White Board Mafia

So I’ve managed to whittle down my top 5 favorite albums, but I’m still working on those video games! I’m having too much fun with Borderlands and Assassin’s Creed 2 to seriously get down to business, sit down and try to beat them!

Regardless, here’s Boomaga’s Top 5 Albums of 2009…

5. POS – Never Better

Rhymesayers continues to be my favorite label for hip hop. Atmosphere’s “When Life Gives You Lemons…” was one of my favorite albums of 2008 and their trend of excellence continues with POS’ Never Better. You’ll never hear me listen to a Top 40 or rap station on the radio, because 99% of what they play is garbage. However, there is another subsection of hip hop that actually is thoughtful, deep and culturally relevant, and POS’ Never Better is the best example of that sect In 2009. POS is a talented wordsmith, able to write and deliver his lines with flair and creativity and his beats are unique and catchy, letting you bob your head as you think about what he’s saying. As a metal head, the hip hop albums I like are few and far between, so when I say there’s one people should actually pay attention to, you can take it to the bank.

4. Megadeth – Endgame

Megadeth has this strange talent that seems to be exclusive to them. They’re one of the first bands I ever really got into, and unlike other classic metal bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, they always seem to vanish from my attention. Then, out of nowhere, Dave Mustaine and his rotating collection of metal misfits seem to tear their way back into my metal consciousness. They did it in 2004 with the System has Failed and now again in 2009 with Endgame. Their 2007 album seemed kinda weak, but Endgame is short, to the point, heavy, thrashy and amazing. From the opening instrumental to the last few moments, Endgame doesn’t let up for one bit and recalls Megadeth’s finest days in the mid to late 80’s. Not one second of time is wasted in this perfectly executed, concise album, leading me to pop this CD into my car or stereo and listen to it over and over and over. It’s hard to say all of today’s long-time metal acts have what they had 20 years ago. Slayer seems to be writing the same album over and over again, Judas Priest doesn’t know if they want to be like Sabbath or Jethro Tull (Nostradamus, anyone?) but Megadeth still manages to stay fresh while reminding old metal heads why they loved the band in the first place.

3. Lamb of God – Wrath

I love Lamb of God, they are an incredibly energetic live act and their music makes me want to punch some faces. That being said, I can rarely listen to a complete Lamb of God album from start to finish. I have all of their albums but I’ve listened to them the whole way through very little. The reason being is that LoG’s hardest hitting songs are awesome, most of the stuff they play live and the singles are pretty intense and great to listen to. However, some of their deep tracks are pretty weak and everything starts to run together about 5-6 tracks in. Wrath breaks that cycle and delivers a solid metal experience from beginning to end. Each LoG album has its share of great songs, but this may be their first completely great album, despite what its naysayers think.

2. CKY – Carver City

This would be my dark horse. I didn’t really care about CKY prior to 2009, I had heard their older stuff and didn’t give it a second thought. Well, I’m glad I found Carver City or else I’d never know what I missed. Carver City isn’t groundbreaking or technically amazing, it’s just a solid, fun rock album and there aren’t nearly enough of those. Memorable riffs, catchy hooks, plentiful organs (it’s an inside joke and quip about some of the unique features of this album), Carver City just plain rocks. I’d recommend this to fans of metal, hard rock and alternative alike. These guys can span a pretty wide audience, it’s amazing they really haven’t broken through the mainstream yet, there are quite a few songs on this album I could imagine hearing on the radio, but I guess the record industry is too busy looking for the next AC/DC knockoff to find the quality rock music sitting right in front of them.

1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

This one was a no-brainer. Anyone who’s known me, followed my Facebook posts or listened to my musical rants knows that Crack the Skye was not only my favorite album of 2009, but has quickly ascended to one of my favorite albums of all time and my favorite work from Mastodon, period. The third in a series of excellent and varied concept albums, Crack the Skye stands as Mastodon’s most mature, complex and emotional work to date.

Drawing from a number of musical, literary and metaphysical influences, Crack the Skye tells the story of someone’s soul losing its way across the universe, trying to find its way back home. There’s such a strong feeling of hopelessness and despair during the journey I can’t help but feel emotionally attached to the tale through some of my own personal journeys over the last year. A 50-minute long epic spread across 7 tracks scouring several metal and rock genres, its hard to pinpoint the words to describe how the album sounds and feels except for give it a try. You don’t have to love Mastodon or metal to appreciate what Crack the Skye does, you just have to have an open mind and an appreciation for something a little different.

And now, my biggest disappointments of 2009…

God Forbid’s “Earthsblood” and Chimaira’s “The Infection” – I am putting these two together for the distinct reason that they were both disappointing follow-ups to amazing metal albums. While I’ve made peace with both albums and think they are both decent, Earthsblood doesn’t touch Constitution of Treason and the Infection shouldn’t even be on the same shelf as Resurrection. Better luck next time, guys.