Year-end thoughts 2009: Casey
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| by Casey Boland |
Like most music fans who’ve grown long in the tooth, I’m finding it harder each year to uncover new music that moves me. As I scroll through the iTunes library, I find few songs earning multiple play counts. Nevertheless, this year saw the release of several standout albums. Since some of what rocked my world in 2009 had little, if anything, to do with hardcore or metal, I compiled my list based upon albums boasting exceptional songs constructed atop unforgettable guitar riffs. After all, a killer riff serves as the cornerstone to any great rock/metal song. As any guitarist or fan of the instrument knows, it’s harder to find great riffs in contemporary music of any form. Yet in 2009, a few bands rose to the six-string occasion.
1. Napalm Death – Time Waits For No Slave
2. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
3. Baroness – Blue Record
4. Converge – Axe to Fall
5. Clues – Clues
6. Coalesce – Ox
7. Victims – Killer
8. Kylesa – Static Tensions
9. Do Make Say Think – Other Truths
10. Earthless live
When it comes to metal bands lasting over two decades, Napalm Death stand virtually alone in remaining both relevant and as blazing as ever. Time Waits For No Slave boasts incredible riff mayhem thanks to Mitch Harris. Napalm Death’s members might be over 40, yet their music rivals anything the youth of today create.
While we can mostly agree that Mastodon‘s Leviathan is their metal zenith, Crack the Skye still exudes tremendous riffs. Perhaps it’s not metal in the classic sense. Yet it’s musically superior to so much of what passed for metal this year. Blue Record signifies a similar progression from standard metal roots. By delving deeper into prog and dabbling more confidently with melody, Baroness produced the finest work of their young career. Similarly, fellow Savannahians Kylesa expanded their palette with the excellent Static Tensions.
For better or worse, I spent a significant amount of Invisible Oranges real estate on bands descended from late-’90s hardcore. Of those, old heads Converge, Coalesce, and the thrashier Victims cranked out brilliant axe-wielding moments. It’s tough to maintain superior songwriting over the course of a full-length, and it’s questionable these bands did. Still, they exemplified what could be done with a guitar in the parameters of a hardcore/metal song.
Indie rock rarely gets attention for its guitarists. Though not garnering much press, two bands from that world gave us some kick-ass guitar moments. Montreal’s Clues (descended from the arty Unicorns) hit paydirt on at least half of their debut. Combining weird song structures, bizarre lyrics, decidedly unmanly vocals, and inventive guitar work, Clues delivered a clutch of great songs.
Fellow Canadians Do Make Say Think wrote their defining album with Other Truths. Refining the rambling approach of previous albums, the band made the most of stripped-down instrumental rock. Explosions in the Sky and Mono get more attention, but for better vocal-less brio, look no further than this well-kept secret.
Speaking of secrets, seeing San Diego’s Earthless live was revelatory. Opening for Baroness on their fall tour, Earthless surely won over unsuspecting new fans. Drummer Mario Rubalcaba is a powerhouse and worth the price of admission alone. Yet bassist Mike Eginton and guitarist Isaiah Mitchell shone just as brightly. For nearly 40 minutes, the three performed one long flawless psychedelic jam that never bored. It’s hard to recall standing through a band I really wanted to see for 20 minutes, let alone one I had no expectations for and twice as long. Yet Earthless left me and many other concert attendees salivating for more. I can’t speak for their recorded output. But live, few bands compare in terms of musicianship and intensity.
I’m sure plenty of other brilliant axe-masters shredded on recordings this year. Tell us about them.
