Dark TranquillityI will be updating this throughout the year hopefully, so feel free to bookmark it and check back often! Keep in mind, I am rating these albums as a whole, not judging it based on the quality of particular songs. For example, if there are no songs that stand out as good, but the album is a concept album that reveals to me the meaning of life through music, it would probably be #1. And please feel free comment!
My Favorite Albums of 2010:
1. Royal Hunt - X
Mark Boals surprises me yet again. Towards the beginning of the album he uses growling low vocals rather than the constant high screaming we're used to, and it sounds great.
2. Rage - Strings To A Web
How can a nearly 30 year old band sound so full and epic?
3. Alesana - The Emptiness
I am a sucker for concept albums, and this seems to take their already good post-hardcore/screamo sound and take it even further.
4. Crematory - Infinity
Never listened to them before but they have a decidedly epic sound. They call themselves Gothic Rock/Metal on their myspace, but this sounds more like Melodic Death/Doom, which I love.
Honorable Mentions (Great):
Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void
I like it, but it doesn't feel fresh and original like their previous album.
HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
I like it, but the songs tend to bleed together as they all sound similar.
Good:
Freedom Call - Legend of the Shadowking
Love them, but I have to be honest, this is their worst album to date, with only 2 or 3 standout tracks.
Sigh - Scenes From Hell
I like that they are trying to expand the genre of black metal, but most of the time it comes off cheesy, like trumpets... why?
True - Still Life
I could tell from the intro this album was going to be different. It's death metal, but there was a melodic acoustic intro more like you'd hear in power metal. Then the first track started up, and it went into a real heavy death part almost like grindcore. Just when I was about to give up and go to the next track, this acoustic flamenco-sounding guitar came in and brought a smile to my face. This genre definitely needs originality and I've found some here. Also, neat album cover...
Decent:
Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
After hearing the great punk title track/single, I was really excited for this album. It turned out to be a boring letdown, with the exception of the title track and "Eating Me Alive".
Blaze Bayley - Promise And Terror
Music is pretty good but very generic, and I just don't understand how people think he is anything better than a decent vocalist.
Greeley Estates - No Rain, No Rainbow
Nice heavy sound, nice title, but where's the originality here? (Hint - It isn't here, lol)
Orden Ogan - Easton Hope
Nothing new here, but it's a very solid power metal album and worth checking out for fans of the genre. Nice riffs and the choruses have er... choruses (many vocalists), which is pretty cool. Favorite is probably "All These Dark Years".
Troll - Neo-Satanic Supremacy
I found this album was really hard to get into... at my first skim through I hated every song. It is just so evil-sounding, foreboding, and intimidating. But I did listen to all of track 9, and it creeped into my soul a bit, and now I find I am liking the other tracks as well. I feel the best albums, in fact, are hard to get into and really "feel" at first listen. A grower album, so to speak. I can only hope this is one of them and will move up my list through the year.
Um, No...:
Dead Channel - Destroyer
They are a completely unknown band (703 plays on here), and for once I'd say for good reason. They just sound like they are trying sooo hard to combine hardcore, electronic sounds, and nu-metal... and it just doesn't work. I think this combination had a lot of potential, but it just wasn't pulled off well. But if the combination sounds appealing to you, definitely check them out.
The Decaying - Binary Assault
I got this because I was wondering what "Experimental Industrial Metal" was. Now I know, and I don't like it. If you might be interested, definitely check them out because no legitimate band deserves as few listeners as 18!
Unholy Archangel - Obsessed By War
With a band name so awesome, I expected something amazing... I could not have been more wrong. After a fake sounding MIDI flute intro, you are treated to a guitar riff so raw it's hard to distinguish that it is a riff and not just someone sharpening a pencil or something. Then the drums come in, and they are so sloppy, changing tempos constantly, followed by what sounds like a cross between grindcore vocals and a bear attacking a moose. I'd only say check this out if you are on some kind of shrooms and desire a really bad trip.
Wolfsmond - III
Very generic Black Metal. Quickly going through, really don't hear anything worthwhile here. They do have a Burzum cover from 2005 which sounds pretty good, however.
My Favorite Albums of 2010:
1. Royal Hunt - X
Mark Boals surprises me yet again. Towards the beginning of the album he uses growling low vocals rather than the constant high screaming we're used to, and it sounds great.
2. Rage - Strings To A Web
How can a nearly 30 year old band sound so full and epic?
3. Alesana - The Emptiness
I am a sucker for concept albums, and this seems to take their already good post-hardcore/screamo sound and take it even further.
4. Crematory - Infinity
Never listened to them before but they have a decidedly epic sound. They call themselves Gothic Rock/Metal on their myspace, but this sounds more like Melodic Death/Doom, which I love.
Honorable Mentions (Great):
Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void
I like it, but it doesn't feel fresh and original like their previous album.
HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
I like it, but the songs tend to bleed together as they all sound similar.
Good:
Freedom Call - Legend of the Shadowking
Love them, but I have to be honest, this is their worst album to date, with only 2 or 3 standout tracks.
Sigh - Scenes From Hell
I like that they are trying to expand the genre of black metal, but most of the time it comes off cheesy, like trumpets... why?
True - Still Life
I could tell from the intro this album was going to be different. It's death metal, but there was a melodic acoustic intro more like you'd hear in power metal. Then the first track started up, and it went into a real heavy death part almost like grindcore. Just when I was about to give up and go to the next track, this acoustic flamenco-sounding guitar came in and brought a smile to my face. This genre definitely needs originality and I've found some here. Also, neat album cover...
Decent:
Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
After hearing the great punk title track/single, I was really excited for this album. It turned out to be a boring letdown, with the exception of the title track and "Eating Me Alive".
Blaze Bayley - Promise And Terror
Music is pretty good but very generic, and I just don't understand how people think he is anything better than a decent vocalist.
Greeley Estates - No Rain, No Rainbow
Nice heavy sound, nice title, but where's the originality here? (Hint - It isn't here, lol)
Orden Ogan - Easton Hope
Nothing new here, but it's a very solid power metal album and worth checking out for fans of the genre. Nice riffs and the choruses have er... choruses (many vocalists), which is pretty cool. Favorite is probably "All These Dark Years".
Troll - Neo-Satanic Supremacy
I found this album was really hard to get into... at my first skim through I hated every song. It is just so evil-sounding, foreboding, and intimidating. But I did listen to all of track 9, and it creeped into my soul a bit, and now I find I am liking the other tracks as well. I feel the best albums, in fact, are hard to get into and really "feel" at first listen. A grower album, so to speak. I can only hope this is one of them and will move up my list through the year.
Um, No...:
Dead Channel - Destroyer
They are a completely unknown band (703 plays on here), and for once I'd say for good reason. They just sound like they are trying sooo hard to combine hardcore, electronic sounds, and nu-metal... and it just doesn't work. I think this combination had a lot of potential, but it just wasn't pulled off well. But if the combination sounds appealing to you, definitely check them out.
The Decaying - Binary Assault
I got this because I was wondering what "Experimental Industrial Metal" was. Now I know, and I don't like it. If you might be interested, definitely check them out because no legitimate band deserves as few listeners as 18!
Unholy Archangel - Obsessed By War
With a band name so awesome, I expected something amazing... I could not have been more wrong. After a fake sounding MIDI flute intro, you are treated to a guitar riff so raw it's hard to distinguish that it is a riff and not just someone sharpening a pencil or something. Then the drums come in, and they are so sloppy, changing tempos constantly, followed by what sounds like a cross between grindcore vocals and a bear attacking a moose. I'd only say check this out if you are on some kind of shrooms and desire a really bad trip.
Wolfsmond - III
Very generic Black Metal. Quickly going through, really don't hear anything worthwhile here. They do have a Burzum cover from 2005 which sounds pretty good, however.
