I know it's hard to do, but I wanted to straight up ask if people could narrow the last 10 years down to ONE favourite track. But instead of have it turn into a useless thread without any discussion where people just post their favourite then leave, here are the rules:

Remember a while back we had the "Mini-Review" thread? Well, think of this as a new version of that.

Here you will post your absolute favourite song of the decade (released between Jan 1 2010 - Dec 31 2019. Must be a new song from that time period, so not a live version or re-recorded version of an older song). The person who chooses to post theirs must first listen to yours (even if you've already heard it, listen to it in full for a refresher) and write a short 2-6 sentence review of the song, and then post yours and why you love it.

I'll start with my song of the decade:

The Dead Of Night by Walpyrgus (2017)


This song is so goddamn catchy, I've been listening to it constantly since it was released and I still pick out little nuances every few times. The vocal harmonies, the lead work and the bass are all so incredible. And then THAT SOLO. Holy hell, it's the most Thin Lizzy worshiping thing, but done completely tastefully. The way the drums kick into that swing beat on the hi-hat, and the whole thing later explodes (the double bass comes in at the perfect time and doesn't just blast it's way through, the pattern is thought out). This is the perfect heavy summer jam. It actually makes me nostalgic; as if it were released decades ago.

Ok well I obviously feel like I gotta choose something from the album I placed at number 1 for my decade list; Veil of Maya's [id].

And, unquestionably, the song I got to give it to is "Mowgli". This song (and album, for that matter) completely goes in the opposite direction of modern core. Put aside what you know about modern metalcore/deathcore- the heavy downtuned seven string guitars with the low-as-you-can-go slamming breakdowns, simplistic riffing, and bare bones melodies. Nah- this shit is highly melodic, six string based perfection with some of the grooviest drums ever put in a deathcore track. Seriously, if you don't feel like you want to move to those drums at the beginning, there's something wrong with you .

Not only was this song one of my favorites of the decade, but it gave me the fundamentals on how to play guitar. You see, I've been playing piano since I was around 11 years old, so putting chords together on the guitar was actually a relatively easy thing to do as opposed to learning how to pick well (still feel like my picking comparatively lacks). This songs opening riff relies on very straightforward picking. All you do is hammer out the chords like you would for a standard acoustic singer-songwriter song (no tremelo picking, chugging, etc). However, this riff gives you a great introduction to using chords around the entire neck. It was awesome to learn it when I did, and I evolved my overall guitar playing technique from this point forward.



EDIT: My bad jimbies, whoops!

My review; I'm not usually too much into this kind of metal, but for what it's worth the whole song is fun. The guitar melodies layer beautifully, and the vocalist does a great job harmonizing with himself throughout the entire thing, which is often an overlooked challenge (it at least sounds like the same vocalist and not a backing vocalist, could be wrong). The song structure is pretty standard pop, but that actually makes it fun. That chorus is really catchy and stuck with me for a few hours after listening to it, definitely a good sign. Overall, I give it a solid B. It definitely showcases a band that knows how to write a song that has layers to dig through after multiple listens, but simultaneously has a simple enough song structure for the average listener to follow along. Not bad at all!

Previous song: Djent and Deathcore are really not my thing, so it's really hard for me to do an objective review on that without it being unfair.

Now to mine:

This is a really though cookie. There are so many songs i would consider worthy of the tittle, and I will probably give a different awnser depending on the day you ask me.

Ultimately i decided to go with this one:

RUR - II

(link is the whole album as i couldn't find the song by itself, it starts at 08:11)

This was one of the albums that was left out of my list but would probably have made a top 15.

This particular song, feels just perfect. An amazing wall of sound, acting as a canvas that is then painted with relentless blastbeats and one of the most amazing riffs I've ever heard. The whole thing coming togheter as a true work of art. Definetely one of the highlights of 00-19 for me.

A few honorable mentions (just for the sake of me not feeling like crap for leaving them out):

Archspire - The Mimic Well
Asphagor - The Solipsist
Wiegedodd - Kwaad Bloed

Let's leave it at that so the post doesn't become a mile long.

Missed the part in the first post where you are supposed to review the song above.

Whoever posts next feel free to do the original posts song and Snarg's.

Great idea for a thread!

Songwriting is really a lost art.

A bit of a Death/Coroner vibe from this massively underrated French metal act. This whole album is very good actually, but I was really disappointed by the follow-up.

Here's my pick:

Burzum - Glemselens Elv

The main riffs of this composition are melodic and deep, they establish an archaic atmosphere. The track is performed in a catchy mid tempo and the monotony allows to dive deeper in the atmosphere. The vocal performance in the verses is like hissing, it also brings a sort of mysterious and archaic touch. In the choruses the vocals are clean and majestic, with a skaldic vibe, there the atmosphere kinda peaks. After the choruses there's a spectacular switch to heavier riffing and before the final verse there are great variations of the main riffs. An epic and deep composition from the beginning until the end, nearly twelve minutes of it seem short because of its greatness.

When I first saw this I thought "yeah fucking right" because boiling the decade down to 10 albums was challenging enough... but then this came rather easily for me.

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

I think the only reason I didn't include this on my list of 10 albums is because it's an EP of just 1 song - but god damn, what a track! Agalloch's most black metal track is dark and sinister, but the composition is incredibly well planned and it shows in the emotional build ups, and mood shifts that in some instances are totally seamless and in other moments (like at 6:12, and then again at 8:13) that are rather unexpected and surprising, yet don't feel out of place or forced in there - it all works in the context of the whole song and feels smooth. This isn't a song that is 21+ minutes of random shit smushed together for the sake of length - all of the movements and themes are carefully organized and the whole song as a result feels like a complete story, and it feels like a complete album experience in itself condensed into one epic piece, rather than just a single track that's supposed to be part of a greater whole.

There's also something absolutely profound and special about the text of Faust combined with John Haughm's vocal delivery - Agalloch's lyrics have always been great, but holy shit his voice was fucking MADE for this! Overall, even though the style of music is very much modern, the whole thing had a very vintage and "classic" feel about it as soon as it came out. Fucking stellar piece of music!

Here's the song paired with clips from the movie Faust


Neurosis and Cult Of Luna also had some incredible tracks for this category, even if the albums didn't make it to my list. Mirror Reaper is up there too, and Birth And Death Of The Pillars Of Creation is another Agalloch track that I could possibly put here too. That song's a fucking monument and is probably the best example of the stellar production on The Serpent & The Sphere.

Good picks so far, guys!
However, only one person has read the first post to notice the "REVIEW THE SONG ABOVE YOU BEFORE POSTING YOURS" part.

Wow, this is becoming just as hard as the top 10 albums list. Most of my favorite songs of the past decade aren't metal, or are but not per M-A's criteria, so I assume we're going off of the same loose sort of idea. I'm going to have to think about my actual favorite, because I have a tentative list of half a dozen or so that I really can't decide between at the moment. I'll probably eventually pick one and do a separate post on it. For now I want to highlight one in the top echelon that I haven't really talked about yet, from an album that came close to making my top 10, but not quite.

It is "World Burial" from Slakthus Gamleby by Demiurg. I know a few people are tired of Rogga Johansson's 90s Swedish death throwbacks, but I think this is one of the best ones, at least partially because of the synergy of the band members. Here Rogga has a killer guitar tone, without even needing to rely on the HM2 pedal so much, and the pinch harmonics in some of the riffs sprinkle in some flavor. The harmonies for some of the riffs also have a rather different vibe than many in say the Gothenburg scene, a little more eerie. Dan Swano's production adds a delicious sheen to the outing which elevates and differentiates it a bit from similar offerings. He also spices up the mixture with some lead guitar work and a subtle touch of atmospheric keyboards here and there, nothing too overt to overly mellow it. Ed Warby's drumming brings it up to another level, with some tasty cymbal work in many places. Particularly notable is the snare/ride pattern at 2:13. The true cherry on top is the ending acoustic passage, which brings in Marjan Welman for the perfect beautiful melodic postlude. The other two songs she's on are just as great and hard to choose between. But that ending Gmaj7#4 chord is chilling and rapturous.



Now I'll have a listen to Agalloch's "Faustian Echoes". Agalloch is a band I've known about forever, and people with similar taste to me often seem to like, but they've never quite clicked for me. The Faust/Mephistopheles theme is not uncommon, but is usually interesting. I'm not generally that into film or spoken word samples being integrated, but it is thematic. The drums seem well-captured and full. Some cool splash and China accents. I kind of like the vibe of the two guitars playing quite different riffs in each ear. The left one has that gnarly and raucous overdrive into delay vibe in spots. Bass is audible, which is always a plus. Opeth is always a comparison that people make with them, and this does evoke some of that, particularly their earlier efforts, though the production style is a bit different. The vocals are fairly unique, sounding kind of underwater and double-tracked with higher and lower goblin-esque stylings. Sounds like some E-bow work now, which I greatly appreciate. The double kicks kind of get buried at times, which is rather unusual in extreme metal. Ah, some Mellotron close to the ending. Nothing is particularly salient about the acoustic guitars on a first listen, but I'm always glad to see them incorporated.

As the song is coming to the last minute, I reread your description of the track, and it's amusing how wildly differently we parse through music. I'm much more atomistic, whereas you're concerned more with flow and transition.

"World Burial" by Demiurg, eh? Can't say I've ever heard of this song or this band. I'm not the biggest death metal fan around, but I gotta say, this song rocks pretty goddamn hard. There's a crispness to the production that lets every element of the song cut like a knife, from the rapid-blasting drums to the equally-rapid riffwork. That increased-tempo solo around the 3-minute mark is also pretty fucking rad. The ending was unexpectedly melodic, but it really works as a counterpoint to the rest of the song. Just sitting here listening to it, "World Burial" is growing on me more and more, and now after three full plays, I can absolutely see why someone would pick this as their favorite song of the decade--it's just great all-around, and if the rest of the band's output sounds like this, it might be the next rare death metal addition to my collection.

As for me, this is actually trivially easy: "Promised Land" by Mary's Blood is my favorite song of the 2010s, and possibly of all time.



Eye's rich vocals, Saki's frenetic guitar work, Rio's blasting bass, and Mari's intricate drumming combine to make an 80s-style power metal masterpiece...under normal circumstances, that is, but "Promised Land" truly is something else entirely. That humongous chorus nails it every time for me, and the song's multiple solos are truly melodic journeys that I can't get enough of. I will listen to this song every day of every week of every month, and it will never get old for me. It is everything I want in music, and it's easily my favorite song of the last decade.

...But that outro that takes up the last minute is entirely unnecessary. There's no such thing as perfection, after all, and it's the song's only flaw.

I've been meaning to dig deeper into the Mary's Blood catalogue for a while now, but have never got round to it. I have one of their albums, but haven't listened to it much. Anyway, I like the energy "Promised Land" has, and the chorus has a really catchy vocal hook. My mind wandered a little in the solo section though, but they do play some top notch stuff. Overall it's a good song, but I can't imagine I'll ever share your enthusiasm about it. I do agree that the last minute or so isn't needed.

My pick is "The Eternal Wayfarer" by Edguy. I particularly love the way the vocals are layered in the chorus, gives it a bit of a spacey vibe. The solo section and subsequent vocal passage are also fantastic - of note is the dual guitar melody, which feels like a nice nod to the Theater of Salvation era. It does lift the main melody from their song "The Piper Never Dies" though.

Whoops! I jumped the gun there. I'll listen to the Burzum track above mine now!

This opening riff is quite good and doesn't seem to drag that long. The vocals that came in just now are much closer to what I prefer from Varg and have a nice echo to them in the production. They're very present but not overpowering, and fit the production very well. The drums have a neat groove to them too. They seem to be going on the same beat for a long time, but the riffs are slowly building in a way that's progressing into gradually new territory without losing the hypnotic vibe that Varg is aiming for. The groove at 4:14 is pretty solid. Very nice shift in mood and is brought in very smoothly.

At 6:36 now, the main sequence of riffs is back but I'm finding it needs to change soon - but hey, at 7:19 it just went back to that cool low-end groove I liked - nice change at the right time! The following riff has a nice melody to it too. These riffs are reminding me a lot of old Drudkh (Autumn Aurora era), which is funny since Drudkh started off by biting Burzum, and it seems like Varg is now biting back.

8:56 - hey that cool groove is back! And now there's a cool tremolo lead overtop!

Belus was a Burzum album I was curious about but never dug into, aside from the title track. Most Burzum never appealed to me because of the angry granny vocals, and while a couple riffs here and there were decent, the songs often dragged on too much. I found that a lot of the bands that worshipped Burzum did his schtick better than him.

But this is probably some of the best Burzum material I've heard - good riffs all the way through, it carries its length very well without it feeling like it's too much - it changes sections right when it needs to. I would have probably ended the song on a new section altogether that encapsulates the preceding movements together in a more climactic way (get some scissor beats going!) instead of just playing the main riff again and cutting it off, but I like this a lot more than a lot of the classic material people rave about.

I don't think I'll be giving Varg any of my money any time soon, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to give this album a full listen on YouTube, Bandcamp or whatnot. Good post!



I actually took a bit of your approach with my Burzum review up top, as I was commenting as I was listening! I think both approaches are important - I personally find song structure to be an incredibly interesting topic and is one of the biggest things I pay attention to in my own music, and in other music I seek out. If the structures are too predictable or typical, I likely find it incredibly boring.

That said, your approach is important too because if the individual pieces of the structure are bland, then the structure itself still sucks even if it's arranged in a neat way. Predictable song structure can still get a pass from me if the individual pieces of it are REALLY fucking good. Enslaved's As Fire Swept Clean The Earth comes to mind - it's pretty much chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, but the quality is really high from beginning to end, so I don't really care.

Good save, guys! I've been listening to all the songs posted as well. A few I hadn't heard. (hadn't heard Mar's Blood. Dug it!)

It's been a while since I listened to Edguy, and I missed the couple last release, including that album. I don't like all their songs, but this one continues the tradition of great vocals. I don't like all of their songs, but Tobias is IMO a great power metal singer and he knows how to write a great chorus. Not just that but I feel it would be a great live song. It also has another thing that I like of Edguy, the 80's sounding keyboard, which I really love. Honestly I still prefer my power metal in the faster lane, but I'm glad I listened to it. My only gripe is that I think it's a bit overlong after the solo, I'd rate it higher if it was a teeny bit shorter around there.

For my pick, my favorite song of the decade is Mustasch's Libertà. I'm not sure if it will have many afficionados here, it's heavy/hard rockish, which isn't a genre I usually listen to a lot, but this has been consistently playing since its release. I can't exactly explain why I love the song so, if you'd describe it to me I'd probably pass it; I'm more into black metal and speedy songs, this is far from BM and it isn't exactly speedy.



EDIT to add: I also listened to Mary's Bloood's song, above, I tried to post earlier but life happened. Also a great song, I had tried a few of their songs because I really dig Lovebites, and it didn't catch my ear as much, but I hadn't heard that one and it's probably the best of them that I heard.

Even though they're from my home country and well-known, I keep forgetting Mustasch has a big metal edge in some of their songs, and that they do have a page on m-a! I mean, it's overall a groovy Sabbathy stoner rhythm but the In Flames metal riffing is definitely there too. A suprisingly seemless mix! Every fibre of Ralf Gyllenhammar's body is pure rock music, and he's always committed to giving 100% in his vocal performance, something I've always appreciated about Mustasch. The band may not be quite in my wheelhouse (we're bound to get that a lot in this thread), but I appreciate what they do and this is a rock solid track.

My pick for song of the decade is "F.T.L." by Keldian:



Screw you world, I'll be in my shed and won't come out until I've built a space ship capable of interstellar travel. Keldian's influences tend to be somewhat diverse, but on this track it's full on power metal with lots of double bass. Gamma Ray, but less zany, more restrained and more ambient. The main theme is pure gold, and I love the song's positive vibe of hopefulness and excitement of what outer space holds in store (the JFK quote about that is well placed). The line in my signature that tops off the chorus I take as a metaphor for truly inspirational people who plunge headlong first into any new venture - leave your safe quarters, get out of your routines, dare to shed what's not important and move forward in spite of the risk. The key change to the main theme at the end does not feel cliché and in fact does increase the intensity as intended and those goddamn "WE ARE HEADING OUT!" chants at the end - "bye bye earth!" goes my mind, transporting itself straight to the stars beyond.

RE: Keldian - Outbound above:

While Power Metal is not my thing by any means, the Keldian song is pretty solid. The structure of the song itself is done really well creating a pretty uplifting and epic vibe and the vocalist, which normally ruins 95% of PM bands for me, is not bad at all. I'm more of a Thrash/Death guy, so stuff like this isn't really on any playlist of mine, but with that being said, it's clear that this song is leagues above most other bands I've heard in this genre (and decidedly lower on the "cheese" factor imo). Very cool atmosphere and song structure for what it is....

My pick for song of the decade is easy. Don't even have to think about it: (sorry for whomever wants to post next and dislikes long songs, lol)



Artist: Vektor
Album: Terminal Redux
Song: Recharging the Void

This song simply has everything that I love about metal in one song. Epic, insane instrumentation on all levels, A storyline that rivals most Sci-Fi stories you've ever heard (the whole album is one "story", this is the ending of the saga). The mood swings when listening to this song are unmatched to me anywhere and it's still thrash in most parts which is my favorite style of music by far. I have seen this song played live from the very front of the stage twice and it was mindblowing both times. I've seen literally 100s of metal shows live since 1994 and Vektor live put on one of the best displays of musicianship on stage that I have ever witnessed. Simply put, this song is probably my favorite of at least the last 20 years and is definitely in my Top 10 songs of all time.