Blog author: Alex Stojanovic It seems that in the first 27 days of 2020, we got hit with a huge wave of bad news of musician and celebrity deaths, as well as tragedies that happened/are happening around the world. Bad news and good news always come in spurts, but the bad news seems to have been relentless in the last three weeks. Let's take our minds off of that and think positive. Here's another decade throwback! |
2010 was a pretty big year for metal (thrash for the most part). First of all, the biggest dark clouds of the year were the losses of Peter Steele, Paul Gray and especially Ronnie James Dio. R.I.P. to all of them. Aside from that, some of the most noteworthy moments of positivity were David Ellefson's unexpected return to Megadeth, and they toured all throughout the year playing Rust In Peace in its entirety to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary. I feel really lucky to have been able to see them play the album in full when they toured with Slayer and Testament and came through town that summer. While we're on that subject, people never thought it was going to be a possibility of him returning because there was so much bad blood over the years between Mustaine and Ellefson with the lawsuit that happened, mud-slinging in the press, but like proper grown adults, they were able to work everything out, they forgave each other, Ellefson returned, and is still there to this day, which is how it should be.
There was also the Big Four shows where Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax played together for the first time ever. That was certainly one of the biggest events of all time for the entire metal community. I went to see the screening of the Sofia, Bulgaria show in the movie theatres twice: once for the main screening and once for the encore screening. I then bought the Live From Sofia DVD the day it came out, and to this day, it remains one of my favourite live DVDs ever. A few other notable events that occurred during the year were that after 25 years, Mike Portnoy parted ways with Dream Theater, Queensryche survived a bomb attack while performing a show for the American troops in Iraq, and King Diamond had to undergo triple-bypass surgery, which was successful.
2010 was also a big year for me personally, because it's mainly due to the fact that I graduated high school and moved on to college. That was a pivotal point in my life, and I'm sure everyone can relate. The years where I had school transitions were always big transitional periods in my life. I get that gut feeling like I'm back in that point in time when I listen to many of the albums that came out that year, namely the albums listed below, and the same thing goes for pretty much any year, and I know this is not a new story for anyone. With that in mind, I thought I'd share with you all my favourite albums of 2010.
There was also the Big Four shows where Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax played together for the first time ever. That was certainly one of the biggest events of all time for the entire metal community. I went to see the screening of the Sofia, Bulgaria show in the movie theatres twice: once for the main screening and once for the encore screening. I then bought the Live From Sofia DVD the day it came out, and to this day, it remains one of my favourite live DVDs ever. A few other notable events that occurred during the year were that after 25 years, Mike Portnoy parted ways with Dream Theater, Queensryche survived a bomb attack while performing a show for the American troops in Iraq, and King Diamond had to undergo triple-bypass surgery, which was successful.
2010 was also a big year for me personally, because it's mainly due to the fact that I graduated high school and moved on to college. That was a pivotal point in my life, and I'm sure everyone can relate. The years where I had school transitions were always big transitional periods in my life. I get that gut feeling like I'm back in that point in time when I listen to many of the albums that came out that year, namely the albums listed below, and the same thing goes for pretty much any year, and I know this is not a new story for anyone. With that in mind, I thought I'd share with you all my favourite albums of 2010.
10. IRON MAIDEN - The Final Frontier
I remember when the title of this album was announced, there was so much speculation that this would be Iron Maiden's final studio album. I mean, with a title like The Final Frontier, it would definitely make you wonder that. Turns out that's it wasn't the case, thankfully because I know I can speak for all Maiden fans worldwide when I say that I don't want to imagine a world without Maiden, but we all know that Maiden is going to end at some point. This album also won the band their first Grammy for "El Dorado", not that I give a shit about that joke shitshow of an awards show, but it was worth noting. Besides that song, other songs I thoroughly enjoyed are "The Talisman", "Mother Of Mercy", "When The Wild Wind Blows" and "The Alchemist". I would also have to say that the cover art for this album is one of the coolest covers ever. It's right up there with The Number Of The Beast, Powerslave and Killers. Eddie looks great on the cover. It's probably my favourite Eddie look aside from the classic looks.
I remember when the title of this album was announced, there was so much speculation that this would be Iron Maiden's final studio album. I mean, with a title like The Final Frontier, it would definitely make you wonder that. Turns out that's it wasn't the case, thankfully because I know I can speak for all Maiden fans worldwide when I say that I don't want to imagine a world without Maiden, but we all know that Maiden is going to end at some point. This album also won the band their first Grammy for "El Dorado", not that I give a shit about that joke shitshow of an awards show, but it was worth noting. Besides that song, other songs I thoroughly enjoyed are "The Talisman", "Mother Of Mercy", "When The Wild Wind Blows" and "The Alchemist". I would also have to say that the cover art for this album is one of the coolest covers ever. It's right up there with The Number Of The Beast, Powerslave and Killers. Eddie looks great on the cover. It's probably my favourite Eddie look aside from the classic looks.
09. AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Nightmare
Much like Slipknot, I don't call myself an Avenged Sevenfold fan, but I have a ton of respect for them, for what they have done and continue to do, especially for the modern metal scene. They have some cool tunes, so I'm more of a casual listener to them. However, if I had to pick an Avenged Sevenfold album that I really enjoyed from top to bottom, Nightmare is my choice. The album was written and recorded during a very difficult time for the band, due to the passing of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, but the band enlisted Mike Portnoy to record the drums for the album. "Welcome To The Family" is without a doubt my favourite Avenged Sevenfold tune, but I also really like "NIghtmare", "Buried Alive" and "Danger Line". The songwriting is really strong on this album. I also think it's the band's darkest album, given the circumstances surrounding it, and the album cover looks fantastic. I'm really happy for all the success Avenged Sevenfold have achieved, and that they are part of the new generation of arena headliners for rock and metal, which is what we need. Many of the classic arena headliners are going to be over in the next five to ten years, so we need the new generation to carry the torch.
Much like Slipknot, I don't call myself an Avenged Sevenfold fan, but I have a ton of respect for them, for what they have done and continue to do, especially for the modern metal scene. They have some cool tunes, so I'm more of a casual listener to them. However, if I had to pick an Avenged Sevenfold album that I really enjoyed from top to bottom, Nightmare is my choice. The album was written and recorded during a very difficult time for the band, due to the passing of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, but the band enlisted Mike Portnoy to record the drums for the album. "Welcome To The Family" is without a doubt my favourite Avenged Sevenfold tune, but I also really like "NIghtmare", "Buried Alive" and "Danger Line". The songwriting is really strong on this album. I also think it's the band's darkest album, given the circumstances surrounding it, and the album cover looks fantastic. I'm really happy for all the success Avenged Sevenfold have achieved, and that they are part of the new generation of arena headliners for rock and metal, which is what we need. Many of the classic arena headliners are going to be over in the next five to ten years, so we need the new generation to carry the torch.
08. FORBIDDEN - Omega Wave
After 13 years of no new records, in October 2010, Forbidden released their fifth overall studio album, and what is unfortunately their last studio album: Omega Wave. It really seems likely that Forbidden will not ever do anything again, so if that's the case, then Omega Wave was a great way to close out the book on Forbidden. I remember cranking "Forsaken At The Gates" over and over again when it was first released. When the album came out and I heard tracks like "Omega Wave", "Adapt Or Die", "Immortal Wounds" and "Dragging My Casket", it hooked me. Russ Anderson delivers some insane vocals while Craig Locicero and Steve Smyth unleash fiery riffs. Omega Wave is definitely up there with Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form in terms of quality. Look at the bottom of this article for a pretty cool story involving me and Forbidden.
After 13 years of no new records, in October 2010, Forbidden released their fifth overall studio album, and what is unfortunately their last studio album: Omega Wave. It really seems likely that Forbidden will not ever do anything again, so if that's the case, then Omega Wave was a great way to close out the book on Forbidden. I remember cranking "Forsaken At The Gates" over and over again when it was first released. When the album came out and I heard tracks like "Omega Wave", "Adapt Or Die", "Immortal Wounds" and "Dragging My Casket", it hooked me. Russ Anderson delivers some insane vocals while Craig Locicero and Steve Smyth unleash fiery riffs. Omega Wave is definitely up there with Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form in terms of quality. Look at the bottom of this article for a pretty cool story involving me and Forbidden.
07. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE - Fever
When Bullet For My Valentine's Fever first came out, I didn't embrace the entire thing right away. I will fully admit that I had a bit of an elitist attitude back then, so I absolutely hated lyrics about relationships, sex and partying because it was the popular thing (still kind of do pretty much). However, over the last ten years, I've matured a lot as a person and my elitist attitude diminished completely and I'm really happy about that. I could do without the lyrics about sex and partying because they don't really mean anything, but even though I still have some dislike for lyrics about relationships, it just depends on how they're written and the scenarios that they're portraying. I also still have my opinions, I just know how to express them better now, as opposed to back then when I was one of those idiots that gives the most bullshit excuse you could imagine to justify hating something. I was 17 then. With that said, I appreciate Fever more now than I did back then. Musically, it's very diversified with heavy stuff and melodic stuff. It encompasses everything that Bullet is about, and each song sounds different and doesn't mirror another. It's not my favourite Bullet album and it's not their best by a long shot, but needless to say, it's certainly a lot better than their latest album Gravity, and many people would agree with me on that. I would have to say that my favourite tracks on here are "The Last Fight", "A Place Where You Belong", "Pleasure & Pain", "Alone", "Dignity" and "Begging For Mercy". I'm at a point where I don't consider myself a fan of Bullet anymore because it's mainly metal for the angsty teen demographic, which I grew out of long ago, but I still go back and re-visit their stuff for nostalgic purposes because they were a big part of the soundtrack to my high school years. Scream Aim Fire will always be my favourite Bullet album.
When Bullet For My Valentine's Fever first came out, I didn't embrace the entire thing right away. I will fully admit that I had a bit of an elitist attitude back then, so I absolutely hated lyrics about relationships, sex and partying because it was the popular thing (still kind of do pretty much). However, over the last ten years, I've matured a lot as a person and my elitist attitude diminished completely and I'm really happy about that. I could do without the lyrics about sex and partying because they don't really mean anything, but even though I still have some dislike for lyrics about relationships, it just depends on how they're written and the scenarios that they're portraying. I also still have my opinions, I just know how to express them better now, as opposed to back then when I was one of those idiots that gives the most bullshit excuse you could imagine to justify hating something. I was 17 then. With that said, I appreciate Fever more now than I did back then. Musically, it's very diversified with heavy stuff and melodic stuff. It encompasses everything that Bullet is about, and each song sounds different and doesn't mirror another. It's not my favourite Bullet album and it's not their best by a long shot, but needless to say, it's certainly a lot better than their latest album Gravity, and many people would agree with me on that. I would have to say that my favourite tracks on here are "The Last Fight", "A Place Where You Belong", "Pleasure & Pain", "Alone", "Dignity" and "Begging For Mercy". I'm at a point where I don't consider myself a fan of Bullet anymore because it's mainly metal for the angsty teen demographic, which I grew out of long ago, but I still go back and re-visit their stuff for nostalgic purposes because they were a big part of the soundtrack to my high school years. Scream Aim Fire will always be my favourite Bullet album.
06. OVERKILL - Ironbound
I first became familiar with Overkill from watching the Get Thrashed documentary and the first album I heard was Ironbound, then I went back and checked out the old stuff. I remember my brother and I would listen to Ironbound over and over because it was such an ass-kicking album with great songs and huge hooks. We freaked out over tracks like "The Green & Black", "Ironbound", "Bring Me The Night", "The Head & Heart" and "The SRC". I honestly believe that this record is one of the band's best, not only of the last 15 years, but of their whole discography, and it can proudly sit alongside Feel The Fire, Taking Over, The Years Of Decay and Horrorscope.
I first became familiar with Overkill from watching the Get Thrashed documentary and the first album I heard was Ironbound, then I went back and checked out the old stuff. I remember my brother and I would listen to Ironbound over and over because it was such an ass-kicking album with great songs and huge hooks. We freaked out over tracks like "The Green & Black", "Ironbound", "Bring Me The Night", "The Head & Heart" and "The SRC". I honestly believe that this record is one of the band's best, not only of the last 15 years, but of their whole discography, and it can proudly sit alongside Feel The Fire, Taking Over, The Years Of Decay and Horrorscope.
05. DISTURBED - Asylum
With Disturbed arriving at album #5 with Asylum, they were clearly on a roll. Aside from this album being the band's fourth consecutive album to reach #1, it's a really worthy follow-up to Indestructible, which was a fantastic album. This is proven by tracks like the title track, "Warrior", "The Infection", "Another Way To Die", "Crucified", "Serpentine" and "My Child". This would also be the last album to feature that slightly more raw production before they began featuring a slightly more computerized tone on Immortalized and Evolution, which I didn't really dig about those two albums. That mainly had to do with Kevin Churko behind the board, because that's like his signature production tone. I really think that Disturbed should go back to either producing albums themselves, or at least getting Johnny K. back behind the board, or someone new.
With Disturbed arriving at album #5 with Asylum, they were clearly on a roll. Aside from this album being the band's fourth consecutive album to reach #1, it's a really worthy follow-up to Indestructible, which was a fantastic album. This is proven by tracks like the title track, "Warrior", "The Infection", "Another Way To Die", "Crucified", "Serpentine" and "My Child". This would also be the last album to feature that slightly more raw production before they began featuring a slightly more computerized tone on Immortalized and Evolution, which I didn't really dig about those two albums. That mainly had to do with Kevin Churko behind the board, because that's like his signature production tone. I really think that Disturbed should go back to either producing albums themselves, or at least getting Johnny K. back behind the board, or someone new.
04. ACCEPT - Blood Of The Nations
The beginning of the new chapter of Accept. They first came on my radar when I heard "Balls To The Wall" for the first time in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, but it was when I heard the opening riff to "Beat The Bastards", the opening track on Blood Of The Nations that I started building a bigger interest in Accept. After hearing that track, I felt compelled to check out the rest of this album, and it completely floored me. I then went back and heard the old stuff. Filled with huge heavy riffs and anthemic choruses from top to bottom, Blood Of The Nations reigns as not only one of the best comeback albums of all time, but also one of the best Accept albums, along with Balls To The Wall, Restless & Wild, Breaker and Metal Heart. GIVE 'EM THE AXE!
The beginning of the new chapter of Accept. They first came on my radar when I heard "Balls To The Wall" for the first time in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, but it was when I heard the opening riff to "Beat The Bastards", the opening track on Blood Of The Nations that I started building a bigger interest in Accept. After hearing that track, I felt compelled to check out the rest of this album, and it completely floored me. I then went back and heard the old stuff. Filled with huge heavy riffs and anthemic choruses from top to bottom, Blood Of The Nations reigns as not only one of the best comeback albums of all time, but also one of the best Accept albums, along with Balls To The Wall, Restless & Wild, Breaker and Metal Heart. GIVE 'EM THE AXE!
03. EXODUS - Exhibit B: The Human Condition
The second album in the Exhibit album series from Exodus: Exhibit B: The Human Condition, is without a doubt my favourite of the two. Nothing against The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, because it's a brutal album, but with songs like "The Ballad Of Leonard & Charles", "Downfall" and "Burn, Hollywood, Burn", Exhibit B beats its predecessor by a notch. This would end up being the last album to feature Rob Dukes. I'm sure you're all familiar with the story regarding the Exodus fan posting the lyrics to the chorus of "Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)" on his Facebook wall and getting arrested for it because people thought he was planning to shoot up a school after they saw that. It was a really messed up situation, but it's all in the past now and everything was resolved. Honestly, Exodus have unleashed some of their heaviest and most brutal material during the Dukes era. I surely hope that on their upcoming album, they return to the really chunky guitar tone that was present on the Dukes records.
The second album in the Exhibit album series from Exodus: Exhibit B: The Human Condition, is without a doubt my favourite of the two. Nothing against The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, because it's a brutal album, but with songs like "The Ballad Of Leonard & Charles", "Downfall" and "Burn, Hollywood, Burn", Exhibit B beats its predecessor by a notch. This would end up being the last album to feature Rob Dukes. I'm sure you're all familiar with the story regarding the Exodus fan posting the lyrics to the chorus of "Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)" on his Facebook wall and getting arrested for it because people thought he was planning to shoot up a school after they saw that. It was a really messed up situation, but it's all in the past now and everything was resolved. Honestly, Exodus have unleashed some of their heaviest and most brutal material during the Dukes era. I surely hope that on their upcoming album, they return to the really chunky guitar tone that was present on the Dukes records.
02. PRETTY MAIDS - Pandemonium
For a number of releases in the mid-90s and the 2000s, Pretty Maids haven't been receiving as much attention as they did during the era of the first three albums, but when Pandemonium came out, the bigger attention started to come back, and that had to do with the much-improved songwriting and the monstrous production. It has already become an instant classic in the band's discography. I didn't get around to listening to Pretty Maids until around 2014. How I heard of them was I was watching an interview with Sy Keeler from Onslaught , where he spoke about working with producer Jacob Hansen on their Sounds Of Violence album, and he mentioned that he had worked on Pandemonium, and that it was one of his top albums of 2010. I then went and checked Pandemonium out and loved what I heard. I then got my dad and my brother hooked on to them as well. It was not only the riffs that did it for me, but it was Ronnie Atkins versatile voice. Being able to go from an aggressive rasp to huge melodic and anthemic cleans is unbelievable. This record is a buffet of huge hooks and great vocals.
For a number of releases in the mid-90s and the 2000s, Pretty Maids haven't been receiving as much attention as they did during the era of the first three albums, but when Pandemonium came out, the bigger attention started to come back, and that had to do with the much-improved songwriting and the monstrous production. It has already become an instant classic in the band's discography. I didn't get around to listening to Pretty Maids until around 2014. How I heard of them was I was watching an interview with Sy Keeler from Onslaught , where he spoke about working with producer Jacob Hansen on their Sounds Of Violence album, and he mentioned that he had worked on Pandemonium, and that it was one of his top albums of 2010. I then went and checked Pandemonium out and loved what I heard. I then got my dad and my brother hooked on to them as well. It was not only the riffs that did it for me, but it was Ronnie Atkins versatile voice. Being able to go from an aggressive rasp to huge melodic and anthemic cleans is unbelievable. This record is a buffet of huge hooks and great vocals.
01. DEATH ANGEL - Relentless Retribution
Following the departures of Andy Galeon and Dennis Pepa, Death Angel's existence was on the edge, but after putting all the pieces back together, they released one beast of an album with Relentless Retribution. There are a few firsts with this album. It's the first Death Angel album to feature the current lineup with Mark Osegueda, Rob Cavestany, Ted Aguilar, Will Carroll and Damien Sisson (the band's most solid lineup since the original), it's the first of several albums to be produced by Jason Suecof, and the album was the beginning of Death Angel's third overall rise to power. All the aggression the band felt during the dark period from 2008 to 2010 is felt on the album. Relentless Retribution solidified my position as a serious Death Angel fan, and I saw the band live twice during this album cycle. Seriously, tracks like "Truce", "Opponents At Sides", "River Of Rapture", "I Chose The Sky" and "Death Of The Meek" are just a few of the 12 amazing tracks worthy to catapult Relentless Retribution to the #1 spot on this list.
Following the departures of Andy Galeon and Dennis Pepa, Death Angel's existence was on the edge, but after putting all the pieces back together, they released one beast of an album with Relentless Retribution. There are a few firsts with this album. It's the first Death Angel album to feature the current lineup with Mark Osegueda, Rob Cavestany, Ted Aguilar, Will Carroll and Damien Sisson (the band's most solid lineup since the original), it's the first of several albums to be produced by Jason Suecof, and the album was the beginning of Death Angel's third overall rise to power. All the aggression the band felt during the dark period from 2008 to 2010 is felt on the album. Relentless Retribution solidified my position as a serious Death Angel fan, and I saw the band live twice during this album cycle. Seriously, tracks like "Truce", "Opponents At Sides", "River Of Rapture", "I Chose The Sky" and "Death Of The Meek" are just a few of the 12 amazing tracks worthy to catapult Relentless Retribution to the #1 spot on this list.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (No Order)
All That Remains For We Are Many | Alter Bridge AB III | Fozzy Chasing The Grail |
Suicidal Angels Dead Again | Motorhead The World Is Yours | Ratt Infestation |
A quick little story I would like to share regarding Forbidden. Forbidden is actually the band that gave me my first experience of being backstage. They came to Toronto in November 2010 to the Mod Club on the tour for Omega Wave, and I just had just started college at that point. I was familiar with their stuff at the point and I just got into Omega Wave and heard some of their old stuff. I remember finishing my classes for the day and I decided to take a walk down to the club because I knew Evile was the opening act and I was a big fan of theirs, and I wanted to see if I could meet Evile. I headed down and got to meet Russ Anderson, Matt Camacho, Craig Locicero and Mark Hernandez. I stuck around for a bit, but I learned that the Evile guys weren't showing up until later. They asked me if I was going to the show, and I said no because that very day was my dad's 50th birthday and we were taking him out for dinner. However, Matt invited me into the club to watch soundcheck, and he then took me into the dressing room. We had a nice hang and we just chatted about metal and music in general. After we took a pic, we said our goodbyes and I left. Thank you to Matt and Forbidden for giving me my first experience of going backstage. I also wouldn't have been able to get into the show anyway because I learned later that it was a 19+ show, and I just turned 18 at that point. Anyway, that's my little Forbidden story.
Thank you for checking out this list. What are YOUR favourite albums of 2010?
Thank you for checking out this list. What are YOUR favourite albums of 2010?