Well folks,
This year (2021) sucked big fat monkey nuts from almost every conceivable angle, except for the fact that I got to hear a bunch of cool new music. I didn't get to see much of it live, thanks to Barack Obiden's plandemic, but it is what it is. Here's the best 20 records of the year according to me.
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| Young Dolph |
20. Enforced - Kill Grid (Century Media)
Crossover thrash lost two of its greatest recent contributors over the course of this two year shitstorm -- Power Trip's Riley Gale and Iron Age's Wade Allison. Enforced is now tasked with leading the charge of hardcore kids playing 80's style thrash, and they're doing a pretty good job of it. This record is big and ugly at the same time. Perfect thrash production and execution.
19. Steel Bearing Hand - Slay in Hell (Carbonized)
This band plays a somewhat unheralded version of death metal-inspired thrash, reminiscent of Demolition Hammer. The guitar work is a major highlight on this record, as there are some real ass-beating riffs littered across it. My only complaint is that some of the songs go on for way too long, but overall this is an enjoyable listen.
Listen to "Till Death and Beyond"
18. Young Dolph & Key Glock - Dum N Dummer 2 (Paper Route Empire)
Young Dolph's death was another gut-punch in the torrent of unrelenting disappointments on offer in 2021. Dolph, it seems, was right in the middle of his creative zenith when he was taken. While this collab album with younger cousin Key Glock wasn't quite as good as the first installment of the series, it was still full of catchy bangers and Dolph's witty yet heart-heart-on-his-sleeve lyricism.
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| Ingrown |
17. Tyler the Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost (Columbia)
Tyler the Creator followed up his two-album foray into indie-pop inspired bullshit with an actual hip hop record and created something I enjoyed (for the first time in his career). His lyricism and rapping style still offer very little to me, but his ear for music and compositional ability are on full display here. These songs are undeniably good. I don't really consider this a headphones listen but it's great to throw on in the car if you need something agreeable.
16. Antichrist Siege Machine - Purifying Blade (Profound Lore)
Purifying Blade is like the Internal Rot LP from last year in that I don't understand its references but still think it kicks ass. This is apparently a black metal record, but it doesn't sound anything like Darkthrone to me. I guess it's supposed to sound like Blasphemy but I'm not gonna pose and pretend I've ever listened to that band. I think it sounds like morons going for early 90's hardcore but the drummer only knows how to play blast beats. Fuck yourself if that doesn't sound cool to you.
Listen to "Unleashed Hostility"
15. Ingrown - Gun (Patient Zero)
This is top-tier fake powerviolence, worthy of being mentioned with bands like Nails and early Harm's Way. Ass-kicking metallic breakdowns interspersed with blasts of spastic energy, delivered in 90 seconds or less. The fact that this band is a three-piece only makes the intensity of the delivery more impressive. I wish this record was three or four songs longer. Then it would be perfect.
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| Polo G |
14. Polo G - Hall of Fame (Columbia)
This album was considered a flop by many social media trolls and 14-year-old casuals. While I agree it doesn't exactly live up to the promise of Polo's highest highs, there's no denying the lyricism on this record is top tier for the lane it occupies. Polo may not be a versatile beat-picker, but what other 22 year old mainstream rapper can balance the emotions of a song like "Rapstar" or do an unabashed love song like "So Real" while maintaining his street cred on songs like "Bloody Canvas"? I'll wait. This album receiving blowback proves the theory that "hip hop fans" on social media only care about beats.
13. Pooh Shiesty - Shiesty Season (Atlantic/1017)
I'm not gonna lie, this album being so high up on my list speaks more to my personal experience with it than its actual quality. Pooh Shiesty legitimately only has one flow, and by the end of the 17 track run it can be mind-numbingly repetitive. The highs on this record provided some of the most memorable songs of the year though. Shiesty's in his pocket on "Back in Blood", "Guard Up" and "Box of Churches", providing the type of speaker-knocking heat that can get bitches to take their clothes off in the club (I saw a video of this actually happening).
12. Dat Boi Vic - The Child Not Embraced... (Self Released)
Pooh Shiesty's bubblegum hedonism is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum from Dat Boi Vic's spiralling, dense supernova of conscious thought, The Child Not Embraced... The album, conceptually chronicling Black American experience from slavery to the present, is chock full of movie references, scientific teachings and spiritual wisdom. Vic's lyrical delivery is so dense that it takes multiple listens to even grasp the story-line of the album, let alone the message behind each carefully crafted bar. To be honest, I'm never gonna get all the message, because I'm not the target audience. That's fine. This record deserves to be heard regardless.
11. Turnstile - Glow On (Roadrunner)
I leaned on this album as a crutch when I was going through some hard times in late summer. Let's face it, the lyrics on most hardcore, rap and metal records aren't exactly feel-good, and sometimes I just couldn't revel in that negativity. Enter Glow On, a wide spectrum of feelings set to high energy, danceable punk rock. Critics were jizzing over this album's propensity to embrace every musical style under the sun besides hardcore, but I'm a fuckin hardcore kid. This record is rooted in Turnstile's trademark riot-inciting bounce. I kept coming back to it for that reason. Glow On is, at its core, a great hardcore record.
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