I’m don’t consider myself a music critic. I just like what I like and I don’t make apologies for my taste (or lack thereof). So here they are. In no particular order. Apologies to those that didn’t make the list.

Mastodon – ‘Crack The Skye’
Truth be told, I really didn’t care for this disc the first time I heard to it. I think I only listened to it twice and then never played it again. “How dare they embark on making a “classic” rock record with that Bruce Springsteen producer guy! Fucking pussies! Bring me more ‘March Of The Fire Ants’! Bring me more ‘Blood And Thunder’!”, I screamed.

Weeks go by and I end up going to the 9:30 Club to see Mastodon with my brother Chris (he wasn’t fond of the new record either). We think they’ll play a good mix of everything and just ignore the few songs from the newest release. WRONG! What do they do? They start the show by playing the entire fucking new crappy record from start to finish complete with a little film playing in the background. Like they were playing it just to spite me.

Weeks and weeks go by. I keep reading rave reviews about the CD. I start to think everyone has gone insane. So I pop in my earbuds at work and start listening again. I haven’t been able to stop playing it since. It really is their best album to date. Hard. Heavy. Made with love. The latter isn’t very “metal” but it’s so true. Go listen to it and you’ll see what I mean.

Baroness – ‘The Blue Record’
I was first exposed to Baroness when they opened for Opeth at Ram’s Head Live in October of 2008. I only caught the last few songs but I remember being very impressed with their sound. Sabbathy. Proggy. Punky. Southern. Tons better than the second opening act High On Fire who seemed to be playing the same song over and over and over again. Their shirtless and greasy lead singer/guitarist sweating on everything and continually screaming “Come on! This is a rock show!” Pure torture. It got so bad that several members of the audience started screaming back “Bring back the first band!”

To be honest I have no recollection as to how I came across The Blue Record. Perhaps it was a blurb from the fine folks over at Blurt (rock on Scott Crawford!). Perhaps I just came across it in between surfing pron sites. It doesn’t matter. The record rocks. Hard. I’m glad it found me.

Chris Cornell – ‘Scream’
A pure guilty pleasure. Chris Cornell? Lead singer of Soundgarden? Teams up with Timbaland to make an R&B/Dance record? Are you fucking kidding me?!? Despite it’s absurdity (if it’s that at all), the album is delicious. Within the first two minutes we gotz mad beetz and Chris starts singin’ ‘bout sum bitches n hos. Ok. Maybe not hos. But definitely bitches. I’m not sure it’s an endorsement that my 8, 7, and 4 year-old daughters like the record, but it sure is hilarious to hear them sing along: “That bitch ain’t a part of me, no that bitch ain’t a part of me.” (I know. Father Of The Year Award).

Disagree with me if you wish (You’re wrong. I’m right), Chris Cornell is the best vocalist in rock (and R&B?) and this record just shows how versatile and talented the guy is.

I can’t wait for the Soundgarden reunion. I think…

Dethklok – ‘Dethalbum II’
I think it’s hilarious that the best death metal album of the year is actually a parody of the genre itself. Dethklok isn’t even a real band. They’re the fictional band in the cartoon ‘Metalocalypse’. Bigger than the Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson are/were all put together and sporting an incredible fanbase. The entire planet’s survival dependant on the band’s success. A casual metal fan might not get the joke, but to those of us that get it, it makes it even better. Most of the song titles don’t even seem out of place. ‘Laser Cannon Death Sentence’ and ‘The Cyborg Slayers’ totally sound like they could show up on a “real” death metal record. In fact, I think the only song title (and song itself) that really stands out as an actual parody is ‘Mermaider II: The Water God’, because—well, come on.

Each song is an epic, rifftastic onslaught of brutal goodness. Brendon Small is the genius behind it (he plays all the instruments and sings) and the amazing Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad) is the guy playing drums.

Katatonia – ‘Night Is The New Day’
A good few months before this album was released I was able to legally download the opening track to this record. Having been blown away by this group’s previous release, ‘The Great Cold Distance’, I had high expectations. But this first track—‘Forsaker’—wasn’t blowing me out of the water. It felt a little luke warm. Almost like an afterthought from the last record. I found myself totally indifferent to it and as a result, I forgot the release date and that was that.

Some time later Peaceville Records sent me an email promoting it as well as including much hype from around the metal ‘net so I took a chance. I’m so glad I did. As soon as ‘The Longest Year’ (click to see the video) started playing I was hooked. I can’t stop playing the fucking thing. It’s so moody and beautiful and romantic and emotive. Such a wonderful suite of songs from my other favorite Swedish metal band.

Which brings me to my favorite Swedish metal band (and maybe my favorite band in general). If you haven’t heard Opeth’s ‘The Throat Of Winter’, go download it now. It’s on the ‘God Of War III’ EP and it’s the best track on the disc. The next full-length Opeth record can’t get here fast enough.