Back in 1977, NASA sent a probe into deep space laden with earthly goods. One such object was a golden record, containing some of the best music created by human beings: J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chuck Berry. All in the hope that, should life exist beyond our spacial borders, anyone that came into contact with the probe would be prepared for homo-sapien culture.
But what if we got to choose which albums went into space?
Seventh Heaven is a feature in which musicians and influencers pick their seven favourite albums and send them out into the heavens in the hope of spreading peace and good vibes throughout the galaxy.
Writing for this edition of Seventh Heaven is Alex Close of Blackout Season
Royal Blood - Royal Blood
Oh my god have you heard this album? Yes? Great, then you’ll understand what a glorious collection of bastarding jams that it has. Start to finish this is probably one of the only albums I can’t find a fault in. It’s just hit after hit. There’s a sex fuelled yet frustrating atmosphere to the lyrics and I still can’t get over the fact they’re a two piece. I can’t stress the sex appeal off this album either. It’s just a musical f*ckfest. An eargasm, if you will. Weirdly enough it was the second album that inspired my own personal writing more but hands down the debut is what got me hooked.
Highly Suspect - Mister Asylum
Currently my most listened to album. Now this is possibly one of the most underrated artists, if not albums. Anything you listen to here I’ve tried to, in some way, recreate. Another band that sounds HUGE but has only 3 members. I’m a massive fan of their sophomore effort as well but this album blows most out of the water in my book. It’s also one of those albums you can stick on and just be in a good mood the whole time it’s on. So much drive and energy. One of the bands on my bucket list to see live while they’re still around.
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
It’s time to get well sentimental as we look at the very first CD I ever bought when I began getting into music. Long gone are the days of HMV’s 2 for £10 deals. I think I got this and Black Sabbaths greatest hits, I can’t remember. But I digress. When I first heard it I pondered on the inspiration and then realised I was getting a history lesson. I hadn’t even actually heard anything other than the trooper when I bought this but it really cemented some roots in what my taste is now. Hands down Run To The Hills best track off the album, I had never thought of a guitar mixing with a melody like that. Even at 12/13, I was like "oh that’s smart."
Eminem - Slim Shady LP
At this stage I’m stepping into the time machine so don’t even ask man. This album was the most fucked up, crazy thing I’d ever heard. Again at the beginning of adolescence, songs with swears were where the attention was drawn to. Half of it I didn’t understand but eventually I did and it turned my stomach, but god did I love it. The skits in this are fantastic too. Also one of the best things that my fragile young mind had the pleasure of wondering was any of this real and why is Marshall not in jail or dead?
The 1975 - The 1975
One of my absolute favourite all time, can’t miss a single track on this album. I always had Chocolate from this album and Love me from ILWYS on my phone though I never played them bar once or twice. I don’t know exactly why because they’re two great tracks. I remember hearing settle down, off the self titled, on the radio, when it was first released and wondering what the fuck is this guy saying. That guy turned out to be Matty Healy and what he was saying was beautiful. By this stage in my life I no longer bought CDs so I hopped on Spotify and the 1975 became on of my all time favourite bands. ILWYS and ABEIOR are so close beside this but it was first, so I’ll start where it started. One of the few bands I’ve had the pleasure of seeing multiple times.
Green day - 1039/ Smoothed out slappy hours
Before I started a band this is what I wanted to be. It’s not what we are but fuck it. I was about 15 when I heard ‘at the library’. I had just started getting into Green Day and more into music. I was all impressed with myself telling my older cousin Matt, who grew up on the music I listen to now, that I thought American Idiot was a great album. Lower your judgemental tones. (Editors note - anyone with judgement on this take can cash me ousside) He stuck on this album for me in his little Belfast flat and took me to see oculus. The movie gave me nightmares but the album give me inspiration. This was around the time I started my first band. I tried to learn every single song off this album but then discovered scales and that was another story.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes - Blossom This is my ‘I hope you die go to hell and resurrect so you can live in fear of it for the rest of your life’ album. Back when they were playing the Oh yeah centre in like 2016/2017 I started listening to them on YouTube doing tech work. I still kick myself for not being at that gig. At first I was like this isn’t for me. Then I really really got into them. Blossom gets the title on this list simply because of the inspiration Dean Richardson has had on me in my own personal writing. Our unreleased song ‘Blackout’ was actually inspired by parts of ‘I Hate You’. There’s also another unreleased/ not yet debuted track heavily inspired by this album but well leave that one there. A lot of these albums have had an influence on Blackout Season’s releases and current songs, but more this album currently. I actually got back into them after hearing ‘Trouble’ off this album in a peaky blinders episode and even more so recently when they were announced with Foo Fighters and it was a great rediscovery.
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