Top 5 - Paul Hanson
1) Destroyed by Anger, Destroyed By Anger (Vulture). Energetic, catchy, yet heavy, riffs. Thought-provoking and intelligent lyrics. Destroyed By Anger avoidsd cliches and have produced a monster record.
2) Nadir, Rust (Self-Released). Based in New Zealand. I like the blend of Pantera and Crowbar in their style. There is also hints of Alice in Chains for an 'alterny' feel. Yet when the vocalist says, "Fuck you," you know he's serious.
3) Dead Lazlo's Place, Lonely Street (New Red Archives). I listened to a lot of punk this year, a lot of it excellent. No matter how excellent the other releases were (or weren't in Rancid's case), I keep coming back to the no frills, no flashy musicianship of DLP. I think 5 years from now this disc will be getting the same number of spins it gets now, which is a lot.
4) Suicide Culture, Suicide Culture (Self-Released). Call it what you will. I got this disc and hadn't taken it out of my disc player two weeks later. I'm not certain whether this band will be able to break into the mass mainstream market but if talent and songwriting are the determining factor, this band should be a household word in a couple of years. I like the trio environment, which lets the three musicians play off each other.
5) Substance D, Black (F.A.D. Records). Along with labelmates Pissing Razors, Substance D is part of a new breed of metal. The heavy metal here is stifling, mind-boggling and amazing, wrapped up into one. The band’s talent is immediately noted on the first listen. I can listen to this forever and pick up something new each time.
