Alright, we all know this is gonna be subjective, but feel free to @ me and I'll tell you why you're wrong and I'm right. We are talking full length albums here as well. Not playlists, not soundtracks, not a banger here and there. Start to finish full length albums, no filler. One thing I think we can agree on. Whatever it is, it needs ENERGY. No doubt this list is gonna change and I'll probably forget some sick albums but I've narrowed it down to 3. Let's start from the top.
System Of a Down: Toxicity - If you've ever been to Smith's Fitness on a Saturday you have heard this album. It is raw as fuck, up down, down up, fast, slow then even faster. It's energetic, emotional, conscious and violently aggressive all at the same time. Some tracks blaze straight into the fire, others build but every time you listen you notice something new and it confirms that SOAD rip. Favourites for me have to be Deer Dance and Aerials, which was my pb song for a while, still might be.
Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory - This album was a bolter, for this list. First up I had to go have a couple of listens to figure out if Hybrid Theory or Collision Course is the best Linkin Park album for the gym. It's Hybrid Theory, hands down. Then after a couple of listens I decided it's number 2 not 3. Belter after belter, Papercut, Points of Authority, With You, In The End. Some of the sickest vocals, a little bit of rapping, DJ cuts and hard rock, how good!?
Rage Against The Machine - Self Titled. Let me set things straight. Rage is probably my favourite band. Zach De La Rocha is overlooked when people list their top "rappers" because he's simply one of a kind. I have him at #1, because he has never missed. 3 albums (+ a covers album that slaps as well) that have absolutely zero filler and zero filter. While being a rapper, he's also one of the best Rock/Metal front-men of all time. That's the beauty of RATM. Here's just one example of how slick dude is
"The present curriculum
I put my fist in 'em
Eurocentric every last one of 'em
See right through the red, white and blue disguise
With lecture I puncture the structure of lies
Installed in our minds and attempting
To hold us back
We've got to take it back
Holes in our spirit causin' tears and fears
One-sided stories for years and years and years
I'm inferior? Who's inferior?
Yeah, we need to check the interior
Of the system that cares about only one culture
And that is why
We gotta take the power back"
Seriously!!!
But it's not only Zach. Guitarist Tom Morello is just as, if not more exceptional. No one plays guitar like that dude. People always mistake RATM for having a DJ, nope, it's all guitar. Watching their live performances puts into perspective just how much of a god Tom Morello is. The fuck is he doing with that thing. This album came out in 1992. I was 5 years old! Even though it's nearly 30 years old the whole "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" attitude of this album still hits like no other and is perfect for the gym. 10 tracks that are all filled with poetic rage, funky basslines, hard hitting riffs and a lyrical tornado. Fucking brilliant. Tell me I'm wrong AJ.
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