Top 15 cd's of 2009!!!

[KYF_Cincinnati]

2. Anvil Chorus - The Killing Sun
The first album ever released by this underground, obscure metal band. If you are a fan of sophisticated, mature and carefully crafted songs, this is the album for you. It’s the details in this album that keep you coming back for additional spins. To be honest, I don’t know how to describe the band’s music. Maybe heavy power-prog? Lots of great guitar riffs on this album.

Great list. I checked out ANVIL CHORUS on their MySpace page... I like it. A true melting pot of influences, not an easy thing to do, but it works. Good stuff.

- KYF

 

[drmetal8]

Great list. I checked out ANVIL CHORUS on their MySpace page... I like it. A true melting pot of influences, not an easy thing to do, but it works. Good stuff.

- KYF

Easily my most-listened to album of the year. I got it directly from the label:
http://www.rockadrome.com/superstore/product_info.php?products_id=4231&osCsid=7f940b1f73992b0098a825b3db41468f

 

[wayland smithers]

Here are two Top 20s from Metal Asylum

1. Megadeth – Endgame
2. Candlemass – Death Magic Doom
3. Alex Beyrodt’s Voodoo Circle
4. House Of Lords – Cartesian Dreams
5. Lazarus A.D. – The Onslaught
6. Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
7. Winger – Karma
8. Outloud - We’ll Rock You To Hell And Back Again
9. HammerFall - No Sacrifice No Victory
10. Primal Fear - 16:6 (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead)
11. Artillery – When Death Comes
12. Grave Digger – Ballads of a Hangman
13. Lynch Mob - Smoke And Mirrors
14. Mantic Ritual – Executioner
15. Immortal – All Shall Fall
16. Ace Frehley – Anomaly
17. Almah – Fragile Equality
18. Heaven and Hell – The Devil You Know
19. Sacred Oath – Sacred Oath
20. Ravage - The End Of Tomorrow
----------------------------------------------------
1. Outloud – We’ll Rock You To Hell And Back Again
2. Alex Beyrodt - Voodoo Circle
3. Dark The Suns – All Ends In Silence
4. Forest Stream – The Crown Of Winter
5. While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose
6. Cage - Science Of Annihilation
7. Blood Tsunami - Grand Feast For Vultures
8. Primal Fear - 16.6 Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
9. Wilde Starr – Arrival
10. Immortal – All Shall Fall
11. Amberian Dawn - The Clouds Of Northern Thunder
12. Disaster Peace - Disaster Peace
13. Insomnium – Across The Dark
14. Amorphis - Skyforger
15. Artillery – When Death Comes
16. God Dethroned - Passiondale
17. Necrophobic – Death To All
18. Candlemass – Death Magic Doom
19. Wino – Punctured Equilibrium
20. Nightrage - Wearing A Martyr’s Crown

Read the rest here http://www.metalasylum.net/feature/feature3.php

 

[Pellaz]

Okay, here's my list.

• Amorphis- Skyforger
• Redemption- Snowfall on Judgment Day
• DTP "Addicted" and "Ki"
• Týr – By The Light of The Northern Star
• Vreid - Milorg
• Samael- Above
• Bloodbound- Tabula Rasa
• Immortal- All Shall Fall
• Dethklok – Dethalbum II
• Megadeth - Endgame
• Between the Buried & Me - The Great Misdirect
• Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest
• Behemoth - Evangelion
• Satyricon - The Age of Nero
• Therion - The Miskolc Experience
• Scale the Summit - Carving Desert Canyons
• Old Man's Child - Slaves of the World
• Suidakra - Crógacht
• Korpiklaani - Karkelo
• Graveworm - Diabolical Figures
• Dommin - Love Is Gone
• Insomnium - Across the Dark
• The 69 Eyes -- Back In Blood
• Agathodaimon - Phoenix
• Faith and the Muse - :tatsu: (EP)
• Ozric Tentacles -- The YumYum Tree
• VNV Nation - Of Faith, Power and Glory

 

[Soundscape]

http://allmediareviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-music-disappointments-and-turkeys.html

95-51 (missing the cut)

Devin Townsend - Addicted
Devin Townsend Ki
Gavin Castleton - Home
Paper Route - Absence
Shadow Gallery - Digital Ghosts
U2 - No Line on the Horizon
Microfilm - The Bay of Future Passed
God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl
St. Vincent - Actor
Archive - Controlling Crowds Part IV
Courtney Yasmineh - Beautiful Lonely
3 - Revisions
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
BrainFreeze - Focus
Phideaux - Number Seven
Rx Bandits - Mandala
Modern Skirts - All of Us in Our Night
Operahouse - Escape From the Sun
Persefone - Shin-ken
OneRepublic - Waking Up
Other Lives - Other Lives
Pain of Salvation - Linoleum [EP]
August Burns Red - Constellations
Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest
Job for a Cowboy - Ruination
Skidmore Fountain - Cloudless Blue
BLK JKS - After Robots
Vektor - Black Future
Hotel of the Laughing Tree - Old Dominion [EP]
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
Imogen Heap - Ellipse
Behemoth - Evangelion
Marillion - Less Is More
Murder by Death - Finch
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Do Make Say Think - Other Truths
Headlights - Wildlife
Russian Circles - Geneva
From Monument to Masses -On Little Known Frequencies
Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Karnivool - Sound Awake
Muse - The Resistance
As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take It With You
Obscura - Cosmogenesis

http://allmediareviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-albums-index-list-and-podcasts.html

50-1

50. The Arusha Accord - The Echo Verses
49. The Swell Season - Strict Joy
48. Baroness - Blue Record
47. The Mars Volta - Octahedron
46. Yeah Yeah Yeah's – It's Blitz
45. Total Babe - Heatwave
44. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
43. Lights on the Highway - Amanita Muscaria
42. Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
41. The Boy Will Drown - Fetish
40. Solstafir - Kold
39. Graph - EP 2 (EP)
38. Oceansize - Home and Minor (EP)
37. Warpaint - Exquisite Corpse (EP)
36. 100Ft Snowman - Juggling Knives (EP)
35. Brooke Waggoner - Go Easy Little Doves
34. Scott Matthews - Elsewhere
33. Water & Bodies - Water & Bodies (EP)
32. Doves - Kingdom of Rust
31. Painted in Exile - Revitalized (EP)
30. The Most Serene Republic - ...And the Ever Expanding Universe
29. Shelter Red - Strike a Mortal Terror
28. Mute Math - Armistice
27. Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
26. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
25. The Diablo Swing Orchestra - Sing-Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious
24. The Antlers - Hospice
23. The House Harkonnen - Vol.6
22. Sholi - Sholi
21. The Kris Norris Projekt - Icons of the Illogical
20. Grammatics - Grammatics
19. Malajube - Labyrinthes
18. Sound & Shape - The Love Electric (EP)
17. maudlin of the Well - Part the Second
16. My Latest Novel - Death and Entrances
15. Ramona Falls - Intuit
14. Archive - Controlling Crowds
13. Greg Herriges - Telluric Currents
12. Karen O - Where the Wild Things Are
11. Kiss Kiss - The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left
10. note. - my city of ghosts, stars and hours
9. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
8. Long Distance Calling - Avoid the Light
7. Umphrey's McGee - Mantis
6. Pure Reason Revolution - Amor Vincit Omnia
3c. dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
3b. The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
3a. Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories the World is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away
2. Soundscape - Grave New World
1. Kevin Gilbert - Nuts/Bolts

 

[Kaosaur]

Really don't know where you're coming from on this list of turkeys.

I'm gathering the ones I really take issue with fell into the "overhyped" category because there's a ton of stuff on this list that I was really excited about and listened to all year. I didn't think it was possible to be that jaded but this board always surprises me.

 

[Cheiron]

Just remember, if you got these albums freely from bands/labels to do reviews, you must say so

 

[General Zod]

95-51 (missing the cut)

I have to say, I've never known quite what to think of lists like this one. They always strike me as intentionally diverse. I'm not sure how anyone could possibly have enough time in their day to keep their finger on the pulse of so many genres and sub-genres. That said, if some people can truly appreciate this kind of musical diversity, I say kudos. I wish I could.

Zod

 

[Cheiron]

I have to say, I've never known quite what to think of lists like this one. They always strike me as intentionally diverse. I'm not sure how anyone could possibly have enough time in their day to keep their finger on the pulse of so many genres and sub-genres. That said, if some people can truly appreciate this kind of musical diversity, I say kudos. I wish I could.

Zod

How many new albums do you think you listen to a year?

I bet I listened to well over a 100 2009 releases. But, I neglected to keep track, and thus cannot rank them as such. I don't think its difficult to keep a finger on the pulse, by visiting a couple forums or review sites, though it is difficult to get deeper. For example, I like jazz, but I don't know 99.9% of the material being releases every year. Same with progressive rock, and certain forms of indie rock. But I'd say with metal that I'm closer to knowing or being familiar with about 25%. I decided to keep my list brief this year and focus on what I really liked, and maybe somebody else who likes some of what I listed will find something else on my list to give a try. A list of a 100 or so albums in some arbitrary ranking system (not explained at all) with no descriptions of the bands, seems altogether worthless.

 

[General Zod]

How many new albums do you think you listen to a year?

It depends on how you measure that. I'd say I check out somewhere between 300 - 400 bands a year. What does "check out" mean? Anything from listening to a song on MySpace or YouTube to sitting through the entire CD two or three times. Obviously, those bands whose CDs I buy, I listen to quite a bit more. Interestingly, my purchasing habits have been trending downward...

2003 - 96
2004 - 79
2005 - 77
2006 - 74
2007 - 61
2008 - 59
2009 - 56

I'd attribute the above trend to age. I've become more discerning. I no longer feel a need to buy CDs that will invariably do little more than collect dust on my shelves.

For example, I like jazz, but I don't know 99.9% of the material being releases every year.

Same here. With the non-Metal genres I enjoy, I suspect I'm missing a ton of good music, simply because I'm not in the loop with the genre.

A list of a 100 or so albums in some arbitrary ranking system (not explained at all) with no descriptions of the bands, seems altogether worthless.

His blog had descriptions for the Top 50. However, they weren't fulll reviews, they were mostly sentence or two blurbs that included the band's origin and genre/sub-genre. Personally, I prefer more descriptive reviews, especially for bands outside the Metal genre.

Zod

 

[Soundscape]

I have to say, I've never known quite what to think of lists like this one. They always strike me as intentionally diverse. I'm not sure how anyone could possibly have enough time in their day to keep their finger on the pulse of so many genres and sub-genres. That said, if some people can truly appreciate this kind of musical diversity, I say kudos. I wish I could.

Zod

Thanks. I guess I find I fall somewhere in no-man's land frankly, as I rarely encounter others whose tastes cross-over to most of the styles and bands I enjoy.

While I would hardly call myself the most or as diverse as some people's music taste, I do pride myself at being open to listening to as many things as possible.

I mean part of it is there is so much music out there, and there are so many genres, and sub-genres, that if one likes to expand what they listen to, there is a wealth of material to at least sample.

The stuff on my list, really the lists I've made over the last 5 years I'd say, has a lot of "indie" rock, but that's a bit vague.

I guess I used to be one who would seek out tons of prog and progmetal 10 years ago. And that obvious/overt/blatant style of music isn't as much my thing as it once was. I suppose this newer kind of prog "indie-prog" or "alt-prog" has kind of replaced that as a passion I have. And there's a ton of it being made every year now.

And Metal, rather than the traditional Dream Theater-influenced progmetal that I was so into 10 years ago, I guess I would say I instead listen to a lot more of the extreme metal. Tech/death, a bit of black, metalcore, jazz and "post-metal" I guess you might include in there.

While that may seem diverse, I guess I just see it as music that is interesting, has good songwriting or album composition, or just draws a stronger appeal to me than the avg radio-pop or corporate metal (or prog and power metal).

Others may not seek out music in those ways (or see the music I am referring to having those qualities entirely), but I guess that's how I perceive all the music I hear.

Time? I work a dayjob that allows me to listen to music or other things (podcasts, radio, etc) nearly 8hours a day. Someone wondered the same thing last year about time, and I think I estimated I spend approximately 1500 hours/year just listening to music (at work. alone). So it may not seem like so much music to take in, if you consider that many hours are spent.

 

[NobleKnight]

<<Time? I work a dayjob that allows me to listen to music or other things (podcasts, radio, etc) nearly 8hours a day. Someone wondered the same thing last year about time, and I think I estimated I spend approximately 1500 hours/year just listening to music (at work. alone). So it may not seem like so much music to take in, if you consider that many hours are spent.>>

This is absolutely one thing I LOVE about what I do. I get to listen to music all day long. Now, a lot of those listens take awhile to sink in because I'm always focused on work, but every once in awhile I take time out to crank it up and head bang like a mofo That and then I go home and listen to music on Youtube, watch DVD's, and browse boards like this a couple times a week. I don't know how I'd keep up on anything if I couldn't do it at work.

 

[Jibrille]

I really haven't listened to many albums this year. And more than likely, I probably won't even listen to my real favorite album of 2009 until 2010 (usually happens) but here's a basic list of metal/rock albums I loved so far:

1. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition Only album I'll put a number next to. I absolutely love this album from beginning to end. I can't listen to a single song without playing the entire album, which is pretty rare for me.
Diablo Swing Orchestra - Sing Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious Nothing too much to say about this. I listened to it for a month straight after PP and it keeps making my playlists no matter what genre they be (I've been listening to a lot of mashups & pop music lately).
Mastodon - Crack the Skye I was never able to get into their previous albums but I love this one. It was the first album of 2009 that got heavy rotation on my mp3 player.
dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion Another band I didn't get into until this year despite hearing a lot about. It's a great album to listen to as background music but also has plenty of layers to it when you give it your full attention. Just the right mix of alternative and progressive rock.
Devin Townsend Project - Addicted This is the last "metal" album of the year that has had a ton of plays in my car. I've probably listened to Bend it Like Bender 50x and In-Ah is such a simplistic but catchy song. It probably helps that this album came while I'd been listening to a lot of pop/dance as it's very much a modern dance influenced album.
Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day It took me a week to get into this album but once I did, it also got heavy rotation. It's got enough of the Ayreon sound I love, a singer that sounds great,

Huge Disappointment:
Muse - The Resistance There's maybe 2 songs on the album I enjoy and then the album just looses my interest. I can't get into the 3 pt Exogenesis before skipping to the next album a few minutes in. Where something like Green Carnation's Light of Day, Day of Darkness can hold my interest the entire 60 minutes, I cannot give that song more than a few moments of my time before getting bored. And then the few parts I like of other songs are because they're a total rip off of Queen. There's little of their sound I enjoyed on Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations and yet they didn't progress so much as just copy another band's style. If I wanted to listen to Queen, I'd put in A Night at the Opera or Jazz.

So many people are posting Redemption, that I really need to start spinning that album again. It lost the battle to DSO and then Guilt Machine and got buried once I started listening to a lot of pop.