TeethoftheDivine.com’s Staff picks of 2010
It’s that time of the year again, when it’s time to take a look back at the previous year and figure out what the end score was. And as it is with things over here at Teeth of the Divine, this thing is legen-waitforit-dary…but none the less open to debate. So take part in the fun and post your top 2010 lists too! Without further a due, 12 pages of all things 2010 (and more or less, metal). Enjoy!
MIKKO K.
2010 has been an odd year for me. I’ve heard shitloads of great music but a lot of it was from 2009, so naturally I can’t advertise that stuff here. Not that I can remember what those 2009 albums were, as the past three months have been a pure haze for some odd reason. But I digress.
I’m still ultimately undecided when it comes down to Nevermore‘s The Obsidian Conspiracy, but I’d be damned if the guitar work–that goddamn guitar work–doesn’t give me a boner. It totally does. Whilst the band didn’t perform to their best of abilities at the Tuska Festival, I still had neckache the following week, and that to me, counts for a well deserved spot on the list. No matter where, no matter which Nevermore-riff, that shit goes straight to the head. I like.
Speaking of Tuska Festival, attending the festivals with a camera in hand was a good experience and hopefully we’ll get to do that again this, new, year.
Celtic Frost‘s Monotheist is an amazing album. Luckily Tom G. Warrior continues from where he left off as Triptykon‘s Eparistera Daimones (+ the EP) is an amazing album too. So heavy. Oh, so heavy.
In a similar vein, but yet completely different, I have to say I didn’t find The Acacia Strain‘s Wormwood to be a bad album at all. On the contrary, it’s actually an enjoyable slab of simplified but all the more effective ‘heavyness’ and oh-my, aggression. Sometimes larger than life substance just isn’t that necessary.
Speaking of hate, Celeste‘s Morte(s) Nee(s)–an album I compared to a combat drug–is full of pure unaltered feisty hate. Yum! On that note, whilst not exclusively metal, Denovali Records are definitely one of the best and most interesting labels out there.
Denovali Records are also known for some great post-rock, but The Ascent of Everest are signed to a different one. Indeed, TAoE are most likely the post-rock band for me and From This Vantage is, and continues be, an amazing musical journey. Possibly the best post-rock had to offer in 2010.
I also did enjoy the new albums from Agalloch, Alcestand Les Discrets too.
Sole Remedy surprised the shit out of me. Mainly because I wasn’t expecting anything, yet the band came out with a finely tuned weapon of progressive mass destruction. Apoptosis is an amazing album that, despite its minor flaws, deserves a whole a lot of attention. I just hope they don’t become the new Insert Remedy. Not that there was anything wrong with IR, just that they only released one album. Luckily A State Of Constant Change was and is a fucking masterpiece. But again, I digress.
Secondskin‘sCaptive Audience wasn’t a bad album either. I just hope they improve the vocals quite a bit, lest they want to become solely an acquired taste.
I also have to give nod out to The Sequence of Prime‘s Virion and since no list is complete without at least one Polish band, Trauma‘s Archetype of Chaos gets a mention.
Since someone (moi?) mentioned Archetype, Mechanize was an excellent ‘comeback’ from Fear Factory (after Transgression anyway), yet, for some unknown reason, the album remains forgettable. It treats the ears and the mind when it’s on, but afterward it’s all said and done, you kind of forget what you were listening. Puzzling.
Negura Bunget, Enslaved, Black Sun Aeon and even Deathspell Omega all released albums that have the possibility of becoming 2010 favorites, but unfortunately I didn’t clock enough time with them to be 100% certain. Yet, I’d probably call them all safe bets… as I would call Sabaton‘s Coat of Arms. Without a doubt this year’s best ‘power’ metal album. Not that I heard ’em all… and that my friends, is a low-point for 2010 for me: There’s simply too much good music out there and I’m certain a few albums would have belonged to this list had I heard them in time.
Heavy metal lost a few―and notable―key characters this year. Hard to imagine metal without ’em…and not that there’s necessarily a need for that either. The music and legacy live on. Whilst none of them can be replaced, nor should they be, heavy metal still seems to be in great hands. Besides, I’m more of a carry on kind of a guy, anyway. Speaking of which, Manowar‘s Battle Hymns MMXI was totally unnecessary.
To conclude, the best album of 2010 for me, was released in 2009. Kauan‘s Aava Tuulen Maa is the album this year for me. No matter what else got played in between, I always found–and will find–myself coming back to the album time and time again.
None the less. 2011 looks out to be an awesome year!
Find more articles with: 2010, Blog, Staff Picks
Another amazing year for heavy music, another year of thoughtful, well-written reviews, captivating discussions, and excellent overall journalism. I have been a religious reader of TOTD for a long time, (since well before it was TOTD in fact), and this is actually the first time I have commented, replied, posted anything. I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, thank you, FUCKING THANK YOU to all of the staff. Thank you from the darkest corner of my heart for your diligent and relentless pursuit of the music that I love. Without you, I would be lost.
on Jan 10th, 2011 at 15:32Thanks to TOTD for another year of excellent metal reviews.
Nice lists – some stuff in there I haven’t yet heard and, by the sounds of it, will need to.
Just to add my two cents, here are the albums which didn’t appear on any of the TOTD lists, but which I had in my best-of:
Adversarial – All Idols Fall Before The Hammer
Ascension – Consolamentum
Bloody Sign – Chaos Echoes
Diocletian – War Of All Against All
Galar – Til Alle Heimsens Endar
Immolation – Majesty And Decay
Svart Crown – Witnessing The Fall
Witchrist – Beheaded Ouroborus
Looking forward to the rest of 2011!
on Jan 10th, 2011 at 18:27Thumbs up to Larry’s list. Actually contains metal bands I’ve heard of. Really shocked but surprised at the mention of Lyzanxia and Universum (considering it was self-released towards the end of December). Also agreed on the Arsis and The Crown picks — compared to Deathrace King, Doomsday King was just a load of poorly produced uninspired crap.
on Jan 10th, 2011 at 20:49Thanks again TOTD for another year ful of great reviews and helping steer some of us who are out of the loop in the right diretion for good music. The only thing I thought this list was mising was probably the greatest release of 2010 and that is Enslaved’s “Axioma Ethica Odini”, a MASTERPIECE which cannot be surpassed.
on Jan 11th, 2011 at 18:39I’ve been going through the lists and it’s really interesting how varied they are, in fact some people have listed as their favorites albums that other have listed as disappointments. Frankly I’m surprised that everyone hated Ozzy’s new one so much, I thought it was over a billion times better than his last few. I honestly like every song on there except “Let it Die”. Maybe I’m in a weird niche or something.
To Benjamin, I saw that you had Blood Calls We Die on your list and I have been looking for their album EVERYWHERE to no avail. I couldn’t even find a place to buy it other than some Japanese site. Where or how did you get this tape??? I gotta have it!
on Jan 12th, 2011 at 01:55Thanks for listing Metazoa. Sorry we didn’t get it out to you sooner! :-)
on Jan 13th, 2011 at 22:14Krustster, I’ll put you in touch with the label guru, give me a shout at – bsdeblasi@gmail.com.
on Jan 15th, 2011 at 00:12