Six Noises EOY '16: Punk

Fuck ranking albums. Especially punk albums. A fucking pecking order is the absolute antithesis of what the music below stands for. But then, you kids like your lists, right? You love your countdowns, listicles, and … actually, you know what, as much I crave the sound of disorder and disobedience charging over the hill, I’m pretty sure I love a nicely ordered end-of-year list more than anyone.

(I also love stuffy period dramas as much as I love dog-on-a-string and knife-in-the-fucking-eyeball crust punk. I don’t know what that says about me, other than people are complex, I guess. Anyway…)

…the list below came together easy as pie. At least, the bit where I gathered together all my favourite punk releases from the past year was easy. The ranking bit was much trickier. Because punk is obviously a highly agitated art form. It’s frenetic and fierce, not sedate or serene, and I don’t think visceral music felt in the gut is suited to calm cataloguing.

Rankings often seem strangely arbitrary too. Doubly so whenever it’s me who’s involved in assigning any place in any queue. So feel free to totally ignore the rankings below. Or mix ’em up. Whatever works. Shake the fucking tree. Lord knows this year has been a pile of dog shit heaped atop a mountain of bullshit. So tear my list apart and yell at me if that’ll help. Just make sure to crank the volume and enjoy the rabble-rousing tunes below while you’re at it.

I think there’s some pretty formidable crust, D-beat and hardcore listed here, and it sure as hell got me through a seriously tough year. Thanks a million for stopping by Six Noises in 2016. Let’s get our punk on.

(Ps: I don’t want to confound you with all the intricate details involved in deciding how many albums appear on the list below. But it goes something like this: (a) I have waaaaayy too many albums to pick from, (b) my kid walks past, (c)  I say to him, “Hey, dude, pick a number between 20 and 50”, (d) he says, “Um…44”, (e) I say, “Cheers”. I’m pretty sure that’s how the pros organise their lists, right?)

44. Green Beret: Standing At The Mouth Of Hell

43. Worse: Rubber Burner

42. The Lowest Form: Personal Space

41. Instinto: Dimonis

40. Atrament: Eternal Downfall

39. Joy: Of Nothing

38. Crown Court: Capital Offence

37. Rotten UK: That Is Not Dead

36. Warthog: S/T

35. Call The Cops: Bastards

34. Red Death: Deterrence

33. Halshug: Sort Sind

32. Okus: Scourge

31. Ohyda: S/T

30. SSYNDROM: History Hysteria

29. Nag: S/T

28. Omegas: Power to Exist

27. Blackball: S/T

26. Ravage Ritual: Higher Power

25. Pure Disgust: S/T

24. Sarabante: Poisonous Legacy

23. Vanity: Don’t be Shy

22. Systemik Violence: Fuck As Punk

21. Okkultokrati: Raspberry Dawn + Alaric: End of Mirrors

20. Extinct Exist: Cursed Earth

19. Vägra: Demo 2016

18. Arms Race: New Wave of British Hardcore

17. Victims: Sirens

16. Anxiety: S/T

15. Nomads: Love It Or Leave It

14. Kriegshög: General

13. Glorious: Who Are They To Impose Restrictions?

12. Piss: Stuck In The Gutter

11. Dödläge: Ritual Slaughter + Ursut: Köp Dig Lycklig

10. Zoloa: Plata o Plomo

9. Bädr Vogu: Wroth

8. Fragment: Demo 2016

7. Pollen: E.P

6. Storm of Sedition: Decivilize

5. Polis-Äckel: Security Shutdown EP

4. Vaaska: Futuro Primitivo

3. Framtid: The Horrific Visions:

2. Martyrdöd: List

1. War//Plague: Carrion