Alright, enough revisions, drafts, and agonizing….
MY FAVORITE STUFF of 2010….
Biters “s/t 10″ / Its OK To Like Biters”
No records got more play than these 2 EPs by Atlanta’s Biters. Short, sharp, spring-action power-pop with a sneer. Here is my favorite song of 2010.
and the rest in no certain order…
Trap Them “Filth Rations” EP
they just get better with each release. the seriousness with which this band takes what they do is some Black Flag shit. I preach it all the time, this band is important.
High Watt Crucifixers “s/t”
Texas punk rawk ‘n roll with hooks, and one of the best live drummers you will ever see.
NAILS “Unsilent Death”
14 minutes of pulverizing hate. so brutal i only capitalize their name…just like SLAYER.
the Secret “Solve Et Coagula”
seething Italian’s high-fivin’ NAILS in the hate department. Kurt Ballou-production takes it to a smothering level. this record also has my favorite artwork of the year courtesy of Justin Bartlett…iconic and evil.

Jesse Malin & the St.Marks Social “Love It To Life”
Jesse tells stories, loves the Bad Brains and the Boss, and sounds like it. The man has yet to let me down as a songwriter or motivator. PMA.
Nachtmystium “Addicts: Black Meddle II”
an ambitious frankenstein’s monster of a record. pieced together black metal, dance beats (yeah, i know!), sprawling ambiance, goth-y electronics, and a grime… all creating some absolutely fucked amalgamation that works.
Danko Jones “Below The Belt”
Danko’s been at it for a while and he’s a king of rock. the best record of his career…make sure to get the bonus tracks too.
Night Horse “Perdition Hymns”
Night Horse play big, fat, boogie rock’n roll. classic and bad ass.
Broken Teeth “Viva La Rock Fantastico”
Broken Teeth have balls, big balls… with Bon Scott in-his-pigtails tattooed on’m.
Burning Love “Songs For Burning Lovers”
Chris from Cursed has a new band…similar formula but adding in some ‘Ass Cobra’-ish good times. the song ‘Alien vs Creditor’ has my undying love.
Torche “Songs For Singles”
just as poppy as they are heavy…its no wonder they’re one of my all-time favorite bands.
the Gracious Few “the Gracious Few”
i will listen to Kevin Martin sing ANYTHING…especially Zep-flavored tunes.
Triptykon “Eparistera Daimones”
that tone, that heaving, oozing, black ‘n bleak TONE. a worthy follow up to the gargantuan ‘Monotheist’ masterpiece. (anyone else think Tom G. Warrior looks like Chris Benoit?)
High On Fire “Snakes For The Divine”
they’ve become like Motorhead at this point. you know what you’re getting and you just fucking love every second of it.
Butch Walker & the Black Widows “I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart”
my favorite songwriter. Butch doesnt ‘rock’ anymore, get over it or move on. ‘She Likes Hair Bands’ is a perfect pop song.
for my 80s sleaze-rock compatriots…these are worthy of your cash
-Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction “We Are Volsung” (the best of the bunch)
-Reckless Love “s/t”
-Motochrist “Corvette Summer”
-Bad City “Welcome To The Wasteland”
other records i very much enjoyed
-Deftones “Diamond Eyes”
-Ryan Adams & the Cardinals “III/IV”
-Electric Wizard “Black Masses”
-Daughters “s/t”
-Swans “My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky”
-Black Mountain “Wilderness Heart”
-Black Angels “Phosphene Dream”
-Superchunk “Majesty Shredding” (WHAT A COMEBACK!)
-Boris/Ian Astbury “BXI”
-Acid Tiger “s/t”
-Frightened Rabbit “Winter of Mixed Drinks”
-Trash Talk “Eyes & Nines”
-Dax Riggs “Say Goodnight To The World”
-Bongripper “Satan Worshipping Doom”
-Solace “AD”
-Haust “Powers of Horror”
favorite shows–
-Biters @ Blind Bobs / Dayton, OH …a tightly-wound 30 minute set of power-pop-punk perfection, closing with probably the greatest version of ‘Strutter’ ever played.
-Eyehategod @ Headliners / Louisville, KY …an amazing end to an important day. As EHG took the stage, i said “oh man, can you feel that? this is gonna be special.” i was right…a night of ‘at the brink of disaster’ scumbag metal. it was nice to have a little fear for a change.
-Portal @ Maryland Deathfest / Baltimore, MD …this was a readjustment to everything i’d programmed my brain to know as heavy, evil, or what extreme music is capable of. i simply cannot do this experience justice with any adjectives or comparisons, and i hope that tells you something.
-Trash Talk @ Red 7 / SXSW …the connection between Trash Talk and the kids was powerful. bodies…flying…off….everything. this show was so inspiring, i followed them to their next show across the city. it was the first time in my thousands of shows that i’d seen a band play back to back sets within 2 hours!
other awesome stuff from 2010….
-Eric
-having my photo used for the back cover (as well as 30 more inside) of the Trouble “Live In LA” deluxe gatefold LP artwork by High Roller Records in Germany. 16 year old me is still shitting himself over having his name on the same record with Kory Clarke.

-mine and Donny’s 10th year of SXSW
-the drunken sunday at Maryland Deathfest with Tim, Jonah, and Dave.
-having Rolling Stone Online use my photos for their Top 25 Record Store feature
-starting and maintaining Worship Volume 4 with Tim.
-the Floor “Below & Beyond” box set
-Earth “Beaurocratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extraction” deluxe reissue. played almost everyday since i got it.
-discovering Doc’s Records & Vintage in Ft.Worth, TX
-Hells Headbangers mail order
-the packaging to Watain’s “Lawless Darkness”
-taking Eric to see Greg Dulli for the first time
-Kevin Sharp’s monthly column in Decibel Magazine
-again…Portal
-Bill’s return!
-slidin in the backdoor to see a re-energized Deftones on a whim, courtesy of Tony Adams’ magic
-its been a good year for the Entombed guitar tone. that said, i am pretty much worshipping this developing scene of bands doing the dirty punk/metal/d’beat hybrid thing…whatever you want to call it. they have a common thread of sounding urgent and ready to kill their leaders. i dig that. (Trap Them, Nails, Burning Lovers, the Secret, Gaza, All Pigs Must Die, Kvelertak, etc…)
-you for reading
My apologies to the following always-reliable bands, as I either haven’t purchased the cd yet or am waiting for the vinyl:
-Killing Joke, Wovenhand, the Erotics, Lyrics Born, and the Jim Jones Revue
oh yeah…and the point of starting this blog was to track our record shopping for 1 year. I counted them up… my sick ass acquired 423 different records this year. Thats not downloads or mp3s…thats actual, physical product. Support real live record stores, support hard-working labels, support amazing bands, buy their stuff, spread the word….and always Worship Volume 4!