In an earlier post, I speculated about why metal mags and net sites create “Best of 2009” album lists and why fans read them. I also expressed puzzlement about why these lists are already appearing despite the fact that 2009 ain’t over yet. Decibel‘s recently published list of the “Top 40” best releases of 2009 prompted all of my blather (although Noisecreep has now released their Top 10 list for the year). I thought most of the albums on the Decibel list were worth noticing, though I could quibble with the rankings and I had some favorites that I thought should have been on the list in place of others that were.
In an effort to refresh my own memory about what else Decibel left off its list, I polled IntoTheDarkness — the third member of the No Clean Singing triumverate — and asked for his personal list of the Best of 2009 (using the phony assumption that the year is already over). And here’s his list. It’s a pretty fucking strong lineup of NCS Metal — and only 8 overlaps with the Decibel list.
Yeah, I know I’m doing the same gun-jumping thing that I found odd about “best of year” lists already beginning to appear in other publications, but what the fuck. Here is IntoTheDarkness’s Best of ’09 list, in alphabetical order. Albums that also appear on the Decibel Top 40 are highlighted:
1. Amorphis-Skyforger
2. Animals as Leaders-Self titled
3. August Burns Red-Constellations
4. Barren Earth-Our Twilight
5. Behemoth-Evangelion
6. Between the Buried and Me-The Great Misdirect
7. The Black Dahlia Murder-Deflorate
8. Bleed From Within-Humanity
9. Blood Red Throne-Souls of Damnation
10. Born of Osiris-A Higher Place
11. Chimaira-The Infection
12. The Cleansing-Poisoned Legacy
13. Daath-The Concealers
14. Deadlock-Manifesto
15. Despised Icon-Day of Mourning
16. The Destro-Harmony of Discord
17. Dethklok-Dethalbum 2
18. Dying Fetus-Descend into Depravity
19. Eluveitie-Evocation I
20. Ensiferum-From Afar
21. Ex Deo-Romulus
22. Fleshgod Apocalypse-Oracles
23. Goatwhore-Carving Out the Eyes of God
24. Gorod-Process of A New Decline
25. Hester Prynne-The Goswell Divorce
26. Hiroshima Will Burn-To the Weight of All Things
27. Hypocrisy-A Taste of Extreme Divinity
28. I Built the Cross-Bridging the Gap Between Heart and Mind
29. Ichor-The Siege
30. Ignominious Incarceration-Of Winter Born
31. Impending Doom-The Serpent Servant
32. In The Midst of Lions-Out of Darkness
33. Ingested-Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering
34. Insomnium-Across the Dark
35. Isis-Wavering Radiant
36. Job For A Cowboy-Ruination
37. Madder Mortem-Eight Ways
38. Man Must Die-No Tolerance for Imperfection
39. Marduk-Wormwood
40. Mastodon-Crack the Skye
41. Miseration-The Mirroring Shadow
42. Molotov Solution-The Harbinger
43. Neaera-Omnicide
44. Nightrage-Wearing a Martyr’s Crown
45. Nile-Those Whom the Gods Detest
46. Novembers Doom-Into Night’s Requiem Infernal
47. Obscura-Cosmogenesis
48. Oceano-Depths
49. Old Man’s Child-Slaves of the World
50. Painted in Exile-Revitalized
51. Pelican-What We All Come To Need
52. Permillisecond-2009 EP
53. Porcupine Tree-The Incident
54. Prostitute Disfigurement-Descendants of Depravity
55. Reciprocal-Self titled
56. The Red Chord-Fed Through the Teeth Machine
57. The Red Shore-Lost Verses
58. Revocation-Existence is Futile
59. Salt the Wound-Ares
60. Samael-Above
61. Scale the Summit-Carving Desert Canyons
62. Scar Symmetry-Dark Matter Dimensions
63. Skeletonwitch-Breathing the Fire
64. Suffocation-Blood Oath
65. Suicide Silence-No Time To Bleed
66. Suidakra-Crogacht
67. Swallow the Sun-New Moon
68. Tyr-By the Light of the Northern Star
69. Ulcerate-Everything is Fire
70. Vader-Necropolis
71. Whisteria Cottage-Heathen
72. Winds of Plague-The Great Stone War
73. Wretched-The Exodus of Autonomy