Your 2010 TOP TEN LIST

[Soundscape]

lol..well my heart is still with clean vocal, rock music. But hmm..Agalloch, Averse, Cyclamen, Journal, Ihsahn, Enditol, even Orphaned Land and In Vain are not 100% pure, clean vocal-ed prog. But I think this year, and even last year were a little down for extreme metal. Hopefully 2011 there will be some good stuff. A lot of albums I checked out, or just wasn't in the mood to listen to Metal when hearing. Gloria Morti, Dark Tranquility, Arsis, Brain Drill, etc..a lot of the others not making my list, included in the Turkey entry.

 

[BenMech]

You progheads listen to some weird friggin' shit.

Kyle G listens to a fu*kton of music somehow that even *I* don't know about, but he's usually pretty fair about each item. Needs to use the spell checker for some items.

What's on your list, Miltie?

 

[J-Man]

Damn, I had to revise my Top 10 list, as I didn't get 2 cds until Christmas and they made the list. In fact one of the them jumped to #1

Dark Moor - Ancestral Romance*
Star One - Victims of the Modern Age
Myrath - Desert Call
Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
Vaden Plas - Seraphic Clockwork
ICEWIND - My Glorious Burden *
Volbeat - Beyond Hell/Above Heaven
Kingcrow - Phlegethan
Tarot - Gravity of Light
Spiritual Beggars - Return to Zero
Revamp - Revamp

*new to list

 

[AngraRULES]

Kyle G listens to a fu*kton of music somehow that even *I* don't know about, but he's usually pretty fair about each item. Needs to use the spell checker for some items.

What's on your list, Miltie?

I am still finishing up my list as I left quite a few good records for the end of the year, and only checked them out recently. Give me a few more days and I'll post my top of the year, with a short description as to why I liked them.

I will say though, it has much less obscure stuff than the previous years.

 

[General Zod]

rym list
1st entry
50-31
30-16
15-1

Intriguing. I suspect to hate most of it, but unearth a gem or two I would have never discovered otherwise. Looking forward to going through it. Thanks.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

Reposted from my facebook:

"Well, I finally got around to it, and have been putting it off, but here it is now. I try to do this every year, even if only for my own reading. These albums have been kicking my ass, even if they haven't all been in constant rotation.



I think for the first time ever, I will not have a decisive winner. My number one pick is a tie. This year also brought around some very honorable mentions, that didn't quite make the cut. 2 extreme disappointments as well, from two bands I would never expect to disappoint me, but it is what it is.



This year has been both a great and terrible year for metal. First and foremost, we lost one of the founding fathers, Ronnie James Dio. I'm still sad about it. Everyone that listens to metal has to give thanks to and have respect for this man. It's because of him that metal is the way it is today. Sure, he didn't do it by himself, but goddammit, he helped. Christians believe that God said, "Let there be light." I don't believe that, but I do believe that Dio said, "Let there be metal." There is almost no other metal musician in this world who is celebrated like he was, or have such a long and esteemed career and catalog. He will be missed.



I also got to see some killer shows this year. Thanks to Nathan (Swordlord) Block and Steve Ledin for most of them. By far, one of the greatest live bands I have ever witnessed, Accept, finally got to hand my ass to me and make me ask for seconds. They showed that they have not slowed down a bit and that they are still capable of writing "balls to the wall" metal (see my pun? haha). Overkill. Wow. This show was back in May (I think?), and my neck STILL hurts from it. Absolutely a crushing band live, and on disc. If you were at Progpower USA this year, you also got treated to Kamelot without Roy, with Michael from Circus Maximus filling in. I'm not the worlds largest Kamelot fan, but it was a great show. Iced Earth/Sons of Liberty in Chicago at the House Of Blues was also a great show. It was great to see them again, having been a good year and a half since seeing IE last, and never having seen Sons of Liberty before. Megadeth doing the entire Rust In Peace album from front to back, then getting to hang out with David Ellefson after the show... priceless. Iron Maiden in Chicago was great too, even if I'm not a fan of their new album. Finally, Nevermore on Halloween night. What a great show that was, not to mention getting to hang out with Jim Sheppard (Bass) for a few days afterward while he crashed with me. If everything goes correctly, I should be going to Seattle at the end of next month to see the first Sanctuary reunion show. Primus. Yes Primus. I finally got to see one of my bucketlist bands live. They were amazing, everything I expected.



Ok, without further ado, on to the metal!



10. Antithiesis - Dreaming Reality. It's been quite a while since this band released anything, but man, I picked this up at Progpower (Krusty had it there early) and it floored me. It's a great mixture of power metal and thrash metal. It's very reminiscent of Jag Panzer, but I actually prefer this band to them, for the most part. I look forward to their next album, I just hope it doesn't take them another 9 years...



9. Halcyon Way - Building The Towers. Some of you might not have any clue who this band is, but they have been long time friends of mine, from years back. Hell, they were even kind enough to play my mostly unattended going away party in GA, rofl! While their first album was good, I have always thought that it was flawed. It wasn't any individual (as the only lineup change in the band has been the departing of the vocalist, Sean Shields (who is very talented and fit very well), who was replaced by Steve Braun), but more the writing itself. I'm not knocking it, because I absolutely loved the first album, but they hadn't hit their potential yet. I do believe that they did with this album. Based around the events of the government taking control of our freedoms and basically throwing our country even further into the military industrial complex. This is at least how I understood it. Jon, Zane, Ernie, Kris, if I'm wrong, haha, please let me know. I should have tagged you all on this.



8. Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium. I just got turned on to this band very recently, but WOW! I normally am not a fan of bands with female vocalists, as they usually just don't do it for me, but Christine Davis does it for me. This band basically could have come out in UK 30 years ago easily and fit right in. They sound like a mixture between OLD Judas Priest, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, etc... and goddamn it's awesome! This is a band to watch, I see good things coming for them.



7. Fear Factory - Mechanize. Byron Stroud AND Gene Hoglan? Yes please! We might as well call this band Strapping Young Factory or Fear of a Young Lad. This album crushes, more so than several of their previous outings. I regret not being able to see them earlier this year, but I had to make a choice between them and Maiden, and Maiden won. There is really nothing but good things to say about this album, it's absolutely fantastic. Heavy, melodic, fast as hell, what more could you want from these guys? I hope this lineup stays intact, and they keep releasing quality material like this.



6. Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy. I wanted this to be higher on the list, because it's such a great album, but it's got some stiff competition. It's about time that Nevermore bring us what we have come to expect from them, being a full 5 years after their previous album came out. Although this is not their best album, it's definitely among some of their best work, being reminiscent of In Memory at times and such. Almost no filler on this beast, it definitely did not disappoint.



5. Sons of Liberty - Brush-fires of the Mind. You can call Jon Schaffer whatever you want, but one thing you cannot call him is unpatriotic. He loves his country but absolutely hates what's being done to it. I've been a huge fan of this album since he put it on the net for a free download (he said he was not trying to make money, just wanted to get the message out), but it formally came out on cd earlier this year from Century Media. I was very relieved to know that someone I'm such a big fan of has the same theories as me and believes the same things are happening to us as a country.



4. Annihilator - Annihilator. (Insert Fanboy Rant Here) No, seriously, I love this album. Even by my already stringent Annihilator standards, this album smokes. Dave Padden has definitely cemented himself as someone who certainly belongs in this band. Jeff is in top form, shredding from the first note all the way until the last (being a cover of Romeo Delight by Van Halen). He let Dave write some on this album too, which is awesome, because my favorite song is one he wrote, called "Death In Your Eyes", which just slays. It's not the best Annihilator album, but I do think it might be the best with Dave on vox. It's pretty tied up with Schizo Deluxe and All For You, but it crushes Metal.



3. Ghost - Opus Eponymous. What can I say about these guys? Not much, unfortunately, because no one knows who they are. They all wear executioners hoods on stage, and the lead singer is dressed up basically like a satanic pope. Think Mercyful Fate, mixed with Diamond Head, Angel Witch, and Blue Oyster Cult. You get Ghost. Definitely another one of those bands who could have come out in the late 70s and no one would have batted an eye. These guys got turned on to me about 2 months ago, and I haven't gone a week without spinning this disc a couple of times, at least. Killer stuff.



2./1. or 1./2. However you want to look at it, it's a tie.



Overkill - Ironbound. Holy shit. That's all I can say. I haven't had a thrash disc kick my ass like this one has, in years. I honestly am one of the people who was quickly losing faith in Overkill, Killbox 13 being the last listenable album they did, in my opinion. This album took all of my doubts, wrapped them in TNT, and blew them the fuck up. Just wow. They are all in top form on this, lyrically, musically, and attitude. I got to see them earlier in the year and they kicked my ass all the way around Station 4. They cannot come back or put out a new album fast enough.



Accept - Blood Of The Nations. I honestly didn't know what to expect from these guys. To be quite honest, I heard the recordings of Balls to the Wall and I forget the other song, with Mark on vox, and they didn't really do anything for me. Because of this, I was apprehensive and was not really expecting much, if anything from this record. Boy was I wrong. From the moment Beat the Bastards starts, I knew I was in for a treat. Every song making me feel like I was in 1985 and Accept was still king. Then, Bucket Full Of Hate came on, the last song on the record. It's the epitome of a perfect Accept riff. I don't know what more to say that to say that this album is absolutely perfect. PERFECT. And while we are at it, Bucket Full Of Hate is my song of the year. It sat as my ringtone on my phone for several months and is currently back in that position now. As I said earlier, I got to see them at Progpower this year, and goddamn, they were the best live band I'd ever seen. They were playing like they had something to prove to the world (and technically, they kind of do, seeing that Udo is not in the band anymore), but they proved it, and proved it big! Mark fits into the band perfectly, and just slays live. Wolf and Peter looked like kids on stage, having a blast and playing their hearts out. I dare say that this is the best record that Accept ever did.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Now on to the honorable mentions and disappointments of this year.



Honorable Mentions:



Atheist - Jupiter. I like this album, but I don't LOVE it. It's no Unquestionable Presence or Piece of Time, but it's good. My biggest complaint about it is the production. If the production had been better, it might have found a place on my list.



Suicidal Angels - Dead Again. Just got turned on to these thrashers earlier in the week, and just haven't really haven't had a chance to absorb it much, although my initial response is that these guys definitely belong in the pantheon of the new thrash guard.



Ihsahn - After. I love this album, and it almost made it into my top 10, but I couldn't quite figure out what to get rid of.



Forbidden - Omega Wave. This album absolutely slays, but unfortunately, I couldn't decide what to take out of my top 10 to put it there. Honestly, it almost became my top 11 of 2010, but I thought that 10 from 2010 would be better. They impressed the hell out of me when I saw them about a month back. Steve Smyth fitting very well in the band, and Russ Anderson, not quite having the pipes he had back on Twisted Into Form and Forbidden Evil, can still belt it out and make it sound very, very convincing.



DISAPPOINTMENTS:



There are two, and it breaks my heart to even type them out.



Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier. Ok, I get it, you want epic, grandiose records at this stage in your career. I can get on board with that. I LOVED Brave New World and Dance of Death, but guys... please... put Kevin Shirley out to pasture. His ears are shot, he doesn't know how to produce anything anymore, much less a goddamn Iron Maiden record. For that matter, if Steve Harris is co-producing, please, just stop. You're an amazing bass player, one of the most solid in metal, but please, just stop. I think that this band could put out some absolutely killer material if they were to get a new producer to kick them in the ass and really put the screws to them.



Halford - Made Of Metal. Dear god, erhm... Metal God, please... stop writing bad lyrics. I know that you've said that this album was very personal for you because you wrote most of it and almost all of the lyrics, but please, stop. Resurrection is one of the finest metal masterpieces ever created. Crucible is not too far behind that record either. Nostradamus, I enjoyed immensely, but this album, I just can't do it. It's horrible. Maybe I built it up too much, maybe I wanted it to be the most perfect album ever conceived by the minds of man (or Metal God in this case), but it's terrible. It's not even listenable. Rob, you're my favorite musician ever, I have everything you've ever done on cd, and almost all of it on vinyl. I paid 400 dollars for a Judas Priest meet and greet a couple of years ago. I drove to Chicago to see you. I have a Judas Priest tattoo. I have countless Judas Priest, Halford, and Fight shirts. I feel like I'm doing all of the work here man... You could record your taking a shit and I would probably listen to it, but not this. This was horrible. Please, please, please, please, let this be a fluke."

 

[DemonOfTheWoods]

Finally got around to posting this. I think my list contains every new release I heard this year to be honest!

Top 21 of 2010
1. Rage- Strings to a Web
2. Pretty Maids- Pandemonium
3. Avantasia- Wicked Symphony
4. Manticora- Safe
5. Royal Hunt- X
6. Grave Digger- The Clans Will Rise Again
7. Wuthering Heights- Salt
8. Star One- Victims of a Modern Age
9. Tarot- Gravity of Light
10. Sister Sin- True Sound of the Underground
11. Labyrinth- Return to Heaven Denied Pt II
12. Therion- Sitra Ahra
13. Masterplan- Time to Be King
14. Blind Guardian- At the Edge of Time
15. Rhapsody of Fire- Frozen Tears of Angels
16. Katra- Out of the Ashes
17. Volbeat- Beyond Hell/Above Heaven
18. Iron Maiden- The Final Frontier
19. Lordi- Babiez for Breakfast
20. Sabaton- Coat of Arms
21. Nevermore- The Obsidian Conspiracy

2010 Releases that I haven't heard yet...
Magica
Mago de Oz
Allen/Lande
Innerwish
Helloween
Y & T
Magic Kingdom
Symphorce
Tierra Santa
Hydrogyn
James Labrie
Virgin Steele
Unsun
Circle II Circle
Elvenking
Kingcrow
Sinbreed
Death Angel
Crystal Viper

 

[KingsGene]

BWBK's Brave Picks Top 30 Of 2010:
#30 - STONE SOUR: Audio Secrecy (Roadrunner)
#29 - APOCALYPTICA - 7th Symphony (Sony)
#28 - TWILIGHT: Monument To Time End (Southern Lord)
#27 - HAIL OF BULLETS - On Divine Winds (Metal Blade)
#26 - FORBIDDEN - Omega Wave (Nuclear Blast)
#25 - KROKUS - Hoodoo (Columbia)
#24 - AIRBOURNE - No Guts. No Glory. (Roadrunner)
#23 - SOILWORK - The Panic Broadcast (Nuclear Blast)
#22 - TRIPTYKON - Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
#21 - DARKTHRONE - Circle The Wagons (Peaceville)
#20 - NEVERMORE - The Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)
#19 - FOZZY - Chasing The Grail (Riot)
#18 - EXODUS - Exhibit B: The Human Condition (Nuclear Blast)
#17 - MISERY INDEX - Heirs To Thievery (Relapse)
#16 - ARMORED SAINT - La Raza (Metal Blade)
#15 - BLIND GUARDIAN - At The Edge Of Time (Nuclear Blast)
#14 - GAMMA RAY - To The Metal (earMusic)
#13 - MURDERDOLLS - Women And Children Last (Roadrunner)
#12 - RATT - Infestation (Loud & Proud/Roadrunner)
#11 - BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Order Of The Black (E1)
#10 - KYLESA - Spiral Shadow (Season Of Mist)
#9 - FEAR FACTORY - Mechanize (Candlelight)
#8 - IHSAHN - After (Candlelight)
#7 - DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Option Paralysis (Party Smasher/Season Of Mist)
#6 - IRON MAIDEN - The Final Frontier (EMI)
#5 - NACHTMYSTIUM - Addicts: Black Meddle, Part II (Century Media)
#4 - GRAND MAGUS - Hammer Of The North (Roadrunner)
#3 - OVERKILL - Ironbound (Nuclear Blast)
#2 - ENSLAVED - Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
#1 - ACCEPT - Blood Of The Nations (Nuclear Blast)

 

[dgn4369]

10. Demians - Mute
9. 7 Days - Into Forever
8. Kingfisher Sky - Skin of the Earth
7. Juvilant - Inhuman Nature
6. Overkill - Ironbound
5. Empty Tremor - Iridium
4. Darkwater - Where Stories End
3. Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of the OrWarrior
2. Haken - Aquarius
1. SOLUTION .45 - FOR AEONS PAST

some bands who just missed the list - Aperion, Auvernia, Dark Horizon, Secret Sphere, Blind Guardian, Obsidian Shell, Virgin Steele, Mindsplit, Sabaton, Flotsam & Jestsam, Myrath, Avalanch, Aeon Zen, Corvus, Mago De Oz, Silent Call, Divided Multitude, Auspex, District 97, Utopia, Kaipa, Labyrinth, Solisia, Saratoga, Aspera, Fracture, Kiske/Somerville, Allen/Lande, Solid Vision, Edenbridge, The Barstool Philosophers, James LaBrie, Forever Twelve, Gamma Ray, Daksun, Windrider, Terminal, Thaurorod, Star One, Unruly Child

 

[oldboy]

1) Blind Guardian: "At the Edge of Time"
2) Therion: "Sitra Artha"
3) Wuthering Heights: "Salt"
4) Iron Maiden: "The Final Frontier"
5) Gamma Ray: "To the Metal"
6) Rhapsody: The Frozen Tears of Angels"
7) Vanden Plas: "The Sepharic Clockwork"
8) Labyrynth: "Return to Heaven Denied-II"
9) Royal Hunt: "X"
10) Magic Kingdom: "Symphony of War"

11) Iron Mask: "Shadow of the Red Baron"
12) Reckless Love: s/t
13) Crashdiet: "Generation Wild"
14) Sabaton: "Coat of Arms"
15) "Savage Circus": Of Doom and Death"
16) Helloween: "7 Sinners"
17) Halford: "Made of Metal"
18) Line of Fire: "Momentum"
19) Borknagar: "Universal"
20) Kissin' Dynamite: "Addicted to Metal"

21) Houston: s/t
22) Rage: "Strings to a Web"
23) Freedom Call: "Legend of the Shadowking"
24) Sinbreed: "When Wolds Collide"
25) Angra: "Aqua"
26) H.E.A.T.: "Freedom Rock"
27) Treat: "Coup de Grace"
28) W.E.T.: s/t
29) Masterplan: "Time to be King"
30) Avantasia: "The Wicked Symphony"

 

[Bryant]

Accept - Blood Of The Nations. From the moment Beat the Bastards starts, I knew I was in for a treat. Every song making me feel like I was in 1985 and Accept was still king. Then, Bucket Full Of Hate came on, the last song on the record. It's the epitome of a perfect Accept riff. I don't know what more to say that to say that this album is absolutely perfect. PERFECT. And while we are at it, Bucket Full Of Hate is my song of the year. It sat as my ringtone on my phone for several months and is currently back in that position now. As I said earlier, I got to see them at Progpower this year, and goddamn, they were the best live band I'd ever seen. They were playing like they had something to prove to the world (and technically, they kind of do, seeing that Udo is not in the band anymore), but they proved it, and proved it big! Mark fits into the band perfectly, and just slays live. Wolf and Peter looked like kids on stage, having a blast and playing their hearts out. I dare say that this is the best record that Accept ever did.

I could not agree more with what you said other than Vanden Plas - "The Seraphic Clockwork" is my number one. I agree 100% about "Bucket full of Hate." When I hear that opening riff, it makes me want to jump up and down in my house and break shit. It is THE epitome of metal. I had no idea that Wolf and Peter still had that kind of stuff in them, but it is as good if not better than "Metal Heart" which was my fave Accept release...... for 25 fucking years or so and one of my favorite releases of all-time by ANY band. Had not "The Seraphic Clockwork" been released the same year, it would have been by far and away my fave release of 2010. It is VERY rare that two absolute masterpieces get released the same year, so one has to be #2.
Accept has really made a statement with this release though. They are no "nostalgia" band. These guys are a force to be reckoned with. I can't wait until the next one...... and for the MANY people that went to Prog-Power XI, but skipped out on the showcase....... you made a fucking big boo boo.


Bryant

 

[VenomGA]

VenomGA's Top 25 of 2010
01 ACCEPT-Blood of the Nations
02 OVERKILL-Ironbound
03 MASTERPLAN-Time to be King
04 HELLOWEEN-7 Sinners
05 SUICIDAL ANGELS-Dead Again
06 JAMES LABRIE-Static Impulse
07 LOUDNESS-King of Pain
08 FLOTSAM & JETSAM-The Cold
09 FEAR FACTORY-Mechanize
10 CREATION'S END-A New Beginnning
11 DEATH ANGEL-Relentless Retribution
12 KINGCROW-Phlegethon
13 HEATHEN-The Evolution of Chaos
14 PRETTY MAIDS-Pandemonium
15 EXODUS-Exhibit B The Human Condition
16 PERSEFONE-Shin-Ken
17 Y&T-Facemelter
18 ORPHANED LAND-The Never Ending Way of ORwarrior
19 GAMMA RAY-To The Metal!
20 THE CROWN-Doomsday King
21 WATAIN-Lawless Darkness
22 FIREWIND-Days of Defiance
23 GRAND MAGUS-Hammer of the North
24 CRADLE OF FILTH-Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa
25 MONSTER MAGNET-Mastermind

Top disappointments of 2010
Paradox breaking up and thus not playing ProgPowerUSA
No new Pagan's Mind album
Iron Maiden's album "The Final Frontier"

Top Metal moments of 2010
Accept live
Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax live together
Getting to see the German thrash legends Destruction and Kreator live
Thrash making a HUGE comeback
Oceans of Sadness at ProgPowerUSA
Finally getting to see Jeff Scott Soto live (TSO)

 

[Gammaween]

My Top 10 are as follows:

10. Ihsahn - After

9. Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River

8. Ozzy Osbourne - Scream

7. Masterplan - Time To Be King

6. Borknagar - Universal

5. Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied Pt. II - A Midnight Autumn's Dream

4. Avantasia - Angel of Babylon

3. Pretty Maids - Pandemonium

2. Helloween - 7 Sinners

And finally my album of the year is:

1. Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony

 

[MysticX9]

Finally got this thing together for Detritus, here's mine:

Favorites 2010

Rough year 2010, not least of all due to the passing of metal's
greatest vocalist. Fortunately 2010 produced its share of exceptional
metal and hard rock achievements, so presented for your consideration
are my favorites from the past year...

Albums:

After reviewing all the great albums that came out last year, I
couldn't bring myself to rank them so I'm going to just alphabetize my
list. Here you go:

Accept - BLOOD OF THE NATIONS

This one was a real surprise for me as I'd heard some early demos of
Mark Tornillo singing old Accept material and honestly I wasn't
impressed -- boy this album changed that! Totally kick-ass classic
metal songwriting, musicianship and production, BLOOD OF THE NATIONS
deserves to be on every traditional metalhead's best of the year list.

Iron Maiden - THE FINAL FRONTIER

Like last album A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, this received a mixed
reaction due to the lengthy, considered material but this was a real
grower for me; not in the same league as Maiden classics like PIECE OF
MIND and POWERSLAVE, THE FINAL FRONTIER is still a captivating listen
by one of metal's most enduring and respected outfits.

Jorn - DIO

Normally I wouldn't include a covers album in a top 10 rundown but
this is so good I really felt it should be here. Many fans originally
cried "cash in!" when this was released shortly following Dio's
untimely passing, but the album had actually already been recorded and
was about to see the light of day, so the timing was just
coincidental. Exceptional renditions of some of Dio's most loved
tracks, a fitting tribute to the master.

Labyrinth - RETURN TO HEAVEN DENIED PT. II: A MIDNIGHT AUTUMN'S DREAM

Surely the best material these Italian melodic metallers have come up
with since 2003's awesome LABYRINTH, this one is almost as good as
RETURN TO HEAVEN DENIED. Exquisite.

Mass - SEA OF BLACK

I always liked this band so it was a pleasure to hear new material by
them. At the end of the day it's all about the songwriting and this
album has some great hard rock and metal tracks that really should be
experienced by a wider audience.

Ratt - INFESTATION

Veteran hard rock favorites Ratt recaptured a bit of the magic that
made their early albums '80s mainstays on the surprisingly good
INFESTATION, great music for a summer road trip.

Sacred Oath - WORLD ON FIRE

For the second year in a row Sacred Oath ends up on the list due to
this killer release, a concept album inspired by the novel "Dune."
Elements of Vicious Rumors, Lizzy Borden and Iron Maiden make this
essential metal listening.

Scorpions - STING IN THE TAIL

Reportedly the Scorps' swan song, if so the band departs with a strong
album that reminds us of how potent they were in their glory days.
Classy hard rock from a band that will be sorely missed...

Vanden Plas - THE SERAPHIC CLOCKWORK

Expertly crafted prog metal that just gets it right, blending
technical passages with melodic and emotionally satisfying
songwriting. An underrated gem.

Wild*Side - SPEED DEVIL

Sure it's derivative and they could really use a name change but these
Norwegian rockers know how to write really melodic songs that are just
a lot of fun. Motley Crue meets Ratt for an album that I kept coming
back to.

There were many albums that I did not get to really hear enough to
make a judgement, along with those that were right up there but
perhaps not quite top 10 material. Some of these include:

Overkill - IRONBOUND
Heathen - THE EVOLUTION OF CHAOS
Helstar - GLORY OF CHAOS
Exodus - EXHIBIT B: THE HUMAN CONDITION
Armored Saint - LA RAZA
Halford - IV: MADE OF METAL
Dreyelands - ROOMS OF REVELATION
John Norum - PLAY YARD BLUES
Helloween - 7 SINNERS
Juvaliant - INHUMAN NATURE
Grave Digger - THE CLANS WILL RISE AGAIN
Jon Oliva's Pain - FESTIVAL
Y&T - FACEMELTER

You can read more of my picks and all our 2010 favorites at our ezine:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Detritus/message/940

 

[Diabolik]

1. Ghost - Opus Eponymous
Definitely deserving of the hype.

2. Atlantean Kodex - The Golden Bough
There are plenty of parts on this album that bother me, but it's so damn good it overcomes it all.

3. Grand Magus - Hammer of the North
Another great GM album.

4. Apostle of Solitude - Last Sunrise
Terrible cover, great music.

5. Accept - Blood of the Nations
Kickass.

6. Slough Feg - The Animal Spirits
Kickass.

7. Hour of 13 - The Ritualist
As kickass as their first.

8. Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium
It's only flaw is it's running time.

9. Dawnbringer - Nucleus
Kickass.

10. Red Warlock - Serve Your Master
Like the Atlantean Kodex album, there are a number of parts here that bother me, but everything is so good it doesn't matter.

Dawnbringer are playing thier first show in 12 years in March.