The metal albums of the decade: A consensus?

by Cosmo Lee

Here are the top vote-getters among readers of this site for metal albums of the decade (poll here; there were ties at #4 and #5):

1. Mastodon – Leviathan
2. Converge – Jane Doe
3. Isis – Oceanic
4. Opeth – Blackwater Park
4. Discordance Axis – The Inalienable Dreamless
5. High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings
5. Strapping Young Lad – Alien
5. Gojira – From Mars to Sirius

Compare this to Metalsucks’ poll earlier this year of 57 industry professionals for metal albums of the decade:

1. Mastodon – Leviathan
2. Lamb of God – As the Palaces Burn
3. Opeth – Blackwater Park
4. Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing
5. Converge – Jane Doe

See also Decibel‘s Top 100 Metal Albums of the Decade (which came from a poll of its 30+ writers), in which Leviathan placed highly and Jane Doe, Oceanic, and Blackwater Park placed very highly.

There is little overlap among the readers of this site, Metalsucks’ panel, and Decibel‘s writers. Yet their voting is coalescing with similar patterns. This is extremely surprising to me, as I surmised last week that the explosion of releases this decade would make reaching consensus difficult, if not impossible.

But evidently there is a consensus:

The metal albums of the decade are Leviathan, Jane Doe, Oceanic, and Blackwater Park.

Interestingly, all of these albums/artists represent departures from metal. Mastodon is/was headed towards prog rock, Converge are hardcore punk with metallic elements, Isis get less and less metal with each release, and Opeth are most interesting when they play prog rock, not metal.

Your thoughts?

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