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This was incredibly hard to do because it's been a great year for music (especially in the 'heavy' field). Lots of omissions (The Mars Volta, mewithoutYou, etc) that would have appeared had it been any other year, but I think what I have here is testament to how the last year of the noughties has been one of the greatest. So here they are, my favourite albums of 2009. Lets hope 2010 is just as triumphant!


20. Thursday - Common Existence


19. Narrows - New Distances


18. Rise and Fall - Our Circle Is Vicious


17. The Horrors - Primary Colours


16. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness


15. Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals


14. Baroness - Blue Record


13. Kylesa - Static Tensions


12. Architects - Hollow Crown


11. Gallows - Grey Britain


10. Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot


9. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect


8. Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue


7. Brand New - Daisy


6. The Ghost of a Thousand - New Hopes, New Demonstrations


5. Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic


4. Thrice - Beggars


3. Isis - Wavering Radiant


2. Mastodon - Crack The Skye


1. Converge - Axe To Fall

I didn't bother listening to the first three on the list. But really, you know I'm right.

8 Deathklok - Deathalbum II

Obligatory Dethklok hate. But seriously, this band is a farce and the music is subpar at best. The show sucks, too.

7 Lamb of God - Wrath

People are still buying this trash? Really? Probably a bunch of drunk rednecks who think this garbage is death metal and the best thing to come along since Dimebag learned power chords.

6 Every deathcore release this year
OceanoImpending DoomABACABBSuicide SilenceWinds of PlagueDead Man in RenoCircle of ContemptThe ContortionistThe Red ChordDespised Icon et cetera

5 Baroness - The Blue Record

Maybe my "advance" copy wasn't the final version, but it sure enough turned me off from this stinker. Their drummer was the best part and it sounded like everything was replaced by cardboard boxes and Rubbermaid containers. I'm going back to my alternate universe where this doesn't exist.

4 Obscura - Cosmogensis

You'd expect with a name like Obscura and a decent line up that this would be an bawesome possum album. WRONG! If you like your "progressive technical" death metal served with a large dosing of jizz and scales, then this is the album for you. If you're expecting something that does Obscura -- the album -- tribute, then stay away.

3 Samael - Above

I had been meaning to check out this band and this album had been talked up and hyped up a lot-- which should have been the first sign, most good things aren't that hyped up. What I was presented with when I listened to this excuse for an album was 16 tracks of hipster grindcore complete with pointless jazz interludes and wandering songs. I didn't realize grindcore songs were allowed to be long to wander in the first place.

...Wait, I'm thinking of Antigama's Warning. Am I? ...Yeah, I'm pretty sure on second thought it's Warning.

Anyways, Above is pretty forgettable, too. Samael should have written a better album so I could at least remember which band to blast in the review.

The cover's pretty cool, though... I guess. Never mind, I was thinking of Warning again.

2 Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect

A part of me was actually excited to see this album come out. I was greatly impressed with Colors for all the wrong reasons but I really enjoyed that album. The Great Misdirect seems more cohesive, better written and preformed with greater skill but lacks the same punch of Colors -- or even Alaska or any of the other albums. Lack of a stand out track like Ants of the Sky or the Sun of Nothing really hurt as well. Better luck next time.

1 Behemoth - Evangelion

It's not that I didn't enjoy this album, I did. Daimonos and Shemhamforash and Ov Fire and the Void are good tracks. But the rest of the album lacks the same punch, and overall it's the exact same pattern as The Apostasy and Demigod. I'm all for "If it ain't broke don't fix it" but I'm also all for improving and changing. Sorry Nergal, but do something a bit more interesting next time.

Good Band Spam -- moar here to piss off fans than spread the word because it's funny:
UlceratePortalTeitanbloodA Storm of LightAuguryClutchGoatwhoreAbsuBuried InsideSoilent GreenDeströyer 666Black CobraConvergeTombsArchgoatGazaAltar of PlaguesFleshgod ApocalypseThe ChasmFenCelesteMossFall of EfrafaIgnivomousAscendedInfinitum ObscureOranssi PazuzuImpetuous RitualLord MantisMumakilNihlotepOMSarsekimThou

10. Paradise Lost - 'Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us'
9. The Devil Wears Prada - 'With Roots Above And Branches Below'
8. Suicide Silence - 'No Time to Bleed'
7. Heaven In Her Arms - 'Duplex-Coated Obstruction'
6. A Day to Remember - 'Homesick'
5. Katatonia - 'Night Is the New Day'
4. Between the Buried and Me - 'The Great Misdirect'
3. Behemoth - 'Evangelion'
2. maudlin of the Well - 'Part the Second'
1. Mastodon - 'Crack The Skye'

Band of the Year:
1. Mastodon
2. Isis
3. Between the Buried and Me
4. Converge
5. The Ocean


Album of the Year:
1. Crack The Skye
1. Wavering Radiant
3. The Great Misdirect
4. Axe To Fall
5. Humbug

Also awesome releases are: Static Tensions , Ephemeral , Fluxion (Remaster)


Song of the Year:
1. Threshold of Transformation
1. Hearts Alive
3. Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain
3. Dark Horse
5. Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5


Videoclips of the Year:
1. Obfuscation
2. 20 Minutes / 40 Years
3. Divinations
4. Crying Lightning


Albumcover of the Year:
1. Isis - Wavering Radiant (Created by Aaron Turner)

2. Mastodon - Crack the Skye (Created by Paul Romano)


3. Converge - Axe to Fall (Created by Jacob Bannon)


4. Kylesa - Static Tensions (Created by John Dyer Baizley)


5. The Ocean - Fluxion (Created by Martin Kvamme & Svein Kvamme)



Maybe more will follow.
That is just my opinion, you don't have to think the same as me.

1. Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic

2. Converge - Axe To Fall

3. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect

4. Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

5. Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot

6. Mastodon - Crack The Skye

7. Doomriders - Darkness Comes Alive

8. Isis - Wavering Radiant

9. Baroness - Blue Record

10. Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor

11. CKY - Carver City

12. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion

13. Manchester Orchestra - Everything To Nothing

14. Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals

15. The Company Band - The Company Band

I can't pin down a top 10 chart. So instead here's the albums and songs that have won me over or taken me by utter surprise this year.

Best Album's of '09

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
The Chariot - Wars and Rumours of Wars
Kap Bambino - Blacklist
Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
Converge - Axe To Fall
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Annie - Don't Stop / All Night EP
HEALTH - Get Colour
Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot
You Say Party! We Say Die! -XXXX
The Lonely Island - Incredibad
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Florence + The Machine - Lungs
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
Imogen Heap - Ellipse

Best Song's of '09

Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets
Every Time I Die - Wanderlust
The Chariot - Daggers
Kap Bambino - Dead Lazers
Dananananaykroyd - Black Wax
Enter Shikari - Antwerpen
Alexisonfire - Old Crows
Bat for Lashes - Glass
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – Step Up (I'm On It)
Röyksopp – Happy Up Here
HEALTH – Die Slow
Flight of the Conchords - Too Many Dicks (On The Dancefloor)
Imogen Heap - Canvas
Fuck Buttons - olympians
You Love Her Coz She's Dead - Tender Young Hearts Beat Fast
Converge - Axe To Fall
Hadouken! - Turn The Lights Out (Late 2009/Early 2010 Track)
The Big Pink - Dominos
Between the Buried and Me - Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain
You Say Party! We Say Die! - Lonely's Lunch
Joe and Will Ask? – Take Me Away (Original Mix)

Best Cover Track
Florence + The Machine - You Got the Love

Best Remix
Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Jakwob Remix)

Best B-Side
Ellie Goulding- Fighter Plane

Artist(s) To Look Out for in 2010
Ellie Goulding
Uffie
Delphic

Если в новоиспеченной супергруппе Them Crooked Vultures ставились, наверное, лишь маркетинговые цели, то здесь маркетингом и не пахнет. Ей-богу, кроме пары скромных строчек про то, что запись эта содержит 9 треков, записана там-то, будет выпущена в январе-феврале 2010, ничего и нету. Нигде. Если в TCV идет битва за слушателя, агрессивная битва, то тут за него особо-то и не борются - ощущение, что это альбом ради альбома; запись для себя; исследование собственных возможностей. Конечно, тут никакого Джона Пол Джонса нет, и не те масштабы, но эта запись...ну она просто великолепна, тут двух мнений быть не может.
Некоторое время назад я писал о демозаписи из 3х треков. Какой восторг вызвала она. Здесь альбом. Полноценное полотно. 9 песен. Восторг растет в геометрической прогрессии.
На протяжении этих 9 песен музыка принимает совершенно разные формы, окрашиваясь от небесно голубого в огненно красный. Тем не менее складывается такое ощущение, что все эти невероятные пассажи берутся с совершенно спокойным лицом, сидя в студии, в уюте; никаких нервов и напряжения. С воздушной легкостью играются абсолютно все мелодии, будь то эхом отзывающиеся гитарные звоны в "Kid Cancer" до завершающих в "eclipsical" эстафетных соло-партий как гитары, так и клавишных.
Эта музыка похожа одновременно на все и ни на что. Так могли б звучать Muse, если бы взяли более радикальный курс. Так могли бы звучать Fear Before, если бы решили продолжить историю с "The Always Open Mouth". Так могли бы звучать Between the Buried and Me, если бы слегка сбавили темп. Хотя на самом деле больше всего сие действо совпадает с творческим вектором развития Fear Before. Зачем мелочиться, этот альбом можно спокойно ставить в один ряд вместе "The Always Open Mouth".
Сказочные мелодии сменяются величественными проходами по клавишам. Мелодии движутся, растягиваются, сжимаются, выворачиваются наизнанку и преобразуются с каждым разом во что-то большее и безумно красивое. Гитара с клавишами - это отдельная история. Словно эти два инструмента танцуют на протяжении всего альбома, выполняют различные реверансы, совершают невероятные кульбиты, то разжигая огонь, то проносясь легким ветерком. А на фоне этих танцев Фишер вовсю заливается своим ехидным голоском. Каждый из участников сыпет свои специи в кашу, но лишними они не кажутся совсем. Каша от этого только вкуснее становится.
Чуть сладковатый, но без сладости, яркий, но без лишней резкости альбом. Музыка вовсе не кажется напыщенной, без лишней помпы она величественна. В общем, чудо из чудес. Наверное, всё вышесказанное звучит довольно путано, но такое нужно слышать.

PS. Уж простите, настоящей обложки я не нашел.

(In random order)

Behemoth-Evangelion
Blackened death metal

Listen to this and then listen to ambient bands like SOTL=uber amazing feeling which is beyond description.

Baroness-Blue Record
Progressive/Southern rock

Forget about sludge metal, I’m in love with southern rock now.

Blut aus Nord- Memoria Vetusta II-Dialogue with the Stars
Atmospheric black metal

See, black metal is beautiful.

Devin Townsend Project-Addicted
Progressive rock/Industrial/IDM

Musically, it’s progressive industrial thrashy nu metal going IDM. Yeah, I’m addicted to Addicted! I don’t get why it’s called heavy-enya though.

Jon Hopkins- Insides
IDM/Ambient/Electronica

He’s a genius in this field. Enough said.

Karnivool-Sound Awake
Progressive/Alternative rock

They’re a great discovery for me this year. Set Fire to the Hive is a killer.

maudlin of the Well-Part The Second
Avant-grade metal/Progressive/Art rock

Music is art. You get it.

Nobuo Uematsu-Lord of Vermilion Original Soundtrack
Progressive rock/Game music

Mr. Uematsu is as awesome as Mr. Townsend.

Obscura- Cosmogenesis
Technical death metal/Progressive

I give props to them not because they’re like Cynic meets Opeth meets Death meets Necrophagist, not because their stellar bass work, but because they have a cosmic sound. This's not space rock but it takes me to universe.

Six Organs of Admittance- Luminous Night
Psychedelic folk

Do you notice that my name here is taken from the sixth track on LN?


Honorable mentions:
Killswitch Engage-Killswitch Engage
Melodic metalcore/Rock

Hardcore, thrash, sludge, melodic death, power, rock, shoegaze, ambient, this is what new album brings to us basically, varied and interesting. They could have done better though, in my opinion.

Swallow the Sun-New Moon
Melodic death/Doom metal

They’re my favorite melodic death doom band, so I couldn’t care less even if they make the same music. Same thing goes for Insomnium. I’m a sucker for dark, melancholic, epic music, you know. Well, they change a little bit this time with a slight black metal sound, which is a good thing.

Mastodon - Crack The Skye
Progressive rock/Sludge metal

It’s kinda weird that Mastodon’s been a band I’ve had problems getting into since I like sludge legends such as Crowbar, Neurosis (who are Mastodon’s biggest influences by the way), and modern acts, Isis, Baroness, etc.
That said, it doesn't surprise me that they crack top 5 in many year-end lists as CTS is indeed a good album filled with strong painful emotions.
Yet, I’m still not a fan of them. lol

Between the Buried and Me- The Great Misdirect
Progressive metal

First listen: Oh, songs are way too long again. They’re out of ideas. They make progressive music for the sake of it.
Second listen: They at least have their own sound, DT meets PF. They’re above average.
Third listen: TGM is well-written, to some degree. I like it.

Revocation-Existence Is Futile
Thrash/Technical death metal

New Megadeth=still Megadeth.
New Slayer=pure fast paced old school punk. See, punk and thrash are neighbours.
New Evile=they should start a sludge metal band seriously.
…
New Revocation=thrash with a hint of technical death, kinda fresh, and it gets better with every listen. Can they live up to the hype ”Next big thing in metal!”? Let’s wait and see.

And a bunch more…