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Finally, after sleepless nights, vicious arguments and enough bouts of stressed-induced baldness to turn Captain Caveman into Humpty Dumpty, our loyal team of scribes, snappers and site-fixers got their end of year album lists in to compile the definitive Soundshock Top 20 for 2009. It’s been a stunning year for music in all sectors, and we certainly aren’t exaggerating when we say this was one of the most tediously difficult tasks we had to complete. Our Editor, Lee MacBride, Assistant Editor, Merlin Alderslade and fellow scribes, Steve Jones and Annette Simmonds take you through the final results. Come join us on Twitter or Facebook to tell us why you might think we’re heinously wrong. But enough babble, it’s time for the serious stuff...
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 1. MASTODON – ‘Crack The Skye’ [Reprise]
Fully deserving of the praise this album received and equally of our top spot, ‘Crack The Skye’ scoffs at contemporary “prog” wannabes with demanding and enchanting compositions, whether it be the seismic riff centrepiece in the title track or the psychedelic grandeur throughout. ‘Crack The Skye’ is simply put, magnificent in every facet and an album that can only be released by the only band of any real importance in the modern metal scene today! LM
Melancholic, monolithically heavy and perfect in its execution, there isn’t a single moment where ‘Crack The Skye’ fails to remain utterly enthralling. Mastodon have finally completed a journey that fully began with 2004’s ‘Leviathan’, and has ended with the Atlantan heavyweights looking down over their peers as one of the most crucial heavy metal acts of the decade. MA
2. BARONESS – ‘Blue Record’ [Relapse]
Not too distant in sound to this year’s winners, Baroness have always had a rough-round-the-edges appeal and with ‘Blue Record’ they have provided one of the most enjoyable releases this year. The fuzz of the guitar solos and gentle hum of the bass are enough to warm the cockles of nostalgia as post-punk gang vocals enthuse tracks like ‘The Horse Of Golgotha’ with a real dirty, DIY secret that only you are allowed in on! LM
3. PORCUPINE TREE – ‘The Incident’ [Roadrunner]
‘The Incident’ is another example of why Steven Wilson’s Porcupine Tree are one of the most interesting and essential bands in the UK at the moment. Taking the more “conceptual” approach to this album, each song flows seamlessly into the next with the distinct Porcupine Tree melancholy cementing the album. LM
4. HEAVEN AND HELL – ‘The Devil You Know’ [Roadrunner]
When it emerged that Heaven And Hell were following up their hugely successful reunion tour with a new studio album, the heavy metal world released one huge, knicker-ripping sex wee in anticipation. Not only does ‘The Devil You Know’ smash expectations, it provides one of the essential metal releases of the past few years; brash, monstrously heavy and utterly magnificent. MA
5. MEGADETH – ‘Endgame’ [Roadrunner]
While the rest of the world was busy arguing over whether ‘Death Magnetic’ was a monstrous return to form or a damp, overhyped squib, Senior Mustaine was beavering away at what would emerge as one of the most stunning thrash albums in recent memory. ‘Endgame’ is by far the best Megadeth album of the 21st century and beyond. MA
6. KATATONIA – ‘Night Is The New Day’ [Peaceville]
In almost twenty years of existence, Katatonia have rarely sounded so vital as with ‘Night Is The New Day’. A huge improvement on 2006’s equally gloomy but less impressive ‘The Great Cold Distance’, this is about as glorious as glum can get. Haunting, epic and relentless, few can argue that in a year of many highs, Katatonia stand tall. MA
7. AMORPHIS – ‘Skyforger’ [Nuclear Blast]
Amorphis have become a dependable force to be reckoned with and ‘Skyforger’ is the steady foot forward from their previous opus. You want catharsis and gloom, look no further! SS
8. THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT – ‘Ki’ [Hevy Devy/Inside Out]
Just when we shed our last tear on the news that metal’s mad scientist and producer extraordinaire, Devin Townsend was to never return, well, for a very long time at least. He arrives like a phoenix from the flames, announcing his most intriguing venture yet. Four albums released consecutively, mapping every mood and facet of the man’s inner sonic psyche. The first, ‘Ki’, is odds-on his best release yet and certainly the least like his preceding work. An inspirational journey with a most climactic finish. LM
9. ALICE IN CHAINS – ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ [Virgin]
The Seattle legends’ 2006 comeback tour proved that William DuVall had the chops to take over from Layne, but few could have predicted just what a juggernaut ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ turned out to be. What it lacks in some of the grit that earmarked the likes of ‘Dirt’, it makes up for in relentlessly wonderful, caringly-crafted, hook-riddled tunes. MA
10. CONVERGE – ‘Axe To Fall’ [Epitaph]
The Massachusetts mob’s seventh studio album is one huge motherfucker of a speaker-destroyer. Equal parts cathartic fury and sinew-splitting technicality, ‘Axe To Fall’ shows Converge are still in a league of their very own when it comes to hyper-hardcore. A white-knuckle rocket ride to a knife-edge, ‘Axe To Fall’ shows Converge are still at the peak of their powers. SJ
11. NO MADE SENSE – ‘The Epillanic Choragi’ [Basick]
‘The Epillanic Choragi’ is no easy listening! Having not been on the scene long, No Made Sense have effortlessly released one of the most impressive debuts this year. Passionate ambitions are evident with their approach to song writing which evokes memories of the finer moments of Tool and Neurosis alike. A nightmarish, post apocalyptic fantasy built from diagnostic riffing and sheer intensity, this is brutality refined! LM
12. KYLESA – ‘Static Tensions’ [Prosthetic]
By turns brutally hypnotic and epically colossal, ‘Static Tensions’ is the sound of sludge metal striding into uncharted territory on the back of dual tribal drumming and sledgehammer riffs. A swirling, mesmeric, enveloping slab of metal, guaranteed to set your head a-banging and your throat issue a roar of guttural triumph.
13. BEHEMOTH – ‘Evangelion’ [Nuclear Blast]
‘Evangelion’ is the record that Polish warriors Behemoth have been threatening to make their entire career. From the ferocious opening call to arms of ‘Daimonos’ to gripping, doom and gloom album-closer ‘Lucifer’, this is arguably death metal’s finest hour in 2009. A successful UK tour with DevilDriver has proven that they still have the live chops to match this sonic beast. MA
14. SWALLOW THE SUN – ‘New Moon’ [Spinefarm]
We should be used to Finnish doom lords Swallow The Sun blowing our minds by now, but nothing could have prepared us for ‘New Moon’. Its stunning blend of sumptuous atmospherics, heavy riffing and progressive mish-mash of styles saw it make a successful late bid for our end of year lists. And no, it has nothing to do with R-Patz. MA
15. THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT – ‘Addicted!’ [Hevy Devy/Inside Out]
The second piece of Captain Townsend’s musical odyssey re-creates that famous and familiar wall-of-noise sound associated with Devin and this time with some beautiful female vocals on display alongside Dev’s characteristic showmanship. For such a late release to come this far and the second for Devy in our chart, speaks volumes! LM
16. HYPOCRISY – ‘A Taste Of Extreme Divinity’ [Nuclear Blast]
Having finally stopped pissing around with so-so side project Pain, Peter Tägtgren got back to business with a storming set of crushing melo-death anthems. ‘A Taste Of Extreme Divinity’ might sound like a pompous album title, but this is no-holds barred brutality in the most harmonious sense of the word. Few can meld power and melody so effortlessly as Pete. MA
17. INSOMNIUM – ‘Across The Dark’ [Candlelight]
Containing a spirited plait of melancholy and transformative beauty, woven from relentlessly strong riffs, gripping conviction and keen energy. Few bands can perform such alchemy and take the unrefined brutality of heavy metal and give it the guise of something graceful. Insomnium’s long, elegant fingers reach in to your mind to chain you up in grateful servitude. AS
18. PELICAN – ‘What We All Come To Need’ [Southern Lord]
Like their feathered namesake, Pelican are strangely majestic. Vulnerable yet powerful, ‘What We All Come To Need’ leads you gently into the grand openness of their ambition, and fills your soul like the relief of a summer storm. As natural as breathing and instinctive as a love between lovers, this is post-metal at its very best. SJ
19. DREAM THEATER – ‘Black Clouds & Silver Lining’ [Roadrunner]
Dream Theater rise to the occasion and show all the copycats that they’ve endured for twenty years for a damn fine reason! They can still write some captivating prog metal and still do it with aplomb. ‘Black Clouds...’ bears witness to a darker, heavier Dream Theater and also arguably their finest track in several years, ‘The Count Of Tuscany’. LM
20. DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA – ‘Sing Alongs For The Damned And Delirious’ [Ascendance]
There aren’t enough synonyms, expletives and silly adjectives in the English language for this bad boy. Merging together swing, jazz and good old heavy metal with a complete disregard for the consequences, the Swedes have produced one of the year’s most compelling and utterly ridiculous releases. Essential stuff, especially if you like your music boisterously brilliant and a tad insane. MA
Honourable mentions deserve to go to three albums that narrowly missed out!
Earth Crisis – To The Death [Century Media]
Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West [Weathermaker]
God Dethroned – Passiondale [Metal Blade]
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Breaking The Waves 