Rank your top albums - 2021

Discuss any band that's not called Alter Bridge.
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Schulzy
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Rank your top albums - 2021

Post by Schulzy »

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I have returned with the third edition of my top albums of the year - 2021. Here they are in order.

10. Chevelle - NIRATIAS. A hard album to describe - I like it. It's one I've listened to several times but the only song I can remember is "Remember When". No pun intended. ​

9. Relent - Heavy. Another recent release. Similar sounding to their previous album but good stuff.

8. Wage War - Manic. This album just came out. I am enjoying it although several songs start to sound the same. Relapse and Manic are earworms.

7. Daughtry - Dearly Beloved. A return to the Daughtry of old. Great melodies and Chris' vocals are on top. My favorite is Changes are Coming.

6. Tremonti - Marching in Time. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I find it great and the other it just fails to light me up. I like about 1/2 of the album. There is one true moment of greatness though - Let That Be Us - which encompasses all of Tremonti in terms of memorable lyrics, excitement when I know it's coming, fantastic vocals, and a blazing sing-a-long guitar solo.

5. Love and Death - Perfectly Preserved
A nice return from Brian Welch. He has some help on this one from Lacey Sturm and guys from Breaking Benjamin. The Hunter is my favorite song. Also an odd choice to cover a Justin Bieber song.

4. Light the Torch - You Will Be the Death of Me. The front end of this album just rocks! Howard Jones is the man! I am a car singer and there are few other singers that I love to emulate - especially the operatic side. Also check out his side project - Sion - The Blade.

3. Phinehas - The Fire Itself. I discovered this band through Nik Nocturnal. Eternally Apart is a great way to start the album - the guitar solo is fantastic. Several other standouts - The Fire Itself, Thorns, Holy Coward. In The Night ends the album perfectly.

2. Evanescence - The Bitter Truth. Solid, solid, solid. Amy still has it. Broken Pieces Shine, The Game is Over, Better Without You, and Take Cover (listen to this on a good pair of headphones and the way to describe the opening effect is coming around your head and into your eyeballs - trust me) are highlights.

1. Spiritbox - Eternal Blue. It has been a long time since I discovered a band like this (probably how I felt about Alter Bridge back in 2004 when I graduated college). Everything works - instrumentals, lyrics, and vocals - Good Lord! There are so many ways to describe Courtney's voice - pleading, harsh, soothing, soaring, devastating...and the songs are ALL excellent, unique, and immediately identifiable. Favorites are Hurt You, Silk in the Strings, Holy Roller, and Circle With Me.

Some other fun releases are the new singles from Memphis May Fire, Starset, From Ashes to New, Papa Roach and Wolves at the Gate

Sadly my least favorite was Myles' album - The Ides of March. I just could not get into it.

Let me know what you listened to this year
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Schulzy
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Re: Rank your top albums - 2021

Post by Schulzy »

And I forgot NF's - Clouds (The Mixtape), The Letter Black's self titled, and new singles from Skillet and We Came As Romans. Honorable mention to Adele's - 30. Totally different genre than I usually listen to but her voice is otherworldly.
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SHEAKENBAKEN
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Re: Rank your top albums - 2021

Post by SHEAKENBAKEN »

1. Tremonti - Marching In Time
2. Spiritbox - Eternal Blue
3. Trivium - In The Court of the Dragon
4. Gojira - Fortitude
5. Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
6. Ad Infinitum - Chapter II: Legacy
7. Starset - Horizons
8. Evanescence - The Bitter Truth
9. Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden’s Gate
10. Myles Kennedy - The Ides of March

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Schulzy
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Re: Rank your top albums - 2021

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Good list there Shea. The only Trivium song i've heard is Feast of Fire on Pandora and I like it. I will have to check out Gojira, Mastodon, and Ad Infinitum. My brother loves Greta Van Fleet. What songs from those albums do you recommend?
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Re: Rank your top albums - 2021

Post by SHEAKENBAKEN »

Schulzy wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 6:47 pm Good list there Shea. The only Trivium song i've heard is Feast of Fire on Pandora and I like it. I will have to check out Gojira, Mastodon, and Ad Infinitum. My brother loves Greta Van Fleet. What songs from those albums do you recommend?
Thanks :D :lol

As for songs I recommend from the albums;
Trivium - The Shadow of The Abattoir, Fall Into Your Hands, The Phalanx
Mastodon - Teardrinker, More Than I Could Chew, Skeleton of Splendor,
Gojira - New Found, Sphinx, Into The Storm
Ad Infinitum - Inferno, Sons of Wallachia, Haunted
Greta Van Fleet - Heat Above, Age of Machine, The Weight of Dreams

I'll have to check out some of the albums on your list that I didnt get to from this year, as well.

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Re: Rank your top albums - 2021

Post by Devil Inside You »

Sorry I'm late. I love your yearly threads haha

Honestly 2021 was a little underwhelming. Overall I'd describe the year as okay. Even some of the albums that I was looking forward to which let me down weren't bad, just boring or underwhelming. As for the goods

7. Walking Papers-The Light Below: Pure doomer music. Very dark sinister stuff that can be dangerous if you're not in the right headspace. I know it depressed me during the rougher times of the year. Regardless its very interesting and beautiful. Its the first album to not feature any famous musicians as full time members so it was refreshing to see just a bunch of (relatively) regular guys making good music.

6. Poppy-Flux: Poppy's really committing to rock and still remains among the best new albums of the year. Albeit this isn't as experimental as I Disagree, and I still prefer that album to this one, Flux has something for you of you're looking for good new modern rock, that isn't derivative of the 70s or 90s.

5. The Pretty Reckless-Death By Rock and Roll: I never cared much for this band but damn did this record blow me away. From beginning to end its a great rock album. I will admit, the 70s callbacks are getting old (from EVERYONE) but The Pretty Reckless made a record that really impressed me despite that. 25 absolutely should have been the new James Bond theme.

4. Candlebox-Wolves: A step up from their previous two albums. Candlebox has some of that edge back that they've been lacking the passed decade. Its not as good as their self titled album or Into the Sun but I still enjoy it very much. Sunshine, Don't Count Me Out, Criminals and Let Me Down Easy are my favorites. We is very good also. My biggest gripe with this album is how long it took to release. This did not need to be postponed a year.

3. Tremonti-Marching in Time: Amazing album as many of you already know. Tremonti finally released a solo album I enjoy as much as Blackbird or the Creed records. This record shows how far Mark has come as a lyricist, vocalist and songwriter. Another thing I enjoy is there are a few Creed callbacks sprinkled in here and there throughout the album. Its good to see Mark revisiting that sound because he's amazing at it.

2. Blisskrieg-Remedy: The instrumental lineup of Days of the New/Tantric back at it one more time. This time for a very different album than the aforementioned bands. Instead of leaning on the Alice in Chains melodies I've come to expect and love from the band, they pursue a new sound all together. With former Submersed, and Tremonti associate Donald Carpenter on lead vocals. Wherever You Go is the closest to a Days of the New song but the real highlights are all the songs which reflect their new style. Parasitic, Waiting, Destination Unknown, Remedy, Take it Back and She Cries show these guys are capable of making more than stellar Post Grunge. Regardless I do hope the next album is heavier and features more co-lead vocals from Todd Whitener.

1. Love and Death-Perfectly Preserved: Solid. Definitely my favorite of 2021. Head has come so far as a singer, and JR is an amazing co vocalist. The collaborations on here are fantastic. Especially Lacey from Flyleaf on Let Me Love You. The album excellently portrays the struggles of faith in times of frustration and turbulence. Lo Lamento and Tragedy being my favorite examples. Regardless the album ends on a high point with White Flag, a song emphasizing the personal battles we all face with ourselves in whatever journey we're on. My only gripe with this record is I think it could have had one more song on it. But that aside I love this album and it shows how much Head is growing outside of his work in KoRn.

Dishonorable mentions:

-Both Lana Del Rey albums were beyond boring. Not bad just faceless and forgettable. There's maybe four songs between both that I remember liking

-Fuel's Anamoly was a massive let down. Carl Bell's normally great writing is overshadowed by how mediocre John Corsale is as a singer, and how bland the music is. Additionally the songs are notably really short. It almost feels like this album was on a deadline and was made for the purpose of meeting some agreement or contract. Fuel needs Brett and Carl to work. Not Carl, Kevin and a local cover band.

-Myles Kennedy's The Ides of March: Yikes. This is a good example of an artist borrowing too much from the past. I was so bored with this album. Year of the Tiger is one of my top 10 favorite albums ever and this is arguably the biggest dip in quality from one album to another by any band I love. Better luck next time I guess

Jerry Catrell's Brighten: :( I thought this would be my favorite album of 2021. Of everyone on this list, Jerry Cantrell/Alice in Chains are my favorite and boy did this one disappoint. Also an album which borrows too much from the 70s, it completely lacks that edge Alice in Chains has, while at the same time isn't as gentle as their more beautiful acoustic work. The album is obnoxiously catchy in a bad way. Another record I had high hopes for but let me down. Ultimately the campfire version of The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

None of these albums are bad but like I said, I was let down. Hope you guys liked my favorites though!

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