Who said Modern Metal Is Dead?  Many have used the dead statement when the constantly evolving music world has passed them by, whether it be about metal, hip-hop, pop music, or Rock & Roll.  The metal that they remember is no more, or it has evolved into something that they don't recognize as quality to their ears.  It's sad to see this happens to people as they get out of touch.  New artists, new styles, and new sounds are all worthwhile discoveries to the young at heart.  More often as people get older they tend to think that the best music came out when it was fresh & new for them in their youth, forgetting about the people that said the same about their music when they were young.

The Infinite Order, released in January by Living Sacrifice sees a return by one of the metal genre's true heirs to the Thrash throne.  The album is pummeling from beginning to end and doesn't let up, giving very little air to breathe.  Mastermind, released in October by Monster Magnet evokes memories of The Cult's Electric record, while creating their own lyrical fantasy world.  The album is a modern throwback to Harley riding metal if there ever was such a thing.  Georgia's Kylesa also released their new disc in October entitled Spiral Shadows.  They continue the upward climb that Sludge Metal has been on since the meteoric rise of Mastodon in the past few years.  The fact is that there were so many solid releases in 2010 that it gets hard to pick out only a few.  Rob Zombie, Overkill, Ozzy, Fear Factory, High on Fire, Armored Saint, Deftones, Slash, As I Lay Dying...all good within their respective metal subgenre.  Pick your poison.

Metal fans in 2010 continued to show respect to the great artists of the past while the bands forged new paths ahead.  The founding fathers of Thrash finally put their differences aside & put on a five hour show in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 22nd.  Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, & Anthrax played and then promised to do it again hinting at a US tour sometime in the future.  Speaking of the Big Four, both Dave Ellefson & Joey Belladonna returned to their bands, Megadeth & Anthrax respectively.  Dave & Dave Mustaine patched up some differences so Ellefson could tour on the 20 year anniversary of Rust In Peace.  Belladonna rejoined an Anthrax band that has not been able to keep a lead singer in  the past few years & solidified the legendary eighties Anthrax lineup for a series of shows over the summer & fall of 2010.

Dying young in rock is unfortunately too commonplace.  May 16th, 2010 saw the unexpected & deeply sad news of Ronnie James Dio's passing for stomach cancer.  Dio, 67,  had just finished an impressive new recording with the other members of Black Sabbath, naming the band Heaven & Hell after Dio's first release with Sabbath.  On May 24th, 2010 Paul Gray from Slipknot died at the age of 38 of an accidental overdose.  2010 also saw the death of Peter Steele, 48, of Type O Negative from heart failure.  Brian Damage from The Misfits passed away from liver failure at 46. 

As the year passes we have much to look forward to in 2011 as new metal continues to forge ahead, hacking down expectations with a machete at every turn.  The old guys keep rocking, & the young guys do their best to impress, bringing in the new sounds to keep us reaching for the stars.  Black Tide should release their second album next year, & we could get lucky enough to hear new Shadows Fall, new Lamb of God, and a new Mastodon record.  Metallica says that they are writing on tour, & if they put out a release as strong as 2009's Death Magnetic the metal community could be in for another BIG 4 tour as new releases by Megadeth & Anthrax are also in the works.  KISS may have something new out next year, as well as Whitesnake.  Will 2011 be the year that hair metal makes it's big comeback?  Let's not get too excited, as it hasn't happened yet.  Keep your mind young & your moshing skills up, & make your mind up to support metal in 2011.  Your children will thank you when it's their turn to headbang.