COLUMN: Aaron Osborne (I Exist)

Killyourstereo.com continues its new column based component today where we give musicians freedom to offer a unique, personal and individual voice.

I Exist guitarist Aaron Osborne offers the second entry in his monthly column.

The musician touches on significant metal albums across the years.

“Age of Bootcamp”

Or,

Five Metal Albums I think you should listen to immediately if you are between the ages of Birth and 30. (If you’re older than that, you’ve heard them or don’t care).

Seemingly in the circles I socialise in, over the past year or so people I know (who in the past haven’t given too much thought to the ever brutal world of Metal) have started listening to bands and finding an interest in some different types of Metal. I’m excited that the music I love is getting a flogging amongst people of a more punk or hardcore persuasion, but I feel that some people are getting led down a few dangerous routes with their choices. So this is essentially a “Hey, I’ve been down that road dude, and it gets pretty lame, pretty quick.” type of conversation and a way to give people (who for some reason want my dumb opinion?) a bit of a nudge in the right direction (this is my column, I’m allowed to say what is the right direction…suckaz).

So in no particular order, listen to the following releases, and then check out the bands further if you’re into it, then look at the bands they influenced and those that influenced them, shit gets pretty, pretty, pretty cool.

Eyehategod – ‘In The Name of Suffering’

This is a no brainer for me. Eyehategod are my favourite band and basically anything you have ever heard in an I Exist song, was in one way or another bastardised from one of their songs, riffs or ideas. “Suffering” isn’t my favourite of their albums, but it is fantastic, and it was their first. The opening track is a punch in the face from the get go, and as the album progresses it just gets dirtier, heavier and more messy and that rules. This style of music doesn’t need to be technical or fast if it doesn’t feel like it, it can be stoned and pissed off and still be killer.

Terrorizer – ‘World Downfall’

This album gets a lot of praise for being a very influential grindcore album, which it certainly is, however I just think it’s a great record to listen to if you want to get into harder, faster and heavier death metal. Killer vocals, speedy, brutal drumming and fantastic riffs make this album for me. Fast parts are fast, heavy parts are heavy, its sloppy at times and kinda sounds like it could fall over at any minute from going so quick and the whole thing is pissed off, all big ticks for me. Dudes from this band were/are in Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Lock Up and Brujeria, so…y’know, they know what they’re doing.

Christbait – ‘Dirtypunkmutha’

I don’t really know how to describe this album; it’s got killer heavy parts, great bluesy-sludge parts, some fast blasty/grindy bits, a couple great swirly guitar bits and awesome yelling on it. It is simply an Australian Metal classic in my opinion. It influenced a lot of bands and people that I have subsequently either played in bands with or look up to as local musical heroes and it couldn’t be more up my alley really. A great mix of everything I love about Stoner Rock guitar playing, death metal/grindcore brutality and the heavy belting of Sludge. Listen to it, and then listen to The Ruiner from Melbourne, dudes from this band are in that one. COOL!

Carnivore – ‘Retaliation’

Do you use the popular website Tumblr? Do you know people who recently became goths? Then you have probably heard of Type O Negative or at least seen brooding photos of their singer Peter Steele. Carnivore is the band that Mr. Steele was in prior to starting Type O, and they were fantastic. This record is fast as hell and also slow and heavy at times, it’s a brilliant mix of hardcore, punk and metal and what would eventually end up becoming sludge. Bands like Crowbar, Eyehategod and Buzzoven probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Carnivore being drunk and sloppy all over a recording in the mid 80s. Listen to this, another pissed off classic – are you starting to understand now what I like about metal and think you should like? Heavy, mad, multi-tempo stuff? Good.

Suffocation – ‘Human Waste’

Another no brainer, Suffocation are my favourite death metal band, and this release and its follow up, ‘Effigy of the Forgotten’ are the reasons why. This is their first EP and showcases some of their best early-riffing and song writing. Three songs off this release would later go on to be on ‘Effigy’ and two others would later be recorded for other albums. This recording however shows the band in their most primal state, young, I presume mad about something (otherwise, I wouldn’t like it from reading my earlier album suggestions), and writing great, catchy and brutal death metal. The guitar and drum work is fantastic for how young these dudes were at the time, and the vocals are so heavy and loud that it just rules. Sloppy when it wants to be and technical as hell for the rest of it, a must listen for anyone who recently has gotten interested in death metal.

So there is my list, for now, maybe I will do a follow up with another five records to check out in the future. But for now, wrap your ears around these albums, and become a dork and look into the bands and their influences further if you dig it. You won’t be disappointed…

Do you agree, disagree or maybe just have additional thoughts? Let Aaron (KYS username: AaronOsborne) know in the comments below.

I Exist play Break The Ice 2014.