#4 Mastodon – Crack the Skye

Are Mastodon the best heavy metal band in the ’00s? Maybe. Just maybe. If not, they’re definitely right up there and all these “new wave” metal bands that I listen to today have certainly taken some cues from the mighty Mastodon. They bring it all to the table: power, technique, melody, riffage, beard, and unholy mountain madness. They’ve never faltered, never failed — not for one album, not for one song. Where previous efforts saw the band taking giant, crushing strides over land and sea, Crack the Skye is a cosmic hellfire, an astral, spiritual journey right into the centre of oblivion. Mastodon’s long, strange tales have conquered every plane and this, their last release of the decade, proves once again that they also conquer the metal world.

Check out the video for “Oblivion” from Crack the Skye!

#3 Eagle Twin – The Unkindness of Crows

Once more I bring you a duo, but not just any duo, my favourite duo of the year. Or, at least, my favourite album by a duo this year. I’ve already boasted about the greatness of this album (both its sound and its look), and there’s not much more I can say about it other than it kicked me in the stomach the very first time I heard it and I’m still gasping for breath. Gentry Densley (of Iceburn fame) and Tyler Smith lay down a daunting debut, a feast of dark, opulent proportions that invites you to gorge like a hungry beast. So gorge, you bastards, because you won’t eat this well — this full, this ravenous, this proud — for a long, long time. I can’t wait to see what album number two brings.

Enjoy some live Eagle Twin!