10. Opeth - Watershed
Roadrunner 2008
While Opeth took a pretty big step forward on their 8th album and Roadrunner debut Ghost Reveries, it wasn't until Watershed that they perfected their new approach. These two albums can be thought of as Opeth painting with a larger canvas, including more instrumentation, an increased studio budget, and a wider pallet of ideas after unleashing their laid-back prog rock side on Damnation. Watershed is as a result, Opeth's most diverse album ever. The album starts off with "Coil", complete with a full woodwind section and a beautiful female guest vocal courtesy of Nathalie Lorichs, its easily one of Opeth's most tranquil and beautiful songs. This is of course, right before the band breaks into one of their most sinister metal tracks ever; "Heir Apparent", far heavier, faster, and more potent than any of Ghost Reverie's metal moments. In a mere two tracks the band has already demonstrated the greatness of their two extremes, but it only gets much better from here. "The Lotus Eater" features some impressive Hammond-style organ dominating and somehow combines blast beats with clean singing and minor key prog exploration. "Burden" is a ballad that rivals, if not bests everything on Damnation, and "Hessian Peel" is an 11 minute lesson on why this band cannot be messed with. This is the kind of masterpiece that it takes a band over 15 years to get to, and with a band as unarguably talented as Opeth, thats saying something.
09. Baroness - The Red Album
Relapse 2007
A truely unique vision is not granted to many, it is to John Dyers Baizley though. A clear moment of truth that could not have been imagined by anyone else before, almost as if it had to happen, but it had to happen at a time when we were all ready for it. The Red Album is a genuine work of art in every sense, and Baizley and company reached toward the most bizarre and beautiful recesses of the mind for lyrics, artwork, and music that came together to form something that words cannot describe, something that just was. If one will try to describe an album such as this though, I guess firsthand experience is as good a method as any, even though I'm sure it will fall short. The instant that I put the Red Album on for the first time stands out clearly in my head, I had bought the album after only hearing a little of Baroness' earlier material and the Red Album's single "Wanderlust". The album had just come out in the fall of 07 and I recall being drawn in mostly by the look of the album's cover more than anything. The volume swells that bring in the opening song "Rays on Pinion" gently give way to a finger-picked melody that takes all the right devilish turns that it took to ensnare me, but that was before the track really exploded. The second that the full band crashes in on John Baizley's first sung triumphant vocal line I felt free, utterly liberated. I wanted to move but I didn't know what to do, and this is all before another great myriad of classic riffs come and decorate the flawless "The Birthing". The melodies are sometimes major key but still slightly twisted in an uneasy way, the vocals are more yelled in melody than they are sung, and guitar effects are employed plentifully, so to say that this isn't your typical hard rock/metal affair would be obvious. There's a bluegrass tinged acoustic guitar instrumental in the form of "Cockroach En Fleur", and there's an epic, almost post-rock buildup in "Grad" thats still somehow manages to be dirty in all the right ways. If Georgia is indeed becoming the next metal mecca then Baroness will be largely to thank for this, this album is a surreal blur of 18th century imagery, mind altering music, and vibrant colors. Baroness are not concerned with being heavy enough, arty enough, melodic enough, or technical enough, and The Red Album shows a band committed to making great music and albums the way they should be: a memorable experience from start to finish
08. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
Ramseur 2007
Songwriting just seems to come natural for this Conchord, NC trio. After rising from their punk roots, they decided to concentrate their efforts on bluegrass and folk and didn't take long to show that they had a natural knack for it. While 2007's Emotionalism might not be considered a "breakthrough" album as much as 2009's I and Love and You, this record is bar-none their greatest collection of songs. Some spend their lives trying to perfect their craft as songwriters, and then there are albums like this that come along and show that there are indeed groups that have a true god-given talent. Universal and timeless songs, Seth and Adam Avett croon over banjos, pianos, and acoustic guitars and speak a universal language. Sincere, honest songs of love, life, and pain. The Avett Brothers manage to explore different styles of folk music but still stay grounded with a consistent sound, just compare the upbeat strumming of "Pretty Girl from San Diego" to the more traditional bluegrass of "Go to Sleep" . And as always with the Avett Brothers there's plenty to love lyrically on songs like "Salina" where the band laments love in different cities and states. Every last song is a gem, the work of true masters.
07. Opeth - Blackwater Park
Peaceville 2001
Opeth have struck gold many times before in the art of connecting imagery with sound and lyrics to create a band and experience that actually matters. It almost seems like a name like Blackwater Park had to bring to mind the kind of haunting, dark, and uneasy beauty that lingers on this masterpiece, and this Swedish prog metal band ended up with not only their best album yet, but a standard for others to be judged by forever. A further understanding of melody, smart composition, and uncompromising heaviness made this one of the band's most mature records. As always, Opeth's ability to build songs with such flawless ebb and flow is downright astounding. This is what prog should be (in a modern metal landscape), actual songs, where every note is essential and everything thats begun is ended just the way it should be. I still find it hard to believe that Mikaek Akerfeldt and company claim that they don't know the first lick of music theory and that their songs truly are built from random jamming on lone riffs. Even now "The Drapery Falls" stands out as (in my opinion) one of the most stirring songs written this past decade, with Akerfeldt's guitar never taking the expected route. It could also be argued that his voice was yet to fully mature into what it is now until the acoustic dirge "Harvest". Expanding even further on their sound with an even blend of melodic death metal, progressive rock, folk, and of course little bits of whatever else they want, Opeth are true masters of their craft.
06. Sigur Rós - Ágeatis Byrjun
Fat Cat, Smekkleysa 2000
Every now and then a band or artist comes along that opens your horizons to what music can truly be if one just lets themselves fully embrace pure creativity and unadulterated feeling. One of my favorite albums of any genre and any time period, Sigur Ros gave their full introduction to the world with their greatest and most varied album to date. The almost oceanic waves of evolving atmospheric textures are almost powerful enough to move mountains on songs like "Svefn-g-Englar" and "Star Alfur", while "Alfosskor Song" is anchored by an almost bluesy organ riff, not something typically seen in the band's more recent material. The album is full of soul-stirring moments to say the least, my favorite being the feedback waves that pierce the ending of "Petur" like a ray of light through a sea of dark clouds. Speaking of "Petur" don't even get me started on the how the slide guitar creeps in with the piano in the opening, bringing to mind what it would have been like if the intro to Dark Side of the Moon had been recorded by seraphs. If you don't own this album then please do yourself a service you will never regret and go out and get it. No one should rob themselves of such meaningful, life-changing music. A listen to Ageatis Buyrjun could make you look at the world in a whole different way.
05. Madvillian - Madvillainy
Stones Throw 2004
In the annuls of the greatest rap and hip-hop records ever, it will be a downwright blasphemous and unforgivable crime if this work of art is not included and remembered for how spectacular it truly is. When one thinks of the greatest rap albums of all time, albums like Enter the 36 Chambers and The Chronic, one sees the horizons of the genre expanded into something that changed everyone's idea of what hip-hop could be. Madvillian, the partnership between underrated and multi-talented producer/rapper/beatmaker/multi-instrumentalist Madlib and possibly the busiest and most well known underground emcee MF Doom moved things forward for the 21st century, with the former's always unexpected and brilliant loop-digging and one of a kind production and with the latter's unmistakable lyrics and flow. Whether its smooth funk and jazz sampling on tracks like "Bistro" and "Raid" or the almost classic super-hero reminiscent moments like "All Caps", the peanut butter and chocolate combination of Doom's rhyming and vocal delivery and Madlib's bizarre beatmaking composition turn out to be just what hip-hop needed. As with any Madlib collaboration, part of the fun comes from discovering those moments where you feel a little special from deciphering what his loops are coming from. I had a few of these myself on identifying the Gentle Giant sample from "Strange Ways" and the Frank Zappa sample from "Meat Grinder". The overall experience of the album is surreal, each track completely different and inebriating at the same time. Madvillany is simply an album that no other two musicians could have ever made, and that alone makes it special, because you are truly hearing the voices of two masters that cannot be imitated.
04. The Mars Volta - De-loused in the Comatorium
Universal/Gold Standard Labs 2003
"The greatest modern purveyors of progressive rock" might not have been the first thing to come to anyone's mind after listening to Relationship of Command but thats the thing about rock's greatest moments, they're never expected. Turns out that the death of post-punk/emo heros At the Drive In freed its singer and guitarist to explore far beyond the bounds of what modern music had to offer them, and they went way beyond. I still can't imagine how this happened, in a couple of short years two musicians go from making simple, verse/chorus post punk songs to writing an elaborate progressive rock epic. They then assemble a team of stellar musicians and enlist the production aid of Rick Rubin to make an album that would go on to screw with the heads of virtually everyone who would hear it. Inspired by the death of Cedric Bixlar Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's close friend Julio Venegas, De-loused in the Comatorium follows a bizarre and other-worldly narrative of someone falling into a drug coma and more or less going into another dimension before taking their own life. Strangely and amazingly enough, the music follows it from the faintly siren like keyboards heard at the beginning of "Son et Lumiere". From there on its nothing but classic songs and moments: the final percussion-propelled buildup of "Drunkship of Lanterns", the dark jazz freeform wandering of "Cicatriz ESP", the somber and heart-stopping "Televators", etc. The songs remain progressive yet catchy, and the band's urgency from their former band carries over into songs that now have far greater posturing. To say that this album took the rock world by surprise would be and understatement, some emo kids hated it while some simply attempted to wrap their heads around it, tens of thousands of others (like myself) kept listening to it again and again only to find that thats actually the only way that the album can be properly enjoyed. The Mars Volta quickly became one of modern music's weirdest and most talked about bands, from the fact that the band's energetic and excessive live shows often strayed from the songs the way we knew them, to Cedric's undecipherable stream-of-conscious lyrics. But a band certainly needed to come along and make this statement right? And once they did they left an unmistakable indention on modern music.
03. Converge - Jane Doe
Equal Vision 2001
Talk about iconic and impossible to mess with. Even though its only 10 years old, I can't think of a more reverred album amongst fans of any style of extreme music in existance than Converge's barnburner Jane Doe. Even the cover art itself is instantly recognized by anyone with a foot in the underground hardcore/metal scene and its been emblazoned on countless hoodies and t-shirts worldwide ever since. Jane Doe is one of the most abrasive albums ever made in both sound and nature, Jacob Bannon's searing lyrics about heart-break and conflict clash against the tortured riffing and pummeling of Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton, and the drumming of Ben Koller. The flow of the record is perfect, each song almost running into another wasting no time unleashing hell before you can even recover from the last track. Things slow down when they need to though, a prime example being "Hell to Pay", or the calm before the storm on "Distance and Meaning". The abrasion was also heightened by Kurt Ballou's sound engineering, giving this album the damaged and blackened sound that thousands of other bands have since strived for. Is there really anything more that can be said about the greatest metalcore album ever? Whether or not its the best of Converge's back catalogue is up for debate (I personally think it ties with When Forever Comes Crashing) but its influence cannot be denied. This is the kind of album that bypasses the part of your brain that will try to think about it rationally, it goes straight to that part pummels, bashes, and destroys things on command. Jane Doe is the only cure for all the rage you've ever carried in your entire life, because it manifests it. And most importantly, its the soundtrack to all of those times when it was you against the world. I'm forever thankful to Converge for the gift they've given the downtrodden with their empowering music.
02. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Warner Brothers/Reprise 2006
There are some moments in rock and roll that are just written in the stars. Those predestined tales of when the right people with the right talent go through certain things in life that bring them together in the right place. Four individuals would meet in Atlanta, Georgia at a High on Fire basement show over a decade ago and one of those moments was set into motion. You know Mastodon, they are a band respected by many for never compromising their vision and always doing things their way, most impressively, they've found success by being honest and unapologetic about who they are as artists. The band clicked so well after forming they immediately started touring and it wasn't long before they began to introduce themselves to the world from there. They signed to Relapse and put out both Remission and Leviathan, two albums that gave the metal world something it desperately needed by cutting out all of the glamour of modern rock and forging their own style from the best parts of Neurosis, High on Fire, The Melvins, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and many 70s progressive rock bands like Yes, Rush, and Genesis. Their uncompromising heaviness and lack of commercial marketability didn't stop them from receiving constant attention from major labels after Leviathan, and Blood Mountain was the step forward that would define them as one of history's essential bands. Blood Mountain was Mastodon's statement that they were getting ready to take over the world, and in my opinion its the perfect balance of everything that makes this band so essential.The opener "The Wolf is Loose" starts with a barrage of furious drum hits that trample you into the dirt before you even know whats going on, but then switches gears with some brilliant duel-harmony rock riffing that makes the song as much Thin Lizzy as it is High on Fire. "Crystal Skull" may bring about Mastodon's typical brutishness, but the very next track "Sleeping Giant" features a truly haunting lead that forces you into a dark space-rock voyage the like of which this band hadn't yet explored. The twisting and turning riffs of "Capillarian Crest" and "Bladecatcher" are sublime in their perfect balance of dizzying odd meters and pure unadulterated, head-banging groove. Years before the days of "Curl of the Burl" this band had their first heavy rock and roll hit with "Colony of Birchman", featuring Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on guest vocals. They conjure up more dark and contemplative moments on "Hunters of the Sky", with waves of bass synth oscilating violently like many of the album's moments that make abundant use of psychedelic yet organic, life-giving effects. And this is truly the beauty of Blood Mountain, these four guys manage to be as heavy as always while still turning the trippy and thoughtful (and actually managing to do it with real emotion) up several notches on later tracks like "This Mortal Soil" and "Siberian Divide". As for the album's last track "Pendulous Skin"... it ranks up their with songs like Pink Floyd's "Time" as songs I wouldn't mind dying to. Both Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds truly found their voices on this record too, and each instrument played has the personality of a living human being. Sorry radio rock, this time the underdogs won.
01. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
Universal/Gold Standard Labs 2005
As polarizing of a choice as this is for my favorite album of the past decade, it speaks for just how undeniably much I love this album that this is my choice. Guitarist/band-leader Omar Rodriguez-Lopez composed most of Frances the Mute on his own and used an unconventional recording method to go about creating it. He let each individual member of the band hear what they would be playing and let them have some liberties with the parts, but didn't let them hear anything that anyone else would be playing. Meaning each member of the band played their track as if it were the song, they literally played as if their performance was going to the only thing heard. Whether or not this is what made this album such a surreal and unforgettable journey for me I really can't say, but what can be heard here is an ensemble of musicians striving for greatness and transcendence from the norm. In terms of cinematic composing and story telling in music, I think this is record is somewhat overlooked. The opening movement of the record literally feels like coming out of a dream, with faint murmurs of the album's last movement steadily growing louder before you are thrown into the riots of colors of Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus. There's truly no need in me trying to explain why each one of these songs are incredible to me, but since Frances the Mute is more like a unforgettable film than almost any other album I've heard, there are certainly scenes that have left permanent indentions. These scenes were brought to life by a production style that has better suited this band than I think they realize, that and given the cast of musicians aboard, it was almost like The Mars Volta peaked before they were even able to delve into what they were doing. The band slowly but surely joining in with Omar's layering guitar solo leading into the last triumphant chorus of Cygnus.. and the subsequent chaos and aftermath in which Cedric wails as if from another world. The dramatic final chorus of the band's minor-key masterpiece hit "The Widow". The dark, sultry splashes of Latin rhythm in the eternally grooving "L'via, L'viaquez", before Jon Frusciante's guitar literally explodes in electric fireworks. The opening horn line announcing the entrance of the first movement of "Miranda, that Ghost Just isn't Holy Anymore" And oh, the last half of this album...Don't even get me started on the multi-part mini epic that makes up the band's magnum opus "Cassandra Gemini". The sheer range of instruments heard and lofty concepts indulged in may seem like overkill to some, but I think such an album deserves a cast fully devoting to bring as much life into these movements as possible. There are few albums that have left impressions like the one this album did, I suppose if I were to make a list of my favorites of all time this one would be in the top five (and maybe even one or more on this list you've been reading) not of course topping masterpieces like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, but still having an important place. Only time will tell if I continue to feel this way, 2005 wasn't even ten years ago after all, but in terms of what I heard from 2000-2009, this was king for me.