2009 was a huge year in metal! This list was very difficult to piece together and has gone through some changes over the past two weeks. Really, when it comes down to it, this list represents the albums that spent the longest time in my listening rotation throughout the year. The order of these albums aren’t necessarily the order I’d “rank” them, except for maybe my top 5. I hope you all had a prosperous 2009 and I wish you all the face-meltingest of years in 2010. Here’s my list…

Honorable mentions first: Nile, Suicide Silence, Pelican, Marduk, Slayer, Alice In Chains, Isis (among others)

15. Born of Osiris “A Higher Place”

14. Megadeth “Endgame”

13. Winds of Plague “The Great Stone War”

12. Obscura “Cosmogenesis”

11. Dream Theater “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”

10. iwrestledabearonce “It’s All Happening”

9. Cobalt “Gin”

8. Baroness “Blue Record”

7. Kylesa “Static Tensions”

6. Converge “Axe to Fall”

5. Chimaira “The Infection”

4. Between The Buried and Me “The Great Misdirect”

3. Amorphis “Skyforger”

2. Katatonia “Night is the New Day”

1. Mastodon “Crack The Skye”