Back in the Saddle

I love music, but i thought it would be too hard to write my 13 favourite albums (it would basically be Metallica, Weezer and Alice in Chains probably) so here are my favouirte 13 albums of the last decade. I also decided to only include one album per band. Enjoy

System Of A Down – Toxicity
Would make my top 13 albums of all time. When it first came out I listened to this album all the time. I only took it out of my portable CD player to put it in my home stereo, it’s a masterpiece. Their debut album was brilliant, it was the sound of a band who came from an insane asylum. Toxicity was the sound of band that was taking that asylum sound and make it more accessible, and in that way it was better. Chop Suey is the song that took the band to the big dance, but the album doesn’t have a song that would be rated under 5 stars on a 5 star rating system. I miss this band.

Audioslave – Audioslave
Rage Against the Garden was almost a wet dream for me. I loved Soundgarden (I’ve written a blog about Chris Cornell) and my brother had really gotten me into Rage Against the Machine. I hadn’t heard a song of this aldum but I bought it straight away and was not disappointed. Cochise was pure Rage meets Garden but as songs went past they sounded more like their own band. They broke up after 3 albums and I weren’t too bothered because it has giving me back their two original bands back to the world. That’s fine with me.

Weezer – The Green Album
In the summer of 2001 I did my GCSE’s. I didn’t revise much and I didn’t do that well. There was probably two reasons why I didn’t do any revision for the biggest moment at that time:
I was told I could still go to college and do the course I wanted even if I messed up my exams.
I was too busy listening to the Green Album.
My brother got me this album and I listened to it about 5 times a day throughout the summer. Weezer are my second favourite band and this may well be my favourite albums of the band. It’s the best album under 40 minutes (that includes Slayer’s Reign in Blood) and I always visit it again in the summer. It’s my favourite thing about the summer, listening to a lot of Weezer (and my girlfriend’s birthday of course)

Metallica – Death Magnetic
My favourite band ever. I’ve written a lot of times about Metallica so I don’t need to say how great they are. Death Magnetic may be my third favourite Metallica album, and that’s a big thing to say. I got the special edition of the album, which came in a white cardboard coffin box and I think it just adds to the listening pleasure. From the classic sounding intro of This is Just your Life, to the radio friendly Cyanide and the first single The Day that Never Comes, it is a classic Metallica sounding album that spans most of the music from their career. People say that this is Kirk Hammett’s album and I think that plays down how great the rest sound on this album.

Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
My brother likes going to concerts but he never really isn’t someone who gets animated in his excitement at going, but he was for Alice in Chains. I was excited too but you can’t forget about the big elephant in the room that the band no longer had Layne Staley on singing duties. After that concert I was amazed at how good William Duvall and had no concerns about a new album. The album is like a new era for the bad. It still has that sound but it’s seems slightly more positive (not that the band have cheered up lyric wise). I’m glad they done the album and I can’t wait for their next tour so I can hear some of these songs live.

AFI – Sing The Sorrow
I first heard AFI when I saw The Offspring live in 2000 at Wembley Arena (I hate that place) and was very impressed. I then had to wait three years for them to release new material. Their previous albums were very much punk albums in the vein of the Misfits. Sing The Sorrow was a massive direction change and it paid off big time. The fanbase deservedly grew to millions and the epic had an epic sound. People always say a band going too mainstream is a bad thing but that’s bullshit and it definitely is in the case for AFI. Love this album.

Thrice – Artist in the Ambulance
I love Thrice. They are a band that I think deserve a lot of success because they are doing something different to everybody else, yet they could only muster modest sales. That doesn’t bother me though because I think they are fantastic and Artist in the Ambulance is their finest hour to my ears. It has the mellow moments but when it was heavy, it was very heavy. Also, by buying this album, 15% of the money goes to a charity. This band doesn’t make much money, yet give a chunk of their money to charity. That’s classy.

HIM – Dark Light
I love HIM, but when this album came out I really loved them. This isn’t my favourite HIM album but when it came out I listened to it a lot and I think that merits a mention in this list. It is a really great album and it definitely got them out to a bigger market and it’s easy on the ears. Plus it has Vampire Heart, Under the Rose and Killing Loneliness, which is 3 of my favourite HIM songs.

Jack’s Mannequin – Everything in Transit
There was a band called Something Corporate, that I got into because they were compared to Weezer. They were good but they split up, and the singer, Andrew McMahon started Jack’s Mannequin and they were better. This album is all about him being dumped by his childhood sweetheart (they are now back together and happily married) It’s a really chilled out album and I love it. Not much to say really.

Blink 182 – Take Off your Pants and Jackets
I was 15 years old when this came out, I was really into Punk at the time and this album to me was really underrated at the time. The album is immature, it’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s got craft craftsmanship and it flows brilliantly. Some people are embarrassed to say they like Blink, but if Rock Show came on, they will love it! I saw them live in 2003 and I thought they were pretty rubbish.

Korn – Untouchables
This was a much hyped album in my teenage years, even I had been waiting three years for it to be released, and when it finally came out in 2002 it didn’t disappoint. To me this album is up there with the debut album. I love this album and it was well worth the wait. I saw them live later in the year and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been too and I loved that it concentrated on this album. I really need to listen to this album now.

Foo Fighters – In your Honour
I always liked the Foo Fighters but I never thought they had done a great album. Then when they released One by One it was very good. It had the worst songs of their career. They follow up that album with their finest moment. In your Honour to discs, one consists of the radio-friendly rock that they do better than anybody else and a second acoustic disc. Both CDs would stand up as a great album on their own, but both together make it a highlight. The Foos will make more great songs in the future but I’m convinced they’ll never top this album, and that’s not a bad thing.

Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
Some people will tell you that Pearl Jam are currently enjoying a second wind in their career. It’s true but I would go further and say that Peal Jam’s self titled album might even be the best thing they’ve ever recorded. I love early Pearl Jam, but this album starts off with the first 5-6 songs bursting with the venom they had back in the day, and mellows out at the end to a fitting finale to a great album. It took me a long time to realise how great this band are, but I’m glad I did.