13 Best Rock and Metal Albums Of 2021: great music from a not-so-great year.
I feel like every time I do yearly-best-of’s, I have to comment about how great music made a shitty year more bearable. Welp, 2021 was certainly another year that was pretty fucking terrible, when we desperately needed as many sonic escape routes as we could take.
Luckily, the year did provide a cathartic and propulsive soundtrack in the realms of metal and alt-rock, and here are our pick of the 13 best.
But I should add a caveat: between my day job and family duties, I didn’t get to check out as much music as I would normally like to, and there were some pretty big MVP releases that I’m still getting around to, so this list may change a bit if I have a chance to backtrack later on. In lieu of that, I’ve listed several of them in the honorable mentions section.
If you’d like to own any of these releases, simply click on the album image to preview and purchase on Amazon.
Without further ado:
15. Gost Rites of Love and Reverance
Gost dial up the Goth angst on their latest release, resulting in a caustic, hypnotic and unflinching slab of synthwave.
14. Monolord Your Time To Shine
Monolord marry desert rock stoner swagger with the mythos and folklore of their Swedish roots, and the end result is metal done with grace and a deft touch.
Click here for my full review.
13. Mastodon Hushed and Grim
Mastodon have never been a band to back away from a challenge, and on their Herculean double-album they dive into every facet of their sound, from their most accessible anthemic metal to unforgiving prog workouts.
12. The Darkness Motorheart
The UK rockers continue their prolific street with this infectious slice of stomping arena rock, spiked with their ever present good humor.
11. Monster Magnet A Better Dystopia
Usually cover albums aren’t picks for best-of-the-year lists, but Monster Magnet redefined the format by choosing obscure retro stoner tracks that are eerily fitting in the never-ending shitshow that was 2021.
Click here for my podcast interview with frontman Dave Wyndorf discussing the new album.
10. CHVRCHES Screen Violence
CHVRCHES came out swinging on their latest release, making it the best album of their career, topped off with collaborations with the likes of The Cure’s Robert Smith and composer/filmmaker John Carpenter (more on him in a bit).
9. Ministry Moral Hygiene
Ministry were in somewhat of a funk during the 2010’s, but Moral Hygiene saw them renewed and hungry for the new decade, with one of their most immediately accessible efforts to date. Al Jourgensen always excels in times of political unrest, and his take on the Donald Trump political hangover is excellently acidic.
8. King Woman Celestial Blues
Bruising yet beautiful, King Woman’s latest was the perfect stew of melancholic balladry and crushing doom metal, casting a dark, occult and masterful spell.
7. John Carpenter Lost Themes III: Alive After Death
The maestro of sinister synths returned with the third edition of his Lost Themes series, conjuring ominous, hook-laden soundtracks for the mind. His score for Halloween Kills wasn’t too shabby either.
6. Steve Kilbey and The Winged Heels The Hall of Counterfeits
The Church frontman went full bore on this double album collection that indulges all his wonderful idiosyncrasies and lyrical gifts with exotic instrumentation and a raw and intimate vibe.
5. Robin Guthrie Pearldiving
On his first full length album in many years, the influential dream pop progenitor conjures soothing soundscapes with his inimitable lush, evocative style.
Click here for my podcast interview with Guthrie discussing the new album.
4. Melvins Working With God
In addition to putting out a three-disc collection of acoustic tracks, Melvins returned with Working With God, a gnarly, snarling, lovely dose of low-end fury like only they can deliver.
3. Failure Wild Type Droid
Failure continue their reunited winning strength on their latest. Even if more economic and less sprawling than past efforts, the songwriting and production remains unparalleled for their unique brand of anthemic space rock.
2. Deafheaven Infinite Granite
True confession: I’ve never really cared for Deafheaven. Their miasma of black metal and shoegaze always felt ill-fitting to my ears. But on their latest they (mostly) abandon the metal and go full alt-rock, and the result sounds like some undiscovered gem excavated from the 90s, (think a more muscular version of Slowdive). And I mean that in the best possible way.
1. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Carnage
Nick Cave has always favored stark sonics, but on this collaboration with Bad Seeds handmade Ellis, he goes even further with minimalism, combining electronics and organic instrumentation to support his dusky lamentations.
Honorable Mentions:
Here are a few releases that I’m still playing catch-up with. But it’s all been pretty stellar so far, and I feel safe giving these a plug, even if I haven’t had time to fully soak them all in.
