Metal 2009

[Humanicide]

Not sure if it is really considered "metal", but I've been enjoying Martyrdod's "Sekt".

Winterwolf, Varathron, Nazxul, Urna, The Chasm, and Shrinebuilder all had B/B+ albums in my view. Worthy listening for time and time again.

Of course, Asphyx's and Beherit's were great too.

[Jim Necroslaughter]

I hate to be the guy that rains on parades but besides most of Devamitra's list, nothing mentioned deserves to be on a list w/ the Beherit or Asphyx releases, not even close in fact.  Actually, The Chasm was good, I'll give you that - it deserves mention in a 2009 retrospective thread.  Teitanblood was just the worst.  Sammath I haven't heard yet, so I would be willing to give that a try.  The description of Ruins of Beverast, makes it sound ponderous.  I haven't heard it, but if you're likening them to Deathspell Omega, then I'm sorry but you've lost me, too.

If our quality control for the best albums of the year are 'as good as Beherit and Asphyx', we're going to have a very short list. 2 albums to be precise. There have been some decent A- to B+ albums this year worth mentioning.

I agree, I just wanted to shut the lid on stuff like Teitanblood and Blut Aus Nord before it got out of control.  Slugathor, Winterwolf, Midnight Odyssey, Nazxul, Cruciamentum, The Chasm, etc. deserve mention for being above average, or at the very least:  promising/ambitious/true to the tradition of metal.  I mean Winterwolf, for instance, really only makes it on my honorable mention for being true to the tradition of metal and being a solid B in quality, not terribly original, however.  The quality control should be anything that has to at least deserve an honorable mention on a top 5 list that includes Beherit and/or Asphyx.  And actually, as I look over the thread, I think we have some good mentions:  Midnight Odyssey, Cruciamentum (I have to give Grave Miasma a try), Slugathor, Nazxul, The Chasm, etc. etc.

[Humanicide]

Good call on Teitanblood, not sure what all the hype was about that album (admittedly I really liked the cover art). If I want metal in that style, I stick with Conqueror, Blasphemy, and the like.

How does Blut Aus Nord's newest one compare with "The Work Which Transforms God"? That's the only album I'm really familiar with by them.

[Sammaellofi]

Sammaell:  I certainly can't argue w/ your own personal experience, but let me get back to you on some more Engram discussion in a day or two (gotta eat now, don't have time to talk metal - see ya!)

Take your time.  This is one of the few new metal albums I'll still be talking about for years to come.

[istaros]

Good call on Teitanblood, not sure what all the hype was about that album (admittedly I really liked the cover art). If I want metal in that style, I stick with Conqueror, Blasphemy, and the like.

How does Blut Aus Nord's newest one compare with "The Work Which Transforms God"? That's the only album I'm really familiar with by them.

Well, it's x 2.0. x being Memoria Vetusta I. Before they got into Godflesh they were churning out ambient, panoramic black metal with an infusion of prog rock sounds. And it was pretty lackluster. One (and probably the only) aspect that was good was atmosphere. But that is interesting for only so long when you're given no reason to remain in it. Ultima Thulee is slightly less boring than Memoria Vetusta I. Memoria Vetusta II is, predictably, more boring.

[roshan]

I agree with:

Beherit - Engram
Midnight Odyssey - Firmament
Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semem of a Sheltered Elite

And add:

Ride for Revenge - Wisdom of the Few

[N0thing]

I thought Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II was only a little less cheaper than the dismal 'The Work Which Transforms God' and with a more studious but mechanical application of Burzumic conventions.

I didn't like TWWTG, and I only liked 3 songs of the Odinist album. I do like their older stuff however. I just thought this album has something different from most other albums. Very spiritual album. Wish I could find more stuff like this.

[Jim Necroslaughter]

Beherit - Engram:  Is Beherit the greatest metal act of all time?  To come back after a 14 year break and release something this good makes me think so.  However, I feel this album works best if you are well versed in the tradition of Beherit, their previous releases, and the tradition of black metal, in general.  Because of this I give the edge to Asphyx for best album.

I disagree with this.  On the contrary, I only got really into Beherit because of this album.  I'll admit, I new about their reutation as experimental in the later releases, but only listened to one or two albums once or twice a piece.  Now they are one of my all-time favorite bands.

I pick this as the best album of not only 2009 but of the whole decade because it shows of the light it casts on modern metal. The music is not difficult to play for any metal musician, nor is it very complicated in structure.  It is merely brillient primitive black metal that releases the spirit of all that was ever good about the genre and asks the question "How hard is it to make good music these days?  Look at how easy we have made gold."

It's funny, 'cause I have a friend who is pretty receptive to good metal, but for whatever reason Engram didn't click w/ him.  I speculated that if he had been more familiar w/ the fact that Beherit released 2 ambient albums but also the unthinkably primitive Oath of Black Blood, my friend would be able to understand the brilliance of Engram better.  I agree that Engram can stand on it's own two feet, but I think it takes on even more when you look at it in the context of Beherit's entire body of work (although you could say that about a lot of great bands/albums).  I actually feel that Oath of Black Blood is the key to appreciating Engram even more, moreso than the ambient albums.  How familiar w/ OoBB are you?  It was a tough nut to crack for me, but it has certainly paid its dividends.  

[dawn]

Asphyx, Beherit and The Chasm were the year's best. Nothing else was really that essential.

[Sammaellofi]

It's funny, 'cause I have a friend who is pretty receptive to good metal, but for whatever reason Engram didn't click w/ him.  I speculated that if he had been more familiar w/ the fact that Beherit released 2 ambient albums but also the unthinkably primitive Oath of Black Blood, my friend would be able to understand the brilliance of Engram better.  I agree that Engram can stand on it's own two feet, but I think it takes on even more when you look at it in the context of Beherit's entire body of work (although you could say that about a lot of great bands/albums).  I actually feel that Oath of Black Blood is the key to appreciating Engram even more, moreso than the ambient albums.  How familiar w/ OoBB are you?  It was a tough nut to crack for me, but it has certainly paid its dividends.  

I love Oath, but like I said, only after hearing Engram did I even pay any attention to it.

I guess I needed that slight extra bit of information that your friend did not have, but my perspective on the greatness on the new album was never on the band itself, but rather I saw it as a band, who I knew little about, who was around back when black metal was only two things (that being a primitive successor to speed metal and a romantic alternative to commercial death metal) returning and making something that captured all the spirit from that era.  That band's name that appeared on the album didn't mean much to me other than the praise they got here.  I should be ashamed not to have been into such a brilliant band earlier.

[Forza Romana]

I may be skipping ahead here but a recent album for this year is Aiumeen Basoa from the Basque country. Yes, I love the Basques but this new  album, Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik, has some much magic. They were on a three way split entitled Triarchy  of Vasconia in 2001.

They have return after nine years and really are impressive. I highly recommend this new album.

[David_Brent]

I might have overlooked it, but I think nobody here mentioned Thesyre -Résistance. Reminds me a bit of S.U.P. and Killing Joke and easily top 5 for 2009.

[Conservationist]

I might have overlooked it, but I think nobody here mentioned Thesyre -Résistance. Reminds me a bit of S.U.P. and Killing Joke and easily top 5 for 2009.

I'm a bigger fan of Eric Syre than TheSyre. Does this make me a bad person? No, an honest one. He is brilliant; his music is nothing to which I can connect.

[Jim Necroslaughter]

If you enjoyed the Cruciamentum - Convocation of Crawling Chaos demo as reviewed in the Sadistic Metal blog, then the Grave Miasma - Exalted Emanation EP should be of definite interest. I recommend it as one of the finest Death Metal releases of 2009 and a much needed injection of serious occult soundspheres in a burnt out, braindead British scene.

I'm very happy I gave Grave Miasma a try, thanks!

[Conservationist]

Asphyx, Beherit and The Chasm were the year's best. Nothing else was really that essential.

So it is with metal: out of a thousand releases, one is a keeper and the rest while they seem at the time to be important, really don't matter much and you wouldn't seek them out to go back to listen to them

Yet most of the discussion is about the 999 mediocre bands.

I hate "entertainment" and the peasant mentality that goes with it.