2009: The Year in Metal, Part I
It's that time of year, when I suddenly spring to life and unleash a flurry of year-end musical retrospectives. Without the added influence of work-related listening, 2009 found me exploring a lot fewer unfamiliar acts, and this meant I heard a lot more metal in proportion to other types of music. Thankfully, I like lots of different types of metal.
Let's start with my first look back at the loud n' proud offerings of 2009. You'll find world-famous legends and underground upstarts, classy artistes and crass workmen, beguiling melodies and punishing beatdowns, ancient warchants and future madrigals. I like all of these songs, and if you give them a chance, I'm sure you'll find something to like about at least one of them. Labels listed are the U.S. distributor, unless there isn't one.
1. Dethklok - "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence" (Dethalbum II, Williams Street): The stars of Adult Swim's animated gorefest "Metalocalypse" — the Archies of the '00s — bested sales of their first disc and retained claim to the highest-charting extreme metal album of all time with a somewhat less jokey slab of melodic death/thrash, including some seriously impressive guitar fury from series creator Brendan Small. Who knew the guy behind "Home Movies" could shred like this?
2. Amorphis - "Sampo" (Skyforger, Nuclear Blast): Now thoroughly settled into a comfortable late-career cruise, Finland's long-running atmospheric shapeshifters dipped back into native folklore for inspiration and came up with their strongest recent album, resplendent in sky-spanning guitar riffs, proggy detours and heartfelt goth/death vocals.
3. Megadeth - "1,320" (Endgame, Roadrunner): Since 2001's The World Needs a Hero, Dave Mustaine has slowly rebuilt Megadeth into a respectable band, and for the first time since he lost the plot in the mid-'90s, he's delivered an entire album worth hearing, split between the catchy melodic sensibilities of onetime Jag Panzer guitarist Chris Broderick and the twisted, nearly-off-the-rails thrash that once defined Megadeth.
4. Amesoeurs - "La Reine Trayeuse" (Amesoeurs, Profound Lore): Alcest mastermind Neige finally delivered a full-length, full band effort from his cult side project, then promptly disbanded the artsy outfit, leaving behind a grimy, apocalyptic, occasionally gorgeous battle of buzzing disciplines, haunted '80s proto-shoegaze trading shots with hypnotic French bedroom black metal.
5. Ensiferum - "Stone Cold Metal" (From Afar, Napalm): For what is easily their best effort since their outta-nowhere 2001 debut, the Finns put a little more thought into their compositions and take their rousing Viking-ish pomp into big-budget territory, knocking one out of the park on this number by deciding to take a wicked spaghetti western track about three minutes in.
6. Believer - "The Need for Conflict" (Gabriel, Metal Blade): The nonexistent award for Most Impressive Reunion should go to the way-underhyped return of these obscure Christian prog-thrashers from Pennsylvania, who remarkably resurrected their scorched Earth shrieks, dry mullets-down riffing and quirky rhythmic spasms without sounding like something out of 1994.
7. Immortal - "Arctic Swarm" (All Shall Fall, Nuclear Blast): While in no way a towering achievement, Immortal's reunion album is actually a slight step up from their prior platter of mainstreamed black metal, containing all the bitter rasps and cavernous grooves one could want from the ludicrously painted Norse trio.
8. Crimfall - "Wildfire Season" (As the Path Unfolds..., Napalm): "Bombast without bounds" seems to be the motto of these Finnish upstarts, impressive enemies of minimalism with some folk tendencies who generally live to inherit the symphonic excesses of Therion, classic Nightwish and Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings" scores.
9. Heaven & Hell - "Eating the Cannibals" (The Devil You Know, Rhino): The Mob Rules/Dehumanizer lineup of Black Sabbath may have been forced to change their name by a certain former reality show couple, but the surprising weight of the old timers' first album in 17 years is no publicity stunt, a hearty helping of vintage Dio/Iommi doom n' gloom.
10. Ghost Brigade - "My Heart Is a Tomb" (Isolation Songs, Season of Mist): Injecting post-metal textures and effective, emotive clean singing into artsy melodic greyness, this Finnish outfit's sophomore effort is the perfect holiday gift for any Katatonia fan who still misses their older doom/death stuff but reveres their recent preference for dynamics.
11. Månegarm - "Nattsjäl, Dromsjäl" (Nattväsen, Regain): Perhaps taking after countrymen Thyrfing, folk metal stalwarts Månegarm thickened up their sound this time around, the Swedish Vikings content to cruise at a steady gallop, Janne Liljeqvist's fiddle at the ready whenever a little nighttime jiggery is due.
12. Lamb of God - "Reclamation" (Wrath, Epic): It's a shockingly forgettable collection of retreaded material, and Randy Blythe is best advised to quit experimenting with "singing," but the once-formidable Virginia neo-thrashers haven't completely lost it yet, as this closing number hides the band's strong points (aggro drama + deadly rhythms) in a swampy, bluesy cushion... they wear this sort of Pantera affectation well.
13. God Dethroned - "No Survivors" (Passiondale, Metal Blade): As reliable as heartburn after a Heineken, the Dutch death metal institution returns with a disc centered around one of WWI's biggest battles, their characteristically caffeinated barbed-wire guitar melodies graced by Henri Sattler's most diverse vocal performance to date.
14. Sun of the Blind - "Ornaments" (Skullreader, Avantgarde): This solo disc by Zhaaral, 1/3 of Swiss ambient black metallers Darkspace, is a journey through chasms of layered despondency, a psychedelic slow-burner that seduces the ears and oxidizes the soul in a diseased collusion of wafer-thin tones.
15. Alestorm - "Keelhauled" (Black Sails at Midnight, SPV): The Scottish pirates quickly follow their surprisingly well-received debut with another predictable yet stoopidly fun round of power/folk/thrash tunes about guzzling rum and scurvy sea dogs, with this one possibly standing as their definitive hooligan anthem. You'd have to be a really boring piece of shit to not have a good time listening to this song.
16. Vreid - "Blücher" (Milorg, Indie): Back in World War concept album land, this criminally overlooked black n' roll crew's fourth disc shrieks the praises of the Norwegian homefront resistance during WWII, their assured hooks and expert experimental moments providing depth to what could have just been a solid slate of skullcrackers.
17. My Dying Bride - "Santuario di Sangue" (For Lies I Sire, Peaceville): Ye Olde British Doom personified, MDB introduces the lineup's first full-time violinist since Martin Powell left eleven years ago on what is unfortunately a middle-of-the-road album, only occasionally reaching the depths of wispy melancholy heard here.
18. Unanimated - "The Endless Beyond" (In the Light of Darkness, Regain): Any fan of Sweden's '90s melodic death metal scene will be heartily satisfied by the reunion of this cult horde, who eschew the keyboard accents of old but retain the dank eerieness that kept them among the less mainstream shadows of the underground.
19. Manowar - "Let the Gods Decide" (Thunder In the Sky, Magic Circle): After their last album, a self-indulgent symphonic crapheap that managed to be more clueless than this famously insular New York quartet ever had, a simple dumbshit rocker like this sounds pretty good, although it's pure filler by their classic standards.
20. Finsterforst - "Sturmes Ernte" (...Zum Tode Hin, Einheit): Exceeding all expectations for a second album, the blackened folk metal sextet stretched out into mini-Moonsorrow territory with five epic-length compositions fleshed out by surging riffs, pumping (real) accordion and rich old-world German atmosphere.
Let's start with my first look back at the loud n' proud offerings of 2009. You'll find world-famous legends and underground upstarts, classy artistes and crass workmen, beguiling melodies and punishing beatdowns, ancient warchants and future madrigals. I like all of these songs, and if you give them a chance, I'm sure you'll find something to like about at least one of them. Labels listed are the U.S. distributor, unless there isn't one.
1. Dethklok - "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence" (Dethalbum II, Williams Street): The stars of Adult Swim's animated gorefest "Metalocalypse" — the Archies of the '00s — bested sales of their first disc and retained claim to the highest-charting extreme metal album of all time with a somewhat less jokey slab of melodic death/thrash, including some seriously impressive guitar fury from series creator Brendan Small. Who knew the guy behind "Home Movies" could shred like this?
2. Amorphis - "Sampo" (Skyforger, Nuclear Blast): Now thoroughly settled into a comfortable late-career cruise, Finland's long-running atmospheric shapeshifters dipped back into native folklore for inspiration and came up with their strongest recent album, resplendent in sky-spanning guitar riffs, proggy detours and heartfelt goth/death vocals.
3. Megadeth - "1,320" (Endgame, Roadrunner): Since 2001's The World Needs a Hero, Dave Mustaine has slowly rebuilt Megadeth into a respectable band, and for the first time since he lost the plot in the mid-'90s, he's delivered an entire album worth hearing, split between the catchy melodic sensibilities of onetime Jag Panzer guitarist Chris Broderick and the twisted, nearly-off-the-rails thrash that once defined Megadeth.
4. Amesoeurs - "La Reine Trayeuse" (Amesoeurs, Profound Lore): Alcest mastermind Neige finally delivered a full-length, full band effort from his cult side project, then promptly disbanded the artsy outfit, leaving behind a grimy, apocalyptic, occasionally gorgeous battle of buzzing disciplines, haunted '80s proto-shoegaze trading shots with hypnotic French bedroom black metal.
5. Ensiferum - "Stone Cold Metal" (From Afar, Napalm): For what is easily their best effort since their outta-nowhere 2001 debut, the Finns put a little more thought into their compositions and take their rousing Viking-ish pomp into big-budget territory, knocking one out of the park on this number by deciding to take a wicked spaghetti western track about three minutes in.
6. Believer - "The Need for Conflict" (Gabriel, Metal Blade): The nonexistent award for Most Impressive Reunion should go to the way-underhyped return of these obscure Christian prog-thrashers from Pennsylvania, who remarkably resurrected their scorched Earth shrieks, dry mullets-down riffing and quirky rhythmic spasms without sounding like something out of 1994.
7. Immortal - "Arctic Swarm" (All Shall Fall, Nuclear Blast): While in no way a towering achievement, Immortal's reunion album is actually a slight step up from their prior platter of mainstreamed black metal, containing all the bitter rasps and cavernous grooves one could want from the ludicrously painted Norse trio.
8. Crimfall - "Wildfire Season" (As the Path Unfolds..., Napalm): "Bombast without bounds" seems to be the motto of these Finnish upstarts, impressive enemies of minimalism with some folk tendencies who generally live to inherit the symphonic excesses of Therion, classic Nightwish and Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings" scores.
9. Heaven & Hell - "Eating the Cannibals" (The Devil You Know, Rhino): The Mob Rules/Dehumanizer lineup of Black Sabbath may have been forced to change their name by a certain former reality show couple, but the surprising weight of the old timers' first album in 17 years is no publicity stunt, a hearty helping of vintage Dio/Iommi doom n' gloom.
10. Ghost Brigade - "My Heart Is a Tomb" (Isolation Songs, Season of Mist): Injecting post-metal textures and effective, emotive clean singing into artsy melodic greyness, this Finnish outfit's sophomore effort is the perfect holiday gift for any Katatonia fan who still misses their older doom/death stuff but reveres their recent preference for dynamics.
11. Månegarm - "Nattsjäl, Dromsjäl" (Nattväsen, Regain): Perhaps taking after countrymen Thyrfing, folk metal stalwarts Månegarm thickened up their sound this time around, the Swedish Vikings content to cruise at a steady gallop, Janne Liljeqvist's fiddle at the ready whenever a little nighttime jiggery is due.
12. Lamb of God - "Reclamation" (Wrath, Epic): It's a shockingly forgettable collection of retreaded material, and Randy Blythe is best advised to quit experimenting with "singing," but the once-formidable Virginia neo-thrashers haven't completely lost it yet, as this closing number hides the band's strong points (aggro drama + deadly rhythms) in a swampy, bluesy cushion... they wear this sort of Pantera affectation well.
13. God Dethroned - "No Survivors" (Passiondale, Metal Blade): As reliable as heartburn after a Heineken, the Dutch death metal institution returns with a disc centered around one of WWI's biggest battles, their characteristically caffeinated barbed-wire guitar melodies graced by Henri Sattler's most diverse vocal performance to date.
14. Sun of the Blind - "Ornaments" (Skullreader, Avantgarde): This solo disc by Zhaaral, 1/3 of Swiss ambient black metallers Darkspace, is a journey through chasms of layered despondency, a psychedelic slow-burner that seduces the ears and oxidizes the soul in a diseased collusion of wafer-thin tones.
15. Alestorm - "Keelhauled" (Black Sails at Midnight, SPV): The Scottish pirates quickly follow their surprisingly well-received debut with another predictable yet stoopidly fun round of power/folk/thrash tunes about guzzling rum and scurvy sea dogs, with this one possibly standing as their definitive hooligan anthem. You'd have to be a really boring piece of shit to not have a good time listening to this song.
16. Vreid - "Blücher" (Milorg, Indie): Back in World War concept album land, this criminally overlooked black n' roll crew's fourth disc shrieks the praises of the Norwegian homefront resistance during WWII, their assured hooks and expert experimental moments providing depth to what could have just been a solid slate of skullcrackers.
17. My Dying Bride - "Santuario di Sangue" (For Lies I Sire, Peaceville): Ye Olde British Doom personified, MDB introduces the lineup's first full-time violinist since Martin Powell left eleven years ago on what is unfortunately a middle-of-the-road album, only occasionally reaching the depths of wispy melancholy heard here.
18. Unanimated - "The Endless Beyond" (In the Light of Darkness, Regain): Any fan of Sweden's '90s melodic death metal scene will be heartily satisfied by the reunion of this cult horde, who eschew the keyboard accents of old but retain the dank eerieness that kept them among the less mainstream shadows of the underground.
19. Manowar - "Let the Gods Decide" (Thunder In the Sky, Magic Circle): After their last album, a self-indulgent symphonic crapheap that managed to be more clueless than this famously insular New York quartet ever had, a simple dumbshit rocker like this sounds pretty good, although it's pure filler by their classic standards.
20. Finsterforst - "Sturmes Ernte" (...Zum Tode Hin, Einheit): Exceeding all expectations for a second album, the blackened folk metal sextet stretched out into mini-Moonsorrow territory with five epic-length compositions fleshed out by surging riffs, pumping (real) accordion and rich old-world German atmosphere.
posted by SoulReaper at 10:49 PM
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