The First Record I Bought Was… BLACK SABBATH PARANOID [VERTIGO, 1970]
“The single, not the album. I can’t remember what my first album was! Fittingly, I bought it in Newtown shopping centre in Birmingham, which is almost opposite the Barton Arms, Black Sabbath’s old stomping ground, boozer-wise. My dad had schooled me in certain matters of rockness, so I bought it with my pocket money.”/o:p
The Best Album Artwork Is…
SEPTIC DEATH: NOW THAT I HAVE THE ATTENTION... [PUSMORT, 1986]
“It’s an incredible Pushead piece. I don’t usually wear all-over print t-shirts, but I had an all-over print shirt of that cover and it looked fucking amazing. I lost it, obviously… the shirt, not the album! The album still stands up, 100%.”/o:p
The Album I Break The Speed Limit To Is…
S.O.B.: DON’T BE SWINDLE [SELFISH, 1987]
“It came out in 1987, and it’s still complete insanity. The Japanese have a particular sound when they execute music, and a load of kids screeching really does sound pretty mad.”/o:p
The Album I Wish I’d Made Is…
CELTIC FROST: TO MEGA THERION [NOISE, 1985]/o:p
“There are very few albums that I’d apply the term ‘genius’ too, but this is one of them. The structure, the idea, the whole package… it’s incredible. To generate that kind of atmosphere from an audio recording is immense.”/o:p
A Kid Asks Me What Metal Is, I Hand them A Copy Of…
RAVEN: ALL FOR ONE [NEAT/MEGAFORCE, 1983]
“It’s a stormer! With trad metal, I’ve heard it all to some degree, but albums like that I can put on to this day and still get that warm glow. A lot of people reference their earlier work, but All For One is the culmination of great songwriting and that really pounding style. The opening riff from Take Control… fuck me, what a riff!”/o:p
The Album I’d Want Played At My Funeral Is…
THE JERKY BOYS: VOLUME 4 [MERCURY, 1997]
“Funerals are mostly sombre affairs, but I don’t see why they should be. I’m comfortable with people coming to my funeral and juggling or doing silly walks and just generally laughing. I’d like to think that it’d reflect their best times with me, which would be mucking about and having a laugh, so The Jerky Boys are ideal.”/o:p
The First Album I Had Sex To Was…
DAYGLO ABORTIONS: FEED US A FETUS [ARMAGEDDON, 1986]
“I think I recall who my first sexual partner was… If it’s the person I’m thinking of, we used to play Scared of People – Black Sabbath over and over again. It was probably very sloppy sex, accompanied by a ludicrous Canadian punk band. That sounds about right.”/o:p
No One Will Believe I Own A Copy Of… MARIAH CAREY: MERRY CHRISTMAS [COLUMBIA, 1994]
The Album I’d Want To Be Remembered For Is… NAPALM DEATH: UTOPIA BANISHED [EARACHE, 1992]
The Album That Should Not Be Is…
CHRIS REA: THE VERY BEST OF CHRIS REA [EAST WEST, 2001]
Napalm Death’s new album, Apex Predator - Easy Meat, is out on January 27 via Century Media/o:p
