5 lost classics that you should re-visit...

1) Kerbdog- On The Turn. This album tops a lot of peoples lost classic lists, and with very good reason. The incredible blend of seering guitars and mile wide choruses, make it and endless joy to listen to. Few albums open released before or since have packed so much punch in their entire length as this beauty does in the opening couplet of Sally and JJ's Song. Sheer brilliance. Re discover this album.

2) Poison The Well- Opposite Of December. OK, put simply, every band you have heard that combines crunching metal with melodic sung choruses, owes a huge debt to this band and this album. Truly one of the albums that defined metalcore as a genre and, more importantly, one of the few albums that sits in this genre that is actually any good. From the machine gun fast drumming of Chris Horbrook to the ungodly roar of vocalist Jeffery Moira, this album is an assault on the ears from start to fuinish. That is not to say that it is lacking in beauty. The startlingly upliftling chorus of songs such as Nerdy see this album transcend every band that tried to replicate this albums genius.

3) Marilyn Manson- Mechanical Animals. OK, a weird choice I know, but bear with me on this one. When this album dropped, half his fambase ran a mile. Gone was their Goth King and in his place stood the bastard son (well kinda, mazza went Androgynous for a bit) of ziggy Stardust. A real shame however, as this album holds some of the most honest and lyrically exciting work of his career. Songs such as "speed of pain" carry an emotional punch most thought Marilyn Manson was completely incapable of. Sonically also, it is an incredibly accomplished album that still sounds exciting to this day.

4) Handsome- Handsome. Hears a band that pretty much no one heard. Made up of a number of hardcore luminaries, this one off album caused a huge stir but the band sadly never got much beyond a few brief tours. Still, whisper this bands name in the right circles and you will be met with an excitable sense of approval. Opener Needles is truly a lost classic and the rest of the album is equally as great.

5) Boy Sets Fire- After The Eulogy. Ahhh, the album that got me into emo before My Chemical Romance turned that word into something horribly synonymous with dyed black fringes, self harming and make up. This album is one of the few in it's scenes to have the broad musical landscape. It's rare (these days especially) that albums can feature tracks so angry and bruising as rousing opener "After The Eulogy" alongside genuinely heart string tugging rock ballads as "my life in the knife trade". The latter has to be one of the most honest and brilliant songs written by a band in this scene. Lyrically, the album is flawless throughout, deftly switching from political assualts to musings on the fragility of human relationships. A hair raiser from start to finish.