But here they are coming back in 2009, 14 years after
their last studio album and 13 years after the legendary MTV Unplugged
concert that marked the beginning of the end for the band! An extremely
surprising resurrection, but a strongly efficient one. Staley's
replacement, William DuVall, surprises. With its mulatto tint and its
"afro" hair, he doesn't have anything of the traditional grunge looks,
but he blends very well into this music and compensates pretty well the
heavy loss of Staley. The album that the reunited band gave birth to in
2009, Black Gives Way to Blue,
certainly isn't a masterpiece but remains nonetheless one of the rare
good albums of 2009.
= presence of electric guitar = slightly heavy, but should be
acceptable for a large majority
= really heavy, sensible ears keep away!| Alice in Chains Check my Brain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZTQ7xlFFA8 |
|
| Not a
masterpiece, not a future great classic, but a truly different final
product, that we end up wanting to hear every day! Brilliant use of 2
guitars, including one in bends all the song's length, a job of
precision and probably a first for me I think... a unique sound, while
still perfectly respecting the sound ambiance that characterized Alice
in Chains during its 6 or 7 glorious years in the grunge wave. A total
success! |
|
| Godsmack Whiskey Hangover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPNbJS-ye4 |
|
| Very
characteristic of Godsmack: simple but extremely
efficient in the reach of a heavy, loud but round sound that completely
fill our ears! Impossible for me not to increase the volume when that
one starts! |
|
| Alice in Chains A Looking in View http://vimeo.com/5824939 |
|
| Maybe
slightly too long uselessly, but WOW! A louad sound to fully satisfy
both the metal fans and the grunge fans, printed of an extremely
palpable intense emotion, screaming of truth. An awesome ambiance, that
doesn't waste any time to install itself right on the 1st second. A #3,
but really not far from a #1! |
|
| Silversun Pickups Panic Switch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q |
|
| I had
really liked Well Thought Out
Twinkles, but I was not close to foresee that this relatively
"low profile" small band, with its singer that sound like a girl, may
someday release a track to take that seriously. It's truly a big one!
All year long, I never had any doubt that it would make my top 10.
Recommended to enthousiasts of all kinds of rock. |
|
| Cage the Elephant Ain't no Rest for the Wicked http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U631FGnXDXY |
|
| Without
any possible doubt my discovery of the year! A rich,
original, refreshing sound. Different and interesting lyrics as well.
Another big gun of this year 2009. |
|
| Les Trois Accords Caméra Vidéo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phAk3z27-r4 |
|
| Fairly
different from what Les Trois Accords used us to, which is already a
positive impression. But most of all, it is so OVERFILLED of joy, an
explosion of pure contagious happiness! They get me into their festive
ambiance, and obviously I enjoy it! Thanks Les Trois Accords for having
distributed so much joy to Quebecers through the radio waves this year! |
|
| Three Days Grace Break http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4VCpTZye10 |
|
| Among
the best ones of a career that, step by step, starts being very well
filled... |
|
| Cage the Elephant Back Against the Wall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlQ_NlX4MFw |
|
| Definitely
less special that its predecessor Ain't
no Rest for the Wicked, but no less moving! Did I say that Cage
the Elephant is my far my discovery of the year? :-) |
|
| Disturbed The Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRWGcny1iI4 |
|
| Disturbed
doesn't lose much of its efficiency. I particularly like the end! |
|
| Chevelle Jars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8keCpueDqR0 |
|
| In my
opinion, the best of Chevelle' career. I still enjoy very much their
first hit The
Red, but Jars really
has an arousing intensity, superior to any other song from the
U.S.-based band. NB: If you asked me today, no doubt that I prefer Jars to The Night, but I keep the order as
is because I consider having liked The
Night more throughout the year. |
|
| Slipknot Dead Memories http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5PqJpk5lQ |
|
| Slipknot
successfully did a more relax and more emotive song, without losing its
essence and take a distance from what it does best. It's actually a
trap into which it got caught in the past, and again this year with Snuff, that I honestly find a bit
uninteresting and that will not even be found in my personal chart of
2010. |
|
| Shinedown Sound of Madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkYXE0-JsY4 |
|
| Threatening!!
Very efficient! "Well
take your medicine!" "When you
gonna wake up and fight?" I like the 2nd verse as well, especially the beginning: "I'm so sick of this tombstone mentality, If there's an afterlife, Then it'll set you free." |
|
| Foo Fighters Wheels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONkiLR5Ehys |
|
| Among
the best compositions of Foo Fighters' modern era. I sincerely believed
since its release that it had good chances to qualify for my top 10 of
the year, but
competition is strong... |
|
| Cavo Champagne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA3pESvUl3I |
|
| I was
liking it better in the beginning before it was overplayed on the
radio, but it is no less a song that marked my year 2010. "Could have been the champagne, the champagne. Could have been the cocaine, the cocaine" |
|
| AFI Medicate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCwEBz3ego8 |
|
| Still
not convinced that it is at the level of Girl's not Grey, Silver and Cold or
Miss Murder, but it's definitely at AFI's
level and that fully deserves its place in my top 20 of 2010. |
|
| Marilyn Manson Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon http://www.marilynmanson.com/#/cinema (quand les vidéos apparaîssent, appuyer la flèche vers le haut) |
|
| Exageration
of vulgarism as always, not much more maturity acquired from the last
albums... but I really found it good and I was convinced that it would
know much more success than that and would give a new start to Manson's
career. Unfortunately, it wasn't... |
|
| Billy Talent Devil on my Shoulder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBzwms98KZY |
|
| I'm
really on the path of become a Billy Talent fan! As much as I did not
like them in the first years of their career, as much in the last few
years I like almost all that they release to the radio! Another track
that well reflect the insane energy that band demonstrates in concert. "I got the devil on my shoulder" ! |
|
| Les Trois Accords Dans mon Corps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKl0Je8jTi4 |
|
| Completely
crazy!! Men who are singing the puberty of a young girl, it's already
funny. But the way they do it, with a charming flute melody and the so
lonnnnnnnng pause between the "il y a
des" and ".....................changements",
it's so delightful! |
|
| Les Cowboys Fringants La Catherine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggmgr8Zghg0 |
|
| Definitely
a comeback to the style of the Break
Syndical album, which is not a bad thing. Really gets me moving,
like in the good old days! |
|
| 311 Hey You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPu1iunLZZo |
|
| A song
that should have been titled simply Music
if there were not already so many songs with this title! An ode to
music, absolutely in the style of 311. |
|
| DJ Champion Alive Again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNuSjLgRGrU |
|
| More
rock than ever, Quebecer DJ Champion surprises here with a unique
sound, which worthed him a well-deserved success. |
|
| Billy Talent Rusted from the Rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v_nZEljINg |
|
| Liked
less than Devil on my Shoulder,
but not by much. Very good! |
|
| Seether Careless Whisper http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK-EgnboXHo |
|
| A cover,
it's always easier... but if I could make
abstraction of that and consider it as an original song, maybe it could
have been even higher than that. Much emotion, a song for all despite
the guitar that's a bit heavy in the intro and choruses. |
|
| Les Cowboys Fringants Chêne et Roseau http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZIoarxXqmA |
|
| Truly
strong! Certainly disadvantaged by the fact that I heard it only once
on the radio in 2009 (why was that so weak airplay?!), but it's really
a nice song. A little short, but it proves a great efficiency by going
right to the point without stretching a single moment. |
|
| MC Lars Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Doesn't Make you Slash) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7V7BaRAy0k |
|
| Mostly
for the lyrics. Not sure that the teens will appreciate being told that
they should play a little less video games and a little more in the
real world, but me I liked it much! |
|
| Ariane Moffatt Jeudi, 17 Mai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CvG7tk_KGY |
|
| Extremely
surprising from Ariane Moffatt. Very electro, completely out of her
usual style. But it really sounds big! I don't like many of her songs,
but this one really stands out! |
|
| U2 Get on your Boots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcDNilZbZg8 |
|
| Well-appreciated
surprise from U2! It's been a long time (and it's actually very rare in
their whole career) they came up with a true rock track. |
|
| Muse Uprising http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KQmps-Sog |
|
| I don't
like the "Come on"'s that are constantly coming back, but that's just a
personal taste. I'm the first to admit that it's very close of being a
great song despite its relatively low position in my annual personal
chart. |
|
| Mastodon Divinations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxelXPg961M |
|
| Not the
greatest melody, but really an intense metal like we find very few
these days. I think it is a
"must" for all metal fans. To watch with the superb, mysterious video. |
|
| Mad'moizèle Giraf Sub Su'a Job http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQI43hbhD0 |
|
| Me
neither, I don't want to go to work!!! A gentle little acoustic song,
often circumstantial! It's true that it's not right, "always caught
between the same four walls", but life is made that way for so many of
us, unfortunately! |
|
| Linkin Park New Divide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0 |
|
| It is
obvious that Linkin Park turns around in circle. New Divide sounds exactly like a What I've Done 2, and not even
necessarly that far from Somewhere I
Belong. But I think this one still deserves some attention, even
if it was only for the segment between 2:38 and 2:53, where sounds of
electric guitars and electronics merge with intensity. |
|
| Big B Sinner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=borwYU3GEb4 |
|
| With
this extremely catchy chorus, I do not understand that it was not a
greater commercial success. An acoustic song that could please anybody.
Another one that I consider to have been disadvantaged in this chart by
its too low radio airplay. |
|
| Sick Puppies You're Going Down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2bohKixLt8 |
|
| It made
me discover a violent side of the Sick Puppies that I didn't know
before, that surprised me and left me cold in the beginning... but at
some point, I came to like it always better and better. We can also
condition ourselves to see solidarity rather than violence. |
|
| Discobitch C'est Beau la Bourgeoisie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40_i2JdRinM |
|
| A song
that I discovered only 2 days before the end of the year, so obviously
it could not get very high in my chart. But still, it catched me
instantly! There is always one or two shameful pop songs in my personal
chart every year, and this year of this one from the
French guys of Discobitch! |
|
| Weezer (If you are Wondering if I want you to) I Want you to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDIzMGh94vo |
|
| Which
I'm tired for having heard it a lot too often, but I relatively liked
it, once in a time... |
|
| Franz Ferdinand No You Girls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25sBhhOR4lw |
|
| Rascalish, soft, vivifying. | |
| MGMT Kids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe4EK4HSPkI |
|
| Very mixed feelings; Kids was almost driving me nuts at first, but I eventually started to appreciate it!... | |
| Rammstein Pussy Réservé aux 18 ans et plus |
|
| Rammstein
has always liked to chock a bit, whether it was by its song on
cannibalism (Mein Teil), its
hose-penis when it performs Bück
Dich in concert, the horrible pictures of the bands' members in
the sleeve of its Sehnsucht
album, the singer's auto-flegallation in concert during Bestrafe Mich, its songs with
violent and/or bloody lyrics such as Wollt
Ihr Das Bett in Flammen Sehen?
or Rammstein, etc. This time,
it aimed at the highest level of "shockery" with a song that promotes
beastly sex, accompanied by a video that is nothing less than a short
porno movie in which each of the band's members fully f*cks a presumed
whore. There's a certain point where it's too much, where it becomes
much more an enterprise of how to shock as much as possible than a
music enterprise. A point where even myself I start getting at least a
bit shaken up, if not shocked. That point, Rammstein reached it without
a shadow of a doubt with Pussy... ... ...but it's still some Rammstein nonetheless! It is very, very far from being their best work in their career, but it still sounds like Rammstein, so almost automatically there's a base that I love, and that deserves a spot in my personal chart of the year. |
|
| Creed Overcome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ocxkmdadPE |
|
| A pretty
successful comeback I think, but that definitely hasn't played enough
on the radio, which certainly penalize it here. I haven't heard it more
than 3 times in 2009... |
|
| Staind This is It http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt_e07qQeKw |
|
| Not a
truly great song, but definitely and by far Staind's best since So Far
Away in 2003. After these 6 years of failures, it worth rejoice
with This is It!! |
|
| Rise Against Savior http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8X3ACToii0 |
|
| A clear
step under Ready to
Fall, and definitely nothing new in the band's career, but Savior nonetheless counts within my
favorites from Rise Against. |
|
| Silversun Pickups Substitution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hzhD6xKtG4 |
|
| Cleary a whole level under Panic Switch, but nonetheless a pleasant song. | |
| Switchfoot Mess of Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et1vriu29Qk |
|
| It looks
like Switchfoot will not remain just a "one-hit wonder" (Meant to Live) ! :-) |
|
| Breaking Benjamin I Will not Bow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wyJIIP5a1Q |
|
| It's a
chance that the singer is not as good as David Draiman, that song would
be
impossible to distinguish from the band Disturbed!!! Not original, but
still entertaining. |
|
| Puddle of Mudd Spaceship http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyX2vg1AVqk |
|
| Another
one kind of "over-sexualized", but still less shocking than than
Rammstein's Pussy... Another
one which very late release near the end of the year is bad for its
position in my chart of the year. All night long, I been drinking About how to get your panties on the floor So let’s get it over and just get naked |
|