness that carries a power with it that can put other, more intense records to shame.

Recommended Tracks: “Naked As We Came”, “Love And Some Verses”, “Passing Afternoon”

37. Therapy? – ‘Never Apologise Never Explain’ (2004)

While Therapy?’s 21^st century output has been inconsistent to say the least, ‘Never Apologise Never Explain’ rose above this inconsistency to provide a solid dark punk rock record. The tempo is sped up from their previous couple of albums and the bleak n’ roll trio get settled into some good old-fashioned sonic abuse. It’s not exactly a harrowing piece of work, since audience-bating anthems like “Rock You Monkeys” sit alongside the more claustrophobic urgency of “Polar Bear” – but then most of their best work has been built on the teetering brink between blind grinning optimism and utter cataclysmic despair. That’s where Therapy? live and breathe, and it’s a damn fun place to visit.

Recommended Tracks: “Die Like A Motherfucker”, “Long Distance”, “This Ship Is Sinking”

36. Future Of The Left – ‘Travels With Myself And Another’ (2009)

The second mclusky sequel act on this list, and one a lot closer in sound to the Welsh bile-rockers. More driven and less angular than their 2007 debut ‘Curses’, this record is pretty close to the feeling you get when a complete stranger comes to within two inches of your face and does an uninterrupted ten-second scream at the top of their lungs. While touching you inappropriately. A mixture of punky body-popping spasms and oddball keyboard-accentuated tics, one cannot completely ignore an album that contains a song confronting the dilemma that Satanists face when trying to get decent babysitting for their nights of wild devil-worship. ‘Travels With Myself And Another’ leaves you giggling in a worryingly high pitch, banging your head violently and wrinkling your forehead in disgust at the same time. That’s a good night out by anyone’s standards.

Recommended Tracks: “Arming Eritrea”, “Throwing Bricks At Trains”, “You Need Satan More Than He Needs You”

35. Rammstein – ‘Mutter’ (2001)

‘Mutter’ saw Rammstein expand the operatic bombast of their definitive Neue Deutsche Härte to defy the usual boundaries of English-speaking metal/rivetheads worldwide and deliver a breakout release that capitalised on the increased success of previous album ‘Sehnsucht’ to plant them – sweating, dirty and immolated – front and centre on the world stage of heavy music. It’s a tribute to their ability to spot-weld punishing riffs, stomping drums and booming vocals together, and this is displayed in fine form on this LP. It picks up the raw phosphorescent energy of Rammstein on stage and flings it at the listener, pounding its fists firmly into its chest before barking a single Teutonic command at you for which there is no safeword. To this day, I cannot think of a single other rock/metal act singing in a non-English language who can fill a dancefloor or a stadium in the English-speaking world. In itself that is wretched, but it also shows just how damn good Rammstein are at what they do.

Recommended Tracks: “Mein Herz Brennt”, “Sonne”, “Ich Will”

34. System Of A Down – ‘Toxicity’ (2001)

I still can’t quite believe that music as interesting and vital as System Of A Down actually broke through to the alternative mainstream, but with ‘Toxicity’ they did just that – exposing millions to their epileptic Armenian metal grind. It builds on the Middle Eastern-flavoured political thrust of their debut while packing in as many hook-laden riffs and quirky vocal freakouts as possible. It’s also head and shoulders above everything the band have released since, with their second best from this decade being a collection of songs stripped out of the ‘Toxicity’ sessions. There are slight reference points throughout the LP to link into the sounds of other bands (the angularity of Fugazi, the precision of Helmet) but really System Of A Down stand on their own as a sub-genre of one. For a band as popular as they are, that is almost unheard of.

Recommended Tracks: “Prison Song”, “Needles”, “Jet Pilot”

33. Million Dead – ‘A Song To Ruin’ (2003)

Nowadays vocalist Frank Turner is much more well-known for his solo work, but in the early 2000s he fronted melodic garage punkers Million Dead – political commentary equally sang and screamed over the top of crackling riffs and a measured rhythm section. Far superior to the concluding release that followed in 2005, ‘A Song To Ruin’ is a raw and blistering mix of the abstract and physical. Squirming with youthful frustration and quashed rebellion, it’s surprising how listening to this in 2011 makes no difference to listening to it at the time of release. The vitriol and energy is still apt, still honest and still damaging. Good for Million Dead, bad for how little we have progressed.

Recommended Tracks: “Pornography For Cowards”, “Charlie & The Propaganda Myth Machine”, “A Song To Ruin”

32. Deftones – ‘Deftones’ (2003)

Deftones had long left behind their completely inaccurate labelling of ‘nu-metal’ by the time this record hit the shelves, but if anyone had any remote doubts left then a mix of crushingly heavy guitars and sublimely ethereal shoegazing was sure to do the trick. Chino Moreno’s vocals are far from the only appeal of Deftones, but they truly excel here. At times a ragged stream-of-consciousness croon, at others a gutwrenching scream of loving and sinful anguish. The guitars, bass and soundscapes all wash over the percussion and vocals like a multi-coloured glistening tide that leaves you gasping for air, stranded in some beautiful alien land. This eponymous release faced stiff competition from 2010’s return to form ‘Diamond Eyes’, but in the end this is the more solid and consistent release.

Recommended Tracks: “Minerva”, “Good Morning Beautiful”, “When Girls Telephone Boys”

31. VNV Nation – ‘Futureperfect’ (2002)

Kings of the futurepop genre, Anglo-Irish duo VNV Nation have spent most of the last ten years meandering through electroclash and EBM with only one foot placed in their glory days. That’s not to say they have dwindled in popularity or record sales – I am sure the opposite is true – but it feels like the last truly fresh and necessary release they made was ‘Futureperfect’. It carries the counter-Imperialistic mix of classical and electronic influences that catapulted them into such a striking but divisive position amongst electroheads worldwide. There are storming dancefloor monsters alongside softer, twinkling creatures of dust and starlight. What marks this album out beyond others of the genre is how well these styles are blended together into a coherent whole by the lyrical themes and performance of Ronan Harris.

Recommended Tracks: “Epicentre”, “Electronaut”, “Beloved”