Top ten lists are a very subjective thing. While they can be a useful pointer to albums you might have missed, I always loathe the compiled-by-committee lists you read in places like Pitchfork or The Guardian. They all seem to contain exactly the same albums, and without fail they have absolutely zero overlap with the albums that have made a big impression on me.
Personal lists are always far more interesting – if a top albums list tells you more about the listers than anything else, where an individual reviewer is coming from is far more useful that what demographic a magazine is aimed at. Anyway, here’s my top ten albums of 2010 – make up your own mind as to what it says about me.
10: Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels
More Dungeons and Dragons operatic pomp-metal from the Italian quintet, again featuring narration from Sir Christopher Lee and a corny plot featuring a Dark Lord called “Necron.” All good fun in a cheesy sort of way, even if it doesn’t really break any new ground for the band. Twenty-sided dice not included.
9: Parade – The Fabric
Parade is the brainchild of Fish guitarist and former Mostly Autumn keyboard player Chris Johnson, with the collaboration of Anne-Marie Helder, Gavin Griffiths, Patrick Berry and Simon Snaize. It took me a few listens for this one to click. On the surface it’s an indie-sounding album with its sparse chiming guitars and clattering drums but listen more closely and there’s some real musical depth there.
8: Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here
The former doom-metallers return after a lengthy absence and drop just about all traces of metal from their sound in favour of atmospheric soundscapes. It’s a musical journey that works far far better as one continuous listen than as a collection of individual songs.
7: Pure Reason Revolution – Hammer and Anvil
PRR describe their third album as “Disco-prog”, meaning they’ve put electronic dance, prog and metal into a blender. At times atmospheric, at times sounding like The Prodigy at their most mental, it puts the progressive back into prog.
6: The Reasoning – Adverse Camber
The Cardiff band’s third album continues in a similar prog-metal vein as 2008′s Dark Angel, albeit with Rachel Cohen handling the majority of the lead vocals. A solid piece of work with some great songs, even if it doesn’t (for me at least) quite reach the heights of their first two albums.
5: Black Country Communion
The combination of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian is in danger of giving supergroups a good name with this album of classic 70s-style hard rock. Hughes, despite his age, is in fine form vocally, Bonamassa shows he can do hard rock as well as blues, and Jason Bonham is in the same league as his famous father. Sherinian really only has a supporting role given that cast, but still delivers some great Hammond playing. The best album Led Zeppelin never recorded in the 70s? Maybe.
4: Therion – Sitra Ahra
Not quite as bonkers as their last album Gothic Kabballah, this one is the slightly more accessible side of Therion’s choral metal. It’s still filled with complex multi-part vocal arrangements using multiple classically-trained singers, which when combined with twin lead guitars makes for a very rich sound indeed.
3: Karnataka – The Gathering Light
Five years in the making, the second incarnation of Karnataka finally deliver an album of old-school symphonic prog on a truly epic scale. Features heartfelt female vocals from the now-departed Lisa Fury and some fantastic guitar playing from Enrico Pinna, as well as guest appearances from Troy Donockley on Uilleann pipes, and Hugh McDowell, formerly of ELO, on cello.
2: Panic Room – Satellite
Compared with its complex, multilayered predecessor, Panic Room’s second album is made up of simpler, more direct songs. The very different musical backgrounds of the five members combine in an alchemical mix which results in far more than the sum of the parts. Elements of hard rock, prog, pop, folk and jazz contribute to a sound that defies easy pigeonholing, with some very thought provoking lyrics from Anne-Marie Helder.
1: Mostly Autumn – Go Well Diamond Heart
OK, so you all know I’m a huge fan of this band. But this is the first time for several years that they’ve come up with my album of the year. It’s an immensely varied album containing atmospheric celtic moments, belting hard rockers, shimmering four-minute pop songs, and soaring ballads. They’ve managed to take the spirit of 70s classic rock and made it sound relevant for the 21st century with great songwriting, singing and musicianship. And they’ve done it straight after the departure of a much-loved lead singer, too.
I need to listen to all.
I am about to get my own top 10 ready… Wrote paragraphs for 12 albums, but not yet quite sure, which albums I will include in the top 10. Might include 1 of those on your list.
Hey write it here. We'll publish it, if it's well written and makes sense.