What metal albums get you through tough times?
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| by Cosmo Lee |
Your heater’s broke, and you’re so tired.
Which metal albums do you reach for?
The strangest records get me through tough times. You’d think that I’d blast Black Flag or Motörhead — classic hard music for hard times. But, no, sometimes wussy music does the job. And sometimes, as you’ll see below, sometimes it’s just whatever’s at hand.
Here are five records that have kept me going.
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| Mastodon Leviathan (2004) |
I listened to Leviathan a lot in a backpacking trip around Europe that culminated in Morocco. The nautical theme seemed relevant when I crossed over from Spain. Granted, the ferry trip took less than an hour, and was in fact rather comfortable. But I soon felt alone in the most exotic place I’d ever visited. Leviathan feels very American to me. Its twangy tones suggest proggy indie rock gone metal. From reading descriptions of Built to Spill, I imagined that Leviathan was like a metal version of them. (Hearing clips of BtS now, I realize I couldn’t have been more wrong.) In any case, it felt like home.
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| Shadows Fall The War Within (2004) |
You’re traveling alone, living out of a backpack and a diminishing wad of cash. Your backpack is your wardrobe, library, and often your pillow. You carry one and a half changes of clothes, which you wash by hand and dry on a portable clothesline. You rent a room in Marrakech for $30 a day. It’s cold in December. Cats run wild in the streets. The food is strange and makes you sick. You wonder what you are doing there. At night, what do you do? You crank up some anthems and air-guitar your ass off, that’s what!
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| Soilwork Stabbing the Drama (2005) |
This record was sort of a spring fling, the right thing at the right time. It got me through my worst ever work experience. I was working in an office under a boss so bad, the turnover rate in one year was 75%. It was a classic situation of trudging to work and dreading each day. I eventually got the hell out. During that time, I listened to this record almost every day. Its melodies were sweet and unchallenging, precisely the opposite of my work experience. It was just what I needed, even though it’s a pretty bad record.
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| Madball Infiltrate the System (2007) |
My year in Brooklyn was the worst year of my life. Madball helped me get through it. They’re from Queens, and they’re hardcore, not metal, but all that didn’t matter. They had what counted: cojones. Much of this record reminds me of Vulgar Display of Power, which was as uplifting as Pantera got before they descended into Southern nihilism. “Stand Up NY” is straight-up warrior music. The shout-outs to the boroughs at the end recall old-school hip-hop.
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| Archgoat The Light-Devouring Darkness (2009) |
For some time after I got robbed in Brooklyn, my music collection consisted of two albums. Both were by Archgoat. They were what I had on hand. I got to know them well. I haven’t listened to them since. They’ll be my weekend fling I remember fondly years later.
