My Top 40 Albums of 2021, Part 1

My musical journey of 2021 - recapped!

Hello, friends,

I normally make a favorite books newsletter but I did not read enough in 2021 to do so. However, I did listen to copious amounts of music so I decided to write about that.

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According to Spotify wrapped, I was in the 3rd percentile of American listeners in 2021. This means I listened to more music on Spotify than 97 percent of Americans last year.

What’s wild is that we also purchased a record player, CD player, and have a tape deck, too, so I bought and listened to more physical media last year than any years since probably 2010-2012. I feel extremely proud and lucky regarding our set up. It’s just been fun to finally set up a music room, too. I don’t watch movies or play video games. But it’s cool to have such a nice set up to listen to music. Now I need a comfy office couch!

I also know for a fact that I listened to more new and new to me releases last year than any year of my life. I keep track of every album I’ve ever listened to and I listened to over 165 new LPS and dozens of EPs, promos, and demos released in 2021. In terms of total number of albums listened to, let’s just say at least one new album a day, so more than 365; and probably more than 600. I think this datum here is neat!

The “one” was referring to Converge, by the way, which was my most listened to artist on Spotify. But this letter is about 2021 releases so let’s begin!

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I recorded a a 3-part video where I discuss my favorite 40. The links are here: part I (40-26), part II (25-11), part III (10-1). I am mostly a metalhead; I like what has been dubbed “extreme” music. Though there are a few other genres represented in my top 40, my top 10 is entirely metal. Another cool feature of Spotify Wrapped captures my musical journey of 2021:

So, let’s begin.

10. Civerous - Decrepit Flesh Relic (Transylvanian Recordings)

In terms of accessibility, this will be one of the hardest for non-metal fans to listen to. It’s an absolutely suffucating, world-building death/doom album that features absolutely low, guttural indicipherable vocals. I’ve described doom before, but it’s mostly slow, crawling riffs and music that can feature either a clean vocalist or a harsh vocalist - but if you add harsh vocals, blastbeats, and down-tuned guitars, you usually get the “death” adjective added. Civerous is a new band and released a killer debut album. The band shows a veteran’s ability in terms of composition, transitions, and placement of parts. Not an easy listen.

Stand-out track: “Bone Wreath.”

9. Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: Vol. 1 (Epitaph Records)

Converge are one of the progenitors and masters of the genre that became known as “metallic hardcore.” No genre tag will capture what they do, however. Featuring one of the most unique vocalists in extreme music, Jacob Bannon single handedly got me more into low-in-the-mix, harsh, raspy and acerbic vocal approaches. But the band is why I gave their entire spin a listen which, in turn, allowed be to familiarize myself with Bannon’s style and approach. This is one of the tighest bands in the world - Ben on drums; Kurt on guitars; and Nate on bass all at world class musicians. They blend metal, thrash, doom, hardcore, punk, and post-metal like no other band. Well…this album they do it again and bring in Chelsea Wolfe, Ben Chisholm, and Stephen Brodsky to create a cinematic, doomy album. Wolfe’s vocals are stunning - and this collaboration actually sounds like it’s own creature and not just Converge playing behind Wolfe or Wolfe singing in front of Converge tracks. Very cool, rewarding listen; it’s an experience. Oh, and the lyrics are great.

Stand-out track: “Viscera of Men.”

8. Amenra - De Doorn (Relapse Records)

Amenra is a Belgian band that plays post-metal/post-hardocre that is aggressive and cathartic - it’s religious and ceremonial by design. Hypnotic, swirling, doomy riffs coupled with the absolutely gutted vocals by Colin who lost his father as a child. For this album, Colin sings entirely in Flemish. He needs this release of tension and grief and we are better off for it. All that gloom aside, this is fun music to play air guitar too and to just get lost in. It’s good for listening in headphones and contemplating but also good background music, too. I like and agree with what Louise Brown in Decibel wrote about this album: “The Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that music offered three purposes: education, catharsis, and rest from tension. On Amenra’s first album for Relapse, all three are sublimely realized” (Aug 2021, 66).

Stand out track: “De evenmens.”

7. Full of Hell - Garden of Burning Apparitions (Relapse Records)

A band that can’t be explained. And another one that is very much not accessible and for most people will just sound like noise. Full of Hell now plays deathgrind, but evolved out of post-hardcore. Turns out “deathgrind” when done right is probably peak Patrick music - fast, short, technical, heavy, hard, and absolutely cathartic. FoH is like audio coffee! Vocalist Dylan is one of my favorite vocalists I discovered in 2021. He can do high shrieks, low gutturals, and can do that mid-range hardcore bark with the best of them. Lyrically, this is bleak, and cryptic but not nihilistic. Dylan writes about finding resilience and purpose in the midst of the bleakness. I’ve never heard a band that sounds like FoH, or an album that sounds like Garden of Burning Apparitions. This is another band that features a world-class drummer, Dave Bland, who is also the drummer and vocalist of power violence band Jarhead Fertilizer. Not for the faint of heart and definitely not reccomended for ears that are just getting acclimated to noisey music. I listened to this on acid once and it was absolutely mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe all of the little intricacies I was hearing.

Stand out track: “Burning Apparition.”

6. Gojira- Fortitude (Roadrunner Records)

I still remember the first time I ever heard this progressive death metal band from France and it was at The Pageant in 2008 and they were opening for Swedish melo-death legends In Flames. Mario’s drumming performance put us all in a trance and we were all wiping our eyes, because we couldn’t believe what we were experiencing. To this day, I’ve never seen a drumming performance like that live (though seeing Portrayal of Guilt in a hole in the wall in November 2021 was close!). Now, Gojira is one of the biggest bands in metal, and they are a great ambassador because they are environmentalists and they write about anti-consumerism. Many metal bands have stupid lyrics that amount to nothing more than “amgydala larks.” Not Gojira. And their take on spirituality is uplifting and even though they incorporate Hindu ideas it sits well for secular, non-religious people like myself, too. It’s empowering, humanistic and naturalistic at the same time. Hard to explain. Any way. This album rules.

Stand out track: “Another World.”

5. Ænigmatum - Deconsecrate (20 Buck Spin)

Ænigmatum play melodic technical death metal. Now, most fans of metal are torn on “techdeath.” For many it’s too fast, too showy, too technical - too self-indulgent. Most “tech death” bands won’t repeat any riffs more than once and will only allow you to get into a groove for a few seconds. This is wankery. To most ears. Ænigmatum actually write songs. I just love how this sounds. It’s psychedelic, too. I think this album is basically a flawless example of melodic technical death metal done right. They never sacrifice creating a dark atmosphere with cool, strange melodies for technical wankery. And to my brain that enjoys complex rythmns and wacky time signature changes, there is plenty of groove for me to lock into.

Stand out track: “Forged From Bedlam.”

4. Worm - Foreverglade (20 Buck Spin)

Worm is a (mostly) one-man project based out of swampy Florida. Florida is actually one of the original death metal scenes, including being home to the band where the entire name of the sub-genre comes from, Death. Worm, though, incorporates death/doom, funeral doom, and black metal to create a heavy-as-a-broken heart type of sound. This is worldbuilding death doom. Session drummer L. Dusk’s performance is stellar. Phantom Slaughter’s vocal dynamism, too, brings me back. Slaughter’s guitar acrobatics and leads put a bow on the whole experience. One doesn’t usually here shreddy, neoclassical solos in death/doom. This is just death/doom to be experienced. A perfect blend of hard hitting crunch and space filling doom. And Worm has synth that doesn’t immediately make me wanna pull what’s left of my hair out! Now that’s a feat.

Stand out track: “Empire of the Necromancers.”

3. Yautja - The Lurch (Relapse Records)

Yautja play filthy, sludgy, grindcore. But that sells that band short. Check out how great this drummer (Tyler Coburn) is here: AudioTree performance from 2016. I can’t explain what Yautja does to my body but I absolutely cannot sit or stand still when I put them on. This band, like Converge above, blend the best parts of all things loud and heavy. Yautja writes politically adept lyrics, too, which is a plus in my book. This album features lyrics about the absolute monster that is time, the vanity and addiction of social media, the hypocrisy and moral preening of “cancel” culture. And, ultimately, the lyrics are stark and honest: "No need to sugar coat it. It’s fucking bleak.” Indeed. (I’m a happy person but doesn’t mean I want my music to be. In fact, I think some time in the future I’ll explain my love for metal.) I love the sound this three piece creates and I can’t wait until I get to see them live. Chef’s kiss.

Stand-out track: “Clock Cleaner.” And check out these lyrics! Oh my!

“Wounds can heal and ruins can be rebuilt
But there's no way to remedy the death of time
No sorcery or science to turn back the hours, minutes and seconds
Time is the construct and time is the master
An indifferent, unstoppable abomination.”

2. Dvne - Etemen Ænka (Metal Blade Records)

Dvne blew me away the first time I heard them. Even though this album is over an hour I immediately hit play again after my first listen. This album should be gigantic. This is progressive metal at it’s finest. The vocal approach is a mixture of clean and harsh; an interplay, if you will. This band wrote flawless compositions that make up Etemen Ænka. These songs build to great crescendos and the whole thing just feels huge and hugely cinematic. The guitar tone is shiny and perfect. And the melodic grooves lines I could just listen to for days. And the name is inspired by the science-fiction novels Dune by Frank Herbert which makes sense; the entire album is a rough concept album itself that takes themes from Dune.

Stand-out track: “Court of the Matriarch.” The melodic loopy riff at 4:18-5:34 might be one of my favorite riffs of all time. Listen to how it morphs and builds but keeps the same notes as anchor at 4:58! And, at 6:13 they bring it back to end the song. Just 7 minutes of some of my favorite music ever.

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In part two, I will discuss my album of the year.

“I don’t want to be a better liar. Don’t wanna make you think that what you get is what you see just ‘cause you want it. Oh, this muddy water ain’t deep.”
- Patrick M. Foran