The 90s album I break the speed limit to is…
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power [Atco, 1992]
“Surprisingly I get very few speeding tickets due to Dimebag and the boys, and the only big crash I got into was while listening to Motörhead’s Bastards. I was still strapped in and upside down as the car spun upon its roof on top of an icy hill, with Lemmy singing ‘Angels in my heart tonight’. That felt quite appropriate.”
The heaviest album of the 90s is…
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss [American, 1990]
“I fucking loved Slayer. I still do, but back then they seemed so uncompromising. I’d seen them live once, the evening I came off my skateboard and ripped my body to shreds. I remember standing in my puddle of blood and misery, but feeling the pain vanish once Slayer kicked in, and the girl in front of me started lashing my face with her strawberry-scented hair. As soon as they finished it was fucking agony again.”
The best 90s album to take drugs to is…
The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic [Warner Bros, 1995]
“This is the album that I took the most drugs to. There were tons of great druggy albums in 90s. The Chemical Brothers were perfect for ecstasy. But The Flaming Lips sound like they’re taking the same drugs as you on Clouds… It’s a master-class in sounding like you’re barely clinging on.”
The 90s album that should not be is…
Metallica - Metallica [Elektra, 1991]
“Heartbreaking. After the standard of riffery they’d displayed up until this point, I couldn’t get my head around how un-dangerous they sounded. James Hetfield was the longhaired punk, wearing GBH tees and ripped-to-fuck jeans. On The Black Album he just became a rock frontman, and as good at being a rock frontman as he was and is, there was no one to replace him. Cue thrash turning mainstream. Bollocks.”
The 90s album I wish I’d made is…
Sepultura - Arise [Roadrunner, 1991]
“The Wildhearts used to listen to this on acid most nights. It sounded like playing thrash was just about the most fun you could have.”
My favourite 90s album artwork is…
Rancid - …And Out Come The Wolves [Epitaph, 1995]
“Taking the Discharge imagery into the 90s was a brilliant move. Old black and white, photocopy-looking image, red writing, just classic. Some things can’t be improved upon.”
The 90s album I want to be remembered for is…
The Wildhearts - Endless, Nameless [Mushroom, 1997]
“It still manages to annoy people even now. I’m very proud of that.”
The 90s album I want played at my funeral is…
Cardiacs - Sing To God [The Alphabet Business Concern, 1996]
“It’s almost designed to be played at a funeral. I imagine the roof opening up as a crowd of bristle-faced angels, in biker jackets, carry me to the pub in the sky, where I am barman, DJ and the night’s musical turn. There’s always a lock-in at the Afterlife Arms and the burgers are to-fucking-die-for… which is handy really.”
The best 90s album to have sex to is…
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless [Creation, 1991]
“You can’t tell where Kevin Shields’ voice turns into Bilinda Butcher’s voice – it’s a perfect parallel to the kind of sex that feels kind of druggy and sees you both so lost in the act that you’re joined as disembodied energy, animal and spirit intertwined. Great for hangover sex!”
No one would believe I own a copy of…
Bis - The Secret Vampire Soundtrack EP [Chemikal Underground, 1996]
“I don’t know anyone else who likes Bis. I used to evacuate rooms by playing Manda Rin’s fingernails-on-chalk-board vocals on constant rotation, which I still love. I’ve always found something comforting in music that annoys the fuck out of most other people.”
New Mutation album III: Dark Black is out July 21 via Undergroove
The Wildhearts, Reef and Terrorvision to tour UK
The 90s issue: Your definitive guide to the craziest decade in metal
