VAN DAMNED'S BEST OF 2009

So this was 2009.
And what have you done?
Another year over,
And a new one just begun.

What a year, what a year. The final year of the Aughts (or the Naughts, or the 00s, or the iDecade, or whatever we're calling 'em) saw both the return and demise of some old favorites, the introduction of some new classics, a few glimpses at greatness and enough desultory, bottom-dwelling, gutter-sucking dog-squeeze to fill this list, 10 times over. That's the way it is, though. The wheat, sheep and men separate from their respective chaff, goats and boys, and we're left with a jagged, scattershot representation of the Year in Metal. But unlike years previous, 2009 left no clear winner -- year-end lists are all over the place. I think that's part of the fun of these things: we all like what we like and listen to it when we can. So what did you dig this year? Agree with any of mine? Disagree with any of mine? Holler. We'll do this again in 12 months.

Happy New Year.
Let's hope it's a good one.

(With apologies to J.W.L.)

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10~

Goatwhore
Carving Out the Eyes of God [Amazon]
(Metal Blade)

All bullet belts and spiked gauntlets, Carving is pure American blackened thrash fine-tuned to a blistering, 40-minute riff-fueled assault.

Crucial Crust: "Apocalyptic Havoc" [MP3]



9~

Magrudergrind
Magrudergrind [Amazon]
(Six Weeks Records)

Punky D.C. garage-grind upstarts shock with near-perfect, politically-charged, warts-and-all fury.

Crucial Crust: "Built to Blast"



8~

Anaal Nathrakh
In the Constellation of the Black Widow [Amazon](Candlelight Records)

British blackened grind industrialists deliver 35 minutes of unrelenting ferocity. Vocalist V.I.T.R.I.O.L. performs some seriously operatic acrobatics, lending Constellation some welcome majesty and depth.

Crucial Crust: "In the Constellation of the Black Widow"



7~

Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Agorapocalypse [Amazon]
(Relapse)

Kitchen-sink grind experimentalists introduce actual songcraft to their vulgar, spastic digicore with stunning results.

Crucial Crust: "Timelord Zero (Chronovore)"
Free Download: "Agorapocalypse Now" [MP3]



6~

My Dying Bride
For Lies I Sire [Amazon]
(Peaceville Records)

Manchester doom progenitors reinvent the gothic wheel. Poetic, poignant and sad, For Lies I Sire proves that devastation and gloom can be unbearably beautiful.

Crucial Crust: "My Body, A Funeral"



5~

Isis
Wavering Radiant [Amazon]
(Ipecac)

Epic, nuanced, emotive, Radiant is Isis' heaviest and most-cohesive missive to date. Tool's Adam Jones lends some leaden tonality to an already crushing sound. Too bad this might be their last: Isis finally hit the grand-slam of their career.

Crucial Crust: "Hall of the Dead"



4~

Velvet Cacoon
P aa opal Poere Pr. 33 [Amazon]
(Starlight Temple Society)

The sonic equivalent of Cascadian snowdrifts and thunderstorms, Portland's Velvet Cacoon enter another black ambient masterpiece in their mysterious – and controversial – oeuvre.

Crucial Crust: "2"



3~

Code
Resplendent Grotesque [Amazon]
(Tabu Records)

UK-by-way-of-Norway collective beats Opeth at their own game. Progressive, experimental blackness with dramatic clean singing, acoustic passages, gang chants, jackhammer D-beats, labyrinthine melodies and dissonant chordage. Thrilling.

Crucial Crust: "The Rattle of Black Teeth"



2~

Coalesce
Ox [Amazon]
(Relapse)

Part mathcore freakfest, part corn-fed, Pentecostal tent revivalism, Ox is Coalesce's triumphal return to hardcore supremacy. Worth the 10-year wait? You bet.

Crucial Crust: "Wild Ox Moan" [MP3]



1~

Converge
Axe To Fall [Amazon]
(Deathwish Inc.)

Some things you may not know about the members of Converge: guitarist Kurt Ballou was an aerospace engineer, singer Jacob Bannon has been nominated for "World's Sexiest Vegetarian," drummer Ben Koller is an amateur poker champion and bassist Nate Newton wears a mustache un-ironically. They whip each other with belts before going on stage. None smoke and only one drinks occasionally.

Sounds like a bunch of nerds, right? They are.

But 20 years into a career that's landed them mountains of critical and commercial acclaim, legions of zealous devotees and hosts of copy-cat bands who've made their careers ripping off Converge's signature sound, these four nerds from Salem, Mass., have created not only their best album, but also album of the year.

Lightning-fast and raw-throated, Axe's skeleton is hardcore to the marrow. But by coloring the record with post-everything experimental swaths, shovelfuls of doom and sludge and flourishes of synths and acoustics, Converge have expanded traditional metallic hardcore's palette yet again. And with members of such luminary groups as Cave In, Entombed, Neurosis, Genghis Tron and the Red Chord lending aid, Axe to Fall is a rich, innovative and rewarding listen.

Crucial Crust: "Dark Horse," [MP3] "Reap What You Sow," "Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast"

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Honorable Mentions, Notable Releases and Other Sundry Items

Ancestors - Of Sound Mind (Tee Pee): LA psych-doom troupe go epic, show Kyuss some love.
Funeral Mist - Maranatha (Ajna): Marduk frontman's black metal bad acid trip.
Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye (Tee Pee): Young Austin thrashers do 'core, real hard. Real talk.
Skagos - Ást (Eternal Warfare): BC atavists show hungry Wolves true meaning of Cascadian black metal.

Nachtmystium - Doomsday Derelicts EP (Battle Kommand)
Coalesce - OXEP (Relapse)
Pelican - Ephemeral EP (Southern Lord)
Atakke - Avalanche EP (Mountains of Madness)

- Top Two "Holy, Shit! I Can't Believe What I'm Seeing" Reunion Shows (Tie):
Pentagram (July 6, Emo's, w/ Nachtmystium, Outlaw Order, Wolves in the Throne Room) & Eyehategod (May 24, Red 7 w/ Harvey Milk; Nov. 6, Emo's - also met Pantera's Rex Brown that night. Boo yah.)

- The New York Times goes metal: Hideous Gnosis, "Two Bands, A Million Decibels," "Repetitive Guitar Strums Rooted in Metal but Not Confined by It," "One Band Moves Its Metal Out of Iraq."

- Until the Light Takes Us
- Such Hawks Such Hounds: Scenes From the American Hard Rock Underground

- Decibel magazine's Precious Metal: The Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
- Arik Roper's Mushroom Magick

- Anything written by Cosmo Lee, J. Bennett or Brandon Stosuy this year.
- Anything illustrated by Justin Bartlett, Arik Roper, Seldon Hunt, Funeral French, Florian Bertmer or John Baizley this year.