MetalReviews

Awards 2009

14 reviewers shared their picks for 2009.

← 2008 2010 →

Chris

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    PowerWolf - The Bible of the Beast
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
    Shakra - Everest
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 9.
  11. 10.
  12. 11.
  13. 11.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Hammerfall - No Sacrifice, No Victory — While not amazing back to form, there is a hint that HF could get back to it's former glory... next album might tell

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    KISS - Sonic Boom — There are some excellent moemnts and good songs but it's a mixed bag with some really filler and boring tracks, unfortunately. It's definitely less interesting that Psycho Circus

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — 2009 was a transitional year for me on many levels, I moved and changed places and returned to my born place : Geneva. I also went from independent worker to an employee status again, in order to free up some time and worry less :). Metal wise there has been some great albums but I feel that 2009 was a weaker year than many that preceded it. Not a bad year, just less interesting. As you can see from my picks, I can't even find 15 albums nor 5 surprises for 2009. Part of that might also be because I had less time to listen to many albums as I did the previous years. I'm looking forward to 2010, and hopefully it will tickle my metal senses more than 2009. I wish you all a wonderful, happy new year full of success, health and metal blasting your ears all year long. Chris

Danny

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Kreator - Hordes of Chaos — German thrash at his best !
  2. 2.
    U.D.O. - Dominator — After all this years, what an album !!!
  3. 3.
    Grave Digger - Ballads Of A Hangman — Shame they lost this fifth member already. What a CD !
  4. 4.
    Rammstein - Liebe Ist Für Alle Da — THE come back !!!
  5. 5.
    Hammerfall - No Sacrifice, No Victory — Still here ,,, even with bad live setlist :-(
  6. 6.
    Powerwolf - Bible Of The Beast — ... I should have wrote a review :-)
  7. 6.
    Powerwolf - Bible Of The Beast - — ... I should have written the review
  8. 7.
  9. 8.
  10. 9.
    Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage
  11. 10.
  12. 11.
    The Devil's Blood - The Time Of No Time Evermore — The BUZZ in Germany !!!
  13. 11.
    The Devil's Blood - The Time Of No Time Evermore - — The BUZZ in Germany !!!
  14. 12.
    Kiss - Sonic Boom — Still Alive ,,, oh yeah.
  15. 12.
    Kiss - Sonic Boom - — Still Alive ,,, oh yeah.
  16. 13.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown — Yeah I know, I am the first surprised. But that's the album of the family ;-)
  2. 1.
    Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown - — I am the first surprised. But that's the album of the family ;-)
  3. 2.
    The Answer - Everyday Demons — I cannot believe it has not been reviewed this year ... I should have done it myself
  4. 2.
    The Answer - Everyday Demons - — I cannot believe it has not been reviewed this year ... Shame on ME !!!
  5. 3.
    Herman Frank - Loyal to None — Classic German Heavy Metal :-)
  6. 4.
  7. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know — Was expecting too much ...
  2. 2.
    Savage Circus - Of Doom And Death — Self prophecy album's title ... They can do much better!
  3. 2.
    Savage Circus - Of Doom And Death - — Self prophecy album's title ? ... They can do much better!

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Obama's Peace AWARD. Give me a break hahaha
  2. 1.
    Anthrax — Dallas TV Metal Show. The good news is that John is coming back ... Well, you never sure with Anthrax. I cross my fingers !!
  3. 1.
    Anthrax - — Dallas TV Metal Show. The good news is that John is coming back ... Well, you never sure with Anthrax. I cross my fingers !!

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — I have to mention the following: Metallica - Live In Zurich July 2009 - Thanks guys, my live of the year. Rammstein - Could not see them in Geneva (working), my disappointment of the year. I should have written reviews this year - when I see Powerwolf, Kiss (come, some respect), The Answer, The Devil's Blood, and many others not being reviewed on the site, my heart is broken. Of course, the first to blame is ME ... not the team who did again a fantastic job this year. They are my AWARD for the year. SWEAR, I will come back in 2010 with some reviews ... I'll start with the one above who couldn't be posted in 2009. Best regards to all our readers. I wish you health and a long life. Hail Metal :-)

Marty

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
    Shadow Gallery - Digital Ghosts
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
    Kiss - Sonic Boom

Disappointments

  1. 1.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Areosmith - Steve Tyler falls off the wagon (I mean stage)
  2. 1.
    Aerosmith - Steven Tyler falls off the wagon (I mean stage)
  3. 2.
    Axel Rose still using the Guns N' Roses name even though he's the only original member
  4. 3.
    Anthrax - The recorded a whole new album with a new singer that they pumped up so much in the press....only to fire him and bring back John Bush
  5. 3.
    Anthrax - They recorded a new album with a new singer that they pumped up so much in the press....only to fire his ass and bring back John Bush

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Well....another year and yet I find myself having less and less time to listen to and review music anymore. I haven't been as regular with my reviews as of late but I sure do try to contribute when I can. My 2 boys are now 14 and 12 and they keep me pretty busy. The old body just doesn't have the stamina and energy that it used to as all of you will find out as my 50th birthday ominously looms next year. I'm only three years from early retirement and not that I will be able to afford to, I'm looking forward to possibly starting another career and one that is very much music related. Metalreviews.com has really stirred up a passion in me for music and journalism in general and one day, I would like to expand my interests to include music promotion. None of this would have ever been possible without the invaluable experience and contacts that I have made through my association with Metalreviews.com. I'm still tryng to fly the power/prog and traditional metal flag as high as I can but shifts in musical interests amongst the metal community to more extreme forms of metal has made it hard for me to keep up that end of the weekly reviews. Here's to a safe and wonderful 2010!!!! Cheers, Marty

Alex

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    Khors - Mysticism
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.

Aleksie

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
    Porcupine Tree - The Incident
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
    Profane Omen - Inherit The Void

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Anthrax - Worship Music — *sigh* Just *sigh*

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — While 2009 won't rank up in the higher echelon of the past metal decade, it certainly produced quality metal in the traditional, the avant-garde and much in between. The upcoming year is already sounding delicious with new releases by Nevermore, Stam1na, Avantasia and many more. Here's to all of them ruling beyond belief! Metal on! -Aleksie-

Adam

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Candlemass - Death Magic Doom — Still the masters of the genre. Leif Edling, or more specifically his songwriting, showed why it is far and away the most important part of this band. One of their best albums ever.
  2. 2.
    Pelican - What We All Come to Need — After a mild disappointment in City of Echoes, this is about as strong a comeback as I could have hoped for.
  3. 3.
    YOB - The Great Cessation — Back with a vengeance, and I do mean vengeance. Maybe the Middian lawsuit debacle has a silver lining after all.
  4. 4.
    Sinister Realm - Sinister Realm — I have never been as blown away by a debut album as I was by this one. Amazing display of truly epic doom.
  5. 5.
    Mastodon - Crack The Skye — Not quite as good as Blood Mountain, but still an excellent album. The title track might be the best track they've ever recorded.
  6. 6.
    Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue — As a longtime fan and one who thought this band should have died with Layne Staley, I really appreciate how gently William DuVall was introduced on this album. Well done Mr. Cantrell, well done.
  7. 7.
    Slough Feg - Ape Uprising — Scalzi and the guys are still in top form.
  8. 8.
    Iron Man - I Have Returned — The last two years have seen the return of a fair share of doom legends, but this one just might be the best.
  9. 9.
    Cobalt - Gin — A pleasant surprise in a genre that has been getting a bit stale for me.
  10. 9.
  11. 10.
    Count Raven - Mammons War — Another legendary doom band returns with an outstanding effort. Its a good time to be a fan of true and epic doom right now.
  12. 11.
    Argus - Argus — Yet another stellar album from an up and coming US doom outfit through the bastion of the genre, Shadow Kingdom Records.
  13. 12.
    Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave — Consistency and longevity, two things Napalm Death does perhaps better than anyone in metal history.
  14. 13.
    The Gates Of Slumber - Hymns Of Blood And Thunder — Their best album yet. Crushing epic doom right from own backyard of Indianapolis.
  15. 14.
    Hypocrisy - A Taste of Extreme Divinity — In a sea of boring melodeath, Hypocrisy and their brutal approach stand out. Not quite as good as the excellent Virus, but still awesome.
  16. 14.
  17. 15.
    Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know — OK, so it was predictable and didn't bring anything new to the table. So what? Its Black Sabbath with Dio! In this case, the same old thing is more than fine by me.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — This year has been a crazy one for me, as my colleagues have all heard too many times. However, Metal Reviews is still a place I'm proud to be a part of and I will continue to give everything I can to it. Thanks to all the readers for your support and thank you to my fellow staff members for always being there to help out. This year's going to be even better!

Goat

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 5.
  7. 6.
  8. 6.
  9. 6.
  10. 7.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 8.
    Anubis Gate - The Detached — A suprise entry, after randomly checking the band out their take on progressive power metal and impressive songwriting skills caught my ear. The rest is history.
  14. 9.
  15. 9.
    Gorod - Process Of A New Decline — Probably the finest bit of widdle-dee-dee tech-death you'll hear this year, if not this decade.
  16. 10.
  17. 10.
    Secrets of the Moon - Priviligivm — Gloomy, doomy, proggy and full of bile, Secrets Of The Moon live up to the hype and produce an album that is a monument to hate
  18. 10.
  19. 11.
  20. 11.
    Minsk - With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone — ****
  21. 11.
  22. 12.
  23. 12.
    Rammstein - Liebe Ist Für Alle Da — Did you really expect an album this good from the dildo-waving Germans? I certainly didn't, but it just goes to prove that comebacks can work.
  24. 12.
  25. 13.
  26. 13.
    She Said Destroy - This City Speaks In Tongues — They're back! Norway's most underrated band storm the gates once again with their original brand of Prog-Death.
  27. 14.
  28. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Static-X - Cult Of Static — Up until now these Nu-Metal survivors had managed to include enough good songs on their albums to keep me entertained, but they somehow failed to do so here, and so I treat them as I should have done all along, and will proceed to deny that I've ever listened to them
  2. 2.
    Sepultura - A-Lex — I'm a fan of Andreas Kisser; he has a nice smile, and looks like a guy you could have a beer with. Yet releasing albums like this, pathetically ambitious, like a child trying to impress its foster parents, impresses no-one, and makes us all wish that the band would get the fuck over it and reform. Come back, Max, all is forgiven.
  3. 2.
  4. 3.
    iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening — Ooh, look, aren't they wacky with their female singer and inability to write songs? Isn't it amazing that they mix up all those different genres at once? No, now piss off until you've learnt to actually write a song
  5. 3.
  6. 4.
    Velvetseal - Lend Me Your Wings — Despite the hordes of bog-standard Gothic Metal clones who will never get anywhere, I hereby proclaim Velvetseal the worst. If you can't be original, at least write good songs!
  7. 4.
  8. 5.
    Forgery - Harbouring Hate — And Modern Thrash, the bastard mutated runt that somehow still survives when it should be dead. Does anyone care? Thought not, so I won't think of anything witty to say here.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — It's been at once an interesting and uninteresting year. The usual suspects continue to ride high in my estimation, yet I'll admit to having changed my mind in a couple of places - I gave Mastodon's latest 90/100 for some reason, despite it boring me rigid on every subsequent listen. Time to admit it: Blood Mountain was way better.

James

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 11.
  13. 12.
  14. 12.
  15. 13.
  16. 13.
  17. 14.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — So that was 2009, a fantastic year for metal. So fantastic, in fact, that a good few records didn't make the list simply because I didn't have time to truly connect with them. Marduk, Cobalt, Kylesa and The Ruins Of Beverast all released stellar albums which I didn't give enough listens to to give a fair appraisal of. It's also worth mentioning Fauna's Rain, ineligible for the list due to technically being a reissue (not that you'd ever have a chance of tracking down the original 2006 demo) but one of the best black metal albums of the decade. And 2010 looks set to open the decade in style, with new albums from Sigh and Pig Destroyer on their way, the return of the mighty Morbid Angel and Varg Vikernes return to the black metal fold, which if nothing else should cause chaos on metal forums for the rest of the year. I for one, cannot wait.

Thomas

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Converge - Axe to Fall — Yeah, I know, didn't even get the album of the year award from me. Screw that. Easily the album I just can't get enough of this year. Fantastic.
  2. 2.
    Sacrifice - The Ones I Condemn — Easily the best thrash metal album of the year, in many years really. Great effort by the old timers from Canada.
  3. 3.
    Rebellion - Arise: From Ginnungagap To Ragnarok - History of the Vikings, Vol. III — One of the very few power metal albums that struck me this year. Brilliant.
  4. 4.
    Arcana Coelestia - Le Mirage De L'ideal — This struck me at a particularly difficult time, but I haven't really listened to it since, despite giving it an album of the year award. Still an excellent album though, and worthy of the top 5.
  5. 5.
    Altar of Plagues - White Tomb — Last year saw Enslaved's Vertebrae, this year we got Altar of Plagues' White Tomb, which is quite near in terms of excellence.
  6. 6.
    Razor of Occam - Homage to Martyrs — Fantastic blackened thrash metal from the Destroyer 666 guys.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
    At War - Infidel — Brutal and nice thrash
  9. 9.
    Artillery - When Death Comes — Cool power metal tinged thrash from the Danish.
  10. 10.
    Eternal Tears Of Sorrow - Children of the Dark Waters — Yeah I know. Good Melodic Death Metal.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
    Kreator - Hordes of Chaos — Great follow-up to Enemy of God, and a no-brainer on this list.
  13. 13.
    Slough Feg - Ape Uprising — This band can do no wrong.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    Cauldron - Chained to the Nite — Neat heavy metal from the Goat Horn-boys
  4. 4.
    Endyium - Eye of the Storm — Cool 80's-tinged heavy metal from Canada.
  5. 5.
    Kalisia - Cybion — Intelligent Prog/Death from France,

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Entwine - Painstained — This was miles below Fatal Design
  2. 2.
    DGM - FrAme — Can't help but feeling a little disappointed in this after the brilliant Different Shapes
  3. 3.
    Slayer - World Painted Blood — Didn't expect much, but at least I thought it would be better than this.
  4. 4.
    Megadeth - Endgame — Same to you Mustaine
  5. 5.
    Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings — Same to you guys, even though I overscored you.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
    Criminal - White Hell — I was too nice to this crap
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — This year have been a little rough to me, but music, and mainly metal have carried more than ever. I've opened up to a lot more sub-genres which has developed me as both a person and a musician by providing guidance and inspiration. My first full year as a reviewer has been great, and I thank my fellow reviewers for their advice when needed. Here's to another great year in the sign of metal and good music.

Charles

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Propagandhi - Supporting Caste — Yeah, so my top album of the year is a punk album. But it's a punk album that is coloured every step of the way by speed metal influence. I originally gave this a score of 85, but ever since I've been listening to it again and again, and realising how good these songs are. Great lyrics, too, which is a breath of fresh air considering all the bands below them on this list.
  2. 2.
  3. 2.
    Deströyer 666 - Defiance — Pretty self-explanatory. One of contemporary metal's elites delivers another slab of expertly crafted extreme metal.
  4. 2.
    Cobalt - Gin — Rare to find a BM album with this much soul to it.
  5. 3.
    Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire — Thanks to Goat for flagging this up for me. Truly creative death metal- something rare enough to be cherished.
  6. 4.
    Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse — Completely chaotic. Until I heard this, Agoraphobic Nosebleed just seemed like a novelty band to me.
  7. 4.
    Antigama - Warning — Great progressive grind.
  8. 5.
    Shining - VI - Klagopsalmer — Very much how black metal should be done. Eerie, creative, and surprisingly catchy at times.
  9. 6.
    Sunn O))) - Monoliths And Dimensions — The first record of theirs that has really engaged me. The creaking, horror film sound effects work beautifully here.
  10. 7.
  11. 8.
    The Wildhearts - Chutzpah! — The greatest rock and roll band in the world returned! This album often seems way too lightweight and poppy, but after seeing them run through it in full live, I gained an appreciation for its light-hearted genius. See more below...
  12. 9.
    Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With The Stars — Could have almost been a surprise of the year. Away from rather dull ambient music into innovative, very French, artsy black metal terrain.
  13. 9.
    Deströyer 666 - Defiance — Pretty self-explanatory... expertly crafted extreme metal.
  14. 9.
    Troyka - Troyka — No end-of-year metal list would be complete without some instrumental jazz.
  15. 10.
    Klabautamann - Merkur — A unique band, really. Such a grasp of proggy loveliness... The most tuneful and pastoral black metal band you could wish to hear.
  16. 11.
    The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite — If it were on titles alone, this would win. Not a work of genius; some tunes here are kind of dull. But overall, this is a truly distinctive and creative work of black metal.
  17. 12.
    Cobalt - Gin — I'm certainly not alone in ranking this highly. Again, black metal needs something distinctive, and this provided it.
  18. 12.
    Altar of Plagues - White Tomb — Strange that Altar of Plagues made it and other clever-BM albums (WITTR, Cobalt) didn't, but there you go. I listened to this a lot more than I listened to those ones.
  19. 13.
    Azarath - Praise the Beast — I'd take this over Behemoth any day. Brutal, twisted death metal that (with the exception of Sunn...) is the heaviest thing here. Riffs straight from hell.
  20. 14.
  21. 14.
    My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire — Maybe their best album for ages? It's great that they are still around and releasing things as brilliantly depressing as this. Sodding miserable bastards, hooray!
  22. 15.
    Zu - Carboniferous — A compelling blast from leftfield. It is with great pleasure that I let a saxophone into my top 15 metal albums of the year.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Oranssi Pazuzu - Muukalainen Puhuu — Yeah! Massive Attack gone black metal, perhaps... diverse and haunting, with well-executed injections of dub, jazz and ambient colliding with Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.
  2. 2.
    Pensees Nocturnes - Vacuum — A one man project which elegantly and poignantly sculpted works of black metal beauty from the bones of pieces of classical music. And saloon blues, for some reason, which was a nice shock.
  3. 3.
    Hellwitch - Omnipotent Convocation — Absolutely killer technical thrash album that I simply did not see coming.
  4. 4.
    Tribulation - The Horror — Of the various death metal debuts I heard this year, perhaps this was the best. Really energetic Swedish assault on the eardrums, reminiscent of Morbid Angel and the classics.
  5. 5.
    Lost Soul - Immerse in Infinity — Yeah, Lost Soul releasing a great death metal album is hardly a surprise. But THIS good? Came so, so, close to the top 15, and maybe only missed out because of my positive discrimination in favour of saxophonists.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Firstly, here are some honourable mentions: Madder Mortem, Culted, Voivod, Giant Squid, Razor of Occam, Brutal Truth, Zombi, Solstafir... metal is going from strength to strength, as proved by the fact that I couldn't fit these bands in anywhere. Secondly, I'd like to say this. I saw The Wildhearts in September. They came out, and informed the crowd that the entire first half of their set would simply be a run through of their new album. From reaction they got, you'd think that The Beatles had managed to resurrect John Lennon and George Harrison, and get the group back together for a one-off show at The Cavern in Liverpool. I cannot think of another band on the planet that could pull that off. Slayer probably get that reaction when they play all of Reign in Blood- but that is an ancient classic, not new stuff. Rock and Roll fans want to hear favourites that they know- except when it is The Wildhearts, in which case new material is as treasured as 20-year perennials by packed venues two weeks after its release. It goes to show how special this band is, and how lucky the world is to have them still in existence. I know that I'm the only person at this site who thinks this highly of them, and so it is incumbent upon me to pay tribute to them here. Hail.

Khelek

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose
  2. 1.
    Amorphis - Skyforger — One of my favorite bands of all time releases another excellent album, building on the strengths of their previous releases with Tomi Joutsen on vocals
  3. 2.
    Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thundergod
  4. 2.
    Ayreon - 01011001
  5. 2.
    Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue — I honestly wasn't sure if the band could come together and write another good album without Layne Staley, but they surpassed all my expectations. New vocalist William DuVall is very talented, just a great breath of fresh air for the band. Can't wait to hear what they come up with next.
  6. 3.
    Volbeat - Guitar Gangsters And Cadillac Blood
  7. 3.
    Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thundergod
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
    Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
  10. 4.
    Volbeat - Guitar Gangsters And Cadillac Blood
  11. 4.
  12. 5.
    Opeth - Watershed
  13. 5.
    Eluveitie - Slania
  14. 5.
  15. 6.
    Arsis - We Are The Nightmare
  16. 6.
    Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine
  17. 6.
  18. 7.
    Tiamat - Amanethes
  19. 7.
    Nightrage - Wearing A Martyr's Crown — While not as good as some earlier albums in my opinion, I still found this to be quite enjoyable.
  20. 8.
    Opeth - Watershed
  21. 8.
    Behemoth - Evangelion — The death metal juggernaut never lets me down.
  22. 9.
    Flowing Tears - Thy Kingdom Gone
  23. 9.
    Luna Mortis - The Absence — This is a young band with a lot to offer to fans of melodeath and power metal, as strange as that sounds. They have an excellent ability to bring in different styles and create a distinct sound.
  24. 10.
    Arsis - We Are The Nightmare
  25. 10.
    Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió — The first album I have listened to by the band and it blew me away - extremely atmospheric and heavy, not to mention unique.
  26. 11.
    Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
  27. 11.
    Insomnium - Across the Dark — Dark, atmospheric melodeath that crushes.
  28. 12.
    All Shall Perish - Awaken The Dreamers
  29. 12.
    God Dethroned - Passiondale (Passchendaele) — I enjoy almost every album this band releases, and Passiondale is a great return to a bit of a harder style then the last few.
  30. 13.
    Communic - Payment Of Existence
  31. 13.
    Goblin Cock - Come With Me If You Want To Live — A quirky album, but it has a lot more structure than their first attempt and is a very enjoyable listen
  32. 14.
    Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe
  33. 14.
    Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings — Not even close to their early releases but still an enjoyable album.
  34. 15.
    Metallica - Death Magnetic
  35. 15.
    Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know — A fun yet dark heavy metal album from guys who have been around for so long.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Seance - Awakening Of The Gods — Great comeback from a classic death metal band.
  2. 2.
    Leaves Eyes - Njord — Was not familiar with the band until this album but I will definitely be checking out their earlier work.
  3. 3.
    This Ending - Dead Harvest — A solid second album from a young melodeath band that I had never heard before.
  4. 4.
    Gorod - Process Of A New Decline — Groovy, crushing death metal.
  5. 5.
    Obliteration - Nekropsalms — Doom-laden, catchy death metal from Norway.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Marilyn Manson - The High End Of Low — Too long and monotonous for me, could not get into more than a few songs.
  2. 2.
    Lamb of God - Wrath — Usually I enjoy what these guys have to offer, but I felt this one just lacked the emotion and intensity of the previous albums.
  3. 3.
    God Forbid - Earthsblood — This album bored me due to what I felt was a lack of effort and originality in songwriting.
  4. 4.
    Darkest Hour - The Eternal Return — A good album, but a step down from their previous work in my opinion.
  5. 5.
    Woods of Ypres - Woods IV: The Green Album — A disappointing effort from a band that definitely has potential.

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — It may have been a somewhat disappointing year for a melodic death metal aficionado, with a bunch of bigger bands releasing new material that was good but not great (I'm looking at you DevilDriver and Darkest Hour). However there was still a lot of great stuff released as you can see from my list. Overall it has been an enjoyable year of listening and reviewing. Looking forward to 2010!

Elias

Top Albums

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
    Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young
  10. 10.
    Paramore - Brand New Eyes
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
    Bon Jovi - The Circle
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
    Gorgoroth - Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
    The Bravery - Stir the Blood
  5. 5.
    Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Helloween - Unarmed
  2. 2.
    Mudvayne - Mudvayne
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Boris

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition — Dark, beautiful, heavier than the others. Simply amazing
  2. 2.
    The Devin Townsend Project - Ki — I prefer this one to Addicted, Devy's other album this year. Devin Townsend's singing voice has never sounded this good, and the music is calming and chaotic all at once
  3. 3.
    Gorod - Process Of A New Decline — I'm not a technical death metal fan, but GOROD manage to infuse so much melody into their brand of the genre that it's just too good to ignore.
  4. 4.
    Mastodon - Crack The Skye — The only Mastodon album I've been able to truly get into, and I'll be damned if it isn't bursting with mysticism and creativity
  5. 5.
    Steven Wilson - Insurgentes — Steven Wilson's solo album was much more consistent than the latest Porcupine Tree, in my opinion. It seems the man can do no wrong.
  6. 6.
    Transatlantic - The Whirlwind — As far as prog goes, there is no better. Neal Morse is another composer that, in my mind, rarely misses.
  7. 7.
    Porcupine Tree- The Incident — Not as good as it could have been but as mentioned before, Steven Wilson is incapable of producing something bad. Expect a review very very soon.
  8. 8.
    Katatonia - Night Is The New Day — Very solid, consistent stuff. Would've been higher on the list if it was any different from Katatonia's last three efforts.
  9. 9.
    Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) — This album made me want to revisit my old power-metal collection. The band's strongest album in years.
  10. 10.
    Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings — A return to form, more or less, for Dream Theater. Now if Portnoy sang like he does on the Transatlantic album instead of trying to miserably growl...
  11. 11.
    Scar Symmetry - Dark Matter Dimensions — You'd never even know that there was a lineup change, much less a major one like switching vocalists from listening to this. Scar Symmetry are the best melodic death metal out there now. Let's hope Soilwork can prove me wrong next year
  12. 12.
    Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue — Same deal as Scar Symmetry. You'd never even know Layne was gone listening to this. Alice in Chains rock, simply put.
  13. 13.
    The Mars Volta - Octahedron — The best Volta album so far, or at least the best since the debut. Much more of a focus on songwriting rather than noise and craziness.
  14. 14.
    Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life — Yeah, I listened to this album a buncha times. I'm a little ashamed considering just how poppy it is, but it's too catchy to write off as nonsense
  15. 15.
    The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate — Another solid effort from these guys. Again, would've been higher had they even tried anything new.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
    Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue — How often do the bands of yore reform and actually put out an album that is not rehashed riffs and can stand among its classics? Judging from Heaven and Hell, Smashing Pumpkins, etc--not very often at all.
  2. 2.
    Dethklok - Dethalbum II — Despite the ridiculous joke nature of the band, the music on this album is very worthy of the material it parodies. Touche, Brendan Smalls

Disappointments

  1. 1.
    Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know — I love Dio-era Sabbath, I really do. And I wanted this to be good, but its just so boring and similar throughout, I can't stand it.
  2. 2.
    Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day — Actually not a bad album, but considering what Arjen Lucassen is capable of, a major disappointment
  3. 3.
    Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures — Man, this sucks. Really. Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones--wtf are you thinking?

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Austrian Death Machine - Double Brutal — Then again, this was meant to be a joke, wasn't it? How about being a little clever--take some cues from Dethklok.

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — 2009 has been an interesting musical year for me. 2008 rekindled my love for metal more than any other year in recent memory, despite some obvious problems. I was so optimistic about this year at its start, that I was sorely underwhelmed by the amount of good metal releases that came out early in the year. That, combined with my little brother constantly listening to The Beatles around my parents' house made me actively seek out more pop-oriented music. And so, I turned away from metal for a while. When I saw MetalReviews was looking for new team members, I jumped at the chance, and upon being accepted, I began to immerse myself in the genre again. However, with my newfound love for simple hook-filled songs, I found that fewer and fewer metal bands (of any genre) captivated me as much as they had before. This obvious problem has prevented me from writing as much reviews as I would have liked--and those reviews I did write were mostly of archival releases. That being said, my being more critical of metal helped make this list all the more meaningful for me. There were only a handful of albums that I felt truly exemplified the emotionality and musical talent I've always loved about metal, and even so, most of these albums were of a much more laid back nature--my top two, Anno Domini Hi Definition and Ki represent that quite well. I don't think this needs to be said but my list of the top 15 as well as the disappointments and surprises is my own opinion--these are the albums that have moved me or failed to move me personally. I doubt that there is even one other person around who would put all these bands on the same list. It always bothers me when I go on the forums and see people insulting each other's tastes and worse, each other. Music isn't about who is better or worse, or what is tr00 metal or kvlt or whatever. It's about the experiences we all have with it. And this website and the forums are about sharing those experiences and building a community of people all around the world who have similar ones and want to discuss them. The variety of music I have come across this year both new and old, from laid back rock like The Coral or technical death metal like Gorod who I've never listened to before to my very favorite bands like Riverside and Pain of Salvation (who, by the way, released an AWESOME E.P that didn't make the list because it's not an album) , has allowed me to connect with people I would never have talked to before and spread my knowledge as well as take in theirs. For that, 2009 has been a huge personal success in my musical journey, and I hope that my horizons continue to expand in the coming year.

Kyle

Top Albums

  1. 1.
    The Stone - Umro — Every year there comes along an album that is unquestionably the album of the year, bar none. Last year it was Equilibrium's masterpiece Sagas; this year, it's Umro, a near-perfect piece of black metal from Serbia's highly underrated The Stone. It may not seem like much to rave about on the surface, but just give it a chance; Once the amazing songwriting and sublteties in the music hit home, you'll know you have a winner.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
    Ensiferum - From Afar — A miraculous recovery from one of the best folk metal bands in all the land! Stay away from that dreadful new Korpiklaani album; if you want truly epic folk metal, than look no further than From Afar.
  4. 4.
    Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect — While not as good as Colors in my opinion, The Great Misdirect is a case of growing maturity from a band that was already stellar in the first place. Come on, BTBAM, bring on masterpiece number three and create a new unholy trinity in metal albums!
  5. 5.
    Heavenly - Carpe Diem
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.

Surprises of the Year

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.

Disappointments

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 2.
    Evile - Infected Nations — A very, very boring album from a band that had a very promising debut under their belt. Aside from one song (the title track), the music is EXTREMELY forgettable; after listening to Infect Nations all the way through, I honestly could not remember a single riff other than the excellent ones in the aforementioned song. It's a shame that this had to be Mike Alexander's last album, as it sure isn't a very good one.
  4. 3.
    3 Inches Of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom
  5. 3.
    Korpiklaani - Karkelo — Whether or not signing to Nuclear Blast was the cause for Korpikaani's unfortunate change in sound is debatable, but the fact still remains that the band just isn't very fun to listen to anymore. There's still a very good chance for 'Klaani to regain their former glory, but Karkelo will unfortunately live forever as a black spot on the record of a band that has always been rather consistent.
  6. 4.
  7. 4.
    3 Inches Of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom — This album just isn't very entertaining. Fire Up The Blades was my favorite 3IB release thus far, and I was hoping for big things from their follow up; who knew that signing AWAY from Roadrunner Records would make for a poor album?
  8. 5.
    Evile - Infected Nations
  9. 5.
    Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) — 16.6 isn't a bad album by any means, and it's about the best I can hope for from a modern Primal Fear album. Still... I was really, really hoping for Nuclear Fire II with this one... There's always next time, I suppose...

Joke of the Year

  1. 1.
    Helloween - Unarmed - Best-of Twenty Fifth Anniversary

Words / Final Thoughts

  1. 0
    — Though I've been a metal fan for a few years now, I will always remember 2009 as the year I really, truly got into the genre. I fleshed out my metal knowledge by delving into both the black and death metal genres, discovering classics that I really should've listened to earlier, and also new bands that keep me in the modern metal loop. I also went explored deeper into my old favorites of the genre (power and thrash metal) and gained a newfound appreciation for bands that I had never really cared for beforehand. In truth, I enjoyed listening to older music in 2009 than I did listening to new music, but all the same, there were some amazing albums released from some of my favorite bands. The year was really a treat for me: I was blessed with new albums from my favorite thrash, power, and black metal bands (Kreator, Heavenly, and Immortal, respectively), and was introduced to new bands that I will follow and enjoy for many years to come (Gorod, Wine From Tears). And of course, I can't not mention my new writing job at metalreviews.com. Writing for this site is truly an amazing opportunity for me, as it combines my two MOST important passions (Writing and music). A very big "Thank you" goes out to Chris, Adam, Zadok, Alex, Marty, and anyone else that was responsible for giving this position, and I hope I can continue to contribute to the site for many years to come. Here's to 2010, to new releases from Dark Tranquility, Darkthrone, Gamma Ray, Coheed & Cambria, and many other favorites of mine (I'm crossing my fingers for new Wintersun!), and to many new surprises that are sure to arrive with the new decade. It oughta be a great one, now that I can focus more on new music rather than catching up with the old! Happy 2010 everyone, - Kyle