15.As I Lay Dying-The Powerless Rise (2010):
After the much-acclaimed An Ocean Between Us was released in 2007, people failed to take notice of As I Lay Dying's subsequent releases. Their follow-up to an An Ocean Between Us, The Powerless Rise, took everything that made An Ocean Between Us great and raised it to the next level. The compositions were more complex than ever with an enhanced emphasis on technicality and melody, and Tim Lambesis delivered the most ferocious vocal performance of his career. After the release of good but not great Awakened in 2012 and departure of everyone in the band besides drummer Jordan Mancino after Lambesis was sentenced to prison for six years after pleading guilty to a felony charge of attempted murder solicitation in April 2014, The Powerless Rise can now be viewed as the swansong of one of the greatest metalcore bands of all-time.
Standout Tracks 1.Without Conclusion 2.Anodyne Sea 3.The Plague
14.Children of Bodom-Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)
Hate Crew Death Roll was the last truly special album that Finnish extreme metal icons Children of Bodom released and for that reason alone, it will always have a special place in my heart. Hate Crew Deathroll is 37 minutes of catchy, over-the-top, synth-driven melodic death metal that is every bit as relentless as it is memorable.
Standout Tracks 1.Needled 24/7 2.Triple Corpse Hammerblow 3.Bodom Beach Terror
13.My Chemical Romance-Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)
My Chemical Romance is largely written off as a band because of the way they dressed and their emo-influenced lyrics. If you put aside their image and lyrical content and just focus on the music itself, they crafted some of the best pop punk to ever be released,and their breakout 2004 release Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was their seminal piece of work. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has all the big hooks and bouncy melodies you've come to expect from pop punk with bursts of post-hardcore aggression and mature introspection to make them stand out from their sunnier peers like blink-182 and Taking Back Sunday.
Standout Tracks 1.Thank You for the Venom 2.To the End 3.The Ghost of You
12.The Faceless-Autotheism (2012)
The long delayed third LP from progressive/technical death metal titans The Faceless may not have been the groundbreaking masterpiece 2008's Planetary Duality was, but it showed The Faceless was capable of taking their music in a more straight-up progressive direction without losing any of the raw abrasive power that made their earlier releases special.
Standout Tracks 1.Autotheist Movement I-III 2.In Solitude 3.Accelerated Evolution
11.Unearth-Darkness in the Light (2011)
If I had allowed bands to have more than one release appear on this countdown, Unearth's entire discography would be on this list. However, in a career full of overlooked gems, Darkness in the Light is the most criminally under-appreciated. Darkness in the Light is essentially an unofficial "best of " album for Unearth as they combined the unadulterated heaviness of III: In the Eyes of Fire with the melodic undertones and technicality of The Oncoming Storm and The March. Darkness in the Light is a monstrous assault on the senses that showcases everything that makes Unearth great over the course of a single album.
Standout Tracks 1.Arise the War Cry 2.Coming of the Dark 3.Eyes of Black
10.Skeletonwitch-Beyond the Permafrost (2007)
Beyond the Permafrost was the first time a majority of the metal world was introduced to Skeletonwitch and the Ohio-based quintet were able to make quite the impression with their Prosthetic Records debut. Their hybrid of thrash metal compositions and energy with black metal vocals made for a unique sound that packed a serious wallop and made Beyond the Permafrost one of the most consistently memorable releases in recent memory.
Standout Tracks 1.Upon Wings of Black 2.Within My Blood 3.Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery
9.Fallujah-The Harvest Wombs (2011):
Of all the debut albums I've heard in the past five years or so, none have been as polished, ambitious or flat-out fantastic as Fallujah's The Harvest Wombs. The Harvest Wombs is able to stand out because of Fallujah's ability to expertly incorporate beautiful ambient melodies into crushing technical death metal. The Harvest Wombs is an immense album that instantly cemented Fallujah as one of the most innovative young bands in extreme metal.
Standout Tracks 1.Become One 2.Assemblage of Wolves 3.Prison of the Mind
8.After the Burial-Rareform (2008):
When it comes to deathcore, it doesn't get any better than After the Burial's Rareform. Rareform took the breakdown and guttural vocal-driven formula deathcore had been known for at the time, and turned on its head with heavy use of Meshuggah-esque grooves, stunning prog melodies and awe-inspiring guitar solos from Trent Hafdahl. Rareform defied the stereotype that all deathcore is simple and monotonous, and it deserves to be recognized as one of the most important extreme metal releases of the new millennium.
Standout Tracks 1.Berzerker 2.Drifts 3.Ometh
7.letlive.-Fake History (2010)
Some people might not agree with this pick because it got a considerable amount of love in a lot of online music circles. However, I feel this record still didn't get anywhere close to the attention it deserved hence why I put it on this list. Before I heard Fake History, I was beginning to believe that post-hardcore was becoming a dead genre. Every release was rooted in the same trite, whiny garbage while there was seemingly no bands set to emerge and break the increasingly stale mold set by the band's at the forefront of the scene. Letlive. changed that. With a versatile frontman in Jason Butler -who could tackle banshee-esque screaming and beautiful clean singing with equal proficiency, and instrumentation that wasn't afraid to shift tempos on a dime, letlive. was able to create an infectious album that incited chaos and demanded the listener's attention throughout. Fake History was the giant middle finger to convention post-hardcore needed to become an inspired genre again.
Standout Tracks: 1.Homeless Jazz 2.The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion 3.Renegade 86'
6.System of a Down-Hypnotize (2005)
System of a Down's last studio album is also their most polarizing and I could honestly never figure as to why that was. It has all the zaniness and high volume of wholly memorable tracks you'd come to expect from System of a Down record and for my money, is a much more consistent record than its beloved predecessor, Mesmerize. Hypnotize was an amazing and fitting capstone on the all-too-short career of System of a Down.
Standout Tracks 1.Stealing Society 2.U-Fig 3.Attack
5.Painted in Exile-Revitalized (2009)
Revitalized may only be a 3 song EP, but it's 100x more memorable than most LP's could dream of being. In just three songs that span just under 30 minutes, Painted in Exile is able to make one of the most captivating and gleefully strange progressive metal records of the 21st century so far. The tonal shifts from jazz to death metal to prog may sound jarring on paper, but they're all brilliantly executed and it's absolute joy to listen to all the twists and turns unfold. It pains me so much that these guys are still an active band yet they STILL haven't released anything since Revitalized.
Standout Tracks 1.Revitalized 2.Distanced by Dissonance 3.Skylines
4.Protest the Hero-Scurrilous (2011)
Canadian progressive metal act Protest the Hero has released a lot of excellent material since they burst onto the scene in 2007 with Keizia, but nothing has topped the heights they achieved with their third LP Scurrilous. After releasing two albums centered around fictional narratives, vocalist Rody Walker decided to go the more personal route with his lyrical storytelling on Scurrilous, and it makes for one of the most poignant listening experiences I've had in my entire life. Walker bears his soul on everything from failed relationships to the experience of watching one of his best friends fight cancer to the shadiness of the record industry with equal potency and honesty. Walker backs up his phenomenal lyrics with an emotionally-charged vocal performance that showcases his insane range even more than he did on their past releases. Walker's tour-de-force vocal/lyrical performance paired with the relentless technicality that this band has become known for makes Scurrilous a powerful musical ride that can not be shaken under any circumstances.
Standout Tracks 1.C'est La Vie 2.Dunsel 3.Termites
3.The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis (2010):
The Dillinger Escape Plan are synonymous with praise from critics and audiences alike, but the one album of theirs that is vastly overlooked is the best of their entire discography. Option Paralysis brought Dillinger's sound to the next level by incorporating more melody into the fold without disregarding Dillinger's trademark tornado-esque chaos. The Dillinger Escape Plan had always been a great band, but they didn't truly flourish until the release of Option Paralysis.
Standout Tracks 1.Widower 2.Chinese Whispers 3.Gold Teeth on a Bum
2.The Red Chord-Clients (2005)
I've said before it and I'll say it again: The Red Chord is the most underrated extreme metal band of all-time, and there is no greater evidence of their brilliance than 2005's Clients. Clients combines the spastic nature of grind with the crunch of brutal death metal and the precision of technical death metal to make a one-of-a-kind biting powerhouse of an album. Behemoth's Demigod , Necrophagist's Epitaph and Nile's Annihilation of Wicked are largely regarded as the most important death metal releases of mid 2000's, but as far as I'm concerned, that distinction goes to Clients.
Standout Tracks 1.Antman 2.Black Santa 3.Blue Line Cretin
1.Coheed and Cambria-Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005):
With From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, Coheed and Cambria was able to create a modern day prog opus that beckons back to the days when bands like Rush and King Crimson were producing album after album of complex, nerd-friendly prog fare. From the eerie strings of intro "Keeping the Blade" to the triumphant four-part closer "The Willing Well", Claudio Sanchez and co. take the listener on an enthralling, endlessly complex and consistently brilliant musical journey that is simply unforgettable. From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness is a stone cold classic that deserves to mentioned in the same breath as In The Court of the Crimson King and Moving Pictures in the greatest prog album of all-time discussion.
Standout Tracks 1.Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial) 2.The Willing Well I-IV 3.Crossing the Frame
Full-list recap:
50.All Shall Perish-This is Where it
Ends (2011)
49.Big K.R.I.T.-K.R.I.T. Wuz Here (2010)
48.Dropkick Murphys-The Warrior’s
Code (2005)
47.Animals as Leaders-Weightless (2011)
46.3 Inches of Blood-Fire up the Blades (2007)
45.Son of Aurelius-The Farthest Reaches (2010)
44.Alkaline Trio-Crimson (2005)
43.Municipal Waste-The Art of Partying (2007)
42.Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way to
Blue (2009)
41.Fleshgod Apocalypse-Agony (2011)
40.Lazarus A.D.-The Onslaught (2009)
39.Lamb of God-Resolution (2013)
38.Parkway Drive-Horizons (2007)
37.A Loss for Words-No Sanctuary (2011)
36.Arch Enemy-Khaos Legions (2011)
35.Andrew W.K.-I Get Wet (2001)
34.Born of Osiris-The Discovery (2011)
33.Battlecross-War of Will (2013)
32.Cannibal Corpse-Kill (2006)
31.Doom-Born Like This (2009)
30.Machine Head-Unto the Locust (2011)
29.God Forbid-Earthsblood (2009)
28.Killswitch Engage-As Daylight Dies (2006)
27.Slipknot-All Hope is Gone (2008)
26.Avenged Sevenfold-City of Evil (2005)
25.Hope for the Dying-Altheia (2013)
24.Revocation-Existence is Futile (2009)
23.Behemoth-Evangellion (2009)
22.Atmosphere-Seven's Travels (2003)
21.Last Chance to Reason-Level 2 (2011)
20.Sylosis-Monolith (2012)
19.The Story So Far-Under Soil and Dirt (2011)
18.All That Remains-The Fall of Ideals (2006)
17.Hatebreed-The Rise of Brutality (2003)
16.Intronaut-Valley of Smoke (2010)
15.As I Lay Dying-The Powerless Rise (2010)
14.Children of Bodom-Hate Crew
Deathroll (2003)
13.My Chemical Romance-Three Cheers for
Sweet Revenge (2004)
12.The Faceless-Autotheism (2012)
11.Unearth-Darkness in the Light (2011)
10.Skeletonwitch-Beyond the Permafrost (2007)
9.Fallujah-The Harvest Wombs (2011)
8.After the Burial-Rareform (2008)
7.letlive.-Fake History (2010)
6.System of a Down-Hypnotize (2005)
5.Painted in Exile-Revitalized (2009)
4.Protest the Hero-Scurrilous (2011)
3.The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option
Paralysis (2010)
2.The Red Chord-Clients (2005)
1.Coheed and Cambria-Good Apollo I'm
Burning Star IV: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005)
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