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

	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 »»
	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)
	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 »»
	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)
	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 »»
	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 »»
	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 »»
	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)
	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)
	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 »»

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 »»