STAFF AWARDS: Troy Cole, EC, David Loveless, Frank Hill, RAISING IRON, VINAYA
Troy Cole
Top 15 albums for 2009
Megadeth - Endgame
Kreator - Hordes of Chaos
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
Hypocrisy - A Taste of Extreme Divinty
Paradise Lost - Faith divides Us, Death Unites Us
Artillery - When Death Comes
Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
Cage - Science of Annihilation
Primal Fear - 16.6 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Slayer - World Painted Blood
God Dethroned - Passiondale
Rebellion - Arise, From Ginnugagap To Ragnarok, The History of the Vikings Volume III
Steel Panther - Feel the Steel
Susperia - Attitude
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
Most Overlooked Release of 2009
Samael - Above
Most Anticipated of 2010
Nevermore
Testament
Death Angel
Morbid Angel
Sebastain Bach
EC
1. Megadeth - Endgame
2. Artillery - When Death Comes
3. Hellfueled - Emmission Of Sins
4. Papa Roach - Metamorphosis
5. Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos
6. Raven - Walk Through Fire
7. Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us...
8. Killswitch Engage - ST
David Loveless
Top metal albums of 2009:
1. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
2. Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day
3. Behemoth - Evangelion
4. Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
5. If These Trees Could Talk - Above The Earth, Below The Sky
6. Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans
7. YOB - The Great Cessation
8. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
9. Cauldron - Chain The Night
10. Steel Panther - Feel The Steel
11. Wolf - Ravenous
12. Isis - Wavering Radiant
13. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
14. Enforcer - Into The Night
15. Obituary - Darkest Days
Top metal DVD's of 2009:
1. Iron Maiden - Flight 666
2. Anvil - The Story of Anvil!
HAIL AND KILL
Top CDs:
Tenet-Sovereign
Megadeth-Endgame
Lamb of God-Wrath
Paradise Lost-Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us
Rammstein-Liebe Ist Fuer Alle Da
Top Embarassments:
Edguy-Tinnitus Sanctus
Divine Heresy-Bringer of Plagues
Skinlab-The Scars Between Us
Los Sin Nombre-Blind Leading Blind
Cage-Science of Annihilation
Bands To Watch In the Coming Years:
Rudra- Brahmavidya: Transcendental I --The titans of South East Asian Death Metal are on
the cusp of world conquest.
Decadence- Chargepoint --This female fronted quintet have the discipline and willpower to
really establish themselves as one of the leading bands of their genre.
Crown the Lost- Blind Faith Loyalty --Could very well be the most dominating band in the
United States today.
Bloodshedd-Spare No One --The most incinerating band in the Philippines are dying for a
global audience. Their latest album should turn lots of ears their way.
Scar Symmetry-Dark Matter Dimensions --Four albums down and these Swedes still keep
getting better.
Highest Hopes for 2010:
Testament!!!
Overkill!!!
Benedictum!!!
Biomechanical!!!
Kataklysm!!!
Frank Hill
Winner: Megadeth - Endgame
Runner up: Artillery - When Death Comes
Biggest Surprises: Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg, Slough Feg - Ape Uprising, Crown the Lost -
Blind Faith Loyalty, Children of Bodom - Skeletons in the Closet
Best DVD: Anvil - The Story of Anvil!
RAISING IRON
It's kind of funny, I'm going over my 2009 purchases and they don't amount to nearly as
many as 2008, but my top 10 of 2009 feels to be a stronger class of metal than last years
list. Maybe it's just because this stuff is fresher in mental metal lobe, or maybe because
some of my all-time favorite bands released some stellar albums this year. Now don't go
thinking I'm playing fanboy, there were plenty of disappointments from some of my faves as
well, and some that were just kind of there, so without further ado, here's my top 10 for
2009, and whether or not they make YOUR list, they at least belong in any respectable
metal collection this year we're counting down:
10) Chthonic Mirror of Retribution: Ok, I know, upon first impression many think
they're a Cradle of Filth ripoff, and I have to admit, I'm quite late to the game on these
Taiwanese terrorizers, so maybe that's why they've left such a solid impression on me.
Yet, their cultural flair caustically comes dripping through each chapter of this concept
album, and the seriousness with which the music is played usurps any notion of comic-book
contortions.
9) Behemoth Evangelion: Any doubts as to whether they could match the brilliance of
Demigod have been laid to rest; the Polish practitioners of blackened death metal stand
almost unequalled in their chosen milieu, unleashing a balanced attack buoyed by a strong
sense of melody, however stretched and strained it may be.
8) Hypocrisy A Taste of Extreme Divinity: Finally, Peter Tagtgren stops screwing
around with his flagship vehicle and unfurls a disc fraught with all that the band stood
for up to the turn of the millennium, and with the infamous Abyss studios' modern
production values circa 2009, this album will be a back-catalog reference point in future
years.
7) Candlemass Death Magic Doom: The revered Swedes prove they still have the flame
burning in their core, upping the ante with new singer Robert Lowe's second outing, and
creating something that's just as much heavy as it is doom metal.
6) Heaven & Hell The Devil You Know: A fitting title, for if you don't know
these godfathers of all things metal, then you know nothing. Iommi, Dio, Geezer, and Vinny
prove they still know what they're doing, pulling from Tony's endless well of riffs to
piece together another slab of pure heaviness, this time even toppling into doom metal
territory; Dio's exotic and unparalleled expressions tightly woven within the framework,
all old-hat to the vets, yet filled with the same love and devoted determination to the
music as those half their age or more...
5) Nile Those Whom The Gods Detest: Holy shit, the brilliant Mr. Sanders wheels his
solo project ideals at fullspeed, downhill and straight into the Pyramids of death metal,
resulting in subtle and ambient tones flourishing along the sides of the river Nile. Yes,
it's still Nile
and still technical
and still Egyptian
but the true intent
of the project started well over 15 years ago is now fully realized. Nothing left to say,
if this were the end (but let's hope not), a fitting one it would be
4) Immortal All Shall Fall: Releasing an album that could possibly rival their
seven year predecessor was a daunting notion to say the least, but the band don their
corpse-paint once more, and with the paradigms of Abbath's I project percolating just
under the frozen surface, they come pretty damn close. Here's hoping the wait for the next
release isn't nearly as long.
3) Mastodon Crack The Skye: Wow, this is a band I completely turned my nose up to
when it came to their first two releases, but, after Blood Mountain came out, I tuned in
just a bit, albeit still remaining rather indifferent to the progsters befuddling brand of
metal. Then 2009 rolled around, I caught the video for Oblivion and was blown away,
checking out another song left me stunned yet again, so I had to pick this up, and damned
if I'm not glad I did, the release is pure bliss, not a stale moment, and though there are
several lengthy tracks, they never get boring.
2) Katatonia Night Is The New Day: Striking the perfect and dichotomous balance
between acquiescence and angst, the Swedes deliver. Some die-hards have found this
tedious, I find it relaxing...I don't know, this kinda stuff is just in my blood I guess.
1) Amorphis Skyforger: What a catalog these long-running rockers have put together,
save for maybe a few small missteps, they continue to release metal that is otherworldly,
and of the highest caliber, and this year saw songwriting perfection
the riffs, the
melodies, the heart
its all here in spades; an album that should cross boundaries and
find respect from all-comers, metal and nonmetal alike.
On to the honorable mentions, three albums that teetered on the brink, almost made it in,
yet for one reason or another didn't pass muster in no particular order:
1) Leaves' Eyes Njord: Quality symphonic/gothic/power metal (or whatever the hell
ya wanna label it these days!) is increasingly harder to come by, the genre's purveyors
rarely offering anything new or relevant, but Leaves' Eyes found a way to at least sound
fresh and exciting, playing with exuberance and belief in their craft, still leaving a
little bit of room for the radio-friendly inclined.
2) Swallow The Sun New Moon: I wonder how many Twilight jokes these guys will have
to endure on their upcoming US stint. Regardless, another genre that frankly has been done
to death (yes, pun intended!), yet this latest from one of Finland's chief exporters of
death/doom metal finds fresh ambient flourishes injected into the mix, centering on melody
vs. drone, and that's a good thing.
3) Kreator Hordes of Chaos: I really thought this one was destined to be in my top
10 at the beginning of the year when it came out; Germany's chief thrashers continuing
their rebirth begun with Violent Revolution in 2001; Mille cackling with accursed and
calloused resolve.
Finally, onto things that were disturbing, the three biggest disappointments from 2009,
not necessarily the worst releases, but certainly the biggest letdowns, again, in no
particular order:
1) Grave Digger Ballads of the Hangman: The hype was a'selling, and GD, being one
of my favorite power metal bands, I was a'buying, despite being burned by everything post
the genius of Rheingold; and really, this isn't THAT bad of an album, the guys trying to
reach toward their 90's ideals, yet somehow, just sounding ho-hum, I still listen to
it occasionally, but damn was I hoping for more.
2) Suffocation Blood Oath: How is this possible? The New Yorkers follow up their
self-titled bloodletting from 2006 with this? Okay, again, like the Grave Digger, it's not
that bad, but its just kinda there, played with less heart and more "let's just get
through this" compunction; the whole thing feels thrown together, and though there
are highlights, this should've been much more brutal.
3) Primal Fear 16.6: This just borders on sell-out, the guys whipping simplistic
songs together off the cuff, formulaic and sugar sweetened, the edge all but taken off to
avoid injury. Everything just reeks of elementary prognostications, no effort given; and
even though there are a few decent melodic rock outfits out there, there's no need for
Primal Fear to stoop to a level that many have to REACH for you're far better than
this guys!
There you have it, another year of highs, lows, and in-betweens in the metal world, let's
hope 2010 doesn't disappoint!
VINAYA
Top 15 Albums of the Year (in no particular order, except for the top two!):
Raven: Walk Through Fire
Jorn: Spirit Black
Slough Feg: Ape Uprising
Heaven and Hell: The Devil You Know
Stratovarius: Polaris
Wolf: Ravenous
Saxon: Into the Labyrinth
Ravage: The End of Tomorrow
HammerFall: No Sacrifice, No Victory
White Wizzard: High Speed GTO
Cauldron: Chained to the Night
Mob Rules: Radical Peace
Megadeth: Endgame
Primal Fear: 16:6
Praying Mantis: Sanctuary
Also cool, but made up (mostly) of re-recorded classics: Torch's "Dark Sinner"
Coolest (kind of) new talent: White Wizzard, Cauldron
Coolest reissue/archival release: UFO's "Official Bootleg Box Set: 1975-1982" A
cool alternative disc (six, actually!) for those of us who can't get enough of
"Strangers in the Night" and the group's awesome BBC live recordings. Michael
Schenker and Paul Chapman both turn in some great performances on here, and the sound is
mostly superb.
Conversely, the band's new release, "The Visitor," was just plain weird (and
weirdly blusier than ever). Another weird release: Martyr's Fear the Universe."
Great Shows seen:
Brooklyn Thunderfest (Ross the Boss, Raven, White Wizzard, etc.) @ Club Europa, Brooklyn,
NY
Michael Schenker Group @ Blender Theater, New York, NY
Ravage, Armory, Revocation, etc. @ Ralph's Rock Diner, Worcester, MA
Enforcer, Cauldron, etc. @ Muddy River Smokehouse, Portsmouth, NH
Thoughts on 2009: Seemed to be a lot of "give the fans what they want" releases
coming out, especially from more traditional genres. On one level, this is nice, but I
can't help but feel that something more adventurous would have been welcome. Many of this
year's releases overall leave me satisfied, but not particularly fulfilled.
Looking forward to: New releases from Grand Magus, Accept and Gamma Ray.