Live-Metal.Net - Features - Best Albums of 2009

It's that time again, taking a look back at the best that rock and metal had to offer in the year. The lists are broken down from each staffer here at Live-Metal.net. Take a look at some obvious, surprising and even forgotten choices of 2009. (Click the "Year in Review" image above to return to the 2009 main page and view more lists.)

List by Live-Metal.net writer RYAN MAVITY

	1) BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - The Great Misdirect I’m probably a little biased on this one because I’m a big BTBAM fan, but fuck it. The Great Misdirect was my favorite album released this year because it symbolizes all I enjoy about underground metal bands: the average idiot simply cannot comprehend this music. The Great Misdirect was heavy enough to bang your head to, while trippy enough to survive a weekend in the desert high on LSD. Only six songs long, The Great Misdirect took progressive metal to a place few bands even dare to visit with 17-minute songs and lyrics about aliens landing in the desert. BTBAM isn’t for everyone, but like their previous record Colors, the patient listener is rewarded with something new with each subsequent play. Just a ridiculously massive and awesome piece of work. Buy Album

	2) SLAYER - World Painted Blood After three years of touring, Slayer was back at it in 2009 with the heavy-hitting, blood-spilling World Painted Blood. More daring and consistent than 2006’s Christ Illusion, World Painted Blood is horror movie scary with creepy epics like “Beauty Through Order” (an ode to 16th century serial killer Elizabeth Bathory) and “Playing With Dolls.” But for those that were looking for a South Of Heaven redux, there were high octane thrashers like “Hate Worldwide” and the title track. So its not Reign In Blood. Who cares, it’s still as good as it gets in the world of thrash metal. Buy Album

	3) POISON THE WELL - The Tropic Rot A forgotten masterpiece that was sadly overlooked by just about everybody, including all of us at this fair website. That’s a shame because upon further review, The Tropic Rot is a chaotic mesh of post-hardcore wailing with a dash of psychedelic melodies. If there is a better 2-song combination than the “When You Lose I Lose As Well” and “Celebrate The Pyre” I’m not sure I heard it. The Tropic Rot truly does have it all, from pop melodies to headbanging grooves. An album that seems to get better with every listen. Buy Album

	4) ALICE IN CHAINS - Black Gives Way To Blue The list of bands that have replaced an iconic frontman and still maintained success are AC/DC, Van Halen and that’s it. We can now add Alice In Chains to the list. New guy William DuVall ably replaces the late Layne Staley’s tortured harmonies with guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Black Gives Way To Blue is that rare album that manages to pay tribute to the band’s departed singer (the emotional title track), while finding peace in moving forward, best exemplified by the hit single “Check My Brain.” Buy Album

	5) BEHEMOTH - Evangelion Simply put: the most evil-sounding and looking band in the world, making the most evil sounding record of the year. Don’t believe me? They have an 8-minute track called “Lucifer.” Behemoth is so damn evil they don’t even have to spell out the word “of.” But being evil isn’t the only reason this album made my list. It also kicked some serious ass musically, thanks in large part to the vocals and guitar work of band mastermind Nergal and the frantic drumming of Inferno. Check out the iTunes bonus track edition of this record with the extra song “Total Invasion.” It shows that Behemoth is about more than just blast beats and playing fast. Buy Album

	6) MASTODON - Crack The Skye A favorite of mainstream critics but for once, there’s a good reason why. Mastodon has evolved into the quintessential stoner metal band. With sludgy guitars, 10 minute songs and a concept revolving around Russian czars and Rasputin (don’t ask) Crack The Skye has become, oddly, the band’s introduction to the mainstream. Not quite as heavy as their last album, Blood Mountain, Crack The Skye still manages to bring the goods. Witness only the pulsating opener “Oblivion” and the 13-minute epic closer “The Last Baron.“ The only question is, where do these guys go from here? Buy Album

	7) VADER - Necropolis The “other” Polish death metal band with a record out this year. If Behemoth is a rampaging elephant, Vader is more like a cheetah. Pure speed and quickness but deadly nonetheless. Necropolis is barely 30 minutes long but you may not be able to feel your face afterwards. Vocalist Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek has an intimidating growl, but his singing is clean enough that you can hear his sinister lyrics about demons and devils. The highlights here, though, are some of the most badass guitar riffs you may come across this year. If you can’t get your heavy metal hair swinging to “Impure” in particular, something is drastically wrong. Buy Album

	8) BORN OF OSIRIS - A Higher Place An album that really surprised me, in a good way, was the latest from Illinois band Born of Osiris. I’d never really heard them until recently but I enjoyed A Higher Place in this last. The best way I can describe them is: if you like Between The Buried and Me but are intimidated by the 10 minute songs, then check out Born Of Osiris. Many of the insane guitar licks, keyboard flourishes and growling vocals are here, augmented with the occasional headbobbing beat at the end. But don’t be fooled, this isn’t some bunch of nu-metal posers, Born of Osiris is the real deal. Buy Album

	9) HATEBREED - Hatebreed In terms of pure hardcore adrenaline rushes, it doesn’t get much better than the four songs that open this album – “Become The Fuse,” “Not My Master,” “Between Hell And A Heartbeat” and the first single, “In Ashes They Shall Reap.” From the opening stomp of “Become The Fuse” to the shout-it-out-loud chorus of “Between Hell And A Heartbeat,” Hatebreed hooks you right from the beginning. It gets even better once singer Jamey Jasta hits the memorable refrain of “In Ashes They Shall Reap” – “Born to bleed/fighting to succeed/built to endure/what this world throws at me.” While the album may have been better served by being a bit shorter. Hatebreed is high-octane mosh-pit energy. Buy Album

	10) MAN MUST DIE - No Tolerance For Imperfection One of my favorite band names going today, these are some of the most brutal Scotsman since William Wallace. While the name Man Must Die is good for a chuckle, the surprising groove the band shows here, along with a dose of social commentary, make this a top notch death metal record. Buy Album

	Honorable mention:
	DETHKLOK - The Dethalbum II No way I could do a list without mentioning “the world’s greatest cultural force” - Dethklok. Nathan Explosion, William Murderface and the guys were back in 2009 with a slightly more serious record than their debut - emphasis on “slightly.” While satirizing death metal bands is the idea behind Dethklok, creator and mastermind Brandon Small enhances the concept by showing an actual appreciation for death metal itself. Virtual band or not, it doesn’t get much more metal than the “D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Die!!” chorus on “Laser Cannon Deth Sentence.” Buy Album

	AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE - Double Brutal Yes, another comedy metal band. But fuck it, who doesn’t enjoy screaming “NYAAAAAAHH!” with Ahnold every now and again? The covers side of this record was hit or miss (mostly miss) but it was impossible not to love the first disc of Arnie tribute songs like “See You At The Party Richter,” “Let Off Some Steam Bennett” and my personal favorite, “Come On Cohaagen, Give Deez People Ehyar” Buy Album

	DIRGE WITHIN - Force Fed Lies A blistering, energetic debut from this Milwaukee band, produced by Edsel Dope. High-octane metalcore at its finest. Buy Album

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