Thirty years and 15 albums in, New Jersey's Overkill are still proudly waving the metal flag. Of course, they painted it in their favorite color scheme of green and black. They love it so much they've used it in their logo for decades, and now they've even written a song about it. Do not hire these guys to decorate your house.
This Erie, Pa., band's emphasis on strong, more traditional melodies and slightly more accessible music helps them stand out from the metalcore crowd. Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying helped produce their new album, 2010's 'Eternal,' and like AILD, War of Ages use their love of heavy metal to spread the word about their religious beliefs.
Plagues of madness, vile disturbances, gripping sieges, banners of hate, massing hordes and towering sorrow. If everything Immmolation are warning us about here, in this title track, is truly right around the corner, then tomorrow's really gonna suck.
With help from Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy, the California-based hard rock band proves there is life for them, creatively, after the untimely loss of original drummer James 'The Rev' Sullivan. In fact, they don't hesitate to get right into matters of life and death -- warning a wrongdoer he'll soon reap what he sows on this title track from their new album.
Founding member Dino Cazares rejoins the band for the first time in nearly a decade, bringing in Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan for the 'Mechanize' project. The album proves that Cazares' and Bell's time apart hasn't kept them from being able to write top metal songs, as shown on this ferocious, guitar-penetrating title track.
Former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera continues pushing heavy metal into exciting new directions with the seventh album from his other, not-so-new-anymore band. For this revenge-obsessed song, he mixes tribal drums with sitars and bleeping, electronic sounds that somehow manage to sound completely sinister.
This hard-rock supergroup's sound may be positively laid-back and soulful compared to other top metal songs on this chart. But make no mistake, these Southern boys came to kick ass. The music brings about an exuberant ruckus, even when the lyrics talk about an unrepentant, "no regrets" suicide note.
The Knoxville, Tenn., deathcore band's 2010 album, 'A New Era in Corruption,' may appear to be without a strict, unifying lyrical concept. However, this song's warning -- about increased corruption undermining today's society -- echoes themes repeated throughout the entire album. The song also casts a negative light on the rehabilitative effects of prison systems, arguing that they just breed more vengeance.
The power of the almighty riff compels Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Down's Kirk Windstein to join forces again for the long-awaited second album ('Behind the Blackest Tears') from their side band. We're not sure what monuments have been reduced to ash, exactly, but in their eyes it's a clear-cut case of censoring the past and, judging by their anger, is totally uncool.
Our highest-rated metal song of 2010 finds this San Diego band continuing its climb to the top of the heavy metal slagheap, with this single from their 2010 album 'The Powerless Rise.' Among the triple-time drums and guttural screams comes a subtle message: If you keep consuming, but you're still not feeling satisfied, you may need some different form of sustenance in your life.
1. SLAYER Hate Worldwide
Posted at 9:36PM on Aug 14th 2010 by sausage