Best of 2009: Top 10

1. Heaven and Hell, The Devil You Know. Call this a fanboy pick if you want, but I’ve continued to return to this record time and time again over the course of the year. I really think the songs here blow away much of the stuff being done by musicians who could be their great-grandchildren.

2. Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Castle. Fans waited a long time for this one, and it was worth it. It’s got a good blend of rock and classical, with some of the most metallic moments on any of their records. There are also a couple of Savatage covers thrown in for good measure.

3. Alestorm, Black Sails at Midnight. Alestorm’s second record is just as much fun as their first was, and the music is better.

4. Amorphis, Skyforger. I find myself firmly back in the Amorphis fan fold after this record. To me, it’s easily the best thing they’ve done since “Elegy.”


5. Saint Deamon, Pandeamonium. This was my introduction to Saint Deamon, and I was immediately impressed. It’s got a great blend of heaviness and melody.


6. Megadeth, Endgame. No, it wasn’t “Rust In Peace” part 2, like Mustaine promised, but I didn’t expect it to be. It’s a rock solid record that’s among the best, if not the best they’ve done since the 1980s.


7. Luna Mortis, The Absence. I’d reviewed a record from this band under their former name, Ottoman Empire, but couldn’t remember much about it. The first album as Luna Mortis, though, pretty much blew me away early in the year.


8. Machines of Grace, Machines of Grace. The band features two former Savatage members, and it’s no secret that I’m a Savatage fanboy, but the music has little to do with that band. This is old-fashioned 1970s-style hard rock with a few progressive leanings.


9. Black Water Rising, Black Water Rising. I’m not sure if this record has officially been released yet, but I’ve been digging the promo since April. It’s some of the best straight-up hard rock I’ve heard in a while.

10. Alice in Chains, Black Gives Way to Blue. I didn’t want to like Alice in Chains without Layne Staley, but I do.

Best of 2009: Favorite songs

Here's a look at some of the songs that made a lasting impact on me this year.

“Bible Black,” Heaven and Hell. The best song they’ve recorded since “Heaven and Hell.”

“Keelhauled,” Alestorm. Just try and resist this melody. It’s impossible.

“Another Way You Can Die,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Featuring Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, this is a very metallic, very Savatage-flavored tune. Probably the heaviest in the TSO catalog.

“The Only One Sane,” Saint Deamon. Great riffing, undeniable melody, fantastic song.

“Hold the Heathen Hammer High,” Tyr. I can’t resist the big melody of this tune. I have to crank it every time it comes on.

“Silver Bride,” Amorphis. This song wormed its way into my head within a few days and hasn’t left.

“Six Times Dead (16.6),” Primal Fear. I can’t get enough of the military march chorus of this song.

“A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma,” Diablo Swing Orchestra. A great blend of big band and rock. I wish more of the record were in this vein.

“Floyd,” Lynyrd Skynyrd. The first of two completely non-metal songs on my list. Co-written by John 5, this tune is a great, grooving, creepy hard rocker worth a listen even for hardcore metal fans.

“127 Rose Avenue,” Hank Williams Jr. No metal at all here, but it’s a dark, haunting number that’s easily the best he’s recorded in decades.

“No Halos,” Black Water Rising. Great hook, solid hard rock.

“Last of My Kind,” Alice in Chains. Easily the best song on the new record with a great, raging hard rock chorus.

Review: Saint Deamon, "Pandeamonium"

Inevitably, as a reviewer, you get to that point, usually staring at a stack (or virtual stack, these days) of mediocre albums, where you question why you bother. Aside from the records by known bands where you pretty much know what to expect, you'll find a few you like (which are easy), a few you hate (which are even easier) and tons of middle-of-the-road records where you struggle to say anything good or bad about them. Then, maybe a couple of times a year, one comes off the stack that reminds you why you spend time listening to all the others.

When I gave Saint Deamon's "Pandeamonium" it's first spin, I didn't expect much. I thought the band name was a little corny, and it was a power metal record - a subgenre known for more than its share of cheese. My preconceptions were immediately shattered by the throbbing, Dream Theater-inspired riffing that opened the first song, "Deception." The band eschews the typical over-the-top arrangements and bombast of the genre, focusing instead on tighter songwriting and memorable songs. It's a welcome respite from a genre where bands often try to outdo each other with the grandeur of their concepts.

The roll continues with second track, "The Only One Sane," a soaring track with just a touch of the unbalanced. It's got some nice melody shifts that will feature more prominently later on the record. But the track that really sold me on the record is the fourth, "Eyes of the Devil," which opens with a thrash riff, reminiscent of "Justice"-era Metallica before shifting into a more typical power metal mode for the verse and chorus, which is, as it should be, huge and memorable. It's a song that even folks who hate power metal on general principle could appreciate.

The band can also muster the pomp and bombast of others in the genre, as they prove on the epic, seafaring tune "Oceans of Glory," and there are moments of the majestic sprinkled throughout "Pandeamonium." They work, but I'm more drawn to the simpler structures, like the galloping riffing of "Fallen Angel" or the blazing "The Deamon Within," which reminds me a lot of classic Iron Maiden in its verse vocal melodies.

There are a couple of tunes here that fall a little more into a typical power metal sound, primarily the slower numbers like the title track and "A Day to Come," but they're the exception. More often, you'll find yourself humming along with an insidious melody like the chorus of "Fear in a Fragile Mind" that remains with you throughout the day.

There's nothing new or earth-shatteringly different about the music here, but its played with passion and conviction - a rarity in a genre that, if we're being honest, can be a little paint-by-numbers. There's also a refreshing lack of the pomposity and grandiose concepts that often plague power metal. The songs are focused, well-played and stand on their own. It's a good record for those who prefer the pioneers of the genre.

While it serves as my introduction to the band, "Pandeamonium" is actually the sophomore effort from Saint Deamon. You can be sure that I'll be seeking out their debut very soon.

Get "Pandeamonium."