THE BEST ROCK ALBUMS of the DECADE (2010-2019)

In 2010 the Danish band Volbeat published their fourth studio album through the Vertigo / Universal label. Undoubtedly, a great album that does not present novelties regarding the style of the songs, a mixture of Trash metal and heavy metal, but that leaves aside the most classic rock and roll that we enjoyed in some of his previous albums.

Although this album can’t beat his previous album “Guitar Gangsters And Cardillac Blood”, thanks to songs like “Fallen” or “Heaven nor Hell” they get all the fans of Volbeat sound in their pocket. A song that is surprising is “Evelyn”, with its introduction closely linked to death metal until the moment when Michael Poulsen takes the reins of the song offering part of his melodious and amazing voice.

Despite the great success of this album, the great work of art “The Final Frontier” by Iron Maiden with that great space theme, the shut up that Avenged Sevenfold managed to give to all those who they didn’t trust them thanks to “Nightmare”, the decent album with a
blunt sound “7 sinners” by Helloween or the “Deep Blue” band from metalcore Parkway Drive.

2011 was the year that the Powerwolf Germans chose to publish what was their fourth studio album under the Metal Blade Records label. A great album full of impressive riffs such as the theme “Murder at Midnight” or the one that begins the song “Son of a Wolf” and great choirs that have made the band famous as those present in “Sanctified with Dynamite”. It follows a very personal theme in which they use lycanthropy together with religion to create a really liturgical environment, something quite well defined with “Ira Sancti”, the longest track on the album that also closes it. It is one of the best Powerwolf albums, we assume that in part thanks to the incorporation of Roel Van Helden as a drummer.

Other outstanding albums of that 2011 may be the masterpiece “In Waves” of the heavy metal band Trivium, the “Call to Arms” of the mythical band Saxon, “Welcome 2 my Nightmare” by the immortal Alice Cooper or “Thirteen” by Megadeth, a record released precipitously by Dave Mustaine to close the contract that pressed them.

No top of records could be completely well done without a disc in which Slash, the legendary guitarist who rose to fame thanks to Guns N ‘Roses, appears at least once. This time the prize was taken by Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, a super band with Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge in the voice.

Thanks to certain songs such as the one that gives its name to the album with an impressive riff that is maintained throughout the theme, the danceable “Halo” that never fails in its concerts or the half-hearted “Not for me” that will make us want to burst into tears With the feeling that Myles puts on each note of the song they get crowned with this great album that sets the bar too high. Undoubtedly the best songs are “Standing in the Sun” thanks to the great ability of Slash to the guitar that gets a very characteristic sound in his creations, “You’re a Lie” in which we must make a special mention to Myles for that heartbreaking voice that proves to have and “Anastasia”, the great song of the album that puts each of our bones to vibrate and managed to raise the success of the training.

Other records that triumphed this year were “Stalingrad” whose songs were not as good as Accept’s previous work, “Carolus Rex” by Sabaton and the fall of the Russian Empire as the main theme, “Live!” By Iron Maiden in the which left evidence of their passage through the National Stadium of Chile or “Seven Deadly” of UFO.

In 2013, the sixth album of the American band Avenged Sevenfold was released through Warner Bros Records. An essential album for both fans of the band and heavy metal lovers who will feel completely performed with the solos and musical parts of the album as enjoyed in “Coming Home.” Although if you want a test of the heavys riffs that are capable of composing, take a look at “Sephered of Fire”, the song that opens the disc with a really hard riff. “This Means War” reflects that tendency they have when developing guitar melodies in quite sharp tones combined with the torn voice of Mr. Shadows.

In “Hail to the King” we enjoy the best metal riff of the last decade. It is a very catchy and quite commercial song that managed to put the Americans in the mouth of all metal fans thanks also to the feelings expressed by Mr. Shadows. Without a doubt, the best song of the work.

The rest of the songs have those same properties linked to heavy metal except “Doing Time”, which draws attention from Mr. Shadows’ nasal voice that, although it surprises us, does not quite convince us. One of the best metal records of the decade.

It has been difficult to choose a single album that represents metal in 2013 given that other albums such as the last of the Black Sabbath musical career “13”, “Fortress” of the alternative band of Myles Kennedy Alter Bridge, the homonymous album of the Dream Theater band or Helloween’s incredibly powerful “Straight Out of Hell” were released in that year.

2014 was the year agreed by the Accept Germans for the publication of their new studio album through the Nuclear Blast label. Although the departure of the band of the well-known former singer Udo made many fans show less interest in the band, Mark Tornillo does not do it bad either. At least that was the case in the first two albums recorded by him. But in this one his voice sounds more melodic and less aggressive than we are used to them.

Although some songs such as “Stampede” (chosen as a single from the album), “200 Years” (with such a crushing rhythm capable of reminding us of the old days with Udo) or “Bloodbath Mastermind” (with one of the catchiest melodies of the album) made this one of the best albums of 2014, other songs are not so worthwhile. I mean “Fall of the Empire” that does not fit so much in the Accept that so many classic songs have left us or “The course” with a fairly slow pace and a riff not as catchy as they know how to create.

However, I must highlight the theme “Final Journey” that closes the fourteenth work of the Germans and whose only has been able to convince many of their fans that they are still the same ones that gave us classifications as “Balls to the Wall” or “Metal Heart.”

Although 2014 was not the best year for rock and heavy metal Judas Priest gave us the good “Redeemer of Souls”, Sabaton published his album “Heroes” and Arch Enemy delighted our ears thanks to “War Eternal” , without a doubt one of his best studio albums.

2015 was the year chosen by Iron Maiden, one of the greatest heavy metal bands in history, to release their sixteenth album through the Parlophone label. It became the longest disc of the iron maiden (approximately one hour and 32 minutes) as well as the one that took the longest to be published (five years passed since that “The Final Frontier”).

It begins with “If Eternity Should Fail” that introduces us fully through its 8-minute duration on the Mayan theme that this new work will deal with. The speed and heavy riffs of “Speed ​​of Light”, Nicko McBrain’s great work on drums in a “Death or Glory” that leaves no one indifferent or the slower pace of the great but undervalued “Tears of a Clown ”That the clown Robin Williams is perfectly combined with the amazing voice of Dickinson to create some great songs that magnify the album themselves. Although some songs like “When the River Runs Deep”, “Shadows of the Valley” with several references to other songs of the Maiden or “The Man of Sorrows” have not been performed live, hopes to see Bruce running through the stage next to the trio of guitars of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers led by bassist Steve Harris and Nicko after the drums to the sound of these hymns are not lost.

The song that gives its name to the album “The Book of Souls” has a Mayan theme very accentuated in the main guitar solos and in the acoustic introduction to the theme. “The Red and the Black” with its 13-minute duration became one of the most beloved and hated pieces at the same time by fans in part due to its great duration and epicity in both riffs and, above all, work Steve on bass. Although if we want to talk about long songs, in this work of the maiden we find “Empire of Clouds”, its longest song to date (18 minutes). Undoubtedly one of the most risky songs of Iron Maiden due to Bruce’s introduction to the piano and his many changes of rhythm and melody. Bruce’s spectacular voice shows a great feeling as he tells us the story of the disaster of the airship R.101.

In 2016, the highly anticipated album by the pioneer band of the Big Four (along with Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer) came under their own label Blackened Recordings (in honor of the famous song “Blackened”).

It turned out to be a very direct album in which they recorded the trash metal that more than interpreting they preach live (although they are obstinate in saying that they do not have an established genre). The song “Hardwired” that introduces and gives its name to the album is a clear example of the cane that Californians are willing to give despite being the shortest. “Atlas, Rise” with his incredible initial riff and James’s catchy refrain makes us realize the magnitude of the record we have in hand. One that does not disappoint is “Now That We’re Dead”, a direct song to the bones in which they take the opportunity to make a single with giant drums live the entire band. “Moth into Flame” that was performed in the Grammy with Lady Gaga and “Halo on Fire” give us a shot of adrenaline more than necessary to face the day to day.

“Dream no More”, “Confusion” and “ManUNkind” are three true examples of what makes the union of Kirk Hammet and James Hetfield always supported by the aggressive bass of Robert Trujillo and the rhythmic drums of Lars Ulrich. Three awesome songs, no doubt. The song that closes the album “Spit Out The Bone” is perhaps the most different from the others due to the choir in the middle of the song in which the rhythm changes to leave as one of James’ prettiest phrases on the album. After listening to it, we have no doubt that the 8-year wait from his previous studio album “Death Magnetic” was worth it.

Other albums released in 2016 were Testament’s great “Brotherhood of the Snake,” “Dystopia,” the last record to date of Megadeth, the artwork “The Stage” of the promises of heavy metal Avenged Sevenfold, the last EP of the Black Sabbath “The End” obviously without Ozzy Osbourne and “Delirium”, one of the most representative albums of the ghotic metal band Lacuna Coil.

In 2017, the beast was released by the Beast in Black in their debut work through the Nuclear Blast record label. With this album the Finnish power metal band managed to attract the attention of its first fans that, to everyone’s surprise, were a lot.

It is not surprising that this album was nominated to win the Emma Award for best metal since, through their songs they managed to bring us good metal. Thanks to the incredible voice of Yannis Papadopoulos that shows her in songs like “Blind and Frozen” where her vocal timbre is so high that it is confused even with that of a woman.

Temazos as the “Beast in Black” that opens the work with such force that its four and a half minutes know us little, the famous “Blood of a Lion” in which we want to try to sing it like the great Yannis (something almost impossible) or “Born Again” and “Crazy, Mad, Insane” with its infernal choirs that will make us enjoy every note from their guitars. The album deals with a wide variety of songs ranging from the end of the world in “End of the World” to evil in “The Fifth Angel” with those riffs so heavy and well fitted with the voice stream of Papadopoulos.

Finally, the song that closes the album is the ballad “Ghost in the Rain”. This is the best song on the album, as well as the longest, with an initial part in which Yennis does the same with a very warm and well prepared voice for these songs accompanied by a soft rhythmic base. When the guitar makes the first solo, there is no one who resists getting excited with this piece of ballad that does nothing but improve with the course of the song. In short, a discazo to take to the ear and delight it at ease.

Other albums released this year were “Walk the Earth” by Europe that did not finish curdling too much, “Infinite” by Deep Purple that became another great classic for metal fans and “Heaven Upside Down” by the sinister Marylin Manson.

Last year brought us a surprise in the form of an album under the arm of Judas Priest. And it is that one of the most anticipated albums went on sale through Epic Records receiving a great acceptance from its fans.

Through a powerful “Firepower” that excites us from the first riff during its three-minute duration, Rob Halford and company delight his followers with such great metal and cane songs as the “Lightning Strike” that follows, or “

Rising from Ruins ”drilling our heads with its powerful riff. Other songs such as “Guardians” escape the usual sound of the band by composing an instrumental piece with the piano as the main transmitter of sound. Anyway, songs like “Evil Never Dies” perfectly describe the most classic sound of the Priest along with other songs such as “Flame Thrower” or “Never the Heroes” that fans of the eighties Priest will like. “Specter”, a song that deals with the mind of criminals and has one of the most incredible riffs on the album, elevates Rob’s voice to levels so high that they are confused with the guitar’s highest notes.

We must also highlight the sinister riff that introduces the song “Do not surrender” or the song that closes the album “Sea of ​​Red” that begins acoustically until a short but intense scream of Halford makes the whole band begin to sound.

Also last year Avenged Sevenfold left us wanting more with his EP “Black Reign” that failed to satisfy us, Bullet for my Valentine put on sale his “Gravity” becoming another gem of his discography and Venom published “Storm the Gates “

And finally, we arrived at the record this year. Although it has cost me a lot to keep only one of the albums he has given us this 2019, the homonymous album that the German band Rammstein has published through Universal Music has undoubtedly been the best of all.

After ten years since their previous album, they announced a new album thanks to the incredible “Deutschland” whose video clip graphically accompanies Till Lindemann’s narration of the history of Germany. It is a very modern album characterized by an almost excessive use of synthesizers, as can be seen in the song “Ausländer” which turns out to be very catchy despite not taking the metal style very closely.

“Radio” is the most commercial and least rocker topic of work, although they never cease to amaze us with their intelligent use of the synthesizer. “Zeig Dich” is a really cane theme that, introduced by some phrases in Latin, shows that the Rammstein that we all love follow. Although, as very typical songs of the band, “Sex” stands out with its initial metal riff and “Tattoo” with very hard guitars and very curved choirs that make a great metal work of this theme.

“Hallomann”, with that initial riff on bass, turns out to be the darkest and most sinister song in this work of the Germans while “Puppe” is the most creative song of it. “Diamant” stands out from the others for being a ballad, the first written by Rammstein in his seven studio albums released to date. “Weit Weg” perfectly combines the synthesizer that plays throughout the song with the hard sound of the guitars. Although “Was Ich Liebe” does not stand out much in this great album, I must highlight his refrain in which Till puts so much feeling that we can almost feel it too.

In short, a pretty good record of the Germans that makes us see the path that they will foreseeably take from now on, mostly very different from the one they had traveled so far. Or maybe it is an experimental record and soon they surprise us again with hymns as heavys as “Du Hast” or “Keine Lust”.

This year, many notable albums have been published, such as the exciting album “El Azogue” that meant the return of the Tides, “We Are Not Your Kind”, a pretty nice record to listen to despite not liking the alternative metal of Slipknot, the compilation album of his 35 years of musical trajectory of Megadeth “Warheads on Forheads”, the “Moonglow” of the Avantasia band led by Tobias Sammet, the “Extreme Power Metal” of the Dragonforce band, the album dedicated entirely to the Second Sabaton World War “The Great War”, the second studio album with which they have achieved even more success Beast in Black “From Hell with Love”, “Dominion” of the Swedish band Hammerfall, the Viking “Berserker” with so many riffs of the good ones of Amon Amarth, the new EP that has a better taste in our mouth has left us with Running Wild “Crossing the Blades”, the new Howitzer “With a Pair” and the compilation of the Polla Records that he has conf his return to the scene “Neither Rest nor Peace”.

Hopefully 2020 will bring us as many albums (or more) than those given to us by 2019.