JON MAHON’S GUIDE TO…ROCK CLUB FLOORFILLERS!

Kerrang! Radio & Face Down resident superstar DJ Jon Mahon is here to help you get ready for the weekend.. or just any sort of party really! Whack this on at birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvah’s, funerals… maybe not the last one… Anyway, Jon’s come up with his essential 20(ish) songs to get those push moshes and singalongs going. This is Jon Mahon’s Guide To… Rock Club Floorfillers!

20. Bring Me The Horizon – Kingslayer

Starting the list off with one of the newest releases on it. When Post Human Survival Horror dropped the world was in lockdown and the first thing on my mind when nightclubs were permitted to opening their doors for the first time in nearly 2 years was, I GOTTA PLAY KINGSLAYER!

Combining the J-Pop influences in the production to the guttural vocals that were responsible for the early success of Bring Me, Kingslayer is the perfect example of what happens when a band says “fuck genres let’s write something nobody has every heard before.”

19. Mr Highways Thinking About The End / If it means a lot to you – A Day To Remember

Up next two songs from ADTR that perfectly summarise why we love them so much. From disrespecting our surroundings and contorting our bodies to the breakdown in ways that would reduce a chiropractor to tears, to ugly crying whilst screaming the la’s in the final chorus. Both of these bangers produce such a high volume of emotion no matter what time of the night you hear them in the club.

18. First To Eleven – I Was Made For Lovin You

I discovered First To Eleven during the pandemic and instantly couldn’t wait to play their music at night clubs.

They’ve got an eclectic range of covers from The Killers to The Weeknd and even the 2022 Download Festival Headliners, KISS!

This is honestly one of the best covered I’ve ever heard and a beautiful way to get everyone, and I means EVERYONE onto the dancefloor.

17. Linkin Park – In The End / One Step Closer

This is a bitter sweet entry for me on this list as one of these songs hospitalised me in 2021. We all know that Chester Bennington was one of one. A soul with talent that may never be replicated again. Even his signature tuck jump can cause a DJ playing In The End to, I don’t know, tear their achillies tendon?

My personal failures aside, breaking out the stereotypical “everyone crouch down and jump” for the final chorus gives everyone participating a unique boost of serotonin that only Chester can provide ❤️

16. Avril Lavigne – Sk8r Boi / Girlfriend

Up next the Pop Punk Queen in all her glory. The antithesis of the genre illustrated by her global success, both of these Avril bangers serve as the perfect anthem to turn the heat up on the dancefloor at any club night. As one of the biggest house hold names on this list both Sk8r Boi & Girlfriend are two songs that no matter what genre of night you’re at, if they come on everyone is singing along.

15. Slipknot – Duality

Every rock night club in the world should legally be required to play this song or have their license removed and be stripped of their battle jacket patches.

Not only is the music video for duality the most chaotic house party to have ever been thrown, making an episode of skins looks like Downton Abby, but the song itself just radiates energy.

This song also serves as a great reminder of the talents possessed by two of the greatest metal musicians to ever walk the face of this earth, the late, great Joey Jordison and the heart of the early Slipknot success, Paul Grey

14. While She Sleeps ft. Oli Sykes – Silence Speaks

This song is proof that every band should have at the very least one collaboration per album. The best the north has to offer teaming up to provide the one with a breakdown that slaps so hard you forget your date of birth.

Some of the biggest mosh pits that I’ve seen in my near 10 year time spent DJing alternative club nights have occurred whilst the words “ I THINK YOUR SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES” have blasted out from every available speaks system in the room.

13. 3OH!3 – Don’t Trust Me

Much like the two entries from Avril, Don’t Trust Me is one of the safest bets in the Alt DJ’s Arsenal to put the dance in dancefloor.

At 129 bpm this 3OH3 banger is also extremely useful for incorporating a little bit of dance music into the set as the “shush girl, shut your lips” middle 8 acts as nice transitional vocal into a drop.

12. You Me At Six – Save It For the Bedroom

I love gang vocals. There’s something about hearing a bunch of people scream the same words as kid as they can that really makes me feel things. And one of the best examples of that is Save It For The Bedroom.

The high paced tempo of this tune combined with the lyrics of a very young Josh Francheschi would make this a banger in of their own rights but add into that aforementioned gang vocals in the middle 8 that flow into a pre chorus of just the drums and josh singing the main hook before the euphoric drop of the last chorus makes this one of the most fun songs to hear in the club.

11. Sum 41 – Fat Lip

I mean… Do I really need to say anything about this song? Like, “Fat Lip by Sum 41” speaks for itself. I do? Okay, I’ll try and keep it brief.

This song is the dictionary definition of Alt party anthem. The number of plays this song has received at rock nights is more than the current population of this planet. And that isn’t by accident. Every part of this song contains a different type of energy.

The opening riff has you bouncing. The chorus has you moshing. The verses have you spitting bars and the middle 8 has everyone together as one voice in unison.

10. MGK & Halsey – Forget Me Too

Another 2k20 entry to this list and a collaboration that helped redefine modern pop punk. Halsey stans have known for a while just how much of a fan of Pop Punk the globally successful pop artist is. And on Tickets To My Downfall we finally got the chance to hear Halsey bust out (in my humble opinion) the biggest last chorus in a pop punk song of the last decade. And if you don’t believe me, just look around the room the next time this plays at your local Alt night.

9. twenty one pilots – Stressed Out

I couldn’t write a list of my favourite club songs and not include my favourite band in the world. I was also tempted to go for Heathens or Ride but in the end I settled for stressed out.

Not only is this the most streamed twenty one pilots song of all time but you can start this tune at any point in the song and instantly people know the words.

Add into that the song sitting at 86bpm which makes it incredibly friendly for mixing in with Drum & Bass, this is one of the most versatile songs an alt dj can have at their disposal.

8. Don Broco – Everybody / T-Shirt Song

The boys. The kings of rowdy culture. If you’ve ever been to a Broco show you’re basically at one big house party.

The intro to Everybody induced instant chaos and combine that with the offensive amount of bounce in the chorus’ this song is essential for any rock club.

Then if we wanna have a little fun, there’s nothing wrong with taking your t-shirt off and swinging it around your head. This song lends it self better more towards the end of a night rather than the start.

7. Enter Shikari – Sorry You’re Not A Winner

The claps in sorry you’re not a winner are more iconic than the claps in the friends theme tune.

If you want to go from 0-Chaos in one riff then look no further than this song. What I love the most about this song is that over the years I’ve looped the palm muted guitar in the final 1/3 of the song and used it as a chance to interact with the people on the dancefloor. My favourite stupid thing to do is to get everyone to do a wall of hugs instead of a wall of death.

Because after all, Enter Shikari bring people together in the most positive way.

6. Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Going Down

I’m gonna level with you this list was hard before we got anywhere near the top 5 and narrowly missing out is a song by a band who could’ve had any number of their hits on this list.

Serving as the gateway band that lead a lot of us to discovering all the different corners that guitar based music has to offer are the pioneers of pop punk Fall Out Boy.

I think this is possible the most career spanning song that the band have that mange’s to connect the TTTYG die hards and the ABAPN / Mania fans who discovered them a little later on.

Regardless, you know all the fucking words no matter how many drinks deep you are.

5. Skrillex – Bangarang

There are a lot of people in this world who think like Cable in Deadpool 2 in that “dubsteps for pussies” and to that I’d say

“You’re so dark, are you sure you’re not from the DC universe, AND I LOVE DUBSTEP!”

If I was a wizard, Skrillex would be my patronus. Encapsulating my music taste in a human being. Starting out as a screamo vocalist in From First To Last before literally creating a whole new genre and then using that as a stepping stone to become one of the biggest producers of all time.

And this is kinda where it all took off. This has been the foundation of one of my oldest mixes as a DJ that I’ve been dropping for over 5 years. The other part of that mix being…

4. Hollywood Undead – Everywhere I Go

This.

Once again this song is pure party. The first mix I ever discovered as an alternative DJ was Bangarang and Everywhere I Go.

The bpms match almost perfect, the keys do match perfectly (a rarity for alt DJs) but the songs also have the same energy. If Skrillex were to have put lyrics to Bangarang I’m convinced that he wouldn’t have found anything as perfect as this Hollywood Undead anthem.

3. Bring Me The Horizon – Drown

Since the pandemic ended this song has been in every DJ set I’ve done. It’s a song that I love to play right near the end of my set. It’s a song that has reduced me to tears on numerous occasions and the emotion portrayed by Oli’s first ever fully clean singing performance on a BMTH song makes it one of my favourite dancefloor anthems.

Ducking the volume out for the last “Who will fix me now” and hearing a whole room full of people sing is one of my favourite sounds I’ve ever heard.

2. Paramore – Misery Business

Now things get really serious.

There are so many parts of this song that make it the perfect rock club anthem. Saying “hit that snare” with those who know before it kicks in. The pace of the verses getting everyone dancing. And then the best start to any chorus, the iconic, WHOOOAAAAAAAA!

If we’re talking mixing as well once again the 86 beats per minute of misery business make it easy to transition into some D&B.

But the real gift of this song is Hayley Williams. The vocal performance of her career is evident when you hear the volume a room of people singing it as loud as they can

1. My Chemical Romance – Welcome To The Black Parade

Pretty much every single DJ set I’ve ever done has ended on this song. The emo national anthem. The MySpace generations Bohemian Rhapsody and the perfect song to end the night on.

It’s hard to put this song into words because it’s so unique in that it changes up on you so many times. The story of the song takes you on a melodically journey starting with a piano and ending with a drum roll.

And nothing says goodbye better than the last words of the song being “we’ll carry on” a wonderfully inspiring message that’s not just a great conclusion for a club night but also a great conclusion to this list.