SuppliedIt’s the final countdown. Only four days of our precious reading week remain before we’re all thrown back into the fire and brimstone that is the final leg of the 2016/17 academic year. Over this period though, you still have plenty of time to get stuff done, have some fun, revisit your long forgotten New Year’s resolutions, and pity yourself come Sunday night. Of course, none of this should be attempted without the help of a proper playlist. So I’ve compiled a list of metal albums that can accompany you through the last days of reading week.
5. Dance Gavin Dance – Mothership
Dance Gavin Dance’s signature mix of prog-metal guitar work, upbeat and jazzy rhythms, and belt-it-out-loud sing along moments are perfect to keep spirits high as the countdown clock winds down to Monday. Mothership flew under my radar when it was released last year, but since making its way into my Apple Music rotation a couple weeks back, it’s been on repeat. Opening track, “Chucky vs. The Giant Tortoise” sets the stage with a typically wacky post-hardcore song title, ample double bass drum, neck-shredding riffs, and the oh-so-soulful singing of vocalist Tilian Pearson (damn this man has some serious vocal chops). Throughout it’s run time, the album visits nearly every genre — from pop to hardcore, all while maintaining the colourfully animated personality of their Swedish-designed album artwork. Give Mothership a listen, you’ve still got four days of reading week left to get up and dance.
4. Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
For my throwback Thursday pick I’m going wayyy back to a time when nu-metal was a radio staple and Linkin Park wasn’t doing this (sad!). For those sorta-edgy youths who couldn’t quite get past the creepiness of Slipknot’s masks, the griminess of Korn, or the Fred Durst-iness of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park offered a happy medium — they made music for those new to nu-metal. Hybrid Theory‘s dual vocals, comprised of the wails of Chester Bennington and totally-2000s rapping of Mike Shinoda, distorted guitar chugs, electronic effects, and DJ scratching provided the perfect pump-up playlist in my hockey team’s locker room, but also some of the biggest hits on Much Music. But does Hybrid Theory hold up? Well, it was released at the time of Y2K, so what do you think? Regardless, it’s a fun blast from the past. If nothing else, listening to this throwback reminds us that while we may want to turn back the clock and relive the start of reading week, what’s done is done, and just like frosted tips and JNCO Jeans, the past belongs in the past.
3. Iron Reagan – Crossover Ministry
If you want to boost your Purity Test score by a couple hundred points before the end of reading week, Crossover Ministry is the perfect accomplice to your debauchery. Featuring members of Municipal Waste, Darkest Hour, and Cannabis Corpse, Iron Reagan are masters of their craft. Despair for society and the sate of the world run amok in this 30 minute barrage of thrashing hardcore punk, and that’s exactly what you need on a Friday night. Pick up some Pilsners and headbang Monday’s worries away to nihilistic anthems like “A Dying World,” “Blatant Violence,” and “Bleed the Fifth.” Crossover Ministry is the desperately needed mickey of Everclear your buddy just dumped into the party punch bowl.
2. Emmure – Look at Yourself
For the majority of metalheads out there, the inclusion of open-notes-only aficionados Emmure on any recommendations list is blaspheme. But hear me out. It’s Saturday night, you’re more than a few shots of JD deep, and there’s only a few hours left before the last day of your reading week weekend, do you: A) Ready your mind for another week of higher education and learning by listening to something intellectual, thematic, and insightful? or B) Continue to pound beers, start an impromptu moshpit in your living room, and max the volume dial while punishing Josh Travis guitar riffs fill your body with the hedonistic pleasure of a song that’s 99.9% breakdowns? Ya, that’s what I thought. Emmure may be the Michael Bay of music, but to my (now bleeding) ears, a Bayhem-worthy assault of 1’s and 0’s is nothing but mindlessly entertaining fun. And everyone can all use a little of that.
1. Aversions Crown – Xenocide
By this point all hope is lost, it’s Sunday and classes resume tomorrow. Unless… nuclear war were declared. Cue Aversions Crown and their latest album Xenocide. If you were to open up the nuclear detonation briefcase cuffed to Trump’s arm, inside all you’d find is an iPod loaded with this album and an aux cord. Plug it in, press play, and say goodbye to the free world as you know it. The hair raising opening chords of “Prismatic Abyss” transition to technical death metal of a ferocity that can only be attributed to those who come from the land down unda. Australians just seem to have a knack for this genre of music, and Aversions Crown are most definitely one of the up-and-comers to watch — especially if you’re interested in tunes which feature mile-a-minute blast beats, spine dismantling breakdowns, and vocals so vicious they could make the demons from The Conjuring movies flinch. Giving Xenocide a listen will remind you that there are many worse realities we could be facing than returning to our privileged and (relatively) peaceful sanctuary of learning.
Hybrid theory <3