THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS… DAFT PUNK DISCOVERY (VIRGIN, 2001) “It feels like such a long time since I was listening to it on repeat every night in bed on my Walkman… remember those things? I have such great memories of it and I still love that album.”
THE BEST ALBUM ARTWORK IS…
MANOWAR
ANTHOLOGY (CONNOISSEUR COLLECTION, 1997)
“Whenever I think of album artwork, I have to think about Manowar. It was all those powerful men standing, they looked so strong – it’s more funny and crazy than something thoughtful.”
THE ALBUM I WISH I MADE IS…
APHEX TWIN
DRUKQS (WARP, 2001)
“It’s the craziest technical and electronic album I know. It’s a big inspiration for me and I wish I’d made it because it’s so complicated and so gnarly. I try and beat this album with every album of my own but it’s just not possible, the quality’s too high.”
A KID ASKS ME WHAT METAL IS, I HAND THEM A COPY OF…
THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA
DANZA IIII: THE ALPHA - THE OMEGA (BLACK MARKET ACTIVITIES, 2012)
“I’d give them something recent because it’s the heaviest thing I know, it’s very metal and totally evil. It’s so important to build your knowledge of things that are happening in the scene now rather than trying to understand the scene before you were into it.”
NO WOULD WOULD BELIEVE I OWN A COPY OF…
THE ALGORITHM
OCTOPUS4 (BASICK, 2014)
“I think nobody would expect me to own Algorithm albums. I can’t listen to my own albums, though, because I listen to my music so much while I’m making it, once it’s done I just want to hear something else. So listening to this is like torture for me.”
THE ALBUM THAT SHOULD NOT BE IS…
JUSTIN BIEBER
MY WORLD 2.0 (ISLAND, 2010)
“Everything related to Justin Bieber shouldn’t exist, but too many people might disagree with me. I just don’t really like the guy; he’s all about money instead of creating happiness. The best we can do is try to ignore him, right?”
THE ALBUM THAT REMINDS ME OF SCHOOL IS…
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
TOXICITY (COLUMBIA, 2001)
“I was a big fan thanks to a friend who introduced me to SOAD and Iron Maiden. Whenever I listen to them, my school days come right back to me. It’s very nostalgic but in the best way. It’s the same with Linkin Park and nu metal – I’m straight back in school again.”
THE ALBUM THAT BROKE MY HEART IS
VEIL OF MAYA
MATRIARCH (SUMERIAN, 2015)
“I’ve always been a fan of Veil Of Maya but I really didn’t dig Matriarch that much. It felt a little too generic for me compared to their more original and technical edges, which I prefer. This new one was so much more pop-oriented with big choruses that just aren’t my cup of tea, it was such an unexpected move. Hopefully they’ll make something I like next time.”
THE ALBUM I BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT TO IS…
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
MISS MACHINE (RELAPSE, 2004)
“Every now and then, I go running while listening to this because it gives me so much energy, gets the endorphins fl owing and helps me go faster than the speed of light. It’s so aggressive and it makes me want to punch people, but I try not to whenever possible! Never let me listen to this in the car!”
THE ALBUM I WANT PLAYED AT MY FUNERAL IS…
THE FLASHBULB
OPUS AT THE END OF EVERYTHING (ALPHABASIC, 2012)
“The title says it all. It’s very beautiful because it’s trippy and ambient, it’s hard to defi ne. It’s melancholic and perhaps a little too dramatic. But maybe I like a bit of drama, I want people to be sad that I’m dead. Maybe I’ll make them listen to Dillinger so they can punch each other!”
The Algorithm’s new album, Brute Force, is out now via FiXT
