Provided my memory is still relatively intact 50 years from now, I imagine that when I look back at a lifetime’s worth of music consumption 2009 will best be characterized as The Year My Tastes Finally Narrowed. Up until now – for the past 20 years, actually – I’ve strived, often with some difficulty, to listen to the widest possible variety of music I could expose my ears to. (A glace at this site’s archives confirms this.) Few genres or styles were off-limits and my tastes were generally dictated by commonplace variables: mood, weather, time of day or year. I used to get a kick out of creating cryptically thematic playlists that incorporated songs from Cocteau Twins to Caetano Veloso, Satyricon to Sadat X, with Andrew Hill in the middle there somewhere.
It’s probably a good thing that I officially eased Floodwatchmusic into a state of semi-retirement a year ago, because I could have never predicted that my personal life in 2009 would be as wild as it turned out to be. When the year began I was slogging through 15-hour workdays to make ends meet. Over the course of the next twelve months I became a father, sold my house, quit my job, and packed and moved my family 800 miles away from New England, which had been my home for the past eight years. Sadly, the little corner of the Internet known as floodwatchmusic.com didn’t stand a chance at getting any attention from its curator. Yet even if I had been contributing here, its doubtful I would have been able to come up with anything possessing a modicum of depth or substance. I hardly listened to any new jazz, contented with my usual explorations of late-60s Blue Notes, the bottomless discography of Sun Ra, and the occasional Concord or Impulse! reissue. After years of desperation, I finally gave up on resuscitating the corpse of contemporary hip hop and concluded with a sad sobriety that it’s just not my thing anymore. “Indie” rock? Please. The endless range of sub-genres falling under the “electronic” banner? Yawn. Old soul and funk records provided a welcome solace every once in a while this past summer, but I hardly ventured outside of my familiar standards.
Metal was and currently remains really the only thing that excites me anymore. I spent week after week of 2009 delving into and rediscovering “classic” catalogs that I had up until then only skimmed the surface of: Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Atheist. I anticipated release dates, scoured for online interviews, transcribed songs, talked shop and/or shit on message boards, and curled up in bed with the latest issues of Decibel. I’m still not sure what prompted this sea change in my tastes – I’d always expected them to soften with age or (especially) fatherhood – but one can’t account for even their own, I suppose. And truth be told, I’m satisfied with where I’ve landed, despite my wife’s eye-rolling chagrin at times.
While it was a better year for metal than recent years past, 20 top picks seemed like too many; conversely, ten would have been unfulfilling. So here are my top 15, with a .zip file of all the audio tracks at the bottom.
15. Skeletonwitch
Breathing the Fire
Prosthetic 2009
Third time’s the charm, as they say. I’d been waiting for Skeletonwitch to fulfill the potential displayed on previous full-lengths At One with the Shadows (2004) and Beyond the Permafrost (2007), and Breathing the Fire (2009) finally lives up to its undeniably badass cover art, which has become a well-established tradition by this stage. I feel compelled to note that I’m not a subscriber to the popular NWOTHM movement (of which Skeletonwitch have unwittingly become the poster children for), generally content to revisit a classic like, say, Dark Angel’s Darkness Descends (1986) whenever I get the occasional fix, but when taken for what it is – incredibly tasty ear candy, as far as I’m concerned – Breathing the Fire serves its purpose admirably. Jack Endino’s (remember him?) production is a refreshing change of pace from the overcompressed sterility of most metal releases these days: dry but not trebly and emphasizing clarity over volume. It remains to been seen whether or not this record will have any longevity to it – Permafrost had a pretty short shelf life for me – but for now I’m enjoying the hell out of it.
“The Despoiler of Human Life” – Skeletonwitch 2:24 (Breathing the Fire, Prosthetic 2009)
14. Ulcerate
Everything Is Fire
Willowtip 2009
What a dismissive snot I was when I first heard Everything Is Fire (2009). There I was listening intently, stroking my chin in between sips of chamomile tea, and all I could respond with was a faux-authoritative “Sorry gents, but I believe a little band called Gorguts already beat you at this game over a decade ago. Ever heard of them?” Something kept calling me back to Ulcerate’s brand of hyperkinetic chaos-in-motion, however, and a dozen listens later I was chastising my kneejerk indifference to this marvelous record. I’m sure someone’s already penned some absurd descriptor like “thinking man’s metal” for the jagged monuments of dissonance here, but Everything Is Fire impedes sound, cognitive thinking and instead leaves the average listener in a dumbfounded state of shock, wondering how such music could be capable of inflicting actual bodily harm. Why do I pretend that I don’t fawn over shit like this?
“Withered and Obsolete” – Ulcerate 6:11 (Everything Is Fire, Prosthetic 2009)
13. Saros
Acrid Plains
Profound Lore 2009
I love it when debuts sound so effortlessly accomplished that they feel like swan songs. San Francisco quartet Saros’ Acrid Plains (2009) is one of those records, which was introduced to me by an enthusiastic Cosmo over at Invisible Oranges. Led by guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf, Saros play a kind of progressive death with subtle black and thrash metal flavors, eschewing flash and fire for mood and structure (much like fellow Bay Area outfit Ludicra). Which isn’t to say that they’re not technically accomplished: the songwriting clearly reflects Abdul-Rauf’s formal training in composition, the leads (shared with guitarist Ben Aguilar) are strong and brimming with confidence, and drummer Blood Eagle contributes a tastefully restrained performance. I’d prefer the production to have a little more bite to it, but that’s a minor quibble and a forgotten one when traversing the breadth of epics like “The Sky Will End Soon” and “Coriolis.” Highlight: the chilling acoustic chamber piece “As The Tyrant Falls Ill (Reprise)” was a complete curveball and sold me on Acrid Plains instantly.
“Devouring Conscience” – Saros 5:30 (Acrid Plains, Profound Lore 2009)
12. Napalm Death
Time Waits for No Slave
Century Media 2009
The Napalm Death institution has been in a sort of stylistic holding pattern since 2000’s career-resuscitating Enemy of the Music Business, and Time Waits for No Slave (2009) is hardly an about-face at this juncture. But I suppose if you’re going to stagnate, this is the way to do it: running through cycles of vicious hardcore riffs at a seething, unrelenting intensity with nary a moment of relief in sight. Sure, it can be a bit much by track twelve or so, but how many other musicians in their forties are putting out records like this? (As an aside, it is absolutely criminal that Danny Herrera isn’t widely recognized as one of the premier metal drummers of the past quarter-century.) Don’t forget to breathe between tracks.
“Work to Rule” – Napalm Death 3:17 (Time Waits for No Slave, Century Media 2009)
11. Gorgoroth
Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt
Regain 2009
What a surprise this one was. I’ve never been a fan of Gorgoroth’s, chiefly due to their cheap notoriety and (now ex-vocalist/buffoon) Gaahl’s ass-clownery, to say nothing of an endless string of mediocre releases that barely cracked the half-hour mark each. But with vocalist Pest back into the fold and Infernus regaining his stunning compositional gifts, Quantos Possunt (2009) was hard to overlook. To these ears the guitar work is immediately reminiscent of prime-era Dissection, so I was sold on this one almost instantly. Well, that and the fact that there’s no longer a member of the band credited as “King ov Hell.” Honestly, Quantos was completely unexpected and probably 2009’s biggest eye-opener for me.
“New Breed” – Gorgoroth 5:29 (Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt, Regain 2009)
10. Behemoth
Evangelion
Nuclear Blast 2009
The appeal of Evangelion (2009), like most of Behemoth’s post-millennial output, firmly adheres to one of the time-honored George Costanza principles: “I like things I don’t have to think too much about.” It’s catchy as hell, bursting with thunderous stop-start riffing, passages of hyper-tremelo’ed madness, shout-along choruses, and machine-gun blastbeats. It’s flawlessly executed – Inferno’s drumming remains impossible to fathom – and could only be a product of today’s high-tech digital recording environment. It attacks relentlessly and from every angle with a beefy, keep-the-levels-in-the-red mixing job from the legendary Colin Richardson. In short, it’s the epitome of metal excess, and most elitists will rightfully snub their collective noses at it. Meanwhile, I’ll be utilizing Evangelion to carelessly push the limits of any nearby speakers, all the while making a face akin to catching a whiff of moldy cheese and nodding my head senselessly.
“Transmigrating Beyond Realms ov Amenti” – Behemoth 3:28 (Evangelion, Nuclear Blast 2009)
9. Tribulation
The Horror
Pulverised 2009
“Derivative,” “unoriginal,” “formulaic garbage,” blah, blah, blah. I heard the criticisms and I still couldn’t be bothered. While Sweden’s Tribulation admittedly gets zero points for originality, I can’t deny the tingling sensation that inches its way down my spine once The Horror (2009) throttles into full gear. I probably had more fun listening to this half-hour melodeath shitstorm than any other record this past year. Feast on its delights: meaty riffs that tear flesh from bone, masturbatory solos that incorporate everything from 32nd notes to two-finger tapping, blasphemous lyrics of the utmost filth, and cavernous drums that sounded like they were recorded during the Wolverine Blues (1993) sessions, each cymbal choke knocking the wind out of you. Is it too early to demand an immediate follow-up from these guys?
“Beyond the Horror” – Tribulation 3:53 (Tribulation, Pulverised 2009)
8. Suffocation
Blood Oath
Nuclear Blast 2009
My ticket may read Suffocation: Blood Oath (2009), but it might as well be a front row seat to The Terrance Hobbs Show, as far as I’m concerned. Nothing against longtime vocalist Frank Mullen or the airtight rhythm section of Mike Smith (drums) and Derek Boyer (bass), but for my money Suffocation has always been about Hobbs and whoever happens to be playing guitar with him – Guy Marchais, in this case (original guitarist Doug Cerrito held it down for Suffo v1.0 in the ‘90s). Seriously, just listen to these guitars. Violently sparring with each other in dexterous discordance one second, scraping the intestines of hell with riffs of dripping sludge the next. I actually have a piece of scrap paper around here somewhere with scrawls like “#7, 0:47” and “#5, 3:16” that a passing eye might mistake for random Bible passages, but are actually “riff reminders” for this record. Blood Oath includes yet another re-recorded cut from Breeding the Spawn (1993) (“Marital Decimation”), presumably not for a lack of ideas but to show the linearity in a career that’s nearing two decades now. Not to be the incessant compared-to-past-work guy, but this is the group’s finest moment since Pierced from Within (1995) – and if that album stomped your ass to a pulp years ago like it did mine, you’ll find plenty to like here.
“Images of Purgatory” – Suffocation 3:28 (Blood Oath, Nuclear Blast 2009)
7. Cobalt
Gin
Profound Lore 2009
No other metal label is experiencing such a winning streak at the moment like Canada’s Profound Lore. In fact, I was slightly nervous that this year’s best-of would read like little more than a label roll-call: Krallice, Hammers of Misfortune, Portal, the aforementioned Saros, YOB, and Nadja, among others. Their shining star at the moment, however, is Colorado duo Cobalt, who are already topping year-end lists with Gin (2009), one of the more bizarre offerings the metalsphere has seen in quite a while. Billed as “war metal” and sporting a sepia-toned Ernest Hemingway on its cover (to whom the record is dedicated), Gin is extreme metal at is most violent, malicious, and sexually perverse. As the story goes, multi-instrumentalist Erik Wunder wrote, arranged, and recorded Gin while vocalist Phil McSorley was completing tours as an Army sergeant in Korea and Iraq, recording his contributions during his brief stints on leave. Miraculously, there is no trace of the tired and hopelessly-clichéd black metal bedroom auteur here, but instead a fully-formed, ravenous beast of a record that demands multiple listens for any hope of penetrating its thick skin. An appearance by Jarboe halfway through “Pregnant Insect” is fitting for the proceedings, moaning a reprise of “Mother/Father” from Swans’ The Great Annihilator (1995) – a clear influence on Cobalt’s direction, along with the odd-signatured tribal rhythms of Tool and the moody dirges of Neurosis. Gin’s opacity is almost too much to digest in one sitting, but then again, comfort is far from its intent. There were better records this year, sure, but none of them left me as uneasy as this one.
“Dry Body” – Cobalt 8:58 (Gin, Profound Lore 2009)
6. Nile
Those Whom the Gods Detest
Nuclear Blast 2009
And to think that I’d all but given up on Nile after the disappointing (and sadly, liner note-free) Ithyphallic (2007). But I picked up Those Whom the Gods Detest (2009) at Earshot Records in Greenville, SC one day this past fall for three reasons: 1) I saw a poster for an upcoming in-store autograph appearance, which reminded me of the new release, 2) I’d read online somewhere that it was a fine “return to form,” and 3) the disc was on sale and nothing else was piquing my interest. It wasn’t until track five, the immense “4th Arra of Dagon,” which mops the fucking floor with any sludge/doom band in recent memory, that I realized the stars had finally aligned and I was in the presence of greatness. Hell, at the risk of blasphemy I’m willing to call it Nile’s finest outing to date, surpassing their near-perfect masterwork Annihilation of the Wicked (2005) because the production is infinitely better, the riffs and songwriting never falter, and drummer George Kollias is now a monstrous force to be reckoned with (the album’s opening blast beat is a reputed 280 beats per minute). “Novelty act,” my ass.
“4th Arra of Dagon” – Nile 8:40 (Those Whom the Gods Detest, Nuclear Blast 2009)
5. Drudkh
Microcosmos
Season of Mist 2009
Seven full-lengths into their calling and Drudkh’s allure remains as beautiful and mysterious as always. (There’s still no official website for the band, they refuse to publish their lyrics [taken from the works of various Ukrainian poets] or give interviews, and most of their discography is near-impossible to acquire affordably.) The bulk of Microcosmos (2009) is comprised of four ten-minute monoliths and should hardly be a surprise to any longtime follower of the band, which in turn means that it will likely bore the hell out of unsuspecting newcomers, who will either recoil at its warm intimacy or stand bewildered at its vast expanses. It’s difficult to pinpoint what draws me to Drudkh’s class of pagan black metal: it could be the endlessly swirling textures, the unexpected major keys, its unassuming candor, the transcendent repetition, or perhaps a combination of any of the above. Maybe it’s the fact that Drudkh seem to be completely unaware of the present; Microcosmos sounds like it could have been performed and recorded at any point in the last twenty years. Call them timeless, peerless, or simply clueless. Personally, I found few things more satisfying this past autumn than waiting for a late afternoon with overcast skies, grabbing my headphones, and losing myself in this album.
“Ars Poetica” – Drudkh 9:48 (Microcosmos, Season of Mist 2009)
4. Immortal
All Shall Fall
Nuclear Blast 2009
In theory, all should have fell in the Immortal camp. I thought 2002’s Sons of Northern Darkness was a fitting conclusion to Immortal’s legacy, so when rumors began circulating last year about another entry in their catalogue, I shook my head in dismay (I found Between Two Worlds [2006], Abbath’s side project under the moniker I, to be a mild disappointment). Yet once the massive guitars on All Shall Fall’s (2009) opening salvo roared from my speakers all doubts were instantly quelled, and by the 2:50 mark I was giggling out loud in ecstasy. “Arctic Swarm”? “The Rise of Darkness”? The expectations haven’t changed and neither has the artillery: layers of flesh-searing guitars which slash and burn across the frozen tundra, exhilarating drum work from Horgh so precise you could set your watch to it, and Abbath’s usual croaks about Blashyrkh, Nordic battles, and the like. All hail. Nonbelievers can show themselves the way out to the gallows.
“All Shall Fall” – Immortal 5:58 (All Shall Fall, Nuclear Blast 2009)
3. Converge
Axe to Fall
Epitaph 2009
When was the last time the opening track – hell, the entire first half of a record – was this flat-out astonishing? “Dark Horse” is about as perfect as three minutes have ever been able to encompass, and the rest of Axe to Fall (2009) ain’t half-bad either, trust me. It wasn’t until sometime around “Wishing Well” that I was able to regain the power of speech upon first hearing this record, shocked into silence by Converge’s dizzying intensity – specifically, Ben Koller’s drumming, which could trigger natural disasters on a national scale if utilized properly. I was initially put off by the guest list and the much-publicized “collaborative” nature of the album, but the appearances (by members of Cave In, Genghis Tron, Steve von Till from Neurosis, et al) are skillfully incorporated into the songwriting without sacrificing the flow of the album (and are mostly saved for the end). And granted, I’ll hardly be the first in line to support those two experimental closing tracks, which effectively grind the machine to an abrupt and somewhat unwelcome halt, but I’ll readily give the band credit for trying something different – and the first 11 tracks are so mind blowing that I’ve more or less been numbed into ecstasy by that point anyway. Despite an overwhelming tidal wave of hype, Axe to Fall didn’t disappoint in the slightest.
“Dark Horse” – Converge 2:55 (Axe to Fall, Epitaph 2009)
2. The Chasm
Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm
Lux Inframundis 2009
Is there a contemporary metal outfit more underrated than The Chasm? These Chicagoans-by-way-of-Mexico have been gathering quite the cult following since their inception over fifteen years ago, and for good reason: they’re jaw-droppingly phenomenal. Since the turn of the decade the trio’s thrash/death hybrid has gradually been integrated into labyrinthine song structures with prog tendencies that nearly reach levels of absurdity in their scope and complexity; hell, over half of the cuts on Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm (2009) are instrumental. Recorded with a loose, raw ferocity that eschews today’s rampant and near-ubiquitous Pro-Tools precision for actual human feeling, this is metal of the highest caliber, at its purest, most distilled essence: no soaring clean vocals, fluffy keyboards, or bullshit slam breakdowns mid-song. Countless listens later and I can still disappear inside this record. Find a fault with it, I dare you. (Well, other than the fact that it’s currently out of print, with no known repressing date; check the band’s site for updates.)
“Entering a Superior Dimension” – The Chasm 8:25 (Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm, Lux Inframundis 2009)
1. Blut aus Nord
Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars
Candlelight 2009
I’ve been sitting here in front of my keyboard for twenty minutes now trying to find a way to even begin describing this record. “Masterpiece” almost sounds laughable, a joyless understatement. When recommending it to a friend this past spring I told him Memoria Vetusta II (2009) was “like watching the end of the world explode into violent bursts of kaleidoscopic color instead of fire and rock,” which is evidently still the best quotable I can come up with; further attempts tend to involve more trite apocalyptic references, lame supernatural allusions, cosmic phenomena and other arcane shit that sounds impressive but I ultimately have little or no knowledge of. So here are the basics, for those who need them. Blut aus Nord are, loosely put, a reclusive French black metal band. In their fifteen-year existence they’ve released half a dozen full-lengths that, up until now, have grown progressively weirder and more avant-garde; many listeners have deemed past albums such as The Work Which Transforms God (2003) and especially MoRT (2006) as “industrial noise” and more or less unlistenable. Back in 1996 the band released Memoria Vetusta I – Fathers of the Icy Age, a much tamer beast in comparison and which has become a kind of sleeper black metal classic. Dialogue with the Stars is that record’s intended successor, and after a decade of highly-dissonant, free-form chaos that pushed boundaries and conventions alike, no one knew what to expect prior to its release this past February.
Memoria Vetusta II cycles through nine tracks in little under an hour. There are no live drums, only a programmed machine, and there is no way around it. The vocals are unintelligible. There is no lyric sheet. Half of the tracks push the ten-minute mark. Passages of head-spinning dissonance collide with soaring melodic leads, clusters of harmonic tension suddenly release into expansive diatonic vistas. Sephardic and Eastern-European folk scales are incorporated into thick atmospheric textures where notes and rhythms blend into a tapestry of sound so rich you could almost run your fingertips through it. Musically, the whole thing is fucking breathtaking. As far as black metal goes it has no peers – perhaps Emperor’s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997) could be argued as similar company, though its aggression sounds terrestrial and brutish when viewed alongside Memoria Vetusta II’s graceful and elegiac majesty.
This is the best music I’ve heard in years – superseding anything on any year-end list you’ll find on this site – and it couldn’t have made its appearance at a more fitting time in my personal life. It’s also clearly not for everyone, but I’m the last person you’ll find adopting a stance of self-righteous condescension, claiming that Memoria Vetusta II possesses that fleeting, indefinable quality that some will “get” while others, well, I’ll generously reserve some pity for. I listened to this album and little else religiously for nearly four months straight and I’m no closer to “getting” it than when I first heard it, though if pressed I could provide my own rambling, scatterbrained theories derived from the various time-signature patterns, modes, scales, and even the Vedic undertones in the song titles. In the end it boils down to raw emotion, and I confess, somewhat sheepishly and well aware of the risk of absurdity, that I’ve actually wept while listening to Memoria Vetusta II on more than one occasion. That an album classified under the umbrella of “avant-garde black metal” could bring me to tears is either an undeniable testament to its awesome power or a telltale indication of an unstable and deteriorating emotional state. I’m hoping it’s the former.
“The Formless Sphere (Beyond the Reason)” – Blut aus Nord 9:28 (Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars, Candlelight 2009)
Download all:
Floodwatchmusic.com Best of 2009 97:46 (.zip – 79.65 MB at 128 kbps)
