BoD: Metal music

Our top 50 albums of the decade are dominated by the slate of prototypical “indie” bands. But while we are perfectly happy with that list, we figured it would be best to dedicate a day to an underrepresented genre. Today: "Emo"

BEST ALBUMS:

Mastodon, "Leviathan" (2004) – Along with Killswitch Engage’s "The End of Heartache," "Levithan" brought metal back into the mainstream. The album both predicted the direction metal was heading and drew inspiration from classic metal bands like Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath. The album’s raw production and incredible mixture of heavy metal and Yes style prog rock land the ground work Mastodon’s later crossover success, but it was Levithan that paved the way for the next wave of metal bands.

Between the Buried and Me, "Colors" (2007) – In the hands of less capable bands, this album would have been a disaster. Essentially, Between the Buried and Me took as many riffs and genres as they could think of, threw them in a blender, and called it "Colors." Regardless, this is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the decade. The band comfortably fuses all of its influences in a perfect storm of an album that I doubt they'll top. When Tommy Rogers screams "We will be remembered for this" in album closer "White Walls", he's fulfilling prophecy.

Converge, "Jane Doe" (2001) – No album in the last ten years has found a better way to convey what the end of a relationship feels like: a little bit of hope and whole lot of anger.  This was Converge’s fourth album, but even today it reigns supreme as not only the band’s best album, but also one of the best metallic hardcore records ever made. Vocalist Jacob Bannon screams like his torso is caught in a might grinder and guitarist Kurt Ballou’s riffs mold noise into a sonic battering ram. The band’s propensity for honesty chaos has always made them a stand out amongst a sea of me-too metalcore acts and on “Jane Doe” Converge turned the spastic chaos of their hardcore idols into a calculated work of art.

Cynic, "Traced in Air" (2008) – This is an easy target for people who hate cold, calculated prog metal with lots of effects and crisp production, but what I've been struck by the hundreds of times I've listened to the album is that beneath all that, it has a lot of soul. Paul Masvidal's spiritual lyrics contribute a lot to that, but so does his soulful croon which has all but replaced the robot voices and death metal growls that dominated their 1994 debut. Unlike a lot of comparable prog metal albums, "Traced in Air" knows when to stop, and you're left wanting more when it ends.

Tool, "Lateralus" (2001) – After starting their life as a metal leaning grunge act, Tool made the transition into full on prog rock with 2001’s "Lateralus." The record borrowed equally from 70’s prog rock bands like King Crimson and the technical metal pioneered by Sweden’s Meshuggah. The album clocks in at 79 minutes and seamlessly flows from song to song in an almost cinematic fashion. The album was not only a huge artistic achievement for the band, but a commercial one as well: the album debuted at number one. In the past decade Tool has released a total of two albums, but they remain one of the biggest rock bands in the world. That’s a testament to the longevity and depth of their albums.

Opeth, "Blackwater Park" (2001)

Nevermore, "This Godless Endeavor" (2005)

Cobalt, "Gin" (2009) – Heavy. That's the best way to describe a black metal album this fucked up. An audio tribute to Ernest Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson, this is the soundtrack to getting wasted in the woods in a rainstorm, alone, and trying to build a shelter for the night. It's a terrifying, sexually frustrated journey into the mind of its creators but also into the minds of all of us. While "black metal meets Tool" is a fair description of the sounds, it really has to be heard to be believed.

Protest the Hero, "Fortress" (2008)

The Dillinger Escape Plan, "Ire Works" (2007)

Mastodon, "Blood Mountain" (2006)

Iron Maiden, "Dance of Death" (2003) – It wouldn't be a heavy metal list without the greatest heavy metal band of all time on it, and the second album recorded after Bruce and Adrian rejoined the band is the best thing they've done since the "Golden Era." This album is the least plagued by formula of their post-1992 output, too, and a youthful energy oozes out of the songs.

Mouth of the Architect, "The Ties That Bind" (2006) – My love affair with this album started with some admitted home team bias. Mouth of the Architect are Dayton's biggest metal export not called Night Ranger, so naturally I had an affinity for them. But the more post-metal I listened to, I realized that this, one of my first post-metal records, was the best thing the scene has produced. Syrupy riffs, shouted-from-the-next-room vocals, and a real prog rock sensibility (ex-guitarist Greg Lahm admits Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and King Crimson were a constant presence during writing) make this one of the best albums of the decade. Fun fact: I'm getting a tattoo loosely based on this album art this coming summer.

Halford, "Resurrection" (2000)

Immortal, "Sons of Northern Darkness" (2002)

Poison the Well, "You Come Before You" (2003) – “You Come Before You” was Poison the Well’s major label debut and it’s also the CD that got them dropped from that label. A startling departure from the proto-metalcore the band spent the late nineties defining, “You Come Before You” is a cathartic mix of atmospheric guitars and vocalist Jeffrey Moreira’s throaty screams and smooth singing. The band broke away from the metallic riffing and double bass that had previously defined their sound, replacing it with an emotional vulnerability you rarely see in metal.

Killswitch Engage, "The End of Heartache" (2004) – This is the record that proved modern metal had a place on the radio. The album's title track opened a new audience into metal with its instantly memorable opening. This album was the band’s first with vocalist Howard Jones and the results couldn’t have been better. At least five songs from this album have lodged a permanent spot in the band’s live set list and one that even earned a Grammy nomination. Killswitch Engage hasn’t quite lived up to the promise “The End of Heartache”, but the album carved out a home for metal on mainstream radio.

Down, "III: Over the Under" (2007) – Phil Anslemo spent the better part of this decade in surgery and dealing with his drug issues, not to mention the untimely murder of his former band mate and guitar hero Dimebag Darrell. These struggles found their way into the sluggy metal that comprised Down’s third record, "Over the Under." Lyrically the album deals with Darrell’s murder, the New Orleans Saints post Katrina season run at the super bowl, and Anselmo’s struggle with to get healthy. The album works as a tribute to those who’ve fallen and as an anthem for everybody else struggling to hold on. Given the albums context it’s amazing the record even got made, but it’s a miracle it did, as it’s one of Anselmo’s finest moments.

Converge, "Axe To Fall" (2009)

Thrice, "The Artist in the Ambulance" (2003) – Arguably the least metal release on this list Thrice’s "Artist in the Ambulance" was a milestone in melodic hardcore. The band walked the line between emotastic pop and metalcore crafting an album that remains probably the only album that emo kids and metalheads can agree on. Since this album Thrice has moved progressively further and further away from their metal roots, but with "Artist in the Ambulance" the band struck the perfect balance between metallic riffing and emotive, almost anthemic, rock.

Misery Signals, "Controller" (2008)

Pig Destroyer, "Phantom Limb" (2007)

Meshuggah, "Nothing" (2002) – Years before it became the in thing to do Meshuggah was riffing on 8 eight stringed guitars and writing 6 minutes songs that did nothing but groove in weird time signatures. Since the band's debut in the nineties nobody has touched the Meshuggah sound. In recent years American metal bands started cribbing riffs from the Meshuggah play book, but they’re missing the point. Meshuggah don’t write riffs in weird time signatures to be brutal or even heavy, in fact the band spends a lot of time on creepy clean guitar parts, and they do it to be innovative. Although not as critically loved as their later releases, “Nothing” is the perfection of drop tuned grooves and atonal guitar solos.

Alice in Chains, "Black Gives Way to Blue" (2009)

The Red Chord, "Clients" (2005)

Deftones, "White Pony" (2000)

The Mars Volta, "De-Loused in the Comatorium" (2003)

Clutch, "Blast Tyrant" (2004) – While Clutch’s 2004 magnum opus isn’t necessarily a metal record, it has been almost unanimously accepted by metal circles, and rightly so. This is a veritable tour-de-force of rock and roll excess and bluesy twang, all brilliantly accompanied by lead singer Neil Fallon’s patented howl and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and upon seeing the band pull out these songs on stage, well, the mob goes wild.

Shai Hulud, "Misanthropy Pure" (2006)

Skinless, "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead" (2006) – Death metal has stagnated somewhat in this decade. Each band just wants to out-brutal the next, and unlike the innovators who have kept black metal relevant, the people mixing death metal with other genres have made even worse genres in the process (see: deathcore). Skinless are somewhat of an exception. Sure, this record is brutal, but its over-the-top, warlike approach – highlighted by a brilliant sample from Patton – saves it and makes it one of the finest death metal albums of the decade.

Metal MVP: Mastodon – More than any other band this decade, Atlanta quartet Mastodon have released consistently crushing albums, sometimes changing their style, but never compromising an ounce of their vision. 2002’s "Remission" is a sludge metal masterpiece, 2004’s catchier "Leviathan" is the best album of the decade, 2006’s "Blood Mountain" embraced some of the band’s inherent progressive metal tendencies, and 2009’s "Crack the Skye" dove head-first into arena-filling prog n’ roll with its dense layers of melody. They haven’t lost any momentum since they were playing basements to ten people at the beginning of the decade, and right now, there’s no reason to believe that they won’t be the best band of the next decade as well.

Best single: “The End of Heartache," Killswitch Engage – Probably no other band on this list had quite the defining as Killswitch Engage did with “The End of Heartache”. The band perfected nearly 20 years of hardcore metal cross over attempts in 5 minutes of huge choruses and metallic riffing.  Since this albums release “The End of Heartache” has been the crossover point for a whole new audience of metal fans. It’s hard to say what makes the song so great, between vocalist Howard Jones cookie monster attack and his yearning, dare I say emotional, singing the song deftly mixes melody with its metal. For the last five years dozens of copy cats have mimicked the Killswitch sound, but none of them has even come close to writing a song as important.

Worst trend: Deathcore

Most overrated: Lamb of God

Worst band: brokeNCYDE

Biggest disappointment: "Chinese Democracy," Guns ‘N Roses