Top Ten Albums Of 2009
 
ALEXI VARLEY
Mastodon - Crack The Skye Mastodon continue to excel their previous release with a mammoth offering that reveals more colours with each listen. Crack The Skye has a unique aura which means the album will be championed for years rather than months.
   
Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West Strange Cousins From The West sees Clutch continue to make some of the most honest music around. Every track is a classic and has not left my stereo since its release.
   
Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow

This album is pure misanthropy on a disc. It contains, without a doubt, the ten most terrifying songs of 2009 and is not for the faint hearted.
   
Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest Nile are a band that can be relied upon to release quality records. Those Whom The Gods Detest is no different with a vicious offering of flawless technical Death Metal.
   
Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know This slow paced monolith of an album is testimony to the fact that Dio should be regarded as an essential part of Black Sabbath. The album also contains some of the best material these musicians have written such as the melancholy ‘Bible Black.’
   
Dream Theater - Black Clouds And Silver Linings Since signing to Roadrunner Records Dream Theater have gone from strength to strength. Black Clouds.. is proof of this with an adventurous, mesmerising effort which has countless layers of technical brilliance.
   
Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos The best Thrash record of 2009. This album has opened many new gateways for the band balancing brutality and melody effortlessly.
   
Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive Massive Aggressive sees a more mature area being reached for the new crossover kings. This however doesn’t compromise on the band’s key ethics and can be enjoyed by everyone from Punks to Thrashers.
   
Megadeth - Endgame Created perhaps purely for headbanging this is the best record Megadeth have made for years. Unlike previous outings, Endgame has a staying power which will please the classic Megadeth era fans.
   
Immortal - All Shall Fall Reunion’s can turn out to be disastrous and so Immortal had something to prove with their comeback effort. Luckily, All Shall Fall lives up to expectations and proves the band still deserve to be seen as leaders of the Black Metal genre.
 

MATTHEW GERRARD

A year crammed with releases and comebacks 2009 has been one of metals finest. If this year was anything to go by roll on 2010!
 
Kreator - Hordes of chaos Following 2005’s ‘Enemy Of God’, was no mean task yet German thrash titans Kreator return with another mind blowing performance. With an unique recording method the band fully manage to capture all the intensity of their live shows and deliver one of the stongest albums of their career.
   
 Mastodon - Crack The Skye A band never afraid to experiment, Mastodon’s latest album shows a more mellow side to the group. As ever a strong concept guides the album and allows the band to show their virtuosity to its full extent, creating their best offering to date.
   
Gamma Bomb - Tales From The Grave In Space Packed with furious riffs, this album is a full on audio assault. From the opener ‘Slam Anthem’ it’s clear this band have an intensity rivalled by few and a genuine love for the music they play.
   
Municipal Waste - Massive aggressive Here we see a band truly in their prime. With success after success and a reputation for constantly delivering the goods Municipal Waste now have the metal world at their feet with this fantastic new album.
   
Megadeth – Endgame From the opening its obvious this album is something special. A welcome return to form, ‘Endgame’ gives the impression with this line up there’s no stopping Dave and co. From storming their way to even greater success.
   
Slayer- World painted blood Always unwilling to compromise Slayer return with another classic. World Painted blood shows a band undiminished and unwilling to throw in the towel. A Furious tirade of riffs and solos make this album one of their best in years.
   
Judas Priest - A touch of evil A band that needs no introduction, Priest cannot fail to deliver. And so it is with ‘A touch of evil’. Harnessing their full power the legends create one of the finest live recordings ever and make the it feel like you are in the crowd screaming with vengence.
   
Evile - Infected nations After their astonishing debut Evile build on their success with this  new album and show that they can be technical whilst not compromising on their own unique sound. An album packed with energy and a tenacity rivalled by few this is without doubt one of the best thrash albums of the year.
   
Die apokalyptischen reiter – Adrenalin With a storming UK debut at BOA ’09 leaving no-one doubting this bands ability to entertain and perform live it seems fitting that they capture that magic on disk. ‘Adrenalin’ delivers this in spades.
   
Rammstein - Liebe Ist Für Alle Da With a return to their older style Rammstein deliver an album which leaves fans and newcomers alike unable to deny their power and ability.