The 25 Best Albums of the 2010s

This is a different kind of list compered to year-end lists. One obvious reason, the albums came out at very different moments and hence the context is quite distinct. That's why I'm not ranking them. Another difference is that those albums have faced the test of time. So I only included the very best album of 2019, the others did not qualify as they need more time to mature. The criteria is also different, it's not only about how much I like each album, but also the lasting impact they had on me and the metal scene in general. Finally, I only included one album per band. So here it is The 25 Best Albums of the 2010s according to me.

At the Gates - At War With Reality (2014, Album of the Year)

After 19 years, At The Gates delivered a killer come-back album! The band that has influenced so many death and metalcore bands since the classic 1995's Slaughter of the Soul came back with 45 min of the finest melodic Death Metal. The best part is while not sounding like Slaughter of the Soul Part II, At War With Reality sounds like the modern follow-up we were all waiting. It captures the rawness and emotion of the predecessor while putting it through some modern lenses and pushing the sound forward. I remember that after the first listen, I just wanted to listen to it again and again. So much so that it topped my list of that year. When it comes down to it, the songwriting is flawless with crushing memorable riffs all over the place. To that you add, Tomas Lindberg's distinct voice screaming his lungs out with full emotion and then you have a deserved follow-up of the 95's classic album and one of the best of the 2010's.

Ayreon - The Source (2017)

The Source is a concept studio album from Ayreon, a project by Arjen Lucassen. 12 characters are portrayed by some of the best prog/power metal singers in activity. All singers delivered amazing performances without loosing their own signature voices. Arjen is able to get the best of each singer, they sound natural and relaying on their strong characteristics. The Source concept and story are told in 17 songs which flow perfectly into each other, like a rock opera. The 1.5 hour fly by when enjoying this fantastic piece of music. A masterpiece of power progressive metal that could not miss my list.

Beast In Black - Berserker (2017)

The five-piece from Helsinki hard work has paid off. They released two albums since Anton Kabanen parted ways with Battle Beast in 2015. Additionally, the band has been touring extensively. Initially as opening acts for bands such as Nightwish, then festivals and in 2019 headlining sold out club shows. Seeing them live was how I got to know them which led me to discover the excellent debut album titled Berserker. Oh boy, Beast In Black do not dial down on their cheesiness, love for 80's music and power/traditional heavy metal. All things that I love. The excellent music writing combined with Papadopoulos vocals is pure magic. In every song Papadopoulos displays his powerful and versatile pipes singing irresistible melodies that will get stuck in your mind. At the end of the day, the combination of love and believe for what you do with skillful song writer and talented musicians makes Beast In Black a breath of fresh air while paradoxically being retro. I won't apologize for loving this band and album. You can call it guilty pleasure or whatever, but the reality is that very few albums in the last 10 years have brought me so much joy as Berserker did.

Behemoth - The Satanist (2014)

This album was a no-brainer to include here. In this case I agree with the critics. The Satanist was elected by many as album of the year 2014 (my number 3 at the time) and also very prominent in the decade lists. Even if you don't like it, its impact is undeniable. In addition to great song writing, what makes The Satanist so special is that you can feel the emotions flowing out of it. This emotion is the glue between the heaviness, speed and melody that makes this a masterpiece of extreme metal. No fillers, no cliches, 9 tracks in which Nergal poured all the emotions he had to deal with during the preceding years battling his disease.

Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)

Since Parallax was released I love this band. I think the other two albums (Automata and Coma Ecliptic) are at the same level. But Parallax has a special place in my heart. The whole album is great, and "Telos" is one of their best songs ever. BTBAM is not an easy listen, but once you grab their concept, what a journey. This is where Jazz meets Metal, Rock meets Metalcore, Dream Theater meets Carcass. "This is not music, it's art" that's what I read in a 2012 review and couldn't agree more.

Black Sabbath - 13 (2013)

I didn't care about forums, media and any drama regarding this "re-union", I just listen to the music, and it's great. Tony Iommi is the riff-master and the melodies are so catchy. Even if they were too inspired by their own past-selves, who cares? It's done by the same 3 guys from the 4 who created metal. They hadn't worked together since 1978! Moreover, they were able to recreate the same vibe from the 70's and it sounds modern and great! For us who were not even alive during that era, it was great to have a taste of it during the 2010's.

Carcass - Surgical Steel (2013, Album of the Year)

This is just really awesome heavy music, period. Carcass returned after 17 years with Surgical Steel which takes the best moments of their previous three albums and melt them into explosive crushing metal at its best. The accomplishment of a celebrated band to come back after so many years and arguably deliver their best album is remarkable. The riffage is just so good, what a guitar work! The songs flow perfectly and every one of them has its place. Each being a vigorous punch on the face while keeping some of the catchiness of Heartwork. My album of that year, I listened to it so many times!

Converge - The Dusk In Us (2017)

This album was a pleasant 2017 surprise. The Dusk In Us is one of those records that hypnotizes you. From the first riff, I was sold! Then we go into 5 aggressive tracks with lots going on before diving into the 7 min title track. It's basically a post-rock song with a very slow build up and a great pay-off. And in one of those rare moments an album gets even better as you enter the second half. It has even more groove and killer riffs. Overall, the vocals are emotional and pissed off, the drumming is relentless, the riffs catchy and dissonant at times. It's modern music as art for a world that is completely fucked up.

Deafheaven - Sunbather (2013)

Sunbather was a very late entrant to my 2013 list and I remember how it sky-rocketed to the top 10. One of the most intriguing extreme metal albums I have heard in those last 10 years. There's just something so strong and deep about Sunbather that I find myself hypnotized whenever I listen to it. It's black-metal, but it's not evil, quite the opposite it's very emotional and sad, and I dare to say beautiful. I actually find the two albums that followed to be almost as good as Sunbather. But the impact Sunbather had when it came out was much higher due to the surprise effect.

Fates Warning - Theories of Flight (2016, Album of the Year)

Theories of Flight basically combines the best of two worlds. The more progressive side of FW with the more direct style from the earlier albums in a modern and fresh way. It's FW at its best and upgraded. The first noticeable difference is that the record features one of the best drumming performances I heard in the last ten years. Then Matheos stepped up to deliver one of his best guitar work, it is pure art! Most of the songs have at least 3 guitar tracks each doing some very specific riffs and rhythms that intertwine giving such a beautiful texture. All of this without loosing heaviness. And last but not least, Alder is singing better than never, very confident hitting some high notes without sounding forced or exaggerated. By far my favorite album of 2016.

Ghost - Opus Eponymous (2010, Album of the Year)

Love or hate Ghost, this polarizing band, is certainly one of the biggest names of the last ten years. Their growth is impressive. I got my hands on their debut Opus Eponymous as preparation for seeing them playing on a summer festival that same year. They played at the smallest stage at 12:00 pm, and it was already at the time a mesmerizing experience! Fast forward to 2019 and they are now headlining arenas. Moreover, I have seen all of their 4 albums in different best of the decade lists. For me, none have taken over the crown from the debut. It's straightforward, raw, evil and heavier than later albums. And, like all their discs, it's fucking catchy!

Ghost Brigade - Until Fear No Longer Defines Us (2011, Album of the Year)

The third album out of their four album discography is a masterpiece of Finnish melodic and melancholic modern metal. This album means a lot to me and it actually opened up a whole new genre of metal. The singing lines are always very melodic and even catchy, but there's a lot of heaviness and melancholy as well. I particularity like the contrast between the slow parts and the explosions into heaviness. This is obtained not only through the guitars and drums but also because of the clean singing and death metal growls interchanges. It's all very emotional and dark. I suppose I won't see this album in many lists, but for me it's a no-brainier. Unfortunately at the end of 2015 Ghost Brigade announced entering on hiatus for indefinite period of time. I do hope for a come back album at some point, because the world deserves more Ghost Brigade!

Insomnium - Winter's Gate (2016)

Winter's Gate is a story told as a song. A concept album with just one song in 7 parts (probably for practical reasons, because it's one continuous piece of music) and 40 minutes. This is a masterpiece of melodic death metal. I have no complains, it's one amazing song with powerful riffs, amazing melodies, full of hooks, variations, tempo changes and all very well produced with a dynamic range of 7 and a great mix. A seasoned band with an amazing discography was able to deliver their best album yet!

Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls (2015)

5 years after the also excellent The Final Frontier, the world's biggest metal band returned in triumphant form in late 2015. Iron Maiden's sixteenth studio album and first studio double album was an audacious project that paid off. While not perfect, The Book of Souls is full of excitement, new ideas and classic Maiden elements. Their longest album to date, with a total length of 92 minutes, flies by under soaring vocals, amazing guitar work and vigorous galloping bass lines. Additionally it features their most daring and unique song, the epic 18-min masterpiece "Empire of the Clouds". For a minimal difference, this was not the album of that year.

Judas Priest - Firepower (2018, Album of the Year)

We had the pleasure to be blessed in 2018 with a return to form from the metal gods. Let me get right into it, Firepower is their best album since Painkiller and album of that year. And probably will remain among my top 10 Priest albums. It's full of energy, heavy great drumming and riffs, Halford did a great job and the production is fantastic (albeit a bit loud). Firepower sounds like Priest in 2018. Meaning, it clearly has several hallmarks of their classic sound, but it also sounds modern and timely. It's a very direct album, most of the songs are below 5 minutes and fast tempo. Overall very good album, classic Priest with a modern twist and full of instant classics.

Kamelot - Silverthorn  (2012)

Silverthorn was the first album to feature Tommy Karevik as the lead singer who had the difficult task to replace a talented and charismatic frontman. The result is a lesson of progressive power metal! Not only the song writing is fantastic but also Karevik's performance is outstanding. Silverthorn, a concept album, was a return to form replicating the success of some of their best work. Eight years later songs such as "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)" and "Torn" are now classic Kamelot hymns.

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand (2017, Album of the Year)

Emperor of Sand is by far the album that I listened to the most in 2017. An outstanding modern prog metal showcase. The album sounds like a fusion of the preceding efforts with Crack the Skye. The musicianship is superb, the division of vocal duties among the 3 singers has been perfected, and the 3 are singing better than ever. The guitar riffs, duos and solos are just fantastic, Brent and Bill have found the perfect harmony. Troy maintains the trademark bass sound and Brann is, simply put, one of the best drummers in activity. I love all 11 tracks and have almost no complains. The album flows amazingly well and it was my album of that year.

Meshuggah - Koloss (2012)

It was very difficult to choose between the two albums released by Meshuggah in the 2010's. Both have similar vibe and feature amazing songs. But Koloss was first and had a higher impact on me. In fact, I was hypnotized by this album! The deepness and heaviness are just mesmerizing and addictive. I listened to "Do Not Look Down" more than 70 times in my PC alone. No surprises to anyone that all musicians are superb and obviously amazing drumming by Mr. Tomas Haake. But the real game changer was seeing Meshuggah live! What an experience that is! One of the best metal shows of the 2010's.  Koloss and later The Violent Sleep of Reason are lessons of extreme progressive metal and pure art.

Periphery - Periphery II (2012, Album of the Year)

Periphery is doing something really special and have a promising future. They have released consistently good albums since the year 2010. Actually an impressive number of 5, one being double! Back in 2012, their second album was my album of that year. II features more than one hour of modern progressive metal. The variation on the vocals is just perfect and the quality of the musicians is suburb. The album had a huge impact on me and deserved all the praise I gave at the time.

Power Trip - Nightmare Logic (2017)

Year 2017 and Power Trip delivered a Thrash Metal masterpiece that can already be included in best thrash metal album of all times. That's how good it is. When it comes down to it, it's all about song writing.  The melodies, the riffs, the album flow, it's all perfectly mastered. All of that without loosing high level of energy from their hardcore influences. One of the biggest accomplishments of Power Trip is to tear down barriers among sub genres and create something special that appeals to many metal heads, new and old.

Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name (2018)

Rivers of Nihil continue to perform the technical death metal which they are known for. But they also progressed into new frontiers adding elements from jazz (e.g. "The Silent Life"), acoustic (e.g "Subtle Change"), and electronica (e.g. "Terrestria III: Wither). It all resulted in progressive death metal with a diverse sound pallet. There's a lot of melody but never letting down the heaviness. As one of the jewels of the 2010's, Where Owls Know My Name was Rivers of Nihil‘s opportunity to shine and breakthrough.

Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015, Album of the Year)

SW delivered an album that is emotional, dark and musically brilliant with highlight to the fantastic guitars and keyboard. HCE is an absolute masterpiece of modern progressive music. Highly original and building on SW's style, but with "in your face" influences from  Simon & Garfunkel and late The Beatles to Pink Floyd, Genesis, Steve Morse and Led Zeppelin. This musical journey is addictive! Once you start playing the album you want to enjoy the experience from start to finish while entering a sea of emotions with up-and-downs. It was not only album of the year but also one of the top of the decade. Kudos!

The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is the Killer (2013)

In 2013 I was lucky enough to see Dillinger Escape Plan live for the first time, what a show! I had never seen them before because One of Us Is the Killer was actually the album that made me “get” their sound. Then I’ve gone back to older material, found great songs and fell in love with their music. It is insanely heavy and aggressive but also technical and melodic. Just couldn't stop listening to it! The other two albums of the 2010's are also very good, but  One of Us Is the Killer had a huge impact on me and remains my favorite. Overall, their innovative sound and unpredictable, edgy live show has enabled the band to make a lasting mark in the heavy music world.

Tool - Fear Inoculum (2019, Album of the Year)

Tool delivered a uncompromising record. They are on that career stage in which they can do whatever they feel is right musically without worrying to please audiences. The band’s songwriting pushes and challenges listeners and it took weeks or months to completely unpack this present. Initially I had a problem with Fear Inoculum because the first five songs run quite long and seem very similar to each other (at first). But then I realized we can't take this album as a collection of singles because it's basically one long song. That's how Tool invite us to experience it. Despite being complex (e.g. the only possible singles are over ten minutes long) the album seems to be doing quite well. While Fear Inoculum didn't blew my mind at first, after a couple of months now it does every time I listen to it.

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit (2018)

Zeal & Ardor, led by the talented Manuel Gagneux, mixes sounds of negro spirituals with black metal. The result is a very unique record full of energy and emotion. The album features an intimidated number of tracks, 16, but nothing to worry. First they are all around the 3 min mark. Secondly, 4 of them are intros/transitional tracks. The remaining 12 tracks are almost all fantastic and diverse. Different ideas, structures, tempos, vocal changes and choruses make Stranger Fruit  not only an original record but also dynamic. While not being an easy one to digest, if you take the time to appreciate the experimentation, you will find yourself addicted to a catchy, fascinating and daring record. One of the most unique of the last ten years.

The Spotify playlist with the 25 albums is here.

Honorable Mentions:

Arch / Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance (2011)
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini (2010)
Gojira - Magma (2016)
Ihsahn - Arktis (2016)
Kvelertak - Kvelertak (2010)
Metallica - Hardwired…to Self-Destruct (2016)
Michael Romeo - War Of The Worlds, Pt. 1 (2018)
Neurosis - Fires Within Fires (2016)
The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)

Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day (2017)