In reality, quite a few of the albums that had songs featuring in the 1991 chart were albums I bought in 1992. I'm talking Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik to mention a few, which was more of a representation of where my tastes were going in 1992. The indie that I'd initially started with in 91 was more me taking on elements of my older brother's developing music tastes, 92 was more me finding what I wanted to listen to.
The first album I bought in 92 was Airhead's Boing, carrying on the indie theme of the previous year. I then turned 14 in May 92 and I remember receiving Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists on cassette and the white vinyl 12" of Pearl Jam's Even Flow for my birthday. The Manics had played Middlesbrough Town Hall earlier that year and sadly I wasn't allowed to go as I was too young, my first gig still yet to happen.
Things took a different turn with my next two albums, Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine and KMFDM's Money, quite a strange leap into some of the lighter side of industrial. Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and the Black Crowes followed as American rock bands started to creep into my collection, as well as the latest albums from some of my original crop of bands, The Farm, Extreme and EMF.
My favourite band in 1991 had been The Farm, but their 1992 album Love See No Colour didn't quite live up to expectations and only ended up with one song featured in this chart. The Senseless Things took over as my favourite band, The First of Too Many cassette that I own may have even been my brother's that he gave to me as I liked it so much, He definitely gave me his Got It At The Delmar cassette single and his Easy to Smile 12" (complete with Jamie Hewlett art print). If you're wondering where they are in this chart they only released a couple of singles, which will be counted towards the 1993 chart as part of their Empire of the Senseless album.
I also started recording a rock and metal programme on TV, which was on in the middle of the night, called Raw Power. On there was a feature about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, What Hits was duly purchased and a back catalogue would follow gradually over the next couple of years. Raw Power exposed me to even heavier sounds which intrigued me, however I wasn't quite ready to delve even deeper yet. I saw videos like Sepultura's Arise, Napalm Death's Mass Appeal Madness and Suffer the Children, Carcass' Corporal Jigsore Quandary, Obituary's The End Complete - I kept them on my video (filling the gaps between them with songs from The Chart Show) but they were kind of like weird curios, things I was interested in but not sure I actually liked.
Even though I couldn't quite reach the more extreme bands yet, my tastes got a little bit heavier still over the year. Purchases of Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction and Faith No More's Angel Dust were important stepping stones. Nine Inch Nails' Broken and Fixed took it even further, Fixed in particular being especially harsh on these 14 year old ears.
But as you can see from the chart entries, it wasn't all about the pursuit of heavier music. Peppered with the likes of Mega City Four, The Frank and Walters, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Carter, Blur, Inspiral Carpets and Thousand Yard Stare there was plenty of room for the 1991-style indie contingent. In fact there were quite a few more among those that made my shortlist but didn't chart, the full list being: The Fall, Electronic, The Shamen, Swervedriver, Young Gods, Ludicrous Lollipops, Eat, Catherine Wheel, Charlatans, Natural Life, Napalm Death, Murder Inc, Ride, Therapy?, White Zombie, Fatima Mansions, Screaming Trees, Skid Row, Extreme, The Cure, 2 Die 4, James and Obituary.
So 1992 ended up being a great year for music, riffs in particular being a massive part of this chart, with Pantera, Rage Against the Machine and Helmet being responsible for a lot of them. And in their cases not only massive riffs but riffs that groove. It was also a year where I was properly acquainted with the debut album by the band that would always remain my favourite......although I didn't quite know it yet, that would happen in 1993.......
1. Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark
2. Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
3. Nine Inch Nails - Wish
4. Manic Street Preachers - Stay Beautiful
5. Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
6. Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy
7. Rage Against The Machine - Killing in the Name
8. Pantera - Walk
9. Brutal Truth - Walking Corpse
10. Manic Street Preachers - You Love Us
11. Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
12. Mega City Four - Stop.
13. Helmet - Unsung.
14. Helmet - In the Meantime.
15. Pantera - Mouth For War
16. Manic Street Preachers - Little Baby Nothing
17. Manic Street Preachers - Condemned to Rock 'N' Roll
18. Rage Against The Machine - Bullet in the Head
19. Rage Against The Machine - Bombtrack
20. Carter USM - The Only Living Boy in New Cross
21. The Farm - Mind
22. Lightning Seeds - The Life of Riley
23. Helmet - Turned Out
24. Rage Against The Machine - Wake Up
25. Nine Inch Nails - Gave Up
26. Manic Street Preachers - Slash N' Burn
27. Faith No More- Everything's Ruined
28. Pulp - Babies
29. Pantera - A New Level
30. The Levellers - 15 Years
31. Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Intact
32. Faith No More - A Small Victory
33. Alice in Chains - Would?
34. Faith No More - Jizzlobber
35. Pantera - Fucking Hostile
36. Manic Street Preachers - Repeat
37. Manic Street Preachers - Love's Sweet Exile
38. Manic Street Preachers - Born To End
39. Frank & Walters - This Is Not A Song
40. Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery
41. Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction
42. Paradise Lost - Pity the Sadness
43. Alice in Chains - Them Bones
44. Pearl Jam - State of Love and Trust
45. Faith No More - Land of Sunshine
46. EMF - They're Here
47. Manic Street Preachers - Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds
48. EMF - Search and Destroy
49. Manic Street Preachers - Another Invented Disease
50. Blur - Popscene
51. Rage Against The Machine - Take the Power Back
52. Helmet - Give It
53. EMF - Getting Through
54. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
55. L7 - Everglade
56. Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing
57. Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray
58. Mega City Four - Shivering Sand
59. Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
60. Ugly Kid Joe - So Damn Cool
61. Pantera - This Love
62. Pantera - Hollow
63. Pantera - Regular People (Conceit)
64. Manic Street Preachers - Crucifix Kiss
65. Thousand Yard Stare - 0-0 aet
66. Airhead - Scrap Happy
67. Spin Doctors - Two Princes
68. Black Crowes - Sting Me
69. KMFDM - Money
70. Ministry - Hero
71. KMFDM - Bargeld
72. Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod
73. Bolt Thrower - Dying Creed
74. Bolt Thrower - Celestial Sanctuary
75. Inspiral Carpets - Two Worlds Collide
