It is that time of the year. People are buying their presents, arranging new years eves parties… but all I can think about it is… damn! 2021 was a good year for music. I mean, we were delivered some very good albums in these 365 days. It was difficult to come with just 5 this time. I will share my favorite song in each one album, so if you are lazy and just want to invest some minutes in each recommendation I give… well there you go…
1 – Chevelle – Niratias. I remember being at a music festival, I was going with a friend. Chevelle was playing in the secondary stage at the same time as Avenged Sevenfold. He was going to see Chevelle without thinking about it. I was going to see A7X without a doubt about it. That was the first time I remember listening to this band. After that, I had listened to some songs of them but I’ve never got into them really. But Niratias, an acronym of “Nothing Is Real And This Is A Simulation”, really is an album that caught my attention from the first listened, and it definitely grew on me after time listening to it. It is an absolute gem. This is a concept album that talks about interstellar trips. One thing that characterizes this album in my opinion is an explosive approach. You can´t go to sleep while listening to this one because you will headbang automatically. Guaranteed. I liked it so much that I bout my first Chevelle album. In my head this band sounded like a more metal band than Nine Inch Nails… and that is not a comparison to be ashamed of. “Piistol Star (Gravity Heals)” is my favorite here. The amount of energy that is built while listening to this one is impressive.
2 – Tomahawk – Tonic Immobility. Mike Patton has so many projects. I don´t love them all, there are some of them that are not my taste and some of them that I like but I don’t love. Tomahawk is in that category… Or at least that is where it was until this year. Tonic Immobility surpassed all my expectations. IT has really everything. Think about it: singles, hypnotizing guitar fills, hypnotizing guitar solos, badass bass, screaming Mike Patton, romantic Mike Patton, ballads, heavy songs, mindblowing transitions… What else do you have to ask for from this band? This is also my first album from this band. Please if you want to have a better day in your life today listen to the song Tattoo Zero… Trust me.
3 – Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever. When I first listened to When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? for the first time I remember being very impressed with the audio, specifically about the audio layers, the number of effects found in the tracks. The one I remember liking the most, and I still do, is the bass. Then I listened a bit more about Billie’s sound, I found out that her brother was the record producer and my interest increased. When I first listened to Happier Than Ever though, my first impression was not the same. I did not like the album instantly. I remember saying that her first album was the best with a huge margin. And now I´m not so sure about it. This is a more complex album I think. The songs are not ‘‘in your face”, the same level of music production, or even more of it, is here as well, but you have to give this album some time I believe. The song I like the most is Oxytocin, you feel like being in a race car while listening to it.
4 – Volbeat – Servant of the Mind. This that I’m about to say about the Danish band, Volbeat, might sound a bit bad for them. But I have first listened to them at a music festival, Download I think it was, in England, and after that, I saw them again multiple times, they are very popular here in Europe. I like their style, there was nothing that I could say that I dislike about them. And they are very good live. Very good. But I have to say that if you listen to them for an extensive amount of time, I felt kind of boring. Servant of the Mind has a sound that is, in my opinion, more catchy, with better and more explosive transitions. More unexpected transitions I have to say. It still sounds like Volbeat but I think there is something different and good about it. This is the only album on the list that I have not bought yet. But I’m really looking forward to soon. The song I like the most has to be Shotgun Blues. Just like that one starts, you know that good and serious things are coming. And you will like it.
5- Mastodon – Hushed and Grim. Oh boy… Yes, I rarely give my best out of a top 5. But this time there was no close second. The album of the year, for JammingWave, is for sure Mastodon’s latest piece of art, Hushed and Grim is what I like to call a masterpiece. From start to finish, this album is a beast. Peapole is saying that this is a revelation from the band, that this is their best record from Crack The Skye (2009 release). I wouldn´t go that far, Just their previous record, Emperor Of Sand (2017 release) was a good solid album. So Mastodon has been delivering good albums before this one I think. But without a slight doubt, this one is superior on every side. Musically, musically arrangements, new vibes, vocals, transitions… I know, I have said transitions in almost all the albums listed here, but hear me out, this album has some changes that will make your brain slow down for a while. And that takes me to my favorite song from this album, which is “Gobblers of Dregs”, something that Mastodon does very well is to make new sounds but never leave behind what is their legacy sound-tase. That song has that, and it has one of the band’s best transitions. And I’m not talking about out of this album but in their entire discography. Good job Mastodon and thank you for making me believe that life is not data fucked up with all the news we are hearing about. Because when I listen to this one, my mind goes to a place that is far from this planet, and all the worries go away. I have to wait to see if this becomes my favorite album from Mastodon, my first place goes to an old release from them… but let’s wait and see 🙂
That was all, it was a pleasant year for me. I hope it was for you too. I´m pretty sure I´m missing one album from your top. Tell me which one is it bellow, as you could see, I tend to listen to new music very often, and there is no better way to meet a new artist that is directly from you. Have a nice day and see you soon ok?