The Best of 2009

Best mustache ever? Maybe.

Anyway, let us all rejoice and celebrate, as I declare the following records to be the Best of 2009, a seriously incredible year for artistic creativity:

TOP 25:
1. Mastodon-Crack The Skye (Warner Bros)
2. Pearl Jam-Backspacer (Monkeywrench)
3. Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way To Blue (EMI)
4. Matthew Good-Vancouver (UMusic Canada)
5. ISIS-Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
6. Clutch-Strange Cousins From The West (Weathermaker Music)
7. Dredg- The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (Ohlone)
8. Converge-Axe To Fall (Epitaph)
9. Katatonia-Night Is The New Day (Peaceville)
10. Pelican-What We All Come To Need (Southern Lord)
11. Doomriders-Darkness Come Alive (Deathwish Inc)
12. Between The Buried and Me-The Great Misdirect (Victory)
13. Ghost Brigade-Isolation Songs (Seasons of Mist)
14. Every Time I Die-New Junk Aesthetic (Epitaph)
15. Long Distance Calling-Avoid The Light (Superball)
16. Burnt By The Sun-Heart of Darkness (Relapse)
17. The Casting Out- Go Crazy! Throw Fireworks! (Fail Safe)
18. Lamb of God-Wrath (Epic)
19. Killswitch Engage-Killswitch Engage (Roadrunner)
20. Zao-Awake? (Ferret)
21. OSI-Blood (Inside Out)
22. Disappearer-The Clearing (Magic Bullet)
23. The Company Band-The Company Band (Restricted Release)
24. Fight Amp-Manners and Praise (Translation Loss)
25. Biffy Clyro-Only Revolutions (14th Floor)

EVERYTHING ELSE THAT RULED HARD (in no particular order):
From Monument To Masses-On Little Known Frequencies (Dim Mak)
Sepultura-A-Lex (SPV)
The Kris Norris Projekt-Icons of the Illogical (Magna Carta)
The Appleseed Cast-Sagarmatha (The Miltia Group/Vagrant)
Scale The Summit-Carving Desert Caverns (Prosthetic)
God Forbid-Earthsblood (Century Media)
The Bakerton Group-El Rojo (Weathermaker Music)
Buried Inside-Spoils of Failure (Relapse)
Hatesphere-To The Nines (Napalm/SPV)
Mike Patton-Crank 2: High Voltage Soundtrack (Lakeshore)
Chimaira- The Infection (Ferret)
Earth Crisis-To The Death (Century Media)
The Life and Times-Tragic Boogie (Arena Rock)
Steven Wilson-Insurgentes (Snapper/KScope)
MONO-Hymn To The Immortal Wind (Temporary Residence)
Coalesce-OX (Relapse)
Animals as Leaders-Animals as Leaders (Prosthetic)
16-Bridges To Burn (Relapse)
Into The Presence-Into The Presence (Razor & Tie)
Devildriver-Pray For Villains (Roadrunner)
Poison The Well-The Tropic Rot (Ferret)
Thy Will Be Done-In Ancient of Days (Stillborn)
Constants-The Foundation, The Machine, The Ascension (The Mylene Sheath)
City of Ships-Look What God Did To Us (Translation Loss)
Jesu-Infinity (Avalanche)
Birds of Prey-The Hellpreacher (Relapse)
The Black Crowes-Before The Frost...After The Freeze (Silver Arrow)
Shadows Fall-Retribution (Ferret/Everblack)
Living Colour-The Chair in the Doorway (Megaforce)
Armed For Apocalypse-Defeat (Ironclad/Metal Blade)
El Creepo-El Creepo (Rotten)
Om-God Is Good (Drag City)
Baroness-Blue Album (Relapse)
Porcupine Tree-The Incident (Roadrunner)
Kowloon Walled City-Gambling On The Richter Scale (Perpetual Motion Machine)
Russian Circles-Geneva (Suicide Squeeze)
Saviours-Accelerated Living (Kemado)
Slayer-World Painted Blood (American)
Thrice-Beggars (Vagrant)

ALBUMS I WISH I HAD MORE TIME TO REALLY GET INTO:
Swallow The Sun-New Moon (Spinefarm)
Them Crooked Vultures-Them Crooked Vultures (Interscope)
Paradise Lost-Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us (Century Media)
Shrinebuilder-Shrinebuilder (Neurot)


BEST EP's:
1. Pelican-Ephermeral (Southern Lord)
2. Cave In-Planets of Old (Hydra Head)
3. Coalesce-OXEP (Relapse)
4. Jesu-Opiate Sun (Caldo Verde)
5. Keith Caputo-Cheat (self-released)
6. Oceansize-Home & Minor (Superball)

LABEL OF THE YEAR: Relapse

BEST JAMS O' THE YEAR:
Clutch-50,000 Unstoppable Watts
Biffy Clyro-That Golden Rule
Mastodon-Oblivion
Alice In Chains-A Looking in View
Matthew Good-On Nights Like Tonight
Converge-Axe To Fall
Doomriders-Darkness Come Alive
ISIS-Hall of the Dead
Pelican-Ephermeral (EP version)
Black Crowes-Appaloosa

BEST RIFF:(tie)
Ghost Brigade-Suffocated
Disappearer- A Skull Full of Bats

BEST SHOWS:
Pearl Jam @ Gibson Ampitheater (Night 4)
Pearl Jam @ Key Arena (both nights)
Swallow The Sun @ Slim's
Far @ Slim's
ISIS/Helms Alee/Mammifer @ The Great American Music Hall
Zu w/Mike Patton @ The Great American Music Hall
Totimoshi/Brant Bjork & The Bros @ Bender's
COLD @ Slim's
Liam Fimm @ The Independent
Black Crowes @ The Fillmore (it's tomorrow night but I know it will be amazing)

And a big thanks to Faith No More for reuniting, playing "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb...and not playing the US.

If you know me, you know what the worst record of the decade is. No need to mention it. I refuse to "Scream" it out.

Here's to amazing music in 2010!