Best Metal Videos of 2010

Blood and stop-motion were the weapons of metal videos this year. Some made great uses of digital technology, and others lost themselves in the edits. Vampire nurses, blood-soaked ladies, space travel -- 2010 had it all. But it's so easy to miss a video in the myriad of premieres. So out of hope that nothing gets left out, we here at Noisecreep offer up the best of the best metal videos. These videos demand attention, as they create a whole new world for the songs.

10. 'It Never Ends'

Bring Me the Horizon

This decadent video from Bring Me the Horizon opens to an ambulance screaming down a back road. Frontman Oliver Sykes is scraped, bruised and bandaged, lying in the back as a group chases behind. "It's all stuff that has kind of affected the band and me," Sykes said, describing the figures trailing the siren in a behind the scenes interview.

9. 'Cafo'

Animals as Leaders

With the instrumental prog stylings of Animals as Leaders, there always must be numerous closeups of guitarist Tosin Abasi's lightning-fast, precision finger work. For their debut, the trio deson't just take the easy route. 'Cafo' deserves a few viewings.

8. 'The Drift'

Big Business

It takes a lot to make an entire video around an album cover, but it's even harder when you have one based around Big Business bassist/vocalist Jared Warren's odd collection of linen postcards. This is the band's first metal video -- and clearly one of the tops in 2010.

7. Lesson Learned'

Alice in Chains

The eerie stop-frame shots that make up Alice in Chains' 'Lesson Learned' video may seem familair in their presentation; this might be due to director Paul Matthaeus' résumé and aptitude for capturing a ghostly vibe. Matthaeus is known as the mastermind behind opening credit scenes for award winning TV shows like 'Dexter,' 'True Blood' and 'Six Feet Under.'

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6. 'You've Seen the Butcher'

Deftones

A library, rain and half-naked women seem like more of a treatment for an early '90s porno movie, but transform that rain to cascading blood and you have a hypnotic Deftones video. 'You've Seen the Butcher' is the fourth video from the band's groundbreaking sixth album, 'Diamond Eyes.'

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5. 'Alas, Lord Is Upon Me'

Behemoth

Before the news broke of Behemoth frontman Adam "Nergal" Darksi's battle with leukemia, we had this video of heathen metal to chew on. And there was no CGI for this blackened epic, either. When the opening shot is a pope's buried head exposed in the dirt, being watered like a houseplant -- you know some violence is right around the corner.

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4. 'David De La Hoz'

The Chariot

"Release the balloons!" Chariot frontman Josh Scogin yells into a megaphone on the opening of 'David De La Hoz.' Avoiding the green screen and animation that dominates their peers' videos, the Georgia hardcore act keeps it simple -- yet chaotically complicated -- playing the entire track live while using every room of Glow in the Dark Studios. "That video shows how impulsive we are," Scogin told Noisecreep, and we can't really argue.

3. 'Every Last Drop'

Nachtmystium

Nachtmystium might have created the music video version of 'Requiem for a Dream.' To think the psych metallers would do anything less might be a metal sin. The video's slow burn matches the crawling demise of 'Every Last Drop.' Smoke 'em if you got 'em, because you'll want to when this fades to black.

2. 'The Space in Between'

How to Destroy Angels

A lot of bands went for videos with a big storyline, having the members play characters. But no one pulled it off like How to Destroy Angels. It's a bloody mess of a hotel room, while Trent Reznor and wife Mariqueen Maandig just lay on the floor bleeding to death. As the rule goes, leave no evidence behind -- so they're set on fire.

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1. 'Tres Brujas'

The Sword

The Texas outfit calls its newest album, 'Warp Riders,' a "psychedelic space opera," but for the Sword's first metal video -- and No. 1 on our 2010 list -- they just followed the home state mantra of making sure everything is bigger. This might be the holy grail of loving science fiction and being stoned to the bone.

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