Metal Covenant's tradition of ranking the best albums of the year continues,
and as the staff is growing in numbers there are more participants in
the voting process. This time there were 13 contributors to the Metal
Covenant-list, which makes it a new record and probably the most exciting
result ever. Here are the ten albums that we liked best from 2009, as
well as the 15 runner-ups that almost made the list.
//Niklas, December 2009
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1. Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
Excerpt from the review:
Everyone who has heard and liked the three latest Katatonia-albums
will immediately feel right at home, the arrangements are as tasteful
as ever with crystal clear guitar arpeggios, dynamic drumming, brooding
electronics and Jonas Renkse's mournful singing voice. The distinctive
difference this time around is that the band here chooses to challenge
themselves a bit more often than earlier and that the song structures
more rarely follows the same formula. This is definitely Katatonia's
greatest hour yet.
Read
the full review »»
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2. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
On their most progressive effort to date, Mastodon tells an ambitious
story about astral travelling, out of body experiences, the tsar
Rasputin and much more. It's extremely difficult not to get sucked
into the sonic universe Mastodon once again has created with Crack
The Skye, an album that has all the ingredients to become a future
classic.
(sorry, no review yet)
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3. Megadeth - Endgame
Excerpt from the review:
Overall, this is a Megadeth album, straight forward. Again they
have followed the train of consequences, and arrived at their final
destination. I am confident that Dave and Roadrunner Records will
be pleased to see it sell well, if everyone is buying. Endgame is
the worthy successor to the marching mechanix of Deth; another quality
contender for the Deth achives. I will always advocate Dave's dire,
take no prisoners, hook in mouth - tongue in cheek, kick the chair,
hanging on by the skin of this teeth type artistry, integrity, and
influence.
Read
the full review »»
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4. Amorphis - Skyforger
Mastodon are obviously not the only ones interested in writing
an album about the heavens above us; when Amorphis continues telling
stories based on old Finnish poems they are concentrating on the
episodes about the sky. The song material is possibly the best Amorphis
has come up with so far, and with some influences from bands as
diverse as Opeth and Dark Tranquillity, they continue to push forward
with a sound that keeps on fascinating.
(sorry, no review yet)
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5. Ensiferum - From Afar
Excerpt from the review:
The finnish folk metal band Ensiferum have climbed the ladder quite
a bit the past two or three years, now doing big tours in especially
America. And rightfully so, since they are belonging to the elite
of the genre. If you are a follower of my reviews you know my preferences
and therefore also know that this album is highly anticipated by
me. There are less monster songs on this album than before, but
it holds up really well due to the good musicianship and melodies
and good arrangements. It is safe to say that any Ensiferum fan
will recognise the music and also appreciate this album.
Read
the full review »»
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6. Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
Excerpt from the review:
Make no mistake: this is a vintage Alice in Chains record through
and through, cut from the same cloth as such classics as 1992's
Dirt. Black Gives Way to Blue is everything the fans were expecting
from an Alice record, sounding like it could have came right out
of the 90's. Despite its lack of progression into new territory,
the style and songwriting is something that no other band has been
able to capture since, and is something this revered band has been
able to preserve through all of the years and turmoil.
Read
the full review »»
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7. Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
Excerpt from the review:
Death, magic, doom. Taste those words and then tell me they don't
fit very well to describe the new album from Candlemass. Luckily
those words also make out the title of the album, and seldom do
you see a title that is so striking. The largest difference since
King Of The Grey Islands is that the songs seem to have been written
in order to fit Rob's voice better, and this is something that has
made Candlemass rise even higher. Candlemass have with their three
latest releases continuously been ascending to entirely new levels,
and I can't help but wonder where they will go from here?
Read
the full review »»
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8. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
On The Incident, Steven Wilson and his band mates in Porcupine
Tree have created that rare thing; a conceptual album that actually
works from beginning to end. This is a double album, but the four
songs on the second disc should wisely be considered to be bonus
treats, as the really interesting stuff is found within the 55 minute
long song-cycle that is The Incident. Perhaps not exactly groundbreaking
stuff, but nevertheless another very strong Porcupine Tree-creation
that like a fine wine will most likely keep on getting better with
each year.
(sorry, no review yet)
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9. Epica - Design Your Universe
The Dutch symphonic metal-wonder shows no sign of slowing down;
even if After Forever recently called it quits we still have Within
Temptation and Epica around. The latter has with Design Your Universe,
their fourth studio album, kept on doing what they do best, this
time with even more orchestral elements than earlier. For fans of
symphonic metal fronted with lots of operatic vocals, this is a
must buy.
(sorry, no review yet)
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10. Behemoth - Evangelion
Behemoth is responsible for pushing the envelope in regards to
extreme death metal with their latest releases Demigod and The Apostasy
so I wasn't surprised when Evangelion came and yet again proved
that this band is nothing but sheer quality in every aspect of the
word. The songwriting has reached such levels that I'm left stupefied
with what these guys churn out. Although I have some personal favorites
on the album there aren't any weak tracks on this album. From the
opening Daimonos to the closing Lucifer we're treated to a feast
of pure metal. This is a very strong album that's going to be very
hard to surpass, even for Behemoth.
Read
the full review »»
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Runner-ups:
11. Steel Panther - Feel The Steel
12. Powerwolf - Bible Of The Beast
13. Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
14. Immortal - All Shall Fall
15. Axxis - Utopia
16. Spinal Tap - Back From The Dead
17. God Dethroned - Passiondale
18. Razor Of Occam - Homage To Martyrs
19. Scar Symmetry - Dark Matter Dimensions
20. Eternal Legacy - Lifeless Alive
21. Raubtier - Det Finns Bara Krig
22. Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day
23. Hypocrisy - A Taste Of Extreme Divinity
24. Electric Mary - Down To The Bone
25. Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave
Individual toplists for 2009:
Tommy
»»
Thomas
»»
David
»»
Hawk
»»
Juukun
»»
Mozzy
»»
Martin
»»
Dux
»»
Tribe
»»
Stark
»»
Lord
Randall »»
MettleAngel
»»
MettleMaiden
»»
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