Best albums
1. God Dethroned -
Passiondale
What can I say that I didn't already say in my review? A stunning
return to the Blackened Death form they perfected with drummer Roel Sanders'
last appearance on Bloody Blapshemy. One of my most anticipated albums
of 2009, it didn't fail to impress. In a year that mainly favored the
heavier acts, Passiondale stands above the rest.
2. Amorphis - Skyforger
Amorphis struck gold when they acquired Tomi Joutsen as a vocalist, having
now released 3 near-perfect albums in succession (not that their back
catalogue is anything to scoff at, either!) I was pleasantly surprised
to see it this high at the top of my list - while I knew it would be good,
I didn't know it would be THIS good.
3. Epica - Design Your Universe
It was going to take a lot for Epica to impress me again this year. The
Divine Conspiracy was my favorite album of 2007, and I wasn't sure what
they could do to go from there. Then Design Your Universe came out. In
a nutshell, the album is Epica turned to eleven. Mark Jansen's growls
are more fierce, Simone's voice is more graceful, the orchestral parts
are more bombastic, and the choirs sound more powerful than any Epica
album before it. Bravo, Epica, bravo.
4. Inmoria - Invisible Wounds
In a year of Power Metal releases that didn't quite stand up, this release
atleast kept the genre's heart beating. When it was announced last year
that a Bollnas Metal "supergroup" of sorts was forming featuring
past & current members of Morgana Lefay and Tad Morose, fronted by
ML's own Charles Rytkonen, I was on board from the get-go. In a year without
any hint or whisper from the Morgana Lefay camp, a separate release with
Chulle on vocals was almost as good. Channeling the Thrashy, Dark Power
Metal feel of Morgana Lefay, with some obvious Tad Morose input as well,
this album hits you fast and it hits hard.
5. Nile - Those Whom
The Gods Detest
I am honestly surprised to have Nile up here. Sure, Ithyphallic
and all of it's predecessors were good, but ever really Top 10 material?
I don't think so. This is surely their best work yet, and after my first
listen I recall sitting there, absolutely dumbfounded. I couldn't believe
how good it was, even on the first listen. Nile have released their masterpiece
with Those Whom The Gods Detest, which I'm sure will be considered a "must-have"
album for Death Metal fans down the road.
Runner-ups: Hypocrisy - A Taste of
Extreme Divinity, My Dying Bride - The Lies
I Sire, HDK - System Overload, Ensiferum
- From Afar, Katatonia - Night is the New
Day
Biggest disappointments
- Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life
Not particularly a bad album, Shallow Life is good in it's own right.
It's just that it fails to stand up to their back catalogue. Up until
this point, every album they've done was exceptional in my eyes. Even
Karmacode, which got mixed reviews, was a favorite of mine when released.
Lacuna Coil sort of strayed off their path with Shallow Life, and not
exactly for the best either.
- JuuKun Misses Maryland Deathfest VII (And Other
Shows)
In May, Maryland Deathfest VII was set to take place, with Pestilence,
Asphyx, and Bolt Thrower's first show in the US in 15 years each headlining
a night, with a stellar roster of other fantastic Death/Black bands. I
had my ticket, I had paid for my busfare, and I had it coordinated to
be rooming with a friend of mine from down south who was going up to Maryland
for the show. Then, it's a week before the show, I couldn't get in touch
with him, and I couldn't afford a hotel all by myself without someone
to split the costs. I didn't find out what had happened until a few weeks
after the event had passed, and the personal issues that kept him from
making it to the show. While MDF was the biggest of these disappointments
this year, there were other shows I had plans to go to that I also regret
missing (ProgPower USA X, Enslaved/Opeth, Gojira, Vader, etc...)
- Power Metal Fails To Impress
Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead), Sonata
Arctica - The Days of Grays, Stratovarius - Polaris, Warmen - Japanese
Hospitality, Dark Moor - Autumnal. Five albums which weren't all terrible,
but were all disappointing in their own right. This was a very sub-par
year for Power Metal, and five albums which I was interested in being
absolutely underwhelming didn't help. Had they come from different artists,
some of these releases may have been acceptable, but from the bands that
put them out they were terribly, terribly disappointing.
- John "Midnight" McDonald passes away
In a year that had an unseemly amount of "celebrity" deaths
in the media, one of the less-famous of those to pass this year hit the
hardest. Former Crimson Glory vocalist Midnight passed in July of this
year, and Metal lost one of it's finest vocal talents. R.I.P. brother,
legends never truly die.
- Morgana Lefay's hiatus continues
Not too long after the release of 2007's "Aberrations of the Mind",
Morgana Lefay seemed to drop off the map and all became silent in their
camp. Rumors flew about the band splitting up, and it's true they never
really acknowledged their state in any public form that I can recall.
It took an e-mail from yours truly for me to be informed that they were,
in fact, not split-up but only on a break while Chulle worked with Inmoria.
While I thought the Inmoria debut this year was exceptional, I would have
much preferred the return of Morgana Lefay. Maybe in 2010...
Best live concerts
1. Destruction (Worcester,
Massachusetts)
My personal favorite Thrash band, and probably the most intense
show I've ever been to. The entire crowd went absolutely nuts for these
Thrash Gods. With the lack of any "-core" support bands, the
show lacked any real egos and it was obvious people were there for a good
time. From the first few notes of "Soul Collector" to the end
of "Total Desaster", Destruction blew the roof off of the intimate,
upstairs stage of the Palladium and set Worcester on fire.
2.Moonspell (New York, New York)
I had always heard that, as a live vocalist, Fernando is nearly
unmatched in stage presence and raw emotion. I couldn't wait to experience
it for myself, and they delivered. The amount of himself that Fernando
puts into his performance is like nothing I've ever seen, and with a majority
of the set pulled from the "Wolfheart" and "Irreligious"
albums made this a night I'll never forget.
3. Primordial (Worcester, Massachusetts)
On the original tour posters, Primordial (on their first US tour)
were set to be headlining Paganfest America Part II. I was outraged when
they added Korpiklaani as headliner and, without explanation, moved Eluveitie
over Primordial. Some time after, Eluveitie dropped off the tour, bumping
Primordial back up to the slot they deserve (even I wouldn't argue that,
popularity-wise, they should be headlining over Korpiklaani). Nemtheanga
& Co's heartfelt, fierce performance was only beaten half a year later
by Moonspell.
4. Ensiferum (Worcester,
Massachusetts)
My final show of the year. Moved from the large downstairs stage
to the intimate upstairs at the very last minute, my fourth time seeing
Ensiferum was finally to be my first time headlining, after the original
Paganfest USA was crammed into part of the local New England Metal and
Hardcore Festival when it came through in 2008 and each band only had
30 minutes to play. They played every song off of From Afar (a phenomenal
album to be sure), except for "Heathen Throne", and squeezed
in a good handful of old favorites into the same set. Very glad to see
the band delivering such a good live set and gathering a following over
here.
5. Darkane (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Sound problems aside, seeing Darkane this year was huge for me. Having
been a big fan for a few years, and never really thinking they were going
to do much touring in the US, when it was announced they would be supporting
Soilwork I was ecstatic (a touring partner suggestion/request I had made
to Speed a year prior, coincidentally). The vocals being almost inaudible
didn't harm the set as I knew all of the words anyways, and the upstairs
stage was a perfect location for this night.
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