There were many important Heavy Metal releases in 2009.  This is a list of what I consider to be the cream of crop.  It includes Thrash Metal, Hardcore, and straight forward Metal releases.  Comments welcomed.

1. Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God

"Carving Out the Eyes of God" is will be marked down as Goatwhore's "Dark Side of the Moon".  Many great metal bands emerged this year with quality albums, and Goatwhore was among the top of that list.  The album is raw, punk, thrash metal, black metal and screaming with anthems such as "Razor Fleshed Devoured" & "Provoking the Ritual Of Death"

Be warned, this album is HEAVY!

for previews, click HERE.

Favorite song:  Apocalyptic Havoc

2 Dark Age - Acedia

Hamburg natives released this gem in November 09 and it only took one listen to convince it was a powerful metal album.  It combines growling & melodic vocals, really phat guitar riffs, and keyboards to hold the whole together.  Simply put, it's fun to listen to!

Hope to hear more from this artist in 2010.

for previews, click HERE.

Favorite song:  Zeitgeist (Ghost in a Machine)

3 Lazarus A.D. - The Onslaught

Lazarus A.D. stormed out of the gates and has become one of the hottest new thrash metal bands around.  The band has been working hard on the road, opening up for Testament and now headlining their own shows.

Tracks like "Lust", "Absolute Power" and "Who I Really Am" are examples are good old fashioned metal.

for previews, click HERE.

Favorite song:  Who I Really Am

4 Slayer - World Painted Blood

Slayer unleashed this intense and blood filled beast.  Every time a major metal act releases a new album, expectations are high, not only for the fans, but for the entire metal community.  Slayer did not disappoint with "World Painted Blood".

It's fast, heavy and everything you would expect from the thrash metal legends.

Favorite Song: Human Strain

5. Hatebreed - Hatebreed

Hatebreed's popularity continued to explode in 2009.  They were the first Hardcore Metal band to sell over 1 million copies in the US alone with this 2009 self titled release.

This is album drives from beginning to end.  It's aggressiveness will lift and smash any mosh pit.   Hatebreed combines a melting pot of Hardcore, Thrash Metal, even a cool instrumental piece "Undiminished" and a few Slayer inspired trax ("Between Hell and a Heartbeat" & "Hands of a Dying Man").

Favorite song:  No Halos for the Heartless

LoudTrax.com is proud to present the Metal Blade Records label page, including over 400 really loud albums!  See label page HERE

For every genre of music there are a handful of record labels that pave the way for influential and groundbreaking artists to emerge.  Labels that are the pioneers in their respect genres and give talented artists the opportunity to become legends.

In Heavy Metal, no one will disagree that one of the most important labels is METAL BLADE RECORDS.  "The noise began 27 years ago."  A music starved LA kid named Brian Slagel, gets sick of watching the local metal scene being ignored by the major labels.   Working days at legendary metal emporium Oz Records and nights putting together one of the first metal fanzines, The New Heavy Metal Revue, Slagel asks some distributor friends if they'd be interested in circulating a compilation of unsigned bands if he put it together. The distributors said yes and Metal Blade Records was born.  Slagel pieced together the bands that would grace the label's first release - "The New Heavy Metal Revue presents Metal Massacre".   Metallica, Ratt and Black 'N' Blue were just a few of the willing locals. Except before Metal Massacre, Metallica didn't exist.

So now for over 27 years Metal Blade Records has been setting the trend in heavy metal music without compromising its underground beginnings. Brian Slagel and Metal Blade Records have without a doubt had a major role in developing the American metal scene since day one and remains one of the most essential sources of metal music today. Since it’s beginnings in 1982, Metal Blade Records has unleashed some of the most influential and significant metal acts like Slayer, Metallica, Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, Six Feet Under, and King Diamond while developing acts like As I Lay Dying, Unearth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Amon Amarth, Job For a Cowboy, The Red Chord, Hate Eternal, Shai Hulud, Soilent Green, Whitechapel, Goatwhore, The Ocean, Brain Drill, Epicurean and 3 just to name a few. There are few who can argue that Metal Blade is one of the leading independent metal labels around! 

Key new releases by Metal Blade include:

The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate preview

Amon Amarth - The Crusher (Bonus Edition) preview

Goatwhore - Carving Out The Eyes Of God (LOUDTRAX ALBUM OF THE MONTH)

The Red Chord - Fed Through The Teeth Machine preview

BEHEMOTH - Evangelia preview

3 - Revisions preview

For more information on everything Metal Blade visit www.metalblade.com