Best metal albums of 2009

1. Isis: Wavering Radiant

2. Mastodon: Crack the Skye

3. Sun O))): Monoliths and Dimensions

4. Converge: Axe to Fall

5. Baroness: Blue Record

The rest:

6. Absu: Absu
7. Pyramids: Pyramids with Nadja
8. Obituary: The Darkest Day
9. Bloodhorse: Horizoner
10. Kylesa: Static Tensions
11. Tombs: Winterhours
12. Katatonia: Night is the New Day
13. Slayer: World Painted Blood
14. Irepress: Sol Eye See I
15. The Arusha Accord: The Echo Verses
16. Nile: Those Whom the Gods Detest
17. A Storm of Light/Nadja: Primitive North
18. Behemoth: Evangelion
19. My Dying Bride: The Lies I Sire
20. Every Time I Die: New Junk Aesthetic
21. The Black Dahlia Murder: Deflorate

Kylesa: Static Tensions

Artist: Kylesa
Album: Static Tensions
Date Released: March 17, 2009
Genre: metal, alternative metal, indie metal, sludge metal
Rating: 8.2

Katatonia: Night is the New Day

Artist: Katatonia
Album: Night is the New Day
Date Released: November 10, 2009
Genre: metal, death metal, alternative metal
Rating: 8.0

Every Time I Die: New Junk Aesthetic

Artist: Every Time I Die
Album: New Junk Aesthetic
Date Released: September 15, 2009
Genre: metal, alternative metal, indie metal, screamo, metalcore
Rating: 7.2

Converge: Axe to Fall

Artist: Converge
Album: Axe to Fall
Date Released: October 20, 2009
Genre: metal, punk metal, metalcore, hardcore punk
Rating: 8.5

The Black Dahlia Murder: Deflorate

Artist: The Black Dahlia Murder
Album: Deflorate
Date Released: September 15, 2009
Genre: metal, death metal, metalcore, deathcore
Rating: 7.0

The Arusha Accord: The Echo Verses

Artist: The Arusha Accord
Album: The Echo Verses
Date Released: November 2009
Genre: metal, indie metal, alternative metal, progressive metal
Rating: 7.6

Very heavy and highly technical indie metal from the UK, these guys draw influences from such bands as Dillinger Escape Plan, Tool and Machine Head.

Behemoth: Evangelion

Artist: Behemoth
Album: Evangelion
Date Released: August 11, 2009
Genre: metal, death metal, blackened death metal
Rating: 7.3

Pyramids: Pyramids With Nadja

Artist: Pyramids
Album: Pyramids with Nadja
Date Released: October 27, 2009
Genre: metal, post-metal, alt-metal, experimental, avant-garde metal, ambient, minimalism
Rating: 8.4

Pyramids with Nadja (streaming audio available) is a massive collaborative effort between Pyramids, Nadja and a number of other musicians. All members of Pyramids (f. coloccia, m. dean, m. kraig, r. loren, d. william) and Nadja (Aidan Baker & Leah Buckereff) perform on all four tracks on the record.

In addition to this, Pyramids with Nadja also features Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil (performs bass on track one and four), Albin Julius of Der Blutharsch (performs vocals on track four), Chris Simpson of Mineral (performs vocals on track two), Colin Marston of Dysrhythmia and Behold the Arctopus (co-produced/engineered track one) and James Plotkin of Khanate, Khlyst, O.L.D. Phantomsmasher (mixed and mastered the entire album).

As the number of contributors would suggest, the music on Pyramids with Nadja is a remarkable integration of diverse sonic influences, a palate that includes ambient, industrial, shoe-gaze, and experimental/minimalist metal. While Pyramids and Nadja dominate the album, there's no question that this is a product of many musical minds.

The album itself consists of four long-play tracks that weave in and out of the listener's conscious awareness. Pyramids with Nadja is about slowly morphing texture, mood, and walls of soundscapes; it's a very 'visual' album in this sense. Remarkably, despite the minimalism and atmospheric bliss-outs, the album contains a definite melodic quality. Without a doubt, this is one of the most original and remarkable albums of the year.

Slayer: World Painted Blood

Artist: Slayer
Album: World Painted Blood
Date Released: November 3, 2009
Genre: metal, thrash metal, speed metal
Rating: 7.7

Hey, no one's more surprised than me that Slayer has made the BAo09 list -- but credit where credit is due. These beloved metal veterans have put it all together this year on World Painted Blood, the follow-up to their rather meh Christ Illusion. This album has all the Slayer hallmarks: headbanging rhythms, ear-splitting riffs, bone-chilling leads and a merciless percussive attack. Combined with one of the best vocal performances from Tom Araya in years and you have what is a very solid metal album.

Nile: Those Whom the Gods Detest

Artist: Nile
Album: Those Whom the Gods Detest
Date Released: November 3, 2009
Genre: death metal
Rating: 7.5

Death metal veterans Nile have long been known for their high-speed and frenetic metal attack, but they are also renowned for their Discovery Channelesque attention to historical detail. In a genre laden with Satanic references to the point of nausea, Nile have gone against the grain by incorporating ancient Egyptian themes to heavy metal, along with Egyptian scales, modes and other Middle Eastern ear candy.

Their latest album, Those Whom the Gods Detest, is no exception. More than ever, Nile have seamlessly integrated these otherworldly elements into their music while remaining one of the heaviest and most brutal death metal bands in the business. As always, the band's talent as performers bleeds through the deathiness and growly vocals; Those Whom the Gods Detest features some fantastic guitar solos and relentless drum blasts.

Death metal fans will be pleased with this effort.

Baroness: Blue Record

Artist: Baroness
Album: Blue Record
Date Released: October 13, 2009
Genre: metal, sludge metal, progressive metal, alternative metal, hard rock
Rating: 8.5

Thunderous and Mastodonesque rockers from Georgia, Baroness have released the follow-up to their 2007 full-length, Red Record. On Blue Record, the band retains its Southern hard-rock sensibility ("Swollen and Halo" would make QOTSA proud) while continuing to lay out tracks that exude power and confidence.

The rhythm guitars are riffy and sludgey while the leads pour out crisp and melodic phrasings. The vocals are a mix of styles, sounding at times like Aaron Turner of Isis (check out the first few lines of the opener, "Bullhead's Psalm") while at others a touch more relaxed and clean. And the drums are unrelenting and fierce, providing the perfect support for the front lines.

Baroness is truly one of the best bands in the business, defying simplistic labels and expectations. Blue Record is a must-have for any lover of heavy and well-crafted music.

Irepress: Sol Eye See I

Artist: Irepress
Album: Sol Eye See I
Date Released: February 17, 2009
Genre: post-rock, post-metal, progressive, experimental
Rating: 7.6

Hailing from Massachusetts, Irepress have released Sol Eye See I, the follow-up to their 2007 debut, Samus Octology. Irepress play an extremely challenging and proficient brand of post-rock that borders on everything from post-metal through to jazz-fusion, math-rock and sludge. Unsurprisingly, the tracks themselves on Sol Eye See I are as frenetic and chaotic as these descriptions would imply.

The chug-a-chug metal riffs are often interspersed with washes of fuzzy guitar soundscapes, frenetic drumming and the electric guitar pickings that are characteristic of the post-rock genre. The tracks are all over the map, frequently starting and stopping on a dime. This isn't stuff you play in the background -- it commands attention and lots of patience.

Irepress is not for everyone, but listeners looking for something a bit different and daring will adore this album.

Sunn O))): Monoliths and Dimensions

Artist: Sunn O)))
Album: Monoliths and Dimensions
Date Released: May 26, 2009
Genre: doom metal, post-metal, experimental rock/metal, noise, avant-garde
Rating: 8.6

Review: Sunn O)))'s Monoliths and Dimensions features four epically minimalistic and dreary tracks that are darkened by the band's characteristic guitar drones, chanting and grumbling, church bells, choirs and much, much more. It's hard to pinpoint an exact genre for this band -- a band whose influences range from John Cage through to the black metal scene and Japanese thrashers Boris.

On Monoliths and Dimensions, Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley have brought in a number of guests and collaborators, including vocalist Attila Csihar, Ambarchi, Earth's Dylan Carlson, trombonists Julian Priester and the Deep Listening Band's Stuart Dempster, trumpeter Cuong Vu, multi-instrumentalist Steve Moore, male and female choirs, reed and wind players, and violist Eyvind Kang as an arranger.

Monoliths and Dimensions is not for the feint of heart; its goose-bump inducing drones and creepiness will most likely be appreciated by fans of doom and black metal, but anyone with an open mind for the experimental and minimalistic will appreciate this remarkable and intricately detailed effort.

Obituary: Darkest Day

Artist: Obituary
Album: Darkest Day
Date Released: June 16, 2009
Genre: death metal, metal
Rating: 8.3

Review: Twenty years after their debut album, Obituary continues to brutalize the metal scene with their buzzy electrified riffs, wailing guitar solos, pounding rhythms and harsh (almost screamo) death metal vocals. The Darkest Day is relentless in its power, with each track showcasing the band's ferocity. There's nothing new on this album -- it's just Obituary doing what they do best -- and doing a very good job of it. Track highlights include: "List of Dead" and "Outside My Head."

Nadja & A Storm of Light: Primitive North [Split]

Artist: Nadja & A Storm of Light
Album: Primitive North [Split]
Date Released: March 3, 2009
Genre: post-metal, post-rock, doom metal, sludge metal
Rating: 7.4

Review: Primitive North is a split CD from Toronto's Nadja and Brooklyn's A Storm of Light (featuring members of Red Sparowes, Tombs, Unsane and Satanized). Each band contributes by remixing and interweaving elements from both, creating apocalyptic waves of doomy fuzzes and drones. Primitive North is intensely heavy and agonizingly slow -- not for the feint of heart.

Absu: Absu

Artist: Absu
Album: Absu
Date Released: June 9, 2009
Genre: black metal, death metal
Rating: 8.5

Review: Texas-based Absu is back and ferocious as ever after an 8-year hiatus. Easily the best black metal band to come out of the United States.

Bloodhorse: Horizoner

Artist: Bloodhorse
Album: Horizoner
Date Released: May 26, 2009
Genre: sludge metal, post-metal, stoner metal
Rating: 8.3

Review: Bloodhorse weaves together a fantastic mix of metal sub-genres, touching upon everything from Black Sabbath right through to Kyuss, Hellhammer, Hawkwind, High on Fire and Raised Fist. Those searching for experimental and post-metal qualities will also find what they're looking for. Horizoner thunders.

Isis: Wavering Radiant

Artist: Isis
Album: Wavering Radiant
Date Released: April 21, 2009
Genre: post-metal, alternative metal
Rating: 8.8

Review:

Along with Neurosis, California's Isis have firmly established themselves as giants of the post-metal genre. With such albums under their belts as Oceanic (2002) and In the Absence of Truth (2006), Isis is a band that could easily settle and regress into producing formulaic records while striving for greater commercial appeal. But as Wavering Radiant indicates, these guys have no interest in taking the easy route to a comfortable career.

True to the spirit of the post-metal genre, Isis continues to experiment with song structure, tone and the complex interplay between melody and instrumentation; the strength and beauty of each track on Wavering Radiant is teasingly revealed with great care and subtlety.

Indeed, "care" and "subtlety" are not words that are traditionally associated with heavy music -- but that's what makes the post-metal genre so interesting and inherently listenable. All the metal cliches are stripped away in favor of a minimalistic and subdued approach, but never at the expense of heaviness and aggression. Likewise, Wavering Radiant's inspirational touches color the tracks in a non-obvious way; its songs merely hint at the influences of such bands as Animals era Pink Floyd, post-metal brothers Neurosis and Jesu, Aereogramme, and Tool (whose Adam Jones makes a guest appearance).

The album's mood is typically bleak, but the punchy melodies and shimmering production provide a dynamism that lifts the album beyond the usual grey tones. Aaaron Turner's vocals have never sounded more severe and ferocious, and the interplay between the drums, bass and rhythm guitars are a stunning stand-out.

Wavering Radiant is an album that re-invents itself with each passing listen. It will appeal to metal die-hards as much as it will to those with proggish and post-rock sensibilities. Truly one of the best albums of 2009.

Reviewed by George Dvorsky.

My Dying Bride: The Lies I Sire

Artist: My Dying Bride
Album: The Lies I Sire
Date Released: March 24, 2009
Genre: metal, goth metal, doom metal
Rating: 7.2