HardLore Episode Summary:

"Feel Bad" Albums: HardLore's Top 40 Depressing Albums of All Time
Date: November 13, 2025
Hosts: Colin Young (Twitching Tongues & God’s Hate), Bo Lueders (Harms Way)

Episode Overview

In this cathartic and evocative episode of HardLore, hosts Colin Young and Bo Lueders unite to count down and discuss their personal Top 40 most "depressing" or "feel bad" albums of all time. The episode serves as a playlist and emotional toolkit for listeners navigating the blue moods of the season. Exploring both the pain and transcendence found in sad music, the hosts delve into a spectrum of heavy-hearted records across genres—hardcore, metal, folk, indie, goth, and beyond—while also sharing stories, personal connections, and the therapeutic power of music.

“Music is the ultimate tool to get over a slump. We’ve got 20 records each to talk about... these are depressing pieces of music... or uplifting pieces with depressing stories.”
– Colin Young, [02:06]

Key Themes and Discussion Points

Why Listen to Sad Music?

• The Healing Power of Melancholy: The hosts talk openly about how sad music can be uniquely healing, letting the listener "feel even worse to feel better" ([01:49]) and how music processes emotion in a way words alone can’t.
• Depression & Seasonality: Recognizing the “seasonal depression” time of year ([01:19]), sad albums become both a comfort and a mirror.

Defining a "Feel Bad Album"

• Not Just Sound—Context & Lyrics: The discussion acknowledges that sometimes even uplifting-sounding music can be deeply sad when context or lyrics are considered.
• Personal Resonance: Choices are guided by emotional connection, with each co-host’s picks reflecting specific personal moments, struggles, or catharsis.

List Structure

• Each host brings 20 albums: the first 15 discussed informally, then a Top 5 "countdown" format.
• They trade stories on individual records, standout tracks, and what makes each album devastating (or cathartically uplifting).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Crowbar’s “Planets Collide”:
  “It’s probably their best song... their most emotional Crowbar record.”
  – Colin, [03:07]

• On Johnny Cash’s “American IV: The Man Comes Around”:
  “It’s just on your 67th album, doing all these covers... specifically choosing all these songs that consciously address his own mortality via other people’s art. It’s unbelievable.”
  – Colin, [10:09]

• On Music & Depression:
  “Lord knows life stinks. It hurts.”
  – Colin, [07:25]

• On Chelsea Wolfe’s “Pain Is Beauty”:
  “I don’t want to be around anybody when this thing’s on... No friends when Pain is Beauty is on in the pit.”
  – Colin, [35:00]

• On Hopelessness & Creativity:
  “Pain is the most powerful tool in my arsenal for making art.”
  – Colin, [70:26]

Important Segments & Timestamps

[00:00–02:52] Introduction & Framing

• Personal mood check ("feeling blue").
• Why sad music is so powerful/necessary.

[02:53–17:23] Numbers 20–15 Picks & Discussion Highlights

• Crowbar – “Sonic Excess in its Purest Form”:
  Discussion of "Lasting Dose" and “Planets Collide” ([03:07]).
• The Cure – “Disintegration”:
  “No skip record... world Mount Rushmore depressing music.” – Bo ([05:32])
• Elliott Smith – “Either/Or”:
  The trauma behind the lyrics ([06:54]).
• Paramore – “Brand New Eyes”:
  The devastating final track “All I Wanted” ([07:49]).
• Johnny Cash – “American IV”:
  Discussion of “Hurt” video, and the transformation of others’ songs ([09:57]).

[17:33–43:11] Teen Picks—Deep Cuts & Stories

• Neurosis – “The Eye of Every Storm”:
  Layered sadness and the challenge of legacy.

• Third Eye Blind – Self-Titled:
  “Semi-Charmed Life” is upbeat but about doing meth; “How’s It Going to Be” and “Jumper” ([18:55]).

• Fleetwood Mac – Self-Titled & “Landslide”:
  “I am incapable of listening to [Landslide], makes me feel so sad.” – Bo ([14:26])

• Petal – “Shame”,

• Turnover – “Peripheral Vision”,

• Agaloc – “Ashes Against The Grain”,

• Mountain Goats – “Tallahassee” (“No Children” is highlighted for its tongue-in-cheek pain, [29:11])

• Title Fight – “Hyperview”,

• Chelsea Wolfe – “Pain Is Beauty”

[43:12–54:42] Top 10: The Real Gutters

• Type O Negative – “World Coming Down”:
  The record so devastating Peter Steele "could barely get through it live" ([43:12]).
• Saves the Day – “Sound the Alarm”:
  A divorce album, “there must be something wrong with me, I get so tired, I can’t sleep.” ([52:57])
• Morrissey – “Vauxhall and I” ([58:40])
• Smiths – “The Queen is Dead”
  “I Know It’s Over” highlighted ([60:33])
• Bjork – “Vespertine”
  Production details (“percussion made from her walking in snow”), thematic heartbreak ([41:18]).
• Purple Mountains – Self-titled
  “All My Happiness is Gone” & the tragic story of David Berman, who took his life one month after the album’s release ([62:04–64:24]).

[65:09–71:39] The Top 5, and Ultimate Feel-Bad Record

• Colin’s #1: Warning – “Watching From a Distance”

  • “It’s running right here, you cut me open it’s gonna go sometimes when I… footprints... it’s the saddest record ever.” ([68:39])
  • Described as the most personally influential sad record, a source of both pain and creativity.

• Bo’s #1: Alice In Chains – “MTV Unplugged”

  • Live versions as definitive, the heartbreak of Layne Staley’s final performance, and “Down in a Hole” as the ultimate sad song ([65:09–67:20]).
  • “To me, Alice In Chains is a Rushmore band… this is a perfectly curated culmination of their songs.” ([68:01])

Additional Album Mentions & Standout Selections

• Petal – “Shame”
• Tim Hecker – “Harmony in Ultraviolet”
• Fleetwood Mac – “Self-Titled” (“Landslide”)
• Depeche Mode – “Songs of Faith and Devotion”
• Nine Inch Nails – “The Fragile”
• Townes Van Zandt – “Our Mother the Mountain” / “Kathleen”
• Jeff Buckley – “Grace”
• Evoken – “Atra Mors”
• 40 Watt Sun – “Wider than the Sky”
• Amigo the Devil – “Everything is Fine”
• Agaloc – “Ashes Against The Grain”
• Cranberries – “To the Faithful Departed”
• Citizen – “Youth”

Running Gags, Tone, and Style

• Keeping it Playful Amidst Darkness: Jokes and asides about skipping certain songs, only being able to handle certain tracks during karaoke, and the idea of “running through a wall” vs. “sinking through a bed” depression.
• Brutal Honesty: Hosts share openly about needing to skip songs that are too much to bear, or albums that function as emotional “break glass in case of emergency.”
• Musicianship Discussion: Frequent comments on the production, mixing, and performance details behind the records (“get to episode three”—referring to both TV series and albums).

Final Thoughts and Caution for Listeners

“If you’re going to listen to this playlist, make sure you’re in a good place. You got people who love you. Everything’s fine.”
– Bo, [71:28]

A powerful tribute to the universal experience of musical melancholy, the episode reinforces that it’s okay—and sometimes even essential—to sit with dark feelings, as long as you have support and a way out.

Table: Select Top Picks & Timestamps

| Host | Album | Artist | Notable Track(s) | Timestamp | |------|--------------------------------------------|------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------| | Bo | MTV Unplugged | Alice in Chains | Down in a Hole, No Excuses | 65:09–67:20 | | Colin| Watching From a Distance | Warning | Footprints | 68:39–71:28 | | Colin| Grace | Jeff Buckley | Lover, You Should've Come Over | 50:26 | | Bo | Sound the Alarm | Saves the Day | Don't Know Why | 52:18–53:56 | | Colin| Vauxhall and I | Morrissey | Speedway | 58:40–60:14 | | Bo | The Queen is Dead | Smiths | I Know It’s Over | 60:33–61:52 | | Both | Sonic Excess in its Purest Form / Odd Fellows Rest | Crowbar | Planets Collide | 03:07, 48:11 |

Mood Playlist: Listen At Your Own Risk

This episode doubles as a genre-spanning “feel bad” playlist: recommended for when you need to wallow, reflect, or tap into something greater than yourself.