Remember the 2010’s? Ahh, simpler times filled with underground doom, violent death metal and expansive hardcore.
Metal took a break from the mainstream in the 2010s (thank you for your service, nü-metal) leaving our beloved genre to return to the subterranean ooze of once it came. Still, there was no lack of incredible albums, so here’s 10 that deserve a little more shine.
How are these guys not gigantic? With one of the most unique debuts of the decade, Astronoid mixed thrash, prog and shoegaze for their explosive and addictive Air. Stunning is an understatement — Air is one of the most uplifting, joyful albums that could ever be lumped into the metal genre. It’s packed with massive hooks, pummeling drum work and vocals so high they make Coheed & Cambria sound like they’re on TRT.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, there’s Chicago extreme sludge merchants Indian. The band’s 2014 album, From All Purity, is unfiltered violence and harsh noise. It leaves no space for hope or morality, only expressionistic horror. It’s one of the bleakest listens you can experience from the 2010s, and it will likely stick in the back of your mind for some time.
Ever find a band so under-appreciated that it makes you feel out-of-touch? Like, how aren’t people going to war for music like this? Hollow Earth is that band, and Dead Planet is one of the most slept-on albums of the 2010s. Dead Planet blends modern hardcore with spectral prog and riffs so beefy it could feed an NFL team. The scene hadn’t quite caught on to this type of music in 2016, so maybe it’s a case of too much, too soon.
If you’re a mark for atmospheric black metal, it’s likely you’ve blasted some Mare Cognitum in the last decade. There are just so few projects that attack the genre this well, filling the eternal void with addictive guitar leads. You’ve just gotta sit with this album for its full 50-minute runtime — it’s a mind-expanding experience.
Of all the Sabbaths who ever Priested, Sumerlands may have Sabbriested the hardest in the 2010s. Was Phil Swanson summoned to Birmingham to drink from the heavy metal grail or something? Because his voice is the purest of excellence on this album. Really, everything about this record is phenomenal. Zero weak points in this classic metal feast.
The Chills is right. Fuck Idol, you guys. This is the one! Horrendous‘ debut is a true trip into the depths of filthy death metal. Alright, Horrendous‘ later stuff is great too, but they weren’t always the proggy, stylistic reapers with slick production. Their cannibal cavemen era was pretty special. Play this over the intro scene to 2001: A Space Odyssey and tell us we’re wrong.
Doom was pretty incredible throughout the 2010s, with bands like Pallbearer, Yob and Elder cranking out some all-timers. Turn over enough stones in the stoned meadow of doom and you’ll come across an abominable creature in Cough and their 2010 album, Ritual Abuse. The riffing and warlock incantations are steadfast throughout this record — just don’t light a candle near any old books.
This guitar tone is approaching Nails Abandon All Life levels of antisocial. If you’ve been missing the powerviolence edge from modern hardcore, Sex Prisoner is your next favorite band. Tannhäuser Gate is the band’s only album and that probably won’t change anytime soon. It’s a one-and-done act of brutal perfection.
A tribute to the olde ones of black metal, Greece’s Ravencult created one of the purest examples of the genre in 2011. Morbid Blood harnessed that classic Deathcrush guitar tone for Morbid Blood, leaving no cracks or pathways for light to intrude upon. That flapping kick drum is just perfect too. Give this one a spin if you’re craving a classic sound with flawless execution.
Deafheaven took most of blackgaze’s attention in the 2010s, but an act from Denmark released a stunning record that helped solidify the genre in 2018. Møl’s Jord is no-skips — it goes heavy on atmosphere, almost becoming celebratory in its crushing sadness. Its guitar melodies are infectious and its high, shrieking vocals put Jord over the top. It suffers slightly from an imperfect mix, but Jord is a gem no less.
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