Mourning Daily Musings

It is the inevitable time of year when those annoying “best of” the year before blogs start to pop up where people with no expertise start naming their favorite movies, music, etc… and here is no exception. But having attended over 400 concerts over the years and owning just shy of 1,000 cds, I think I have some say on the subject. 2010 was one of those rare years that I had a cd by one of my favorite groups drop every month. Be forewarned that these are ROCK albums and not Beiber, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha or any other of those mediocre artists that have been force-fed to us by the media until we believe that they are talented. These are true rock bands that are often overlooked and not given the recognition they deserve:

January

– DAY OF FIRE: Losing All — The third album from my favorite formerly satanic singer turned Christian (sorry Mr. Welch). A little lighter than the previous two albums but still manages some great rock songs.

February

– TOBYMAC: Tonight — Still producing the hits, just one of his albums provides more variety than some bands obtain their entire careers.

March

– RAINTIME: Psychromatic – I’ll admit that I bought their first album just because of the heavy rock remake of Micheal Jackson’s “Beat It”. After previewing this album, I bought it because of their songs. The band has grown exponentially on this outing and is a band to watch for the future.

April

– KOTTONMOUTH KINGS: Long Live the Kings — Adding a new official member to the group (although some other members seem to have left) sparked new life into the band. The songs are back to the trademarked “rip hop” rap/rock fusion as opposed to more recent albums which were some rap songs and some rock songs together on one disc. One of my favorite albums this year because of the range of musical styles (even though the topic is usually the same 🙂

– SEVENDUST: Cold Day Memory — With the return of the long-lost prodigal guitarist Clint Lowery, the band successfully returns to their style from long years past. At first I was against the lighter style, but after a few listens I realized that these songs are still heavy and are some of the most solid songs that Sevendust has put out in years.

May

May was the biggest month for me with Soulfly, Nonpoint, Taproot, and Anew Revolution all releasing cd’s this month.

– SOULFLY: Omen — An almost perfect album (if you love heavy music) Cavalera and crew continue to create the best world music versus heavy metal out there.

– NONPOINT: Miracle — Nonpoint continues to consistently put out great albums. Featuring a new guitarist the sound has changed and the influence of Mudvayne (producing) is obvious, but it’s still a great Nonpoint album.

– TAPROOT: Plead the Fifth — An excellent title for a fifth album, the experimental sound of their earlier albums has returned that was missing from their last album. Although it’s not for everyone, it’s great to hear it again.

– ANEW REVOLUTION: iMerica — With their sophomore album this group comprised of ex-SLAVES ON DOPE members and ex-UNLOCO singer Joey Duenas proves that they have what it takes to be a lasting metal band. Especially with the hit “Banging My Head”

June

– HED PE: Major Pain to Indee Freedom (Best Of) — Although almost all of the songs on here can be found on other albums and some of the songs are not what I would call their “best”, it’s a great collection if you do not own their others. The selling point for me was the bonus Dvd which features an awesome live concert.

July

– NEWSBOYS: Born Again — “The boys are back” with new vocalist Michael Tait of DC TALK/TAIT. The dynamic pairing proved to be golden as the best elements of both groups fused together seemlessly into one catchy Christian rock album.

August

– DISTURBED : Asylum — The juggernaut returned again with another smashing album that manages again to be one of the few heavy metal bands that gain mainstream attention.

September

– STONE SOUR : Audio Secrecy — SLIPKNOT’s Corey Taylor manages another impressive album with the group that lets his vocal talents get the spotlight they deserve.

October

– Hed PE : Truth Rising — The legendary Hed (pe) release another unique album from Suburban Noize Records. Like their other releases you never know what you’re going to get, but with their fusion of multiple style of music genres you know that it will sound amazing. The highlights of the album include the additions of guitar solos that let Jaxon flex his strings and the guest vocals of SEVENDUST’s Lajon Whitherspoon.

November

– ALTER BRIDGE: III — There are some lasting rocks songs on this album even though there are a lot more lighter songs than I wish. But considering that I got the cd with 16 songs for only $7.99 it was a beneficial purchase.

December

– PROJECT 86: XV — Probably THE most undervalued band out there, it’s been a long wait to finally get a live album from one of my favorite bands especially considering that all the songs are some of their best songs ever. Great way to end the year.

So there’s MY list of the best music of 2010. Like it, hate it, or just indifferent to it, at least you looked at it. Maybe you”ll even try out some of the albums for yourself.

– Mourning Daily