So it's actually past due that do my top 20 releases for 2009, considering that it's 2010 now. Thankfully nothing has really been released yet in 2010 that already makes talking about 2009 obsolete, or "so last year, like, oh my god". You know what I mean.
To prologue my discussion, I must say it was kind of difficult really figuring out the right number of albums I wanted to include in this list. Originally, it was restricted to 15. But in light of certain circumstances (also known as "falling in love with Obscura's Cosmogenesis all of a sudden"), I needed to include a bit more. This year was pretty amazing for underground music, and so will 2010, as I will discuss, if we can all forget that both Creed and Limp Bizkit are scheduling releases next year. If you didn't know that until right now, I'm really sorry you had to know at all, but it's better this way I promise. Otherwise you would have had to find out the day or the week they both come out and then fall into a depression which would have likely caused some sort of mass genocide. So you're welcome.
Another caveat: this list isn't restricted to metal and hardcore like I usually like to do things here. But as you'll see, most of this list is still metal and hardcore. Oh lol is me.
Here we go.
My Top 20 of 2009
20. Tombs - Winter Hours
This band, like a few on this list, is very new to me. I've had an awakening recently, to a whole new world of sludgy, hardcore (but not really), groovy metal, that has by far impressed me more than anything I've really heard this year. This album is melodically deep, and yet harmonically, a giant tsunami of howling guitars and...well, dead fish. But seriously, as a typical example of post-metal/post-sludge/post-whatever-the-fuck, it's rather unique, among a collection of classmates, who, let's face it, share too much between each other be totally different. Winter Hours is a very coherent record, which is always a plus with me, as you'll see with some of the other albums on the list. Notable Track(s): The Great Silence, Gossamer, Filled With Secrets.
19. Lewd Acts - Black Eye Blues
This was a solid release from a band which was remotely new to me up until a few weeks ago. Very much in the Deathwish ilk: it's the more modern metallic brand of hardcore, which is unmistakably well-produced and absolutely mind-punching. Notable Track(s): Penmanship Sailed, Young Lovers, Old Livers.
18. Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough
Krallice is another band which is remotely new to me; I only discovered them due to their place on Decibel's Top 40, which, say what you want about it, has so far been the best listing of albums from this year, hands down. (Go check out metalsucks.net's version for example, and if you find that list more accurate then we have basically nothing in common.) Anyway, this record is a bit of work for the listener; one needs to really sit oneself down, and just listen to it, distraction-free. The songs are long, brutal, and surprisingly for a black metal release, very beautiful. The welcoming, melodic, yet also strangely distonant obligatos from the layers of guitars sort of lull you into a state of utter numbness. If only I had had more time with this record, I know I would have listed it higher. Highly recommended if you like good music. Notable Track(s): Dimensional Bleedthrough, The Mountain.
17. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Since I already reviewed this, I won't say too much; for those who know BTBAM well, The Great Misdirect was about as good as the self-titled, though doesn't really stand up to The Silent Circus through to Colors. Of course, I'm more a fan of that latter collection's sound, and it's admirable that they are trying to branch out, away from their more core/scene roots, to kids who normally wouldn't even know they existed. And maybe they'll even get some kids into death metal proper just by way of this record. That very awesome fact aside, the music itself is incredible as expected, more experimental and more altogether genre-less, and for this, deserves recognition. I wouldn't go this far, but Swim to the Moon could be their most impressive composition to date, and it being the closer on the LP really let's it all sink in. You almost hear their entire history wrapped up in the extra dimensions of every note, like they were playing to all these years just to make that song. But yeah I'm not going to go that far. It's amazing nonetheless. Notable Track(s): Swim to the Moon, Fossil Genera (A Feed from Cloud Mountain).
16. Coalesce - OX
Needless to say, I'm not as much a fan of Coalesce as my peeps at Decibel and Lambgoat. But I really like this record, despite being altogether unknowledgeable about their earlier releases (they were a prominent influence in the 90's, and since 1999 hadn't released anything until OX). It carries a refreshing power of thought, a clarity of presentation. It is both relentless and restful, and you get a bit of each in every song (as if every song is a microcosmic Converge album). It is not to be loved for technicality (which is more or less lacks) nor its songwriting, to be frank (which to some extent tends to blend each song into each other, almost bordering on monotony). But I enjoy OX for almost every other imaginable reason one could like a record, all summable in a single statement: it just sounds good. Notable Track(s): The Purveyor of Novelty and Nonsense, We Have Lost Our Will.
15. Nile - Thom Whom the Gods Detest
I could choose to make another risky statement here and say this record is by far Nile's best to date. And well, I am going to make that statement. This record trumps what, for me, could be the only other contender for that title, its predecessor Ithyphallic, only because it does everything that Ithyphallic claims to do so much better. The production is even better, the tunes are that much catchier, everything is at least as brutal if not more so, and the technicality is more or less the same (although regardless, produces catchier tunes). It's hard to just start listening to this record and then all of a sudden like Nile if you haven't before. That is, this record isn't groundbreaking for them, nor experimental. It's Nile. If you didn't like Ithyphallic, you can try and like TWTGD, but I don't think it's going to stimulate the ol' hypothalamus anymore then before. (Honestly, not sure if that even makes sense, and don't care.) But prove me wrong, and check it out. Notable Track(s): Those Whom the Gods Detest, Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld, Utterances of the Crawling Dead.
14. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
I have been a huge Mastodon fan since I first started listening to metal. In fact, sludge and its various incarnations is one of my favorite brews thereof. But that being said, Crack the Skye is not a sludge record. Actually it leans more toward progressive rock than anything, similar to how The Great Misdirect relates to the rest of the BTBAM discography. So in light of that, I have to admit, it took me a while to really start liking this release. But I went to see them perform the entire album live when they came around to Philly with High On Fire, Converge, and that cartoon-metal thing, and I was amazed. Since then, I think I see the point of this album: it is probably the most impressive display of songwriting they've ever produced, though it sort of removes the record from the metal genre for me personally. But that does not matter, or at least it should not. The concept behind the record is sort of bewildering, and honestly I don't care. The music tends to strike me like a classical composition does; every song fits like a puzzle piece, each necessary, each something new, each contributing equally to a unified whole which altogether does not nor could not equal its pieces individually. This is meant to be listened to as one giant song really. But in light of human limitations for patience (all to common in myself), here are the Notable Track(s): The Last Baron, Divinations.
13. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
I have literally only recently (about 4 days ago) started really listening to Obscura's Cosmogenesis, and how I've overlooked it for so long is now totally beyond me. I guess I just didn't get it. The way the bass, beautifully manned by fretless-extraordinaire Jeroen Paul Thesseling, mixed with everything else just made it all seem so much more from outer space than even The Faceless' Planetary Duality, another amazing record by the way. And I guess I didn't dig that. All I know now is that this record is utterly mindblowing, and really gives Necrophagist a run for their money in terms of best-technical-death-band-shredding-presently. Why? Because you can hear all of the elements of a band like Necrophagist, including their actual former guitarist, but with a more progressive rock-minded composition style, which results in the highlight of the record for me: their ability to know when and where the "tech" in tech-death should come in to play. Universe Momentum, by far the most technically exhilarating tune on the album, hits you like a stampede of arpeggiated goodness. But then, you're given Incarnated, which is my favorite track as much for itself as for its placement: it is literally the least technical song on the album. You are in this way taken on a sort of roller coaster, and the main architects are frontman Steffen Kummerer, and Thesseling, whose bass work is probably the best in metal right now, along with Alex Webster of course. Truly phenomenal LP. Notable Track(s): Universe Momentum, Incarnated, Noospheres.
12. The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate
I think that most considerations for best albums of the year would end up excluding this record, simply because, to be honest, The Black Dahlia Murder just does not usually produce groundbreaking material. It is more accurately described as some of the best melodic death metal ever to come out of America though, and that's kind of fucking cool. And moreover, Deflorate could be their best LP to date. The technical aspect of the band got a huge shot in the arm from ex-Arsis Ryan Smith, whose refreshingly good solos really gives the band something they never really had. And songs like A Selection Unnatural (written mostly by bassist Bart Williams) really shows that the compositions are following along accordingly. Of any of their records, every song tends to fit more cohesively together than on earlier releases; each song follows naturally from the last. Nocturnal (Deflorate's predecessor) did a nice job of this too I feel, but this record accomplishes it better, to put it squarely. Notable Track(s): Black Valor, I Will Return.
11. Burnt By the Sun - Heart of Darkness
Not much need be said about the musicianship and intensity with which these guys approach their unique mixture of hardcore and insanity. It is their last record ever, and they certainly leave the music world (or the small subset of it that listens to music that matters) with an amazingly memorable record. I’m still quite new to this band, being familiar with only one other of their records (Soundtrack to the Personal Revolution, which is another classic: I immediately fell in love with their sound). But from what I do know of good music, and how it is supposed to be executed, let’s just say BBTS knows their fretboards. “Inner Station”, the back-breaking opener, is evidence enough: the backbeat is almost nauseating in its sensory-usurpation: you get sucked into it like a giant hardcore-vacuum (whoa). Of truth. Anyway, please check this out; I know my friends have really heard nothing from this band, and I haven’t been yelling and screaming about them enough around them. Notable Track(s): Goliath, Inner Station.
10. Gaza - He Is Never Coming Back
Gaza is officially my newest obsession, unless it's fair to say Obscura stole that spot as of the last few days. I heard this band first (and only other) LP, I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die, and immediately fell in love with their unique style of discombobulated, chaotic, blast-beatdown hardcore. It was one of the few times in my life I got to say, "I didn't know music like this existed." And as good as IDCWIGWID was (whoa, epic acronym), He Is Never Coming Back is like the grand slam home run that culminates the three singles hit by its predecessor. (Man that baseball analogy cost me some dignity and self-respect.) What really helped me understand that was the song Bishop, which is both calmly melodic, serene, and yet at the very same time a whirling undulation of pain and hellishness. Notable Track(s): Bishop, Tombless, Windowless House.
9. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
The metalheads are going to hate me for this one. I try not to divulge my semi-hipster leanings in this blog, but here I can't resist. (Rest assured, I never visit Pitchfork, and I own literally no flannel. Although I was thinking about buying some...) For those who do not know, Animal Collective is a group of 3 (sometimes 4) electronic/freak folk/experimental geniuses who produce an avant-electro-goodness I can't quite describe, besides saying it is literally the only electronic group (besides Nine Inch Nails of course) I actually like. Unlike Obscura's Cosmogenesis, it took me literally five minutes to realize I was going to love MPP, especially once I heard Also Frightened, this sort of cascade of sound that is both euphoric in tone and devastating in presentation at the same time, producing a catharsis I'm going to choose to describe as post-orgasmic. That's pretty fucking high praise if you ask me, yeah...might want to go check this out. Notable Track(s): Also Frightened, Daily Routine, No More Runnin'.
8. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
My cousinal cohort Dave has already commented on this, and I could (as you'll see presently) literally not say it any better than he already has: this is the best (and possibly the only good) ANB album. I credit it with finally helping me realize the merit in grindcore, since most of what I had heard before this was either shit, or Pig Destroyer (which actually was amazing). So basically Scott Hull (guitarist, ANB/PD-brain-child) is a genius blah blah blah. The fake drums sound all that much less fake (on earlier releases it is so obviously fake and overdone that it feels almost like a punishment to listen to it). The guitar work is that much more impressive. The songs are so much more intense. And just to emphasize my point, I put this record ahead of so much amazing music already, even though it is basically pure bottled-intensity, and not much more artistically. Notable Track(s): Dick to Mouth Resusitation, Moral Distortion.
7. Baroness - Blue Record
Baroness is often called a Mastodon-wannabeism. I think that comparison is now officially wrong with the release of Blue Record, if the claim ever even had any substance to begin with. Sure it's sludgey and from Georgia, like Mastodon. The difference is now this: Baroness released and utterly brilliant LP, in every facet, whereas Mastodon produced, well, another brilliant record sure, but not obviously so. At least not for me, anyway. It was a move away from what I still feel is a better more coherent record with Red Album. But the change that one witnesses between the two LPs is so stark that it's almost impossible to compare the two. Blue is more rock and roll, harmonized oceanization, psychedelia, trip to Atlantis. Red is more gritty lumberjacked Redwood, Manifest Destination, undiscovered beaches, journey to the Mantle of the Earth. (How's that for imagery?) They are two different stories told for two different reasons, so it feels. It retains some heaviness, but at the same time remains a few inches off the ground, floating in the froth of probably the most original metal-sound in the genre. Now, they have surpassed Mastodon, at least this year. If they ever tour together, I might sacrifice a goat to Thor in rejoice. Okay, maybe not. You get the idea. Notable Track(s): The Sweetest Curse, Steel That Sleeps the Eye, A Horse Called Golgotha, War, Wisdom and Rhyme.
6. August Burns Red - Constellations
Oh no! Not Metalcore! Relax. This is the other surprise for the metalhead readers no doubt. But hear me out. I honestly feel that this record, for maybe one of the only times in metalcore's short history (excluding perhaps the amazing past few records from Killswitch Engage), actually surpasses it's own overly-restrictive misnomer of a genre. For example, I have a friend who, despite listening to absolutely nothing even remotely callable by "metalcore", and who listened to previous ABR albums and didn't find them too gripping, absolutely loved Constellations. Why could that be so? Because it is just good, regardless of whatever predilections a listener could have toward metalcore as a whole. The music is technically interesting, but still retains the necessary shot-in-the-arm style of composition that tends to keep everything going at 500 miles per hour. It is more melodic, more passionate, and vocally more interesting than other releases from this or most other modern metalcore bands. You can make the complaint often made about most metalcore; that is, "it's all the same shit". Well, on this release at least, making that same complaint of it would show either a complete lack of attention as a listener, or complete ignorance of the music. Or I guess immaturity as a metal-listener. Either way, it is just as repetitive as any other metal release; sometimes one needs to search through a metal album thoroughly and thoughtfully to really discover the intricacies therein. So do that; then tell me you don't like it. For what it's worth, I think this record fully re-garnered my interest in bands like ABR. Notable Track(s): Marianas Trench, Ocean of Apathy, Indonesia.
5. Behemoth - Evangelion
And now for something completely different. Not liking Behemoth is probably most analogous to not enjoying chocolate. But...but...but why? This record is nothing short of miraculous, by far the best purely brutal release of the year, unless you are a Suffocation and/or Dying Fetus whore. But what those bands make up for in pure brutality, Behemoth brings to the listener with an added factor which is all too helpful to the death metal listener: catchiness. Sounds unfair perhaps, but it makes sense; let's face it, listening to an entire Suffocation record is like doing homework. It's exhausting. There's nothing or almost nothing there for the first-time listener to really grasp onto, and take with them immediately. That is a huge asset to a death metal release, regardless of the ethical issues one might have with considering something as trite as "catchiness" to be a real factor in differentiating "good" from "bad" music. The guitars are sharp cheddar, the production is their best to date, and every note is so much more precise compared to earlier albums. Warning: Behemoth noobs may suffer from immense eardrum disintegration upon listening. Notable Track(s): Transmigrating Beyond Realms ov Amenti, He Who Breeds Pestilence, Shemhamforash.
4. As Tall As Lions - You Can't Take It With You
This is as non-metal a record as I could dream to put on this list, but it deserves its high placement. ATAL is generally speaking an indie rock outfit, with obvious krautrock, old school progressive rock, and ambient/experimental influences. But despite the more popish tone of their previous records, they almost totally forsake that simply produce some of most artistically beautiful independent music of the decade, in the ranks with Arcade Fire's Funeral, or Panda Bear's Person Pitch. When I originally reviewed this record, I discerned it to be ever so slightly inferior to its self-titled predecessor, which very obviously retains the pop rock tone of which I speak. But I've changed my mind within the last few months, and so much so that it's almost embarrassing. It blows their whole discography out of the water of the melo-emo-pop and stagnancy to which it is accustomed. (Although I still love all of their tunes.) It is a dark, utterly honest survey of all those certain aspects of the human condition rock bands tend to have driveled over into repetitive boredom, although in a way which completely scares you with its newness, and its cunning beauty. Notable Track(s): Circles, Duermete.
3. Thrice - Beggars
I had actually promised I'd talk about Thrice's Beggars a while ago. Well, here you go. Thrice has been one of my favorite bands for a while now, and since the Alchemy Index releases, I've truly started to respect them as probably the most musically-informed/intelligent rock musicians playing right now. They could have kept playing their old assemblage of pop-punk and alternative rock, which, although not too bad so far as pop-punk goes, was getting old, fast. This record only furthers the successes of the Alchemy Index LPs, and more further emphasizes how right I am about these motherfuckers. The poignance, the grace, the understatement of every song is refreshing to my ears, rusted by technical and heavy music, and the progressive nature of the their understanding of rock music and where it should be going is an inspiration to a musician like myself, who aspires to do the same things in my own little sector of the "rock" phenomenon. Thank you Thrice. Notable Track(s): Circles, In Exile, Talking Through Glass / We Move Like Swing Sets.
2. The Red Chord - Fed Through the Teeth Machine
A lot of people would love nothing more then the following scenario for The Red Chord: burn every copy of Prey for Eyes; release 9 LPs worth of Fused Together In Revolving Doors-like material; win epicly. Well, fuck that. FTIRD happened, it's over, it was fucking awesome, it's not coming back, get over it. Too much evolution has happened between then and now for The Red Chord for them to excusably take that far of a step back, but then again, I am a whore for moving forward with one's music with aggression and deliberateness. In light of this philosophy, Fed Through the Teeth Machine was literally nothing more than I could have ever asked from TRC: something which blows Prey for Eyes the fuck away, and re-solidifies themselves as the real fucking deal in deathgrind. The riffs groove hypnotically, the clarity of composition (that we-all-know-where-we-want-to-go-with-tune-and-we-are-fucking-doing-itness), the ferocity, the frightening mix of melodicism with a bitter sharpness of chord change, all meshes together into a gorgeous example of metal doing almost everything right, and doing it with a clairvoyance into the listener's head I would never expect from anything in music at all. It's brutal, it's catchy, it's [insert generally pleasant adjective here]. Notable Track(s): Embarrassment Legacy, Hour of Rats, Face Area Solution, Demoralizer.
1. Converge - Axe to Fall
Converge is probably my favorite band in modern music. So those who knew this (and those who now know this) won't be surprised at this being number one. And indeed, my cowriter agreed. So literally, this blog is owned by Converge-whores, and proud of it. Converge continually pushes themselves, producing music with forcing a mirror on its listener; producing a sort of inert ugliness and beauty out of thin air, providing the wide pantheon of human emotion tapered out like the light spectrum. As other (good) reviewers of this album have already pointed out, Converge really outshines themselves here, making both a collaborative work (with guys from Genghis Tron, Blacklisted, Cave In, and Neurosis, among others) and a coherent album-wide musical statement, which fits together perfectly despite it's own self-imposed diversity. Jacob's vocals are just as passionate and driven as always, and Kurt Ballou, who seems to have his hand-prints on most of the only relevant hardcore albums released anymore, produces yet another brilliant work for his band. As Converge has always been very good at, this album is an almost unseen mixture of musical technicality and unadulterated passion. Not having this album first on a list such as this means you weren't listening well at all this year (unless you just don't have a palate for it). Notable Track(s): Axe to Fall, Dark Horse, Losing Battle, Cruel Bloom.
So that was the primary list; I hope you found at least a bit of it favorable. Here are a few honorable mentions, which failed to really make the cut, but which I really enjoyed this year nonetheless.
Shrinebuilder - Shrinebuilder
Thursday - Common Existence
Suffocation - Blood Oath
Dying Fetus - Descend Into Depravity
The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
Wolves In the Throne Room - Black Cascade
Earth Crisis - To the Death
Trigger the Bloodshed - The Great Depression
Reign Supreme - Testing the Limits of Infinite
Brand New - Daisy
The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha
Isis - Wavering Radient
Kylesa - Static Tensions
Lamb of God - Wrath (you win, Jon.)
So, what about this coming year? What can we expect? Well, according to the Internets and the latest issue of Decibel, I know I am excited as fuck for some new High On Fire, The Sword, Glassjaw, Genghis Tron, Electric Wizard, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Necrophagist (oh please, let it be true), among many others. 2010 should be just as exhilarating as this year.
So in light of the length of this post, I'd like to reward to all with some music! Here's a mediafire link to a 20-song collection from my own stockpile, one song from each album in my top 20 list:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c834978e56c64e09ed24a2875c7fa58e3a17c9df98ef6c53a2910e5564f74470
Not every song is what would be the "best" one of the album; that takes away the allure the album has, if it has any, after reading about them, assuming I did a good job of describing them, which I know is a bit of a stretch. But rest assured, the song I chose to include from each album is sick with a "q". So until next we \m/eet.
Be safe, friends.
