Doozr's Top 10 of 2010

It's December again, and so it must be nearly time for yet another best-of list. I already made a list of my top 5 from the first half of the year back in July. Do my decisions still stand? Has enough awesome music been released lately to knock some of those five off the list?

While I chose my top five, I also included five that didn't quite make the grade. These were fine albums, but fell by the wayside to make way for the top five. Since making that list, my horizons have broadened, my collection has grown and my ears have been treated to a vast array of new musical morsels.

Picking the top ten has been tricky. I've had to base my decisions on initial impact, longevity and how much I just randomly decide to play it. So without further ado, in no particular order, here is my top 10 of 2010.

Crystalic - Persistence

What to say that I haven't already said? This album was released for free due to lack of label interest, which is a travesty because it's awesome.

Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs

A Last.fm recommendation come good. Death metal with a hint of black metal who happen to also be great live.

The Hoosiers - The Illusion Of Safety

It's cheesy, it's retro, it's silly and it's good. Enough said.

Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt One

Sometimes I listen to an album, and it's good. Sometimes, it's amazing. And just sometimes an album comes along that completely takes me by surprise at it's sheer brilliance. Road Salt One is one such album.

Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void

One of the first albums I got in 2010, and still one of the best. Loved it from the very first time I saw the teaser video for Shadow In Our Blood.

Volbeat - Beyond Heaven / Above Hell

Part rock 'n' roll, part metal, part blues and part country. Quite a mix, but brilliant.

Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here

A wistful, contemplative, yet cheerful melancholy. The sort you might feel on a quiet summer's eve when the world is at peace, and everything, just for that moment, is okay.

Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

A magnificent conglomeration of orchestra and black metal. Think Lord Of The Rings crossed with the more classically inspired bits of Nightwish. An album that is both exciting and satisfying to listen to.

Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

An album rich with images of life and light being torn down by the heavy, unbearable weight of the physical and metaphorical winter. Dreamy, sombre black/folk metal at its best.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

A great third album, all the better having seen it played live. Nostalgia and melancholy about the ways and whys of childhood, growing up in a rapidly changing world.

Sadly not all the great albums from 2010 can go into the top 10. Well, unless there were only 10 of them. But there aren't. There are loads. Here are some of the runners up.

Northern Oak - Monuments Finely crafted folk/black metal from Sheffield's finest purveyors of black metal and waistcoats. (review coming soon)

The Birthday Massacre - Pins & Needles Great dark synth-rock and an obsession with purple bunnies. (review)

Mostly Autumn - Go Well, Diamond Heart The first album with their new lead vocalist, and a good start it is, too. (review)

Martriden - Encounter The Monolith An album that has got me through many a torturous train journey. Just great music. (review)

Disturbed - Asylum Loud and brash American heavy metal. (review)

Dream Theater - Octavarium Twiddly, complicated and totally prog.

Engines Of Armageddon - Self-titled A hella-tight Thrash/Power/Doom/Groove METAL BAND from Nottingham UK.

Courteeners - Falcon A bit of chavvy pop. A guilty pleasure. (review)

65DaysOfStatic - We Were Exploding Anyway An altogether more dance oriented album from the band who brought you the soundtrack to the end of the world. (review)

Tarot - Gravity Of Light It's metal. It's heavy. It's got Marco Hietala in it. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? (review)