Two metal magazines recently released their top albums of the decade lists. With somewhat different results. Terrorizer and Decibel are pretty much the two leading metal magazines now that Metal Maniacs folded last year, an event for which I am still extremely bitter. Terrorizer has been mentioned in this blog for being a tad more devoted to extreme forms of metal. This is evident in their choices for the magazine. I agree with the Terrorizer list significantly more than the Decibel list. I don't want to repost the entire list, or even much of it at all. I would like to look at the Top 5 though. So here's Terrorizer's Top 5:
1. Electric Wizard: Dopethrone: I enjoy some good drugged out doom metal as much as the next guy, although I myself have never been stoned. That being said, it's hard for me to accept this being the album of the decade. I don't know, I haven't heard the whole thing through. I enjoy the band quite a bit, they just don't consistently hold my interest enough to consider them an elite band.
2. Celtic Frost: Monotheist: This album is heavy as fuck and twice as scary. The reunion album from Celtic Frost took everyone by surprise. It wasn't about fast distorted riffs anymore. It was about creating an atmosphere. And that atmosphere was pants-shittingly terrifying. It's too bad the band broke up again.
3. Watain: Sworn to the Dark: Watain is being hailed as the next Dissection. I personally do not agree as Dissection was one-of-a-kind to me. However, if somewhat melodic, but still cold and dark black metal is your thing, Watain is as good as any of the other bands to come about this decade. Seriously, their stuff is great.
4. Converge: Jane Doe: What IS it about this album that makes everyone go nuts over it? Seriously, I tried listening to some tracks. It's boring modern hardcore with some metal influences delivered chaotically and at totally random times. No thanks.
5. Opeth: Blackwater Park: I still don't believe this is the band's best album, but it's a hell of a good release. The progressive elements had fully ripened into a major part of the band's music by this point and were played much more convincingly. Unfortunately, after this album they would start to dominate the music.
I own 32 albums from this list. Not too bad really.
Nonmetal bands present on this list: Converge, Clutch, Lightning Bolt, Whitehouse, Melt-Banana, Tool, Rammstein, Big Business, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me, Disfear, Angels of Light, Laibach, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Porcupine Tree
Buy the issue here: http://www.terrorizer.com/decadesrow
Terrorizer always gets it right, though I thought one of Enslaved's albums would be higher in the list. Ruun and Vertebrae were spectacular, the latter winnning their best album of 2008.
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