Shaun McHugh Top Ten
Having moved back down to the motherland of Kent I have been going to a lot of gigs again. There is one guy who has been on the bill pretty much every time and its Shaun.
Here we go:
This list was made just this morning while I was in the shower milling over all the records that have had an impact on me in life. I feel like I'm missing stuff out but, that's the point of a top 10 only the best make the cut! So, here it is in no particular order.
1. Pig Destroyer - Prowler In The Yard
Everyone who knows me knows that this record is the exact reason I make the music I make and write lyrics I do. There is no better record than this in my opinion. I first heard it when I was just getting into death metal and grindcore. I was exposed to it before then when I saw the album cover at a fairly young age and was so terrified of it that I lost sleep that night because of it. The first time I attempted to actually digest the record Jennifer scared me so much that I never made it passed that point. Finally, after trying and trying to get into it, it just clicked. It was everything i was looking for in music. Fast and aggressive while still being dynamic, it's more than just blast beats 24/7 and riffs that are indescernable from each other. There was groove and at times a strange beauty in the riffs. JR's lyrics had the most profound impact for me though, I always liked things that were a bit more emotional and pretentious. The sadistic lyrics immediatiatlly counteracted with a line about how disgusted in yourself you are is pure genious especially when it is written as poetry. There's a lot of inferring you can do with these lyrics which I love. I could gush about this album for ages but, this has already gone on long enough. My final note is that I did a 15 minute presentation about this album in secondary school so, if that doesn't prove much I love this album I don't know what will. And yes, I got full marks for it thank you... and cemented myself as being even less likeable than people initially thought I was. Go figure.
2. Admiral Angry - Buster
The mix on this album is untouchable. The HEAVIEST album ever made I would argue. Bass guitars strung up as 7 string guitars have quite a mean sound apparently. This album makes me feel both violent and devastatingly depressed at the same time with riffs that pummel you over and over again and screams that are as cathartic as they come. I never really liked sludge I don't quite have the attention span for it but, put a very nu-metal/deathcore rhytmic sense to it while admitting the worst parts of yourself and you have the formula for my god damned wet dreams, man. Insane record it will never stop amazing me. Seriously go listen to this record if you haven't it is unbelievably unique and will never ever be replicated.
3. Black Sheep Wall - Songs For The Enamel Queen
Unsurprisingly the band that shares members from Admiral Angry is also a huge hit for me. While i believe their best song is Metallica, which clocks in at a humble 33 minutes, is their best. This album is definitely the best front to back record they've put out. It has some genuinely interesting song writing and rhythmic sense to it all while having long drawn out sections where the vocalist expresses every detail about his ugly past with alcoholism which almost stopped this record from ever being made. I will always remembering sitting in bed one morning and deciding to put this record on and hearing the section in New Measures of Failure where the song takes a stop to the long droning note and Brandon repeats "I hope I make you embarrassed, I hope you're afraid. I know you'll keep me a secret. I hope you're afraid" to the closing line being "I hope you always hate me" it's enough to make anyone's skin crawl and also doesn't really help with getting out of bed in the morning. But, I can't get enough of albums that make me want to give up and fester in a dark room. There's some comfortability in hearing someone else have the strength to admit their insecurities, shortcoming and the parts of them they hate the most. No matter how bad those parts are. It's what I truly believe music is made for especially extreme music. Perfect album. Avoid if you were planning on doing anything with yourself today.
4. My Chemical Romance - I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
For a change of pace here's a record I think most poeple can get behind. This probably one of the only record's from when I was like, 10, that I still adore to this day. MCR have a really special place for me as I really struggled making meaningful connections with the people around me during school and I was always very lost and confused about everything happening around me. These guys, this record gave me a sense of belonging and truly made me understand how much of a positive experience music was. Now, as someone who loves when styles are combined and bands try and fit in all their influences this record is even more impressive to me. The almost theatrical feeling to it, before that trash called The Black Parade came out, while still clearly being some kids in a basement writing songs they just thought sounded cool is so charming. Drowning Lessons is one of my favourite songs ever as well. Just so fun. Love this record, best record they ever did. Real emo or fake emo I don't care I love flippy black hair and being melodramatically sad.
5. Jeromes Dream - Completed (A Second Grade Art Project onwards only)
This is a bit cheaty I know it's a compilation record but, can you blame me? We're literally talking about the best screamo band EVER here. I always think bands that create a vibe are the best bands ever and oh boy, did these guys make one of those. No one has ever sounded like Jeromes Dream. This is the most unhinged and depressing band ever. Every sample is so perfectly picked to sap all the joy you thought life might have out of you and the lyrics once you read them will stay there implanted in your memory forever. The melodic elements of this band are so interesting to me they are so dissonant and urgent yet still full of sadness and despair and they take that even further at times with parts like the ending to It's More Like A Message To You and Thirty Dollar Bill my personal favourite track, I've spent many hours at 3am listening to that song on repeat outside, smoking a ciggarette, staring and the stars and letting that outro riff envelope me. Nothing FEELS like JD and that's what makes them awesome.
6. Fear Before The March of Flames - Odd How People Shake
Not their best record in my opinion but it is definitely the most important to me personally. I love post-hardcore but now take it and make it a bit weirder much more desperate sounding and just have the worst song structures ever and you have a great record that will hold up forever. The energy on this record is so palpable it's nuts you can tell at the time these kids were hungry and they also displayed that with their live performances. Go Wash Your Mouth Out, I Don't Know Where it's been has one the best lyrics ever "Today I prayed my plane would crash. You'd hear the news. And you'd think of me as much as I've thought of you" It's just so over the top I LOVE IT! The riff in The Lisbon Girls Oh, The Lisbon Girls is so bouncy yet so perfectly odd. This album was repeatedly listened to by me during the worst period of my life so it's kind of hard for me to listen to these days especially once we get to the last track. But, that's why it is here on this list. It has such an impact on me due to the time period i had discovered it in.
7. The Dillinger Escpae Plan - Miss Machine
Let's stop with the miserable "this album is imporatant to me cause I was sad" stuff and just talk about an incredible feat for mathcore. Miss Machine. While Calcuting is nuts I think this record pushes in far more directions which instantly makes it more impressive. New vocalist, at the time, Greg Puciato allowed Dillinger to embrace the ability to write whatever they wanted and say "fuck you this is for us" and turns out that makes for an incredible album. The best track Baby's First Coffin has this amazing clean section where the time signature is shifting every bar and Greg follows the pulse vocally and it's just the strangest form of catchy I've ever heard that in itself is enough for me. But, in all honesty every song comes crashing in as classics and one day people with a taste for finer things in life will get tired of classical and as we all become more decherous as a society this album will be the soundtrack of the bourgeousis. Thankfully, we're not there yet and us heavy music nerds can just gush about this album and see as what it is. True art.
8. The Sawtooth Grin - Cuddlemonster
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
9. Destroyer Destroyer - Littered With Arrows
Vocally this is my favourite album. HUGE inspiration to me having both the super high pitched whistle tone screams and the more human sounding lows. None of this modern deathcore olympics stuff. Not that this is deathcore it is, and say it with me! MATHCORE! I am very predictable. Anyways, you can listen to this record 30 times and still never understand what is going on the barrage of notes on a 7 string really means the clarity isn't quite there and that's a good thing it makes for a much more serious and aggressive sounding mathcore record that just feels like it hates you specifically and it will do everything it can to hurt and confuse you as much as possible. Also this drummer is nuts. R.I.P Jamie Schnetzler.
10. Spamish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
So far I don't think I've heard anyone capture just how depressing modern life is quite like Dylan Slocum has with his lyrics. Pop-punk is very much a young man's game and I think many new records by the big bands of that genre have shown us that once you're over 30 you shouldn't be writing this stuff anymore. However SLS come in swinging showing you that can still write this stuff when you're older you just have to grow up and start talking about things a little bit more seriously instead of remniscing about youyr first kiss on yoyr school's grounds. I think anyone who struggles with the incessant march of our modern life will find comfort in SLS' music having genuinely catchy songs that detail the fact that you struggle to get out of the bed in the morning or stuggle to meet up with friends due to having no motivation for anything as it is ripped out of yoy by all the horrific things going on that feel so out of your control is a good place to sing the blues away. Also, Dolores might be the most painfully sad song ever. Once you learn what it's about you will get goosebumps everytime you hear it. Everytime. I saw them play this album in full live as well and I think that helped cement it as one of my favourite records of all time. I love SLS very very special band in my opinion.