Metal Hammer's "Top 50 Albums Of The Decade"

I have been looking through Metal Hammer magazine’s list of the top 50 albums of the, er, noughties (I hate that term), and I have to say that I disagree strongly with a lot of the selections. I mean 2 Mastodon albums out of just 50 choices?! I don’t know if it’s just a case of me not "getting” this band, or whether it is another case of them being seriously over-rated by the music media. There were (obviously) thousands of albums released over the last 10 years...are they seriously suggesting that one band has 2 albums worthy of being in such a short list (Opeth and Megadeth also have 2 each)? I have to say, no!

Of course, a list such as this is purely based on opinion. For this reason, it is a simple fact that I will disagree with it. So...of the top 50, which do I disagree with the strongest, and why? Well, obviously, Mastodon make this list as I just don’t “get” them, but what else is wrong with it?

The main issue I have is, what I see as the lack of honesty and depth. I think that what the writers of MH have done, is stuck to the safe and easy options. Making sure that all bands mentioned are well-known to the readership (especially those under 25), which is a big mistake and a massive disservice to some brilliant albums. There are albums not on the list, that were highly rated in MH on release, and that continue to be regarded as landmark releases in their genre, but these have been completely ignored, and have been replaced by the “usual suspects”. This is a shame, as this list should be one we can look at and be proud of what a strong and diverse decade this was for heavy music. Instead, I will look at it, as a mild diversion for a few minutes as opposed to a guide for filling in any gaps in my record (Mp3?) collection...not that there are many...haha.

Albums included that I would definitely omit, for either not being all so great, or in place of far better albums (by the same artist), would be:

Deftones - “White Pony” to be replaced by “Deftones”.

Down - “II” to be replaced by “Over The Under”.

In Flames - “Come Clarity” replaced by “Reroute To Remain”.

Devildriver – “The Last Kind Words” replaced by “Pray For Villains”.

Killswitch Engage - “The End Of Heartache” replaced by “Alive Or Just Breathing”.

Of course there are so many albums on the list that I would remove completely (more than half). I mean Lacuna Coil – “Comalies” one of the best albums of the last 10 years? Even as a fan of Lacuna, there is no way this album is anywhere near worthy of this accolade.

Besides those I would remove, where are the likes of Amorphis, Katatonia, Cradle Of Filth, Candlemass, Enslaved, Paradise Lost, Satyricon, Sigh, Therapy?, amongst others who have all released great albums within their genres in this past decade? Bands/albums that are definitely deserving of a place as much as or more than bands such as Disturbed, Anthrax, Airbourne, Slayer and Metallica for albums released in the last 10 years.

Of course, what this all comes down to is the opinion of one person (me) versus that of a group of people (the MH writers), so it depends very much on your own personal take on what has defined “heavy” music over the last decade, and I personally believe that Metal Hammer has fallen very wide of the mark.

Please feel free to share your own thoughts on this, or to tell me that I’m talking rubbish if you want to. I haven’t included the full top 50, but check out the march issue of Metal Hammer for more information.