Top Ten in 2010

Its that time of year again. Looking back on an awesome year in music, it was incredibly difficult narrowing it down. I'm breaking these down into 3 categories: LPs, EPs, and demos. Don't consider these my picks as best records of the year (I don't know shit about music) rather my "favorite" records of the year.

LPs

10. Ruckus/World of Pain/Xibalba - Earthquake Split

9. Walter Schreifels - An Open Letter To the Scene

8. Coliseum - House With A Curse

7. Unit 731 - Res Ipsa Loquitur

6. Alpha & Omega - Life Swallower

5. Hostage Calm - S/T

4. Ceremony - Rohnert Park

3. Terror - Keepers of the Faith

2. First Blood - Silence Is Betrayal

1. Iron Chic - Not Like This

Honorable Mentions: Comeback Kid - Symptoms + Cures, No Class - S/T, Masakari - The Profit Feeds, Gorillaz - Plastic Beach, Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Eps

10. Incendiary/Suburban Scum Split

9. Integrity - Magic Bullet

8. Harms Way - No Gods No Masters

7. Daylight - Despirit

6. Beartrap - God Fearing Youth

5. Product of Waste - Prophecies of a Poor Man

4. Coke Bust - Degredation

3. Sabertooth Zombie - Human Performance I & II

2. Energy - Walk Into the Fire

1. Betrayed - Suffering

Honorable Mentions: Creatures - Salvation, Rock Bottom - Born II Hate, Mind Eraser/Slang Split, All Pigs Must Die - S/T

Demos (w/ links to the blogs i found them on)

10. Steppin Stone

9. Enforcers - Demo MMX

8. Benoit - Demo 2010

7. Roadrunner

6. Carrying the Fire

5. Leviathan

4. Dry Heave

3. Twitching Tongues

2. Slam - Have You Ever Killed?

1. Warbound - Shades of Red

Nasty Nas - Halftime Single (1992)

When I was around 10 years old, my crack dealing best friend/neighbor have me his Illmatic cassette. As far as rap and hip hop went I pretty much just took his word on what was good, which wasn't always for the best. Nas has always been a favorite, especially Illmatic through I Am. This is Nas' first single when he went by "Nasty Nas". This song originally appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Zebrahead (a Michael Rapaport classic) after Nas was approached by MC Serch in 1992. If you own Illmatic you're familiar with this song, but lets just remember how awesome it is anyway.

Nasty Nas - Halftime Single (1992)

Rage Against the Machine - Demo Tape

I know, I know, two "rap-metal" posts back to back(What is this dude thinking?) But it feels kinda hard to talk about Downset without mentioning Rage. These are their first recordings the band put together in 1991 prior to their self-titled LP. For those who consider this band a guilty pleasure, maybe the shitty recording quality on these demos will keep your punx at ease. If you haven't, listen to these guys prior bands: Inside Out (De La Roca) and Lock Up (Morello).

Rage Against the Machine - Demo Tape

Downset - Our Suffocation (1993 Demo)

I wish i was cool enough to say I've always been a fan of this band. Sadly, yet gratefully, a friend of mine turned me on to these guys about a month ago. Downset are a hip hop influenced hardcore group from L.A., a la Rage Against the Machine. Rey Oropeza (vocalist) had previously sung for the well-known Cali hardcore band Social Justice, and following a series of lineup changes/musical changes the group called it quits and adopted the "Downset" moniker. Downset ran with the new heaver, more hip-hop influenced sound and the rest is history. This is the 1993 "Our Suffocation" demo the band recorded which basically bridged the Social Justice-Downset gap. Enjoy.

Downset - Our Suffocation (1993 Demo)

Darkthrone - A New Dimension (1988)

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a black metal fan. As a matter of fact I know very little about the genre besides a handful popular artists. But I like what I like and this Darkthrone demo from 1988 is fantastic. The quality sucks, the song is 9 minutes long, but its worth every second. Black metal fan or not you'll enjoy this tape. Shout-outs to Spencer and Skylar, this one is kinda for them even though they've probably already heard this.

Darkthrone - A New Dimension (1988)

The Misfits - Cough/Cool b.w. She (1977)

My love for the Misfits dates all the way back to middle school and I generally give them most the credit for shaping my current musical tastes. I remember my friend Bernie bringing a copy of Famous Monsters to school one day and thinking it was absolutely the worst shit I had ever heard (fuck that Michael Graves re-incarnation bullshit). Shortly after, I got my hands on their Collection I and II cds and was hooked immediately. Cough/Cool is the very first Misfits release, I chose to use the original recordings instead of the remastered version because I feel if it doesn't sound like shit you won't get the full effect. Fun fact: there are no guitars on this record. Instead, Danzig just ran a keyboard through a fuzzbox to distort it, giving the impression of a guitar... The man is a genius, recognize.

The Misfts - Cough/Cool b.w. She

Michael Graves is a dork.

Breakdown - Runnin' Scared Demo

I had the privilege of going to two Breakdown shows last year and was not disappointed. Considered one of the quintessential NYHC acts of the late 80s, Breakdown was heavily influential on the shape of things to come in the hardcore scene for years to come. This is actually not the original Breakdown demo but a demo the band released in '88 with its new lineup post Killing Time formation(Raw Deal at the time). A handful of these songs can also be found on the Dissed and Dismissed bootleg. Enjoy.

Breakdown - Runnin' Scared Demo

Life of Agony - Depression Demo

I've slept a year plus on this blog without posting a single thing. Frankly I got bored and I can't promise that won't happen again. In an attempt to rededicate myself to the blog I'm retooling my mission statement a little. The focus will still be on demos, however, the focus will shift to older demos from bands a lot of people consider the "classics". I'll put up newer demos here and there when one really strikes me as standout, but more often than not my posts from here on out will be similar to this one. Now that that's out of the way, LOA is one of my favorite bands and River Runs Red is one of my favorite albums. Like their other early demos, "Depression" has a different sound than LOA's later material. There's a definite metal twinge (ala Type O Negative) to the demo but you'll notice a less than subtle Sheer Terror and Judge influence. I hope you enjoy.

Life of Agony - Depression Demo