Staff picks are always more interesting then the general public's opinion.

I don't understand why Dream Theater won the progressive metal category. It wasn't very impressive and there were quite a few prog albums released this year that were just as good or better.

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

Just like last year, I'll do my bitch rant and pull a George Carlin.

Alternative Metal.
ugh things start of badly already, any of the other albums are better - hell at least they were good. Mastodons's Crack The Skye is pure trash, nothing good nothing decent about it. I sued to like Mastodon to some degree, but Crack the Skye they really sank low. The amount of votes for this assfest is really depressing...


/end bitch rant

This was worse then last year, but in a certain way it's fitting because 2009 was an awful year.

I still would like to thank the staff for the awesome selection in the Doom and Extreme Doom section. Arcana Coelestia and Process Of Guilt rock my ass off, damn good stuff. Discovered many great doom bands.

Disagree on a lot of points. Shame you didn't like the Mastodon release, while a chunk of folks were disappointed with it, a lot of folks really like it. Collin, Ylside, and I all listed it on the "What A Year It Was" article posted a month or so ago. i loved it and was glad to see it win. oh well, considering you ducked most the music i listen to, and instead opined largely on categories i avoid, i guess that can be directed towards your tastes.

2009 was hardly an awful year.

to be honest, in the past couple years it's been tougher to round out my "top 10-12" lists. this year i'm having difficulties trying to come up with something under 15 albums worthy of note, and that is immediately discounting EPs and "non-metal" stuff like Clutch. and Mastodon might be the album on the top of the heap when i get around to writing it in a couple weeks.

I planned to vote on the last day of the month, but it closed, time-zones or something. That's what you get for procrastinating... Oh well, it doesn't look like it would have made a difference. At least I got to investigate some cool new music.

Anyway, staff picks get shown in what, a couple weeks?

Be'lakor won in the melodeath section, which is most excellent. The rest of the winners were pretty predictable and thus not always based on what I would call "quality" (Not only was Adagio's album better than Sonata Arctica's, but Adagio is just a much, much better band).

Written by bard on 02.03.2010 at 05:13

Anyway, staff picks get shown in what, a couple weeks?

yeah, probably mid-month, to keep the discussions going. or renewed. or whatever.

Quote:

Written by BitterCOld on 02.03.2010 at 05:07

This was worse then last year, but in a certain way it's fitting because 2009 was an awful year.

I still would like to thank the staff for the awesome selection in the Doom and Extreme Doom section. Arcana Coelestia and Process Of Guilt rock my ass off, damn good stuff. Discovered many great doom bands.

2009 was hardly an awful year.

I didn't like the new Mastodon that much [I understood that you were right when you send me the MP and voted for Harvestman without any shame!]... But yeah This was a really good year for Metal imo. I discovered lots of band in almost every single category. For doom in general it was a very very good year.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 01.03.2010 at 23:00

Written by Darkside Momo on 01.03.2010 at 22:54

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 01.03.2010 at 22:49

Thank god DT beat Kalisia, for Dt was vastly superior to them

You just say that to piss me off, right?

Well, I do find DT's latest vastly superior to Kalisia. But I also find Riverside vastly superior to Kalisia and also Redemption. And, yes, of course i also said it to piss you off

Actually, I agree with this. DT's album was better then Kalisia's album and Riverside's album was better than DT's album and Kalisia's album. Not to mention Redemption, which I thought didn't even put up a fight because their album was just "good" in my opinion.

Written by Darkside Momo on 01.03.2010 at 22:45

Written by BloodTears on 01.03.2010 at 22:37

I knew Riverside wouldn't win though, they don't have enough following. Maybe in a few years time...

But at that time they'll suffer the Dream Theater syndrome (too many deaf followers)

Ahah, I really hope I don't become one of them

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

I still would like to thank the staff for the awesome selection in the Doom and Extreme Doom section. Arcana Coelestia and Process Of Guilt rock my ass off, damn good stuff. Discovered many great doom bands.

On behalf of the staff I will say "thank you"

Written by Guest on 02.03.2010 at 03:52

And why wasn't New Moon nominated? I thought it was a great album. Was it just overlooked by the staff last year...

It wasn't nominated cause when the staff votes for that album were counted it woul;dn't even make the staff's top-15. Yes, we heard, and in our opinion the 10 nominees were vastly superior to the new StS

So what was the criteria for choosing albums into the Alternative Metal category. You've got Mastodon, Voivod, Amesoeurs, Therapy? and others in the same list. I don't get it. What's Alternative?

Also I'd like to be bitch about Vektor - Black Future having not been nominated in the Thrash category, but I am glad they at least beat Savage Messiah. And it's kind of depressing that Warbringer wound up on the sixth position...

Written by K✞ulu on 02.03.2010 at 15:02



Also I'd like to be bitch about Vektor - Black Future having not been nominated in the Thrash category,

I don't understand this hype amongst MS users concerning the Vektor album. I found it okay, nothing more nothing less. If I had to rate it it would get something between a 7 and 7.5

Hrhm, I forgot to vote for Marcel.

Written by Guest on 02.03.2010 at 15:40

Hrhm, I forgot to vote for Marcel.

No problems, mate, that just means you owe me a beer next time we bump into each other

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

Just like last year, I'll do my bitch rant and pull a George Carlin.

Bitch please, don't compare your sad ranting to George Carlin.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 02.03.2010 at 15:29

Written by K✞ulu on 02.03.2010 at 15:02



Also I'd like to be bitch about Vektor - Black Future having not been nominated in the Thrash category,

I don't understand this hype amongst MS users concerning the Vektor album. I found it okay, nothing more nothing less. If I had to rate it it would get something between a 7 and 7.5

you staffers have decided to drop Kreator out and suggest bands as gama bomb and profane omen for nomination. the 1st ones released a really decent album and nothing more and the 2nd ones are just thrashy. i am not surprised that you've decided to drop vektor out too, who released a much better album than those 2 i've mentioned.

Written by Thryce on 02.03.2010 at 18:42

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

Just like last year, I'll do my bitch rant and pull a George Carlin.

Bitch please, don't compare your sad ranting to George Carlin.

Hell Mr.White knight how is your hypocritical life?

Written by Promonex on 01.03.2010 at 13:12

... and who might have discovered some gems you wouldn't have found otherwise.

This is the main reason I love the awards. Last year and this year combined, I probably bought 20 or so new albums just during the awards times, that if not for the awards, I would never have heard of. This year I got to discover great bands like Irminsul, Fjoergyn, Isole, Griftgard, Forsaken and several others. Just because a band I voted for doesn't win doesn't mean I didn't get the chance to discover great new bands, and that right there, is why I love the awards.

P.S. Thanks for all the great doom nominations this year staff, i have vastly increased my doom horizons based on this years nominees.

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 19:21

Written by Thryce on 02.03.2010 at 18:42

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

Just like last year, I'll do my bitch rant and pull a George Carlin.

Bitch please, don't compare your sad ranting to George Carlin.

Hell Mr.White knight how is your hypocritical life?

how is it hypocritical to point out you are no George Carlin?

Now if Thryce were comparing himself to, say, Richard Pryor (like Carlin, also very funny), then being completely unfunny (like you), that would be hypocritical of him to call out your lack of humor.

But Thryce has never claimed to be a comedian, he's just claimed to be an asshole ("that's Mister Asshole to you"). No hypocrisy there.

Written by MeloDeathViking on 02.03.2010 at 19:34

Written by Promonex on 01.03.2010 at 13:12

... and who might have discovered some gems you wouldn't have found otherwise.

This is the main reason I love the awards. Last year and this year combined, I probably bought 20 or so new albums just during the awards times, that if not for the awards, I would never have heard of. This year I got to discover great bands like Irminsul, Fjoergyn, Isole, Griftgard, Forsaken and several others. Just because a band I voted for doesn't win doesn't mean I didn't get the chance to discover great new bands, and that right there, is why I love the awards.

P.S. Thanks for all the great doom nominations this year staff, i have vastly increased my doom horizons based on this years nominees.

Thanks for the kind words! If only a few people actually check out some bands and find some cool (small) bands to their liking, that makes all our hard work more than worth it!

I have seen multiple people between the first of Feb when the nominees were revealed and now that the winners are announced comment on the fact the awards have helped them uncover some stuff they missed, so i consider it a raving success in that regard. even if only a very small minority check everything out, it's a win for both the band and listener.

beer and kudos to those of you who took the extra steps during this process.

Great year for Metal!
Although only one band I voted for won, I discovered some amazing albums thanks to the awards from bands like: Madder Mortem, Long Distance Calling, Coram Lethe, Destroyer 666, Giant Squid, Harvestman, Oranssi Pazuzu, Solstafir, Wolf among others.

My biggest letdowns were Immortal (they were the worst among the nominees). Amorphis, I thought Wolf´s album was way better. Cosmogenesis should´ve won IMO. I also thought Ensiferum was the weakest in it´s genre.

Thanks to the staff for picking these albums, 2009 would´ve felt empty without them.

Written by BitterCOld on 02.03.2010 at 20:07

I have seen multiple people between the first of Feb when the nominees were revealed and now that the winners are announced comment on the fact the awards have helped them uncover some stuff they missed, so i consider it a raving success in that regard. even if only a very small minority check everything out, it's a win for both the band and listener.

beer and kudos to those of you who took the extra steps during this process.

I've been doing that since the first awards back on 2004(but much more on 2008 & 2009). Do I get a big barrel of beer?

Written by the stranger on 02.03.2010 at 22:18

I've been doing that since the first awards back on 2004(but much more on 2008 & 2009). Do I get a big barrel of beer?

no. but you do get six pints and half-a-dozen kudos.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 02.03.2010 at 15:29

Written by K✞ulu on 02.03.2010 at 15:02



Also I'd like to be bitch about Vektor - Black Future having not been nominated in the Thrash category,

I don't understand this hype amongst MS users concerning the Vektor album. I found it okay, nothing more nothing less. If I had to rate it it would get something between a 7 and 7.5

That's your opinion. What do the other staffers think? I personally think it's an absolutely brilliant and unique thrash album.

Written by K✞ulu on 02.03.2010 at 23:07

That's your opinion. What do the other staffers think? I personally think it's an absolutely brilliant and unique thrash album.

I wouldn't call them brilliant or unique per se... but I sure found them good enough to make it to my little list of real top thrash albums of 2009.

Written by Thryce on 02.03.2010 at 23:40

Written by K✞ulu on 02.03.2010 at 23:07

That's your opinion. What do the other staffers think? I personally think it's an absolutely brilliant and unique thrash album.

I wouldn't call them brilliant or unique per se... but I sure found them good enough to make it to my little list of real top thrash albums of 2009.

Oh wow. A new feature. But what do you find in Savage Messiah? I listened to that album two times, and yes, it's kind of fun, but I think it's very unoriginal and sort of copycat.

And I saw After All - Cult of Sin in your list. I wanted to find that album when it was released, but I couldn't. Then I forgot about it. Gonna try to find it now.

Written by BitterCOld on 02.03.2010 at 19:37

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 19:21

Written by Thryce on 02.03.2010 at 18:42

Written by VPeter on 02.03.2010 at 00:12

Just like last year, I'll do my bitch rant and pull a George Carlin.

Bitch please, don't compare your sad ranting to George Carlin.

Hell Mr.White knight how is your hypocritical life?

how is it hypocritical to point out you are no George Carlin?

Now if Thryce were comparing himself to, say, Richard Pryor (like Carlin, also very funny), then being completely unfunny (like you), that would be hypocritical of him to call out your lack of humor.

But Thryce has never claimed to be a comedian, he's just claimed to be an asshole ("that's Mister Asshole to you"). No hypocrisy there.

That is the problem my best man, I didn't compare my self to George Carlin but you guys jumped to that conclusion. Oh hell no is my ego that big that I compare myself to master Carlin. I meant in this case his typical personality that everybody has a piece of but never dares to show it, that personality of saying directly from the mind, honest and hard. Like everybody at least had someone in their life who they hated and so badly wanted to scold at but couldn't or else shit would have hit the fan badly. Carlin said it directly in the face, the infamous MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas show where he kept insulting the audience for example.

I just meant with that I posted that rant in that same way as that I don't care and felt doing it from the top of my head then. Needed to get that out of my system.
If people find it funny then hey cool and actually I did get messages last year that some people enjoyed it and if I piss some BAAAAWWWWWWing staffers off who just bitch as much as the people at the results and say that i'm not funny then I also find it a success.

that hypocrisy comment was actually targeted in a different way but aw forget it. My apologies Mr.Thryce I should have called you an asshole instead, didn't saw the disclaimer.

I have not complained yet about the results, but I find all this bitching pointless, because, as many staffers said before, the awards are for us, the metalstormers to discover new bands, those great and unknown bands that release innovating and unnoticed material, waiting for us, their upcoming fans to listen to them.

This is not about the huge-ass bands winning an award thanks to some close-minded fans who don't even try to listen to the other nominees, this is about us, the people who actually wants to enjoy something new or unknown to their ears.

I'd like to thank the staff for the great bands they presented to me, specially those from the Doom categories and the Sludge/Stoner and Avantgarde categories, I discovered lots of very new and amazing stuff.

I'd also like to greet the great bands that realeased magnificent albums but unfortunately didn't win an award: Riverside, While Heaven Wept, The Chasm, Warbringer and The Agonist.

Still my favorites of the year are and will be Kathaarsys and Penséss Nocturnes.

Thanks for reading my pointless annoying post.