Yeah, it's belated and maybe a little anti-climactic but here's the conclusion to my decade list. I had to finish what I started. Collect and enjoy!
Helms Alee – Night Terrors (2008 – Hydra Head)This late addition to my decade list might have you scratching your head a bit, but only if you aren’t familiar with the Seattle bands’ punishing yet melodic assault on the eardrums. ‘Night Terrors’ was my favorite record of 2008, and I can barely think of a more memorable show last year than seeing them for the first time at the Comet. It was mind bogglingly epic standing directly in front of one of the speakers for the length of their set (earplugs in of course). Songs like “Big Spider” and “Weirding Away” gave me a stoner metal contusion. 'Night Terrors' is equally fine, and captures much of Helms Alee’s signature powerful drum attack, fuzzy explosiveness, and melodic breakdowns perfectly. Does this stereo go to up 11?
Converge – You Fail Me (2004 – Epitaph)There is no doubt that Converge has released 4 amazing albums in the last ten years, each one more brutal than the next; building on the previous release's conquests leading us to 2009’s triumph “Axe to Fall”. The choice to include Converge on my decade list is a no brainer, but choosing which record was a very hard decision. I chose ‘You Fail Me’ because this record marks my introduction to the band. Yes, I was a late comer, not by choice, but by some oblivious oversight as best as I can tell. The fact remains that the first time I heard 'You Fail Me' I was hooked, and that my friends is all that matters. From start to finish, songs like “Black Cloud”, “Heartless”, and even title track “You Fail Me” are a blistering display of rage and conviction. The destruction conveyed on “You Fail Me” was like nothing that had crossed my path previous, and with my hair blown back I bow in their greatness.
Pearl Jam – Binaural (2000 – Epic)What a tough, tough decision this was to make. I almost decided to just include all 4 PJ records released last decade as one entry, but that I suppose would have been a cop out. The final race was really between decade opener 'Binaural' and decade closer 'Backspacer'. As much as I sincerely love 'Backspacer', 'Binaural' won the race due to the fact that it was a slow grower, one that evolved into a sincere favorite over the last ten years. I may not have loved it in 2000, but after time it resonated immensely. The record marked the first recordings with Matt Cameron, and saw the beginnings of the politically charged and pissed off Bush-era Ed we all know and love. The record marks a point in the bands career where they started the transition into the amazing live juggernaut they are today, not to mention just so happens to also contain some of my all-time favorite Pearl Jam songs including “Breaker Fall”, “Thin Air”, and “Parting Ways.”
3 Inches of Blood – Advance and Vanquish (2004 – Roadrunner)2004 was all about 3IOB’s “Advance and Vanquish” for me. At 24, I finally moved my ass to Seattle from unmentionable surrounding areas, and immediately made venues like El Corazon my home. It was all metal all the time, and because of 3IOB's frequent local gigs, my right hand had pretty much hardened into Cam Pipes' inconcert metal claw by year end. 'Advance and Vanquish' is pure balls out metal with speedy riffs and some of the most unbelievable falsetto ever screamed by a bearded Canadian viking. It also contains the mother of all heavy metal anthems in “Deadly Sinners”, as well as a bunch of other rad songs about Orcs, pirates, cyborgs, and knights. “Enemies of metal, your death is our reward!”
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings (2005 - Relapse)From start to finish High on Fire’s third full length is a scorcher, pure and simple. Together with punishing riffs supplied by Matt Pike, and a mega-rumble courtesy of drummer Des Kensel and then bassist Joe Preston, “Blessed Black Wings” is bar-none one of the best metal releases of the entire decade. The production values at the hands of Steve Albini not only helped bring High on Fire to the metal forefront, but were also a vast improvement over the previous two independent sludge heavy releases. Songs like 7 minute epic opus “To Cross the Bridge” and flame throwing opener “Divilution” still remain crushing and amazing, setting the colossal tone for subsequent release “Death is the Communion” and the future of metal.
Nik's 20 favorite Records of the Decade Recap:
The Haunted - Revolver
Hermano - ...Only a Suggestion
Melvins - (A) Senile Animal
Cave In - Jupiter
The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
Old Man Gloom - Christmas
Himsa - Hail Horror
The Black Angels - Passover
The Sword - Age of Winters
Joe Strummer and the Mescalaros - Streetcore
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Soundtrack
The Black Keys - Rubber Factory
Tool - Lateralus
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Kinski - Down Below, It's Chaos
Helms Alee - Night Terrors
Converge - You Fail Me
Pearl Jam - Binaural
3 Inches of Blood - Advance and Vanquish
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
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