MY TOP HARD ROCK/METAL/GOTH/PUNK/ALT ALBUMS & SINGLES OF 2021

What an amazing year it's been for music!  Each year, I put together a list of my favourites, and I don't think it's ever been as tough as this. Omitting mini-albums and live albums didn't thin out my shortlist that much either. I ended up giving in and making this year a 'Top 40' instead of a 'Top 30', and still left out plenty of awesome releases.

Obviously, I'd be a massive twat if I included my own band's album in the list. That doesn't stop me from shamelessly plugging it anyway. Check out The Witching Hour by Lesbian Bed Death, if you haven't already. If it's not your favourite album of 2021, then you're simply not very cool and have no friends.

I must apologise for not getting round to reviewing anything like as many records as I wanted to. I've been super-busy with other projects, and had a much needed break from my blog for a few weeks. There are links to the reviews I did of the albums that made my Top 40. For my Top 40 singles, I've linked to each song on YouTube.

Anyway, these are my favourite albums and singles of 2021. Let me know if my list looks like yours, and make sure you check out anything you haven't heard yet as you may find some gems. Oh, and buy The Witching Hour for your Mum as a late Christmas present. See you in 2022!

ALBUMS

01. SUMO CYCO - Initiation
02. SPIRITBOX - Eternal Blue
03. THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA - Aeromantic II
04. THE WILDHEARTS - 21st Century Love Songs
05. GREEN LUNG - Black Harvest
06. FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES - Sticky
07. TETRARCH - Unstable
08. BLUTENGEL - Erlösung - The Victory of Light 
09. GARBAGE - No Gods No Masters
10. DIAMANTE - American Dream
11. OMNIMAR - Darkpop
12. VENUES - Solace
13. EMPLOYED TO SERVE - Conquering
14. THE PRETTY RECKLESS - Death By Rock And Roll
15. ACCEPT - Too Mean To Die
16. ROYAL BLOOD - Typhoons
17. CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
18. NERVOSA - Perpetual Chaos
19. WHILE SHE SLEEPS - Sleeps Society
20. GOJIRA - Fortitude
21. CRADLE OF FILTH - Existence Is Futile
22. CRYPTA - Echoes Of The Soul
23. THE AWAKENING - This Alchemy
24. CARCASS - Torn Arteries
25. THE OFFSPRING - Let The Bad Times Roll
26. IRON MAIDEN - Senjutsu
27. ME AND THAT MAN - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol.2
28. POPPY - Flux
29. ROB ZOMBIE - The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy
30. SYD.31 - Machine Ready
31. LUCIFER - Lucifer IV
32. BAD WOLVES - Dear Monsters
33. ALICE COOPER - Detroit Stories
34. RISE AGAINST - Nowhere Generation
35. DEE SNIDER - Leave A Scar
36. AD INFINITUM - Chapter II - Legacy
37. UNDERKING - At Hell's Gate
38. DREAM TROLL - Realm Of The Tormentor
39. TODD LA TORRE - Rejoice In The Suffering
40. SLEEP TOKEN - This Place Will Become Your Tomb

 

*I've stuck to my rule of 'one song per artist'. 

SINGLES

01. SAINT AGNES - Vampire
02. GHOST - Hunter's Moon
03. CREEPER - Ghosts Over Calvary
04. CHVRCHES - How Not To Drown
05. GREEN LUNG - Leaders Of The Blind
06. SPIRITBOX - Circle With Me
07. OMNIMAR - Feels Like Velvet
08. THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA - Moonlit Skies
09. THE WILDHEARTS - Splitter
10. ROYAL BLOOD - Limbo
11. WHILE SHE SLEEPS - Systematic
12. SUMO CYCO - Overdrive
13. GARBAGE - The Creeps
14. GUNS N' ROSES - Hard Skool
15. SALEM - Draculads
16. CRADLE OF FILTH - Crawling King Chaos
17. AMARANTHE - PvP
18. BILLY IDOL - Bitter Taste
19. VENUES - Shifting Colors
20. MAKE THEM SUFFER - Contraband
21. AD INFINITUM - Unstoppable
22. SLEEP TOKEN - Alkaline
23. ME AND THAT MAN - Witches Don't Fall In Love
24. DIAMANTE - Ghost Myself
25. BAD WOLVES - Lifeline
26. FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES - Bang Bang
27. RISE AGAINST - Monarch
28. TETRARCH - Negative Noise
29. BLUTENGEL - Wir Sind Das Licht
30. THE PRETTY RECKLESS - My Bones
31. POPPY - Flux
32. LUCIFER - Bring Me His Head
33. NERVOSA - Venomous
34. ROB ZOMBIE - The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man
35. THE OFFSPRING - Let The Bad Times Roll
36. IRON MAIDEN - Hell On Earth
37. THE AWAKENING - All Tomorrow's Saints
38. PRIEST - A Signal In The Noise
39. KK's PRIEST - Return Of The Sentinel
40. DREAM TROLL - The Tormentor

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Gig Review: SALEM at The Deaf Institute, Manchester (UK) (27/10/2021)

 

OK. I'm really late with this review. I've had some time away from my blog, but I couldn't say goodbye to 2021 without giving this amazing band and gig a mention.

Salem is the side project of Creeper main-man Will Gould. Musically, this band brings back the upbeat Punk that was missing from the latest Creeper album (which, despite the lack of fast Punk, is undeniably awesome- click for review). Salem is more upbeat and playful than 'the mothership', benefiting from not being part of a concept, and having stand-alone fun Goth Punk songs where Will's imagination can run riot.

Salem has released two EPs so far, Salem last year, and Salem II earlier this year. I was a bit late to the party with these and only got into the band when II came out. Both records are brilliant, so when this tour was announced, I snapped up tickets. Incidentally, The Deaf Institute is an awesome venue. I'd been there before to see Twin Temple and Saint Agnes, and with its Goth AF décor I knew it would be the ideal place to see a band like Salem.

Unsurprisingly, the show was a sell-out. The band played all of the songs from their two EPs and a fantastic rendition of The Damned's New Rose. That's one of the cool things about seeing a new band. You get to hear all of the songs. When you see a artist with ten studio albums, you expect some favourites to be omitted, but that was obviously not the case tonight. Loads of people were singing along, and clearly knew each EP back-to-front.

Will Gould is an incredible front-man. As well as being a top-tier singer, he's captivating to watch, bringing a level of drama and theatre to his performance. He's also brilliant at engaging the crowd and controlling the energy. Watching such a master of their craft in a small, packed venue was a genuine pleasure to watch. 

Clearly, this was the first 'post-Covid/Lockdown' gig for a number of audience members which added to the air of excitement and the euphoric atmosphere of the show. 

To summarise, this was a fantastic, intimate, and truly special gig. Hopefully, there will be plenty more to come from Salem both on record and live. With two Salem EPs and a new Creeper EP (Click for review) in the last 18 months, Will has been a busy guy. Let's hope he continues to keep busy.

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