Top Albums Of 2009 30-21

30. Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
Ultra-compressed sludge that was supposed to sound good on the radio. What the hell, a decade and a half of listening to all manner of heavy riffs with varying degrees of fidelity hasn’t made me immune to liking something this overproduced. These songs still sound a helluva lot better than most of the crap I hear when subjected to the radio anyways. New lead vocalist William Duvall is basically invisible, except for when he’s filling in those classic Alice in Chains harmonies. Really, Jerry Cantrell’s songwriting approach here is no different from Degradation Trip, which was an Alice in Chains record in all but name anyways. Still, it’s good to have these guys back, doing what they have always done. Nobody is better at making heavily distorted minor key grinds with mournful yet catchy harmonies on top. Besides, would you rather hear a new Staind song on CFOX instead!?

29. Absu – Absu
Absu do a thrashy take on Black metal that merges the dense ice-in-a-blender guitars of prime Bathory with the more baroque leanings of late-period Emperor. This means lots of synths and keys in the background, and enough jackhammer blast beats and flailing guitars for you to not notice them unless you listen real closely. The production here is clean and powerful, in contrast to just about every Mayhem record I’ve ever heard. Despite the growls, the vocals are actually intelligible too. Besides, this ‘aint no ultra-satanic gorefest we got here. Absu know their shit. There are whole worlds of arcane Sumerian mythology to be explored in the lyrics, if you’re so inclined. For fans of TRUE BLACK METAL, this stuff is probably anathema, but fuck ‘em, they’ve probably lost their hearing by now anyways. If writing songs with dynamics, atmosphere and riffs that are brutal but still stick in your head is selling out, then who wouldn’t want to sell out? Use this as background music for performing bloodletting rituals to the moon goddess if you want, but the lyrical and musical depth of this album will even impress non-black metal fans.

28. Naam – Naam
Trippy psych with heavy riffs? Sign me up! Opener “Kingdom” eases its way into your consciousness by seemingly evolving out of silence into explosive noise and needs every one of its 16 minutes to reach its bloody apogee. Similar buildups can be heard on “Icy Row” while riff monsters like “Fever If Fire” simply burn everything in their path with gorgeously fuzzed out guitars and a highly developed sense of space and texture. Naam know just how long to hold back for when riding a groove, and when to drop the guitar assault to squeeze maximum power out of the riffs. This album is as meditational as it is heavy, and will soothe all manner of troubled souls.

27. Mantic Ritual – Executioner
The Metallica of the “Big Four” of new thrash bands. Executioner lifts the light speed multipart suites of Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, although they add a healthy dose of Possessed’s deathly nightmares to keep things from getting too fancy. In case you were wondering, Warbringer is Megadeth, Toxic Holocaust is Slayer, and Municipal Waste is Anthrax. Not that the originals aren’t still going strong, but it’s nice to have understudies just in case. And if you actually understood the parallels I alluded to between each of those bands, there is absolutely no reason you won’t think this is awesome.

26. The Pains of Being Pure Of Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
If I was 14 and in love there is no way this wouldn’t have been my favourite record of the year.

25. Pelican – Ephemeral
This EP is better than the actual full length Pelican put out this year. “Ephemeral” might be the single best song the band was written ever. Although “Ephemeral” appears on What We All Come To Need, this release is the superior of the two due to the very good B side “Embedding The Moss” and its massive cover of Earth’s “Geometry Of Murder.”

24. Kylesa – Static Tensions
While not a match for their 2005 masterpiece To Walk a Middle Course, Kylesa’s brand of sludgy hardcore on Static Tensions has plenty of memorable songs to back up its thunderous riffage. Anyone who seriously digs Fucked Up or Harvey Milk should find lots to like here.

23. Pyramids with Nadja – Pyramids with Nadja
Sometimes I think post rock is kind of a static genre. Then an album like this comes along and completely clusterfucks my perception of what that style can be. Mono is positively Neolithic compared to this.

22. Brian Jonestown Massacre – Smoking Acid
Anton moved to Iceland? When did that happen?

21. High on Fire - Live At The Contamination Fest
It’s been a long time in coming, but the titanic power trio High on Fire has finally released a live album. Their old label Relapse has opened the vault and released this pristine recording of a live performance taken from a 2003 label showcase. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that High on Fire is an absolute juggernaut on stage, and the evidence here only supports that assertion. For fans of the band, Matt Pike’s ridiculously heavy guitar tone at this show will be like mana from heaven. Due to the time period, the set list focuses on their then-current second album Surrounded by Thieves, but I find the renditions here to be superior to the album ones. Surrounded by Thieves suffered from an overly muddy mastering job which was undeniably bone-crushing but made it hard to pick out Pike’s mind-bending leads. These live versions are just as powerful but boast more separation in the mix which greatly enhances the clarity. Every instrument comes though crystal clear. If I have any complaints, it’s that Pike at this early date had still not refined his vocal technique to the powerful Lemmy-meets- Tom Warrior bellow he now commands, and instead sticks to the hoarse bark heard on the band’s first two albums. That’s a minor quibble though, and the band more than makes up for it with this incredible 34 minute set, capping it which a bulldozing cover of Venom’s “Witching Hour.”