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Last Active 12-14-21 5:48 pm
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| The Best Metal Of This Decade
Let the disagreements begin. | | 1 |  | Opeth
Blackwater Park
Not only is this my favorite metal album of the decade, it?s also my favorite metal album of all time. Opeth?s combination of brutal death metal with the beautiful atmospheres and stylings of progressive rock is best displayed on Blackwater Park and features seven of the band?s best songs in their time as a band. ?The Leper Affinity? is without a doubt my favorite song by any band ever, and ?Bleak? certainly comes damn close too. Songs like ?Harvest? and ?Patterns in the Ivy I? showcase the band?s beauty, and ?Blackwater Park? and ?Dirge for November? simply crush. As clich? as this choice may have been for a sputnik metal list, it?s really worth ALL of the hyperbolic claims it receives. | | 2 |  | Tool
Lateralus
Five years after the legendary Aenima, Tool remind us that they?re one of the most important bands of their time. Lateralus is shrouded in mystery, chock-full of catchy and atmospheric riffs, and lets Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan remind the listener that they?re some of the best musicians at their respective craft. Plus, the title track plays around with the Fibonacci sequence. It?s the tits. | | 3 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Colors
Still the band?s most cohesive and impressive effort to date, Colors really shattered all previous expectations I had from this band. It?s a 65 minute concept piece featuring more experimentation, shredding, and diversity than ever before in a BTBAM record, but never stays undeniably rooted in the band?s already well-established sound. ?Ants of the Sky? and ?White Walls? are frequently cited as the band?s best and most epic songs to date. And you know what? They?re completely right. | | 4 |  | Converge
Jane Doe
What hasn?t already been said about this album? It?s the best metalcore album of this decade, no contest. Jacob Bannon?s vocals are animalistic, brutal, and terrifying throughgout. Ballou?s riffs absolutely slaughter. Koller?s drums completely dominate the speakers. And the diversity found on here is almost impossible to match by any other band in the genre. You know you?ve reached a new level of intensity when the only metal album that can match you is None So Vile. Congrats, Converge. | | 5 |  | Mudvayne
L.D. 50
Leaps and bounds above every other nu-metal album in history and one of the finest examples of a band combining catchiness and accessibility with progressive and technical tendencies. I can?t think of any other album that I loved when I was fourteen and can still love today; a true sign of a metal classic. Ryan Martinie?s bass performance on here remains to be one of the most tasteful I?ve ever heard in a metal record, and Chad Grey?s vocals here are the best they?ve ever been. It?s a shame the band went so far downhill after this album, but L.D. 50 will always hold a special place in my heart. | | 6 |  | Arsis
A Celebration of Guilt
It?s melodic, it?s technical, it?s too layered, blahblahblah. This is the album that got me into death metal in general, and still remains to be one of the best I?ve ever heard. James Malone?s knack for combining hooks with blazing fretboard acrobatics is simply in perfect form here. It?s never overly showy like the band?s later releases and has some of the best tracklists any death metal album can contain. Check out ?The Face of my Innocence?, ?The Sadistic Motives Behind Bereavement Letters?, and ?Wholly Night?, if you don?t mind hearing melodic death metal classics like Heartwork and Slaughter of the Soul being put to shame. | | 7 |  | Mastodon
Leviathan
An epic concept album about Moby Dick from a bunch of burly dudes from Atlanta. Mastodon?s second LP is frequently cited as the band?s magnum opus, and I?m not about to disagree. It?s got the most focused sound in the band?s history, and showcases some of the greatest riffs of this decade. Split your lungs with Blood and Thunder, anyone? | | 8 |  | Cynic
Traced in Air
One of the 90s most amazing prog/death metal bands returned for their first album in fifteen years, and yielded mindblowingly good results. While not being vastly different from Focus, the band?s first and only full-length release, it just shows the group, particularly Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, growing as musicians and people. It?s not as showy as before, but shows a stronger sense of melody than before and Masvidal?s most tasteful solos in his career. This is Cynic for the new age, and I couldn?t be happier. | | 9 |  | The Dillinger Escape Plan
Miss Machine
After releasing the revolutionary Calculating Infinity and the bizarre EP Irony is a Dead Scene with Mike Patton, TDEP returned with their most accessible album to date. But don?t get me wrong, this album is still textbook Dillinger, showcased in songs like ?Panasonic Youth?, ?We Are the Storm? and ?Sunshine the Werewolf? perfectly. There?s just more diversity on Miss Machine than ever before, some notable tracks being the subdued, creepy ?Phone Home?, the sing-along stylings of ?Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants?, and the pop sensibilities of ?Unretrofied?. Simply an amazing record. | | 10 |  | Disillusion
Back to Times of Splendor
It?s proggy, it?s melodic, it?s heavy as balls, and it?s German. Disillusion?s first full length remains to be their best effort by leaps and bounds to this day, and for good reason. Each song on Back to Times of Splendor is incredibly unique and offers something previously untouched on the record. Whether it?s the unique and melodic vocals from Vurtox, the dominating drums on ?And the Mirror Cracked? or the closing stacked melodies on ?The Sleep of Restless Hours?, this album should keep the hairs on the back of your neck raised for listen after listen. | | 11 |  | Protest the Hero
Fortress
Fortress maintained the catchiness of Kezia while taking the band?s level of technicality to even further heights. Rody Walker?s vocals are now better than ever, now showcasing his growls and screams much more than on Kezia, while still retaining his incredible range and sense of melody on Kezia. Guitarists Luke and Tim should be cited as some of the most impressive shredders in the genre, and bassist Arif still remains to be one of the most underlooked musicians in the genre. Tear her fucking head from her goddamn shoulders! | | 12 |  | Edge of Sanity
Crimson II
The first Crimson is arguably my favorite death metal album at times, and this one is a more than worthy sequel. Dan Swano, after completely taking back control of his most interesting project, introduces more melody and keyboards than on the previous record, while never forsaking the original sounds and riffs that made Crimson such a special and memorable 90s metal album. Hell, you?ll even get a few riffs from Crimson on here too. | | 13 |  | Botch
An Anthology of Dead Ends
The only EP to make this list. Botch had more to say in just over twenty minutes than almost any other metalcore band could in a full album. The production here is crystal clear (something Botch fans hadn?t had the chance of experiencing until now), while never sacrificing any of the band?s hardcore roots and DIY attitude. If you want more of the same ass-kicking technical metalcore, you?ve got three tracks of that, as well as the band?s two most experimental moments in their career in the final two tracks. An Anthology of Dead Ends was certainly one hell of a way for Botch to end their career as metalcore's finest. | | 14 |  | Wintersun
Wintersun
Jari was wise to keep pursuing this project instead of Ensiferum; this is one of the coolest albums to ever come out of Finland?s metal scene ever. The songs continue to get more epic and expansive throughout the record, ending in the Wintersun?s most incredible song, ?Sadness and Hate?. Wintersun combines the speed of thrash and death metal, the atmosphere of black metal (courtesy of Jari?s vocals), a few power-metal-esque hooks, and folk instrumentation to keep the fan?s reminded of how great Jari was in Ensiferum. A great, GREAT example of 21st century European metal. | | 15 |  | Orphaned Land
Mabool (The Story of the Three Sons...)
Epic as fuck, there isn?t really any other way of putting it. Mabool?s concept spans three religions, a score of languages, and more ethnic instruments than I can count, and always keeps you rooted in an incredible melo-death record. Plus, the guitar solos are consistently the most tasteful and well-crafted that I?ve heard in just about any metal record. | | 16 |  | Moonsorrow
V: Havitetty
Easily the band?s most epic and ambitious project to date, and also their best. This album is just shy of an hour in length and is only two songs long. While it?s not entirely too different from their previous record, Veriasakeet, it?s just a more polished and refined version of an already great and unique sound that Moonsorrow had carved out for themselves. It?s got loads of black metal, even more folk, and a few progressive tendencies, and should already be in your list of favorite metal albums. The album?s first track is also one of the best metal songs I?ve ever heard in my life. | | 17 |  | Wolves in the Throne Room
Two Hunters
Just when I was about to give up on modern black metal altogether, Wolves in the Throne Room came along and reminded me how much power the genre is still capable of. This album is primitive, melodic, raw, and beautiful throughout. WITTR?s liking for post-rock and ambient music is also showcased on Two Hunter?s more than ever, balancing the band?s fury and beauty seamlessly. Any fan of this genre should already have this album, and if not, make it to a record store as quickly as possible. | | 18 |  | maudlin of the Well
Bath
Out of every album on this list, I?d say this is about as weird and as far from metal as you can get. Bath is experimental as hell, as every song basically takes on an entirely new sound than the one before it, while never straying from a core sound the band has seemed to dig out for themselves. Toby Driver?s vocals are schizophrenic, beautiful, and crushing, depending on the track you?re on at the time. While this album might be a bit too much to swallow on the first listen, it?s still one of the most ?out-there? metal releases of this decade and worth any fan of progressive music?s attention. | | 19 |  | The Ocean
Precambrian
It?s a double album spanning 90 minutes and features well over twenty musicians. If that isn?t enough to make you check Precambrian out, then I?m deeply concerned. This project, while almost seeming too ambitious, is executed almost flawlessly by this up-and-coming German prog-metal outfit. Here?s hoping they can match this with their two upcoming releases due next year. | | 20 |  | The Red Chord
Fused Together in Revolving Doors
The Red Chord really set the standards for themselves high early with Fused, frequently cited as the band?s best album (and I?m not about to disagree). Chock full of insanity, time-signature and tempo changes on a dime, and more Suffocation-esque breakdowns than you can shake a stick at, this is an album that should surely be cited as one of the crown jewels of American metal. Plus, Guy Kozowyk?s lyrics absolutely rule. | | 21 |  | Neurosis
The Eye of Every Storm
My personal favorite of the band?s catalog. While it may not be as heavy as Through Silver in Blood, it makes up for it with an equally incredible atmosphere and Scott Kelly?s best vocal performance in the band?s history. Check out ?Burn? for one of the most terrifying screams I?ve ever had the pleasure of listening to, and ?A Season in the Sky? for some purely sick riffs. | | 22 |  | Hacksaw to the Throat
Wastelands
If you haven?t heard this yet, you better find it quick. Hacksaw?s second (and sadly, final) album is an amazing expansion on the melodic death metal scene, adding loads of prog-metal tendencies (the title track and Whisper Perfect Lies), doom-metal sections (Cascading Down) and an entire piano/orchestral interlude (Obsidian Sun). Oh, and did I forget to mention that the riffs never stop kicking ass? | | 23 |  | Electric Wizard
Dopethrone
Dopethrone shouldn?t be taken lightly. In fact, it probably should be taken with a few bong rips and an open mind. This album is messy, incredibly loud, and devastating for the album?s lengthy run time. This British four-piece is simply here to kick ass with their lengthy sections of drawn-out and simplistic riffs, and never straying too far from their original ideas. One of the crown jewels of the stoner-metal genre. | | 24 |  | The Faceless
Akeldama
Technical death metal, deathcore?call it what you will, Akeldama straight rules. The Faceless? first album remains to be one of the impressive debuts from any American metal band in recent memory. Featuring Michael Keene?s incredibly diverse and brutal array of death metal stylings and dominating performances from four different drummers, this really isn?t a metal album you should miss. It?s a fresh take on the genre while still paying homage to death metal greats like Cynic and Spawn of Possession. | | 25 |  | Underoath
Lost in the Sound of Separation
Underoath?s previous record, Define the Great Line, was a landmark album in the band?s discography. After sacrificing their poppier sensibilities for a much more abrasive and ass-kicking sound, the band continued to delve into this with Lost in the Sound of Separation. LITSOS is an even more focused version of the band?s previous effort and showcases both Spencer Chamberlain?s and Aaron Gillespie?s best vocal performances to date. One of the best metalcore albums of this decade. | |
Thor
11.15.09 | Bands only get one album on the list, just so this wouldn't be too predictable and boring | chaseguitar
11.15.09 | well 11's definitely my favorite from here. actually, it's probably my favorite album ever. I haven't really heard too many of these though. | shindip
11.15.09 | Pretty epic list. All that I have heard on this list are awesome. | ThyCrossAwaits
11.15.09 | some disagreements i have, but some awesome shit here too.
18 is balls-awesome. | EyesWideShut
11.15.09 | Im glad to see some who has taken the trend on bashing amazing albums (1,2,3,4) just because of popularity or whoring on sputnik. But what the hell on taking Arisis, Electric Wizrd, Underoath,??Mudvayne?? over ISIS - Panopticon. Come on man !! | Groink
11.15.09 | Pretty great list. | YouAreMySilence
11.15.09 | 3's newest is better imo.
I'm not a metal head by any means but 4, 17, and 21 are amazing.
Need to check out 2, 19 and 22 really bad.
| combustion07
11.15.09 | 23 ftw | Thor
11.15.09 | I knew I'd get a bunch of shit thrown at me for putting L.D. 50 on here, but I really don't care. | greg84
11.15.09 | 5 is awesome, like practically every album on here. | Prophet178
11.15.09 | This list is so Sputnik. | IkarugaSoul
11.15.09 | 19 and 21 would be my top two but you clearly listen to more metal than I do. | bloc
11.15.09 | great list | combustion07
11.15.09 | 5 belongs on the list, the only thing I really disagree with is 1. | Ire
11.15.09 | You forgot Garden of Shadows | Crysis
11.15.09 | I agree with many things here but I also disagree with many. Prophet178 hit it on the head with what he said. | EyesWideShut
11.15.09 | How bout some Pid Destroyer - Terrifyer ... Yea its Grind, but its got enough Metal influences to be on the list. | illmitch
11.15.09 | agree with prophet178
a fan of some of the stuff on here but not that much | Motiv3
11.15.09 | i second safety, list needs more Garden of Shadows | Motiv3
11.15.09 | but good call on crimson 2 :) | deathmetal101
11.15.09 | THE BEST LIST OF THE DECADE? | Blindsided
11.15.09 | I like 7,13,25. I should probably get the rest of them. | deathmetal101
11.15.09 | less 5, more panopticon
| EyesWideShut
11.15.09 | Sputnik favorite "Agalloch - The mantle" | MrHotMoms
11.15.09 | i agree with 2 and 3 especially
also 7,11, 14, and 18 | Eskate87
11.15.09 | great list, i have yet to check out alot of these, but will for sure | Phil
11.16.09 | Of course its Sputnik, its a Thor list. Not saying that in a bad way but Thor did review a few of these. | HenchmanOfSanta
11.16.09 | 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 18 and 23 are all awesome. Not all of these albums are metal but great list. | Wizard
11.16.09 | Good list. A few blunders but your top 2 albums make up for it ; ). | pizzamachine
11.16.09 | Great list, but I loath 25. | hipnotoad
11.16.09 | "Opeth?s combination of brutal death metal"
I stopped here. | liledman
11.16.09 | good list but 25 what the faaarrrrrrk | dankeyes11
11.16.09 | awesome fuckin list. i've been meaning to check out 6, 12, 16, and 21. good stuff. | Duderino
11.16.09 | list is pretty lolable except for 4, 8, 9, 18, 21, 23 | Athom
11.16.09 | hacksaw to the throat suck | Niceinvader
11.16.09 | agreed | Chewie
11.16.09 | ya this is an excellent over-view of the most critically acclaimed metal albums on sputnik for the past 10 years, well done. | Thor
11.16.09 | wtf hacksaw to the throat does in fact NOT suck | darksunwithin
11.16.09 | great list, love most of this. wouldn't expect any less from a sputnik veteran metalhead. | Athom
11.16.09 | eh, i'm bored of melodeath. | iranscam
11.16.09 | i sure hope this decade isn't remembered for the faceless, wintersun, and arsis | Athom
11.16.09 | tbh it will probably be remembered for Lamb of God, Job for a Cowboy, and Children of Bodom; only reinforcing that people are idiots. | qwe3
11.16.09 | good list, though i disagree with you in a lot of places, i like the descriptions you provided. awesome stuff | qwe3
11.16.09 | and props for 21 thats the best neurosis album | rodigo1
11.16.09 | you are a fucking boss good sir. | ameypv
11.16.09 | i agree with most of this list.but Isis did deserve a place. | jingledeath
11.16.09 | I like most of the albums I've heard from the list. Don't like 3 and 11 anymore and Define the Great Line is much better then 25 | GenNarain
11.16.09 | 1 6 7 8 14 22 are spectacular. | SephirothBlade
11.16.09 | I like the list, bit modern-ish albums, dont you like any older stuff or have u only recently in the last 5-10 years started listening? | Bullitt
11.16.09 | Couple disagreements, but very good list, I feel the same about 17. | Thor
11.17.09 | SephirothBlade, read the title of this list, you dolt. | shade
11.17.09 | nice list | SephirothBlade
11.21.09 | forgot what year we werre in, my bad, i change my post to,
follow the reaper - cob
sodom - m-16
SOAD - toxicity
death live in la
dream theater - six degress
wintersun - wintersun
norther - mirror of madness
symphony x - paradise lost
opeth - still life
cob - hatebreeder
metallica - S&M
tool - lateralus | Burn2Burn
12.12.09 | this really is a ballin' list. not a fan of underoath though. | Homewrecker
12.12.09 | Looks like you put a lot of work into this. Some disagreements, but at least someone else agrees with me about Botch's best work | theacademy
12.12.09 | stupid qualifying sentence overloaded with stupid: "Leaps and bounds above every other nu-metal album in history and one of the finest examples of a band combining catchiness and accessibility with progressive and technical tendencies" | intothepit83
12.12.09 | ^theacademy's just mad that atreyu's not on there lol | GnarlyShillelagh
12.12.09 | Sweet list. 1 and 4 are about the same and 2 and 3 are about the same. Top 4 rape, but 24 and 19 should be way higher. | theacademy
12.12.09 | @armpit83 atreyu isnt nu metal and is certainly not the 'best metal of the decade' | Parallels
12.12.09 | very good list except...
NO DREAM THEATER... SHAME!!!! | cirq
12.12.09 | dream theatre is shit | GnarlyShillelagh
12.12.09 | Dream Theater hasn't really come out with anything noteworthy this decade... Except Train of Thought, but even that gets a lot of hate. | FadeToBlack
12.12.09 | nice list, shame to see Close To A World Below omitted though | Sabottheory
01.25.10 | I agree so much with 1 and 2, these are among my favourite albums ever.
4, 8, 11, 18 and 25 are epic too, haven't heard much of the rest.
(And I really think that Crack the Skye is the best Mastodon album ever.) | zarquan99
07.27.10 | dude Thor I was just looking back on this and I am now very happy to see Hacksaw to the Throat on here. I'm pretty familiar with the Oakland death metal scene, since I live there. I'm friend's with Antagony's guitarist (Antagony was like Hacksaw's brother band, along with All Shall Perish, before Hacksaw broke up) he's good friends with Ben in Hacksaw. Just pretty cool to know the guys and stuff. They write great music. I love Divide by Zero off that album. | CutMan
07.27.10 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. 18, 19, 20. and 24 = Hell. Yes.
23 is not my thing. The others I need to check out. | acorncheese
07.27.10 | Scrolled fast, saw Bath and Precambrian. Excellent. | dr2den
07.27.10 | most of this list is wrong. | ipunchscenekids
07.27.10 | Very very good list, need to check out some of these | sumyunguy
04.28.11 | bump
lol
this is actually the first list I ever saw on this crazy site and, not including my early ones, still probably the best list I've ever seen on here. cheers, you crazy metalhead. | Maniac!
04.28.11 | 25 :D | Wolfhorde
04.28.11 | Ugh, generic. | Remer17
04.28.11 | Old list is old. | Wolfhorde
04.28.11 | Old and generic. | Remer17
04.28.11 | Yeah he should have picked different albums for the sake of being obscure. | Wolfhorde
04.28.11 | No. These albums just aren't as good as they're claimed to be. | LegendofPittman
04.28.11 | Albums that no one else freaks out about is always better right? | Remer17
04.28.11 | They're not as good as they're claimed to be because too many people like them right? | Remer17
04.28.11 | Wait, this is going in a circle. | sumyunguy
04.28.11 | actually around the turn of the decade most of these albums were worshipped on this site. i made a similar list and everyone thought i had great picks. but for reasons i still can't understand, as time went on people started bashing on them. i guess people have a hard time liking stuff that a lot of other people like. | Remer17
04.28.11 | No shit sumyunguy. Haven't you realized that this site is bullshit? Nobody has any real opinions. | Wolfhorde
04.28.11 | "They're not as good as they're claimed to be because too many people like them right?"
Of course you can always play that card as an excuse for being a douche. | foreverendeared
04.28.11 | lol | LegendofPittman
04.28.11 | That was weird Remer haha | sumyunguy
04.28.11 | lol, i think asking me if i realize that this site is bullshit is like preachiing to the first choir to ever exist. | flalafell
04.28.11 | nice list, i would've had intronaut on here as well | Alexcore
04.28.11 | really good list,yet I kinda disagree with 25...it's not THAT good. | TheJackal
04.28.11 | everything I've heard here is awesome, i'll be sure to check out some others | Scrambled
04.28.11 | 2 years old, still a good list |
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