Adrien Begrand

1. Krallice – Diotima (Profound Lore)
2. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Island)
3. Moonsorrow – Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa (Spinefarm)
4. Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising (Metal Blade)
5. Tesseract – One (Century Media)
Book: The Rest is Noise, by Alex Ross
Film: The Red Shoes (Criterion)

Tate Bengtson

Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (Hells Headbangers Records)
Motorhead – The World is Yours (EMI)
Crowbar – Sever the Wicked Hand (eOne)
Sodom – In War and Pieces (SPV)
Deathspell Omega – Paracletus (Season of Mist)

Keith Carman

1. Birth A.D. – Stillbirth Of A Nation (Independent)
2. Motörhead – The World Is Yours (Motörhead Music)
3. Bad Brains – Bad Brains (ROIR)
4. OFF! – The First Four EPs (Vice)
5. Sick Of It All – Scratch The Surface (EastWest)
Book: Street Gang: The Complete History Of Sesame Street, Michael Davis (Viking Press)
Film: Lemmy (Mongrel Media)

Gruesome Greg

1. Crowbar – Sever the Wicked Hand (eOne)
2. Suplecs – Mad Oak Redoux (Small Stone)
3. Stone Axe – s/t reissue (Ripple Music)
4. Red Fang – s/t (Sargent House)
5. Monster Magnet – Mastermind (Napalm)
LOST CLASSIC: Helmet – Meantime (Interscope)

Allan Grusie

1. Wo Fat – Noche Del Chupacabra (Nasoni)
2. Pallas – XXV (Mascot)
3. Motorhead – The World Is Yours (EMI)
4. Robin Trower – Playful Heart (V12)
5. West Memphis Suicide – Resurrecting The Ghosts (Indie)

Rob Hughes

1. Dawnbringer—Nucleus (Profound Lore)
2. Neu!—75 (United Artists/Brain)
3. Baptists—s/t 7″ (Southern Lord)
4. Mitochondrion—Parasignosis (Profound Lore)
5. CloverSeeds—The Opening (The Laser’s Edge)
Book: Swedish Death Metal, by Daniel Ekeroth
Film: Santa Sangre

Rob Kachluba

1. Procession – Destroyer of Faiths
2. Suicidal Angels – Dead Again
3. Destruction – Day of Reckoning
4. Legion of the Damned – Descent into Chaos
5. Grave – Unhallowed boxset

Sarah Kitteringham

1. Mastodon – Remission (Relapse)
2. Christian Death – Only Theatre of Pain (Frontier)
3. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
4. Rotten Sound – Cursed (Relapse)
5. KEN mode – Venerable (Profound Lore)
Book: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Film: Shortbus

Albert Mansour

1. Arkona – Goi Rode Goi ! (Napalm Records)
2. Slough Feg – The Animal Spirits (Profound Lore Records)
3. Death angel – Relentless Retribution (Nuclear Blast Records)
4. Bullet Belt – The Black army Stands (Self Release)
5. Destruction – Days of Reckoning (Nuclear Blast Records)
DVD: Immortal – Live at Wacken 2007 (Nuclear Blast Records)

Ola Mazzuca

1. October Falls – A Collapse of Faith – Debemur Morti
2. Shibboleth – Shibboleth – Black Raven Records
3. Various Artists – Metal Norway, 3rd Edition – Music Export Norway
4. Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels – Nuclear Blast
5. Luciano Pavarotti (and various composers) – Bravo Pavarotti – Decca
BOOK: Rick Steve’s Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary

Sean Palmerston

1. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The dead – Superball/century Media
2. Black Sabbath – Eternal Idol (2cd deluxe edition) – Sanctuary UK
3. Death – The Sound Of Perseverence (2cd reissue) – Relapse
4. Sodom – Of War and Pieces – SPV
5. TesseracT – One – Century Media
Book: Life by Keith Richards
Blu-ray disc: Top Gear season 15

Renee Trottier

1. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
2. Kylesa – Spiral Shadow
3. Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell
4. Absu – S/T
5. Barn Burner – Bangers
Book: Hellbent for Cooking (Bazillion Points Publishing)

Jason Wellwood

1. Titan’s Eve – The Divine Equal (Self Released)
2. Redeemer – Global Exorcism (Death of the Earth)
3. Twisted Sister – Come Out And Play [2011 reissue] (Eagle Rock)
4. Abysmal Dawn – Leveling The Plane of Existence (Relapse)
5. Times of Grace – Hymn of a Broken Man (Roadrunner)
Book: currently trying to understand the Tru Blood phenomenon by reading ‘Living Dead in Dallas’ by Charlaine Harris. (The books are much better than the TV show…)
Movie: The Expendables – yep, full of dumb, improbable action and bad acting but sometimes it’s nice to turn your brain off…

Laura Wiebe

1. Bruce Lamont – Feral Songs for the Epic Decline (At A Loss)
2. Fen & De Arma – Toward the Shores of the End (Nordvis Produktion)
3. Monster Magnet – Mastermind (Napalm)
4. Nevermore – The Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)
5. Alice In Chains – Alice In Chains (Columbia)
Book: Bruno Latour – Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy (Harvard University Press)
Film: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension
TV: Tie – An Idiot Abroad / Gargoyles

Adam Wills

1. Augury – Concealed (reissued by Sonic Unyon)
2. Cauldron – Burning Fortune (Earache)
3. Crowbar – Sever the Wicked Hand (E1 Metal)
4. Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light (Southern Lord)
5. Evergrey – Glorious Collision (SPV)
Film: I Saw the Devil

ADRIEN BEGRAND

1. Weapon – From the Devil’s Tomb (Ajna Offensive)
2. Mares of Thrace – The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. Bison BC – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
4. Blood Revolt – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
5. Kataklysm – Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)
6. Neige et Noirceur – Les Seigneurie Des Loups (Sepulchral)
7. Evil Survives – Powerkiller (Heavy Artillery)
8. Ion Dissonance – Cursed (Century Media)
9. Scythia – Of War (self-released)
10. Divinity – The Singularity (Candlelight)

BILL ADAMS

1. The Flatliners – Cavalcade (Fat Wreck/Drive/Fontana North)
2. Baby Eagle – Dog Weather (You’ve Changed)
3. Hot Hot Heat – Future Breeds (Dine Alone)
4. The New Pornographers – Together (Last Gang)
5. The Creepshow – They All Fall Down (Stomp/Epitaph)

TATE BENGSTON

1. Blood Revolt – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)

KEITH CARMAN

1. RUSTED DAWN – The Black Tides Of War (Diminished Fifth)
2. BISON B.C. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
3. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)

JAY H. GORANIA

1. Ion Dissonance – Cursed (Century Media)

GRUESOME GREG

1. Keef – Stoned to Doom (PsycheDOOMelic)
2. Quest For Fire – Lights from Paradise (Tee Pee)
3. Mares of Thrace – The Moulting (Arctodus Records)

ALLAN GRUSIE

1. ANNIHILATOR – Annihilator (Earache)
2. PRIESTESS – Prior To The Fire (Indica)
3. BLACK MOUNTAIN – Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

KYLE HARCOTT

1. BLOOD REVOLT – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
2. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. MENDOZZA – Cabra Noche (Reverse)

ROB HUGHES

1. BLOOD REVOLT—Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
2. FUNERAL CIRCLE—Sinister Sacrilege (Miskatonic)*
3. MARES OF THRACE—The Moulting (Arctodus)
*Released very late in 2009, but a 2010 discovery for me.

JARED HYNES

1. ANNIHILATOR – Annihilator (Earache)

ROB KACHLUBA

1. Kataklsym- Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)

SARAH KITTERINGHAM

1. WAKE- Surrounded by Human Filth (Hearing Aids)
2. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. BISON B.C. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)

MATT LEWIS

1. Ion Dissonance – Cursed (Century Media)
2. Neil Young – Le noise (Reprise)
3. Bison B.C – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)

ALBERT MANSOUR

1. KATAKLYSM – Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)
2. WEAPON – from the Devil’s Tomb (Ajna Offensive)
3. FATALITY – Beers From The Grave (self-released)
4. BAPTIZED IN BLOOD – Baptized in Blood (Roadrunner Records)
5. KRITICOS – Dead Angels (self-released)

OLA MAZZUCA

1. KATAKLYSM – Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)

METAL GEORGE PACHECO

1. BLOOD REVOLT – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)

SEAN PALMERSTON

1. Weapon – From the Devil’s Tomb (Ajna Offensive)
2. Blood Revolt – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
3. Mares of Thrace – The Moulting (Arctodus)
4. Kataklysm – Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)
5. Bison BC – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
6. Divinity – The Singularity (Candlelight USA)
7. Rusted Dawn – The Black tides Of War (Diminished Fifth)
8. Quest for Fire- Lights from Paradise (Tee Pee)
9. Striker – Eyes In The Night (Iron Kodex)
10. Danko Jones – Below The Belt (Aquarius)

JONATHAN SMITH

1. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)
2. NECRONOMICON – The Year Of The Witch (Napalm)
3. DIVINITY – The Singularity (Candlelight USA)

KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

1. (tie) WEAPON – from The Devil’s Tomb (Ajna Offensive)
1. (tie) ION DISSONANCE – Cursed (Century media)

RENEE TROTIER

1) Bison b.c. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
2) Barn Burner – Bangers (Metal Blade)
3) Divinity – The Singularity (Candlelight)

JASON WELLWOOD

1. MARES OF THRACE The Moulting (Arctodus)
2. ORCHID’S CURSE Voices: The Tales of Broken Men
3. STRIKER Eyes In The Night (Iron Kodex)
4. ANNIHILATOR Annihilator (Earache)
5. KATAKLYSM Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)
6. KOBRA AND THE LOTUS Out of the Pit (Self Released)
7. SCYTHIA …Of War (Self Released)
8. DANKO JONES Below The Belt (Aquarius)
9. SKULL FIST Heavier Than Metal (Self Released)
10. TITAN’S EVE Divine Equal (Self Released)

LAURA WIEBE

1. Melissa Auf der Maur – Out of Our Minds (PHI/MAdM Music)
2. Mares Of Thrace – The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. Bison B.C. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)

ADAM WILLS

1. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)
2. BLOOD REVOLT -Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
3. STRIKER – Eyes in The Night (Iron Kodex)

NATALIE ZED

1. VILIPEND – Plague Bearer (No List)
2. MARES OF THRACE – The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. BISON B.C. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)

The response was pretty much positive across the board as to participating in the poll. A few writers did politely back out from submitting, feeling they hadn’t heard enough Canadian albums released this year, fair enough, and some submitted only one album for their list. However, the final outcome of this list has not been tampered with, changed, fucked with, etc. etc. by anyone – the bands are listed in the order they were voted by our great contributors. So, without further adieu, here are the Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums of 2010, counted down from #10 to #1 with a brief write up on each. Please enjoy.

#10: RUSTED DAWN – The Black Tides Of War

(Diminished Fifth)

Cold, endless rain, stark, rocky terrain and more snow than the polar ice caps seem to have lately? Canada’s East Coast is the perfect breeding ground for berserk metal, a mission accomplished with New Brunswick beasts Rusted Dawn on this full-length debut. Blending thrash classics like Testament‘s The New Order and Nuclear Assault‘s Handle With Care makes for a vicious explosion amplified by the guttural drive of Motörhead and Discharge. Yet when they hone in on aspects of Mayhem and Obituary, The Black Tides Of War‘s ravenous bleakness, sinister chug riffs and overall rabidity makes even the friendliest of metallians feel like swallowing a fistful of razorblades, washing it down with a fifth of whiskey and getting into a fistfight.
Keith Carman

#9: STRIKER – Eyes In The Night

(Iron Kodex)

Striker are really leading the pack in Canada for traditional heavy metal. There have been a slew of bands coming out with a lot of love for NWOBHM but none of them impress as much as Striker’s Eyes In The Night. Like a slab from ’83 with modern production and catchy as hell song writing, this is a fist pumping, head banging classic. What you hear on this album, they can pull off live as well: vocalist Dan Cleary is an absolute monster and blew me away. Pick this album up and keep your eyes on this band!
Jason Wellwood

#8: DIVINITY – The Singularity

(Candlelight USA)

Released here in Canada by Candlelight Records late in the summer, Divinity‘s The Singularity layers just the right amount of progressive elements on top of a solid base of crunchy technical death metal. The food metaphor is apt; it’s an album that is heavier and more substantial than an initial taste might suggest. The Calgarians’ many tempo shifts, occasional more-or-less-clean-vocals, and ambient fills are anchored down by their heavy grooves. Any moment of quieter contemplation is soon squashed by the next wave of riffs, many of which invoke fellow Canadians Into Eternity on steroids. Proving once again that the best albums often demand to be savoured before their true flavours are revealed, The Singularity has moved from being just another summer offering to becoming one of this reviewer’s favourite Canadian albums of the year.
Jonathan Smith

#7: ANNIHILATOR – Annihilator

(Earache)

In a time when we’ve got new thrash wannabes popping up and getting famous every 20 minutes, Annihilator has created an album that can easily be set beside classics like Alice In Hell and Never Neverland. Annihilator highlights not only the underrated guitar playing of Jeff Waters but, his consistently catchy song writing as well. Dave Padden returns for album number four (a record for a vocalist in this band) fitting like a glove and bringing out all the authentic anger, frustration and rage that most of the new wave of thrash bands have to fake.
Jason Wellwood

#6: ION DISSONANCE – Cursed

(Century Media)

In all honesty, I lost most of any faith I had in these Montreal tech bruisers ‘n abusers about half-an-hour after the release of their second album, Solace. In fact, I was taken by surprise when news hit they were coming back after a self-imposed, 18-month hiatus; I didn’t even noticed they were gone. But shit, what a way to return! Cursed hearkens back to the late-90s when bands exploded with equal amounts of head-shaking complexity and violent fury. This album is irascible, sarcastic, bitter, utterly relentless and a great accompaniment to those nights spent holed up in a windowless room hating the fucking world.
Kevin Stewart-Panko

#5: BISON B.C. – Dark Ages

(Metal Blade)

As I wrote in my postcard review of this album, what impressed me the most was the weight of it. Dark Ages handles suffocatingly heavy sections and eloquently nimble passages with equal panache. Bison BC are just as skilled at crushing their listeners, leaving them screaming “more weight!” like a victim of peine forte et dure, as they are pouring supple phrases of molten gold into our ears. There’s a great deal of menace to this album, a disquiet in the guitar work and an eerie quality to the brass section, but no matter how uncomfortable this album makes me I always deeply enjoy listening to it. Dark Ages is both deeply challenging and profoundly enjoyable, and that makes it extraordinary.
Natalie Zed

#4: WEAPON – From The Devil’s Tomb

(Ajna Offensive)

After impressing us last year with their debut full-length, Drakonian Paradigm, Edmonton black metal quartet Weapon returned this year with an even better sophomore album. Tighter playing and much better production propel this new album far beyond what they accomplished before. Weapon has progressed dramatically as a band. The four musicians play together in perfect sync. The songs on this album have hooks, nuances and tempo changes that require tight musicianship, which they have in abundance. The upgraded studio quality makes the band sound even more menacing, more threatening than on previous releases. The sonics are better, and this makes the songs that much heavier. Weapon also gets the award for the best song title by a Canadian band in 2010 for “Lefthandpathyoga.” Nicely done.
Sean Palmerston

#3: BLOOD REVOLT – Indoctrine

(Profound Lore)

Today, via Catherine Owen (possibly Canada’s most metal poet), I came across the quote “Poetry is the art that responds to the anxiety of living.” I think Blood Revolt does the same with Indoctrine. Their response to the anxiety of living is first to distill and magnify our most visceral fears, and then to tear straight into them for 42 nerve-rattling minutes. This Irish-Canadian collaboration is about pushing the limits, both musically, with C Ross and J Read’s chaotic onslaught, and thematically, via vocalist AA Nemtheanga’s chilling first-person portrayal of fanaticism and martyrdom. The trio’s fearlessness makes for one of the most extreme—and best—releases of the year.
Rob Hughes

#2: KATAKLYSM – Heaven’s Venom

(Nuclear Blast)

Every Kataklysm record is a battle cry that rolls with every punch. This year, Maurizio Iacono divided time between Ex Deo and his Montreal- based horde to create Heaven’s Venom – an album based on a struggle-to-gain concept with solid musicality and a signature hyperblast beat. The content on the record is theatrical at best, as the music depicts imagery of successful stage presence to scenes from historical epics, utilizing movie quotes effectively to nearly miss being called a cliché. To call Heaven’s Venom a fresh approach by Kataklysm would be false, but that’s what makes the album great, for the band proves that they don’t need to add obscure elements but rather stick to being themselves to capture the attention of a worldwide metal audience.
Ola Mazzuca

#1: MARES OF THRACE - The Moulting

(Arctodus)

All it took to inject some welcome new life into Canadian metal was a blast of brutality from a band comprised of two talented women from Calgary. Who knew? But we’re sure as hell glad that Mares of Thrace gave us The Moulting, an unrelenting noise/doom hybrid that turned out to be heavier than most male bands with twice as many members. Fitting neatly between the styles of Unsane and Neurosis, not only is this record a punishing one, with Thérèse Lanz‘s churning baritone guitar riffs punctuated byStefani MacKichan‘s massive, jazz-influenced drumming, but it’s plenty accessible, as well. The duo displays tremendous restraint at times, creating palpable tension, only to completely shatter it with cathartic payoffs, Lanz spewing her eloquent, darkly poetic lyrics. Factor in a formidable live presence that turns more heads with each performance and you’ve got one of the most promising Canadian metal bands to come around in a long time.
Adrien Begrand

Check back on Friday for the individual writers lists.

ADRIEN BEGRAND

Meshuggah – Alive (Nuclear Blast)

KEITH CARMAN

Frank Zappa – The Torture Never Stops (Eagle Vision)

LAINA DAWES

Rush – Beyond the Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

JAY H. GORANIA

MARYLAND DEATHFEST: The Movie

ALLAN GRUSIE

TRANSATLANTIC – Whirld Tour 2010: Live From Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London (Radiant)

KYLE HARCOTT

RUSH – Beyond the Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

ROB HUGHES

RUSH – Beyond the Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

ROB KACHLUBA

Rush – Beyond the Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

MATT LEWIS

Rush – Beyond The Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

ALBERT MANSOUR

RUSH – Beyond the Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

OLA MAZZUCA

Until The Light Takes Us (Factory Twenty-Five)

METAL GEORGE PACHECO

I only watched one, so by default I suppose it goes to The Haunted’s Road Kill

SEAN PALMERSTON

RUSH – Beyond The Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

JONATHAN SMITH

Until The Light Takes Us (Factory Twenty-Five)

KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

Sodom – Lords of Depravity II (SPV)

RENEE TROTIER

Opeth – Live at Royal Albert Hall (Roadrunner)

JASON WELLWOOD

HEAVEN & HELL: Neon Nights Live In Europe (Armoury)

LAURA WIEBE

Rush – Beyond The Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

ADAM WILLS

RUSH – Beyond The Lighted Stage (Alliance Atlantis)

ADRIEN BEGRAND

Sadly, the death of Ronnie James Dio: No other passing of a metal artist has ever had this massive an impact on fans, musicians, and media across the globe. The tributes we saw and read were incredible to witness.

KEITH CARMAN

While the release of great albums from acts we’d all written off (looking in Danzig’s direction) was exciting, my most pivotal moment of 2010 was seeing crossover forefathers D.R.I. at Blondie’s in Detroit. Having not been tangibly assaulted by their relentless-albeit-ephemeral attack for 20 years, it was an unforgettable experience. The band was amicable, the crowd ravenous and the set—no shit—was four pages long, touching on every single album yet still focused primarily on Dirty Rotten LP and Dealing With It. This was the stuff metallic dreams are made of. Sure it’s not “metal” but it was pretty fucking metal.

CARA CROSS

The year 2010 brought with it many notable reunions, albums, concerts and events – but none could hold a candle to the news that rocked me to the core: The death of Type O Negative vocalist Peter Steele. Hearing the rumours of his death on Twitter were like a punch to the gut; when the news was confirmed, it drained me of all energy. But on the positive side, Pete’s death made me realize how influential the band has been in my life. And it was heartening to see the outpouring of support for Pete and the band by his fans and peers. Rest in peace, Peter – you’ve earned it.

LAINA DAWES

It was difficult to choose what event stood out for me the most this year. In March I went to SXSW in Austin to speak on a panel, and saw some fantastic shows. The Salome, High on Fire, and the showcases put on by Action! PR, Relapse, Profound Lore and MetalSucks.net were great, and I finally saw Dillinger Escape Plan who were jaw-droppingly awesome and Kill the Client, who are destined for greatness.

But the Maryland Death Fest was a standout event for a number of reasons: The festival was well organized and the lineup and the audience were great. Going there, I had only wanted to see a handful of bands, but walked away discovering a plethora of bands that I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t gone. What stood out the most for me in terms of music was seeing Converge and having the opportunity to shoot their show, which was exhilarating. Seeing the Eyehategod set while standing on a rooftop overlooking the stage with Albert Mansour was fun, and hanging with the boys and girls from the Hellbound and Handshake Inc. crews made the event memorable. And chatting with Amber from Jucifer was a trip!

On the other hand, I also met a couple of people who made me think about the way that we glorify musicians / industry folks, automatically assuming that these people are somehow ‘better’ than the rest of us. I met a couple of folks who were straight-up assholes and whose music I will never listen to again. It didn’t dampen the event, but I did walk away feeling like a learned a lot about the metal scene and people in general.

GRUESOME GREG

EVENT OF THE YEAR: Sleep reunion tour. Saw ‘em in Portland with YOB and a very subdued, mellow Scott Kelly. They played for two hours—Holy Mountain in its entirety and a good chunk of Jerusalem. Need I say more?

ALLAN GRUSIE

ACCEPT Reforming: This one came out of nowhere. Thanks to a desire to jam and a bit of luck in connecting with former TT Quick singer Mark Tornillo these guys found immediate chemistry. With an internet teaser campaign, primarily pushing the song “Teutonic Terror”, fans salivated for the release of Blood Of The Nations. They were not disappointed, as the album crushed from start to finish, and a limited U.S. tour followed, which by all account was every bit as strong as the album, easily their best in over 25 years!

KYLE HARCOTT

2010 was a year filled with myriad auspicious metal events to crow about, some tragic, some triumphant – but one in particular stands out as having especially affected my world personally. On Wednesday 24 February, my very first piece was published here at Hellbound.ca, marking a turning point for me, and invoking a deeper immersion into metal journalism – a direction I’d been seeking for a long time. As a result, writing for Hellbound has (infinitely) broadened my metallic horizons, (hopefully) honed my ability to turn the occasional phrase, and given me a platform on which to endlessly, shamelessly glorify and pontificate on the music I love (and occasionally hate!)

My many thanks to Glorious Leader Palmerston for giving me the opportunity; and to the entire creative hive of Team Hellbound: your writing, photography, and film work continually inspire me, and push me to keep writing – Budmo!, the lot of you.

ROB HUGHES

Mares of Thrace Canadian tour

Summer 2010 was the summer of Mares of Thrace. Their Canadian tour provided a couple of the year’s most memorable gigs. The first show I caught was at the Casbah Lounge in Hamilton in the company of several of the Hellbound crew (great to see you all!). The next encounter was back home in Vancouver at the Secret Location, where finding the venue was an adventure unto itself. Both gigs were bracing displays of Canadian grit and talent—proof that the spirit of independent music can conquer the imposing expanses of this country.

JARED HYNES

Event of the year: Canadian Carnage Tour-London, ON. Three legendary thrash bands together on one stage and all bands playing amazing sets. The best performance by Slayer that I’ve seen in over a decade, Megadeth was tight and aggressive, and Testament put on an entertaining and heavy performance.

SARAH KITTERINGHAM

Maryland Death Festival was the highlight of this metalheads year! When else would one see a shit ton of high pedigree bands including Pentagram, Entombed, Eyehategod, Repulsion, Coffins, and Converge, alongside tons of upcoming acts? The only place I know of is MDF 2011, whose line-up is even better!

MATT LEWIS

Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy

I had been waiting 5 long fucking years to the follow up the of one of the greatest metal albums ever created, This Godless Endeavor. The Obsidian Conspiracy I thought was going to at least blow my mind, they had 5 years to work on this thing. 5! Instead all it blew was chunks! 4 decent songs and the rest throwaway tunes left over from Jeff and Warrel’s respective solo albums. Balls!

ALBERT MANSOUR

Too many to mention but the one that would stand out the most would be the RUSH concert at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday July 17th 2010. This was basically a full rundown of all their career plus the killer album Moving Pictures in its entirety. Good stuff.

OLA MAZZUCA

Meeting Leo Buralli was the most metal event of my year, as it is a reflection of my memories in the small, medieval town of Lucca, Tuscany. I met Buralli and his mother on a family vacation to Italy this summer when we visited their restaurant, Trattoria Da Leo. We decided to eat lunch at the town’s best kept secret only to find an extremely tall, tattooed and bearded Italian man clad in black combat boots standing in the doorway, serving dishes of pasta and spezzatino di vitella. Though my conversation with Leo on heavy music was short, it led to our very charming photograph together throwing the “malocchio”, otherwise known as the horns, metal’s most universal symbol.

JUSTIN M. NORTON

Event of the Year: The return of Autopsy and the release of The Tomb Within EP

METAL GEORGE PACHECO

Metal Event Of The Year: Seeing Pentagram for the first time!

SEAN PALMERSTON

Event of the Year – Maryland Deathfest. It was my first time going, but it certainly won’t be my last. My ticket is already purchased for 2011′s edition – can’t wait! I also need to mention that being asked to go be a panelist at the Noctis Metal Conference, meeting the amazing Scarab Productions crew that put it on and then subsequently getting to see (and meet) Sodom in Calgary AB was a very, very close second. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it out for another one sometime soon too.

JONATHAN SMITH

Devin Townsend in London, ON

Since moving to Ontario a few years ago, the music of Devin Townsend’s various projects has been a constant companion. From Strapping Young Lad to Ocean Machine to the much more recent Devin Townsend Project, his range and variety of efforts has made his work suitable for any number of emotional states. It was a real treat to finally see him this past November. He did not disappoint — from seemingly almost blowing out the venue’s speakers to his inane and bizarre tangents, Devin Townsend revealed himself for what he truly is — a hippie metal muppet.

KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

Event of the year – Maryland Deathfest

RENEE TROTIER

From a personal perspective, Opeth’s Evolution XX tour takes the cake. I flew out to NYC for the first time with 3 of my best friends specifically for the event, planning the trip obsessively for months. It was a concert that felt as special and as intimate as it was hyped up to be, and it will forever be the benchmark for all Opeth shows to come. Of course, 2010 is also the year we lost Ronnie James Dio, a certified legend and all around nice guy. In terms of effecting the metal community as a whole, there was no event more important or tragic than that one. Farewell Dio, may you rest in peace.

JASON WELLWOOD

Event of the Year: Whole lot of ties here for me. Probably the most metal event of the year though would be the night that Brittany Paige (singer for Kobra & The Lotus) went down the street to watch an incredible performance from Unleash The Archers. Then, later that night, Brittney Hayes (singer for Unleash The Archers) and I watch Kobra & The Lotus tear it up on stage at another venue. Without a doubt, Canadian metal and hard rock absolutely dominated live for me this year. I was completely blown away several times and it was always by Canadian bands.

Of course, watching Yo! Gabba Gabba with Kobra & The Lotus and my 2 year old was pretty metal, as was my son sitting with me to watch a DVD and reverentially whispering, ‘Black Sabbath’ as Tony Iommi played ‘Iron Man’.

LAURA WIEBE

Heavy MTL (day one) – July 24, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal

Despite Dave Mustaine’s pained vocalizations (and the torturous look on his face while he makes them), hearing Rust in Peace played live in full was pleasure enough for me to rank the first day of Heavy MTL among my metal events of the year. And aside from the exhausting heat (offset, thankfully, by a glorious fresh fruit stand) and the poor beer selection (which nothing on site could make up for), getting a touch of the metal fest experience in my home country felt pretty damn good. A list of performers adds to my reasons for indulging in some year-end Heavy MTL appreciation: Testament, Mastodon, Halford, Anvil, Kataklysm, Slayer, and so on … But it might have been Melissa Auf der Maur’s tribute to Peter Steele and Ronnie James Dio that made the sale – MAdM covering Type O Negative covering Black Sabbath (“Paranoid”) in front of a sea of hot and sweaty metalheads. Amazing.

ADAM WILLS

Not every metal moment in 2010 was a positive one, and on April 14, the metal world lost one of it’s most memorable voices – Type O Negative’s Peter Steele. From the first moments that Steele’s unique vocals passed through my ears (Type O’s cover of “Black Sabbath”), I became a fan, loving everything from his vocal range to his unique sense of humour. Having lived through a life of high ups and rough downs, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t live a long, healthy life, but upon word of his passing, I couldn’t help but feeling shocked. Like a lot of premature deaths, it just didn’t sound possible, especially to happen to someone with such a stature of the larger-than-life Steele. However, his music has always been close to me, and will continue to depress/entertain me forever.

“I can’t believe I died last night; Oh God, I’m dead again!” – Peter Steele. RIP.

NATALIE ZED

Because my event attendance is on the heavy side of ridiculous, and choosing a single event is hard, I’ve decided to do this as a Top 3 list too.

1. Winning the 50 CD prize from Hellboud.ca in January 2010

Like many many other people, I put together a top 5 albums of 2009 list, sent in my entries via twitter and Facebook, and expected that to be the end of it. Instead, I won a huge box of CDs, met Sean Palmerston, starting writing reviews, and the rest is history.

2. Portal/Krallice/Bloody Panda, May 24 2010 @ The Mohawk in Buffalo, NY

The most terrified, overwhelmed, and completely in love with a performance that I have ever been. In a dingy bar in unseasonably blistering heat, I spent 3.5 hours completely riveted to the stage, feeling my brain being rearranged. A transformative experience.

3. Thantifaxath/Vilipend/Sylvus/Eyeswithoutaface, July 22 2010 @ the Hard Luck Bar

This was a great show put on by awesome local bands. The room was full of musicians that I deeply respected and excellent people that I
consider dear friends. It was one of those nights that renewed my love for the metal scene in Toronto. Also, it would turn out, I met
someone.

Last week we ran our TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2010 list, as voted by the writers of Hellbound.ca. Here are the individual Top 10s that were submitted by our writers for your personal enjoyment…

ADRIEN BEGRAND

1. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirits (Profound Lore)
2. Nachtmystium – Addicts: Black Meddle Part II (Century Media)
3. Alcest – Ecailles de Lune (Prophecy)
4. Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
5. Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier (EMI)
6. Kylesa – Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
7. Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
8. Dawnbringer – Nucleus (Profound Lore)
9. Castevet – Mounds of Ash (Profound Lore)
10. Christian Mistress – Agony and Opium (20 Buck Spin)

TATE BENGSTON

1. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt 1 (InsideOut)
2. Ludicra – The Tenant (Profound Lore)
3. Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
4. Blood Revolt – Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
5. Crippled Black Phoenix – I, Vigilante (Invada)
6. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirits (Profound Lore)
7. Slough Feg – The Animal Spirits (Profound Lore)
8. The High Confessions – Turning Lead Into Gold With the High Confessions (Relapse)
9. Harvey Milk – A Small Turn of Human Kindness (Hydra Head)
10. Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones (Prowling Death)

KEITH CARMAN

1.Passadena Napalm Division – S/T (Abyss Records)
2. Danzig – Deth Red Sabaoth (The End)
3. Arson Anthem – Insecurity Notoriety (Housecore)
4. Black Breath – Razor To Oblivion (Southern Lord)
5. Torche – Songs For Singles (Hydra Head)
6. Jucifer – Throned In Blood (Nomadic Fortress/Relapse)
7. Dillinger Escape Plan- Option Paralysis (Party Smasher Inc./Season Of Mist)
8. Bison B.C. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
9. Rusted Dawn – The Black Tides Of War (Diminished Fifth)
10. Black Tusk – Taste The Sin (Relapse)

CARA CROSS

1. ROTTING CHRIST – AEALO (Season of Mist)
2. ENSLAVED – Aximo Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
3. AGALLOCH – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
4. HIGH ON FIRE – Snakes for the Divine (E1)
5. KALMAH – 12 Gauge (Spinefarm)
6. NACHTMYSTIUM – Addicts: Black Meddle, Part II (Century Media)
7. THE CROWN – Doomsday King (Century Media)
8. DAWNBRINGER – Nucleus (Profound Lore)
9. CYNIC – Re-Traced (Season of Mist)
10. WITCHERY – Witchkreig (Century Media)

LAINA DAWES

1. Salome -Terminal (Profound Lore)
2. Early Graves – Goner (Ironclad / Metalblade)
3. Black Breath – Heavy Breathing (Southern Lord)
4. High On Fire – Snakes For The Divine (E1 Music)
5. This Moment in Black History – Public Square (Smog Veil)
6. Kylesa – Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
7. Zoroaster – Matador (E1)
8. Misery Index – Heirs to Thievery (Relapse)
9. Yakuza – Of Seismic Consequence (Profound Lore)
10. Intronaut – Valley of Smoke (Century Media)

JAY H. GORANIA

1. Kill the Client – Set for Extinction
2. Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones
3. Immolation – Majesty and Decay
4. Cephalic Carnage – Misled by Certainty
5. Jucifer – Throned in Blood
6. Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis
7. Landmine Marathon – Sovereign Descent
8. Dååth – Dååth
9. Salome – Terminal
10. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit

GRUESOME GREG

1. Arc of Ascent – Circle of the Sun (Astral Projection)
2. Apostle of Solitude – Last Sunrise (Profound Lore)
3. Keef – Stoned to Doom (PsycheDOOMelic)
4. Accept – Blood of the Nations (Nuclear Blast)
5. Quest For Fire – Lights From Paradise (Tee Pee)
6. Purple Rhinestone Eagle – The Great Return (Stank House Records)
7. Mares of Thrace – The Moulting (Arctodus Records)
8. Atlantean Kodex – The Golden Bough (Cruz del Sur)
9. High on Fire – Snakes for the Divine (E1)
10. Mendozza – Cabra Noche (indie)

ALLAN GRUSIE

1. ACCEPT – Blood Of The Nations (Nuclear Blast)
2. GRAND MAGUS – Hammer Of The North (Roadrunner)
3. MELECHESH – Epigenesis (Nuclear Blast)
4. ENSLAVED – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
5. THERION – Sitra Ahra (Nuclear Blast)
6. ICARUS WITCH – Draw Down The Moon (Cleopatra)
7. ANNIHILATOR – Annihilator (Earache)
8. NEVERMORE – Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)
9. IRON MAIDEN – Final Frontier (Universal)
10. MONSTER MAGNET – Mastermind (Napalm)

KYLE HARCOTT

1. ÅRABROT – Revenge (Fysisk Format)
2. KYLESA – Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
3. GHOST – Opus Eponymous (Rise Above)
4. KVELERTAK – Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)
5. THE SEQUENCE OF PRIME – Virion (independent)
6. TRIPTYKON – Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
7. SLEEPBRINGER – Compendium (independent)
8. NACHTMYSTIUM – Addicts: Black Meddle Part II (Century Media)
9. SALOME – Terminal (Profound Lore)
10. WATAIN – Lawless Darkness (Season of Mist)

ROB HUGHES

1. UFOMAMMUT—Eve (Supernatural Cat)
2. BLOOD REVOLT—Indoctrine (Profound Lore)
3. ROTTING CHRIST—Aealo (Season of Mist)
4. HORSEBACK—The Invisible Mountain (Relapse)
5. LUDICRA—The Tenant (Profound Lore)
6. TRIPTYKON—Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
7. AGALLOCH—Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
8. STARGAZER—A Great Work of Ages (Profound Lore)
9. THE PINEAPPLE THIEF—Someone Here is Missing (kscope)
10. WORMROT—Abuse (Earache)

JARED HYNES

1. Apostle of Solitude-Last Sunrise (Profound Lore)
2. Danzig-Deth Red Sabaoth (The End)
3. Overkill-Ironbound (Nuclear Blast)
4. Anathema-We’re Here Because We’re Here (K-Scope)
5. Exodus-Exhibit B: The Human Condition (Nuclear Blast)
6. Forbidden-Omega Wave (Nuclear Blast)
7. Volbeat-Above Heaven/Beyond Hell (Universal)
8. Darkthrone-Circle the Wagons (Peaceville)
9. Hooded Menace-Never Cross the Dead (Profound Lore)
10. Antimatter-Alternative Matter (Prophecy)

ROB KACHLUBA

1. Hooded Menace-Never Cross the Dead-Profound Lore
2. Apostle of Solitude-Last Sunrise-Profound Lore
3. Anathema-Were here because were here-Peaceville
4. Accept-Blood of Nations-Nuclear Blast
5. Dawnbringer-Nuclues-Profound Lore
6. Melechesh-The Epigenesis-Nuclear Blast
7. Black Country Communion-CBS
8. Count Raven-Mammons War-I Hate
9. Haken-Aquarius-Sensory
10. Volbeat-Beyond Hell/*Above Hell-Universal

SARAH KITTERINGHAM

1. DAUGHTERS- Daughters (Hydrahead)
2. DEATHSPELL OMEGA- Paracletus (Seasons of Mist)
3. EARLY GRAVES- Goner (Ironclad/Metalblade Records)
4. NACHTMYSTIUM- Black Meddle Pt. II (Century Media)
5. THE NATIONAL- High Violet (4AD)
6. KYLESA- Spiral Shadow (Seasons of Mist)
7. TORCHE- Songs for Singles (Hydrahead)
8. WATAIN- Lawless Darkness (Seasons of Mist)
9. DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN- Option Paralysis (Seasons of Mist)
10. THE BLACK KEYS- Brothers (Nonesuch Records)

MATT LEWIS

1. The Ocean – Heliocentric (Metal Blade)
2. Kylesa – Spiral Shadows (Season Of Mist)
3. The Ocean – Anthropocentric (Metal Blade)
4. Ion Dissonance – Cursed (Century Media)
5. Holy Grail – Crisis in Utopia (Prosthetic)
6. Neil Young – Le Noise (Reprise)
7. Hail of Bullets – On Divine Winds (Metal Blade)
8. Misery Index – Heirs to Thievery (Relapse)
9. Immolation – Majesty and Decay (Nuclear Blast)
10. Cephalic Carnage – Misled by Certainty (Relapse

ALBERT MANSOUR

1. Pineapple Thief – Someone here is missing (kscope)
2. Accept – Blood of Nations (Nuclear Blast)
3. Kataklysm – Heavens Venom (Nuclear Blast)
4. Raven – Walk through Fire (Metal Blade Records)
5. Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast)
6. Gama Bomb – Tales from the Grave in Space (Earache)
7. Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
8. Death Angel-Relentless Retribution (Nuclear Blast)
9. Rotting Christ – AEALO (Season of Mist)
10. Watain – Lawless Darkness – (Season of Mist)

OLA MAZZUCA

1. ENSLAVED – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
2. KATAKLYSM – Heaven’s Venom (Nuclear Blast)
3. MIKE PATTON – Mondo Cane (Ipecac Recordings)
4. DARKTHRONE – Circle The Wagons (Peaceville)
5. AT THE SOUNDAWN – Shifting (Lifeforce Records)
6. DIMMU BORGIR – Abrahadabra (Nuclear Blast)
7. KRIEG – The Isolationist (Candlelight Records)
8. RIMFROST – Veraldar Nagli (Season of Mist)
9. CANCER BATS – Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones (Distort)
10. ECLECTIKA – Dazzling Dawn (Asylum Ruins)

JUSTIN M. NORTON

1. Triptykon-Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
2. Nails-Unsilent Death (Streetcleaner-Southern Lord)
3. Nachtmystium, Addicts-Black Meddle Part II (Century Media)
4. Atheist-Jupiter (Season Of Mist)
5. Salome-Terminal (Profound Lore)
6. Vasaeleth-Crypt Born and Tethered to Ruin (Profound Lore)
7. Krieg-The Isolationist (Candlelight)
8. Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis (Season Of Mist)
9. Hail Of Bullets-On Divine Winds (Metal Blade)
10. Howl-Full Of Hell (Relapse)

METAL GEORGE PACHECO

1. Watain-Lawless Darkness
2. Sabbath Assembly-Restored to One
3. Alcest-Ecallies de Lune
4. Dawnbringer-Nucleus
5. Accept-Blood of the Nations
6. Enforcer-Diamonds
7. Danzig-Deth Red Saboath
8. Firewind-Days of Defiance
9. Algaion-Exthros
10. Sister Sin-True Sound of the Underground

SEAN PALMERSTON

1. TRIPTYKON—Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
2. HOODED MENACE – Never Cross The Dead (Profound Lore)
3. ANATHEMA – We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope)
4. AGALLOCH—Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
5. WEAPON – From The Devil’s Tomb (Ajna Offensive)
6. ENSLAVED – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
7. HAKEN – Aquarius (Sensory)
8. APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE – Last Sunrise (Profound Lore)
9. SLOUGH FEG – The Animal Spirits (Profound Lore)
10. KVELERTAK – Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)

DAVE SANDERS

1. NACHTMYSTIUM – Addicts: Black Meddle Part II (Century Media)
2. KYLESA – Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
3. FUCK THE FACTS – Unnamed EP (Self Released)
4. HIGH ON FIRE – Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music)
5. MISERY INDEX – Heirs to Thievery (Relapse)
6. WATAIN – Lawless Darkness (Season of Mist)
7. BLIND GUARDIAN – At the Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast)
8. IRON MAIDEN – The Final Frontier (EMI)
9. THE CROWN – Doomsday King (Century Media)
10. LENG TCH’E – Hypomanic (Season of Mist)

JONATHAN SMITH

1. AGALLOCH – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
2. ALCEST – Écailles de Lune (Prophecy Productions)
3. PETRYCHOR – Dryad EP (Unsigned)
4. YEAR OF NO LIGHT – Ausserwelt (Conspiracy Records)
5. ANATHEMA – We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope Records)
6. NECRITE – Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (Flenser)
7. ENSLAVED – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
8. MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY – Firmament (I, Voidhanger Records)
9. DRUDKH – Handful of Stars (Season of Mist)
10. LES DISCRETS – Septembre Et Ses Dernieres Pensees (Prophecy Productions)

KEVIN STEWART-PANKO

1. KVELERTAK – Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)
2. DAUGHTERS – Daughters (Hydra Head)
3. ASTROSONIQ – Quadrant (Spacejam/Exile on Mainstream)
4. OAF – Botheration (Surreal Estate)
5. TORCHE – Songs for Singles (Hydra Head)
6. BLACK BREATH – Heavy Breathing (Southern Lord)
7. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN – Option Paralysis (Party Smashers Inc./Season Of Mist)
8. THE HOLY MOUNTAIN – Here Is No Exit (No Idea)
9. CEPHALIC CARNAGE – Misled by Certainty (Relapse)
10. NAILS – Unsilent Death (Six Feet Under)

RENEE TROTIER

10. Divinity – The Singularity (Candlelight)
9. Withered – Dualitas (Prostetic)
8. Ihsahn – After (Candlelight)
7. Kvelertak – Kvelertak (Indie)
6. Finntroll -Nifelvind (Century Media)
5. Intronaut – Valley of Smoke (Century Media)
4. Barn Burner – Bangers (Metal Blade)
3. High On Fire – Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music)
2. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
1. Bison b.c. – Dark Ages (Metal Blade)

JASON WELLWOOD

1. BLIND GUARDIAN At The Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast)
2. MARES OF THRACE The Moulting (Arctodus)
3. RHAPSODY OF FIRE The Frozen Tears of Angels (Nuclear Blast)
4. ZODIAC MINDWARP & THE LOVE REACTION – We Are Volsung (SPV)
5. MONSTER MAGNET – Mastermind (Napalm)
6. DANZIG Deth Red Sabaoth (The End)
7. IHSAHN After (Candlelight)
8. ORCHID’S CURSE Voices: The Tales of Broken Men (Diminished Fifth)
9. IRON MAIDEN The Final Frontier (Universal)
10. STRIKER Eyes In The Night (Iron Kodex)

LAURA WIEBE

1. Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope)
2. Cynic – Re-traced (Season of Mist)
3. Melissa Auf der Maur – Out of Our Minds (PHI/MAdM Music)
4. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
5. Mar de Grises – Streams Inward (Season of Mist)
6. October Tide – A Thin Shell (Candlelight)
7. Nevermore – The Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)
8. Drudkh – Handful of Stars (Season of Mist)
9. Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
10. Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis (Season of Mist)

ADAM WILLS

1. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
2. Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini (Nuclear Blast)
3. Ihsahn – After (Candlelight)
4. Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope)
5. Alcest – Ecailles De Lune (Prophecy)
6. Mike Patton – Mondo Cane (Ipecac)
7. Agrypnie – 16[485] (Supreme Chaos)
8. Les Discrets – Septembre Et Ses Dernieres Pensees (Prophecy)
9. Ludicra – The Tenant (Profound Lore)
10. Blind Guardian – At The Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast)

NATALIE ZED

1. AGALLOCH – Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)
2. ALCEST– Écailles de Lune (Prophesy Productions)
3. BLIND GUARDIAN – At The Edge of Time (Nuclear Blast)
4. ANATHEMA – We’re Here Because We’re Here (Kscope)
5. KAMELOT – Poetry for the Poisoned (KMG Recordings)
6. TRIPTYKON – Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
7. LUDICRA – The Tenant (Profound Lore)
8. KVELERTAK – Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)
9. BORKNAGAR – Universal (Indie Recordings)
10. DANGERS – Messy, Isn’t It? (Vitriol)

5. KYLESA - Spiral Shadow

(Season Of Mist)

With its razor-sharp hooks, wild card “Don’t Look Back” threw a lot of people for a loop this year. But the real magic of Spiral Shadow is Kylesa continuing to improve upon what they do best: Ever-evolving their songwriting by juxtaposing the band’s love of/influence from swirly psych-rock with hammer-and-tongs, earthy sludge bombast. From the opening good-trip-gone-bad-gone-good-again of “Tired Climb”, through the claustrophobic resignation of “Drop Out”, right up to the closing, pensive, almost-as-hooky-as-DLB recline of “Dust”, Spiral Shadow is an immense rollercoaster through the band’s collective psyche, and shows them once again setting the bar higher than they had for 2009’s Static Tensions; again, as with the last album, I’m rapt with anticipation to see where they’ll possibly take it next.
Kyle Harcott

4. ANATHEMA – We’re Here Because We’re Here

(Kscope)

I prefer not to listen to individual tracks from a record – especially by one of my favourite bands ­– before I have the full album in hand. We’re Here Because We’re Here was many years in the making, so it was listen in pieces as they slowly emerged or musically starve. Hearing the whole for the first time, I found its complex beauty unfolding, not as a revelation, but as the voice of a well-loved friend. Its layered complexity ebbs and swells like a tide, not with the harsh weight of metal but with a rising intensity that demonstrates Anathema’s mastery of extremes. I can still hear the band that was (though more Eternity than Serenades) but as a faint whisper amidst a richly textured ocean of sound.
Laura Wiebe

3. TRIPTYKON – Eparistera Daimones

(Century Media)

Celtic Frost reunited and toured then quickly broke up, leaving the loyal with just a tantalizing taste of one of metal’s greatest bands. Frontman Tom Warrior kept good on his word to continue the musical journey he rekindled when Frost reformed in 2001. Triptykon’s first album Eparistera Daimones is in every way a peer of Fischer’s career highlights, including Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion. It’s part therapy session, part diatribe against former band members and all the morbid we expect from Warrior. After a career of disappointments and struggles this was Warrior’s year: a powerful new book; a successful tour, an EP and one of the best albums of the year and his storied career. “Goetia” and “Abyss Within My Soul,” sound just as powerful live as classics like “Procreation Of The Wicked.” Eparistera Daimones is likely to outlast even Celtic Frost’s swan song Monotheist.
Justin M. Norton

2. ENSLAVED – Axioma Ethica Odini

(Nuclear Blast)

With a captivating live performance fresh in mind, I can’t help but consider Enslaved‘s new opus, Axioma Ethica Odini another success in the near flawless catalogue that the band continues to add to at an incredible pace (especially considering the type of progressive/psychadelic/black metal that they produce). The sounds are familiar, as they continue in the same path they’ve been venturing since Below The Lights, but still remain fresh and unpredictable. Their songwriting continues to grow, winding delicate interludes around thundering riffs underneath combinations of vicious growls and soothing clean vocals. The constantly evolving Enslaved have created yet another winner, and once again prove that they are masters of their craft.
Adam Wills

1. AGALLOCH – Marrow Of The Spirit

(Profound Lore)

The decision to name Agalloch’s Marrow of the Spirit as top album of the year was an easy decision to make. It’s a record that offers sonic layers and subtle reprises that reveal themselves more each the album is played. This depth means that it even lends itself to communal listening experiences with multiple pairs of ears. Like the rest of the band’s catalogue, it is both melancholic and spiteful. However, elements such as John Haughm‘s stressed vocals push the band further than we’ve heard in the past, adding to the sense of urgency that the album offers. Far from simple nostalgia, Marrow of the Spirit melds the contemporary world of metal music with an invitation to make a connection with the flow of the environment around you.
Jonathan Smith

Come back next week for the following:
a) Individual Top 10 Lists
b) Event Of The Year
c) Music DVD Of The Year
d) Top 10 Canadian Metal Albums of 2010
e) Individual Canadian Metal Albums Lists
f) Hellbound Horror flicks of the year
g) Top 10 Most Read Hellbound.ca features of 2010
h) Hellbound.ca’s pictures of the year

See you then!

#10. BLIND GUARDIAN – At The Edge Of Time

(Nuclear Blast)

Blind Guardian have consistently outdone themselves with each release, and may very well have hit a pinnacle with At The Edge of Time. The songs have a perfect balance of fist-pumping riffs, sing-along choruses and quiet interludes. The band has never sounded better and the attention to detail in both the songs and the album as a whole is staggering. There is no way you can listen to At The Edge of Time and not find yourself on your feet raising your fist (or more likely, your flagon of mead). This is non-pretentious, non-ridiculous power metal, and an absolute masterpiece.
Jason Wellwood

#9. APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE – Last Sunrise

(Profound Lore)

Last Sunrise is a challenging album. It’s not something that will come to you first listen. It, like many of the best albums released by clear singing, true doom bands (think Solitude Aeturnus, Candlemass, Isole) is an album that needs a few solid run throughs (preferably by headphones) to fully let it sink in. That may have as much to do with the lyrical content as it does with the music itself. The lyrics aren’t written in story form, they are far more ambiguous than that although most do tend to seem to be written to someone instead of at someone. Another thing that needs to be mentioned about Last Sunrise is the variation in its instrumentation. Unlike most doom bands, AoS shows some distinct differences in what they are willing to put into their music. The variation is the payoff; it is what makes the album so enticing to revisit over and over again.
Sean Palmerston

#8. ACCEPT – Blood Of The Nations

(Nuclear Blast)

What a pleasant surprise, and great story. For all intents, Accept was done, last album was 1996 and not terribly well received. So when guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes started jamming in early 2009, they needed a vocalist, and “Hey, I know a guy”, led to former TT Quick singer Mark Tornillo joining the fold. The resultant jams, writing and eventual recording have produced the most complete Accept album ever. Almost a full half year before the official album release, the lead single “Teutonic Terror” was unleashed via an online campaign resulting in the video topping the My Space Global Metal Charts and #5 overall. This writer maintains that “Teutonic Terror” is the finest metal track in almost 10 years (second only to Immortal’s “Sons Of Northern Darkness”) . From start to finish, every track crushes, with “Rollin Thunder”, “The Abyss” and the title track all of anthemic quality. Produced by Andy Sneap, there is nothing lacking on this, the comeback of the year.
Allan Grusie

#7. ALCEST – Écailles de Lune

(Prophecy Productions)

Alcest evoke images and atmosphere so vividly that the results are more akin to synaethesia than imagination. Every riff, every trembling chord conjures images of violet light, the moment just before darkness sets in when every leaf seems to glow. This album embodies twilight. There is a marvelous inbetweenity to it, a perfect comfort occupying liminal space, teasing the but never settling. Écailles de Lune has an incredible tenderness that is also eerie and powerful. It is a sweet, magical, troubling, bioluminescent album.
Natalie Zed

#6. NACHTMYSTIUM – Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II

(Century Media)

With Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II, Nachtmystium ventures further from the rigid realms of black metal with a caustic hybrid of industrial, synth-pop, post-punk, and psychedelia liberally enhanced by the scratchy howl of guitarist/front man Blake Judd. From the looped dance-hall synth of the beautiful “No Funeral” to the atmospheric undertones of “Every Last Drop”, each songs drips with themes of addiction and pain. Though metalheads may decry the marked departure between Instinct: Decay and the jazz stylings of Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. I to June’s release, the band’s disregard for genre conventions is what makes their music so mesmerizingly enticing.
Sarah Kitteringham

Make sure to come back on Friday for the final part of the Top 20, which will cover albums #5 through to 1. See you then!

15. ROTTING CHRIST -Aealo

(Season Of Mist)

Aealo fuses blackened metal with the haunting and mysterious spirit of the occult. The album’s overarching theme is that of a warrior in battle, his heart pounding to the beat of the band’s aggressive brand of Greek black metal. Shrouded in whispers, tortured screams and occult melodies, Aealo creates an arresting atmosphere that is both unique and unmistakably Rotting Christ. This album is a gem. It never fails to quicken my pulse. You’d be hard pressed to find another record that works as hard and delivers as much from the very first listen
Cara Cross

14. LUDICRA – The Tenant

(Profound Lore)

Black metal this may be, but The Tenant is best considered as a progressive album. What makes The Tenant so compelling is the manner in which introspection and explosion are combined; it would be too easy to alternate between the two and call it a day, but Ludicra manages to invest every moment with a fresh take on a flavour as delicate as it is destructive. Throughout, complex musical flavours are woven into exploratory musical structures, which are embellished with coruscating leads and hoarse screams. Ludicra takes up the mantle of progression in the most literal sense, with every moment pushing to new heights, every second caught in a cross-fire between the visceral and the intellectual, and every movement imposing a grand challenge upon its audience.
Tate Bengston

13. HOODED MENACE – Never Cross The Dead

(Profound Lore)

Never Cross The Dead finds Finnish old school death/doom outfit Hooded Menace missing the proverbial sophomore slump with flying colours. Indeed, second time around rages just as hard as their debut, with the real main differences being a new label home (Profound Lore Records now instead of Razorback) and colour artwork on the cover this time around. And if you have seen the album cover on the vinyl version, you will know that this is one fucking serious album cover!
Musically, little has changed in comparison to Fulfill The Curse. Razorback’s Billy Nocera is still involved with the songwriting, the Templars are revisted in the lyrics again and this album is heavy as fuck, painfully slow at times and will appeal to those that love early Cathedral, Autopsy, Celtic Frost and the like. It is another must have album and assuredly one of 2010′s best.
Sean Palmerston

12. KVELERTAK - Kvelertak

(Indie Recordings)

At the end of what amounts to extreme music’s fiscal year – many of these lists are actually compiled a couple months before the actual end of December – after I submit my year-end to the suckers who ask, I wonder about the coming year and if it will produce anything worthy of consideration. It’s like, even though I know there a plenty of good albums to come, I can’t help but wonder if this was the year metal collectively reached its peak. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes a band I’ve previously never heard of releases an absolute monster and takes top spot on my personal ‘best of…’. This year a bunch of gas-huffin’, garage-rawkin’ punkers obsessed with black metal, Norse legends and owls swooped in, blew a lot of minds. Mine included, and Kvelertak continues to do so. Faith restored (until next year)!
Kevin Stewart-Panko

11. DANZIG – Deth Red Sabaoth

(The End Records)

It’s taken many years for genre luminary Glenn Danzig to get back to the prowess, vitality and energy of the early recordings bearing his surname. Still, with ninth studio effort Deth Red Sabaoth, he not only outshines the embarrassment of his 1996-2004 output, he obliterates it completely. Returning to the formative blues-influenced progressions bastardized by grinding chug, squealing accents and swaggering vocals on tracks such as anthemic opener “Hammer Of The Gods,” lilting “Black Candy,” eerie “Ju Ju Bone” and ballady “On A Wicked Night,” the album feels complete, confident and entirely within the realm of shuffling hard music we expect from Danzig. Essentially, when stacked up against its predecessors, Deth Red Sabaoth finally feels right, natural and like the missing link between 1992′s How The Gods Kill and, well, everything since.
Keith Carman

Make sure to come back on Thursday for part three of the Top 20, which will cover albums #10 through to 6. See you then!

20. KATAKLYSM – Heaven’s Venom

(Nuclear Blast)

Every Kataklysm record is a battle cry that rolls with every punch. This year, Maurizio Iacono divided time between Ex Deo and his Montreal- based horde to create Heaven’s Venom – an album based on a struggle-to-gain concept with solid musicality and a signature hyperblast beat. The content on the record is theatrical at best, as the music depicts imagery of successful stage presence to scenes from historical epics, utilizing movie quotes effectively to nearly miss being called a cliché. To call Heaven’s Venom a fresh approach by Kataklysm would be false, but that’s what makes the album great, for the band proves that they don’t need to add obscure elements but rather stick to being themselves to capture the attention of a worldwide metal audience.
Ola Mazzuca

19. DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN – Option Paralysis

(Head Smasher/Season Of Mist)

In many ways Dillinger Escape Plan’s fourth full-length release is barely recognizable from its bare-boned initial EPs and the subsequent, groundbreaking debut long player, Calculating Infinity. Option Paralysis—the first Dillinger outing for drummer Billy Rymer, moving in for long-timer Chris Pennie who is now with prog rockers Coheed and Cambria—is a logical extension of 2007’s Ire Works, which was a fine-tuned version of the somewhat sporadic approach of 2004’s Miss Machine. The melodies are infectious and hummable, and they’re integrated ever-so smoothly into their format that’s now broad-based but certainly self-referencing of their early material’s schizophrenic, seizure-inducing madness. Fearless, beautiful and violent, Dillinger Escape Plan shows no sign that they’re turning into boring old men any time soon.
Jay H. Gorania

18. DAWNBRINGER – Nucleus

(Profound Lore)

As much as we love it when bands take metal into new territory, to hear someone use the genre’s most formulaic characteristics to create a fresh-sounding album can be just as thrilling. Best known as a collaborator/lyricist for Nachtmystium, Chris Black delves into as many styles of heavy metal as possible on Dawnbringer‘s fourth album, and instead of coming off as a wildly unfocused mishmash of sounds, it turns out to be a rousing celebration heavy metal itself. Every aspect of Nucleus, from the Maiden gallops, to the thrash palm-mutes, to the blastbeats, to the tremolo picking, would come off as pandering in less capable hands, but Black does so with a sense of joy that’s impossible to dislike.
Adrien Begrand

17. WATAIN – Lawless Darkness

(Season Of Mist)

With Lawless Darkness, Sweden’s Watain have unerringly proved that they are indeed The Real Deal™. 2010 was easily the band’s breakout year; a brief twelve months where Watain stepped beyond both journalistic hype and Dissection’s vast shadow to deliver an LP which definitively marked them as an iconic force within the black metal genre. It’s almost easy to forget how good Lawless Darkness really is, for many reasons. Beyond the fact that it was released so early in the year, it’s also rare to see an album which so succinctly embodies its genre, while doing it with such blatant honesty and devil-may-care delivery. Lawless Darkness had the songs, the atmosphere and an almost religious-like fervor to its cause: true black metal shining bright like the morning star.
Metal George Pacheco

16. SALOME – Terminal

(Profound Lore)

Two of the most important things about Terminal is the sheer physicality and its sincerity. Known for the intensity of their live shows, this album is almost a prototype of what one would expect seeing them in a venue. Vocalist Kat forces the listener to sway and pull with her guttural howls and shrieks, as you can almost feel the pent-up tension slowly rise from her stomach through to her throat. Drummer Aaron Deal pounds away with syncopated emotion, as each fill seems to be well thought-out and filled with meaning. This is a trio with no bassist, but it is not missed, as thanks to guitarist Rob Moore there are no rhythmic voids and the space that is left is purposeful, filled with some of the most tremendous and at times, sensual tension on any extreme music album that was released this year. Even though Terminal was not released until almost the end of 2010, it immediately stood out among its contemporaries, as listeners could clearly feel and appreciate the band’s passion and commitment for doing what they do in a world that, unfortunately, prefers style over substance.
Laina Dawes

Make sure to come back on Wednesday for part two of the Top 20, which will cover albums #15 through to 11. See you then!