Metal Awards

Khelek's Top 15 albums of 2010

  1. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
    These guys never disappoint me
  2. Coheed & Cambria - Year Of The Black Rainbow
    While I didn't enjoy this quite as much as No World For Tomorrow, it is still an excellent album
  3. Angra - Aqua
    Not as heavy as their last album, Aqua is another great addition to a very impressive catalog
  4. Overkill - Ironbound
    One of my favorite veteran thrash bands, this album slays
  5. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
    A young band with tons of songwriting talent and the potential for great things
  6. Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void
    Definitely their best album since Character
  7. Year Long Disaster - Black Magic; All Mysteries Revealed
    Just a fun, energetic hard rock album
  8. Eluveitie - Everything Remains As It Never Was
  9. Spiritual Beggars - Return To Zero
    An old-school stoner metal band returns with a killer album
  10. Helmet - Seeing Eye Dog
    A slower take on their sound, this album has really grown on me
  11. Ion Dissonance - Cursed
    If you want chaos and violence in the form of music in 2010, this is it
  12. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier
  13. Fireball Ministry - Fireball Ministry
    Catchy, heavy, and memorable - everything that stoner metal should be
  14. Black Label Society - Order of the Black
  15. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2- Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool
Khelek's Top 5 surprises of 2010

  1. Quest For Fire - Lights From Paradise
    Strange yet very listenable
  2. Laethora - The Light In Which We All Burn
  3. Burial Chamber - Left To Decay
    Old-school, no-frills death metal
  4. Ephemeral Sun - Harvest Aorta
    Intriguing instrumental metal
Khelek's Disappointment(s) of 2010

  1. Woe Of Tyrants - Threnody
    It's tough when a young band with a ton of potential disappoints you
  2. Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast
    Although definitely better than their last release, I still found this to be quite inconsistent
  3. Ozzy Osbourne - Scream
    Ozzy has had an enormous impact on my musical taste, but like many fans I can't stomach his newer albums
  4. Monster Magnet - Mastermind
    This album had a handful of good moments, but left me wanting much more
Khelek's Joke(s) 2010

  1. Downspirit - Point Of Origin
  2. Godsmack - The Oracle
Khelek's words about 2010
  1. Metal lost several excellent and iconic vocalists in 2010. Being a big fan of Type O Negative, I was sad to hear of the passing of the great Peter Steele. Then only a short month later the death of the legendary Ronnie James Dio was another shock to the metal world. I still have trouble believing both of these great talents that I grew up listening to are gone. On a brighter note, there were some great albums released. My love of the sludge/stoner metal genre grew as I explored bands like Weedeater, Kylesa, and Rwake. I got deeper into the traditional doom genre more as well, which I found very enjoyable. I have not forgotten my love for great melodeath, though 2010 was somewhat of a slow year for it. Dark Tranquillity's We Are The Void was one of the few that really caught my attention, with God Dethroned also releasing solid material. As always, looking forward to what the new year will bring.