So, here it is, the Rock Sound, Top 75 Albums Of 2010. Enjoy!

1. Bring Me the Horizon ‘There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret’ (Visible Noise)
2. Deftones ‘Diamond Eyes’ (Warners)
3. The Dillinger Escape Plan ‘Option Paralysis’ (Party Smasher / Season of Mist)
4. Against Me! ‘White Crosses’ (Warners)
5. My Chemical Romance ‘Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys’ (Warners)
6. Comeback Kid ‘Symptoms + Cures’ (Victory)
7. The Gaslight Anthem ‘American Slang’ (SideOneDummy)
8. Devil Sold His Soul ‘Blessed & Cursed’ (Century Media)
9. The Xcerts ‘Scatterbrain’ (Xtra Mile)
10. Kylesa ‘Spiral Shadow’ (Season Of Mist)
11. Far ‘At Night We Live’ (Xtra Mile)
12. You Me At Six ‘Hold Me Down’ (Virgin)
13. Young Guns ‘All Our Kings Are Dead’ (PIAS)
14. A Day to Remember ‘What Separates Me From You’ (Victory)
15. Pianos Become the Teeth ‘Old Pride’ (Topshelf)
16. Kvelertak ‘Kvelertak’ (Indie Recordings)
17. The Unwinding Hours ‘The Unwinding Hours’ (Chemikal Underground)
18. High on Fire ‘Snakes For The Divine’ (E1)
19. Off With Their Heads ‘In Desolation’ (Epitaph)
20. Oceansize ‘Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up’ (Superball)
21. The National ‘High Violet’ (4AD)
22. Torche ‘Songs For Singles’ (Hydra Head)
23. The Chariot ‘Long Live’ (Good Fight)
24. Norma Jean ‘Meridional’ (Razor & Tie)
25. Kids In Glass Houses ‘Dirt’ (Roadrunner)
26. Rolo Tomassi ‘Cosmology’ (Hassle)
27. Stone Sour ‘Audio Secrecy’ (Roadrunner)
28. Bullet for My Valentine ‘Fever’ (Sony)
29. Cancer Bats ‘Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones’ (Hassle)
30. Rinoa ‘An Age Among Them’ (Eyesofsound)
31. Four Year Strong ‘Enemy Of The World’ (Universal / Decaydance)
32. Touché Amoré ‘…To The Beat Of A Dead Horse’ (6131)
33. Lostprophets ‘The Betrayed’ (Visible Noise)
34. Circa Survive ‘Blue Sky Noise’ (Atlantic)
35. Weezer ‘Hurley’ (Epitaph)
36. Crime in Stereo ‘I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone’ (Bridge Nine)
37. Foals ‘Total Life Forever’ (Transgressive)
38. 65daysofstatic ‘We Were Exploding Anyway’ (Hassle)
39. Jimmy Eat World ‘Invented’ (Interscope)
40. The Swellers ‘Ups And Downsizing’ (Fueled By Ramen)
41. LaFaro ‘LaFaro’ (Smalltown America)
42. Parkway Drive ‘Deep Blue’ (Epitaph)
43. Lower Than Atlantis ‘Far Q’ (A Wolf At Your Door)
44. Coheed and Cambria ‘Year Of The Black Rainbow’ (Roadrunner)
45. Pulled Apart By Horses ‘Pulled Apart By Horses’ (Transgressive)
46. Crippled Black Phoenix ‘I, Vigilante’ (Invada)
47. Open Hand ‘Honey’ (Anodyne)
48. Trash Talk ‘Eyes & Nines’ (Hassle)
49. Dinosaur Pile-Up ‘Growing Pains’ (Friends Vs Records)
50. Daughters ‘Daughters’ (Hydra Head)
51. Smoke Or Fire ‘The Speakeasy’ (Fat Wreck Chords)
52. Envy ‘Recitation’ (Rock Action)
53. Les Savy Fav ‘Root For Ruin’ (wichita)
54. 36 Crazyfists ‘Collisions And Castaways’ (Roadrunner)
55. The Damned Things ‘Ironiclast’ (Mercury)
56. The Ocean ‘Heliocentric’ (Metal Blade)
57. Pendulum ‘Immersion’ (Warners)
58. Chickenhawk ‘Modern Bodies’ (Brew)
59. Astrohenge ‘Astrohenge’ (Eyesofsound)
60. Your Demise ‘The Kids We Used To Be’ (Visible Noise)
61. Blood Command ‘Ghostclocks’ (Fysisk Format)
62. Chiodos ‘Illuminaudio’ (Equal Vision)
63. Sleigh Bells ‘Treats’ (Mom + Pop)
64. Alkaline Trio ‘This Addiction’ (Heart & Skull / Hassle)
65. Twilight ‘Monument To Time End’ (Southern Lord)
66. The Flatliners ‘Cavalcade’ (Fat Wreck Chords)
67. Grown Ups ‘More Songs’ (Big Scary Monsters)
68. Melissa Auf der Maur ‘Out Of Our Minds’ (Roadrunner)
69. The Ascent Of Everest ‘From This Vantage’ (Shelsmusic)
70. The Wonder Years ‘The Upsides’ (Hopeless / No Sleep)
71. Coliseum ‘House With A Curse’ (Temporary Residence)
72. Bison B.C. ‘Dark Ages’ (Metal Blade)
73. Minus The Bear ‘Omni’ (Dangerbird)
74. Black Breath ‘Heavy Breathing’ (Southern Lord)
75. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza ‘Danza III: The Series Of Unfortunate Events’ (Metal Blade)

http://www.rocksound.tv/

I was rather late off the mark on this one, as it was a while before I got around to ordering this particular Secret History from Terrorizer. Flicking through the issue there is the ever-present Top 40. So, for your delectation and debate, here is, The Death Toll.

1. Morbid Angel – Altars Of Madness [Earache 1989]
2. Entombed – Left Hand Path [Earache 1990]
3. Autopsy – Mental Funeral [Peaceville 1991]
4. Repulsion – Horrified [Necrosis 1989]
5. Death – Leprosy [Combat 1989]
6. Carcass – Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious [Earache 1991]
7. Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten [Roadrunner 1991]
8. Deicide – Deicide [Roadrunner 1990]
9. At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul [ Earache 1995]
10. Bolt Thrower – Realm Of Chaos [Earache 1989]
11. Possessed – Seven Churches [Combat 1985]
12. Atheist – Unquestionable Presence [Active 1991]
13. Obituary – Cause Of Death [1990]
14. Sepultura – Arise [Roadrunner 1991]
15. Death Strike – Fuckin’ Death [Nuclear Blast 1991]
16. Incantation – Onward To Golgotha [Relapse 1992]
17. Ripping Corpse – Dreaming With The Dead [Maze 1994]
18. Massacre – From Beyond [Earache 1991]
19. Cryptopsy – None So Vile [Wrong Again 1996]
20. Vader – De Profundis [Conquest 1995]
21. Dismember – Like An Ever Flowing Stream [Nuclear Blast 1991]
22. Cannibal Corpse – Tomb Of The Mutilated [Metal Blade 1992]
23. Master – Master [Nuclear Blast 1990]
24. Nocturnus – The Key [Earache 1990]
25. Behemoth – Demigod [Regain 2004]
26. Gorguts – Obscura [Olympic 1998]
27. Disincarnate – Dreams Of A Carrion Kind [Roadrunner 1993]
28. Nile – In Their Darkened Shrines [Relapse 2002]
29. Pestilence – Testimony Of The Ancients [Roadrunner 1991]
30. Hate Eternal – King Of All Kings [Earache 2002]
31. Decapitated – Winds Of Creation [Earache 2000]
32. In Flames – The Jester Race [Wrong Again 1996]
33. Demilich – Nespithe [Necropolis 1993]
34. Necrophagia – Season Of The Dead [New Renaissance 1987]
35. Grave – Into The Grave [Century Media 1991]
36. Merciless – The Awakening [Deathlike Silence 1990]
37. Dying Fetus – Destroy The Opposition [Relapse 2000]
38. Demigod – Slumber Of Sullen Eyes [Drowned 1992]
39. Devourment – Butcher The Weak [Self-Released 2005]
40. Order From Chaos – Stillbirth Machine [Decapitated 1993]

Another magazine whose subscription I have let run out is Terrorizer. My intention is to now buy just the specials and the issues containing the Writers/Readers polls, as the international subscription to Canada is a bit pricey and with so many of the extreme magazines now  seeming to run the same bands and features every month, it makes more sense just to pick up a monthly copy of Decibel.

So, here is the Album Of The Month* and a list of albums that got 9 or above in Terrorizer’s August 2010 Issue (199):

• Winterfylleth – The Mercian Sphere [Candlelight]* - http://open.spotify.com/album/5pTIHz2ACqxuOQ9cT3veck
• Ufomammut – Eve [Supernatural Cat] -
• Various Artists – This Comp Kills Facists Vol 2 [Relapse]

I’ve just been going through this month’s copy of Decibel, my last one through the mail, as my subscription has just run out and I will probably just pick it up from a local newsstand. Here’s a run down of this months new albums that score 9 or more in the review section:

• Decrepit Birth – Polarity [Nuclear Blast]
• Coliseum – House With A Curse [Temporary Residence]
• Danzig – Deth Red Sabaoth [Evilive/The End]
• Fistula – Goat [Crucial Blast] – http://open.spotify.com/album/0ajv8XGXN5g3e0mqAPDaUg
• Khoma – A Final Storm [Selective Notes/Razzia] – http://open.spotify.com/album/44ynXO8PH6WvIxwoRMlZX8
• Thou – Summit [Gilead Media]

Sadly only a couple of these have turned up on Spotify, so far. I’ve just been checking out Kohma’s, A Final Storm, which is excellent.

As another issue (137) of Rocksound lands in the mailbox,  it’s time to see which of the new albums reviewed in this issue get a score of 9 or above:

• Circa Survive – Blue Sky Noise (Atlantic)
• Devil Sold His Soul – Blessed & Cursed (Century Media) – http://open.spotify.com/album/6c2Y19Ur1miqU4khkFScrI
• Parkway Drive – Deep Blue (Epitaph) – http://open.spotify.com/album/7tIkp4pbeKvrNOYGEQriZP
• Out Of Sight – Where Do We Go From Here (Slam Dunk) – http://open.spotify.com/album/5DHvAn2OJgd3U0WSQEdZN2

Four very different albums by four very different bands. My favourite? Well that’s got to be Blessed & Cured by Devil Sold His Soul. Well, they are from the South East of England, my old stomping ground. Check ‘em out.

I have just been chatting to my parents this morning, over in the UK. It seems they are having the same good weather that we are over here in Nova Scotia.

Hopefully, the good weather will continue in the UK to give a sunny weekend for the upcoming Guilfest at Stoke Park, Guilford. What started out as the, one day, Guildford Festival of Folk and Blues, in 1992 has grown to a much larger event over 3 days (16-18th July). Considered to be a ‘family friendly’ style festival this years 3 headliners are: Orbital, The Human League and Status Quo.

Of particular interest to me would be the Rocksound Rock Cave stage with F***ed Up and We Are The Ocean playing at the top of the bill on Friday night. Check out the other bands on the bill at www.guilfest.co.uk.

Some more…perhaps?

Check them out at – http://www.bimmusic.com/

Or, download Head Over Heels for free, here – http://www.bimmusic.com/freedownload

Bim’s debut album, Scatterheart, can be heard on their website, and there are other tracks of theirs on Spotify – http://open.spotify.com/album/0TogCtOtsnsTnlJJD0G5Gu

It’s good to see that local gal, Sarah McLachlan has a new long player out. The recently released (on the 15th June 2011) Laws Of Illusion is her 7th studio album:

• 1988 – Touch
• 1991 – Solace
• 1993 – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
• 1997 – Surfacing
• 2003 – Afterglow
• 2006 – Wintersong
• 2010 – Laws of Illusion

It’s on Spotify, so if you have it, you can check it out at – http://open.spotify.com/album/0eeRKrhPyIAOxK2zemQiWd

Track Listing:

1. Awakenings
2. Illusions of Bliss
3. Loving You Is Easy
4. Changes
5. Forgiveness
6. Rivers of Love
7. Love Come
8. Out of Tune
9. Heartbreak
10. Don’t Give Up on U
11. U Want Me 2
12. Bring on the Wonder
13. Love Come" (Piano Version)
    

Reviewed at:

• Allmusic – http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ajfrxzysldae
• Rolling Stone – http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/17385/116892
• SputnikMusic – http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=57229
• Slant – http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/sarah-mclachlan-laws-of-illusion/2154
• Entertainment Weekly – http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20392189,00.html
• Los Angeles Times – http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/06/album-review-sarah-mclachlans-laws-of-illusion.html
• Boston Globe – http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/06/album-review-sarah-mclachlans-laws-of-illusion.html
• New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/arts/music/14choice.html?_r=1

Genre(s):

• Pop
• Adult Contemporary

Similar Artists:

• Tara MacLean
• Jann Arden
• Jewel
• Natalie Merchant
• Chantal Kreviazuk
• Paula Cole
• Heather Nova
• Sheryl Crow
• Indigo Girls
• Shawn Colvin

Further Information:

Website – http://www.sarahmclachlan.com

MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/sarahmclachlan

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/sarahmclachlan

Twitter – http://twitter.com/sarahmclachlan

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_McLachlan

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have been getting ready for a return to employment after a number of years working for myself and also have been away on a business trip to Washington, DC.

While I was in DC, I picked up the Iron Maiden video, Iron maiden: Flight 666. A tour documentary I have been meaning to pick up for a while now, especially since Sam Dunn was involved in its making.

The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour between February and March 2008. It was refreshing to see a band documentary where members were not; getting drunk, goofing around, fighting, throwing hissy fits, crying or slagging off other bands/band members.

If you have not checked it out already, I recommend you do so.

Here is a clip from YouTube.

While we are on the subject of Sam Dunn, don’t forget to check out his Rush documentary, Beyond the Lighted Stage.

Here is my current list of top 10 favourite albums, but, as I listen to so much music, this could change in the next….hour…minute.

• The Alarm – Declaration
• Angel Witch – Angel Witch
• Armoury Show – Waiting For The Floods
• Billy Talent – Billy Talent
• Delphic – Acolyte
• Enter Shikari – Take To The Skies
• Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden
• Marillion – Script For A Jesters Tear
• The Sisters Of Mercy – First And Last And Always
• Suede – Suede