Metal Awards

Kyle's Top 15 albums of 2009

  1. The Stone - Umro
    Every year there comes along an album that is unquestionably the album of the year, bar none. Last year it was Equilibrium's masterpiece Sagas; this year, it's Umro, a near-perfect piece of black metal from Serbia's highly underrated black metallers, The Stone. It may not seem like much to rave about on the surface, but just give it a chance; Once the amazing songwriting and sublteties in the music hit home, you'll know you have a winner.
  2. Gorod - Process Of A New Decline
    Sorry, Necrophagist! Gorod has officially released the tech death album of the decade with Process Of A New Decline. The perfect production, extremely tight musicianship, and spectacular and diverse soundwriting combine to make an album that ALL death metal fans must pick up.
  3. Ensiferum - From Afar
    A miraculous recovery from one of the best folk metal bands in all the land! Stay away from that dreadful new Korpiklaani album; if you want truly epic folk metal, than look no further than From Afar.
  4. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
    While not as good as Colors in my opinion, The Great Misdirect is a case of growing maturity from a band that was already stellar in the first place. Come on, BTBAM, bring on masterpiece number three and create a new unholy trinity in metal albums!
  5. Heavenly - Carpe Diem
    Heavenly took a very bold and risky step this year. With Carpe Diem, they ventured almost further into progressive / operatic rock than into the form of speedy, bombastic power metal they are so well known and highly regarded for. But I'll be damned if they didn't pull it off in grand style! Carpe Diem will certainly divide Heavenly fans into two camps (those who love the album and those who loathe it), but I certainly fall into the "Love it" category.
  6. Celesty - Vendetta
    An absolutely stunning album from a band that was little more than average on previous releases, Vendetta is a HUGE step in the right direction for Celesty. Big melodies, epic orchestrations, and overall better songwriting made a believer out of me; if you were uninterested in Celesty before (as I was), then give this a shot. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
  7. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
    Don't get me wrong; Mastodon has always been a good band, but nowhere near worthy enough of the mounds of praise they receive. Until now. Crack The Skye is THE biggest album of the band's career, and could very likely end up being a future progressive metal classic. The music is dreamy and as large in scope as the album's concept and, though I can hardly believe it, lived up to every bit of the hype behind it.
  8. Skeletonwitch - Breathing The Fire
    On first listen, Breathing The Fire came across as a fairly bland modern thrash album... but God, is it a grower! I think my original score of 89 wasn't quite generous enough; now that I've listened to it more, I think it probably deserves around a 91 or so. Skeletonwitch has now placed themselves very high on my radar with their vaguely blackened form of thrash, and I'm waiting with bated breath to hear what they have to offer next.
  9. Kreator - Hordes of Chaos
    I know that most people are saying that Hordes Of Chaos isn't as good as Enemy Of God or Violent Revolution, but I personally didn't like either of those albums too well. Hordes Of Chaos, on the other hand, is a truly great album from my favorite thrash metal band, with an undeniably old-school feel and production. This is my favorite Kreator album since Coma Of Souls. There be life in this old dog yet!
  10. Hellwitch - Omnipotent Convocation
    Hardly any band can remain inactive for nearly twenty years between two albums, but nobody told Hellwitch! Without losing an ounce of intensity, Omnipotent Convocation revives a long dead band, and simultaneously creates one of the best thrash / death hybrids of the decade.
  11. Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
    Admittedly, I haven't listened to Dream Theater's latest nearly enough, but I don't need to give it ten-plus spins to know that this one's a keeper. This is easily one of Dream Theater's best albums of the 00's, and honestly, I can't remember when I was more excited about the band.
  12. Skyfire - Esoteric
    Skyfire returns from a five year absence, and amazingly, they've hardly ever sounded better! The production is a bit weak, but other than that, Esoteric is a fantasic melodeath album, and undoubtedly my favorite in the genre for this year.
  13. Epica - Design Your Universe
    I wasn't too wild over Epica before now, but Design Your Universe definitely made me a fan! Design Your Universe is far more diverse and more aggressive than anything the band has done before, and will surely be regarded as one of their best albums in the future.
  14. Immortal - All Shall Fall
    Truth be told, All Shall Fall was a pretty big letdown, but there's no way that Immortal could've topped Sons Of Northern Darkness (Or met my massive expectations) after a seven year absence from the scene. But The production is wonderful and crisp, the songs are very memorable, and it just feels great to have my favorite black metal band back in action.
  15. Axxis - Utopia
    After going through sort-of a musical mid-life crisis in the 90's, Axxis has returned to top form in the 00's and proved that things truly do get better with age. Utopia may not be quite as good as 2007's Doom Of Destiny, but all the same, this could very well be the most consistent album of the band's career.
Kyle's Top 5 surprises of 2009

  1. Stratovarius - Polaris
    So I had NO idea that Stratovarius was even together again until after the release of Polaris. One day I went onto Metal Archives to read fan reviews of Destiny, and to my HUGE surprise I found Polaris listed at the bottom; and it had just been released that week, too. Needless to say I checked the album out instantly, and was blown away by the amazing return to form Stratovarius had exhibited. This nearly made it onto the top 15 albums of the year list, but no matter; the biggest surprise of the year is also a very high honor indeed.
  2. Wine From Tears - Through The Eyes Of A Mad
    Amazingly enough, Through The Eyes Of A Mad now holds the honor as being the very first doom metal album I've ever listened to. I've never been too interested in what I once viewed as a rather boring genre as a whole, but Wine From Tears has shown me that doom music can be SO much more if you invest the time to dig into and absorb the music. Sorrowful, beautiful, and intriguing, Through The Eyes Of A Mad is a must listen for all doom metal fans.
  3. Dethklok - Dethalbum II
    This one is a surprise simply because I thought it was going to suck. Badly. On first listen, this seemed even worse than the original lackluster Dethalbum, but on further listens, Dethalbum II proved it be an extremely competent melodic death release with some truly epic songs. This definitely isn't for everyone, but there's just something about it that I love.
  4. Future Is Tomorrow - Fit To Die
    Very, very stylish power / prog metal that has surprisingly good production for being a debut album from an unsigned band. The music is simplistic, yet at the same time somewhat innovative, and you'll find yourself listening to Fit To Die again and again.
  5. Revocation - Existence Is Futile
    Could this be the next big thing in progressive technical thrash? It's not impossible, and while Revocation is certainly no Atheist (yet), they have much room to grow and improve in the future. But really, guys... PLEASE get a new vocalist.
Kyle's Disappointment(s) of 2009

  1. Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays
    I can respect Sonata Arctica's shift in sound well enough, but even still, The Days Of Grays simply isn't a very good album. I even liked Unia better than this for some reason. The music just seems far too tired, as if the band is on its last legs, and I honestly can't remember much about the album at all aside from couple of barely above average songs. This comes in as the biggest disappointment of the year simply beause SA misleadingly released the two best songs on the album (The Last Amazing Grays and Flag In The Ground) before the album itself went into stores; very misleading, indeed. I HATE it when bands do this.
  2. Evile - Infected Nations
    A very, very boring album from a band that had a very promising debut under their belt. Aside from one song (the title track), the music is EXTREMELY forgettable; after listening to Infect Nations all the way through, I honestly could not remember a single riff other than the excellent ones in the aforementioned song. It's a shame that this had to be Mike Alexander's last album, as it sure isn't a very good one.
  3. Korpiklaani - Karkelo
    Whether or not signing to Nuclear Blast was the cause for Korpikaani's unfortunate change in sound is debatable, but the fact still remains that the band just isn't very fun to listen to anymore. There's still a very good chance for 'Klaani to regain their former glory, but Karkelo will unfortunately live forever as a black spot on the record of a band that has always been rather consistent.

  4. This album just isn't very entertaining. Fire Up The Blades was my favorite 3IB release thus far, and I was hoping for big things from their follow up; who knew that signing AWAY from Roadrunner Records would make for a poor album?
  5. Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)
    16.6 isn't a bad album by any means, and it's about the best I can hope for from a modern Primal Fear album. Still... I was really, really hoping for Nuclear Fire II with this one... There's always next time, I suppose...
Kyle's Joke(s) 2009
  1. Helloween - Unarmed - Best-of Twenty Fifth Anniversary
    Burn this shit.
Kyle's words about 2009
  1. Though I've been a metal fan for a few years now, I will always remember 2009 as the year I really, truly got into the genre. I fleshed out my metal knowledge by delving into both the black and death metal genres, discovering classics that I really should've listened to earlier, and also new bands that keep me in the modern metal loop. I also explored deeper into my old favorites of the genre (power and thrash metal) and gained a newfound appreciation for bands that I had never really cared for beforehand. In truth, I enjoyed listening to older music in 2009 than I did listening to new music, but all the same, there were some amazing albums released from some of my favorite bands. The year was really a treat for me: I was blessed with new albums from my favorite thrash, power, and black metal bands (Kreator, Heavenly, and Immortal, respectively), and was introduced to new bands that I will follow and enjoy for many years to come (Gorod, Wine From Tears). And of course, I can't not mention my new writing job at Metalreviews.com. Writing for this site is truly an amazing opportunity for me, as it combines my two GREATEST passions (Writing and music). A very big "Thank you" goes out to Chris, Adam, Zadok, Alex, Marty, and anyone else that was responsible for giving me this position, and I hope I can continue to contribute to the site for many years to come. Here's to 2010, to new releases from Dark Tranquility, Darkthrone, Gamma Ray, Coheed & Cambria, Motorhead, and many other favorites of mine (I'm crossing my fingers for new Wintersun!), and to many new surprises that are sure to arrive with the new decade. It oughta be a great one, now that I can focus more on new music rather than catching up with the old! Happy 2010 everyone, - Kyle Albums that just barely missed making the list, in no particular order: Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough Converge - Axe To Fall Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire Megadeth - Endgame Obscura - Cosmogenesis Cobalt - Gin Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave Destroy Destroy Destroy - Battle Sluts Iron Fire - To The Grave Absu - Absu Cain's Offering - Gather The Faithful Asphyx - Death... The Brutal Way While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose