1. Blut Aus Nord - Memoria
Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
While I've always appreciated and enjoyed Blut Aus Nord in
their various stages, this is the first time they've truly blown me away and
kept me coming back for more. Memoria
Vetusta II is so brilliantly composed and utterly spellbinding in its
execution that it was almost destined to be my number one pick from the onset.
The sheer number of gorgeous melodies and amazing compositional twists is staggering
on this album, and its sleek production and otherworldly atmosphere renders the songs as enjoyable on the twentieth listen as they are on the first. Amazing work, and I couldn't be happier with it gracing the number-one spot on our staffwide list.
2. Ulcerate - Everything
Is Fire
In an age when most death metal is either focused on
technicality or a sloppy "old-school" feel, Ulcerate came out of nowhere and delivered the
best of both worlds in a head-spinning, jaw-dropping package. With amazingly
tight and versatile musicianship laying the groundwork for some of the most
bleak, uncompromising riffwork this side of Deathspell Omega and Immolation,
Ulcerate have delivered a serious wake-up call to the rest of the death metal
scene. Albums like Everything Is Fire are
often the catalyst for major stylistic growth in their respective genres, and
after hearing a work so seemingly effortless in its innovation, its hard not to
expect great things from this young band in the future.
3. Nile - Those Whom The
Gods Detest
I've been a Nile fan for years, and they were one of my first favorite death metal bands, but in my eyes the outfit didn't reach their true potential until Annihilation of the Wicked in 2005. The good-but-not-great
follow-up in Ithyphallic had me
wondering if maybe the trio had hit their peak, but Those Whom The Gods Detest dispelled that notion...quickly. The
band's always amazing guitar and drum acrobatics are rendered with an absolutely face-melting production job, and the songs themselves are some of the catchiest and most devastatingly anthemic of the
band's career. It takes true talent to produce music so simultaneously complex
and instantly memorable, and Nile has once again proven their abilities in this
area, with a healthy dose of ass-kicking on the side.
4. Fen - The Malediction
Fields
There's something about this album that I just fell in
love with when I reviewed it earlier this year. While my infatuation has receded
slightly in the months since, the misty ambience and unique
amalgamation of different styles on The Malediction Fields continues to mesmerize me whenever I sit down
for a listen. Combining the raw urgency of black metal with the airy
spaciousness of post-rock, Fen have crafted an album that simply oozes dreary
mood and emotion, and the organic sound and perfect flow of the songs just adds
to its hazy appeal. A perfect rainy-day album.
5. Scale the Summit - Carving
Desert Canyons
Noodly instrumental progressive metal doesn't tend to run high on
my listening preferences, but Scale The Summit's accessible approach and
beautiful use of bright, uplifting melody had me swooning from the get-go. Carving Desert Canyons is a feast of technical licks and catchy
refrains, and considering the complexity of its individual parts, the
cohesiveness and emotive quality of the songs themselves is an even bigger triumph. Scale The Summit possess
both an amazing instrumental vocabulary and the talent to translate that into
rewarding songwriting-- a winning combination to be sure, and one that I hope
will lead to a long and productive career for this young outfit.
6. The Chasm - Farseeing
The Paranormal Abysm
The Chasm's reputation in the death metal community speaks
for itself, so I'll skip over any back history and just say that Farseeing... is about as triumphant a
return to form as any of us could have hoped for out of this legendary Mexican
outfit after a five-year hiatus. If anything, these guys sound even more inspired then they did on their last full-length. The Chasm have a remarkable ability to
write complex, engaging music without resorting to show-off instrumental tricks,
and their trademark mystical death metal sound, rife with shimmering melody and strange ambience, remains one of the most distinctive in all of death metal metal, or metal in general for that matter.
7. Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
As someone who's both a rabid Townsend fan and who also has a
soft-spot for simplistic, anthemic hard rock and metal, the concept behind Addicted had me feverish with anticipation
since before even Ki was released.
While the wait was long and grueling, the result was more than worth it. Addicted dominated my listening ventures for a solid two or three weeks after it was released, and even some two months and 31,547 spins later, I continue to have a blast with these tracks everytime
I rock 'em. The union of Devin and Anneke van Giersbergen on vocals was a
genius move, but Addicted
would have been a great listen even without this dynamic, simply because it's a fun, down-to-earth
exercise in Townsend's always unique and enjoyable approach to music, pretensions be damned.
8. Wodensthrone - Loss
I was somewhat late to the party in digesting this debut
from the U.K.'s Wodensthrone, but I'm certainly glad I gave this one enough
time to sink its teeth in before compiling this list, because Loss is a breathtaking rendition of everything that's right with
modern black metal. Wodensthrone's expansive yet simplistic riff arrangements
are anchored in by engaging drum work and topped off with some amazing orchestral
keyboard flourishes, creating a sound somehow both minimalist and deceptively grandiose. With Wolves In The Throne Room and Drudkh both delivering
solid but unspectacular outings this year, this was the epic black metal album
that really stole the show for me in 2009.
9. Absu - Absu
Absu's Tara is one
of my favorite extreme metal albums of all time, and following up a work of
that magnitude, especially after an eight-year hiatus, is no small task for
even the most talented of bands. But Absu came through with a fucking
vengeance, delivering all the ripping thrash riffs and trademark quirkiness we love about the project while also going in a somewhat more reserved, atmospheric direction.
Proscriptor is still one of the most dominating drummers in all of metal, and
even with a new lineup surrounding him, Absu sounds just as distinctive and
punishing as they ever have.
10. Pelican - What We All
Come To Need
Pelican is one of those bands that I'll likely always
support, although 2007's disappointing City
of Echoes definitely put some strain on our relationship. Fortunately, What We All Come To Need is a fantastic
return to all the things that made me a fan of the band in the first place,
without leaving behind any of the progressions they've made stylistically in
recent years. While the core framework of the songs has changed little since Echoes, the riffs are of a uniformly
high quality this time around, and the songs are given enough room to expand
and evolve while still remaining digestible. It's Pelican doing what they do
best... just doing it better than they have for the last few years. Oh yeah, and there's some vocals too.
11. Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar
12. Drudkh - Microcosmos
13. YOB - The Great Cessation
14. Slough Feg - Ape Uprising
15. Orcustus - Orcustus
16. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
17. Kylesa - Static Tensions
18. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive
19. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
20. Gorgoroth - Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt
Best EP of 2009:
Wolves In The Throne Room - Malevolent Grain
Biggest Dissapointment of 2009:
Insomnium - Across The Dark
Thanks to all of you for reading and participating, and here's to an awesome 2010.
- CMcD