My Top 40 Albums of 2009: Part 1: #40-#31

40. Culted - Beyond the Thunders of the Upper Deep: Heavy-ass doom. Manitoba/Sweden collabo portrays bleakness and cold. This would be great on vinyl.
39. Unholy - New Life Behind Closed Doors: There's nothing entirely unique about this high-energy metal outfit. But it makes we want to scream, headbang and play air guitar all at the same time. And since when was that a bad thing?
38. Lord Mantis - Spawning the Nephilim: Again, nothing uber-special about it. But I like it. Good tones and great vocals. And if they are singing about the Nephilim, that's fuckin' cool.
37. Ex Deo - Romulus (Nuclear Blast): Ancient Roman concept album/band. Powerful and epic. Makes me want to buy a sword and rule an Empire!
36. Tombs - Winter Hours: There is a lot going on here. Intricate soundscapes and raw power merge to send the listener on a bleak and tortured journey from which he will return a changed man. Not a casual listen.
35. Magrudergrind - Magrudergrind: Magrudergrind is one of the reasons I am getting into grind more. It isn't just noise to me anymore. There seems to be actual thought and structure to it. (I'm looking at you, Anal Cunt.)
34. Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor: This one could be a casualty of an early in the year release. Maybe over listening too. It's incredible though. The precision and vocal range are astounding. I was never a big fan before this album but I am now. Besides, they just might have the best t-shirts in the biz.
33. Om - God is Good: Same formula as always, more or less. That's partially the reason they are ranked so low this year. I usually have them in my Top 10. Kudos for including some extra instrumentation but points are taking off for the departure of Chris Hakius.
32. Mantic Ritual - The Executioner: The first of many thrash-tastic releases on my list this year. This album is RIPPIN'! It's like the last 25 years never happened! I love thrash.
31. Behemoth - Evangelion: It's Behemoth so it's pretty much an automatic. But this one kind of dragged on so it falls out of the Top 30.