Roo'10 Top 30 Albums
Best 2010 albums I heard, mostly in the pop/alt/post/prog genres. |
| 30 |  | Ellie Goulding
Lights
Cute voice with a distinct quiver. Catchy pop tunes. [Under the Sheets, The
Writer] |
| 29 |  | The Hundred in the Hands
The Hundred in the Hands
Indie synth pop punk with melodic trance-like siouxsie female vocals.
[Young Aren't Young] |
| 28 |  | Alcest
Ecailles de Lune
The opening track doesn't quite work for me but the rest of the album is
excellent. [Ecailles de Lune ? Part II] |
| 27 |  | Killing Joke
Absolute Dissent
The Great Cull wins the best anthemic rock tune of the year. A few absolute
stand outs but there is quite a drop off with the rest after several listens.
[The Great Cull, European Super State] |
| 26 |  | As I Lay Dying
The Powerless Rise
They do this vein of metalcore well with plenty of resonant riffs and
melodies. [Parallels] |
| 25 |  | Haste The Day
Attack Of The Wolf King
A solid album with a lot of enjoyable songs and quality, melodic clean
vocals. [Travesty] |
| 24 |  | Deathspell Omega
Paracletus
These mysterious Frenchmen create a very dark, seedy atmosphere amidst
a multitude of complex style and tempo changes which result in a very
enjoyable, fluid album. This still requires some absorption. [Wings of
Predation] |
| 23 | | To Speak Of Wolves
Myself < Letting Go
Standard metalcore with exceptional cleans, especially my standout track.
[You Should Have Locked Your Doors Days Ago] |
| 22 |  | Coheed and Cambria
Year of the Black Rainbow
A real enjoyable, upbeat melodic release with a lush, energised production.
[The Broken, World of Lines, The Black Rainbow] |
| 21 |  | Amia Venera Landscape
The Long Procession
Very polished debut with excellent harsh vocals and long, diverse song
structures. Cleans felt a bit weak at times and the flow of the album isn't
always seamless, however, the ingredients are there for an incredible
follow up. [The Traitor's March, Empire, Nicholas] Thanks Willie |
| 20 |  | Amanda Jenssen
Happyland
Strong, sexy, husky voice belting out some great bluesy pop tunes.
[Happyland, Borderline] Thanks jrowa001 for this and other female vocalists |
| 19 |  | An Autumn For Crippled Children
Lost
The most depressing album I heard this year. Really feel the pain and
despair in the blackened cries and the slower tempo and ambient passages
add weight to the melancholy. [I Beg Thee Not To Spare Me, A Dire Faith] |
| 18 |  | Samsara Blues Experiment
Long Distance Trip
A psychedelic mix of Hendrix, kyuss and amplifier. Vocals take a back seat to
these lengthy stoner jams. [For The Lost Souls] Thanks lobby |
| 17 |  | The Mire
Volume: II
Cruisy post-metal with an even balance of light and shade. Some excellent
ambient melodic passages and top quality clean vocals. [Shadows, The Rift]
Thanks wyankeif1337 |
| 16 |  | Bring Me The Horizon
There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It.
Considering my range of tastes it wasn't a shock that I ended up enjoying
this album once I got around to hearing it. Very catchy, effective integration
of sound samples and the female vocal parts are downright sexy. [Fuck,
Crucify Me, Don't Go] |
| 15 |  | Agalloch
Marrow of the Spirit
It doesn't have the same immediate pull as Agalloch's previous albums but
it is still gaining ground with each listen. [Black Lake Nidstang] |
| 14 |  | The Ocean
Anthropocentric
A much more cohesive and resonant follow up to the disappointing
Heliocentric. The cleans are much improved with several stirring melodic
moments. His thick accent still annoyed me a little as it tends to affect his
diction and pitch but much less so than on Helio. [Anthropocentric, She Was
The Universe] |
| 13 | | Janelle Monae
The ArchAndroid (Suites II and II of IV)
A real fun, poppy, quirky delight. Many standouts, although several fillers
emerge after multiple listens. [Cold War, Faster, Dance or Die] |
| 12 |  | Kill The Client
Set For Extinction
Grind how I like it. The production, tempo and growls in the pig destroyer,
napalm, nasum range. [As Roaches, The Walking Dead] Thanks
sunofnothing13 |
| 11 |  | Twilight
Monument To Time End
Listened to this recently straight after watching the French horror flick, The
Horde, the growls and atmosphere went right through me. [Red Fields] |
| 10 |  | Anberlin
Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
Anberlin maintain a very catchy, rich sound through the entire album with
many standouts. Excellent feel good album. [We Owe This To Ourselves,
Closer, You Belong Here] |
| 9 |  | At The Soundawn
Shifting
Cruisy, brassy post-metal with an even balance of light and shade. It is not
as heavy or dynamic as Rosetta and Amia Venera Landscape yet I enjoyed
this more. Those cleans in Release by Rosetta, this album is full of them.
[Mudra, Caofedian, Black Waves] |
| 8 |  | Kings of Leon
Come Around Sundown
A laid back enjoyable album with only a couple of fillers. There are some
stirring melodies on this release. Could have thrown in a few faster tempo
rockier tunes for extra variety. [Pyro, The End, Pickup Truck] |
| 7 |  | Sarah McLachlan
Laws of Illusion
Not in the league of her Surfacing and Fumbling Towards Ecstasy classics
but this subtle grower is ultimately a very pleasurable listen filled with
sweet, touching moments. Tracks 2 to 4 are a bit light on but the
melancholy really hits home for the remaining 8 songs. [Rivers of Love, Love
Come, Bring on the Wonder] |
| 6 |  | Birds Of Tokyo
Birds of Tokyo
A poppier release than their more spirited and rocking Universes yet I
wasn?t disappointed at all. This is a luscious collection of consistent, catchy
pop tunes and ballads. [Circles, The Gap, Plans] |
| 5 |  | Coffinworm
When All Became None
Bludgeoning blackened sludge with stirring low/high blood curdling vocals.
The low growls and song titles are to die for. [Strip Nude For Your Killer,
Start Saving For Your Funeral] |
| 4 |  | Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Remarkably consistent band produces another stella piece of work treading
the line effortlessly between angst and beauty. [Beauty School, Diamond
Eyes, Royal] |
| 3 |  | Enslaved
Axioma Ethica Odini
Flawless, seamless listening experience from the infectious black and death
growls to the melodic, progressive elements. I enjoy every aspect of
Enslaved's sound. [Ethica Odini, Singular, The Beacon] Thanks hawks for
this and a lot of the heavy stuff on this list. |
| 2 |  | Anathema
We're Here Because We're Here
Immaculate, seamless, enchanting melodic progressive rock which conveys
such beauty and melancholy. Subtle at first, this album is a grower and just
keeps getting better. The pitch and melody in his vocals on the opening
track call for song of the year. [Thin Air, A Simple Mistake, Summer Night
Horizon] |
| 1 |  | Dead Letter Circus
This Is The Warning
Their 2 EPs were amazing and I enjoyed this, their debut album, even more
so. Massive production, melodies, choruses and crescendos. This is an
incredibly consistent, catchy and emotive alt rock delight. The soundoff on
the staff aoty list describes this album perfectly. [Here We Divide, Big, The
Space on the Wall, The Design, One Step, Cage...you catch my drift] |
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