METAL ODYSSEY’S TOP TEN SONGS OF 2010 – Every year, countless new Metal and Hard Rock albums are released. With an untold number of original songs, as well there being cover songs being released too, it is not humanly possible to hear them all. I have compiled a list of Top Ten Songs Of 2010, that represent THE songs that psyched-me-out of my Metal mind, throughout this past year and will continue to do so for many Metal moons to come. Quality musicianship, songwriting and vocals are all inclusive on these songs listed below, being heard by my attentive Metal ears. These art ten songs from 2010 that I will never forget for the rest of my Metal lovin’ life!

#10

MORPHINE KILLER – Throw It All Away

To listen to Throw It All Away, just click on that magnificent box above. Morphine Killer is Brandon Ortiz aka Eski and Belle Roka. Is it the music that Eski plays or the vocals of Belle that made this song an instantly memorable song for me? It’s BOTH. With a Modern Metal backbone meets Classic Rock accessibility, Throw It All Away is a song I want the world to hear. When a song can float above a variety of Rock genres like this one can and ROCK so damn steady as it does, it makes my Metal Odyssey Top Ten Songs Of 2010 list without a Metal hiccup. Metal Odyssey is handing out a #1 Female Heavy Rock vocal Performance for 2010… it’s Belle Roka with Throw It All Away. Morphine Killer has been my diamond in the rough for 2010.

#9

HIGH ON FIRE – Frost Hammer

On August 29, 2010, I blabbed away about how Metal terrific Frost Hammer is. You can read about it for yourself by clicking on the header below! Matt Pike and his band High On Fire are the epitome of what Metal should sound like when you are flipping off the music charts. You’ll never find glitz or glam with these guys, just straight up Stoner Metal meets Rock ‘N’ Roll, with potent doses of landscape rippling sound, blasting from this now legendary three piece.

On August 29, 2010, I wrote about how much I really dig Frost Hammer. (I actually really dig the entire Snakes for the Divine album as well). Click the link below to read more about it!

HIGH ON FIRE “FROST HAMMER” – A METAL SONG FOR THE METAL AGES

#8

AVENGED SEVENFOLD – Nightmare

The vocals of M. Shadows are laced with emotional realism that can’t be manufactured. While I listen to this song, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the relentlessly driving up-tempo and power of this A7X band occurs, from the opening note to the very last one. Every time I listen to thisNightmare song, the psyche-me-out meter explodes within my Metal soul. I swear I can hear and feel this band’s courage melting over this entire song and I’m not bashful to admit this. A7X made an incredible song (and album as well) under extreme conditions, after losing their brother and drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, to a tragically untimely passing on December 28, 2009.

What stands out to me, every time I listen to this song, is the transparent mood of victory amongst the overall musicianship, which seems to swirl itself around the more darker vibe of Nightmare’s overall theme. Each member of A7X plays with an inspired emotion on this song that carries on through the entire album. Nightmare is a word that can sum up what A7X has endured as a band of brothers, yet it’s also a magical song that has carried them to the top tier and front row of Modern Metal.

 

#7

ARMORED SAINT – Chilled

Armored Saint returned in a very fantastic way in 2010. Metal be thy name was I thrilled that Armored Saint did make a comeback… and they did so by making a kick ass album titled: La Raza. On April 19, 2010, I wrote exactly how this Armored Saint song makes me feel. Chilled will always be a lifetime favorite song of mine, it’s lyrical message of chilling out as you get older hits home. Take the Metal plunge and read all about it by clicking on the header below!

ARMORED SAINT – “CHILLED” SONG FROM “LA RAZA” ALBUM CHILLS AND THRILLS MY METAL SOUL

#6

JON OLIVA’S PAIN – Death Rides A Black Horse

And on the eighth day, God created Jon Oliva. In all Metal seriousness, Jon Oliva is a man of music and his very own and real nightmare comes to life musically and lyrically, with Death Rides A Black Horse. Jon Oliva writing about his nightmares makes for incredible songs and Death Rides A Black Horse is as nightmarish as they come, in an epic and sensory stirring way. The keyboards are haunting and the dark mood of this song gives way to my very own, made up scary imagery. I embrace any song that entertains me like a horror novel or gives me the jitters like a nightmare, Death Rides A Black Horse is just that.

#5

KROKUS – Too Hot

The “classic” Krokus lineup from the One Vice At A Time album from 1982, returned in 2010 with a Hard Rockin’ mission statement called Hoodoo. I knew after my very first listen to the Hoodoo album that there were a few potential “Top Ten” song candidates… I dug this album that much. Too Hot became just that type of song for me all year, this song is hot from beginning to end. An infectious Hard Rock vibe I feel throughout Too Hot, without an ounce of letup. This Hard Rock vibe jumps straight out of Too Hot, reeling in all of the delectable Old School feelings of good times, partying till dawn and… just free spirited FUN.

#4

GAMMA RAY – To The Metal

HAIL HEAVY METAL! This is the Heavy Metal anthem that will forever remind me that this great genre is bigger than anything anyone could have ever imagined. Years may pass us by, economies shall fall, wars will be waged while we Metalhead’s age… only Metal always stands tall, has stood the test of time and never goes away. This song is about more than Heavy Metal, it’s about the cultural and social impact it has had upon us Metalheads through the decades, an F’n damn Metal phenomenon that can never be stopped, controlled or denied.

When I interviewed Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray’s lead vocalist & guitarist) earlier this year for HARD ROCK HIDEOUT, he likened Heavy Metal to that of a dragon… he explained once you cut the head off a dragon, it keeps on growing more heads. Well put, Kai… and well done with your legendary Power Metal band – Gamma Ray!

On July 19, 2010, I wrote about this powerful Heavy Metal anthem – To The Metal. Read about it if you like, by clicking the header below!

GAMMA RAY “TO THE METAL” – A HEAVY METAL ANTHEM, AN INSTANT SONG CLASSIC

#3

KOPEK – Love Is Dead

If there is that young band that is going to eventually take over the Rock and Hard Rock world, KOPEK is that band. Metal as my witness, it’s just a matter of time. Don’t say Stone never warned you either. When a three piece can Rock the daylights out of me, while delivering a Hard Rockin’ sound that is as refreshing as an iced pint of beer, that band deserves any and all the accolades I can Metal muster. KOPEK is that band. Take a look and listen to Love Is Dead by clicking that cool box below… you’ll likely understand what I mean.

Oh, while I’m at it, why beat around the Metal bush…

Love Is Dead is Metal Odyssey’s #1 Music Video Of 2010!

#2

SCORPIONS – Raised On Rock

2010 was the year when the unreal legendary Scorpions announced their embarking on a final, three year tour. The Scorpions are retiring. It can’t be! Alas, the Metal truth sometimes is hard to swallow. I, along with Scott Coverdale set forth on our Metal journey this past June, of 2010, to the M3 Rock Festival, (Columbia, Maryland), to see the Scorpions off. On June 27, 2010, I posted about the Scorpions headlining the 2010 M3 Rock Festival. You can read about how I felt, seeing and experiencing the Scorpions at the 2010 M3 Rock Festival by clicking the large header below!

SCORPIONS AT M3 ROCK FESTIVAL 2010 – THANK YOU SCORPS!!

Raised On Rock is not just a song that my 80’s generation can relate to, this is a song that any Rock generation can and should relate to. Admittedly, I am instantly psyched out of my Metal mind, while my face gets flushed and my arms become covered with ostrich bumps each time I listen to Raised On Rock. With these types of emotional and physical reactions I experience from Raised On Rock… there really is nuthin’ else left to say, except…

THANK YOU SCORPIONS!

#1

HALFORD – Thunder And Lightning

Thunder And Lightning from HALFORD  is my #1 song of 2010! Music should speak to you and make you feel good… and sometimes invincible. HALFORD makes me feel invincible with Thunder And Lightning, I’m not going to deny it, I will just accept it with Metal glee. Everyone knows, when a song “hits” you that certain way, it just feels like it was written and recorded especially for you. This is exactly how Thunder And Lightning “hits me”.

Everything that I have ever loved about Heavy Metal, seems to be woven into Thunder And Lightning. From the strong vocals of Rob Halford, to the melodic and yet still heavy guitar leads of Roy Z., with Metal Mike Chlasciak unleashing the rhythmic balance from his axe, the tempo never subsides from it’s elevated high.  Oh, there is a kick ass guitar solo too from Roy Z. and it gives me the Metal chills. Mike Davis on bass and Bobby Jarzombek on drums make the woofers on my home stereo speakers quake to the Metal limit. The chorus is mind blowing and Metal riveting. Even the fade out on this song is perfect. F’n Old School.

Being track #10 on the new HALFORD album, Made Of Metal is without question worth the wait as I listen to this fabulous album. Then again, I can’t count the number of times I select only this song to listen to, sometimes twenty times in a row! I’m not kidding. Rob Halford, otherwise known as The Metal God, is at his vintage best on vocals, with his band surrounding him with an awesome display of pure Metal power. When a song puts me on an ultra-maximum Metal high, like Thunder And Lightning does, it gets picked as #1. Metal be thy name.

On October 6, 2010, I posted a complete album review on HALFORD IV Made Of Metal, you can check it out by clicking the header below!

HALFORD IV “MADE OF METAL” – THE METAL GOD… Has Returned With A Vengeance!

LONG LIVE METAL.

LONG LIVE HARD ROCK.

Stone.

* Below is a list of other great sites/bloggers that cover Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal and will be sharing their “Best Of 2010” lists and thoughts as well. It is well worth the trip to any and/or all of them!

Heavy Metal Addiction —  http://heavymetaladdiction.com

Hard Rock Hideout — http://hardrockhideout.com/

Heavy Metal Time Machine — http://metalmark.blogspot.com/

Metal Excess — http://metalexcess.com/

Imagine Echoes — http://www.imagineechoes.com/

The Ripple Effect — http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/

Hard Rock Nights — http://hardrocknights.wordpress.com/

Layla’s Classic Rock — http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/

The Metal Minute — http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/

LONG LIVE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.

Stone.