To start the year 2020, many media journalists made their own lists for the best of the decade, such as games, movies and music. So, I decided to make my own personal list of my top 10 favorite metal albums of the decade. If you enjoy metal or heavier music, be sure to give some of these a try. They just might be your favorites too.

Heavy Rock Albums

1. Avenged Sevenfold: Nightmare (2010)
2. Avenged Sevenfold: Hail to the King (2013)
3. Avenged Sevenfold: The Stage (2016)
4. Five Finger Death Punch: American Capitalist (2011)
5. Five Finger Death Punch: The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell (2013)
6. Ronnie James Dio: This is Your Life (2014)
7. Iron Maiden: The Book of Souls (2015)
8. Queens of the Stone Age: Villains (2017)
9. Trivium: The Sin and the Sentence (2017)
10. SlipKnot: We Are Not Your Kind (2019)

Heavy Metal

SlipKnot, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, Five Finger Death Punch

These heavy metal bands are awesome to listen to when you’re in the mood, and when you’re low on energy. Some personal favorites songs from these albums are “Nero Forte” (We Are Not Your Kind), “Shepard of Fire” and “Hail to The King” (Hail to The King), “Nightmare” and “Welcome to the Family” (Nightmare), “The Heart From Your Hate” (The Sin and The Sentence), and “Under and Over It” and “The Pride” (American Capitalist). Despite its genre, known for its heavy nature, many of these bands go for a softer tone on specific songs such as “Acid Rain,” “Crimson Day,” and “Fiction” by Avenged Sevenfold or “Snuff” by SlipKnot, which isn’t from this decade but is still worth a listen.

Metal

Iron Maiden and Ronnie James Dio

These names are definitely classics and are huge icons in the metal genre. They were even claimed the first of the New Wave British Metal movement (Iron Maiden) and even the father of metal (Ronnie James Dio). The Book of Souls (by Iron Maiden) is a bit softer than its older albums but they still maintain the identity and quality of some of their best albums from the 80’s. After the death of Ronnie James, many bands came together in remembrance of him and covered some of his most memorable songs throughout his 68 years of life. This goodbye letter came in the form of the album This Is Your Life, titled after the song of the same name by Dio featured in the album. It featured big names such as Anthrax, Tenacious D, Corey Taylor, Mötorhead, Scorpions, Killswitch Engage, Glenn Hughes, and Metallica. Some top picks from these albums are “Empire of the Clouds”, “If Eternity Should Fail”,  “The Red and the Black” (The Book of Souls) , “Holy Diver (cover by Killswitch Engage) and “Catch the Rainbow” (cover by Glenn Hughes). Ronnie James was a lead singer for many bands such as DIO, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow, and each of these are worth listening to, as they are part of a great legacy.

Rock 

Queens of the Stone Age

Despite Queens of the Stone Age not being metal, it is rock, and I thought it was worth adding to the list. Their newest album, Villains, was one of the best rock albums released this decade. Made with a very funky and unique tone, it stands out from many of the modern rock albums today, it’s proof that old bands “losing their touch after so long”, isn’t always true. Some top hits from this album are “Feet Don’t Fail Me”, “Domesticated Animals” and “Villains of Circumstance”.

Music is a very special creation because it brings people together. It can cause or trigger emotions like anger, joy and excitement, and can be a creative way to express yourself. Instead of arguing over what genre is best, or what band is best we should all take a step back and just appreciate music for what it is.