by: Alex (@DiNYeD)As I was talking to Steve, (@MisterJackal), earlier the other day about various things (mainly pertaining to this wonderful product of InnerCityGeeks that we bring to you all), the idea of just presenting our Top 5 Albums & the reasoning behind why so (I was all in on this).Being a Puerto Rican dude from the South Bronx has the foreshadowing of maybe a listing leaning towards the urban side.... I THINK NOT!Growing up in the ghetto & the experiences that I’ve had, pushed me away from that ‘lifestyle’ & going to an art high school in the city (the High School of Art & Design) pushed my taste towards the heavier & hard-hitting genre of music (mostly hard rock & metal).
---With that Warning---
I give to you my Top 5 Albums:
Metallica – Metallica (also known as the Black album)In the early 90s, my sister was dating a man, who years later would become my brother-in-law & give me a wonderful niece & nephew, introduced me to a genre of music that was unlike the forced garbage that was played consistently in my neighborhood. He introduced me to rock music & soon after, pushed to heavier stuff (bands like Black Sabbath, Dio & of course.... Metallica).I must admit that my love of pro wrestling added to me leaning to liking music as such & with ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) making a name for itself during the mid 90s, they used tracks from Metallica on their weekly programming, which at the time, was on late Saturday night/early Sunday morning (on the MSG Network).This album was an album that most hardcore metalheads would say its Metallica’s sell-out album, but to me, this album was a beautiful masterpiece. This album was just great from start to end,.... what more can I say?!
FYI: My favorite Metallica song of all time,.... "The Unforgiven"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHFfR8hWcA&w=420&h=315]White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric HeadDuring my high school years, my schoolmates had various amounts of bands that they listened to & my good friend, Brian Kenny, introduced me to this group & especially, this album.Now, going back to my love for ECW, for those that weren't fans of the promotion or were exposed to it after the WWE buyout, ECW’s original theme for its show was the intro of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails & then cut to White Zombie’s "Thunder Kiss ’65". This got more and more interested in this band!The style of White Zombie wasn't the normal straightforward approach of other bands, they used clips of old horror movies & TV shows in their music to add a sound & flavor that made it stand out more. Rob Zombie, the lead singer of the group, in my opinion, is a real creative genius. A warning to those that haven’t heard Rob or his music.... his lyrics are very out there.Astro-Creep: 2000 is an album that has great replay value & is one album that I normally turn to if I’m out of it & need a quick pick-me-up.
One song that never gets old from this album is: "More Human than Human"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFqBTSvBPAU&w=420&h=315]Static-X - Wisconsin Death TripShortly after graduating high school in 1999 & my nephew, Wilfred Andrew, being born, the first song that I heard from this album was on a radio station that’s sometimes difficult to obtain a signal to listen to.... the Jersey metal station of WSOU!!!
The song was: "I'm with Stupid"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjaTqvJy6cc&w=420&h=315]The vocal styling of Wayne Static was unlike anything I heard at the time & the track just kicked fucking ass! The heavy riffs just added to the pure awesomeness of this song! Days later, I bought the album & played that album out for hours at a time (one of the few albums I can do that with). Start to end, this one is a must!Fear Factory – DemanufactureMy closest friends know that my favorite band of all time is.... Fear Factory! This was another band that my bro from high school, Brian Kenny, introduced me to & from listening to this album, I became a fan of theirs almost instantly. With their powerful riffs & the drumming of Raymond Herrera (favorite drummer, EVER), this band is a band that I couldn't give enough praise to.The single that came off this album, Replica, is great & the video is one of my favorite music videos of all time.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RJsRQOneMY&w=420&h=315]
In my opinion, Burton C. Bell, the lead singer of Fear Factory, is one of my top 5 vocalist (the others include Ozzy Osbourne, Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, Wayne Static of Static-X & Max Cavalera of Soulfly).
Another thing to add is that my favorite Fear Factory song of all time also comes from this album, Self Bias Resistor:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCTies9khqo&w=420&h=315]
Hatebreed – Perseverance
Back in 2002, while going for my BBA in Berkeley College, I met a man who had similarities to myself that we became friends instantly; this individual introduced me to an album from a group that I've never heard of (Hatebreed). He told me to give it a listen & let him know what I thought afterwards,.... this album was fucking unbelievable!The style of this band was that of a motivational speaker, a Mr. Jamey Jasta, in hard-hitting music form; since this band is more hardcore than anything else, some might not get into it (but fuck it, I love it)! All the tracks are like words of encouragement & inspiration. The single of this album, I Will Be Heard, is like an anthem for life & I always say that whenever life has you down, give this song a listen & pay attention to the lyrics (thank you for the introduction of this band, Steve).[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3tmC2f3t0&w=560&h=315]
I personally thank you for giving this a look & please.... feel free to share what your Top 5 Albums are with me (it’s wonderful to learn what makes people musically unique).