The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums -20-11

As we continue to delve deeper into our list of the Top 40 Nu-Metal albums, things begin to require a more objective view in order to shed the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, in fact there is only one band that made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

20-Orgy - "Candyass" 1998

Signed to Korn's Elementree Records , this band called their sound death pop, the aggressive more metallic elements sometimes got overshadowed by the dense mix of synths. Johnathan Davis has a guest vocal spot on this album. The bass got thumped enough for them to share the stage other nu-metal bands of the time despite gaining radio traction with their cover of "Blue Monday". 

            

 19- 3teeth -"Metawar" 2019

Not only did this band take the industrial strength grooves of the 90s and polished them up with modern production value, but they made them darker and heavier. The lack of JNCOs and chain wallets, some how makes me able to take this more seriously. These songs bump where most metal today grinds. 

   

 18- Fear Factory- "Obsolete" 1998.

These are the top 40 nu metal albums, not the best albums of every artist represented careers, since "Demanufacture" would be Fear Factory's and many of their fans might wince at theme appearing here. However let me point out that Burton C Bell uses vocals that have an almost rapped cadence. They crossed over into a wider audience with this album  Given when this album was released the grooves went in a direction where metal was heading not against the grain. 

 

 17- Mindless Self Indulgence - "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy" 2000

Jimmy Urine's absurd delivery is accompanied by even more over the top instrumentation that takes punk, dark wave and hip-hop into an almost parodying blender that does what Limp Bizkit did but better and without the frat boy pandering. 

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16- Turnstile - ''Glow On" 2021

The third time prove to be the charm for this band that did what nu-metal had always attempted to achieve in the past, it was genre fluid. Like many nu-metal bands the hard core past of this band gave their dynamic range more punch, but they did not have to tune down to b in order to achieve this. If you stripped the 90s sound of nu-metal of it's Hot Topic trappings the results would be this album. 

   

 15-Strvngers - "Amor / Noir" 2018 

  This album is the antithesis of what Turnstile did on their 2021 album. Instead of stripping away the Hot Topic elements, this duo amplified those. More aggressive and organic than dark wave, the grooves of this album proved to be even more addictive than the heroin sex drenched anthems collected here. 

 

 

14- Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists - 2005 

Take away the mutant chimp sounds and yelling at Mrs. Drainman and you begin to get the idea that these guys were into Judas Priest more than Tool or Korn, but the record label wanted what the record label wanted. This album of anthemic metal bridged traditional metal to nu-metal, even more than Rob Halford did with his TWO side project. The riffs are more ripping for sure .

 

13-Sepultura- "Roots" 1996

The former death metal tinged thrash band was so inspired by where music was heading they infused nu-metal with ode to the tribal roots of the ancestral folk music. The result was something powerful and more gripping than anything that they would do after this. Guest spots from Mike Patton and Johnathan Davis solidified the spot here. 

 

 12- Rage Against the Machine - "Evil Empire"  1996

One of the band's this genre owes perhaps the most to, the created almost Zeppelin like grooves to pummel with their explosive enthusiasm. The most writing was more refined than their debut album and more matured in the expression of anger, with lyrics that make a little more sense, though years later the joke seems to be on their audience as these guys have always been raging for the machine. But the music is fun, so we can pretend they are not. 

 

 11-White Zombie - "Astro Creep 2000" 1995

The band's last album found all the pieces fall into place to create their final form. "La Sexorcisto" grooved but it was rooted in a more Metallica like form of thrash, a change from the band's sludged out crusty punk beginnings. A more  electronic pulse took those grooves to booty shaking new levels. 

the Top 10 Punk/ Hard Core Albums of 2021

Given the state of 2021 it might be surprising that punk did not get angrier this year. Not that I am into political punk. Those albums I gave up on after two songs.  These albums have more passion to them. Two are made by bands that used to be metal bands, along with some post-hard core and screamo all fall into this category. Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top punk / hard core albums of 2021

10-  Face to Face - "No Way Out but Through" 

I have not listened to these guys since the 90s, well at least on a regular basis there might have been a moment of weakness or three where I got nostalgic for this kind of 90s punk or perhaps was making a list for one blog or another that asked me to dip back into these years. Not much has changed and it plays to their favor. The first song with hookier and more melodic than when they default to the faster though more punk sound. This is more of an honorable mention for still being able to hold it down better than most. 

Abysmal Hymns: Face to Face : 'No Way Out but Through"

 

9- Harakiri For the Sky- "Maere" 

I have not really noticed any hard-core influence from these guys before. Not sure if this was a conscious change of direction on their part or not. Not devoid of their metal, it is just weird how right from the first song it sounds like a kind of Myspace take on post-hard core. To think these guys used to be a black metal band and now look at them over on this list. 

Abysmal Hymns: Black Metal History Month- Harakiri for the Sky : "Maere"

8-Panzerchocolate-"Postal Punk"   

New Hampshire band has a punky kick to its sometimes-metallic hard-core attack This is offset by the  more sugary emotive vocals. This band meets somewhere near the crossroads of emo and hard core bringing the late 90s to mind more often than not. 

Abysmal Hymns: Panzerchoclate " Postal Punk"

7-Wristmeetrazor-"Relica of a Strange Love" 

I really liked their first album, so the bar is high for this one. It opens with lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth for at this band's heart they are a hard-core band. A very emotional one. Even if their vision of hard core just goes back to the days of Myspace, I do not think they are faking the darkness here. Not all the songs are metallic and straight forward some touch on odd electronic sonic corners. 

Abysmal Hymns: Wristmeetrazor : " Replica of a Strange Love"

 

6-the Armed - "Ultrapop" 

These guys caught my attention with an absurd music video that just happened to also rock. Their rowdy sound is an all-out barrage that makes me think of what it might sound like if Deafheaven was jamming with Andrew WK. I appreciate the lust with which they go for it here even if it tramples the finer points of song writing. 

Abysmal Hymns: the Armed ; "ULTRAPOP"

5- Fiddlehead -"Between the Richness"

Here is the second album from this post- hardcore band that stirred up a buzz with the modest release of their debut that gained a cult following rather quickly. Falling somewhere between the jangle of 90s indie rock and the guts of hard core, they certainly care about the songs even when the more punk recklessness takes over. Though when that is kept in check with restraint and melody

Abysmal Hymns: Fiddlehead : " Between the Richness"

 

 

4-Angkor Wat - "Worst Enemy" 

 The most under rated thrash band of the late 80s. given the era they came from they do not have to try very hard to be more punk than the kids who want to call themselves punk today. This is the second metal band to make that cross over this year. Their 1990 album "Corpus Christi" was light years ahead of it's time, though both of their albums have held up over the years. They have remained marginally active since 1990, with a few small tours here and there and are now picking up where they left off as the first song rips into you have with razor sharp riffing. It is straighter forward than "Corpus Christi" so owes more to their first album "When Obscurity Becomes the Norm" 

 

Abysmal Hymns: Angkor Wat : "Worst Enemy"

3 Drug Church - "Tawny" 

The four songs on the Albany band's new album are a logical progression from where they left off with 2018's 'Cheer" album. All the things that worked best on "Cheer' are in play here. Where the opener has a more slacker 90s post hardcore sound they are angrier and more driving. They found their sweet spot and I hope they hold on to it. 

Abysmal Hymns: Drug Church - " Tawny"

2-Rid of Me - "Travelling" 

Somehow the fact the singer of Low Dose being in another band slipped past me. At times Rosenberg gets more aggressive with her vocals, the overall sound is burlier and noise rock oriented thanks to the beefy bass tones. At the end of the day the songwriting wins out and vaults them to the top of this list. 

Abysmal Hymns: Rid of Me : "Travelling"

1-Turnstile- "GLOW ON" 

The evolution of this band from hard core to whatever they are now happened from the corner of my eye , but now they have my full attention. In some ways there is a Fugazi vibe from the attack of the vocals. This is combined with a Helmet like punchiness . There is still plenty of room for taunt melodies. Musically they bring in sounds from all over the place. Normally I review albums in real time as I listen to them for the first time. This one is so good I played through it a few times before making it to my computer to write about this

Abysmal Hymns: Turnstile : "GLOW ON"

Turnstile : "GLOW ON"

The evolution of this band from hard core to whatever they are now happened from the corner of my eye , but now they have my full attention. In some ways there is a Fugazi vibe from the attack of the vocals. This is combined with a Helmet like punchiness . There is still plenty of room for taunt melodies. Musically they bring in sounds from all over the place. Normally I review albums in real time as I listen to them for the first time. This one is so good I played through it a few times before making it to my computer to write about this. 

 The speed propelling "Don't Speed" is the first solid sonic commitment to being a punk band that I have heard on this album so far. It kicks around with playful yet forceful energy that is convincing in the emotions it needs to vent. Things continue to get weird on "Underwater Boi" .  It is hard to even classify what genre they are occupying, it reminds me of the Police a little. The guitars return to  a more crunchy groove for "Holiday" . The vocals are also more aggressive. Things build into more of a bounce. I have heard some Bad Brains influence in the bounce of the riffs now I heard some Ramones in the vocals of "Humanoid" .  They get closer to conventional punk with "Endless". The vocals are generally more shouted here. They hooks to "Fly Again" are infectious , perhaps making it my favorite song on the album. 

There is a shoe gazing glaze to "Alien Love Call".  It brings the more recent Deftones to mind. The come back angrier with the more punk "Wild Wrld". 'Dance Off" has a fun stompy groove to it. This creates almost more of a rock in roll feel. There is a more unique stylistic shift much like they do with "Underwater Boi" where it gets hard to neatly file it under any one genre. Progressive hard-core?  Then they are back with more straightforward hard core on "TLC"  the chant of  "I want to thank you/ for letting me be myself" is a nice touch. It ends with the more aggressive with atmospheric blend found  "LonelyDezires".  I will give this album a 10, they hit all the right spots with this one.