Honorable Mentions
50-46
45-41
40-36
35-31
30-26
25-21
20-16

15

Insomnium – Across the Dark

Into the top 15 we go. Insomnium is the exact opposite of soulless melodeath. When people complain about bands that are technically proficient but don’t put much heart or soul into their music, they should immediately go out and get an Insomnium CD to cleanse their pallet. As technically proficient as any band out there, but with a much stronger grasp on melodies and just general heartfelt music making. This is epic death metal its absolute best. The harsh parts are balanced almost perfectly with the less harsh parts. Really just a fantastic album.

14

St. Vincent – Actor

St. Vincent, or as I prefer- “Annie Clark Will You Please Marry Me At Your Earliest Convenience” is the music moniker used for the most talented lady singer-songwriter on this earth, Annie Clark. I’ve seen her referred to as the thinking persons Lady Gaga, which used to confuse me but I kind of see the comparison. Annie Clark is a genius with an incredibly strong, and sometimes strange, artistic vision that she refuses to compromise. She just chooses absolutely gorgeous indie and folk arrangements as opposed to looking like an acid freaks sequin nightmare. This is what people who salivate over relatively prepackaged stuff like Regina Spektor should be getting into.

13

Converge – Axe to Fall

Honestly, probably Converge’s best album since Jane Doe. Chaotic as they ever were, Axe to Fall punishes you into brain submission with ridiculousness. Probably the most straight up aggressive hardcore assault this year. You should go to jail for something this heavy.

12

Diablo Swing Orchestra – Sing Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious

Does the idea of hot goth chicks swing dancing turn you on? Because it probably should, and this is the band that can provide that. Diablo Swing Orchestra are… jeez I don’t even know. Nobody knows how to label this yet. Death Swing? Prog goth dance metal? Riot Opera? I got nothing. Weird, dark, operatic, and absolutely impossible to resist.

11

Vektor – Black Future

This is pretty awesome, at first it sneaks up on you as a ridiculously great thrash album. In 2010, which is just not something you expect. Then as you listen to it you realize that they meld all kinds of influences in here. It even gets pretty psychedelic. Yes. A psychedelic thrash album. Vektor woke up one morning and decided to bridge the gap between Pink Floyd and Slayer. This CD rips, tears, and shreds its way into your brain. Then blows your head up like Scanners.