Favourite Albums Of 2010
Original post
Posted by Unknown user, 08.09.2010 - 16:16
Some of the very best and most impressive I've heard so far in no order:
Demiurg - Slakthus Gamleby
Bloodbath meets Edge Of Sanity. Old school death metal with a progressive bent; plenty of synths and clean vocals and a pristine production.
TenHornedBeast - Hunts & Wars
Incredible war themed drone and dark ambient from England. Huge, ominous soundscapes of deathly nothingness.
Cathedral - The Guessing Game
In a complete change of pace Cathedral unleash two CD's worth of psychedelic stoner doom that would make a fitting soundtrack to The Wicker Man. A bit of a polarising number.
Winterfylleth - The Mercian Sphere
Continuing the trend of English pagan black metal, the newest release of this band merges a smattering of post-rock and more contemplative atmosphere to create a worthy sophomore record
Yakuza - Of Seismic Consequence
Everyone likes jazz and metal and Yakuza exemplify the sound of smoky jazz bars and harsh hardcore infused metal and the result is a complex and expansive musical journey.
Blut Aus Nord - What Once Was... Liber I
The ever revolving BaN strike again with death-infused primal black metal, all the while maintaining their own unique signature sound. I love BaN.
A Forest Of Stars - Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring
Another impressive follow up to a highly acclaimed album. Very sophisticated and unusual atmospheric black metal characterised by the use of violin in a most effective manner. Just as good as the debut.
Menace Ruine - Union Of Irreconcilables
Mixing neo-folk, drone and noise, Canadians Menace Ruine carve a bit of a niche for themselves in the construction of opposing genres. Not for everyone but interesting if nothing else.
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Possibly their greatest album since Demanufacture? Altogether great song writing and worth hearing for the track Christploitation which could mark the future of the band.
Ramesses - Take The Curse
Comprising ex members of Electric Wizard you'd expect something excellent from this. And excellent it is. Electric Wizard meets Acid Witch: thick black psychedelic sludge with a 70's horror movie theme.
Killing Joke - In Excelsis
Don't really know how I feel about this yet. I like it a lot but the change in sound from the previous albums threw me a little so reserving judgement until the full length
Castevet - Mounds Of Ash
Highly original extreme progressive metal mixing black metal, hardcore and some compelling rhythms make this a firm favourite of mine.
Valborg - Crown Of Sorrow
Haven't listened to this very much yet but I know I like it. Progressive death metal with a variety of other dark nuances thrown in.
Integrity - The Blackest Curse
Extremely angry metalcore, but not metalcore as most people know it. Proper hardcore brutality with a bunch of thrashy numbers and surprisingly complex.
Knut - Wonder
They've toned down the noise since Challenger but the technical prowess on display on this sludgy hardcore record is truly bewildering.
Luasa Raelon - Vampyr: Light Of The Beast
Crap album name, awesome pulsating dark ambient and death industrial from Coldspring.
Robedoor - Burners
One of the ultimate drone/noise monsters get back on form with a concoction of world music spliced with droning feedback. More levels than Tetris.
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Daniell on 20.10.2010 at 21:46 Hooded Menace is fucking great. Am stoked to see them on November 6.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Daniell on 20.10.2010 at 21:46 Psh, you people and your planet murdering devices  Only listened to the new Melechesh briefly but I wasn't overly enthralled by it, deserves a few more tries though. Can't even remember what that Hooded Menace one sounds like, has been ages since I listened to it. I'm pretty happy with Coffinworm for the moment though.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 20.10.2010 at 21:48 So completely, utterly, engulfingly, disarmingly, enthrallingly, endearingly old school, dirty and cool. - I will use this behemoth of a wrongly composed sentence in my review 
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| Andre Posts: 80  |
I think 7th Symphony from Apocalyptica is not as bad as the previous one. The tracks are not that awesome but decent.
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| Mikyz Posts: 711  |
I'm only going to describe the relatively less known albums, so my favorite releases so far are (I'm sure I forgot many): The following have MS reviews; Enslaved's Axioma Ethica Odini, Mar De Grises' Streams Inwards, Ophis' Withered Shades, Alcest's Ecailles De Lune, Misery Index's Heir to Thievery, and I Shalt Become's Poison. Kvelertak's Kvelertak A very unique approach on Black Metal and Hardcore, hence their genre name blackcore, there are also hints of Rock 'n' Roll. The album is in Norwegian but the musicianship is too good for this to push me away. An insanely catchy album. Fukpig's Belief Is the Death Of Intelligence Trio that include a member from each of these bands Anaal Nathrakh, Mistress and Exploder, it sounds exactly like you imagine it fast, intense and basically an explosion of mind fucking grindcore/punk. Hooded Menace's Never Cross The Dead Death/Doom at it's peak, it's Old School with some freshness, by that I meant that its sound is pretty unique, mainly because it's both catchy and crushing. Kerasphorus' Cloven Hooves At The Holocaust Dawn [EP] The brainchild of Pete Helmkamp known for his contribution to Angelcorpse and Revenge, naturally this album is Black/Death Metal with a philosophical aim, highly enjoyable. Nails' Unsilent Death 14 minutes of unrelenting disgust, a good choice for fans of heavy music. This is basically sludgy hardcore, grind and d-beat mixed into a cesspool of hate, to the point leaving no time for bullshit.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| enumaelis Posts: 266  |
Every year I make an own list that I share in my blog, at the moment, and with many releases that I must listen carefully yet, this is my top: 01-Morowe - Piekło.Labirynty.Diabły 02-Bifroest - Heidenmetal 03-Alcest -Écailles De Lune 04-Sigh - Scenes From Hell 05-Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra 06-Mokoma - Sydanjuuret 07-Aeternam - Disciples of the Unseen 08-Keep Of Kalessin - Reptilian 09-Enthrope - Tomorrow's Dead Days 10-Crystalic - Persistence 11-Masterplan - Time to be King 12-Bran Barr - Sidh 13-Finntroll - Nifelvind 14-Aorlhac - La Cite Des Vents 15-The Vision Bleak - Set Sail To Mistery 16-Fallen Sentinel - Perpetual 17-Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River 18-Equilibrium - Rekreatur 19-Negura_Bunget - Vîrstele Pămîntului 20-Carach Angren - Death Came Through a Phantom Ship 21-An Infinite Dream Sequence - The Series Of Reveries Subsides 22-Aldaaron - Nous Reviendrons Immortels 23-Ereb Altor - The End 24-Son Of Aurelius - The Farthest Reaches 25-Pertness - From the Beginning to the End
---- http://enumaelis.blogspot.com/
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| Mikyz Posts: 711 |
I want to add some releases that I skipped, Atlantean Kodex - The Golden Bough When it comes to heavy metal I usually stick with the oldies like Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate and Whatnot but I was pleasantly surprised by this album which is executed is a near flawless way, specially when it comes to the quality of the guitar work. Briton Rites - For Mircalla Heavy/Doom Metal obviously influenced by the one and only Black Sabbath it has a very old-school sound. This album is all about thick, fuzzy and heavy guitar sounds. A very entrancing album for fans of Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General or NWOBHM in general. Aldaaron - Nous Reviendrons Immortels This might be my favorite Black Metal release this year, Aldaaron remind me once again why I love the French Black Metal scene so much. Like most of the time I was taken aback and enchanted by the majestic yet bleak songwriting dominated by melodic tremolo riffing which might give a Pagan feel to the music. Nevertheless a must for 2010.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
One more that will most definitely make the top 10: Ophis "Withered Shades".
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
My vote for "Best Album of 2010" goes to Angantyr - Svig (for my tastes, of course). Closely followed by Nightbringer - Apocalypse Sun. By the way, I can count the albums I bought this year on one hand. In fact, I bought easily over a dozen albums but most of them are not from 2010.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Difficult to say up to now. at the end of the year will most probably have bought around 400 albums of which around 100 are from this year.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Mikyz Posts: 711 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.10.2010 at 16:16 Damn that's a lot of albums, I only bought like 20 albums this year I'm tight on cash, can't wait for Christmas though. btw how many albums do you own overall Marcel?
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| SteelSeraph Posts: 4  |
So far the few albums that have really impressed me so far Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (was a bit of a disappointment at first, but now I consider the second half of the album among Maiden's best) Volbeat - Beyond Hell / Above Heaven
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| Ag Fox Angel No More Elite Posts: 4774  |
Written by [user id=4365] on 20.10.2010 at 21:43I enjoyed that one quite a lot, though I found more depth in In Mourning's Monolith Written by Daniell on 20.10.2010 at 21:27Just realised that we seem to have similar tastes. The ones you mentioned and I've heard have all been really enjoyable for me, though I won't necessarily put them in my final top list, but I'll check out the other ones that I have not heard that Hooded Menace, Drudkh and Fungoid Stream Written by Mikyz on 27.10.2010 at 10:04Must be a massive collection that would make museum curators jealous as it's been over a day now and Marcel's still obviously counting Anyway, back to topic... has anyone heard of Grey Water's Below The Ever Setting Sun? I know, I know... it's an EP, but it's probably the most listened to record of mine in this year. Like shoegaze? Go for it!
---- loves 小巫
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| Mikyz Posts: 711 |
Written by Ag Fox on 29.10.2010 at 02:19 I wouldn't recommend Drudkh, they completely lost their sound, the production is top not ch so no more fuzzy guitars and no more overwhelming atmosphere, it has a very modern sound which disappoints me even more because Drudkh is usually who I turn to when I'm in the mood for some atmospheric BM. Nevertheless, if you aren't an old Drudkh fan then there is no reason that you shouldn't enjoy this album, if it wasn't Drudkh I would probably enjoy this more. But I recommend Hooded Menace's Never Cross The Dead, it's heaviness/crushingness at its peak.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by Mikyz on 29.10.2010 at 10:50 Add catchiness to it  Written by Mikyz on 29.10.2010 at 10:50 It's still good music, even though the sound is quite different. I do recommend it to those who care about music, not their own expectations about music... No offense meant. I just think that's what it boils down to: expectations. I'll publish the review of Drudkh this weekend, where I will also broach this topic.
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| Ag Fox Angel No More Elite Posts: 4774 |
Haha, guess what? I've never heard of any previous work from Drudkh, so I might as well start from their latest. Heard quite a lot of good things said about them anyway and a change of style may not be a bad thing sometimes.
---- loves 小巫
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| pilu323 Posts: 1 |
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| Mikyz Posts: 711 |
Written by Daniell on 29.10.2010 at 12:36 I agree, but beyond the expectations, I still find this album to be weak. They tried to take the safe road and in the process offered us something near mediocre, we're talking about the people who released Autumn Aurora and Blood In Our Wells here. This album is too safe, the guitar riffs have potential but their execution just don't make the cut, the intensity of the atmosphere and the beauty of their simplistic riffs is no longer here, the production is bad to say the least (For me). They tried to hard to "modernize" their sound, leaning towards post-black rather than their usual recipe. This album has the potential to be much better, unfortunately they traded their artistic and enchanting atmosphere for a superficial plastic feeling.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| Koen Smits Posts: 1331  |
Satanic Warmaster for best black in 2010? Great atmosphere, Not the most original but so well executed! Arckanum - Sviga Lae is also very good but needs more listens.
---- RIP: Frank Vandenbroucke (6 nov 1974 - 12 oct 2009) Written by Bad English on 05.04.2014 at 15:05 but spoil thius film is like spoil porn and say porn ends whit cum shot ...
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| Hellish Star Posts: 2966  |
Until now: FLOTSAM & JETSAM - The cold NEVERMORE - The Obsidian Conspiracy SONS OF LIBERTY - Brush fires of the mind ANACRUSIS - Hindsight : Suffering hours & Reason revisited HEATHEN - The evolution of chaos DEATH ANGEL - Relentless Retribution A TORTURED SOUL - Lucifer's fate ANTITHESIS - Dreaming reality MEKONG DELTA - Wanderer on the egde of time DOFKA - Humanity bleak
---- www.myspace.com/hellishstar Metal To Infiity Webzine: http://users.telenet.be/metaltoinfinity/MTIindex.htm
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9087  |
Written by Hellish Star on 01.11.2010 at 12:42 I like it more and more, but apart of a few songs (like "The Apocalypt - World In Shards") I think it does not compare to their best works...
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8662  |
Jaldaboath - The Rise Of The Heraldic Beasts best folk metal and best debut 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970  |
Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time Fear Factory - Mechanize Angelus Apatrida - Clockwork Soulitude - Wonderfool World I add this other: Helloween - 7 Sinners. 
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| abysss Posts: 106  |
What the hell is happening to "listenable" metal bands these days?!? I go check out some new bands and they sound all the same, it almost does not resemble metal anymore. The commercialization of the music is a crime, metal should be classified under endangered styles of music, mainstream is killing it!! We should also forbid metal to go on Mtv and such tv channels. Take a random band out of the milions that try to break in the scene, and it will sound almost exactly like the other random band you will pick for comparison. Boring, flat, lifeless songs ahhh... I'm tired of it. What happened to the originality?? Is there aynone that feels this way, or am I the only one??
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| Lucas Mr. Noise Elite Posts: 13427  |
It's nothing personal, abysss, but I'm getting pretty fed up with all the people complaining metal is no longer original. If you do not discover at least twenty original bands and/or albums every year, you're simply not looking hard enough. There's plenty of amazing stuff out there, the '00s gave us so much in terms of amazingly unique metal.
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Ellrohir on 02.11.2010 at 13:03 The Meads of Asphodel side project. I have to confess I haven't listened to that yet, but their debut EP was kinda ok but not that great. Should probably check the full length though.
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| Mikyz Posts: 711 |
Written by abysss on 05.11.2010 at 18:11 You're not looking hard enough, or you have no idea where to look. Every year a massive number of albums are released if you search enough you'll surely find something that suits your taste.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8662 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 06.11.2010 at 23:10 i wouldnt say "side project", since James "Jaldaboath" Fogarty was in Meads only up to 2002 and the drumer only did session job for them... anyway the album is pure "medieval folk" fun - crazy lyrics, catchy melodies, awesome vid of "Hark The Herald"...and they dont pretend - they just made up solid piece of comedy metal and they know it...no intentions of playing serious folk warriors...and this appeals on me much more how "cool" projects as Eluvieite or new Elvenking...
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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