Photograph: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images Over music that gives Interpol-style moody indie rock just a touch of leather-jacketed swagger, frontwoman Florence Shaw recites the best lyric sheet of the year, where drab lightweight banalities вЂ“ the weather, Antiques Roadshow, so many kinds of food вЂ“ are arranged in poignant juxtapositions that suddenly lend them enormous weight. ItвЂ™s face-toasting stuff, evocative of standing that bit too close to a bonfire to marvel at its fiery dynamics. Reed plays sax and guitar, which seethe and rear throughout their third album (produced by Unknown Mortal OrchestraвЂ™s Ruban Nielson), while NehillвЂ™s drums and effects summon stately hauteur and roiling fury. You might compare this sludgy Australian duo to Sleep or Earth for their shared deep-fried undertow, but Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill вЂ“ respectively of Black Cherokee and MДЃori heritage вЂ“ prefer to see their supreme heaviness as the legacy of their Indigenous ancestors. Be sure to give this one a listen.Divide and Dissolve: We Are Really Worried About You вЂ“ video

In вЂњChainsaw Party,вЂќ Sematary repeats the title of the song with intense energy, trap beats and guitar samples screaming in the background for a sound unlike any other rap album produced this year. Sematary uses heavy auto-tune and vocal layering to distort his voice, repeating lyrics over and over-almost becoming an instrument himself. The vocal delivery on Rainbow Bridge 3 is so unique that itвЂ™s hard to explain. Using tags like вЂњI REGRET EVERYTHING IвЂ™VE DONE,вЂќ DJ Sorrow is a perfect producer for Sematary and the style he delivers here. Coupling these riffs and creepy samples with trap snares, hi-hats and bass brings the energy of every single beat on this album to another level. Guitar riffs pepper the album alongside disturbing samples from movies like Julien Donkey-Boy. DJ Sorrow, who produces much of the album, has an incredibly individualistic sound that has the promise of breaking into mainstream, using samples that sound more like black metal than rap. In the album, Sematary used a razor to carve out a sound unlike anything else, slashing his way through black metal samples and instrumentation while he growls dark, foreboding vocals.Д¬oupling newer, cloud rap sounds with extreme metal music, Rainbow Bridge 3 is an energetic and unique collection of songs. Rainbow Bridge 3 by little-known artist Sematary stands out among 2021вЂ™s underground rap. Sematary = Lil Ugly Mane + Gorgoroth + Bladee Tyler, the Creator вЂ“ Call Me If You Get Lost.Little Simz вЂ“ Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.Wrap your hands around a mug of hot cocoa (or whatever sugar-free, dairy-free, organic substitute youвЂ™ve learned to love), get a fire started and let your eyes and ears feast on this fantastic recap of music greatness. Here you have it, folks-itвЂ™s the end of the year (yikes!), which means itвЂ™s time for SLUGвЂ™s Top 5 Albums of 2021! This year, weвЂ™ve selected albums from a host of styles that have earned our applause.

Best new metal albums 2021