#14 Amaranthe - Amaranthe
This band came pretty much out of nowhere and managed to surprise with the mega catchy hybrid of modern metal, pop and even some dance music vibes. The band also has three great vocalists. The debut album is amazingly catchy from start to finish but on the next album I would hope for more variety in the songs.. Also the guy who growls needs more vocal parts.
"Hunger"
#13 Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa
I'm not too familiar with the whole discography of Moonsorrow but I have listened their latest few albums and EP's. "Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa" continues this respected pagan metal bands career with another epic, dark and heavy album. The previous album "Viides Luku - Hävitetty" was very dark and at parts even ambient like album. "Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa" is a somewhat similar journey but heavier and more metal. There is not much time for ambient soundscapes except in the interludes between the four long songs. The album paints a vision of a dead and cold world where there is no hope for the survivor.
#12 MyGrain - MyGrain
MyGrain plays melodic death metal with a flavor of industrial and sci-fi elements. The self titled album is their third album and since the debut they have evolved into more progressive direction with the bands song writing also improving and their singers delivery becoming even more impressive.
The album is pretty much one great song after another with the exception of "Shadow People" which is a bit too straightforward song for my taste. It would have been a hit on the first album. Not anymore. MyGrain's third album is great but I would hope for even more variety on their next album as it seems they have now perfected their own style.
"Trapped In An Hourglass"
#11 Blood Stain Child - Epsilon
In the beginning Blood Stain Child was pretty much a Children Of Bodom clone. Since then they have evolved to become a completely different band. In their last two albums they sounded like In Flames mixed with trance. After their previous album several members of Blood Stain Child left the band including the bands singer. Because of this there was a lot of doubt would the next album be any good.
There was no reason to worry. Epsilon is their best album so far. Now in addition to growling vocals the band has a great female vocalist Sophia and they seem to have finally found their own sound. Two good vocalists, variety and some really great songs. Although towards the end of the album there are some filler tracks. For me "Stargazer" is one of the best songs of the year 2011.
"Stargazer"
#10 Left Spine Down - Caution
Left Spine Down is a industrial rock band from Canada and Caution is their second album. At first listen I was disappointed to Caution. I was expecting an album more like their debut "Fighting For Voltage".
After few more listens something clicked. I really like the album and actually think it's as a whole better than their debut. Though it lacks a total killer track like "U Can't Stop The Bomb" the song "From 30 To Zero" gets close. The opening track "Troubleshoot" really gets you in the atmosphere of this album. Great piece of work. Not a single song is bad on this record and the songs work really well together.
"From 30 To Zero"
#9 Blue Stahli - Blue Stahli
Blue Stahli is the guy who hangs out with Celldweller and they make great music together. You could describe Blue Stahli to be a fusion of metal and several electronic genres including drum n bass, techno and industrial. Blue Stahli's self titled is his first "proper" album after the all instrumental "Antisleep". Excluding the dragging "Throw Away" the album is all killer and no filler. Highly recommended for industrial, metal and electronic music fans alike. Check it out.
"ULTRAnumb
#8 VNV Nation - Automatic
They are a legendary EBM/Future pop band from the UK now residing in Germany. I was really disappointed to VNV Nations previous album "Of Faith, Power and Glory". It lacked those anthemic, catchy tracks the band is known for. It wasn't all bad but kind of disappointing none the less after the clearly superior "Judgement" album. I wasn't expecting much from "Automatic" but after seeing live clips of the songs "Control" and "Nova" in Youtube I got excited.
When the album came out it didn't disappoint. It includes some of the best songs they have ever written. I'm talking about "Space & Time" and even more about "Streamline". Everything from these two songs shines perfection from the basslines to the lyrics and to the great synth hooks. Hell, "Streamline" in it's positivity and praise of human accomplishment and evolution might be my favorite song of the whole year. The rest is not bad either with "Resolution" and "Gratitude" being enjoyable tracks. "Nova" has no chance to defeat "Illusion" as the best VNV Nation ballad but it's a good effort. "Automatic" is one of the best VNV Nation albums or possibly even the best.
"Streamline"
#7 Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction
I'm not even a Devin Townsend fan. The metal world seems to be all over this guy. Me, not so much. Strapping Young Lad was more to my taste than his solo albums until I heard "Deconstruction".
The album begins with "Praise The Lowered" that slightly hints from the heaviness and madness to come as it grows slowly. Third track "Juular" gets the train moving and "Planet Of The Apes" starts the madness. By "Sumeria" we are in metal chaos which is then perfected by "The Mighty Masturbator", "Pandemic" and the albums title track. The final metal burst "Poltergeist" feels slightly anticlimatic here. Wonderful journey that slowly let's it's madness to grow and the albums progressive, heavy and insane structure keeps atleast me constantly entertained and paying attention to what comes next. Just what the mad doctor ordered.
"Sumeria"
#6 Within Temptation - The Unforgiving
Within Temptation plays symphonic pop metal. Their fifth album is a "theme album" with a story. It was nice to hear them trying something new and inspiring. There were even short films and comics published with the album. Nightwish decided to go even further by making a movie. We'll see how that turns out later this year.
Anyway back to Within Temptation. I have not been so happy seeing the band going musically towards more pop and mainstream direction during the last few years. However the band seem to be doing what they love and have their heart very much in it. "The Unforgiving" doesn't disappoint with the hits. "Faster", "A Demon's Fate", "In The Middle Of The Night", "Sinead" and "Iron" are all up there with the bands best work. There are however some more mediocre tracks that sadly drop the album from the top 3 of the year.
"Iron"
That's the first half of the top-10 albums of 2011. Soon I will publish my top-5..
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