The Official Top Ten albums of 2010. Officially.

So here we are. We are finally close enough to the year's end for me not to feel premature in ranking the year's best albums. 2010 has been a year of surprises-bands who made last year's list have returned with crushing disappointments, and bands whose names had never even piqued my interest before have dominated my listening habits. It's been tough whittling down my previously published list down to ten, with many missing through no demerit of their own: this is simply the ten I happened to pick but any of the 20 or so albums in my last post are worthy of your time. So, without further ado, and in no particular order (sort of), Dougie Diamond's top ten albums of 2010!

Torche - 'Songs For Singles'

Torche are, for lack of a better word, awesome. 'Meanderthal' made it onto my top albums of the decade list last year, and as you can imagine my anticipation for 'SFS' was pretty fevered. An online stream of 'UFO' about a month before the 'album's' release certainly lifted my spirits-a glorious, saccharine-sweet burst of musical sunshine, full of Steve Brooks' trademark vocal harmonies and heart-warming riffs, the song set the bar pretty high, so I was pretty deflated upon finally hearing the full record and realising this was by far the best song on it. However, after a few more spins, 'Songs For Singles' started to reveal it's secrets and what secrets they are. Torche are, for me, at their best when knocking out 2-minute pop-rock gems, and two of their finest ever are found within 'SFS'- 'Hideaway' and 'Cast Into Unknown', both songs full of their own brand of postitive Beach Boys-meets-Baroness vibes. 'Songs For Singles' isn't as complete-feeling or well-rounded an experience as 'Meanderthal', but judging by the record's title, it was never meant to be. What it is , is a ray of light in an in increasingly bleak scene, and should be cherished as such.

Key Track - 'UFO'

Envy - 'Recitation'

It's been 4 long years since Envy released their last full-length, 06's incredible 'Insomniac Doze', and though we've had the 'Abyssal' e.p. and splits with Thursday and Jesu to tide us over, there's nothing like an Envy album to warm us up in the harsh winter. So it was with open arms I welcomed 'Recitation' into my life and into my heart, and I couldn't have asked any more of Japan's finest sons. A majestic mash-up of all of the finest points from Envy's career, this album manages to sound as regal and glacial as 'Insomniac Doze' whilst mixing in the more upbeat, positive vibes and tempos from 'Abyssal'. The first big surprise 'Recitation' has to offer is the incredibly beautiful slow-build of it's opening two tracks, 'Guidance' and 'Last Hours Of Eternity'; where as once they would have kicked things off in their typically huge and bombastic fashion, here they caress and soothe you into submission long before any hint of a screamed vocal or distorted guitar. When things finally do kick off on 'Rain Clouds Running In A Holy Night', it is in the most sky-scraping, heart-warming way imaginable, with busy drums and massive major-key chords crashing around Tetsuya Fukagawa's huge vocals, creating the kind of epic cacophony dreams are made of. Probably the most versatile album in Envy's catalogue, 'Recitation' should not be missed by any fan of post-whatever music.

Key Track - 'Dreams Coming To An End'

The Secret - 'Solve Et Coagula'

For anyone who misses the about-to-fly-off-the-rails blackened hardcore of Cursed, take heed - The Secret are about to become your new favourite band. A misanthropic, hate-filled, bile-spilling assault of a record, 'Solve Et Coagula' will boil your blood and make you want to hit things in the face. I listened to and enjoyed the band's previous album 'Disintoxication', but felt that it somewhat lacked the focus to really push it to the forefront of my ipod playlist. Focus is no problem here, and the songwriting on display is so tight and precise that it could slice through lead. Mixing crusty, Darkthrone-esque blackened death'n'roll with the pace and attack of the aforementioned Loudest Band In Canada, The Secret have crafted the most vicious hardcore album of the year. Prepare to have your ears destroyed.

Key Track - 'Death Alive'

Deftones - 'Diamond Eyes'

What a pleasure it is to be able to put Deftones on this list. This band are almost single-handedly responsible for the way my taste in music developed, yet it has taken them a decade to release an album that comes anywhere close to the dizzying heights of genre-destroyer 'White Pony'. But wow, what a fucking return to form! From the opening crunch of the title track onwards, 'Diamond Eyes' is a revelation, even more so considering the tragic circumstances under which it came to fruition. It's hard to listen to the album without wondering what could have been had Chi Cheng not had his devastating accident-we would have instead ended up with 'Eros', the album Deftones had just about completed and had spent much time talking up in the press. Whether we ever get to hear 'Eros' is likely to depend on whether Chi ever recovers, but listening to the dark grooves of 'You've Seen The Butcher' or the swooning bliss of 'Sextape' it's hard to worry either way.

Key Track - 'Diamond Eyes'

High On Fire - 'Snakes For The Divine'

High On Fire carry on the grand tradition of bands I completely missed the boat with. To think I let them go by me without so much as a shrug is testament to what a narrow-visioned douche I can be. 'Snakes For The Divine' is the glorious grey area that exists between the beer and whiskey-soaked fury of Motorhead and the progressive-minded poundings of Mastodon; a rip-roaring ride through a heavy metal wind-tunnel where furious riffs and caveman-esque bellows smash you about the head something silly. Though hardly a poster-boy for the modern man, Matt Pike is probably one of the most underrated guitar players on the planet, his riffs knocking seven shades of shit out of 99% of his contemporaries, not to mention the primal Slayer-esque fury of his screeching leads. As a pure balls-out heavy metal experience, 'Snakes...' was unbeatable in 2010, and I'm thankful I finally took the plunge on this incredible band.

Key Track - 'Frost Hammer'

Black Breath - 'Heavy Breathing'

I'm not even going to beat around the bush: Black Breath are awesome because they sound like Entombed. And that is the highest praise I could ever hope to offer any death'n'roll band. 'Heavy Breathing' sounds like the missing link between 'Clandestine' and 'Wolverine Blues', all buzz-saw guitars, rampaging thrash beats and glass-gargled vocals. It is a beast of a record, and I don't need to say any more than that. Buy it you damn fools.

Key Track - 'Black Sin (Spit On The Cross)'

Astrohenge - 'Astrohenge'

It always pleases me to discover new bands, and one of the nicer aspects of living in London is that every now and again I get to do this by actually witnessing said bands live. I first caught Astrohenge at an all-day metal show earlier this year, and sandwiched in-between half-baked grind bands and dirgey pseudo-post-metal rubbish they managed to absolutely knock my socks off. Instrumental metal (or, 'instrumetal' if you will) often tends to consist solely of Isis wannabes or Meshuggah-apeing 'djent' wankery, but Astrohenge fit neither bill, or any other casual pigeon-hole you'd care to fling them at, melding Mastodon-esque prog-sludge to high voltage thrash, piano-tinkled jazz and crushing doom. The closest possible comparison i could throw at them is Between The Buried And Me (whom 'Henge opened for earlier in the year), but purely in both bands' abilities to throw so many disparate styles into their collective melting pots and come out with something greater than the sum of it's parts. Did I mention that Astrohenge have a keyboard player instead of a bass? No? Thart's because it's probably the least remarkable thing about them. Probably one of the finest bands the UK has seen in some time, avoid them at your eternal peril.

Key Track - 'Toil In Hell'

The Dillinger Escape Plan - 'Option Paralysis'

I managed to completely leave this album off so many of my preliminary attempts at this list, and I can only put this down to the fact it came out so many months ago that it's not really been at the forefront of my memory. So I re-listened to it a few days ago and, much like back in February when it was released, it tore my mind into shreds and pissed on the remains. No self-respecting fan of heavy music needs to be told what an incredible, genre-smashing band TDEP are, so I won't waste my precious time dossing around at work to go into that. I will however make the shocking admission that I never really got into Dillinger until 07's 'Ire Works', an amazing record that should have been hard to better, but gosh darn it if 'Option Paralysis' didn't just go and blow it out of the water. It's an album that cranks every aspect of TDEP's sound to it's illogical extreme: the heavy parts are devastating, the choruses are towering, the WTF parts are WTFingF. It's an album so accesable and yet so dense and layered listeners will still be peeling it apart years from now. It's the mightiest accomplishment of The Dillinger Escape Plan's career without question. Expect the next album to be better.

Key track - 'Farewell, Mona Lisa'

Intronaut - 'Valley Of Smoke'

Intronaut's last album, 'Prehistoricisms', is one of my favourite albums ever. EVER. This fact obviously meant that I approached 'Valley Of Smoke' with very high expectations, and it's hard for me to say if they were met. Is 'Valley...' a fucking fantastic album? Yes. Yes it is. Is it 'Prehistoricisms' good? Well...that's where things get a little more complex. Certainly Intronaut have evolved into something grander on 'Valley Of Smoke'-the songs are a little more considered, their approach more mature and graceful. Sacha Dunable's new-found vocal clarity is also a welcome new addition, with much of the album coated in a John Baizley-esque melodic roar, compared to the throaty growls of old. And yes, the production is much better this time around. So, where then, does my hesitation stem from? It's the lack of grit. Sure, 'Valley...' is still a very heavy record, but it just lacks the dragged-from-the-primordial-sludge heft of their earlier work. My favourite aspect of 'Prehistoricisms' was that it managed to graft incredibly dexterous song-writing onto weighty, tar-pit-thick dirge. It's a minor gripe, for sure, and 'Valley Of Smoke' wipes the floor with 99% of other bands and albums. Just not their own.

Key Track - 'Elegy'

Kvelertak - 'Kvelertak'

I try not to play favourites in my top tens. The idea is that if an album made it this far, it doesn't need any further arbitrary ranking and is simply awesome. However, every year one album gets listened to just that little bit more than the others, and this year that album just happens to be the début of a rock and fuckin' roll band from Norway whose name I'd never even heard before this year. The word Kvelertak translates into English as 'stranglehold', and that is exactly what this band have had on my affections all year. I heard the album and liked it plenty straight away, but it wasn't until I actually saw them play live that it really clicked: this is the greatest rock band around right now. Everything about this album is perfect, from the ever reliable Kurt Ballou production, to the wetsuit-tight song-writing. Most bands with 3 guitar players end up wasting the potential that affords them, but not Kvelertak-3 way harmonies, huge walls of blistering noise, ripping leads; you name it, it's got it. They are practically a Scandinavia's greatest hits act, throwing together the best of frosty Nordic black metal, Turbonegro's rollicking rock'n'roll, and dare I say it, an almost ABBA-like ability to write catchy guitar hooks. Seriously. It appears that this band are on the tip of many tongues at the moment, and rightly so; if they can continue on the road they are on, Kvelertak could, and should, be the biggest band in the world.

Key Track - 'Offernatt'


So there we have it. Before I depart I'd like to throw a mention out to a couple of albums that came out in 2009 but avoided my attention until this year: 'The Clearing' by Disappearer and 'Serpents' by Struck By Lightning. Disappearer came to my attention as being the 'other band' of the less well known members of Doomriders, but stayed in my sights by being arguably the better band of the two. 'The Clearing' is sort-of post metal, but shares little of the shoe-gaze meandering of bands like Isis or Cult Of Luna; instead it evokes the compressed crushing power of Zozobra, songs never overstaying their welcome or becoming monotonous. Struck By Lightning, on the other hand, come across like the bastard offspring of Disfear and 'Remission'-era Mastodon, all blitzkrieg d-beats and paint-stripping riffs. Get 'em both.

See you next time folks!