Best Albums of 2010 [American Aftermath]

I started this blog on September 1st of this year. Since then, I have reviewed 44 new albums and I have listened to roughly 100-110. I have heard some of the best music in many years come out in 2010. There were a few albums that I listened to that didn’t tweak my nips and a few that I just couldn’t get around to checking out. I do regret not having listened to these albums before posting my “Best of” list, but I set this deadline the day I started the blog.

First off, I’d like to point out that Captain Overboard–Radio Earth! released their debut album in October. It was an independent release, but it is definitely worth a listen. Check it out.

Now, like I said, there was a nauseating amount of albums that came out this year and no way for me to listen to all of them. Some of the main albums I regret either not getting to hear or not getting to hear in entirety are:

• Dawnbringer – Nucleus
• Withered – Dualitas
• Melechesh – The Epigenesis
• The Funeral Pyre – Vultures At Dawn
• East of The Wall – Ressentiment
• Agalloch – Marrow of The Spirit

Before narrowing my list down to 25, I was up in the 40s and 50s. As I said, there was so much good shit out this year, I really didn’t want to cut anything out.  But I had to, so I did. Some of the ones that almost made the list are:

• The Rotted – Anarchogram EP
• Gwar – Bloody Pit of Horror
• Cephalic Carnage – Misled by Certainty
• Landmine Marathon – Sovereign Descent
• Murder Construct – Murder Construct EP

And now, for what you have all been waiting for, Ross Gnarly’s “Best of 2010” list is here. I have been working on this list since mid-October and it has been really hard to cut out albums to finish this list, but I did what I had to do.  Here it is (25-11)

25. Black Tusk – Taste The Sin
24. Kataklysm – Heaven’s Venom
23. Salome – Terminal
22. Cradle of Filth – Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa
21. Defeatist – Sixth Extinction
20. Fleshwrought – Dementia/Dyslexia
19. Fuck The Facts – Unnamed EP
18. Phobia – Unrelenting EP
17. Kill The Client – Set For Extinction
16. Infernaeon – Genesis to Nemesis
15. As They Sleep – Dynasty
14. Charred Walls of the Damned – Charred Walls of the Damned
13. Autopsy – The Tomb Within EP
12. Mose Giganticus – Gift Horse
11. As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise

10. Svart Crown – Witnessing The Fall
–Amazingly well done black/death that is sure to put poison in your veins. Read the review here.

9. Early Graves – Goner
–Punishing metalcore at it’s greatest. Mahk Daniels will be missed. His voice was one of the strongest, most passionate I’ve heard. Read the review here.

8. Kvelertak – Kvelertak
–Super catchy black n’ roll. Upon first hearing this, I didn’t know what to think about it. And now? All I can say is it is one of a kind. Fucking killer. Check it out. Read the review here.

7. Black Breath – Heavy Breathing
–Brutal neo-thrash that will stomp your ass with military boots. For fans of Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust. Love it. Read the review here.

6. Trap Them – Filth Rations EP
–Punishing. That’s it. Fucking punishing. Do it.

5. Cloudkicker – Beacons
–Some of the most amazing progressive instrumental metal I’ve ever heard. Ben Sharp is a master of crafts. This is like the Star Wars of progessive, one-man metal. It’s that epic. Read the review here.

4. Holy Grail – Crisis In Utopia
–Holy Grail are the epitome of neo-traditional heavy/speed metal. Amazing melody and some of the best vocals of all time. Great. Gnarly. Read the review here.

3. Dawn of Ashes – Genocide Chapters
–Evil-as-fuck. Death incarnate. Scary, brutal, melodic, scary. All these words make up just a hint of what Dawn of Ashes have to offer. Read the review here.

2. Coffinworm – When All Became None
–The best example of black/doom. Coffinworm were the the number one album on this list until recently. This album is an evil mass that shall reign in hell. Read the review here.

 

1. Nails – Unsilent Death

What can I say about Nails? Their musical style is one that should be, not looked up, but praised. They have every aspect of the crust/grind/death/hardcore spectrum in tact and it all gets worked into a raging beast that made it’s way to number one. Here is the review of “Unsilent Death”:

“Conform” contains some of the fastest, most brutal fucking grind I’ve heard in a good while. It soars by with lightning speed and tears ear drums and anything else in it’s path to shreds. The song leads right into the next, “Scum Will Rise” which responds with a more melodic approach to grinding. Fucking amazing track. With songs so short, it is hard for some to describe grindcore albums in more than a paragraph or two. I however wish to tell you the impact this album will have on you. Imagine taking your brains from your skull and putting them into a blender on frappe. You then freeze the remains into a large ice block, carry it into the backyard and smash it with a mallet. Yes. It is frozen-brain-shattering. Yes it is. “Your God” goes  back to the formula of “Conform” as being an insanely fast and heavy track. It does however manage to maintain melody throughout the entire 33 seconds. A nice drum roll introduces us to the groove-grinding of “Suffering Soul.” The chorus of this song rings out like an anthem for the depraved. The vocals are pure and simple. A gut-wrenching yell with tremendous emotion. Nice grooving guitar riff towards the end of the song in which the song as a whole hits the slow-down-button. Nice old school death metal riffing on the title track, “Unsilent Death.” This shows that this band has a very wide range influences that make this band rather hard to categorize. This whole song takes me back to the mid 1990s in death metal. Fucking “A.” A lot of feed back for what I would assume you would consider a breakdown. The song then returns to that fantastic groove. “Traitor” touches back on some previous songs (“Conform” and “Your God”) but with odd, varying timing. Grind one second and a chord-hanging doom riff. Very odd, but I love it. “I Will Not Follow” is as punishing as the rest of the album. Fast and furious yet filled with melody. Nice chugging guitar riffing. Nice doom-death riffing around the 1:00 mark. This band has an amazing sound that will definitely keep them going for many years to come. “No Servant” is another melo-grind face-smasher with a great guitar soloing. Oddly timed, but that’s the best kind. These guys are killing it. “Scapegoat” has some of the best guitar shredding on the album. It still has that old school death metal feel, especially around the 0:40 mark and leading all the way into “Depths” which marks the last track on the album. This is also the longest song on the album, maxing out at almost four minutes! The song doom/drones along at the beginning before bursting into another extraordinary death-groove shred-marathon. Another odd solo pops up at 1:36. This entire band is extremely tight while keeping the music superbly crusty and filthy. The song breaks down around the 2:05 mark and dooms it for a while. Nice pinch harmonics coming through very clear. This bands wide range of sound keeps me guessing what is around every turn. I never know what I am going to hear next: grindcore, death metal, doom, polka. Who knows?