2021 was a very interesting year for me. I became a dad for the first time, I got promoted at work with a much bigger responsibility and the pandemic continued to ravage around us. All this really had an impact on me mentally so I think my EOTY list really reflects how I was looking for escapism and music to make me feel good between the lack of sleep, long hours, and generally just feeling rubbish. I was however excited for quite a few bands' new records this year (Shihad and Foo Fighters), and for the most part they delivered. There were also some albums I really enjoyed at the start of the year (Gojira, Boss Keloid & Appalooza) that unfortunately just didn’t hold my attention for the duration of the year. Then there were a couple of late entries that blew me away and disrupted my list at the last minute! So this EOTY list is probably the most ‘rock’ orientated one I have ever submitted at Firesideometer, and yes there is a folk record on it too! Enjoy!
Surprising! That's how this record was for me. It feels like a less hardcore NIN, and the songwriting is stunning. Outside of the song ‘Cars’, I probably haven’t paid Gary any attention in two decades, so to find that this album was so dark, menacing, brooding and fun was a bonus. It also became a permanent fixture in my playlist due to the quality of the songwriting and the synth-heavy bass lines. This became a really great late night record for me to switch off and escape into its silky broodiness.
Up until this year I had never come across the Dead Dead’s before, and I think that’s a good thing as Tell the Girls it’s Alright is far and away their best album. The all female band play alternative rock and have a very 90’s “everything but the kitchen sink” style and it works really well. The band can be heavy, catchy and fun. Having the support of Corey Taylor of Slipknot on ‘Murder Ballad II’ enhances their upcoming status too. ‘First Tooth’ is has an amazing horn section enhancing the song, as does ’Deal with Me’. Both songs are album highlights. This is such a fun alternative rock album. It's so good even my wife liked it too.
There were so many good alternative rock albums released this year reminiscent of the 90s emo/hardcore/alt rock scene. But Distant Populations stood out due to the fact Quicksand pretty much invented that scene. Distant Populations is far more muscular than its predecessor Interiors, and that’s its strength. Where that album had a more shoegaze feel, this one is definitely more reminiscent of their earlier material and is much more engaging because of it. I really enjoyed some of the effects on this album, such as the guitar at the beginning of ‘Katakana’ and the spacey art rock songs such as ‘Phase 90’. This is a great addition to their catalogue.
It’s incredibly clear from listening to Fixed it All by PAERISH that they have been heavily influenced by Quicksand and that early 90's alt rock scene. What’s more incredible is that I think its a slightly better album than Quicksand’s Distant Populations. PAERISH absolutely nail that early 90’s shoegaze alt rock emo genre. (Was it ever a genre Or have i just made it up?) PAERISH excel at the loud/quiet formula to create some great rock songs—‘Archive’ and ‘Jorney of the ‘Prairie King’ spring to mind. It will be interesting to see what twist and turns PAERISH take with thier sound on their next album.
Shihad are one of my very favourite bands and Old Gods was my most anticipated album of 2021. It’s also much lower down on my list than I thought it would be. There are a couple of reasons for this. 1. The overtly political lyrics can be a bit TOO MUCH! And 2. I feel like a number of the riffs have been recycled from the FVEY sessions. However let's not get caught up on those minor points, as Shihad can still wipe the floor with pretty much every other rock band in the world. So if you are already a fan, you will know that this band can't help but write killer songs. ’Feel the Fire’ is one of those songs, and it’s also probably the rock song of the year. ‘Tear down those Names’ has one of those riffs that you just can't help bounce around the house to, and ’The Wreckage’ has such a great thrash riff that rivals anything Metallica Could deliver. So in summary Old Gods is still a great album, just not quite as great as I was expecting.
Nergal from Behemoth once again outdoes himself with his Me and that Man country rock side project. Here he repeats the formula he laid down in 2019, bringing in guest vocalists from all over the heavy metal spectrum, but this time I think it’s even better than Vol 1.0 and heavier too. Every single track is a standout and all work as a cohesive whole, but there are a few that surpass the others. ‘All Hope has Gone’ featuring Blayze Bailey is one and demonstrates just how powerful his voice is. ‘Coldest Day in Hell’ featuring Ralg Gyllenhammer is another and Alissa White Gluz proves on ‘Goodbye’ she is completely wasted in a death metal band and should be on broadway. Miss this album at your peril.
Mammoth WVH is Wolfgang Van Halen (son of Eddie) and his debut solo album is a masterclass in radio-friendly heavy rock. On this album, Wolfgang pretty much takes over the mantle laid down by his dad and brings it kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Here he shows he can do sentimental without being icky on ‘Distance’ and super heavy on ‘Don’t Back Down’. The album has a super clean & powerful production which enhances every single song. It also means you can air guitar to this album everywhere you take it just like you used to do every time ‘Eruption’ came on the radio back in the day.
That 90’s alt rock, shoegaze, grunge sound from that PAERISH record also turns up on this one. Teenage Wrist have been around for a few albums now and have always had that heavy shoegaze vibe. On The Earth is a Black Hole they soften their sound slightly taking in a poppier edge that wasn’t there previously. Kicking off with ‘Squeeze’ a feedback drenched instrumental before diving into the lead single ‘Taste of Gasoline’ which demonstrates that heavy shoegaze formula. Teenage Wrist aren’t changing the world but they are making intelligent rock music that takes those 90’s influences and modernizes it just enough to make it sound incredibly current.
Guess what? That 90’s alt rock, shoegaze, grunge sound is also all over this record too (I clearly had a theme this year)! The difference with Superbloom is that they clearly took their main influence from Nirvana. The vocalist is almost a dead ringer for Kurt, particularly on the opening song ‘1994’. However Superbloom are not a sentimental Nirvana rip-off band, they are another rock band that have managed to channel the influences from that era into an album that sounds confident, exciting, and engaging.
This album was only released four weeks ago but it has become one of my favourite albums of the year just down to its simple, big song, massive chorus, crazy guitar solo formula. Everyone by now knows what a Black Label Society album sounds like. Zakk Wylde hasn’t changed the band's sound in 20 years, but it doesn’t really matter as they are now absolute masters of their craft. Doom Crew Inc is easily their best album since Hangover Music Vol 1 from 2004. Doom Crew Inc is not going to change the world, but it really does make it a better place.
One Hundred Thousand's 2016 album The Forms in Which they Appear left a huge impression on me, and I have been waiting and anticipating Zodiac for a very long time. 7 years to be precise. It does not disappoint. One Hundred Thousand are a progressive metal band comparable to Teramaze, Earthside, Tesseract and Textures. Zodiac is a double album based around the signs of the zodiac and it is a monster of a record. Djent riffs crash with ethereal synths and melodic vocals, and it works incredibly well. If you are fan of any of those other bands and never heard of One Hundred Thousand I’m sure you will find a lot to like here.
Engine of Hell must be the most disturbing, haunting, beautiful and peaceful record I have heard all year. The beauty of these songs lies in Emma’s stunning voice accompanied with only her guitar and piano. Lyrically, the songs focus on addiction, loss and mental health making the record quite a bleak listen to say the least. However the beauty of her voice elevates this to one of the albums of the year.
As I said in my mid year review for this record. Imperial doesn’t really take Soen in a new direction per se, but it does seem to be more pop-orientated. Imperial still sounds like Soen, and after spending the rest of the year with it, I can confidently say it is far and away their best album. It is also the best progressive metal album released this year.
Omega Keloid is one of those surprise albums that floors you from the very first song. Gizmachi play a style of technical metal featuring huge djent riffs, progressive song structures and soaring vocals. They’ve clearly been inspired by Meshuggah but they take the technical metal sound somewhere new and futuristic. This is due in no small part to the brilliance of Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid on vocals. He’s always been an amazing vocalist , whether with Soilwork or the Night Flight Orchestra, but here he’s really outdone himself. He bends and twists the vocals with the music to create some truly impressive songs. ‘Paradox’ and the title track really stand out, making me return to this album time and time again this year.
The best rock band in the world released the best rock album of the year. I don’t think any of us here at Firesideometer saw this coming. Sure, we knew a Wildhearts album was on its way but I don’t think any of us thought it was going to be this good. This album is very nearly PHUQ good!! Having said that I do agree with Eric on ‘that’ song and the albums sequencing, however it has not stopped me listening to this album the most this year, and it most definitely hasn’t dented its position in my EOTY list. I think I always knew it would take the top spot. Not many bands have released albums as exciting as this one in 2021 and the worrying thing is this could very well be the last Wildhearts record too. If it is, what a high to go out on!