Top 10 Decade Defining Hard rock and Heavy Metal Songs: 2010-14
Top 10 Decade Defining Hard rock and Heavy Metal Songs: 2010-14
Top 10 Albums of 2010
Metal is far from dead, as the last few years have proven. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for top 10 decade defining hard rock and heavy metal songs of the first half of the 2010s. For our series on the Top 10 Decade Defining Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Songs Per Decade, we’ve based our choices on a mix of a track’s success, popularity and their ability to represent the decade in question. We’re limiting it to one song per artist per decade, but you still might see some overlapping of artists over the decades. This is part of a series of videos spanning hard rock and heavy metal music from the 1970s to the 2000s.
#10: “Built to Fall” (2011) Trivium
Moving away from their thrash metal roots to a more metalcore kind of sound, Trivium treated fans and newcomers to a musical shift with In Waves. Sticking with their lyrical trend of despair and social outrage, their fifth album’s second single, “Built to Fall,” is a bombardment of heavy guitars riffs and vocals that will get your ears ringing and fists pumping. It also reached the top 40 of the UK rock chart.
#9: “I Miss the Misery” (2012) Halestorm
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With a growing legion of fans and one of the leading frontwomen in modern rock, Halestorm was built for success. Our pick for their contribution to the 2010s goes to the powerful and potent “I Miss the Misery” from their second album. A unique take on a popular song topic, the track deals with the pain of a breakup, and how you even end up missing the arguments you had with the one you lost.
#8: “Telos” (2012) Between the Buried and Me
This song is just one of many that proves progressive metal is still alive and well today. Following up their 2011 EP, Between the Buried and Me released this full-length disc that explores their signature style in much greater detail. The eighth song off The Parallax II is “Telos,” a miniature metal symphony that incorporates both jazz and fusion influences to create a standout piece from the band’s milestone album.
#7: “Born to Lose” (2011) The Devil Wears Prada
Time and time again, melodic and metalcore have proven they go hand in hand, and this song from The Devil Wears Prada also shows that fact. Taken off the band’s successful 2011 album, “Born to Lose” blends hard yet symphonic riffs with almost feral screams, only to be balanced out by melodic backing vocals. A key example of modern hard rock with soft vocals, the three-minute track makes our list because it keeps the tradition going strong!
#6: “Public Enemy No. 1” (2011) Megadeth
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There was no way at least one of the Big Four wasn’t going to make this list. With their musical career showing no signs of slowing down, Megadeth released their 13th album, aptly titled Thirteen, in 2011. Spearheading the effort was the first single, “Public Enemy Number One,” an aggressive piece of thrash metal inspired by the vicious acts of Al Capone. With Dave Mustaine’s growling vocals and blistering guitar work, this song can proudly stand beside the rest of Megadeth’s classic hits.
#5: “Unspoken” (2013) Kylesa
This band has based their career on blending together subgenres of metal. Case in point, this song from their sixth record. “Unspoken” fuses together the harshness of sludge metal with the distortion of stoner metal. Add into the mix an acid trip of a music video, and you have yourself a definite winner for Kylesa and metal in general.
#4: “L’Enfant Sauvage” (2012) Gojira
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We already know foreign bands like Rammstein can make it big in the English-speaking music world, so a kickass French metal band like Gojira is more than welcome too. Based on the Francois Truffaut film of the same name, the titular track from the band’s fifth effort reflects the true story of a young boy found alone in the woods that seemed more animal than human. With their back-to basics heavy metal style, Gojira has been hailed as rising stars of the genre and this song shows us why.
#3: “The Devil You Know” (2011) Anthrax
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Another one of the Big Four makes the list! Eight years after the release of their ninth album, Anthrax came back with guitars blazing with 2011’s Worship Music. It became their highest charting album in two decades. While the disc has a range of songs from tributes to those that deal with horror, “The Devil You Know” makes our list for shying away from the obvious Satanic theme of its title and focusing on the hardships and accomplishments of war veterans. And it’s awesome.
#2: “Parallels” (2010) As I Lay Dying
Out of all the modern metalcore songs, our vote goes to the track that managed to propel its band to universal acclaim. As I Lay Dying’s 2010 venture into the metal scene not only helped maintain their growth in the eyes of fans, but also cemented them as champions of the genre. With intense riffs and pulse-pounding vocals, The Powerless Rise’s “Parallels” is all the proof you need that these guys are the real deal. Before our number one pick shreds its way to the top, here are a few honorable mentions: - “To Move On Is to Grow” (2010) We Came as Romans - “Violence (Enough Is Enough)” (2013) A Day to Remember - “Secular Haze” Ghost B.C. (2013) - “Monuments of Ash” (2010) Kingdom of Sorrow - “Under and Over It” (2011) Five Finger Death Punch
#1: “Nightmare” (2010) Avenged Sevenfold
Its parent album smashed its competition, topped the Billboard 200 and even earned the band several Golden God awards. And the title track, “Nightmare,” is one hell of a song. Now regarded as one of Avenged Sevenfold’s signatures, it’s a tune filled with both joy and sadness. While the dark, powerful guitar play and vocals make it quite the showstopper, the heavy metal number also serves as a memorial for their drummer, The Rev, who passed away just before the album’s completion. The song stands as a true testament to the band’s musicianship, as well as their camaraderie with a fallen band mate. Do you agree with our list? Which is your favorite modern metal and hard rock song? For more rocking top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
