Abyssic Hate - Suicidal Emotions

Country: Australia | Genre: Black Metal | Label: No Colours

Coming out in a time when the suicidal black metal fad wasn't in evidence yet, Abyssic Hate's Suicidal Emotions swaths listeners in driving layers of despondent guitar fuzz. Cathartic and surprisingly catchy riffs sweep you along as Shane lays his entire soul bare in one of the most honest, emotional outbursts in the black metal world. Even ten years later it sounds as refreshing and powerful as when it first came out, because none of it comes off forced or contrived. (Alex)

Asphyx - On the Wings of Inferno

Country: Netherlands | Genre: Death Metal | Label: Century Media

This is Asphyx's best album since 1992. And it doesn't even have Martin Van Drunen on it. Wannes Gubbels of Pentacle and Soulburn fame makes sure he isn't missed either. Also featuring Eric Daniels, the guitarist of the excellent and underrated band Soulburn, the music on this album seems to have more in common with their sole album Feeding on Angels than the previous dull Asphyx albums released in the late '90s. Result: Gritty Hellhammer-ish trudging rather than lifeless doomy crawls balances the nasty and violent, almost out-of-control whiplashing riffs, catchy and rocking all the way here, with truly nightmarish vocals spewing blood all over it, making sure it becomes a memorable experience. People know Asphyx split up after this album (temporarily – they reformed in 2007), but few know how spectacular it was. (Kunal)

Cock and Ball Torture - Opus(sy) VI

Country: Germany | Genre: Pornogrind | Label: Shredded Records

Dead, Gut and Mucupurulent gave us pornogrind, but their sleazy acts of fluffery were nowhere near enough to prepare us for Cock and Ball Torture's sordid masturpiece, which made us sit up, lie down, roll over and submit to a bulldozer-bondage beating of the bawdiest order! With its inescapable hooks, repulsive vocal slosh and unstoppable low-end throb-wobble, Opus(sy) certainly set a new standard for this kind of grind, and its influence can easily be heard in the hordes of porno/goregrind styled bands that have slimed out of the underground since its release. Slots snugly through your groove chute. (Baz)

Destroyer 666 - Phoenix Rising

Country: Australia | Genre: Black/Thrash Metal | Label: Season of Mist

When compared to the more primitive and primal sounding of previous aural assaults such as, Unchain the Wolves and Violence is the Prince of This World, Phoenix Rising not only marked a whole new beginning for this Aussie band but also significantly serves as remarkably bold and risky step that perhaps few other black metal oriented bands would dare take. As signature songs like "I am the War God" and " Lone Wolf Winter " proudly indicate, Mr. KK Warslut and co. proved once and for all that black metal can be just as anthemic and gloriously rousing as any Iron Maiden album, and then some. Another significant point to note is that seeing how D666 successfully meshes the sophisticated grace of NWOBHM, the vibrant energy of classic thrash, and obviously the bitter misanthropy of Norse BM it's then safe to say that this is the definitive 'crossover' album that appeals to even wider spectrum of fans. Further given the year this was released it's all the more surprising then that this band didn't take the easy way out by continuing to dangle off the creative nuts of Marduk and/or Dark Funeral. Thus further proving that Destroyer 666 are leaders NOT followers. (Rob)

Disgorge - Forensick

Country: Mexico | Genre: Death/Grind | Label: Repulse Records

Mexican Disgorge raised the bar so high with Forensick that even they couldn't touch it on their subsequent releases, let alone other bands. Released a whole decade back, it is still one of the most extreme albums you will hear and even today its ridiculous extremity will stupefy you. Beyond the overwhelming spiky wall of noise (Forensick boasts of one of the noisiest productions), you will be surprised to find a lot happening - twisted yet coherent song structures, horrific dark passages, the sickest vocals ever and blur fast drumming that even a drum machine probably can't replicate as a result of the blasts being too spastic and erratic. Repulsive in every possible way, Forensick is a true Death/Grind classick. (Kunal)

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

Country: United Kingdom | Genre: Doom Metal | Label: Rise Above Records

Dopethrone was released ten years ago and in the decade since, one thing has become clear: Dopethrone is it. It is the heaviest, dirtiest, most malevolent piece of drugged out, spaced out doom metal filth ever recorded. And will always remain so. From the Sabbath-on-downers trudge of "Funeralopolis," to the crushing sludge-groove of "We Hate You," nothing compares to Electric Wizard's down tuned, massively distorted dirges. It is an album of such magnificent and startling heaviness that even the band themselves knew better than to try and outdo Dopethrone. Time will judge its true worth, but thus far Dopethrone is the single greatest celebration of the "heavy" in metal. (Tim)

Immolation - Close to a World Below

Country: USA | Genre: Death Metal | Label: Metal Blade Records

While releasing several pivotal death metal albums in the decade before it, the turn of the millennium saw the conjuration of Close to a World Below, arguably Immolation's pinnacle release. Highly technical with ridiculously evil rhythmic progressions, the album was entirely geared towards sonically devastating the listener in every conceivable way. It is an album that has stood strong for the last 10 years, and undoubtedly will be remembered for its contribution to the genre. And seriously, who could forget the opening line – ‘didn't you say...Jesus was coming?' (Berkay)

Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

Country: Czech Republic | Genre: Death Metal | Label: Obscene Productions

You can always rely on the Czechs for coming up with something original yet resolutely Extreme. Fusing the backbone of Blasphemy Made Flesh-slash-None So Vile era Cryptopsy with whatever the fuck else they felt like, with Elvenefris Lykathea Aflame took a pioneering turn off the left hand path that few (any?) have dared follow. That "whatever the fuck else" encompassed copious amounts of melody, acoustic passages, moments of calm ambience, middle eastern scales, techno, and bird song. Elvenefris stands on its own as an enlightened beacon of how to meld Death Metal's most extreme and basest elements with it's most high brow and progressive, it can tangle with the genre's most Brutal practitioners and walk away with mere scratches while at the same time intellectually sparring with those at the genre's outer reaches making them appear blinkered and ignorant. This album, despite all who have heard it doing their best to spread the word, remains early 2000s Death Metal's best kept secret. (Ewan)

Maniac Butcher - Epitaph - The Final Onslaught of Maniac Butcher

Country: Czech Republic | Genre: Black Metal | Label: Pussy God Records

For a long time one of the best kept secrets of the underground, crazy Czech axe-murderers Maniac Butcher belted out new releases almost annually, always as true black metal as could be, while also not neglecting the whole tongue-in-cheek aspect of it. With Epitaph they decided to call it quits to start up an old school thrash metal band, but what a send-off it is! As the culmination of their long career Epitaph hits all the right notes and stands as the most well-realized of their many albums. Hard and heavy ass-kicking riffs, wicked streams of tremolo and a constant injection of thrash metal sensibilities, Epitaph is a pure head-banger and hair-flailer from start to finish. (Alex)

Panzerchrist - Soul Collector

Country: Denmark | Genre: Death Metal | Label: Mighty Music

Soul Collector's war-themed music is amazingly fast and features the catchiest hooks and most hummable riffs you will ever hear in a death metal album without any compromise being made in its ferocity. A good number of its tunes will be forever etched in memory. This album is beautifully balanced, with Panzerchrist knowing when to slow down to give emphasis to a particular part and later accelerate to snatch your soul away before you realise it. Angry muffled snarls and flesh-ripping rasps by Bo Summer (Illdisposed) are refreshingly different from other standard growlers, and with the lyrics intentionally being in German, there is definite added malice. Drumming by Reno Killerich is outstanding too. This album had a mess of a line up but by God this is the best thing a bunch of musicians have ever done under the name of Panzerchrist. It also happens to be the best Death Metal album to come out of Denmark in the last decade. (Kunal)

Regurgitate - Carnivorous Erection

Country: Sweden | Genre: Goregrind | Label: Relapse Records

38 blasts of indispensable gore! This collection of colon-upsetting cuts is almost a decade old now, but it still always delivers an instant gore-fix with its hilariously over-the-top goregrinding content. After the gloriously horrid Effortless Regurgitation of Bright Red Blood, their  output unfortunately dried up for about five years, but their comeback with 'Carnivorous Erection' certainly delivered a welcome cleaver-blow to the cranium! It's hefty impact on the goregrind movement was clear, what with Bizarre Leprous releasing Comeback of Goregods - Tribute to Regurgitate to celebrate the occasion, as well as its obvious influence on a long list of goregrind recordings. With an ideal production job from Mieszko (who also guested on vox), Carnivorous Erection sees the catchy mudchug and blastfuelled crush of their previous output given a clearer, more coherent representation, but still retaining more than enough filth by means of churning low-end with hot-fat sizzle on top. Replusive goreguitar work meathooks your ears by means of very chunky catchy bits and full-tilt string throttle, infused with a kind of crustified gore swagger, ploughing along via destructive drum-bash, accompanied with perfect vocal putrefaction: gut-gargling gurgles, raucous bawling and pitchshifted projectile upchuck! Classick. (Baz)

Shining - I - Within Deep Dark Chambers

Country: Sweden | Genre: Black Metal | Label: Selbstmord Services

Both the band itself as well as the label Selbstmord Services run by founder Kvarforth were major parts of the prime impetus behind suicidal black metal. While I generally don't care for most of the whiny crap being peddled under that sub-style, there is no denying that Shining do this really well, focusing more on oppressive gloom and hateful misanthropy than the typical "woe is me" sound their followers go for. I still consider their debut to be their most interesting release, containing such a nebulous, threatening atmosphere, as if you're being hunted in some ancient, sinister, not-quite-abandoned castle. (Alex)

Weakling - Dead as Dreams

Country: USA | Genre: Black Metal | Label: tUMULt

It's not hard to see how this release kick-started an entire regional scene, sounding epic, larger than life and downright apocalyptic, while also coming across as deeply personal and tragic. Weakling was the result of one man with an affinity for black metal gathering people from genres as disparate as math rock and prog metal, to create this one album and then dissolve the band. Pretty much a prog black metal album, it shows how to be innovative without compromising the roots of your chosen genre. My personal pick for best album of the year 2000 and then some. (Alex)