Top 10 Albums of 2010

Here's the listing of my favorite albums from 2010. Not necessarily the best or greatest but the ones that left the biggest impact on me and warranted the most repeated listens. Not ranked in numerical order, all rule pretty hard (IMO). I selected a few youtube clips of some of the less extreme stuff for all you normal people to (try and) enjoy. Feel free to take listen:

The Dillinger Escape Plan- Option Paralysis

Dillinger's trademark math metal attack is more refined, while their avant-garde Mike Patton-isms shine even brighter. New drummer Billy Rhymer does not disappoint.


Nails- Unsilent Death


















Raw and dirty powerviolence tinged grindcore. Less than 15 mins long, but epic as fuck.

Starkweather- This Sheltering Night

Mind-bending. Amazing musicianship coupled with the most insane vocal performance of the year. THIS is what it sounds like when those invisible insects start crawling under your skin.

Julie Christmas- The Bad Wife


















The singer for Made Out of Babies solo debut. At times it's heavy, beautiful and a tad bit creepy. Everything I've come to love about Julie. Here's her cover of a Dusty Springfield classic:


Withered- Dualitas

A haunting slab of sludgy black metal. This album confirms it, Withered deserve to be much higher in the current pantheon of Georgia based metal bands.

Daughters- Daughters

If Danzig hijacked a circus while on acid, it would sound like Daughter's self titled album.


Clinging To The Trees of a Forrest Fire- Songs of Ill Hope and Discontent

Easily, the nastiest, most pissed off album of the year. Re-read the album's title (or the band's name for that matter) and take the first horrid image that comes to mind and multiply that 10x...but with blast beats and growls/shrieks over it.

Triptykon- Eparistera Daimones

Tom G. Warrior strikes again! For those of you who liked (or remember) my Crunch Time: Celtic Frost post, you might fancy Tom's latest project's debut album. Dark, heavy and full of future Crunch Time riffs for sure.


Immolation- Majesty and Decay

One of the most consistent/innovative death metal bands around, Immolation continue their streak of releasing astoundingly heavy yet thought provoking slabs of brutality. Really, where do they get these time signatures and melodies from?

Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

I am rarely able to rank my favorite albums during these compilations but this record was the closest I've come to "ALBUM OF THE YEAR" in a while. If it weren't for the two filler songs toward the end, this would have been a flawless front to back album. Arcade Fire are huge so feel free to search the interwebz for the heaps of critical acclaim The Suburbs has received.

*Special Note*
There were a lot of great EPs released this year but two of them tied for my favorite:
Torche- Songs For Singles
&
Beneath the Massacre- Maree Noire
both of which I've already blogged about. Click the links for my previous posts about these awesome EPs.