Top 20 Albums of the 2010's Recap

20.Deftones-Diamond Eyes (2010)
19.Every Time I Die-Ex Lives (2012)
18.Unearth-Watchers of Rule (2014)
17.Killswitch Engage-Disarm the Descent (2013)
16.Revocation-Chaos of Forms (2011)
15.Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 (2014)
14.August Burns Red-Found in Far Away Places (2015)
13.Alleageon-Apoptosis (2019)
12.Death Grips-The Money Store (2012)
11.Danny Brown-Atrocity Exhibition (2016)
10.Rivers of Nihil-Where Owls Know My Name (2018)
9.Fallujah-The Flesh Prevails (2014)
8.Revocation-Deathless (2014)
7.The Black Dahlia Murder-Nightbringers (2017)
6.Between the Buried and Me-The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)
5.Lana Del Rey-Born to Die (2012)
4.Fallujah-Dreamless (2016)
3.Lana Del Rey-Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019)
2.The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis (2010)
1.The Black Dahlia Murder-Ritual (2011)

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

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #6-5

6.Between the Buried and Me-The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)
After a not overly great start, Between the Buried and Me closed out The Parallax Saga on an incredibly high note. Metal's most accomplished mad scientists concocted something that is unpredictable and out there even by their lofty standards as this invigoratingly over-the-top epic prog adventure shifts through tempos/genres/unconventional instrumentation at a breakneck pace.
Standout Tracks: 1.Bloom 2.Lay Your Ghosts to Rest 3.Telos 

5.Lana Del Rey-Born to Die (2012):
The polarizing legend of Lana Del Rey was built here. Born to Die shaped an entire generation of pop artists with its lush, melancholic sound that combined understated atmosphere with the genre's traditional catchiness to make something that's hauntingly beautiful and thoroughly intoxicating.
Standout Tracks: 1.Blue Jeans 2.Off to the Races 3.National Anthem

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #8-7

8.Revocation-Deathless (2014):
As strong as Revocation's catalog is from top to bottom, Deathless stands defiantly atop the heap. It's an absolutely monstrous record that has only become more ferocious over time. The riff faucet never stops running at full blast, the genre variation (progressive, thrash, melodeath, tech death) present in the songwriting is top notch and the eerie atmospherics of the instrumentation perfectly match the Lovecraftian lyrics.
Standout Tracks: 1.Scorched Earth Policy 2.A Debt Owed to the Grave 3.The Blackest Reaches

7.The Black Dahlia Murder-Nightbringers (2017):
Member changes have plagued The Black Dahlia Murder throughout their career. While their two remaining founding members (vocalist Trevor Strnad, rhythm guitarist/primary songwriter Brian Eschbach) have done a terrific job of mitigating a lot of the potential negative effects that come with frequent turnover, there's no question that having a different lineup on almost every record (since their 2003 debut LP Unhallowed, they've had 5 drummers, 3 bassists and 3 lead guitarists) has had varying degrees of impact over the years. Their latest change at lead guitarist (Brandon Ellis replaced Ryan Knight-who had been with the band since 2009) ended up being the best thing to happen to them creatively in several years as Nightbringers was their most inspired effort since a certain record that came out earlier in the decade that will be appearing later on in this countdown. Ellis' electric solowork and explosive riffs served as a needed shot of adrenaline for a band that was coming off of two of their weaker efforts (Everblack, Abysmal). His zest for playing fast, bouncy riffs resulted in the band embracing a sound that was pretty reminiscent of the early Gothenburg melodeath, which subsequently made this perhaps the most purely fun record they've put out.  
Favorite Tracks: 1.Kings of the Nightworld 2.Matriarch 3.As Good As Dead

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #12-11

12.Death Grips-The Money Store (2012): 
Crafting music that feels genuinely rebellious is hard to do. Artists that fancy themselves the edgy type often try so hard to manufacture a "punk" sound that it comes off as disingenuous and kind of pathetic. That annoying trend makes the existence of organic anarchy like The Money Store joyously refreshing. This entire record is a carnival of singularly abrasive chaos that thrives on the industrial hip hop trio's abundant rage, speed freak energy and stunning gift for making even the most inaccessible music thoroughly catchy.
Standout Tracks: 1.The Fever (Aye Aye) 2.I've Seen Footage 3.The Cage

11.Danny Brown-Atrocity Exhibition (2016):
The introspective pain that was in the background of Danny Brown's releases like XXX and Old made its way to the forefront with staggering results on Atrocity Exhibition. Aided by a manic, sample-heavy backdrop, Brown takes the listener on a harrowing journey through his personal hell that's driven by depression, self-loathing and substance abuse. While it's often an uncomfortable and distressing listen, it's also a highly poignant and original take on the familiar concept of an artist trying to confront their deeply-rooted demons through art.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Ain't It Funny 2.Golddust 3.From the Ground (feat. Kelela)

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #14-13

14.August Burns Red-Found in Far Away Places (2015):
In a genre where a lot of their peers have lost their edge as they approach 15-20 years of activity, August Burns Red is a massive outlier. They've remained committed to pushing their songwriting forward by making subtle tweaks to their sound and that effort has resulted in some remarkably consistent output. Their seventh full length ended up being the transcendent record that they had been slowly inching towards since they broke out back in 2007. Found in Far Away Places is a wildly intricate and ambitious effort that weaves all of their influences (metalcore, progressive, hardcore, punk) into an epic, breathtaking tapestry.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Broken Promises 2.Separating the Seas 3.Majoring in the Minors

13.Allegaeon-Apoptosis (2019):
Dialing back the progressive elements in favor of a faster, heavier sound was an unexpectedly genius move by Colorado extreme metal outfit Allegaeon. While there's admittedly a bit less variety here than there was on 2016's Proponent for Sentience, honing in on their more extreme traits resulted in a tighter, more cohesive product that rides a winning combination of killer riffs, ferocious vocals and unwavering energy to euphoric technical/melodic death metal glory.
Standout Tracks: 1.Metaphobia 2.Exothermic Chemical Combustion 3.Interphase//Meiosis  

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #16-15

16.Revocation-Chaos of Forms (2011): 2009's Existence is Futile is a commanding record that made Boston death thrashers Revocation a name to watch in the metal scene. On follow-up Chaos of Forms, they managed to make the leap from promising upstarts to full-blown powerhouse. By adding a second guitarist in Dan Gargiuolo that prominently aided in the songwriting/arrangement process and getting a more commanding vocal performance out of David Davidson, they were to able develop a tighter, more interesting sound that featured more experimentation and technical fireworks.
Standout Tracks: 1.Chaos of Forms 2.Harlot 3.Conjuring the Cataclysm 

15.Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2 (2014): If Run the Jewels first record was a swift punch in the face, Run the Jewels 2 was a prolonged ass-whopping from all angles. The clever punchlines, anarchistic energy and destructive yet loving chemistry that made this duo an immediate favorite of many hardcore hip-hop fans are cranked up to 1,000 here, which makes it the perfect venom-filled sequel.
Standout Tracks: 1.All Due Respect (feat. Travis Barker) 2.Oh My Darling Don't Cry 3.Lie, Cheat, Steal

Top 20 Albums of the 2010's: #18-17

18.Unearth-Watchers of Rule (2014): When you think of someone that's been doing the same job for a long time, it's natural to assume that all of that experience has made them complacent. Unearth didn't subscribe to that philosophy. These Massachusetts-bred metalcore pioneers gave a defiant middle finger to the uninspired path of releasing watered down versions of their earlier records that many of their peers had drifted down by opting to embrace a whole new level of ferocity on Watchers of Rule. Letting pure, relentless aggression serve as the backbone of the songwriting resulted in an exhilarating listening experience that has enough blistering riffs, monster grooves and incendiary energy to fill at least 50 records.
Standout Tracks: 1.Never Cease 2.From the Tombs of Five Below 3.To the Ground

17.Killswitch Engage-Disarm the Descent (2013): Killswitch Engage ended the 2000's in a bit of rut. As evidenced by their decision to release a SECOND self-titled album, creativity wasn't really flowing their collective veins at that point. After a couple years away from the spotlight and the departure of longtime vocalist Howard Jones, the band surprisingly announced that original frontman Jesse Leach was re-joining the band. Leach's first LP with the band since 2002's Alive or Just Breathing was proof that he was the revitalizing shot in the heart that KsE needed to return to form. With its soaring hooks, catchy riffs and poignant lyrics, Disarm the Descent marked a delightfully nostalgic return to the classic Killswitch sound that made them one of the biggest metal acts of their era.
Standout Tracks: 1.Beyond the Flames 2.The Hell in Me 3.Turning Point