#5) Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor
Fueled by misanthropy (something I can definitely relate to) and vegetarianism (something not so much as I eat this here Taco Bell), Cattle Decapitation roars back with a new album which might be their best one to date. The Harvest Floor is a return to form after 2006's Karma.Bloody.Karma, an album that received critical acclaim but personally I thought it was a misstep. Instead of evolving their unique twist on death metal, the band instead tried institute a more droning, ambient style popularized by bands like Neurosis. Look, I have nothing against Neurosis and there are plenty of bands that can pull off that sound quite well but it just didn't suit Cattle Decapitation, especially when they already had a signature sound to begin with. Luckily, they've not only returned to their old sound with The Harvest Floor but improved upon it tenfold. The drumming (courtesy of new drummer Dave McGraw) is insanely fast and technical, yet catchy at times, and Travis Ryan reaches notes that I never thought I'd hear from gore vocals. Even some of the ambient elements from the last album have been retained, but are more refined and put to better use as intros to other songs. In a disturbing yet brilliant PR move, a news story was released claiming that Cattle Decapitation had inspired a series of murders, complete with news footage. Of course, the news footage ended up being the intro to their music video for "Regret and the Grave".#4) The Lonely Island - Incredibad
Sure, "I'm On A Boat" is a horse that's been beaten to death, beaten some more and resurrected from the dead so that the beatings can continue by the most uncreative sect of the YouTube generation. But that doesn't stop me from still loving the songs. Those familiar with "Like A Boss", "Jizz In My Pants" and "Dick In A Box" will be welcomed with open arms by other hilarious standout tracks like "Who Said We're Wack?", "Boombox" and "Space Olympics". Honestly, I don't think I laughed as hard in my life when I listened to "Dreamgirl", an ode to the ugliest girl ever which then turns a 180 and becomes product placement for Chex Mix for no reason. Of course, being a comedy album there is a bit of filler ("We Like Sportz" is only really funny when you watch the video and even then it's only worth a few chuckles) but everything else is so funny that it makes up for the lacking tracks. As funny as it is, my favorite part is the fact that its produced so well. Even musical comedy legends like Weird Al tend to sound hokey but The Lonely Island backs up their jokes with sounds that you'd commonly find on pop radio. To me, The Lonely Island has exposed mainstream pop and hip-hop for the creative wasteland it tends to be with the simple fact that they can make an angry, expletive-filled rap about sailing and make it sound juast as good, if not better, than 90% of the stuff on Top 40 Radio. So that not only makes Incredibad the comedy album of the year but a strong contender for pop record of the year as well. And that's probably the biggest joke of the entire album. #3) Horse The Band - Desperate Living
There were a few instances while listening to H-The-B's last album, A Natural Death, where I was a bit worried that the follow-up would become too "artsy" that it would alienate old fans like myself and new fans alike. But Desperate Living is quite the dichotomy, being their most creative yet most accessible album to date. Their move to Vagrant Records must've added some money to the production budget as this album sounds so crisp that all of their other albums sound like it was recorded through someone's ass in comparison. Most of all, Horse The Band's trademark "Nintendo-core" sound has matured into a new sound. Sure, there's still the standard 8-bit beeps and boops but the keyboards have evolved to some sort of ethereal atmosphere. Imagine the space music of Super Mario Galaxy done by the score composer of Tron and you'll have an idea. But none of these improvements wouldn't matter if the songs weren't any good and luckily some of them are the best songs Horse The Band has ever written. Case in point - "Rape Escape". Classy name, right? I could've sworn that came out for the PS2. Anyway, the track starts off with the previously described ethereal keyboards before going right into a standard Horse The Band track. Soon enough, a funky disco beat comes in which is the most ass-shakingest groove since last record's "Sex Raptor" before segueing into, get this, Tchaikovsky. No joke. As much as I personally dislike the notion of "art" and the way that people use it as an excuse to trot out whatever crap they want, Horse The Band has truly created their best work of art yet.#2) Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
#1) Mastodon - Crack The Skye
When I bought Crack The Skye back in March, I was deadset at placing this at #1 for the year after listening to it. And while a lot of great albums have come out this year, they couldn't beat the greatness contained within this record. From the surf-rock boogie of "Divinations" to the brutal yet beautiful title track to 10+ minute epics like the multi-part "The Czar" and album closer "The Last Baron", there's not a weak song anywhere to be found. The raging Southern metal sound from their humble beginnings and the progressive sound they dabbled with on their previous album Blood Mountain finally come together like chocolate and peanut butter...possibly laced with a bit of LSD. Even guitarist Brent Hinds vocals, which started taking precedence on Blood Mountain where they stuck out a bit like a sore thumb, coalesce perfectly. And although I still prefer some of the earlier albums at times, I can admit that Crack The Skye is Mastodon's best album yet, and everything they get from here on out is well deserved. This past year they've co-headlined a tour with Dethklok and created their first movie score for the upcoming Jonah Hex film, not to mention the album placing high on many Best of 2009 lists by mainstream, decidedly not-metal, sources. Believe me, I'm shocked as you are that a concept album involving Rasputin and astral projection was one of Time Magazine's best albums of the year. So as we enter 2010 and a new decade, Mastodon has ended up being the new ambassadors to heavy metal, hopefully bringing more attention to the genre with it, and I can think of no better representatives.
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