Who Made SENSE in 2021?

Written by: Tom Wilson - Sense Music Media | Friday 17 December 2021

Before we start I just want to make it clear… this is MY top ten. I don’t speak for everyone at Sense but based on my experiences in 2021 listening, writing, interviewing and attending (be it limited) performances, this is the conclusion I came to… and you should listen to me because I’m right.

BEST SONG

10. LIMP BIZKIT

Song: Dirty Rotten Bizkit – Album: LIMP BIZKIT Still Sucks

2021 was full of surprises, so Fred Durst debuting a new look as a grey-haired 70s throwback was par for the course. Surprise album Still Suck might not have been all it could have been – it genuinely felt like a great EP with a bunch of B-sides tacked on to pad out the runtime – but Dirty Rotten Bizkit will make you feel like it’s 2001 all over again.

9. MØL

Song: Vestige – Album: Diorama

One of the more surprising additions to this list is courtesy of Danish blackgaze troupe MØL. Sounding like a black metal BLINK 182, the combination of snarling vocals and guitars that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Warped Tour made for an intoxicating combination. Do yourself a favour.

8. EVIE IRIE

Song: The Idea of You (Single)

One of the opening acts for Amy Shark at Riverstage, Evie Irie was a nervous, hyperactive force of nature, and this track was stuck in my head for weeks afterward. Going from a Billie Eilish whisper to an anthemic chorus, it’s easy to forget that Evie is only eighteen. The future is bright.

7. THE HARD-ONS

Song: Frequencies – Album: I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken

Australian punk legends THE HARD-ONS teamed up with YOU AM I’s Tim Rogers with amazing results, creating something that sounds like the soundtrack to a car chase that hasn’t been filmed yet. If this bass riff doesn’t get you moving, check your pulse.

6. FEAR FACTORY

Song: Disruptor – Album: Aggression Continuum

Burton C. Bell’s final vocal performance with FEAR FACTORY explodes over one of the best riffs Dino has ever written. This absolutely slams.

5. CLOWN CORE

Song: Three – Album: 1234

More avant-garde weirdness from the anonymous duo behind last year’s Van, Three is a moody soundscape of ambient synths the size of weather formations. Just as you close your eyes to soak it in, a rapid pulse starts throbbing through the darkness, and it feels like you’re on an express elevator into a dark sky.

4. CHEAP COFFINS

Song: G O R E F I E L D – Album: Terror Amazonia

Taken from the debut EP of Wollongong industrial metal one-man-army Troy Koglin, G O R E F I E L D was a clear highlight. A malevolent drum beat and synth pulse under his vocals, crackling through the distortion. Intricate, minimal guitars soon devolve into a MESHUGGAH-style rhythmic shudder. The track writhes and seethes, like a madman about to break free of his restraints. Koglin begins to intone in another language over a furious fretboard workout, and the track spasms and mutates, before collapsing into silence. It’s breathtaking stuff.

3. BOOTLICKER

Song: Herd the Sheep – Album: Self-Titled

Old-school 80s punk that wraps fist-pumping vocals around an off-kilter riff that will stay in your head for days, Herd the Sheep sounds like the soundtrack to a bar fight. That’s an endorsement.

2. MASTODON

Song: Pushing the Tides – Album: Hushed & Grim

Atlanta’s MASTODON have evolved a lot over their critically lauded career, but one thing has remained consistent, and that’s their unquestionable ability to bring the thunder. Propulsive rock and angular riffs explode into an epic chorus that’ll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, before they shout “Go!” and knock you on your arse. Get on, or get out of the way.

1. AMY SHARK

Song: Amy Shark – Album: Cry Forever

An ode to the cost of following your dreams, Amy reflects on a childhood watching funerals near her home, and the sacrifices she’s had to make in pursuit of her career. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful. When she performed it at Riverstage, you could’ve heard a pin drop.

RIFF OF THE YEAR

Fear Factory

Song: Disruptor – Album: Aggression Continuum

The hyperactive pounding that drives first single Disruptor almost gave me a neck injury when it first emerged, and it has remained unbeaten. Wear a helmet – you’re going to need it.

 MR ROGERS AWARD FOR NICEST PERSON

Runner up: Murray Cook (SOUL MOVERS)

Well duh… He’s a former WIGGLE. It would be weird if he was a prick!

Winner: Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY)

His ex-bandmates might disagree with me, but one of the nicest and most approachable artists I spoke to this year was Dino. Friendly, warm and accommodating of even the most cringeworthy fanboying (which I am certainly guilty of), interviewing Dino was an absolute pleasure, and I can’t wait to do it again.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Honourable Mention: JALANG – Santau 65

Queered-up, diasporic D-beat delivered in Bahasa Indonesian and English, JALANG are absolutely ferocious. Alda’s vocals sound like they’re going to blow out your speakers. Recorded by Jason Fuller in Melbourne, Santau 65 is probably the most pissed-off album of 2021.

Runner Up: FEAR FACTORY – Aggression Continuum

A thing of beauty crafted amongst ugliness, it would be the understatement of the year to say that Aggression Continuum had a troubled production. 2021 is a weird time to be a FEAR FACTORY fan. We’ve had to watch one of the most influential and important metal bands of the last thirty years tear itself to shreds in front of the world media. Litigation. Lawsuits. Shock departures. The SENSE mantra is “Media Without Drama”, so you can read about that elsewhere if you wish. What emerged from the chaos, however, was the best FEAR FACTORY album in over a decade. Burton C. Bell’s final performance under the FF moniker showcases the soaring cleans and devastating roars that helped him pioneer an entire metal vocal style. Dino’s riffs are as crushing as ever, and the production sounds like a million dollars. This isn’t a band reinventing the wheel. This is a band doubling down on what made FEAR FACTORY great in the first place, and the target of endless rip-offs. A stunning achievement.

Winner: AMY SHARK – Cry Forever

In my review of her stellar Brisbane set, I called Amy Shark Australia’s answer to Alanis Morissette, and that Cry Forever is her Jagged Little Pill. I meant it. If Love Monster was her opening shot across the bow, Cry Forever is a full-blown broadside, and if there is any justice in this world it will be revered for decades, and Shark will be playing gigs marking its anniversary until sometime in her 60s. There is literally not a bad song on this release.

I knew it was good when it first came out, but it was only as 2021 drew to a close that it hit me – nothing else I’d reviewed this year even came close to it. Her show at Riverstage was one of the best concerts I’ve been to in years, and I’ll even forgive her for having a brain fart and calling us the Gold Coast. (But we won’t forget, Amy.)

The final line of Amy Shark goes “Please just don't start now that I'm Amy Shark.” I’ll make you a deal, Amy. I won’t start if you promise to never stop doing what you’re doing, because you’re amazing, and I cannot wait to hear what you do next.