Oh yeah, I have a blog here. I kind of forgot about that.
I've been seeing this topic on a lot of websites, and after it dawned on me that the first decade of the 21st century is over already, I decided to come up with my own list of the TOP TWENTY METAL ALBUMS OF THE LAST DECADE. That's a difficult thing to put together, because there were so many records put out by so many bands. In my opinion, the first decade of the 00's produced a lot of good records, but very few great records. But here are the ones I consider the best of the best, without doing too much thorough research, and I'm sure I am overlooking some really obvious ones. By the way, I have only included one album from each band, or else the list would be mostly Megadeth, Motorhead, and Opeth.
In no particular order:
1. Iron Maiden: A Matter of Life And Death 2006
The best record Maiden has done since Seventh Son in '88. Long songs about war and history, which is exactly what Maiden should do.
2. Megadeth: Endgame 2009
Their fastest, heaviest, angriest record since Rust In Peace. Who would have guessed that one of their best albums would have come this late in their career, with 75% of the classic lineup replaced with new people?
3. Metallica: Death Magnetic 2008
Amazingly, after years of mediocrity, Metallica returned with a heavy record. Does it sound like their old stuff? Not really. But it's probably as close as they will ever get to the old sound again. Kind of a compromise between the classic early stuff and the disappointing direction they took after the Black album.
4. Opeth: Ghost Reveries 2005
Opeth seems to have perfected their craft with this one. It's the perfect blend of all that is Opeth. A haunting, scary, beautiful masterpiece.
5. Demons and Wizards: Touched By The Crimson King 2005
I am not a huge power metal fan, but something about this Iced Earth/Blind Guardian side project is very appealing to me. Once in a great while, a record comes along where every song has meaning and stands out from each other, and this album is a good example of that.
6. Halford: Crucible 2002
This is an overlooked classic. Very dark and gothic and super heavy, and also very experimental for Halford. I'm glad Priest got back together, but at the same time I wish Halford had done a few more albums like this.
7. Six Feet Under: Bringer of Blood 2003
Their scariest and most brutal album thus far. Stripped down simplified death metal like this has a lot more character than all of the Cannibal Corpse clone bands.
8. Motorhead choose from any of the following: We Are Motorhead 2000, Hammered 2002, Inferno 2004 It's hard to pick just one of these albums, because they are all so good. We Are Motorhead is more of a concise, punky album. Hammered is definitely more mid-tempo rock than metal. And Inferno is some of the heaviest stuff Motorhead has ever done. Combine the three, and you would have a 10 album for sure.
9. Black Label Society: Mafia 2005
I think BLS peaked with this album. The first half of the record just flows so smoothly from great song to great song. The second half is less inspired, but this is still the most essential BLS album so far.
10. Mastodon: Leviathan 2004
Sea monster metal. Mastodon is a band with the ambition to do something adventurous and original, like an album based on Moby Dick.
11. Lamb of God: Ashes of the Wake 2004
Still their best record, in my opinion. LOG really emerged with this album as a major new metal presence, without any of the softer touches like Avenged Sevenfold or Killswitch Engage.
12. Cavalera Conspiracy: Inflikted 2008
A reminder of how great classic Sepultura was. If this project band makes more records, then there is no need for a Sepultura reunion.
13. Pantera: Reinventing the Steel 2000
The final Pantera record is flawed in places, but when it's good, it's great. They are missed.
14. Exodus: Shovel Head Kill Machine 2005
Who would have thought Exodus would return with a new singer and mostly new musicians, and actually be heavier, angrier, and better than ever before?
15. Judas Priest: Angel of Retribution 2005
This is a potpourri of all the best elements of Priest. Maybe a little predictable, but it was just so great to hear Priest back with Halford again.
16. Anthrax: We've Come For You All 2003
A great, diverse metal album. Anthrax with John Bush is such an underrated band.
17. Strapping Young Lad: Alien 2005
A messy, insane, intense statement from a disturbed individual. It helps to be really pissed off when you listen to this one.
18. Slayer: World Painted Blood 2009
Nice to hear Slayer sounding like Slayer again.
19. Down: 2:A Bustle In Your Hedgerow 2002
Much more diverse than their first album. Lots of nice mellow passages to compliment the dirty swamp metal.
20. Iced Earth: Horror Show 2001
A sort of concept album based on classic movie monsters. For a while, Iced Earth was one of the most promising bands of the 90's and into the 00's.
Honorable mention non-metal albums of the last ten years:
Rush Vapor Trails 2002
Brian Wilson Smile 2004
David Bowie Heathen 2002
Robert Plant Dreamland 2002
Johnny Cash American IV 2002
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