Friends, collegues, perverts, what follows is my list of essential albums. It will be updated and added to as I see fit. If you are going to buy stuff from Amazon.com, I would encourage you to use the links or search form on my site, that way I might make some commission. Yay!

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Artist: Porcupine Tree

Album: In Absentia

The album that proved to be my introduction to the Porcupine Tree, In Absentia is firmly entrenched in my top 10 albums of all time. The band (fronted by Steven Wilson) are often compared to Pink Floyd and the psychedelic rock of the late 60's and early 70's. If your referring to their earlier albums such as 'Signify' and 'Voyage 34: The Complete Trip', then, to a certain extent, these comparisons may apply. In Absentia, though, is one of the few albums that combines all the elements of music that I love. Melody, crunching guitars and orchestration that borders on film score. This is one of the albums I could absolutely not go without.

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Artist: Far

Album: Water and Solutions

Far could probably consider themselves unlucky in some respects. If Water and Solutions had been released five or six years later than it was (1998), then Far may well have enjoyed the kind of success that bands like The Used and Thrice have enjoyed. All that aside, Water and Solutions is filled with heavy drop tuned riffs and punk style vocals with a sense of melody. Far are what the Deftones could be if the Deftones dropped the screaming vocals and embraced the musical hook a little more.

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Artist: Rival Schools

Album: United by Fate

Firstly, I bought this album solely because it featured Walter Shreifels, former frontman for Quicksand. This album seems to polarise Quicksand fans, they either love or hate it. Me? Well, obviously I love it. Not as aggressive as his work with Quicksand, Rival Schools embraces a pop sensibility that a lot of bands seem to ditch for fear of being labelled a 'sell out'. That's not to say United by Fate doesn't rock hard, because it most definitely does. Catchy riffs and sing-a-long choruses. To my knowledge Rival Schools had split, but I have heard rumours of a pending second Rival Schools release. Guess I'll wait and see.

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Artist: Quicksand

Album: Slip

The album that inspired me to attempt to start a band of my own. Tracks like 'Fazer' and 'Freezing Process' are good examples of what this album is about. Hulking rhythm and hooks. Quicksand are often categorised as a hard-core band, but to be perfectly honest I'm not sure what hard-core is. I would say that Quicksand come from the same musical 'family' as Helmet, but in a two horse race I'd take Quicksand any day. When Quicksand split, it's members went off in all different directions, and if you follow the Quicksand family tree you'll find a whole heap of top music. Walter Shreifels went on to form Rival Schools and play in Walking Concert. Guitarist Tom Capone formed Handsome then joined Instruction. Drummer Alan Cage went onto Seaweed.

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Artist: Quicksand

Album: Manic Compression

Like it's predecessor 'Slip', my only regret with this album is that I came across it so long after it was released! I discovered Quicksand when reading a Guitar World interview with Pete Loeffler from Chevelle, and he listed Manic Compression as one of his all time favourite albums. That was a good enough recommendations for me so I got onto Amazon.com and ordered Manic Compression and Slip straight away. Thanks Pete! 'Landmine Springs' is probably my favourite track from this album, but ask me what my favourite track is tomorrow and I'll probably have a different answer. Buy it, love it!

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Artist: 12 Rounds

Album: My Big Hero

Ambient and industrial with trip hop style beats. The female vocalist Claudia Sarne has a unique voice that can sound sweet as pie one minute and pure evil the next. Some people might compare 12 Rounds to the Dresden Dolls, but I don't think that's entirely fair. 12 Rounds are what happens when you bring together elements of electronic rhythms, ambient drones, gothic horror and old style organic sounds. This album was released in 1998 on Trent Reznor's Nothing Records label and is hard to come by now, but it's well worth tracking down. Interestingly, Atticus Ross, the other half of 12 Rounds, has gone on to work with Trent Reznor on the Nine Inch Nails album 'With Teeth' as well producing, co-writing and programming one-half of the Korn album 'See You on the Other Side'.

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Artist: Blackfield

Album: Blackfield

Blackfield is a collaboration between musician and producer Steven Wilson (see Porcupine Tree. He has also produced for bands such as Opeth) and Israeli singer/songwriter Aviv Geffen. It is also an album you may never stumble across in your local record store, which is a shame really, because it's an awesome example of melodic pop with a melancholy edge. I would by this album just to listen to the point where the first track 'Open Mind' breaks into the main riff that in some ways reminds me of 'Kashmir' by Led Zepplin. It's a 'dreamy' album that has proven effective in battles with insomnia.

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Artist: Finch

Band: Say Hello to Sunshine

The first album by Finch in no way comes close to touching their follow-up, 'Say Hello to Sunshine'. To say the album is schizophrenic is an understatement. With song titles such as 'Dreams Of Psilocybin', 'The Casket Of Roderick Usher', 'Insomniatic Meat' and 'Reduced To Teeth', maybe you'll get some indication of what I'm talking about. Whilst the album sits comfortably within the hard rock/metal category, the changes in rhythm and time signatures along with subtle hints of 'fruity jazz chords' cause this album to stand out from the pack. A sadly under-rated album.

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Artist: Tweaker

Band: 2am Wake Up Call

Tweaker come from excellent pedigree. Founded by Chris Vrenna, former drummer with Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker's sound could be described as 'sad' or 'overly chilled out'. Far removed from Nine Inch Nails in many respects, Tweaker still make use of electronica and synth tones, just not in the jarring industrial sense you may expect. Many of the tracks feature guest vocalists such as Robert Smith (The Cure) and Johnny Marr (The Smiths). Although a lot of people may believe it to be Tool, Tweaker also contribute the theme song to the game Doom3 (although this doesn't appear on this album). It's a cracking track, but not really indicative of the rest of Tweaker's material. There are some free downloads of various mp3's available from the official site: http://www.tweaker.net/mp3.php

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more to come....