Live Metal Top Ten of 2011
Live Metal writers Greg Maki, Jeff Maki and Ryan Mavity made individual lists of the top 10 albums of 2011. Points then were given to each selection (10 for first place, nine for second and so on) and the results compiled to create the official Live Metal top 10 of 2011.
10. CHIMAIRA – The Age of Hell
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The winner for “best opening track” from a 2011 album goes to the title song from Chimaira’s latest. The album is a pummeling set from these metal vets, with highlights also including “Time Is Running Out” and the closing instrumental “Samsara.” |
9. IN FLAMES – Sounds of a Playground Fading
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Did anyone think Swedish metal gods In Flames were going to make another Whoracle or The Jester Race? Sounds of a Playground Fading plays out like a greatest hits package of the post-Colony albums, a little something from everything with new elements and experimentation. Overall, another great release. |
8. AMON AMARTH – Surtur Rising
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Vikings are always cool, and albums about Vikings featuring a demon with a flaming sword on the cover are even cooler. Amon Amarth may not have varied its attack much, but who cares? This is music to pillage by, particularly “Destroyer of the Universe.” |
7. TIMES OF GRACE – The Hymn of a Broken Man
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The long-awaited reunion of Killswitch Engage guitarist/songwriter/producer Adam Dutkiewicz and original Killswitch vocalist Jesse Leach resulted in arguably the best album with whom either man has been associated. They branch out from metalcore into more straightforward metal, semi-blues-based hard rock, acoustic pieces and a handful of wide-ranging selections unlike anything we have heard before from these twoThey take the listener on a journey through dark periods in their lives, and we come out of it with our spirits raised. |
6. MASTODON – The Hunter
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After three straight concept albums, Atlanta’s finest stoner metal quartet took a more streamlined approach this time out. While The Hunter has Mastodon's most accessible songs to date—witness the Zeppelin-esque riffage on “Curl of the Burl”—the band’s trademark weirdness is intact on space-metal jams like “Stargasm” and its heaviness on tracks such as “Black Tongue” and “Spectrelight.” |
5. WITHIN TEMPTATION – The Unforgiving
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In a transformation that began with The Heart of Everything, vocalist Sharon den Adel is no longer just the fairy-princess-soprano fronting the folk-metal band from the Mother Earth days. At 37, and after three children, she has honed her sound and style into an even edgier and sexier direction. Taking ‘80s rock influences and melodies and adding to Within Temptation's already undeniably catchy material, The Unforgiving tells a dark tale through some of the band's best material to date. |
4. MEGADETH – Th1rt3en
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After Th1rt3en was released, it looked like Dave Mustaine finally might have gotten the better of his ex-Metallica bandmates, since Lulu and Th1rt3en came out the same day. MegaDave and his bandmates have turned into a machine these days, cranking out some of the best work of their career. Th1rt3en may not be as good as their last album, Endgame, but it is consistently hard-hitting and has some excellent guitar shredding by Mustaine and Chris Broderick, particularly on “Sudden Death,” “Public Enemy No. 1” and “Never Dead.” |
3. TRIVIUM – In Waves
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With songs like “Watch the World Burn,” “Black” and “Built to Fall,” this is Trivium’s most accessible and streamlined material. But don’t worry; accessible as it may be, nothing is forced. On the other hand, “Dusk Dismantled” may be the heaviest song the band has recorded to date. Trivium has found the perfect balance. |
2. ANTHRAX – Worship Music
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Who knew what to expect from this album that had been recorded with three vocalists over eight years? What we got was the most inspired Anthrax record we’ve heard in a long time, from the call to arms of “Earth on Hell” to the rave-up of “The Devil You Know” and the zombie-themed “Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t.”
Worship Music is endlessly listenable, providing the same adrenaline jolt on the 11th listen as on the first. Anthrax may have been considered fourth in the Big 4, but they provided one of the best albums of 2011. |
1. MACHINE HEAD – Unto the Locust
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Following The Blackening was a tall order, but Machine Head at least matched and might even have exceeded that instant classic from 2007 with its 2011 release. Robb Flynn’s singing and lead playing have never been better, while guitarist Phil Demmel, bassist Adam Duce and drummer Dave McClain lay down the tightest grooves of any band working today. The long, progressive song structures from The Blackening return here, and though four of the album’s seven tracks stretch past seven minutes, the writing is tight, the lengths justified.
Two decades into its career, Machine Head has reached an all-time high. A couple years ago, when the Big Four shows were little more than a metalhead’s daydream, Slayer guitarist Kerry King suggested Machine Head should be included. Many scoffed at the notion then and probably would continue to do so now. Unto the Locust proves no band that has emerged since Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax stormed onto the scene in the 1980s is more worthy of such an honor. |
NOTES: A total of 23 albums were selected. … Machine Head’s Unto the Locust was the only album to appear on all three lists, placing first, second and sixth. … Worship Music by Anthrax appeared on two lists, placing first and second. … Trivium’s In Waves placed fourth on two lists. … Megadeth’s Th1rt3en placed second and ninth. … The Age of Hell by Chimaira placed fifth and 10th. … One first-place showing by Within Temptation’s The Unforgiving was good enough for it to slip into the overall No. 5 slot. … Mastodon’s The Hunter, Times of Grace’s The Hymn of a Broken Man and In Flames’ Sounds of a Playground Fading also appeared on only one list apiece. |
