The Music of 2009

Every year there are a ton of new albums released. This year of course has been no exception. Many new artists have been corporately produced, while some legitimate artists have tried to keep me sane over the year.

I'll keep this as short as I can, by just giving a short review of artists who like, and what they threw into the mix...

"Sci-Fi Crimes" by Chevelle: Amazing new CD. I wasn't really a fan of them until listening to the new album. I had always thought that they were a decent band with a few songs that I like, but had never really thought to dig deeper. Honestly they are probably the most under appreciated bands out there, and are one of the few bands that still know what the meaning of 'rock,' is. My rating: 9/10.

"Billy Talent III" by Billy Talent: To be honest when I first heard this album my first thought was, "shit... they're just another band now." Since then, my opinion has changed... a lot. This CD is way different than their last piece of work, but it's definitely in a good way. They clearly have put more thought int their lyrics and have somehow managed to become more cohesive as a band. My Rating: 9/10.

"Life Starts Now" by Three Days Grace: ... I need more time I think. Three Days Grace used to be my favourite band. Since 2003 when they broke onto the music scene, I've always said they were my favourite, and I meant it. Now though, they've slipped a bit, and are now just behind Slipknot and Chevelle. Don't get me wrong, this new album is good... it's just now what I had hoped it would be. The aggression seems to missing, and it seems like they're going a little more mainstream. As long as they don't try turn into another generic sound, I'll be happy. I still think it's good, but it's not as good as I hoped. My Rating: 8/10.

"Shaka Rock" by JET: Not usually my type of rock sound, but I have to give JET props on their work. Pretty good lyrics and musicianship. Very catchy, but not in a way that would put them in a pop/rock category. Definitely better than their previous two albums (which were pretty good anyways.) My Rating: 8.5/10.

"Innocence & Instinct" by Red: I had never heard of this band until this year. Shit, I'm so glad that did. This is an amazing album by a band I hadn't really expected to be in to. By that, I mean, this band has many Christian inspired undertones, yet they keep the relevant so that even if you don't necessarily look for them, there is still an intelligent message. My Rating: 9/10.

"Dear Agony" by Breaking Benjamin: Since it only came out today, I can't really get my head wrapped around it entirely. With that said however, I think that it's great so far. After hearing the first single about a month ago, I've been stoked. So far the album sounds like it's a second chapter to "Phobia." My Rating: 9/10.

Overall, it's been a decent year.