Recollection - Jesper Johansson Jungermark (Young Mountain/Nathan Aeli/Raft)

This is the first instalment of my "Recollection" series for 2019. For those of you who aren't familiar with this feature, I started it a year or so ago by asking if friends in bands would like to contribute their top-ten album list for inclusion on the blog. This one comes from Jesper Johansson Jungermark, who plays guitar and provides vocals in Swedish post-hardcore band Young Mountain (amongst others). I hope you enjoy checking this out and thanks to Jesper for submitting it:

Artist: Björk

Album name: Vespertine

Judging from previous releases by Björk i find this album to be one of her more ”complete albums”, by that i mean that from when the first track sets the mood and scenery, and to where the last track finishes it all, i feel like there’s been a pure course of flow. The whole album just keeps on pushing towards the end, ties it all together in the same musical landscape. I listen to almost all her albums, but sometimes she hits really high and she hits really low. An example for this in my opinion is for instance the difference between songs like ”Big Time Sensuality” and ”Venus As A Boy”. I find Björk peaking when she explores the more raw emotions of separation/loss/heartache as she seams to do on this album. ”Vespertine” is a little bit more arctic and fragile than her other works, ethereal vocal melodies and frosty clings sound through all of the tracks. Imagine being locked in a icy cave watching how the universe gives birth to the world, you’re content with being locked in and you’re amazed by this form of creation. I know i wouldn’t want to leave. 

Favourite songs: Hidden Place, It’s Not Up To You, Pagan Poetry & Aurora.

Artist: Massive Attack 

Album: Mezzanine 

Electro avant-garde legends, they sat a new bar for all electro-related music once mezzanine came to be. The ambience, the beats, this mystic soundscape in a whole gives me the impression of something futuristic yet occult at the same time. The craftsmanship and delivery of each track is astonishing, they know just when to lay back and when to demolish your forehead with a giant wall of progressive sound. 

Favourite songs: Angel, Inertia Creeps, Black Milk & Mezzanine

Artist: Converge 

Album: When Forever Comes Crashing

Despite the production and critique the album has gotten over the years i still cherish this album. Converge where so early with everything and basically laid out tunes that weren’t thought of in sense of style and to this day almost every album is timeless. Countless bands still gets influences from these monoliths, and the riff god from God City. This album could’ve easily been released on Zegema Beach Records or Middle Man Records this year, that’s still how relevant these songs are. 

Favourite songs: My Unsaid Everything, The High Cost of Playing God, Towing Jehovah & Year Of The Swine

Artist: Cult Leader 

Album: A Patient Man

Crush me with a bulldozer and boil my remains. That’s how i feel on the opening track. The course of this album is so violent and horribly gloomy that i would’nt want to be left alone with it for more than one listen a day. This album haunts my very soul with it’s presence. I have not, until now, heard an album more thick and destructive than this. The soundscape brings a rich tone and such a great variety of drum patterns that you’ll feel like you’ve been eating lard your whole life only to realise that there’s something even more thicker to stuff your mouth with. Not to mention, the vocals will straight up drag you to hell and have it’s way with you and a deeply sharpened switchblade. 

Favourite songs: I Am Healed, Isolation In The Land of Milk And Honey, to: Achlys & Craft of Mourning

Artist: Underoath 

Album: Define The Great Line 

Channelling my inner emo energy, this is peak performance of emo/post-hardcore. I have nothing more to say regarding this release. 

Favourite songs: In Regards to Myself, You’re Ever So Inviting, Moving For The Sake of Motion & Writing On The Walls. 

Artist: David Bowie 

Album: "Heroes" 

Experimental and catchy is how a lot of these tunes go on, it might not be the most well put together album I’ve heard but i enjoy the whole vibe. David Bowie was, and is still, one of my biggest influences in terms of change. It’s so impressive how he could walk between all these different stage persona's and musical styles and still be considered as singular artist in the eye of the public. 

The production, in consideration of the year it was released, is on-point and charming. If you listen to each song and just consider them separate works then i’d say that they shine the most, but as a whole i’d say that the album is divided in two parts like a theatre play. The first act captivates your interest and the second act is more for relaxing expect for the end track. 

Favourite songs: The Beauty And The Beast, Joe The Lion, Heroes & Sense Of Doubt.

Artist: Amia Venera Landscape 

Album: The Long Procession 

Post-metal with ambience at it’s best. This whole album reeks of wonderful melodies, the songwriting is fantastic and you never know where it’ll take you. The only thing that could’ve done this album better would’ve been if the vocalist had a bigger range. It sometimes can get a bit monotone, but the again, it allows the instruments to take more room and shine. So I’m abit divided on this thought. How the chords shift between hard-hitting metal, mathy equations and lush screamo/skramz just get me every time. 

Favourite songs: Empire, A New Aurora, My Hands Will Burn First & Nicholas.

Artist: Intohimo 

Album: Failures, Failures, Failures & Hope 

This album might be the reason why i got involved in screamo/hardcore. To this day i have never encountered a more honest and raw collection of songs. I still know them all by heart. All the riffs and melodies just run away in a catch-and-release formation, it’s like your being chased but no one really catches you. You just keep running from your paranoia of being followed but when you turn your head there’s really nothing there, it’s just you. 

Favourite songs: Dear Lisa, This Winter, The End Of Everything, Too Many Failures & The Difference Between...

Artist: Mac Miller 

Album: Watching Movies With The Sound Off

This is one of the first rap-related albums I got into when i was younger. Even though I can’t stand for all the edgy lyrics today i can still really enjoy the beat works and some of the songs really touch me. The album as a whole questions reality/death/love and friendships, how fast people can disappear and how fast people can enter your life. I feel like alot of rappers don’t go that personal, they usually just work around the money/hustle/sex image and whenever a rapper goes to long in that sector it can easily get boring in my opinion. Mac Miller sometimes dwell in that stuff as well, but when he goes outside of that box the tunes really shine. 

Favourite songs: I’m Not Real, I Am Who Am, Objects In The Mirror, Red Dot Music, Someone Like You & Youforia 

Artist: Lana Del Rey 

Album: Born To Die 

One of the biggest persona's in the current mainstream game, ever since this album came out I’ve been looking forward for another album in the same style, sadly she only went on to create more smooth/jazzy sounds, not bad at all, but that’s not what i loved most in her music. This album has it all, love/anxiety/childhood memories/happiness and crippling darkness. For such a big pop act to release an album which circles round death as a theme, and to get so much critical acclaim, I’m really glad that reached the light of day. 

Favourite songs: Off To The Races, Diet Mountain Dew, Dark Paradise, This Is What Makes Us Girls & Lolita

Honourable mentions: 

Mitski - Puberty 2

Bon Iver - 22, a million 

Night Lovell - Concept Vague

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange 

Suffocate For Fuck Sake - Blazing Fires...

Sore Eyelids - For Now 

The National - Sleep Well Beast 

St. Vincent - Masseduction 

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Check out Jesper's bands below:-

Young Mountain - https://www.facebook.com/youngmountainSWE

Nathan Aeli - https://www.facebook.com/ndotaeli/

Raft - https://www.facebook.com/raftswe/

Recollection - Brandon (American Standards)

It's been a little while since I last posted one of these features. I put the word out last week to ask if people were interested in submitting their top-ten's and Brandon popped up. American Standards are still promoting the release of their latest album "Anti-Melody" and we've been speaking about a few bits & pieces, so don't expect this to be last post to feature Brandon or the band (spoiler alert!). For now though, I hope enjoy reading about the albums that have influenced him:-

Pantera - “Vulgar Display Of Power”

At this time in my life I was still heavily influenced by the musical tastes of my older brother. So while Beastie Boys And Rage Against The Machine were on constant rotation, Pantera was the band that first turned me on to more extreme metal.

Deftones - “Adrenaline” 

There was no escaping Nu Metal if you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s. It was the counter culture that somehow seeped its way into the mainstream and Deftones were possibly my first exposure to it. When getting into actually playing music, Adrenaline made me realize that you didn’t have to shred like Dimebag on guitar to write a good song.

System Of A Down - “Self-Titled”

Worm-holing deeper into Nu Metal, System Of A Down were possibly one of my favorite bands of that time. They made me realize that heavy music could still be fun and have an impactful message.

MewithoutYou - “A->B Life”

Much like Deftones did for guitar, MewithoutYou made me realize that a frontman could really carve out his own unique style in the scene. Both lyrically and in the delivery, MewithoutYou became a band that I felt always stood out on any show line up but was still respected by all.

Refused - “The Shape Of Punk To Come”

Refused is the band that planted the seeds for what was to become American Standards. They unabashedly made their message the forefront of the band and did so while taking chances musically by blending many elements. 

Alexisonfire - “Self-Titled”

I was a huge fan of Saetia, Orchid and Pg. 99, so naturally the “Self-Titled” Alexisonfire album felt like it carried that torch through the early 2000s. The album was raw, underproduced and wore it’s heart on its sleeve.

Poison The Well - “The Opposite Of December”

This was another album that was very emotionally driven. I think the dichotomy between the lyrics and music really struck a chord for me. I also had a PTW shirt that I probably wore 4 out of 5 days a week in high school.

Every Time I Die - “Hot Damn”

I was a huge fan of lyrical content and hammer on riffs so naturally after hearing Hot Damn, Every Time I Die quickly become one of my favorite bands. The spastic song structures and tongue in cheek delivery were a big influence on American Standards. It was also that absence of the tough guy mentalities commonly seen in heavy music that won me over.

Norma Jean - “Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child” 

Heavily distorted vocals and a sound that came  synonymous with diminished guitar chords; what more could you want? It was an added bonus that Aaron Weiss from MewithoutYou was also featured on this album.

Gallows - “Grey Britain”

“Grey Britain” by Gallows made me remember what I loved about Refused. It had the same urgency while also having a sharp pop sensibility for such a heavy album.

Amercian Standards' new album "Anti-Melody" is available now and you can buy it digitally and on cd via their bandcamp page below:-

I will have a review up next week, which will also include an interview, so keep checking back. Brandon has also sent me an end-of-year list, which I'll posting up in a couple of weeks time. Thanks once again to Brandon for taking the time to send this list in.

American Standards - https://www.facebook.com/AmericanStandards/

Recollection - Andy (Arkless)

(Photo Credit: Arkless Facebook page)

Here's a new instalment of "Recollection" from Andy of Arkless. I reviewed their 2016 self-titled LP a while ago. The thing that I really enjoy about these features is that no single one is the same in terms of albums that contributors pick. This list from Andy is no different with quite a lot of variation. I hope you enjoy it and thanks goes to Andy for taking the time to write it.

The Van Pelt - "Sultans of Sentiment"

Definitely my favourite record of all time, the most hypnotically beautiful album I've ever heard and one that seems just as fresh today as the first time I heard it maybe 15 years ago.

Flux of Pink Indians - "Strive To Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible"

Encapsulates everything I love about punk, the most blisteringly angry but equally eloquent and thoughtful record of its generation. 

Fugazi - "The Argument"

'Repeater' was the first Fugazi album I bought, aged something like 14 and bought on CD from HMV on the premise of "I think I'm supposed to like these guys" when my favourite bands at the time were Green Day and AFI. It never really clicked with me at the time, but in the years that followed I grew to love Fugazi like few other bands. It's a hard choice but "The Argument" is the one I go back to most so it gets the spot in my top 10.

Yaphet Kotto - "The Killer Was in the Government Blankets"

Probably the best band that came out of mid 90s emo, an absolutely unrelenting record.

Party of Helicopters - "Mount Forever"

A lot of good memories associated with this record - it's super tied up to two of the most important in my life for a variety of reasons for me so as well as being an incredible record this goes in as sentimental pick in a lot of ways. 

The Cure - "Disintegration"

The album of choice for anyone who is still holding on to the 14 year old goth in them.

Wilderness - "Vessel States"

When members of a band you loved (Don Martin 3) make a new band you always get excited, when they release an amazing first album it's great but when they top it with an even better second album that is such a rare thing I find it hard to believe this album even exists. No one else sounds like Wilderness. What a band.

Talking Heads - "Speaking in Tongues"

There's not really many Talking Heads records I don't love so it was difficult to choose just one, but this has my number one favourite song of all time This Must Be The Place on it so there you go.

I Hate Myself - "3 songs"

I can't really think of another band that actually got progressively better throughout their records and went out on a high. Their final record and their best. An absolutely heartbreaking set of songs.

Mount Eerie - "No Flashlight"

I love everything Phil Elverum has done, he has a really unique voice and perspective and his approach to creating art is something I find super inspiring. This was the first of his records I heard and still the one I go back to the most.

You can stream Arkless' self-titled record below:-

It's also available to purchase digitally above and there are links to buy the physical record there as well.

Arkless - https://www.facebook.com/arklessband/

Thanks once again to Andy for taking the time to write this list for me and if you want to submit one, please do get in touch via the contact form on here or via tnio@outlook.com.

Recollection - Dan (Underdark)

(Photo Credit: Underdark's Facebook Page)

It's been well over a month since my last "Recollection" instalment. There's been no reason for the bizarre gap other than I've been busy and haven't been able to actively seek out new contributors. Thanks to previous contributor (and all round good dude Shaun from TIMNTOY/Yuri etc.), who shared his list on social media again recently, interest has picked up once more. This latest list comes from Dan, who is part of Nottingham-based black/noise/screamo quintet Underdark. Enjoy...

The Smiths – "Meat is Murder"

My all-time favourite record. Everyone who remotely knows me knows that Morrissey is my all time favourite artist (not as much as it used to be cause he’s a bit of a racist bell-end nowadays). Out of everything he’s done, this stands miles above anything.

Oasis – "Definitely Maybe"

Going to say that this is the best debut record ever made. Can’t pick a single fault with it. Every song is a banger in it’s own right. The first 2 records they did are both flawless, but this takes the gold.

Slayer - "Reign in Blood"

This is the record that properly got me into metal. When I was 13 I used to listen to the usual bands like Slipknot, System of a Down Etc, then my uncle gave me a copy of this. Dave Lombardo’s drumming was very inspirational towards my early drumming days (much to the annoyance of my very patient tutor).

Converge – "Jane Doe"

Quite possibly my first foray into hardcore/extreme music. Soon as I heard Jacob Bannon’s opening screams on Concubine it cemented me as fan for life. Afterwards my outlook on music was changed for the better, & paved the way for about 95% of the music I listen to now. I was very lucky to have watched Converge play "Jane Doe" in it’s entirety last year at Roadburn festival with my better half. One of the best moments of my life watching that.

American Nightmare – "Year One"

Having discovered Hardcore through Converge, American Nightmare were one of few bands to grip me on the same level as Converge did. American Nightmare to me are basically the Smiths playing triple the speed with mosh parts. The "Year One" compilation stands out to me the most, as I love the rawness/youthful energy you can hear from the recordings.

Integrity – 'Humanity is the Devil"

Thanks to Converge once again, I saw Integrity support them the first time I went to watch them. Perfect metallic hardcore record. Name a harder song than Vocal Test. I’ll wait...

Rancid – "...And Out Come The Wolves"

No explanation needed really. Another record that has banger to banger from start to finish. Perfect summer music.

Nine inch Nails – "The Downward Spiral"

Forever in awe of Trent Reznor. Incredible songwriter. This album made me start to take electronic music seriously (as a teen, my mindset was: if it wasn’t metal it was probably bollocks).

Deafheaven – "Sunbather"

You could see this coming from a mile away. I didn’t get this record at all when I first heard it & took a lot of listens before it clicked. If it wasn’t for this record Underdark wouldn’t exist.

Dawn Ray’d – "A Thorn A Blight"

Again if you know me, you’ll know how much I harp on about Dawn Ray’d. These guys get more listens out of me than Morrissey on a regular basis. Anarchist Black metal without all the nonsense Black metal usually entails. Respect how they practice what they preach with their political beliefs. Best current band in the UK. 

You can stream Underdark's debut EP "Mourning Cloak" via their bandcamp below, where it's available to buy on various formats:-

Thanks very to Dan for writing this.

Underdark - https://www.facebook.com/Underdarkuk/

Recollection Part 2 - Nick (The Communion/Crisis Actor/Mouth Of Maggots/Tunnel Nun)

About a month ago, I posted up an article by Nick from The Communion, where he talked about his favourite record of all time. Since that post went up, he's written back to me with a top-ten that he calls "Top Ten Records You've Never Heard But Should". So without further ado here's the list  and apologies for the delay in publishing it.

Anal Birth - “Mutilated Infant”

I don't go to parties often, but when i do i make sure my Anal Birth t-shirt is pressed and ready for the shindig. On a serious note: Adam Rotella is the only musician on Long Island that matters.

Visceral Evisceration - “Incessant Desire For Palatable Flesh”

Gothic Death Metal in the vein of Paradise Lost, Tiamat, and the like.... only about literally cutting up and eating human vaginas.

Brobdingnagian - “TortureStainedDisaster” 

Black noise sludge mutants. Makes Burmese sound well adjusted and emotionally considerate. 

Brute Chant - “Killer Each Of You” 

A must for fans of surrealistic progressive death metal ala Demilich, Pyrrhon, Artificial Brain, Pillory, Disharmonic Orchestra, and the like.

Desalvo - “Mood Poisoner”

The greatest AmRep release not released by AmRep. 

Undinism - “Born With An Erection” 

Mondo perverse grindcore from the world's greatest grind community; Australia. 

Cut Your Throat - “S/T” 

Unspeakably vicious grind from Greece. 

Thoughts Of Ionesco - “A Skin Historic” 

90s hardcore taken to the kind of depths of pure intensity only found on the heaviest moments of Swans first few releases. 

Kickback - “No Surrender” 

I've heard fewer records more violently discomforting than this, especially in the "dark hardcore" subgenre. 

Born Without A Face - “Worship” 

The embodiment of the transition between DRI's crossover and Rorschach's metalcore. 

Thanks again to Nick for sending this list in. I'm definitely going to check these recommendations out. Links to his bands are below:-

The Communion Bandcamp - https://thecommunion.bandcamp.com/

Crisis Actor Bandcamp - https://crisis-actor.bandcamp.com/releases

Mouth Of Maggots Bandcamp - https://maggotsmaggotsmaggots.bandcamp.com/

Tunnel Nun Bandcamp - https://tunnelnun.bandcamp.com/

The Communion Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/THE-COMMUNION

Crisis Actor Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/crisisactorgrind

Tunnel Nun Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TUNNEL-NUN