Despite mainstream television distancing themselves ever further from what’s cool, and a handful of other disappointing “metal” ventures, 2009 surely showed us a good time.

First and foremost, this was a killer year for releases from both veterans and young-bloods alike. Quality albums seemed to be dropping on a weekly basis (including some great re-releases), and the fall release schedule was unlike anything I’d ever seen… chock full of outstanding records from the likes of likes of Baroness, Immortal, Skeletonwitch, Slayer and more. There was barely enough time to keep track of everything, and I’m certain I’ll still be listening with fresh ears well into the new year.

This year also presented us with some amazingly well-crafted documentaries in Flight 666 and Anvil! The Story of Anvil. In addition to being extremely enjoyable, both films have received critical acclaim, and hopefully, helped dispel some of the bias towards metalheads worldwide (we’re not all dip-shit losers after all).

2009 has also given us a variety of cool things to spend our money on, including but not limited to: Mercyful Fate shoes, heavy metal cookbooks, Enslaved vinyl box sets, Precious Metal, and plenty of challenging tracks for the little plastic baby guitars we all own.

From the looks of it, 2010 will continue to ride the wave of awesomeness with new releases from Dillinger, High on Fire, Meshuggah, Nachtmystium, Torche (and more); as well as fantastic tours and another promising documentary for us to enjoy. Here’s to hoping we all continue to deliver. Happy New Year y’all.

Stay Heavy.

If you give even the slightest shit about video games, you’ve no doubt heard about Brutal Legend, and more than likely are as stoked as I am for its release on October 13th. While I’ve yet to experience gameplay firsthand; (Xbox Demo hits the streets this Thursday) everything I’ve seen and read up to this point looks extremely promising (including the opening cinematic).

I stumbled upon the above video over at Double Fine conceptual artist (and all-around great illustrator) Scott C’s blog and thought it would be worth sharing. Obviously, art direction is a crucial part of any video game, let alone one centered around metal, and thankfully, the folks at Double Fine opted for something a little different than the tried and true H.R Giger references.

However… this begs the question… would Hieronymus Bosch be cranking out better Slayer merch were he alive today?

Of course… review to come.