2010 was a interesting year for my development into the metal genre. My tastes changed a lot this year with my recent exploration into progressive metal and rock music. I still love some brutal death metal and don't mind the occasional metalcore album, but I've lost my infatuation with deathcore which is a good thing. So what does all of that mean for my over all picks this year... well for starters its not nearly as heavy as previous years. More of the bands are going to be unknown or not as widely known. The music quality is going up, oh and I'm getting older so that might be a big change as well.
Its very important that you understand that this isn't a debate. These are my top ten picks. You may disagree and that's OK. Just remember that we love metal together, as metal heads we should back support our peers even if you don't agree with what they deem is good. So for this list and all lists to come after it, use it as an informative piece and don't trash the writers opinions.
10. The Acacia Strain - "Wormwood"
To the untrained listener "Wormwood" would be, without a doubt, the heaviest album on my list. Its also the only deathcore band I'll list. With the sea of deathcore albums released in 2010 this one stands above the rest as a true testament of the staying power of bands that founded the genre. "Wormwood" just relentlessly beats the heavy into your head. Its not the "play as fast as you can" deathcore that has flooded the market. This album is at times slow and methodical. I got a lot of playtime out of this record this year so I felt it deserved to be on the list.
"The Impaler"
9. TesseracT - "Concealing Fate EP"
The only EP on my list, and its amazing that an EP made the list in the first place. "Concealing Fate" is one of the best progressive metal albums I've heard. This band has big things coming to them in the future if they stay on the path they are on now. Being an EP the album isn't very long, clocking in at around 30 minutes, but for what they miss in quantity they make up for with the utmost quality. Out of all of the progressive metal albums on my list these guys display the most skill with their instruments. I'm looking forward to TesseracT's debut next year!
"Deception"
8. The Chariot - "Long Live"
I never really thought much of The Chariot before this years "Long Live". I always felt that the albums were just a bunch of noise. To be fair is probably still is noise, but now a more structured, controlled noise. "Long Live" is also the most diverse of all The Chariot albums adding different musical instruments as well as utilizing guest vocalist who don't scream. This is the only post hardcore album on my list and it was a toss up between this and a lesser known outfit called Reno but I feel that The Chariot really brought a lot to the table with this album and should be recognized for the effort.
"Andy Sundwall"
7. Journal - "Unlorja"
If your a fan of metal you really need to hear "Unlorja". This album is completely nuts. Whats even more crazy is this band self released "Unlorja" and they are still unsigned. Its only a matter of time before they do get signed and have money to make a label release which I can only imagine will be one of the greatest mathcore albums ever released. These guys made due with what resources they had and that's why "Unlorja" is on my list. If I had a most deserving list they would be number 1!!!
"Labyrinth of Betrayal"
6. The Ocean - "Heliocentric" and "Anthropocentric"
The Ocean released two albums this year so its not cheating to put both of them as number 6. If I had to choose one of them I would choose "Anthropocentric" but this is my list damnit! There were going to be stark differences between the two albums as far as heaviness goes but I can't really tell a difference. Both albums are top notch progressive metal with light and heavy elements. The first record "Heliocentric" was definitely the risk taker of the two. It had some lite elements that the other did not. Both are good enough for their own spots. I'm glad I did it this way because now I get to post two songs!
"Heliocentric" - "The First Commandment of the Luminaries"
"Anthropocentric" - "She Was The Universe"
5. Periphery - "Periphery"
If I could see any band right now it would be Periphery. From what I understand they put on one hell of a show. I struggle where to put this on the list. The music is so good but the vocals are lacking in areas, which is not the case when seeing them live. I REALLY WANT TO SEE THEM LIVE! The songs on this album are unique in that they are super catchy. They use a great blend of screaming and singing vocals that work for the most part. The real draw here is the excellent guitar work. Its like listening to Fall of Troy and actually being able to stand more than one song. This also might be the most accessible of all of the progressive bands that I will post.
"Walk"
4.
Annihilator - Self Titled.
I debated a great deal on where I would put the newest by Annihilator. I became a fan of the band a couple years ago when they released the album "Metal" and when I decided to look into them more I was happy to see that they had a new LP in the works. I had no idea it would be the epic awesome that it turned out to be. Annihilator plays the best kind of thrash metal. Its fast in your your face but it doesn't just bleed into noise like many thrash bands do.When you listen to the album its apparent that the band relies heavily on the guitar riffs and rightly so. The guitar work on the album is amazing, some of the best I've ever heard. They didn't forget the rest of the band though. While the guitars steal the show the drumming and bass are top notch. I called the bands music "Thrash" and it is that by definition but they even play with progressive elements in some of the song and even on song borrows elements from metal powerhouse Megadeth. Its a great album from start to finish with catchy songs and influences from the greats of metal that have a charm all their own."The Trend"
"Betrayed"
Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy.
One day, when I was on my way home from work in my dad's car, I was listening to sirius/xm radio and the song "The Termination Proclamation" played on whatever metal station they had and I was entranced in its awesome. I had no idea what to expect from the album but I was excited to finally listen to it. So I got this album and I was ready to rock and was.... overall disappointed. Well its true, when I first hear this album I was disappointed that all the songs weren't like the one I heard in my dads car. Little did I know that when I gave the album a couple more listens that it would become one of my favorites of the year. Nevermore has been around for a long time, I knew they existed but always assumed they were a cheesy 80's trash metal band but I was wrong. These guys make some of the most deceptively heavy music out there. The talent from the guys in the band are unmatched when it comes to the thrashish genre. The album is a trip, it changes tempo, musical direction, even key and is just like "Deal with it". This album is worth listening to until you understand as I did. I challenge you to try it out."Without Morals"
"Termination Proclamation"
3.
Dååth - "Dååth"
This album is a ride from beginning to end. Its not for metal newbies or even causal metal listeners. Daath is for those you enjoy the technical side of metal. This album has the cleanest sound of any metal album I've heard and thats a good thing because while its clean sounding its still very much organic. Not over produced like a lot of bands are today. I love the approach these guys come to writing music and their obvious nod to other genre's such as Nu Metal. Dååth may also have two of the greatest guitarists in modern metal today. Emil Werstler and Eyal Levi work off of each other perfectly. They keep their riffs and solo's tight and within the sound of the song. The solo's are constructed well and implemented even better. If your a true lover of metal give this one some play time, you won't be disappointed. I would go so far to say its impossible for you to be.2.
Iron Thrones - "The Wretched Sun"
I've been going back and forth for the number 2 slot since I started planing this. There are several albums I wanted to list but just didn't cut it, and then I thought "maybe I could do 2 album's a number" but that's just stupid. None of this is important but I want you to understand what I mean when I say this was a tough choice.
"The Wretched Sun" literally came out of no where. I've known about the existence of Iron Thrones since their debut and knew of their talent as musicians but I never thought they could make an album so good. Think Between the Buried and Me but more structured. The amazing thing is this band still isn't signed to a major label. Its baffling to me. The albums got a perfect blend of hard and not and some of the songs are so mellow that you wouldn't even know this was a brutal band if you just heard those parts. Nothing on this album sounds over produced and it just sounds like these guys are having a blast recording it.I'm looking forward to more releases from Iron Thrones in the coming years. I'm sure its just a matter of time before they do sign with a label and when they do lets hope that they get the deal they deserve and the creative control they deserve.
Iron Thrones - "Like a Moth to Flame"
Iron Thrones - "Against the Grain"
1.
The Contortionist - "Exoplanet"
From the moment I started playing the song "Flourish" from The Contortionist's label debut I knew I was going to love the band. I just didn't know how much I would like the music. To the untrained ear Iron Thrones may sound like the same band and its true their styles are very similar. Both progressive metal, both use heavy and light elements, Both structure their songs very well. The Contortionist just do it in a much better way.
The album starts with the song "Primal Directive" and it might be the most perfect song that's ever started an album. I was glad they decided not to go for the "Intro" route since too many bands take advantage of this mainstay that don't understand that an intro is to prepare the listener for what they will be listening to, not some stupid line from a movie you like." Primal Directive" lays out the formula that the band uses for a good deal of "Exoplanet" it also has a awesome "breakdown". It then blasts into "Flourish" which is by far my favorite song on the album and my favorite song of the year. "Flourish" shows you the talent that the band has, it also is the greatest in extremes of hard and mellow and at times is truly beautiful in both. "Expire" is a nonstop attach of brutality. Which is brought back down with "Contact", which is a more rock style tune. The tracks continue on in a path of greatness. Some of the highlights being the instrumental track "Axiom" and the three part track "exoplanet"The album is a concept album with heavy sci fi influences. It also borrows tracks from the bands self released effort "Apparition" an album in which the band had a different singer. The new singer rewrote the lyrics for the songs they used to make them his own but also to improve and give flare to the already excellent songs. He also wanted the songs to fit better in a live setting. Which from what I've read and heard over the interwebs is a great show.
This album is more than deserving to be at the top spot. If you've not given this album a listen, then just go buy it. Seriously, don't even listen to it, just buy it. Its so good it would be impossible for you to disagree.
The Contortionist - "Flourish"
The Contortionist - "Contact"
The Contortionist - "Axiom"
