Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #2-1

2.The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis (2010):
At the start of the decade, there was a legitimate concern that mathcore pioneers The Dillinger Escape Plan were going to stop dealing in the world of musical chaos. 2007's Ire Works felt restrained by Dillinger's standards as it featured several electronic interludes and was relatively light on their trademark destruction. Those fears that Dillinger was "going soft" vanished with Option Paralysis. Their dazzlingly swift tempo shifts are masterfully combined with some more melodic sensibilities   between the manic exclamation points to create the most refined, exhilarating project of their storied career. As their discography continues to get retrospectively evaluated, I hope this record will go onto to become more celebrated.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Farewell, Mona Lisa 2.Endless Endings 3.Room Full of Eyes 

1.The Black Dahlia Murder-Ritual (2011):
The Black Dahlia Murder have followed the Motorhead model of establishing a defined sound and sticking to it no matter what. That policy has served them very well so far and since consistent quality output is always the most important thing in the world of art, that likely will continue to until they hang it up. Ritual was a slight exception to that "If it ain't broke, don't fix" rule as it saw Black Dahlia utilize pianos and string arrangements to accompany their slamming American meets European melodic death metal attack. As simple as that tweak sounds, it paid major dividends. Those classical-esque backdrops only added to the sinister epic atmosphere that this record possesses and inspired the band to write riffs/drum patterns/vocal lines that meshed with those unconventional instruments while remaining in their punchy melodeath framework. Plain and simple, Ritual is a masterpiece of sonic evil that I'll always count as one of the high points of not only this decade, but in the history of death metal.
Standout Tracks: 1.A Shrine to Madness 2.Moonlight Equilibrium 3.Carbonized in Cruciform

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