Year in Metal: 2010

I have finally come to the final post in this series. Go here for the larger post. As usual, here are five more albums that I missed covering in that post.

DENOUNCEMENT PYRE: WORLD CREMATION
Denouncement Pyre was covered just a couple of days ago in an Initial Impressions post. The Australian band possesses a sound similar to other groups in the scene such as Abominator, Destroyer 666, and others. With good reason too as both of the current members and all of the band's previous members have been in a number of other Australian bands. That is one of the more interesting parts of that particular scene. This is a particularly brutal album, even for the scene.

GHOST: OPUS EPONYMOUS
Subject to a ton of hype in the latter couple of months of 2010, this album actually released in the U.S. early in 2011 but was released in Europe well before that. Ghost takes 1970's hard rock groups like Blue Oyster Cult and combines them with early doom metal for a surprisingly infectious sound. At this time, there is still no information out there about who the members of Ghost are or what the band is really trying to accomplish, but it is a fun ride.

GRAND MAGUS: HAMMER OF THE NORTH
I was just not able to get my hands on Grand Magus's 2010 release during the calendar year. That is a shame too because their 2008 album was my Album of the Year so I was definitely looking forward to this one. Grand Magus did not alter their approach too much. This is still a 1980's heavy metal-inspired album with some truly catchy tracks and the amazing vocals of JB. Grand Magus should be the next big thing in metal, but nothing ever seems to work out the way it should.

INQUISITION: OMINOUS DOCTRINES OF THE PERPETUAL MYSTICAL MACROCOSM
Inquisition has become known for long album and song titles, this one certainly takes first prize in that. What we have here is good old South American black metal. Inquisition's sound is rooted in second wave Norwegian black metal with sonic ties to groups like Immortal. This is true black metal at its best. Inquisition takes the black metal torch and runs with it here. Initial Impressions to come soon.

WITHERED: DUALITAS
This album could easily have been my Album of the Year if I had found it during the calendar year. That is how freaking good it is. I had missed out on this band for a long time but when I discovered how great this album was, I realized my mistake. Withered plays black/death metal but with some droning and post-metal qualities. All of that thrown together creates a harrowing and suffocating album that is cold and miserable. What a great album.