#4 - Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
10/10
This record is among my all time favourites for many, many reasons. Namely, it's the record that got me into music in the first place when I was very little. But now that I'm a little more grown up, I have a little more grown up musical palette and I want different things from my music. I was very happy to initially report that this record not only lived up to that impressive milestone but accounted for my changing musical tastes beautifully! Let's start with production. This record has a crushing sound that is even more crushing thanks to its production. All the instruments sound nice and full, and they are all given an equal role in the mix, even the bass. The sound play is incredibly on point. Metallica opts to pummel you for a large chunk of this record, but they do so because they use layering to create an atmosphere of dread. While the record is pretty straightforward and not flashy with its production, it really works when they go out of the comforts of mono recording. This is a heavy production style that accounts for the composition beautifully. This composition is a freight train until the very end, but has a few absolutely beautiful moments such as the first solo of the title track and the second movement of Orion. The guitars are chugging and heavy, but they’re dense and interesting as opposed to mindless chugging. They really add to a pummelling sound. But they can be really beautiful on slower parts of this record, adding a more subdued quality. Master of Puppets is famous for guitars, and they are really important for the tone of this record. Not to mention the bass, which gets a few licks in that are amazing. Cliff Burton's bass lines on this record are beefy and powerful, and yet immaculate when they need to be. The drums on this thing also provide a rock solid foundation for the rest of the instruments, getting their chance to open songs with force, to keep up that force, and to epically close out songs. The record sounds very aggressive and dark, but has light elements that balance out perfectly. This record balances the searing hot and cool very well. The flow is spectacular, which makes this record feel like its own work while balancing the fact that all eight tracks have something to bring to the table. The lyrics are, of course, what keeps bringing me back to this masterpiece of a record. Now that I'm old enough to understand the commentary of Master of Puppets, I find it so poignant. These incredible lyrics are sung by a James Hetfield in his prime, with gruff, powerful vocals that match the heaviness of the album. James is not satisfied with just the heavy aspect of this record, as he goes soft on Welcome Home (Sanitarium), which is creepier than the normal gruffness, adding to the atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, the dramatic nature of the lyrics complements the dramatic nature of the album very well. Everything on this album clicks amazingly. As for the lyrics, they are grim takes on society in which everyone is miserable and helpless (except for Battery, which is more about helplessness to do anything but rock out). There are tracks about drug addiction, Lovecraft's monsters, crooked televangelists, mental illness, soldiers being changed by the horrible things they've witnessed only to be left for dead by the government that praises them on the surface. It's a heavy listen not just in composition but lyrically as well. Master of Puppets is emotionally intense from start to finish and every single element is crafted to fit this intense vibe, whether it's intensely horrifying, saddening, beautiful, or otherwise powerful. Master of Puppets has the emotional storytelling of Funeral and Afraid of Heights and the punch of In The Court of The Crimson King, without any of the problems of those albums. What a way to get into music! I don't think I will ever stop loving this record, not just because it is the record that changed my life the most, but because it is intensely enjoyable and will remain that way for even more years to come.
Listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/0obBdrfUMzU
#3 – Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want (2018)
10/10
Just edging out Master of Puppets is an album that drills one emotion really hard and really well: fear. This is a special kind of fear that you can't quite shake. You're molded by this fear and it guides your every move to prevent yourself from experiencing what the protagonist has gone through. You Won't Get What You Want is an absolutely horrifying album that not even the most abrasive albums I've heard this year have been able to match. You could cut the tension with a knife! The production on this record is not as showy with its sound play, but it is absolutely there and it is subdued in a very creepy way. I mean it when I say every element is designed to put the listener on edge! But that doesn't mean this is a grimy or nasty record when it comes to mixing, on the contrary, actually. The instruments, as horrifying and ugly as they are, sound really clear. Everybody is given something to do and they are each given a role in this terrifyingly good record. The guitars are often smothering and the production gives them the room to smother. The bass adds a general thickness that makes the guitars that much more punchy. The drums have a dark quality to them which, again, adds to the atmosphere. Any sound effects and synthetic instruments are given their own chance to shine as well. With all the instruments I discussed and their roles in this album, let's now discuss composition. This album is horrifying from start to finish, but in very different ways from track to track. The drums are exactly what they need to be at the right time. I really like how they sometimes have a bit of a lighter quality to them, from a composition standpoint, adding a bit of light to a dark track. They are also relentless on the faster cuts, punctuating the noise from everyone else. The bass is underrated here as well, as people hear the noisy guitars more, but it makes the album sound richer. It helps the drums keep a nice groove going as well as to make the album dark as possible. The guitars are possibly the most interesting aspect of the record, because I love how bright and shrill they are. It works for a disturbing, noisy record like this and I like how that shrillness is used for different moods from song to song. The noisy guitars are as present on harrowing ragers as they are quieter moments, but they mean different things and are used for different purposes, which is really fascinating to me. Speaking of different moods, the structure of this record is incredible. The tracks are packed with so much tension that you can't help but be on the edge of your seat for the whole runtime. They are also diverse, giving us room to breathe, but never to breathe easy. The flow between tracks is amazing as well. The album blasts you with sound, cools you off, then turns up the volume again to the maximum setting. I love it! But what really struck fear into my heart from this album is its lyrics. It's easy to compare this record to a psychological horror movie, because that's basically what it is. This story is told by an Alexis Marshall who doesn't just use his screaming, trebly vocals, which are already intense enough, but uses his baritone register as well to diversify things and add to the terror factor. These vocals may not be technically proficient, but they work perfectly for a horrifying record like this. He tells the story of existential dread with a palpable level of fear, taking the role of narrator very seriously. The story itself is one of existential terror and reaching a mental breaking point. We follow the story of horrible things that happen to this man, whether externally or internally, and we watch his sanity unfurl with each passing moment of this album. This isn't the story of a particularly mentally ill person, but is a story that could happen to anybody. Sure, mental illness can play a factor, but anyone's mental health can deteriorate to this degree, which is why this record is so poignant and scary. This record illustrates why mental health is so important, because if you don't guard it with your life, there will be dire consequences. This record builds up to those dire consequences and the result is as cathartic as it is terrifying. This album is a cohesive, noisy, and unabashed look into mental health. If you don't like to be tertified by your music, this record is obviously not going to be enjoyable for you. But if you're like me, who wants to feel something human from their music, I implore you to give this record a listen. It is a black hole of abrasive sound that will leave fear in your heart for a very long time. This is a record that does everything in its power to overwhelm you and shake you to your very core, and it does that perfectly.
Listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/tSl4w6PXVbY
#2 - Swans - To Be Kind (2014)
10/10
To Be Kind is, as of right now, my favourite rock record. It is one of the most expansive and largest records I've ever heard, but also one of the most explosive records. A year after my first listen of this record, I still absolutely love it! This is what Master of Puppets would be if it was extended to 2 hours and each member of Metallica was given cosmic powers. This is an epic album that is unmatched in its presence and is a holy grail to any music nerd for countless reasons. The production really matches the grandeur of To Be Kind. All the instruments are clear and present. Drums, in particular, sound far clearer than The Seer, this album's 2012 predecessor. The bass is beefy and gives this record a deeper, well-rounded sound. Guitars are pretty much everywhere on this record and are used for everything, and as such, the production bends to it. This record blasts you with noise on occasion, and it is densely packed with everything Swans can throw at the listener, which leads me to sound play. John Congleton and Michael Gira are possibly some of my favourite producers ever, given how sound play is handled here. If OK Computer was a major city with a lot of moving parts working in harmony, this is a detailed glimpse at the entire universe with trillions upon trillions of moving parts all functioning together. To Be Kind thrives off of density and giving both ears a lot of things to focus on at once. This, along with those clear instruments, add to an incredible atmosphere. The lyrics help to build this atmosphere, but they are but one instrument in the massive expanse of this album. They are all fronted by a Michael Gira that really fits every song well. He brings out that baritone twang from Soundtracks For The Blind on Kirsten Supine, while going absolutely ballistic on Oxygen, even more than Filth! He does this and everything in between, and it really shows his diverse range and it contributes to a diverse record. The lyrics that Gira is singing/screaming/barking are minimalist in nature, and it's really up to you to put your own meaning to them. They are nihilist in tone, and I believe they both prophesize the end of the world and argue that we may deserve it given our actions. But maybe lyrical content is not as important as on other albums. Tone matters on this record and it goes to show how Michael Gira's vocals are just another instrument. Swans do on this record what I've been saying to do for years: show, don't tell. To my great delight, Swans really put on a show with their composition! It is an apocalyptic, epic experience where the album builds and collapses in slow, yet rewardingly powerful fashion. The drums are explosive on some tracks and are really important in creating a groove. Sometimes the drums really quiet and simply keep time, which works for slower songs. The bass is really important too, as the record starts off with that lovely bass line in Screen Shot. This record is clearly built around heaviness and what's a better instrument to start with than bass? The brass have their loud moments on A Little God In My Hands as well as Oxygen, on which they are really chaotic. Guitars are extremely versatile on this album. They are used for heaviness, as well as shrill noise. But we also get very somber, bluesy vibes from guitars, which really speaks to this record's diversity. When these guitars are their strongest and loudest, they are absolutely crushing! There's also some dulcimer on here that sounds like a hand crank on Bring The Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture, a song which features handsaws, horses and perhaps a loud fart, which is fun. Speaking of that song, the structure of the songs is a little more conventional and more accessible than The Seer, but it gives this more of a “rock album” vibe over an “experimental rock” vibe. There are very clear movements on each track that are easy to follow along with. It makes for a record that never feels long-winded or like it drags on even with the 2 hour runtime! How do you do that?! The flow between tracks is also something to behold. I don't feel like I'm listening to a rock album anymore, but a symphony. This is a cohesive record that feels like an epic tale is being told through instruments, like in classical music. Atmosphere is central to this record and since atmosphere is built so well on this record, it is not only dense, but emotionally impactful. No matter how you feel about this record, you will feel something! To Be Kind is a masterpiece in every sense of the word! It is an album that is absolutely perfect from start to finish, and it does everything right somehow! I am always floored by how excellent and powerful this record is. This might be the end of rock music, but also a rebirth. It is albums like these that push rock and music forward forever.
Listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/b0W3b6jzE38
#1 - Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)
10/10
Let's face it. If you know me personally, you knew exactly what was going to be #1 on this list. To Pimp A Butterfly is not just an album, but an unforgettable experience that left me a changed person by the end. If Master of Puppets was the album that got me into music in the first place, To Pimp A Butterfly was the album that managed to open my ears to all kinds of new sounds that I would never even consider. I guess you could say that it offered new perspectives that I, a mere caterpillar, never considered. I never thought an album could be perfect until I heard this! This production is so smooth and creative that no other album could top it. There was a small army that worked on this record and they all came together to make something fantastic. All instruments are clear. You could tell that they spent a lot of money on this record to make it high gloss. The best part is what they do with those instruments when it comes to production. To Pimp A Butterfly uses layering and panning to not only make a dense sound, but a very human sound. This album taught me that production can be used as an instrument just like any other. This production is not only the glue that keeps this record together, but is used in such a way that fits the mood and message of each track so perfectly that it acts as a vehicle for the message. Such attention to detail is something I have never heard before and have never heard since. The production on this thing is so good that I use Institutionalized to test my speakers for stereo sound and bass. Going back to bass, this record's composition is just fantastic. All instruments whether they be bass, guitars, saxophones, trombones, or samples, each have their own role to play and they are all amazing! Not only is this a nice, warm sounding record, it is a record that smashes a bunch of older revolutionaries together to create its very own sound. OK Computer did this a bit and To Be Kind did this a lot, but To Pimp A Butterfly outclasses them both by incorporating elements of African-American music from the past century! It's got jazz, funk, soul, pop, even a little bit of rock, while still being a recognizable hip-hop album! This makes To Pimp A Butterfly such a benchmark in music. With all this said, everybody knows that the lyrics are the cornerstone of this album's excellence. Kendrick Lamar is in his prime when it comes to his flow. His lyrical structure is really dense, but still quite catchy. Kendrick expertly conveys the emotion of what he is rapping about through the tone in his voice. You can tell that his heart is in this record right away. While Kendrick can get flashy on this record, it is never traded for substance. This is an incredibly cohesive record and a compelling story that balances between individual songs and a whole album. The story on To Pimp A Butterfly is such a universal one that it is very easy to relate to Kendrick Lamar and what he's saying. He is never alienating on this record and he is always personal, which is why I love this record so much. It really speaks volumes that someone who could not be any more different from Kendrick can still get something from this record. While To Pimp A Butterfly is a celebration of black excellence, a gripping tale of what it's like to be black in America and a lament on how fame changes someone, its core message is the most poignant. Once you take all those layers away, you see Kendrick Lamar as someone just like you and me: someone who, despite all their struggles and problems in their life, can overcome and be happy. This album affirms that anyone can achieve their goals as long as they try. Despite everything that has happened this year to not just African-Americans, but everyone, TPAB gives me hope that we're gonna be alright. This is an album about self-actualization and it is the most human work I have ever consumed in my life. This album has changed me forever, and it empowers me every day. If you haven't listened to this record already, do it! Maybe you too will understand why this record is the best one of all.
Listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/AC4bb9Q9-04
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