We've been counting down the finest slabs of metal from the last year, as chosen by the devout scribes here at BW&BK;/BraveWords.com. As with previous years, each writer was asked to pick his top 20 albums of the year (no live records, compilations or covers etc...). We perform a little behind-the-scenes metal math and voila, we have our list! We'll be counting down the Top 30 all month - yup, one a day until we get to New Year's - yes, we're aware that December has 31 daze but we thought we'd let you hang until January 1st!

So now we've reached the much-anticipated TOP TEN! Drum roll please...

#9 - FEAR FACTORY - Mechanize (Candlelight)

Released in February, Mechanize features the highly reported reconciliation of vocalist Burton C. Bell with original guitarist Dino Cazares along with bassist Byron Stroud and journeyman drummer Gene Hoglan (DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD). The anticipated album also welcomes back keyboardist/producer Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY).

“I didn’t want any of the soundscapes to sound natural,” says Bell. “I wanted them to be really mechanical because I wanted that aspect of Fear Factory to really shine again. I feel it kind of got dulled over and that’s the aspect that I really enjoyed a lot about Fear Factory. I was a huge fan of industrial music and still am. And you don’t hear much of that anymore these days.”

In April, 2008, a full six years after they had last spoken, Bell, who at that time was touring with MINISHTRY, ran into Cazares while in Los Angeles and the two reopened the lines of communication.

“It just didn’t feel complete,” says Bell. “I realized that Dino and I were a real integral part of Fear Factory and we needed each other to make it work. Without the both of us it just lost that intensity. This is definitely a different chapter for us and I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” Cazares adds. “Obviously, Burton and I have grown up and we’ve pretty much perfected what we do. More importantly, we’ve discovered why we so were good together in the first place. Our combination just works. All the ingredients and the elements that we had in the past, combined with what we’ve learned since being apart feels like putting on a new glove that still feels as good as an old glove."

In his BraveWords.com review Aaron Small wrote: Prepare to be blown away! Fear Factory’s new album isn’t in stores until February of next year, yet it’s already secured a spot on the best of 2010 list. This new model Fear Factory sees vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares reunite after seven years of estrangement. The founding fathers have teamed up with drummer extraordinaire Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Death, Testament, Old Man’s Child) and his former Strapping Young Lad and Zimmer’s Hole band mate, bassist Byron Stroud; who has been in FF since 2002. They say that chemistry is everything – and they’re right. Although original drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers were hugely influential in establishing Fear Factory’s sonic identity in the mid ‘90s and early part of the new millennium, their absence on Mechanize is all but inconsequential.

Read the entire review here.

Brave Picks Top 30 Of 2010

#30 - STONE SOUR: Audio Secrecy (Roadrunner)

#29 - APOCALYPTICA - 7th Symphony (Sony)

#28 - TWILIGHT: Monument To Time End (Southern Lord)

#27 - HAIL OF BULLETS - On Divine Winds (Metal Blade)

#26 - FORBIDDEN - Omega Wave (Nuclear Blast)

#25 - KROKUS - Hoodoo (Columbia)

#24 - AIRBOURNE - No Guts. No Glory. (Roadrunner)

#23 - SOILWORK - The Panic Broadcast (Nuclear Blast)

#22 - TRIPTYKON - Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)

#21 - DARKTHRONE - Circle The Wagons (Peaceville)

#20 - NEVERMORE - The Obsidian Conspiracy (Century Media)

#19 - FOZZY - Chasing The Grail (Riot)

#18 - EXODUS - Exhibit B: The Human Condition (Nuclear Blast)

#17 - MISERY INDEX - Heirs To Thievery (Relapse)

#16 - ARMORED SAINT - La Raza (Metal Blade)

#15 - BLIND GUARDIAN - At The Edge Of Time (Nuclear Blast)

#14 - GAMMA RAY - To The Metal (earMusic)

#13 - MURDERDOLLS - Women And Children Last (Roadrunner)

#12 - RATT - Infestation (Loud & Proud/Roadrunner)

#11 - BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Order Of The Black (E1)

#10 - KYLESA - Spiral Shadow (Season Of Mist)

#9 - FEAR FACTORY - Mechanize (Candlelight)