Archived: Zoklet's top 10 Albums of 2009 (Final)

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Okay everybody. The reviews for the albums of 2009 are even more sparse than those of the decade, but I'm sick of having this not posted, so I'm going to go ahead and get it over with.

I'm reserving the first 10 replies for the albums and their reviews. Feel free to discuss after that. Also, feel free to submit a review for one of the albums that hasn't been reviewed yet.

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10. The xx - xx



No Review

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9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna sit here, and pretend that all these songs don't sound exactly the same. I'm not gonna pretend that their name makes me wanna punch them all in their pretty new york faces. I'm not gonna tell that I don't wish I hated the Pains of Being Pure at Heart with all my guts.

But, the fact is, this might be my favorite album of the year. It is, without equivocation, THE most addicting album of 2009. I was hooked at first listen, this shiny poppy indie is straight cocaine. Something about the way a guitar lick pops upwards from the pleasant rolling noisy mess that comprises the bulk of each and every one of these songs, and the young and assured girlish voice making its way above the swell to let the world know that "You're my sister and this LOVE IS FUCKING RIGHT!" It's just irresistible. I love this shit in spite of myself.
-aquabania

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8. Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect



No Review

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7. Megadeth – Endgame



No Review

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6. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest



No Review

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5. The Mars Volta – Octahedron

Octahedron, Mars Volta's latest album, is a mixture of experiments and high tension the band is known for. It has some of the most powerful songs in their entire discography, opening with the soft, suckerpunch and tearjerking Since We've Been Wrong. Ranging from the blue mood of this song then comes the futuristic, punkish Teflon, and other rapid, intense tracks like Cotopaxi and desperate, emotive songs like Lucifer and the characteristic rythms of Desperate Graves. All in all, this album is another Mars Volta classic, dealing with further experimentation that eeriely keeps the album in a simplistic yet powerful recording of 8 of Mars Volta's songs that will remain classic masterpieces in their career.

-Vizier

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4. The Decemberists – Hazards of Love

When The Decemberists’ debut album, Castaways and Cutouts, was first released in 2002, the band immediately established an avid fanbase. On the other hand, many casual listeners and critics often found the band’s “folk rock” style to be narrow and too gimmicky. Strangely enough, The Decemberists responded by being more and more gimmicky with each subsequent album, going from loose-concept albums (Her Majesty and Picaresque) to a clear-concept album (The Crane Wife); and now they have The Hazards of Love, perhaps one of the most gimmicky albums of all time.

The Hazards of Love is a rock opera that blends folk with metal, while incorporating three guest vocalists, a string orchestra, and a children’s choir. Sound weird, eh? Well, the album’s style is no stranger than its story. The Hazards of Love tells the tale of a maiden who falls in love and gets impregnated by a shape-shifting forest dweller named William, while a jealous queen and three revenge-crazy ghost kids are out causing trouble. Believe it or not, it’s actually a pretty coherent narrative, as far as concept albums go. More importantly, the story fits the style, which manages to combine every one of the album’s little gimmicks into something that flows beautifully.

In the end, The Hazards of Love proved that The Decemberists’ style wasn’t at all limited, as it not only alienated itself from the band’s previous works, but also managed to do something unprecedented: use folk rock as the foundation for an epic rock opera. Reread that: it used folk rock as a freaking foundation for a rock opera! And it works! That’s just ridiculous.
It’s rare that bands on the fringe becoming world-popular take risks, but that’s exactly what The Decemberists did. Thankfully, for them, the risk is paying off. The Hazards of Love is refreshing on just about every level. If you’ve yet to give it listen, go do yourself a favor…

On a side note, guest vocalist, Shara Worden, kicks some serious ass (both on the album and during the band’s album-complementing live tour). Her contributions on the tracks “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" and "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" make me wish she were a permanent member of the band. Ms. Worden deserves a lot of credit for making The Hazards of Love the fantastic experience it is.

-VladieShark

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3. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic



No Review

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2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion



No Review

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1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

Metal in 2009 is more ambitious and popular than ever. And only a quarter of the way into the year, Mastodon may have released the best album of 2009.

Mastodon's fusion of prog and sludge metal is very interesting on it's own. They're one of the few bands to have never released a bad album, and even going all the way back to Remission (2002), it's hard to say anything they've ever put out has been anything below "really good". I can confidently say Crack the Skye is their pinnacle so far. Every song manages to blend elements of their sludge metal and stoner metal past with more psychedelic and progressive tendencies than ever before, creating a unique and new sound. The album stands at only 7 tracks long, with 3 "normal" songs leading into a multi-part, 10 minute piece. 2 more songs of typical length are between this and the final track, the mesmerizing 13 minute "The Last Baron", which is probably the best Mastodon song to date.

"Oblivion" marks the entry point on this strange journey, leading in with an unsettling intro before breaking into form. The vocals here are very different from any Mastodon song before, almost spoken with a clarity not seen often in the "sludge metal" genre. It's obvious that Mastodon are going for a more progressive sound, and I like it, a lot.

"Divinations" starts with a quickly played banjo, before breaking into probably the most straightforward song on the album. This is one of the few songs to retain a normal verse-chorus structure, but it's not uninteresting as a result. Brent screams out the vocals with an urgency on this one, and the pace on it never fails to slow down.

"Quintessence" is probably my least favorite song on the album, but nonetheless it's still a great track. This one has a very complex riff intertwining with some impressively fast drumming, and Brent's messy, rambling verse vocals lead into a very straightforward and, dare I say it, catchy chorus. There's a lot of synth effects at times too, but it wraps up on a very doomy note.

The other two songs of a "typical" length are the title track "Crack the Skye" and "Ghost of Karelia", which also manage to take full advantage of the bevy of styles on here. The former features Neurosis vocalist Scott Kelly, and proves to be the heaviest moment of them all on Crack the Skye, reaching back to the Leviathan days for inspiration. The latter features atmospheric percussion and a winding, instantly catchy guitar line, with chaotic choruses erupting between the verses.

However, the two songs that are the most memorable and interesting are the "The Czar" and "The Last Baron". Both clock in over 10 minutes, but within there's enough changes, variations, amazing riffs, and even extended solos and keyboard sections to keep anyone interested. "The Czar" begins with a mellotron (I think) and quickly becomes a monolithic, doomy piece, with lyrics about the death of Rasputin. "The Last Baron" starts out innocently enough, with acoustic guitars leading into a psychedelic induced epic. Brent and Troy trade off vocals, describing a delusional tale of the end of the world. The song breaks into a faster-paced section in the middle, before blasting off into a solo section, complete with pounding drums and xylophones. And then the song completely changes again, this time with a winding riff, accentuated percussion, and yes, more loud and powerful vocals. If there was a highlight in the Mastodon catalogue, I would select "The Last Baron" as a crowning achievement for the band.

Lyrically, the album tells various stories, some of which are related to Brann Dailor's sister Skye, who commited suicide at a young age. Others have to do with Rasputin ("The Czar"), astral projection ("Divinations"), and delusional apocalypses ("The Last Baron"). Mastodon are one of the few bands to make the two vocalist approach interesting, so Troy's more normal metal screams and melodics intertwine with Brent's nasal screech fairly well. Brann Dailor also gets a few lines in, most notably on "Oblivion".

Anything less than "amazing" would be an insult to this album. 4.5/5

-Intoxicated Shaman (VinMetal666)

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There they are. Anyway, I'll try and get around to reviewing Merriweather Post Pavilion soon, but I'm pretty busy these days, so we'll see if it happens.

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Toppity top top. Hopefully we can get some more reviews.