THESE SEANS' BEST OF 2010

10~

Defeatist
Sixth Extinction [Purchase]
(Willowtip)

Possibly the tightest band on the face of the Earth, Defeatist do grind like no one else. Despite short song lengths, their material is adventurous. Aaron Nichols' guitar riffs know no limitation; luckily, neither do the rhythm section.

Crucial Cut: "Death Holds Her Brood"


9~

The Howling Wind
Into The Cryosphere [Purchase]
(Profound Lore)

Rejecting black metal maybe the only true way to make true black metal these days. Big riffs and thick guitar tone give this record the weight of an avalanche.

Crucial cut: "Teeth Of Frost" [MP3]


8~

Twilight
Monument To Time End [Purchase]
(Southern Lord)

When Blake Judd started talking about industrial influences for Nachtmystium's Addicts: Black Meddle, Part II, I got really excited. This is the record I was hoping he was going to make.

Crucial cut: "Negative Signal Omega" [MP3]


7~

Ludicra
The Tenant [Purchase]
(Profound Lore)

The Tenant shows dedication to an idea, and the blossoming of that idea despite sorrow and hardship. Truly an album reflective of its time and place.

Crucial cut: "A Clean, White Void" [MP3]


6~

Immolation
Majesty & Decay [Purchase]
(Nuclear Blast)

Definitive Immolation. While Close to a World Below will continue to be everyone on a message board's favorite record, Majesty & Decay will end up with the most listens.

Crucial cut: "A Token Of Malice"


5~

Vasaeleth
Crypt Born & Tethered To Ruin [Purchase]
(Profound Lore)

I have yet to reach the bottom of this record's core. Black/death atmosphere come a-plenty, but so do ideas and songs. A record worth letting taking you over, rather than trying to fight through.

Crucial cut: "Curse Seeping Through Flesh" [MP3]


4~

Harvey Milk
A Small Turn Of Human Kindness [Purchase]
(Hydra Head Records)

Possibly the most miserable record ever recorded, punctuated by moments of beauty. Harvey Milk never disappoint, and Small Turn brilliantly follows up the critically-lauded Life... by being almost unbearable. Trying to listen to this record is hard, even for someone who enjoys it, but there was a few months this year when it clicked in for me and was stuck on play.

Crucial cut: "I Know This Is No Place For You" [MP3]


3~

Unearthly Trance
V [Purchase]
(Relapse)

Once the guitar kicks in for the verse of "Unveiled," I'm taken in, and there is no escape from V. Without a doubt the most fully-realized start to finish record this year, V offers up doom laced with punk, noise and a sense that these travellers have found their path, and they are dragging us with them.

Crucial cut: "The Horsemen Arrive In The Night" [MP3]


2~

Coffinworm
When All Became None [Purchase]
(Profound Lore)

This record reeks of evil. Thankfully, it also has some of the best songs written this year. I've turned many people onto this record this year who are not remotely interested in doom, yet have completely fallen for it. Everything happens just when it needs to happen in these songs, and the listener is left with large sense of satisfaction.

Crucial cut: "Blood Born Doom" [MP3]


1~

Castevet
Mounds Of Ash [Purchase]
(Profound Lore)

I never saw the black metal in Castevet that everyone else did. That's where black metal is now, the subject of subjugation. What is clear to me is the genius of Andrew Hock. His compositions stun as guitars whirl and drums shimmer. This record touches every level for me: the musician, the listener, the headbanger, the intellectual.

Crucial cut: "Grey Matter" [MP3]

~~~~~~

I also really liked:

Thou - Summit
Salome - Terminal
Hail Of Bullets - On Divine Wings
Father Befouled - Morbid Destitution Of Covenant
Coliseum - House With A Curse
Pollution - ®SMUT
Nails - Unsilent Death
Hooded Menace - Never Cross The Dead
Dishammer - Under The Sign Of The D-Beat Mark

~~~~~~

Two favorite records from 2009 I didn't get to until this year:

GREYMACHINE - Disconnected
Infinitum Obscure - Sub Atris Caelis

~~~~~~

My other #1

Unearthly Trance / The Endless Blockade 12" Split

In case you haven't noticed, I got pretty into Ryan Lipynsky this year. I consumed his work in large quantities and rather than just 'enjoying' his work, I found it to be inspiring. This split shows the excellent work of two bands that strive to create art with their medium. Beyond their ideologies, this split is incredibly listenable. The Endless Blockade's "One Handed Christ Destroyer" might be my song of the year, and it is constructed with just drums, vocals and noise. This split succeeds in giving the listener a kaleidoscope view of the power of art.