Another Black Metal album that will be a must buy in 2009. Have not heard any tracks off of this yet but if it is anything thing like their last album "The Work Which Transforms God" it will be a top 40 album for sure

These guys need no introduction. Blackened Thrash like it was meant to be played.

The Sludge/Stoner Metal genre has always been hit or miss for me. I really dig the riffing that usually comes along with the genre but hate how they usually could care less how the vocals sound. For me this album and band give me the best of both worlds.

My first Brown Jenkins and from the sounds of it their final release as a band. Their sound is very dark and distored which is a plus when it comes to Black Metal. The vocals almost have more of a Death Metal feel to them which just adds another layer of darkness to the album. I will be picking up their earlier release for sure.

Gorod for those of you who are not familiar with them are a Technical Death Metal band from France. Technical Death Metal is not usually a sub-genre that I pay too much attention to since I am an old school type of guy but these guys are actually pretty good.

Old School Swedish Death Metal. Great riffing, great vocals and that awesome signature Buzzsaw guitar tone make this ablum a must buy.

Norwegian Black Metal - no more, no less. Fast, violent and worth the money if your enjoy the genre. It is by far not going to be the best Black Metal album of the year but it is a great representation of the genre.

2009 release from Depressive Black Metal solo project Xasthur. Not a huge fan of his earlier stuff but always willing to check out new Black Metal releases.

With a debut album like Beyond The Permafrost how could you not be excited to hear their sophomore album.

At first I was glad that these guys did away with there Post Metal side but after listening to this release I realized that their Post Metal side was the only thing keeping them half way interesting. I may need to spend some more time with this one.

Maybe it was because they made such a drastic change back to Black Metal. This album sounds like a band that has been playing Black Metal their whole career and we all know that is not the case with Samael. The songs don't have their own identity which just kills the album after the first 2 songs. Too bad.

2009 album from Symphonic Black Metalers Agathodaimon

More Grindcore to look forward to in 2009. Samples are up if you would like a taste of what is to come with "Evolution Through Revolution"

Just in case you needed more Black Metal in your 2009 diet.

Another side-project of Mick Kenney from Anaal Nathrakh. From the samples I listened to this band is basically a more Grindcore focused version of Anaal Nathrakh. The guitar tone sounded a bit too much like Anaal but I will keep my judgement to myself until I hear the entire album.

From what I have heard this is supposed to be a change in direction for the band. It sounds like they have decided to venture into the realm of Dark Ambient which could be cool. We shall see!

The first album from Graveworm that I just don't care for. I understand that the symphonic elements are part of the band but this album just contains too much of it.

Reminds me of Taake but with a more Progressive look at Black Metal. I have only listened to one track so far so I can't say much but what I can say is I am interested to see what the rest of the album sounds like.

Chicago based Blackened Sludge. Their style is very unique and very entertaining. They have one track up on their Myspace page so anyone that is halfway interested in either Black Metal or Sludge should check it out.

The Sludge/Doom genre has seen some great albums in the past couple of years. Last year we saw great albums from Lair Of The Minotaur and Bison B.C. and many more. Kylesa have created another example of how great this genre can be if done right. I still wish the vocals where a bit more torward the front of the mix but other than that they have put together a great album.