Canada Songs - Daughters

Released in August 2003, this album is absolutely seminal to not just grind and mathcore, but to heavy music as a whole. It's just about the best introduction to grind you can give someone, because it demonstrates the appeal of the genre so clearly and concisely.

With 10 tracks clocking in at a total 11:11, the absurd guitarwork, intricate drumming, disturbing vocal performances and almost unbearably fast tempos make this a record to never forget. From the moment you hit play and you're bombarded with the iconic sliding diminished chord intro, you're assaulted by a piece of music that is so sour, so dissonant, so ugly, and yet so beautifully intense and masterfully and passionately performed.

This album is so special because of how it redefined what it meant for music to be heavy. So many conventions of heavy music are simply gone. There is no distortion, no chugging, no breakdowns, no growls. In fact, there's just about no bass frequencies on the record at all. Everything is all treble, all the time, but despite this, every track still kicks the shit out of you using a tight barrage of sharp angular chords and finger-shredding sliding sections that change time signature constantly.