Metal Monday: OurStage Metal Awards '09

posted in: Features

At the end of the year, when all is said and done, 10 top albums is simply not enough to give credit where it’s due. As a supplement to last week’s  Top 10 of Metal, I’m giving props to all the other bands who did something right this year. Think of the following lists as the “superlatives” section of your yearbook”but for metal albums.

Best
Vocals: Candlemass, Death Magic Doom
Drumming: Kylesa, Static Tensions
Shredding: Revocation, Existence is Futile
Newcomer: Obscura, Cosmogenesis
Production: Despised Icon, Day of Mourning
Comeback: Heaven and Hell, The Devil You Know
Style Change: The Devin Townsend Project, Ki
Name (Album): 3 Inches of Blood, Here Awaits Thy Doom
Name (Band): Skeletonwitch, Breathing the Fire
Album Art: Heaven and Hell, The Devil You Know
Album Opener: “Enter the Hall” by Revocation, from Existence is Futile
DVD Release: The Black Dahlia Murder, Majesty

Worst
Production: Lacuna Coil, Shallow Life
Style Change: Mastodon, Crack the Skye
Lyrics: Despised Icon, Day of Mourning
Name (Album): Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry
Name (Band): Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry
Album Art: Between The Buried And Me, The Great Misdirect

Most
Overachieving (Bad): Obscura, Cosmogenesis
Overachieving (Good): Mastodon, Crack the Skye
Controversial: Megadeth, Endgame
Brutal: Brutal Truth, Evolution Through Revolution
Shredding: Obscura, Cosmogenesis
Overrated: Mastodon, Crack the Skye
Disappointing: Municipal Waste, Massive Aggressive
Erratic: PsyOpus, Odd Senses
Technical: PsyOpus, Odd Senses
Surprising (Bad): Devildriver, Pray for Villains
Surprising (Good): Lamb of God, Wrath
Well-rounded: God Forbid, Earthsblood

Least
Surprising (Bad): Lacuna Coil, Shallow Life
Surprising (Good): Between the Buried and Me, The Great Misdirect
Technical: Impending Doom, The Serpent Servant
Shredding: Shrinebuilder, Shrinebuilder
Controversial: Converge, Axe To Fall
Progressive: 3 Inches of Blood, Here Awaits Thy Doom
Complete: Killswitch Engage, Killswitch Engage

Miscellaneous
Album of the Year: Converge, Axe to Fall
Single of the Year: “Ov Fire and the Void” by Behemoth, from Evangelion
Riff of the Year: Opening riff from “Where the Light Has Failed” by Skeletonwitch
Music Video of the Year: “Ov Fire and the Void” by Behemoth, from Evangelion

Agree? Disagree? Let’s hear what you have to say in the comments below! Did I mention something here you haven’t heard yet? You should give it a listen, and let me know what you think!