8. “What’s Haunting You,” Bloody Hammers
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When there’s a Black Sabbath reunion minus drummer Bill Ward, it’s time to start looking to the future. Bloody Hammers aren’t reinventing the wheel, but “What’s Haunting You” incorporates the best Master of Reality/Vol. 4-era Sabs since, well, Master of Reality/Vol. 4-era Sabs. Fuzz, distortion and spooky lyrics? No need to wait for Halloween.
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7. “I’ll Stay with You,” New Order
Proof positive that New Order without Peter Hook truly are “The Other Three.” This outtake from 2005’s Waiting for the Siren’s Call features that undeniably truism friction-makes-good-music salvo which has always kept NO if not on the cutting edge then at least on the precipice of dance-rock.
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6. “Terrible Love,” Local H
Very, very few artists who have made a name for themselves in any respect revert to doing covers on a regular basis, unless their career has bottomed out. The exception lay in the case of, say, the Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli, or like here with Local H head Scott Lucas; it’s because they get so fucking fired up over a song that they have an irrepressible urge to take it on. “[The National] were kind of a big influence on our last record and I guess I was trying to pay it back somehow,” Lucas told Vanyaland this week. Is “Terrible Love” better than the original? No — but that’s not the point — the passion behind it is.
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5. “Phantom Limb,” Alice in Chains
The seven minute plus “Phantom Limb” is more than enough proof that new-ish Alice in Chains singer William DuVall should be way more involved in the writing process (this the only one he has a writing credit) as this reconfigured version of the darkest band to come out of grunge-era Seattle moves forward. As always though, when it comes to AIC, it’s the riffage of guitarist Jerry Cantrell that steals the show. The start/stop of this one in particular bridges the gap between 2013 and 1993 spectacularly.
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