The Useless Critic 2.0

Listen, Some of you guys may not listen to thrash, but let's face it - preferring one form of music to another is basically racism.  So let's have a post about this Hatchet album I got in the mail last week, Fear Beyond Lunacy . This album came out in 2015 but considering my last post was about an album from 1988 I think this counts as contemporary.  Thrash as a genre is just a lot of fun.  A lot of bands now want to tweak it in fucking depressing ways with indiscernible vocals, but Hatchet doesn't do this.  The songs are catchy as hell, and I've done mad spins of this thing already.  This is what I wish Slayer sounded like in 2015.  Buy the album and let it rip.

Last month, Garbage finally released their sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds , which frontwoman Shirley Manson has described as being the band's "most romantic" to date, lyrically-wise. "I'm only ever vulnerable when I'm in love, and I never allow myself to be vulnerable. This record is incredibly open, honest and I find that difficult with regards to my own personal love affairs," Manson has stated in an interview . That quote resonates a lot with me. The album combines Garbage's signature grit with dark, moody, and cinematic soundscapes. While not as immediate as the band's previous offerings, it's still a welcome addition to the their excellent catalog. The standout for me is definitely "Magnetized." The band is no stranger to marrying punchy tunes with morose lyrics, and "Magnetized" is a shining example of that. The lyrics describe an ill-fated, possibly unrequited crush. "I'm not in lo...