Some skull-crushing, filthy, oppressive sludgy doom metal to get you through the endless string of holiday hangovers...

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: BitterCOld

Groovy, gritty, alt-prog album you'll be spinning long after your "Best of 2010" list is forgotten. It'll remind you a bit of classic Tool, but Klone has crafted their very own mesmerizing world of darkness... Black Days are ahead indeed.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Jeff, Dane Train, Ag Fox, X-Ray Rod

Releases like this are few and far between for me. Mandrake continue to refine their gothic metal style, walking their own solitary path throughout a city of antiquity, traveling on paths left oft-unexplored, hidden between the shadows of overproduced and commercialized albums. They reveal a sorrowful, passionate song writing, full of coarse male vocals and sincere female vocals, ready to slowly haunt you with its own honesty and yearning for a release from own our psychological seclusions. This is easily my Gothic Metal album of 2010!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Susan

Some cheerful Christmas carols to get you through the worst time of the year...

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: !J.O.O.E.!, X-Ray Rod

This album is a contradiction. four tracks spread across over 50 minutes, yet Bongripper find no time for vocals/lyrics. Nor do they find time for solos. Hell, they barely have time to create song names... the four tracks are simply titled:

1. Hail
2. Satan
3. Worship
4. Doom

All they have time to do is beat you about the head and neck with riff after riff after riff for nearly an hour.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Thryce, Marcel Hubregtse, White Winter Sun, X-Ray Rod, ScreamingSteelUS

Not only are these guys massive live, their latest disc is as well. The production really lets those bluesy doom riffs take center stage, and Victor's vocals and lyrics are delivered with purpose and depth. From the thick opening sounds "The Maker" to the reflective "Though He Slay Me," and finally to my choice in "Timeless Hearts" with its great groove, this is metal that calms while also inspiring the mind and soul.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Dane Train, Marcel Hubregtse, Troy Killjoy, White Winter Sun

Some melancholic dark metal to get you into the season's spirit...

(Definitely not their best release though.)

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Ag Fox

Blaze might not have had the easiest of times either through his career or especially as of late. This guy has battled through all odds to release his most successful album to date. Promise And Terror is a great heavy metal album that touches on speed metal, but also towards the end touches on some very dark issues too. Give him another go; you might be surprised.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Music4TheSpirit

so i've teased, tormented and tantalized you with a review of an album you could not have... Until Now.

It's a Festivus miracle.

If you like yer doom slow, drawn out, growly, and HELLenic, you know what to do.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Jason W., Troy Killjoy, X-Ray Rod

Hailing from Germany, these guys took me by surprise with their debut full-length, whose title I refuse to even try to spell here. If you're into groovy, well-produced doom metal that speeds up quite often, Essenz will rock your boat till you fall out of it. Pseudo tribal chanting, eerie female voices, headbang-inducing riffage, pounding drumming, even a song that has no sound in it. If you try this, you'll be in for some seriously weird offering. It may amaze you, it may bore you, but it will not leave you indifferent. Most likely, Essenz will put you in a trance. It put me at least. A solid debut, promising a lot for the future.

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It's December, and the traditional end-of-year-list season is coming up... Which is why I'll provide you with yet another awesome tip, so your own silly best of 2010 list will already look a little less terrible. You're very welcome.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Marcel Hubregtse, Daniell, !J.O.O.E.!, Doc G., BitterCOld, Troy Killjoy, White Winter Sun, X-Ray Rod

Sludge! From the "Riff Filled Land!"

Listening to this album is akin to being beaten about the head and neck (very slowly) with blunt objects. Only I imagine listening to this album is a lot more fun than being battered by blunt objects. Slow, deep, hard and drenched in feedback.

If you still need convincing, read my review for more.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Deadsoulman, Marcel Hubregtse, White Winter Sun, Nefarious, Troy Killjoy, X-Ray Rod

Love them or hate them, Cradle Of Filth are back with their most extreme album since Cruelty And The Beast. The band are still the modern force you have come to terms with of recent years, but the band have gone up yet another gear with this release.

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Endorsed by: Daniell

The new The Ocean album is much better than the other new The Ocean album.

The album lies perfectly in line with its predecessor, with the sole difference that Anthropocentric shows aggression, heaviness, power and, well, everything else Heliocentric was lacking.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod

After thirty years dedicated to the thrash metal, German metallers Sodom are still alive and ready to kick some asses with their devastating stuff.

In War And Pieces is not reinventing the wheel, Sodom remains Sodom, but at least, it remains a very massive and solid album.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Troy Killjoy, Ag Fox