Mirrors: My Top 10 Albums of 2021

January 16, 2022

This year was the year of heavy music. In 2020, I’d begun to dive into GOJIRA, VOLA, and the metal side of scene. January 2021 saw the release of SOEN’s “Imperial,” (an early 2021 favorite of mine). “Imperial” encouraged me to take my dive below the continental shelf. My dive is reflected in my Album of the Year list top 10: seven are metal albums. Two picks are indie pop; one release is post-hardcore.

A few notable albums landed just outside my choice albums: Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR,” both of Lana del Rey’s releases, Leon Bridges’ recent LP, and KALEO’s sophomore effort. Furthermore, that albums by Mastodon, Lorde, Japanese Breakfast, and Arlo Parks just cleared my top 50 indicates how good 2021 was for music. These top 10 albums represent the music I listened to most or albums that made an immediate impression on me.

10. “Kostolom”, by Slaughter to Prevail (Genre: Deathcore)

“Kostolom” blinked onto my radar in mid-November. By December, tracks like “Made in Russia” (the proud owner of the heaviest breakdown I’ve ever heard) and “Baba Yaga” put it inside my AOTY top 10. How do you make deathcore even more aggressive? Make it Russian and throw a few gunshot sounds in there, complete with bullet casings clinking to the ground.

9. “Eternal Blue,” by Spiritbox (Genre: Metalcore/Alt Metal)

Courtney LaPlante’s beautiful cleans, her terrifying growls, and Mike Stringer’s guitar combined to match the hype leading up to this album’s release - no small feat. “Holy Roller” steps into deathcore territory and just two tracks later, “We Live In A Strange World” is a light ballad. Neither feel out of place or poorly paced. Eternal Blue has been called the greatest metal debut since LINKIN PARK’s “Hybrid Theory.” If that doesn’t suggest how important this album is, nothing will.

8. “Succession,” by She Said Destroy (Genre: Extreme Metal)

This album is raw. It’s full of genre twists - a thrash track opens the album, but it quickly visits the Norwegian woods (for black metal, not Beatles-esque pop) and then swerves to death metal. This was truly a wildcard top 10 album. I love heterogenous albums, and “Succession” nailed it like no other album I heard all year.

7. “Necroceros,” by Axphyx (Genre: Death Metal)

“Necroceros” was an immediate love, and it encouraged me to delve further into death-metal despair. Once I learned what Martin van Drunen was actually singing, I liked the album even more. As a history major, songs about Knights Templars and U-Boat attacks made “Necroceros” even more engaging.

6. “Mercurial World,” by Magdalena Bay (Genre: Indie Pop)

My top 10 is a list of the releases I listened to most during the year; the exceptions are “Succession” and “Mercurial World.” Only one track from the latter and none from the former made the list of my top 100 most-played songs of the year. “Mercurial World” landed #6 because it is a masterclass on perfect transitions and beautiful melodies.

5. “...And I Return to Nothingness” - EP, by Lorna Shore (Genre: Blackened Deathcore)

In contrast to “Mercurial World”’s reason for #6, Lorna Shore’s “To the Hellfire” was my top track of 2021. All three tracks are back-breaking deathcore, so this pick was a shoe-in for my AOTY top 10. “To the Hellfire” broke the top 10 hot tracks on Spotify. Deathcore made it to the masses, thanks to Will Ramos’ performance. He came in as a substitute vocalist. I hope he never leaves Lorna Shore.

4. “Shaman” - EP, by Orbit Culture (Genre: Death/Groove Metal)

I’ve already written about this release, so I’ll keep it short. Every song on this five-track effort was on heavy rotation in 2021. And, even though the release was short, every track sounded different and brought something new to the overall sound.

3. “Fortitude,” by GOJIRA (Genre: Progressive Death Metal)

Everyone has already written about GOJIRA’s 2021 release, so again, I’ll keep it short: “Sphinx” was on repeat, and most of the album made it to my top 100 songs of 2021. Another no-brainer for the AOTY list.

2. “Hellbent,” by Autoheart (Genre: Indie Pop)

If you like pop - particularly indie pop - and you have not listened to Autoheart, you haven’t lived. Their 2013 album, “Punch,” is one of a handful of perfect albums in my book. “Hellbent” doesn’t quite qualify for perfection, but with tracks like “Already Gone,” “I Know That He Loves Me,” and “Older,” it comes close enough for me.

1. “The Greatest Mistake of My Life,” by Holding Absence (Genre: Post-Hardcore)

Forgive me for writing about this again. I know I said I wouldn’t write much about “Shaman,” but for #1, please oblige me an extra sentence or two. The months of August to December were personally and professionally difficult for me. TGMOML was on repeat for much of it. Melody and vocals are vital to me in any release, and Lucas Woodland’s singing is raw, unfiltered, emotional, and impeccable. The lyrical content of TGMOML hits like a train in every track, as is appropriate for an album on grief and pain. It’s albums like TGMOML that remind us life is beautiful. Truthfully, I need to be reminded of that frequently, and that’s why Holding Absence’s “The Greatest Mistake of My Life” is my #1 album of 2021.