*DISCLAIMER! All rankings are based on 3 major factors. 1. I actually have to like the album. Nothing is included because it's on everyone else's list or because I think it would make my list look better. 2. I can listen to it no matter what I am in the mood for. 3. Overall play count/I actually paid money for it. Remember, this is my opinion. It's not overly analytical. Most, if not all, rankings are VERY fluid. Don't get your panties in a bunch because your favourite band is lower than "that fucking piece of shit band!"*
#30. Misery Index - Heirs to Thievery (USA, Relapse): It's kind of hard to describe Misery Index other than to say it's high-fucking-quality deathgrind. It's a vicious, high intensity aural assault. Wikipedia says "Misery Index's lyrical subject matter is left-wing, often coinciding with radical and anarchic aesthetics and focusing mostly on the ills of modern society." So basically, while having your eardrums pounded with a hammerdrill, the barely intelligible lyrics might actually make you think. How often does that happen? Standout track: "A Carrion Call"
#29. Early Man - Death Potion (USA, The End): From the moment I heard Early Man back in early '06 I knew I loved this band. They became part of the upper echelon (IMO) of the thrash revival with '05s Closing In. The Beware the Circling Fin EP was a bit disappointing but Death Potion more than makes up for it. It's got loads of catchy riffs, Mike Conte's unique vocal delivery and speed to spare. I'd recommend it for a great driving record but it's way too easy to get really caught up in it and that could be dangerous. It could also make it..... (Standout track) "Someone Else's Nightmare"
#28. Exhale - Blind (SWE, Dark Balance): This Swedish grind outfit is vicious, vicious, vicious! It's like getting peppered with machine gun fire. But it feels good. Every year there is an album that I describe as "sounding like what happens in my head". Usually it's something like Gridlink (New album 2011!) or ASRA. This year it's Exhale. I'm in a massively different head space this past year than I have been in a long time but I still love a record that sounds like all the pent up rage inside me just explodes for about a half hour or less. Don't forget to Exhale. Standout track: "Sick Addiction"
#27. Black Breath - Heavy Breathing (USA, Southern Lord): Southern Lord seems like an odd label for Black Breath to be on. I associate Southern Lord more with stoner/doom bands than bands like Black Breath. What are they like? Well, would D-beat Swe-death Thrashcore be an accurate descriptor? Hardcore style vocals, thrash speed, D-beat groove, and Swedish Death Metal buzzsaw guitars. If that doesn't sound like a recipe for awesome, nothing does. I think what I like best about Heavy Breathing is that it's intense, high energy and serious fun. Not goofy fun. It's the kind of album that makes me want to stomp around my living room moshing with an imaginary pit. A real pit would be great too but this way I keep all my teeth. Standout track: "Virus"
#26. Exodus - Exhibit B: The Human Condition (USA, Nuclear Blast): Bay Area thrashers Exodus have shown me that I missed a LOT of great music in the last 30 years. My thrash world consisted of the Big 4 and that's it. If any of Exodus' previous 8 albums were any bit as good as 9th effort Exhibit B: The Human Condition, I really missed out. This follow-up to 2007's The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A is so good that it made me question my very existence. Just kidding. But it did reaffirm my conviction that the best music is not always (barely ever) the most popular music. Modern day Metallica and Anthrax have nothing on what I consider 2010's Thrashterpiece. I wonder how many times Kirk Hammet thinks "Would they have taken me back after Metallica?" (as he rolls in money) Standout track: "Beyond the Pale"
