My Top Albums of 2009

As with the end of every calendar year, here is my Top 10 of 2009. This year was harder for me to uncover some more obscure finds, so there will be a lot of repeat offenders on this list as I had to be more selective in my music purchasing this year. Every year, I have a moment when I wonder if this will be the year where music is an overall disappointment. Perhaps it's just an age thing as I've watched my parents generation become either more jaded or less interested in music. Not me. Music still remains as my ultimate inspiration. So, without jabbering on much more, here is what spent the most time in my stereo, iPod and more this past year.

Honorable Mentions

5. Swallow The Sun New Moon (Fontana/Universal)
Honestly, I did not get as much time to absorb this album prior to writing this as I wanted. Despite seemingly having backing from Universal, I had zero luck finding this in stores so I had to order it from Amazon a few weeks ago. I have high expectations here due to last year's Plague Of Butterflies EP being so phenomenal. What I have been able to digest has been no surprise. Swallow The Sun continues to impress me with their prog-tinged doom metal that boasts equals measures of My Dying Bride and Opeth.

4. Isis Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
From Oceanic to In The Absence Of Truth, I moved further from being wholly underwhelmed by the overrated Celestial and more towards heralding the gospel of Isis. Each album Isis has released since joining Ipecac has been increasingly more complex and excellent. Wavering Radiant continues to see Isis carve out a niche entirely their own, though occasionally into territory I'm not sure I entirely enjoy. Still, while not my favorite album from this band (it will take something revolutionary to outdo In The Absence), tracks like Hand Of The Host make this another solid album.

3. Cable The Failed Convict (The End)
Cable also kind of falls into the New Moon category in that I didn't get to really absorb this album. Listening to it again as I write this, I think this would have been higher on my list. For me, Cable peaked in 1998 when they released Gutter Queen and their albums since have ranged from "quite good" to "meh" since. I'm not certain if the recording is better this time around, but The Failed Convict captures the best elements of Gutter Queen and their post-Queen stoner metal output while forging ahead in a cohesive fashion.

2. The Mars Volta Octahedron (Warner Bros.)
Any other time in the past when I've compiled one of these lists, The Mars Volta has been in the actual Top 10, usually in the Top 3 overall for that year. Not this time. As much as I wanted to like this album in the way that I do The Bedlam In Goliath or De-loused In The Comatorium, it's just not there this time. While the temperamental aspects of the previous albums that I openly worship show up occasionally in tracks like Cotopaxi, this album is severely laid back, bordering on psychedelic at times. It's a good listen, but lacks the urgency of their earlier albums.

1. Zombi Spirit Animal (Relapse)
In a lot of ways, Zombi is an acquired taste. Their Goblin-inspired synth prog hits the parts of me that eats up 70's horror soundtracks and the aforementioned Italian prog wizards with relative ease. However, given the kind of music that this is, it can only truly be appreciated for what it is through an entire spin of the album. If I need a quick fix to fill a gap between one event and another, Zombi is a hard choice to go with. When you put Spirit Animal on and just let it seep in like fine wine, this album plays like a sonic force field (assuming that you like Zombi in the first place).

…And now for the official Top 10 Albums of 2009

10. Voivod Infini (Relapse)
When my brother got Nothingface back in 1989, I remember all of us cringing in horror. After hearing the song VoiVod on the Metal Blade Speed Metal compilation, we all expected more of that early 80's violent Canadian thrash attack. Instead, we got weird melodic prog-induced space metal-type something or another. Hence, I ignored Voivod for years. When they "reformed" in 2003 and released the self-titled album, I found myself liking Voivod for the first time in ages. It wasn't groundbreaking or terribly progressive, but it was solid. Since that album, it seemed Voivod has been aiming to perfect a mesh of their early thrash roots with a sort of post-progressive punk attitude. The self-titled album captured the straight-forward metal vibe well enough. Katorz kind of took a weird turn into a more punk sound overall and seemed off to me. With Infini, it seems that Voivod got the formula correct as this album notches a very solid blend of off-kilter rhythms with a forceful delivery.

9. Baroness Blue Record (Relapse)
Blue Record is not much different than Red Album. It just happens to be better. Significantly better. It can be argued that Baroness still hasn't managed to separate themselves from the obvious comparisons to Mastodon. In many ways, they haven't yet. A more proper comparison might be that Baroness is what Mastodon might sound like if they were less technical and more akin to The Melvins. However, making all of these comparisons makes it sound like I'm taking away from what Blue Record accomplishes on it's own. For me, Blue Record is more a really impressive transition album for Baroness. There are moments here that make the above comparisons justifiable, though they are still enjoyable. It's the moments in songs such as Steel That Sleeps The Eye that gives the listener a glimpse of what is to come from Baroness and it is the subtle nod to the past while clearly building towards something else that makes Baroness worth keeping tabs on.

8. Porcupine Tree The Incident (Roadrunner)
Now that Porcupine Tree has moved onto a new label, it seems that an album such as The Incident was more capable of being made creatively. In execution, this a fairly large album. Each track is basically a portion of a greater whole as nothing really separates the tracks. The Incident harkens back to the day of concept albums where the album is a large piece of music as opposed to an album. Few bands attempt this sort of venture and fewer pull it off with even a semblance of confidence and success. However, Porcupine Tree is the perfect band to pull this off and to no surprise of mine, they do it as expected. As for the sound, there isn't anything here that is terribly different from other albums. The range of influence is all over the map yet, pulled together tightly and delivered masterfully.

7. Them Crooked Vultures s/t (Interscope)
At this point, I think the world over is aware of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones' "supergroup", otherwise known as Them Crooked Vultures. While the other members involvement can go either way for me, the inclusion of Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age had me sold from the word "go". Josh Homme's music gives me deviant thoughts of scantily clad women and a bygone era of music that continues to find worshippers in droves. The addition of Dave Grohl on drums reminds of Songs For The Deaf and when it is all put together, one can easily mistake this for a new Queens Of The Stone Age album. For a fan such as myself, I couldn't be more elated. But there also lies the only gripe one might have - the lack of standing alone. John Paul Jones plays bass on every track, but you would never know just by listening. Nor can you really tell that Dave Grohl is involved in any way. Them Crooked Vultures is basically the Josh Homme Show which, if you ask me, is at least a safe bet. If nothing else, having Homme firmly place his stamp on this recording keeps a person like me satisfied until the next Queens album.

6. Between The Buried And Me The Great Misdirect (Victory)
In 2007, Colors was my favorite album of the year, far and away. Much like Porcupine Tree has done with The Incident, Colors was a maniacal piece of music that was out of control and wildly impressive, requiring multiple listens. With The Great Misdirect, it would be difficult to say that Between The Buried And Me has progressed much. After a marathon album such as Colors, how does a band find a way to actually top it? Well, The Great Misdirect may not outdo it's predecessor, but it resides firmly alongside it. For a band that incorporates so much by way of style and tone into their music, this album is somewhat a matter of "more of the same". In that sense, it is equally hard to accurately describe. One moment, they are ripping through some of the most technical metal fused together today and the next moment, they are weaving through a melodramatic acoustic interlude. Sprinkled throughout the cracks of those two polar opposites are hints of circus music, polka, skat, jazz fusion and insert-any-out-of-the-way-genre-you-can-think-of at the time. Thinking about it too long can give a person a headache. However, it is an exhilarating listen, I assure you.

5. Katatonia Night Is The New Day (Peaceville)
Being moody and depressed seems to be the call to arms for Katatonia. As such, they are the masters of fusing metallic influence with the tone of The Cure's early material. At this point, I believe Katatonia has reached their "zone", in that they've got a number of albums under their belt where now, they have their sound down to a science. Even with that notion in mind, Night Is The New Day seems to still employ the phrase of "addition by addition". Without straying from what makes Katatonia unique, they have tinkered with more electronic elements here and there to a safe place where it works well when it's being used and it never feels remotely like overkill. If their music can be likened to a fine mixture sifted together over time, the additional ingredients have been blended in without hitting any snags in the road. If there is any differentiation here at all, it seems that Katatonia has gone more melodic in the same way Into Another started to do in their later albums. It never sounds unlike Katatonia but when you are basically an island unto yourself, you seem to have more room to grow.

4. Slayer World Painted Blood (American)
Slayer sounds like Slayer. That is really all that needs to be said here or anywhere when talking about Slayer. They play fast, rip through solos that are practically interchangeable from album to album and song to song and sing about murder, Satan, death, Satan, hatred, Satan, religion, still more Satan. Lather, rinse and repeat. It's a time tested formula that has worked for them since the beginning and when they've tried to deviate from the path, it resulted in miserable failure. So, with World Painted Blood, Slayer went back to the blueprint and wah-lah…it sounds like fucking Slayer. One can state that it sounds like Album A mixed with Album C with a touch of Album F thrown in for good measure but in the end, it makes absolutely no difference. It is basically a matter of "it sounds like Slayer" and that basically makes the point with a bullet. It sounds like fucking Slayer.

3. Mastodon Crack The Skye (Reprise)
If you told me that Crack The Skye would be my #3 at the end of 2009 back in March…you get the idea. For some reason, Mastodon's jump to a major label has made them a far better band in every way. They've dragged their aggro-tech metal persona with them while heaping on loads of melody and prog rock noodling. So far, through two albums, it has been an execution in genius. Their mad scientist-like quest to fuse the various elements that they utilize into an album of wider appeal is not without it's detraction, but they tow the line like seasoned professionals. There is never a moment on Crack The Skye where there is too much of any one thing and yet, this album is varied and sometimes all over the map. Then, you come to The Last Baron. The final song on the album. You've made it through six tracks that cover an already impressive swath of persona. The simplest way to describe The Last Baron is to say that after 40 years, Mastodon has finally crafted an answer to King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man. It begins dark and moody, marches the listened into the depths of musical maniacism, rises to a climax and finishes off leaving the listener in the proverbial dust. Easily the best single song achievement of the 21st century.

2. Clutch Strange Cousins From The West (Weathermaker)
I admit to being a Clutch apologist to a fault. Even with that admission, I couldn't help but think that From Beale Street To Oblivion was lackluster and too straight forward for them. Maybe that notion carried over initially here as I initially found this album to be just good, but not great. As is to be expected when it comes to Clutch and my apologist attitude towards them, I bleed Strange Cousins From The West. Every song is a gem, followed by another right afterwards. Why I questioned the exclusion of Mick Shauer, I have no idea. If any band in America/the world/the galaxy/the multi verse knows that they're doing, it's Clutch. Dan Maines is the best bass player that 90% of the world has never heard of before. Tim Sult crafts riffs that are oddly complex for as simple as they appear. Jean-Paul Gaster plays the drums as if her invented the instrument. And Neal Fallon writes lyrics with the mind of a great poet if channeled through the mind of Jim Jones or Charles Manson. When this musical stew comes together, it's magic. Plain and simple. Strange Cousins From The West is basically just another notch on their musical bedpost.

1. Burnt By The Sun Heart Of Darkness (Relapse)
If you absolutely have to go out, go out with a fucking bang. I do believe Burnt By The Sun utilized that motto when they crafted this monster of an album. In theory, they could have disappeared with The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good as their last hurrah and they still would have gone out strong. Instead, they decide to release this furious beast upon the land and THEN disappear from existence. Terrible thought considering that I will never get see the walls crumble down around me as Inner Station peels the bricks from whence they once rested. While I felt that the off-kilter spastic feel of the last album was toned down here, it is replaced with rage that no album comes close to matching right now. Whatever it is that has gotten these lads angry, it has them in full-on Charles Bronson mode now. Still, Dave Witte never disappoints by flexing his animalistic percussion savvy throughout, plowing through each song with earth mover precision. Have I mentioned that this album curdles the blood like a rapid pittbull on steroids? Or that it is the musical equivalent of a grizzle bear mauling stuffed inside of a shark attack trapped inside of an erupting volcano burning down an entire city? It doesn't matter if it makes any sense.