Greetings metal community, the Noobhammer here again with my top 10 albums which smashed open the gates of Hell with a hammer full of steel. This was no easy choice mind you. In a year where I almost went broke trying to buy all the good albums this year,  it was not  easy to pick my favorites. It was like trying to pick which video games you would save in a burning fire. That being said, here are my picks for a year during which some of the best albums came out.

10. God Forbid - Earthsblood

It’s hard to describe God Forbid. They are one of those really unique metalcore bands. I thought it would be almost impossible to top the juggernaut that is Constitution of Treason, but these guys did it, and with gusto. A truly remarkable band, who can only go anywhere but higher as they show the metalcore scene how to write an album.







9. Swallow The Sun – New Moon

Words can’t even begin to describe the feeling I got when i first heard that riff and that melancholic voice whisper those words in my ear, just before everything kicks in and blows you away. Another brilliant album from these Finns who have perfectly blended melodic death metal and doom metal, and even now on this latest album, incorporated some black metal. With guitars that seem to wail in the night, it seems that these guys could swallow the sun with their music.

8. Epica – Design Your Universe

Epica didn’t really impress me too much with their last album. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but just not great. Their latest album however is a totally different story . This album, and god I hate to have to use this, is epic. It is truly a work to behold. With powerful and blazing guitars and drums, mixed with the death vocals and Simone’s gorgeous voice, makes this one hell of an album.

7. Insomnium – Across The Dark

I had never heard of these guys before this album, and they won me over instantly with their brand of doom metal. The guitars and keyboard just meld together perfectly and just wash over you in a wave of sound. When you add the singer’s voice his mix of clean vox and growls, just makes this album catchy but also heavy as hell. The riffs are easy to comprehend, but the layers to them speak volumes about the music.

6. HORSE The Band - Desperate Living

Once again, another album that thoroughly surprised me. I was disappointed after their last album, but this one totally makes up for it. All the emotion that was lacking on the last one, is back on here in full force. All these songs seep with the struggle of touring and keeping a band together. A great evolution that keeps them true to their roots while evolving at the same time. A gem, and perfect album that describes emotions we all go through.

5. Pelican – What We All Come To Need

This album is a true piece of musical art. From the crunchy guitar riffs to the melodic bridges, even to the vocalist on the last track. This album is musical bliss where we can sit back and just relax enjoy what is running through our ears.  The biggest surprise though was the vocalist on the last track, showing that this band can do more than just write crunchy guitar riffs.

4. Between The Buried And Me – The Great Misdirect

Maybe I’m biased because these boys are from North Carolina. No matter what you think about the band, you cannot deny that these boys can play their instruments.  Returning again with another technical masterpiece, the boys in BTBAM raise the bar for musicianship and song composition. Once again this album is essentially one long song, pushing the band even farther into prog, Rush-esque realms.

3. Isis – Wavering Radiant

Goddamn. That is all that I can say about this album. It is a brilliant piece of work, sublimely beautiful yet at the same time crushingly heavy. These boys can write some damn fine music which border on the serene then immediately shift to crushing steel hammers. Aaron Turner has outdone himself again with his latest album, and I cannot wait to hear what they do next.

2. Mastodon – Crack The Skye

This was a very close contender for album of the year. The work that the band put in this album is staggering. All the songs held within the album are masterpieces in their own right. They are beautiful and moving and just downright amazing. Every song being dedicated to Dailor’s late sister. It is a truly fantastic album that is worthy of all it’s recognition.

THIS IS IT!!! MY ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!! IT IS……

1. Devin Townsend Project – Addicted

My god. Seriously. This album is essentially crack in music form. I have barely stopped listening ever since I got it. Devin Townsend is a god. He is once of the greatest musicians to ever live. His sheer musicianship as well as his ability as a lyricist allows him to write some of the best albums ever. Be they in Strapping Young Lad, or even his solo band, The Devin Townsend Project. His greatness cannot be denied, and this album fully showcases all his abilities, from his rage to his serenity. It is the work of a world class musician, and one who is not afraid to embrace his emotions, nor to experiment with sounds and different ways of making music. That is why this is my metal album of the year.

Honorable Mention

 

Jesu – Opiate Sun

This is the only time I have done a honorable mention. I couldn’t include it on the list because it is only an EP, so it’s not technically an album. However this is one stunning piece of work. The guitars drone out Justin Broadrick’s voice so it barely audible, but it makes clear all the pain that he sings about, making this a very emotional album that seeps with pain, and makes me excited to hear his next full release.

Picture: heavy-power metal holocaust by ~redalakchiri on deviantART

It is a GREAT time to be a metal head. There are so many new albums coming out this year, as well as concerts touring the US.

Out of all the years I have been a metal head, the 08-09 year has been one of the best. I have seen Symphony X playing with Into Eternity and Epica. I have watched Iced Earth play with Into Eternity. I have seen Suffocation. I have seen the almighty Carcass play with Suffocation, Aborted, and 1349. I have seen the black metallers Watain. I will be seeing Soilwork with Darkane and Swallow The Sun. Soon I will see Kreator with Exodus, as well as Dragonforce with Cynic. I have never seen so many great concerts coming through. I didn’t get a chance to go see At The Gates with Darkest Hour, but they toured as well.

The only thing better than concerts this year was albums. There were so many great albums released in 08-09.

Alestorm-Captain Morgan’s Revenge
Avantasia-The Scarecrow
Ayreon-01011001
Ghenghis Tron-Board Up The House
Death Angel-Killing Season
Boris-Smile
Meshuggah-oBzen
Zimmer’s Hole-When You Were Shouting At The Devil…
Korpiklaani-Korven Kuningas
The Sword-Gods of the Earth
Arsis-We Are The Nightmare
Belphegor-Bondage Goat Zombie
Dominici-O3:A Trilogy, Part 3
Kalmah-For The Revolution
Warrel Dane-Praises To The War Machine
Deicide-Til Death Do Us Part
Testament-The Damnation of Formation
Moonspell-Night Eternal
Cryptopsy-The Unspoken King
Kataklysm-Prevail
Ihsahn-angL
Opeth-Watershed
Pyramaze-Immortal
Sabaton-The Art of War
Norma Jean-The Anti Mother
The Human Abstract-Midheaven
Dragonforce-Ultrabeatdown
Into Eternity-The Incurable Tragedy
Iced Earth-The Crucible of Man
Amon Amarth-Twilight of the Thunder God
Swallow The Sun-Plague of Butterflies
Evergrey-Torn
Battlelore-The Last Alliance
Psycroptic-Ob(Servant)
Jeff Loomis-Zero Order Phase
Bloodbath-The Fathomless Mastery
Unearth-The March
Darkthrone-Dark Thrones and Black Flags
Darkane-Demonic Art
Cradle of Filth-Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder
The Faceless-Planetary Duality
Cynic-Traced in Air

And that is all 2008. 2009 looks to be as good, if not even better.

Grave Digger-Ballads of a Hangman
Iron Fire-To The Grave
Kreator-Hordes of Chaos
Saxon-Into The Labyrinth
Cattle Decapitation-The Harvest Floor
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder-Living for Death, Destroying the Rest
Sepultura-A-lex
Napalm Death-Time Waits For No Slave
Vision Divine-9 Degrees West of the Moon
Cannibal Corpse-Evisceration Plague
Luna Mortis-The Absence
God Forbid-Earthsblood
Obscura-Cosmogenesis
Hammerfall-No Sacrifice, No Victory
Suidakra-Crógacht
Absu-Absu
Buried Inside-Spoils of Failure
My Dying Bride-For Lies I Sire
Mastodon-Crack The Skye
Wolves In The Throneroom-Black Cascade

It’s a good time to love metal my friends.

Keep The Horns Rising Brothers and Sisters
-Noobhammer