15. TIE Woe of Tyrants - Threnody

Released: April 13 2010
Label: Metal Blade
Genre: Melodic death metal, thrash metal



Veil of Maya - [id]

Released: April 6, 2010
Label: Sumerian
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Deathcore



Kicking off my list at number 15 is a tie between Woe of Tyrants and Veil of Maya; yes its' the last spot on the list but I wanted to include both these albums because they've definitely garnered a few listens by me on the good old ipod on my way to classes. Both albums are gearing toward speed and technicality and on hindsight when I think of the feeling that both Threnody and [id] left behind, they are extremely similar. I won't make up my mind on this one, both bands gave it a great run so both have made the number 15 spot on the list.

14. Intronaut - Valley of Smoke

Released: October 12, 2010
Label: Century Media Record
Genre: Progressive metal, sludge



Intronaut is a band that I've only recently discovered (only a short time before constructing this list) however Valley of Smoke was such a pleasant surprise that it nabbed the next spot up. There's something here in this hidden gem that summons a strong nostalgic feeling in my mind and brings back memories of listening to bands that began a progressive movement in rock and metal, but what it is exactly I can't say. Maybe its' some particular phrasing or the just the tone, I don't know. I'm not saying that Intronaut is a traditional band in every sense, but Valley of Smoke is such a steady record that seems to be built with a solid purpose and foundation that I can't help but be reminded of influences of early prog rock. Just don't ask me why because I couldn't give a straight answer.

13. Kylesa - Spiral Shadow

Released: October 25, 2010
Label: Prosthetic
Genre: Sludge metal



Coming from Savannah, Georgia, Kylesa holds a place close to my heart but the location of the band's origin has little to do with how powerful of an album this is. The sheer rawness and attitude of Spiral Shadow are apparent right from the opening song that fails to let go of the listener till its' over. I like this album, and speaking of shadows I think more people should quit placing them in Baronesses and Mastodon's shadow in order to truly appreciate what they have to say.

12. Melechesh - The Epigenesis

Released: October 26, 2010
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Genre: Black metal, oriental metal



There's a unique fondness that I have toward bands that bring foreign influences into their music, especially in metal, which Melechesh deliver by means of aggressive middle eastern influenced riffs and phrasing in every song. I think that there's an untapped goldmine with cultural backgrounds in metal which is only recently beginning to surface on a more noticeable level, and is something that I really tend to favor recently. The Epigenesis doesn't give the listener much quarter with that special exoticness however; Melechesh comes across as unsympathetic and a bit severe which is what holds it back in a way. The Epigenesis is downright evil at times which is juicy if you're in the right mood for it and when you listen to the album, it feels like discovering an ancient malevolent treasure. Admittedly I have yet to decide if this is the right way to approach this particular viewpoint. The instrumental sections on The Epigenesis however really are up there with the cream of the crop of metal and is still a fantastic overall experience that so often comes from their albums.

11. Buckethead - Spinal Clock

Released: September 16, 2010
Label: TDRS Music
Genre: Avant-garde, instrumental



As I'll no doubt state over and over in this list, 2010 was a phenomenal year for instrumental albums. While creating music that most label as avant-garde for nearly two decades, the mysterious Buckethead continues to surprise me with Spinal Clock. While in surgery for back problems,  Buckethead used only the banjo as his weapon of choice for the entire album and as a result, Spinal Clock isn't nearly as aggressive as other works from his back catalogue such as Escape From Inbred Mountain or Cuckoo Clocks of Hell. But it doesn't try to be either. Instead what we get is a lonely, eerie, and atmospheric album with Buckethead's signature coy weirdness that looms over the entire thing. You'll hear the banjo stretched to the limits of what it is capable of as the album certainly leaves most to the listener's imagination; Buckethead finger picks, drops objects onto, and plays the banjo slap-bass style in a way that artfully escalates the instrument into something more organic than just an object. But is it a good kind of art? Perhaps it is because I already know of the back story for how/why this album was written but Spinal Clock makes me feel like I am in a state of paralysis and I can only watch as someone tinkers and operates on my insides. For these reasons, Spinal Clock stands out in an awkward but unique way. Its definitely a surprising album and is something so bizarre that it intrigued me enough to remember it fondly but its' abstractness almost prevents it from escalating higher on the list. Spinal Clock is a love or hate album from a love or hate artist but worth a listen if you're into a creepy kind of weirdness as I am.

10. I'll Eat Your Face - Irritant

Released: January 2, 2010
Label: Self Released
Genre: instrumental, mathcore, thrash



No other album on this list has quite the attitude and wit of Irritant. So what do you think of when you hear the word "irritant" anyway? I think of this fucking itch on your back that you can't reach so you just go batshit insane trying to get at it; and that's the kind of immature vibe that I'll Eat Your Face gives to me. I like the overall direction of this one not only because its a very solid and well done all-instrumental album but also because its got quirk and its got spunk. I don't remember how I stumbled upon this band, but It's just got a real fun punch-to-the-face demeanor that remains consistent through till the end which is something that a lot of bands strive to achieve. So to me, Irritant stands as a feel good album that's probably the most "lightheartedly" aggressive (and I use that term loosely) and accessible of all the top 15. Needless to say, I'm excited to see what these guys will put out next. So google the band name and download Irritant from their sight for free; you won't regret it. 

9. In Mourning - Monolith

Released: February 16, 2010
Label: Aftermath Music
Genre: Progressive/melodic Death metal



I already knew In Mourning was going to be in this list somewhere ever since their February release. Even now, I have great memories of when I first heard this album nearly eleven months ago and I still feel like it should be higher on the list if it weren't for some amazing other works that came up throughout the year. They've got the band-dynamic vibe for sure on Monolith; every instrument and member has their shining moments and is given a role in each piece. The only complaint is that the album seems to slow down in inertia towards the end; the momentum begins to lose itself for me. Still, In Mourning really struck a near perfect balance of power, rawness, discipline and clean melody in a way that makes me so badly want to write "...like Opeth" but even that hardly describes the feel of Monolith. Everyone I've talked to calls it their "Opeth" of 2010. Whether or not this is a compliment is up to you.

8. Cloudkicker - A New Heavenly Body

Released: November 11, 2010
Label: Self Released
Genre: Djent, instrumental



This was a great year for instrumental metal, especially with musicians like Tosin, Chimp Spanner, Bulb and Cloudkicker blowing up the djent scene last year which lead several others to follow suit in 2010. Bands like TesseracT, Vildjharta, and Bulb's Periphery experimented with vocals over djent while other artists like Cloudkicker kept on pushing out new instrumentals every few months. Actually, Ben Sharp (Cloudkicker) created quite a library of music this year, beginning with the short but sweet EP ]]][[[ followed by the full length album Beacons.
A New Heavenly Body is essentially ]]][[[ remastered with new percussion and guitar tones, and as such it is an EP and shouldn't technically be on a list of top "albums". But you know, I loved ]]][[[ a whole hell of a lot more than Beacons and I love A New Heavenly Body a whole hell of a lot more than ]]][[[, so its' going on the list. If you like djent even in the least bit, listen to this 15 minute epic. When I was first conceiving this list, ]]][[[ was going to be in this very spot, however the only complaint I had with that EP was the mixing and the production; the guitar tone wasn't fully settled upon and the quality of how it sounded was still quite raw. A New Heavenly Body smoothed over those issues and gives us the version of how these pieces were meant to be heard and is the version I would suggest. The song titles are completely new as well and light was shed over the mystique of what #, %, and $ were supposed to mean, but everything else remains simply more polished. Cloudkicker is an artist that relies on a solid building of layers over his pieces, rather than the in-your-face kick of other contemporaries like Bulb and as a result his pieces have more density than the latter and is something that makes his work stand out in a more thought out way. Lastly if ]]][[[, Beacons, and A New Heavenly Body wasn't enough Cloudkicker for 2010, check out his new piece You and Yours put out for the holidays in December. With this much work floating around, Cloudkicker most definitely deserves a spot on this list.

7. Gladiator - Circular Reasoning

Released: May 21, 2010
Label: Self Released
Genre: instrumental, mathcore, jazz fusion



This is a band that took some digging to discover, but how glad I am that I did; Circular Reasoning is the best instrumental album of 2010 and trust me, I am a sucker for instrumental albums. Last year, Animals as Leaders rose to the very top of 2009's list, and while Circular Reasoning doesn't quite have the Animal' as Leader's impact, it does at times evoke that special feeling that an instrument-only album can create. This album is hardly djent though, rather it mixes heavy and smooth textures by means of more fusion-like parts that bring Exivious to mind with more math metal sections. My only complaint is that there's a part of me that wishes that the heavier sections had at times more of a rhythmic head-bangable beat as they tend to be extremely mathy but that's kind of what Gladiator is about, and I like the vibe they put out. It is instrumentation done the right way; an album that mixes complexity with familiarity and experimentation, and notably the drummer is the stand out player; it feels fresh to hear drums that aren't programmed on an instrumental album. Circular Reasoning feels very mature and tasteful all around and is one to keep your eye on in the future.

6. Shining - Blackjazz

Released: January 18, 2010
Label: Indie Recordings
Genre: Avant-garde metal, alternative metal, industrial metal, progressive metal, experimental rock, jazz fusion


5. Ihsahn - After

Released: 26 January 2010
Label: Candlelight
Genre: Progressive metal, black metal, jazz fusion



Ihsahn is probably on just about every 2010 top list of metal albums, and he happened to make it into my top five. Admittedly, I was turned off by After on my first listen. I can't say why, but I just didn't get it, like it was something that I felt was too inaccessible for me, something above what I was able to appreciate. But if you too feel this way, give the album a chance and it will deliver. There's something incredibly mature about what Ihsahn is going for and you can tell that he's almost perfected the sound that he's trying to establish. There's room for experimentation on songs on After, with unorthodox instrumentation such as the great and amazing saxophone which by far has some of the coolest segments on the album. There's not too much or too little of that sax either; it comes in the pieces in a way that doesn't scream "I'm a saxophone and I'm soloing!". It adds a great deal and is readily apparent that Ihsahn worked to discover this particular kind of sound. And in that way, my mind mentally puts After in a more proggy category. There's just an incredibly tasteful feeling of collaboration and practice on After that has so much more of a disciplined and refined feeling than most metal albums in the scene today. The fretless bass is also sex.

4. The Ocean - Heliocentric/Anthropocentric

Released: April9, 2010/November 9, 2010
Label: Metal Blade
Genre: Post-metal, sludge metal, progressive metal



The Ocean were said to have fallen from grace a bit after 2007's Precambrian, but their newest "conceptual" work (and I use that term relatively loosely here because this isn't so much a concept album as it is more a critique of an idea) is actually working to give the band its unique voice and solidifies for me what they are about the more so than previous works. It must be stated that Heliocentric and Anthropocentric are two separate bodies however they are meant to be companion pieces are as such I like to view them as one entity. The peaks and valleys of the albums come in shifts of loud and quiet, playing off of the former segments and giving the listener breathing room before coming on strong again. Listening to the two in sequence, from the beginning gateway prologue to the isolating and lonely final song, the feeling is undeniable. The albums seem as if they portray the human condition in the lyrical and tonal message, ending with giving the listener a feeling of alone in the universe. The effect is chilling and somewhat daunting. The difference between the two albums is more subtle than let on, however Heliocentric feels more composed, more sweeping in its' mood, while Anthropocentric is rawer, more intense and slightly less complex. Its' an extremely powerful musical journey which works well in harmony with each other that I honestly enjoyed listening to the entire way through. The Ocean laid out a strong message with this one, and whether you pay attention to the lyrics or not is irrelevant in the overall experience that are the ...centric albums.

3. Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of the ORwarriOR

Released: January 25, 2010
Label: Century Media
Genre: Oriental metal, progressive metal, death/folk



Its funny how relevant of a band Orphaned Land has become just recently in 2010 alone. No one I've talked to has heard of the Israeli metallers before The Never Ending Way of the ORwarriOR yet we've all heard that they're the definitive example of "oriental" or "exotic metal". So is this album really worth all the newfound hype? Well yes actually, its' true. As previously noted with Melechesh's The Epigenesis, there's a lot of intrigue for me that comes with the musical influence of a band's background, especially with the obvious middle eastern roots and premise of this album. Admittedly, my forays into oriental metal are shallow, so simply put, The Never Ending Way... transported me to a very foreign place and threw me out of my comfort zone with what I'm used to in metal. And that's a great thing that really tells me that Orphaned Land have created a successful album here. Even if it weren't for the unfamiliar instrumentation and vocal chants used throughout the album, the exotic flair of the phrasing in riffs and instrumental sections in songs was what wrapped it all together. This is a band that everyone should sample simply because it feels so fresh, and if that's really the goal then making new sounding music that pushes the boundaries of what we are used to as listeners is what it really means to be progressive. For that reason I have no problem putting The Never Ending Way of the ORwarriOR in my top three.

2. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

Released: September 27, 2010
Label: Indie, Nuclear Blast
Genre: Progressive metal, black metal



Enslaved is one of those bands that's been around the block more than most can hope to imagine, but still to this day they keep pushing boundaries and securing their space as leaders in technically impressive and progressive black metal. The pace is determined yet steady and holds your attention in such an iron clamp that by the time the album is over, you instantly need more. I gave the album two go-arounds in a row the first time I heard it because it's such a class-A example of black metal done right. Axioma Ethica Odini displays Enslaved again at the top of their game, striking great balances in every song between driving force and haunting cleaner sequences, but does so in a way that seems hardly repetitive. Its' an amazing album to come back to over and over after the passage of time and has great longevity in the long running racetrack of musical progression. Learn from Enslaved, metal bands. Learn well.

1. Alcest - Écailles de Lune

Released: March 29, 2010
Label: Prophecy Productions
Genre: Shoegaze, post-metal, black metal



Alcest is a band that I actually found through their lead man Neige's other project Amesoeurs. I was skeptical at first; having not heard the previous album Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde, all I seemed to hear about was the "shoegaze black metal" moniker that everyone was giving to Écailles de Lune. Naturally I questioned how the two genres could be combined, but upon the first try Alcest picked me up and placed me into their drifting and sweeping atmospheric world that they've so beautifully constructed. Écailles de Lune is undeniably unique and is something that only a listen can describe. Neige relies on a slow escalation of layered segments that truly show emotion. Its' sensitive and has a light dreamlike quality yet harsh when the need arises, yes you will hear screams and shrieks, but it never comes across as abrasive as Neige's clean and innocent vocals layer masterfully in the songs to give them a real sense of direction and purpose. Everything is so smooth; the album never lifts you up only to drop with the next song; things are gradual and made me feel like I was floating in cosmos. I didn't want the album to end, which is something I've rarely felt. Plus, his clean clean guitar tone is near damn perfect. I have no qualms with putting Écailles de Lune as my top choice of 2010, it makes great driving music, great homework music, great anything music.
And with that; happy 2011, here's to new music and metal!

Honorable Mentions: 
Serj Tankian - Imperfect Harmonies
Periphery - Periphery
Howl - Full of Hell
Meshuggah - Alive
Bleeding Through - Bleeding Through
Cloudkicker - Beacons
Tesseract - Concealing Fate EP
Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
Buckethead - Captain Eo's Voyage/ Shadows Between the Sky