It's crazy to think that it's already been a decade since Julia Gillard was Australia's Prime Minister and Steve Jobs passed away, but 2011 was also a year to be remembered by its awesome share of rock and metal releases.
While it wasn't quite as iconic of a year as 2001, we were still graced with some amazing music from bands at the top of their game!
Here are 10 of the best rock/metal records to have come out a decade ago:
DevilDriver - Beast
DevilDriver's fifth album Beast turned out to be their most technical to date, with a huge, meaty production behind it to really make it a hard-hitting collection of just balls-to-the-wall metal tracks.
The opening song 'Dead To Rights' is a tour de force, and a fantastic setup for one of the most ferocious records of 2011!
Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising
Being an Amon Amarth fan is a comforting feeling, because with each new album you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll be taken on an epic journey! Their eighth album Surtur Rising was yet another masterclass in storytelling and viking mythology, paired with another round of badass melodic death metal.
Amon Amarth are still head and shoulders above their peers in this genre, and this record was just more evidence.
Deafheaven - Roads To Judah
After Deafheaven released their impressive first demo in 2010, Deathwish Inc quickly signed the band for their debut album Roads Of Judah, which made quite a big splash upon its release, and for good reason too.
Pushing the boundaries of what black metal was traditionally known for, Deafheaven expertly weaved shoegaze elements into the mix, resulting in a lush, dense and emotional debut LP.
Wormrot - Dirge
Singaporean grindcore band Wormrot are one of the most intense, ferocious and pissed off bands you can find out there - their second album Dirge is a 25-track shotgun blast to the face with only five of those tracks lasting over a minute in length.
It's crusty, filthy and downright fantastic, and it earned them a global following which the band have retained to this day!
The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual
If you know anything about The Black Dahlia Murder, then you'll know that it's almost impossible for the death metal titans to put out a bad record. A fantastic display of musicianship, technicality and songwriting was the order of the day on Ritual, and it's a killer listen for any fan of the genre.
As it turns out, Ritual was also their highest-charting album to date, hitting #31 on the Billboard 200 in the US - a pretty amazing feat for such an extreme band!
August Burns Red - Leveler
While we're on the topic of consistent bands, August Burns Red did their part in 2011 by dropping this belter of a metalcore record for us to all mosh in our rooms to.
Breakdowns, technical shredding and unbelievable drum work from Matt Greiner, who is widely noted as one of the best drummers in the game altogether. It's distinctly August Burns Red, and it still gets a spin from us every now and then 10 years later!
Trivium - In Waves
Trivium had a lot to live up to after 2008's monster of a record, Shogun, and while their follow-up never quite reached the same peaks, it still stands on its own as an album full of catchy anthems, while still keeping the metallic edge in play that fans had come to know and love.
They even managed to sneak a cheeky little cover of Sepultura's 'Slave New World' on the special edition, which is always a win in our books.
Mastodon - The Hunter
Riffs, riffs, riffs! Mastodon are kings of blending intricate instrumentation with a classic metal atmosphere, and The Hunter is an extremely fun record for anyone remotely into metal at all.
It contains some of the biggest vocal hooks from Mastodon to date, and a real sense of groove throughout. 'Curl Of The Burl' might also be one of the greatest songs from 2011!
Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy (EP)
While technically not an album, Cynic continued to prove why they were such a pioneering force in the world of progressive metal, pushing their complex sound into even more uncharted territory with a wealth of atmosphere and texture to compliment the virtuosic guitar work at hand.
A beautiful release that's well worth checking out.
Anthrax - Worship Music
Anthrax cemented their place among the thrash Big Four with this absolute beast of a record, incorporating a wide range of styles under the thrash metal banner, demonstrating that they could be more inventive than their Big Four counterparts and delivering songs that only Anthrax could do.
For a band who rose to fame throughout the 80s and 90s, it really is a testament to Worship Music that a 2011 record would end up being one of the best albums they've ever released.
