This is the first part of the best of 2000 series I'm planning to write. Here, we're after the ten best metal tracks of the last ten years. And for individual tracks, I prefer memorable riffs, big vocals (or at least, memorable vocal lines) and things that surprise. Some notable bands (ISIS, Crowbar, Agalloch) aren't on the list simply because they don't have that one big, memorable song I find myself wanting to hear in the middle of the day.
From this list, you'll get a pretty good sense of what I like, I suspect, and I'll try to explain why each track made the list. if your favorite's not on the list, go make your own. The only rule is that each band can only appear once.
10. "Paschendale", Iron Maiden, Dance of Death (2003).
OK, let's establish our baseline right here. I'm an old-school metal guy, and I like big, epic sweeping tracks. And it's "Paschendale" that let me know that Maiden were back in form (I actually went back and picked up Brave New World, too. Gets really good after the solo breaks at the 5:30 mark or so. Wish the production were a little cleaner, so the guitar riffs had the punch they really deserve, otherwise, this might be ranked higher.
9. "Drown the Inland Mere", Novembers Doom, The Novella Reservoir (2007).
The biggest riffs, a mix of growled and clean vocals. Tempo shifts. This one and "Dominate the Human Strain" fight for a spot on the list. "Drown" wins because of its crisper opening.
8. "Death Blooms", Mudvayne, LD 50 (2000).
I had to have an early-decade "nu-metal" track on the list. I picked up this album, White Pony and Toxicity around the same time. This is heavy, tasty, complex stuff, with a multi-dimensional vocal style that they have largely given up. If I had to select a most disappointing band of the decade, this is it. I hoped for more songs like this, and they've steadily moved in a more mainstream direction. I almost put SOAD's "Aerials", Deftones' "Digital Bath" or Drowning Pool's "Bodies" here, but couldn't remove this one.
7. "Fooled by the Serpent", Communic, Waves of Visual Decay (2006).
There's a lot going on here. Melodic lines, acoustic elements, a keyboard background and epic vocals. This times in at 9:00, and features massive drum fills, some heavy, jazzy riffs, and enough speed changes to keep rolling for the entire duration. Plus the core riffs are nice and meaty.
6. "Judas Rising", Judas Priest, Angel of Retribution (2004).
The Priest is back, and with double kick drums. I saw these guys live in 1984 (on the Defenders tour) and it probably warped my musical tastes for life. If this album had been released in the 80s, it would be lionized. As it is, it's a great, fun metal record. And Rob Halford's vocal on this track is made of metal.
5. "11 Dreams", Mercenary, 11 Dreams
Wall. Of. Sound. And one of the best clean vocal performances of the decade. From the Danes comes this massive blast of classic power metal. Not for every taste, and probably not even their best song ("Soul Decision", "Loneliness", "This Black and Endless Never"), but this one got under my skin and stayed there. Great vocal, nice interplay of keyboards with the massive guitar sound, and some big, driving drumming. Everything about this track is huge, and the pre-chorus just plain rules. These guys made some great records. If you like your metal over the top, check out Mercenary. Now.
4. "The Last Baron", Mastodon, Crack the Skye (2009).
Twists and turns and riffs for days. This one clocks in over 13 minutes (and four major sections). And it is made of awesome. What's it about? No idea. But the choruses soar, the guitars swirl and the drums rule.
3. "The Grand Conjuration", Opeth, Ghost Reveries (2005).
Massive. I think this is the first single I have ever bought in 30 years of collecting. There are other great Opeth tracks ("Porcelain Heart", "The Baying of the Hounds"), but this one track captures all that is great about Opeth in one dose. And really, a great underlying riff.
2. "Disciple", Slayer, God Hates Us All (2001).
For pure, unadulterated hate, you've got to go with Slayer. The chorus alone gets it a place on the list, The riffs are huge and the drums will batter you senseless. Tom Araya is in fine form. If you're in a bad mood, got some crap going on in your life, this is the track. Just crank it, let it out and then get on with your day. The idea of seeing this live, with a thrashing sing-a-long mob is pretty scary.
1. "Live for the Kill", Amon Amarth, Twilight of the Thunder God (2008).
OK, when the liner notes indicate a cello solo in the middle, you start to worry. But the delicate counterpoint of the string break really highlights the strengths of Amon Amarth. These guys are brutal, one of the modern bands that remember that the mighty riff rules all, but they have a melodic undercurrent that really sets them apart from the hordes of death-obsessed growl bands. There are probably four or five Amon Amarth tracks I could have chosen here ("Across the Rainbow Bridge," "...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be," "Cry of the Black Birds", "Twilight of the Thunder God"), but this one is shockingly good.
So there is it. This list was actually pretty hard to put together. Except for "Disciple" and an Amon Amarth track, I had to spend an afternoon browsing through my collection. Here are 20 other tracks that almost made the list, but, for one reason or another, dropped off.
- The Space for This, Cynic, Traced in Air (2008)
- Progenies of the Great Apocalypse, Dimmu Borgir, Death Cult Armageddon (2004)
- The Hollow, A Perfect Circle, A Perfect Circle (2000)
- The Emerald Law, Probot, Probot (2003)
- Amerika, Rammstein, Reise Reise (2004)
- Bodies, Drowning Pool, Sinner (2001)
- The Day That Never Comes, Metallica, Death Magnetic (2008)
- Kill Control, Skrape, New Killer America (2001)
- The Blister Exists, Slipknot, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004)
- The Crestfallen, Soilwork, Stabbing the Drama (2005)
- Aerials, System of a Down, Toxicity, (2001)
- More Than Meets the Eye, Testament, The Formation of Damnation (2008)
- Schism, Tool, Lateralus (2001)
- All There is Fear, Venom, Resurrection (2000)
- Divine Sun, Voivod, Voivod (2003)
- August, Warrel Dane, Praises to the War Machine (2008)
- Digital Bath, Deftones, White Pony (2000)
- Procrastination on the Empty Vessel, Napalm Death, Time Waits for No Slave (2008)
- Coming Down, Crowbar, Life's Blood for the Downtrodden (2005)
- The Element of One, Killswitch Engage, Alive or Just Breathing (2002)
I've been seeing a bunch of best-of-the-year and (hard to believe) best-of-the-decade posts around the web. So I think I'll give it a shot.
I can think of three obvious posts, and I'll try to knock them all out before the end of the year.
- Top metal tracks of the decade
- Top metal albums of the decade
- Top metal bands of the decade
Each post would cover music released from 2000-09, and the ground rule would be that only one selection by a band can be included in any list. I think the lists will tilt towards traditional metal, with nods to bands I think are doing interesting work. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I need the new Woods of Ypres release.
2000s