A Year In The Making

So, as you can see there is a current trend with the KYS blogs containing our Top Tens in terms of music and various other media articles of vast importance.

And what a right pearler of a year for releases and tours it was!

Top Ten Releases of 2009 (INTERNATIONAL)

1. The Devil Wears Prada - With Roots Above Branches Below: So every other album they have done might have been shitty, but I'm really digging the Electronic/thrash riffs combination these guys come up with.

2. Architects - Hollow Crown: Technical, but catchy. Follow the water would easily be one of my favourite tracks of 09

3. Set Your Goals - This Will Be the Death of Us: Most people didn't rate this as much as as Mutiny, but the quality has defintely improved and the last half of the album is catchy as hell. Such a sweet bass sound as well

4. Darkest Hour - The Eternal Return - Modern Thrash gurus. Defintely an all time favourite and source of inspiration.

5. Evergreen Terrace - Almost home: Infinite sing along bits. Chaneys voice has never sounded better.

6. Behemoth - Evangelion: Heavy, really really heavy. I get the feeling these guys won't be in church this Sunday.

7. Circle of Contempt - Artifacts In Motion: Sick Meshuggah worship band.  Whaddup Polyrhythms

8. Born of Osiris - A Higher Place: Further proof Sumerian are killing it

9. American Me - Siberian Death Machine: Late release, super heavy and mosh friendly.  This to this and go punch people

10. The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate: Much love for this band, digging the more guitar driven songs

Top Ten Releases 2009 (LOCAL)

1. Dead Kings - Self Titled : The production on this CD is huge, and enters fairly untouched ground for an Australian band. I can't wait to see what they can do in 2010

2. Values Here - Greet The Sun: Being a massive Just Say Go! fan, i was dissapointed when they broke up. Such a shame their follow up has always walked down the same path, but Greet the Sun is an excellent swan song

3. Confession - Cancer: Massive sound, sick mosh bits with clean singing. Whats not to like?

4. Elora Danan - In The room up There: Now defunct perth Gurus, great thought provoking release

5. Anime Fire - On The Wings of Hope: Might have trashed this a bit to much in the review, but On The Wings of hope copped a decent flogging in the car stereo

6. Cross the Lips of Grace - The Epilogue of suffering: Grotesque and evil, what death metal should be about

7. Cry Murder - Above us the Waves: Sick defunct Adelaide band.  So many good riffs

8. Hopeless - Dear World: A lot of pain and angst carried with this release.  Definitely feeling it.

9. Break Even - The Bright Side: The shit this band has pushed up hill us unparalled.  Im so happy for them The Bright Side turned out better than anyone could have hoped

10. Bermuda - Tyrant: Great debut EP, even greater dudes.  Next EP is goin to be huge

Best Shows of 2009

1. Misery Signals @ Fowlers Live
2. Set Your Goals @ The Gov
3. Anime Fire @ Syke Nightclub
4. Dead Kings @ Syke Nightclub
5. Poison the Well @ The Gov
6. Parkway Drive @ Thebarton theatre w/ Arcitects and August Burns Red
7. Hopeless @ Fowlers Live
8. Arch Enemy @ Fowlers Live
9. Soundwave Festival @ Bonython Park
10. Miles Away @ Fowlers Live

Top Ten Films of 2009

1. Avatar: Believe the hype. One of the best movies i have seen. Period.

2. District 9: Caffas, alien reffos and cussing in a hilarious South African accent. Definately entertaining, while captivating the darker side of the human condition.

3. Watchmen: While hurting my head, the story line is immensly captivating.

4. Trick R Treat: It took a while to come out, but i found this really entertaining.

5. Up: Hilarious. The dog is a genius

6. Star Trek: Sick rehash. The broad spock is macking is top notch

7. Harry Brown: Micheal Caine, ex marine old dude. Complete Bad ass

8. Inglorious Basterds: Funny as hell, with heaps of nazi killing

9. Dorian Grey: Eerie From Hell vibe.  Dug it

10. Zombie Land: Fuck me this movie was funny

Top Ten(ish) Celebrities of 2009

1. Sam Worthington: Purely based on my staunch boner for Avatar. He was cool in Terminator as well i guess. Plus the dude is aussie, ruling !

2. Christian Bale: This guy lost his shit at a sound dude on set of a film. He's also played Bruce Wayne and John Connor so he is immensly better than all life forms (except the above)

3. Tiger Woods: The blooke rooted like a zillion stunning broads

4. The Hammer: Internet Lord by day, Melbourne shuffling DJ by night.  What a package

5. Crafter: Seems like the logical thing to put this bloke in any top ten

Bands I'll be keeping an eye on in 2010 release wise

Hallower
House Vs Hurricane
Anime Fire
Mary Jane Kelly
Abandon All Hope
Buried In Verona

Band of the Week - On The Day Of My Disaster

Considering On The Day Of My Disaster formed in Adelaide in the first quarter of 2009, the amount of ground they have covered coupled with the large fan base assertained in such a short period of time is nothing short of impressive.

The aggressive combination of hardcore and electronic sections (with a few thrash riffs thrown in for good measure) can come out like a dogs breakfast 9 times out of 10, thankfully OTDOMD (what a cunt of an abreviation) pull it off without the extra cheese which shows in their first demo entitled "..Go To Bratislava" recorded with Micah Leinonen mid this year.

If this young band can keep up the solid ethic towards music and work towards a release in 2010, it could be their year to back winners.

For fans of House vs Hurricane, Nazarite Vow and Underoath

www.myspace.com/otdomd

Band of the Week - Cross the Lips of Grace

More often than not the band of the week is a hardcore band Maddo has found by deep trawling the internet is some god forsaken nether region.  This usually leaves little time (well, finding time to be fucked writing) to expose some of the sweet Metal Bands we have in our fine country.

Cross the Lips of Grace formed in 2005 in the humid and mostly pleasant region of Queensland.  I'm always suprised to find extreme metal bands coming out of that area, as its basically super sunny and nice looking which wouldn't t appear to be an apt breeding ground for extreme music.

They released their debut album Epilogue of Suffering in April of this year, showcasing 12 brutal tracks which will appeal to fans of The Aborted and Thy Art Is Murder. Bree-free, the album is more death metal than death core and tracks are super super heavy, and are layered with thick grotesque samples taken from horror/slasher flicks.

I can imagine some crew on the forum won't be sold, but give the album a captains and it will unveil its secrets after a few listens.

Apparently they are writing for a second full length, here's hoping they don't hit that brick wall that stops Australian bands from releasing that mythical follow up release.

Suss it @ www.myspace.com/crossthelipsofgrace

Nu Metal Band of The Week - Fear Factory

In keeping with the KYS tradition, over the following weeks i will take it upon myself to rehash a Nu Metal band and reminisce about tribal sleeves.

While not really a nu metal band at the start, Fear Factory helped carve a path for heavy mainstream industrial metal.  Theres not really much point giving much background information into the bands roots, if you didnt listen to Demanufacture in highschool you are probably practicing mosh moves in your bedroom right now or wearing a boston hardcore pull over hoody eyeing cunts off at mcdonalds.

While the latter material is crap, with a slouth of earlier material ruling they certainly have more bragging rites than a zillion other bands in modern music. 

Some notable points about Fear Factory that make them gurus

* Dinos gut flying out in the Digital Connectivity DVD

* Burton not being able to sing clean vocals live

* Cypress Hill doing guest vocals on Back the Fuck Up

* Self Bias Resistor

* Making a shit house remix album called Remanufacture

*Covering Cars by Gary Numan

The list is basicaly infinite to be honest, and i can't be fucked writing anymore

Please note the picture is from the hay day era, and Cazares is a big gorgeous man

\m/

S to the Wavvveee

Regardless of the hate and whinging that this fest appears to generate, Soundwave has once again delievered a few gems.  Bands im looking forward to, be it to sling crude comments or generate a drunken circle pit.

Whitechapel - Missed last tour due to how expensive it was.  Keen to watch weirdos do that deathcore owl thing.

Four Year Strong - Destroyed fowlers last year and will allow crew to see them who otherwise can't be fucked

Comeback kid - Candian Hardcore gurus, whats not to like

Devil Wears Prada - Fuck the haters, new album is full of thrashy goodness

Emarosa - One of the select non dick hole rise bands

A Wilhelm Scream - Missed last tour so super keen to see how the new material travels

A Day To Remember - Obvious reasons, recently failed to make it on Sweat fest tour

Meshuggah - Will throw up do to mental time signatures and uuber heaviness

AFI - Stoked on all records, apparently the new gear is a lot faster and has tons of Woahs.  You beauty

Bands i wouldn't mind seeing added to the list, that will not happen but its nice to dream..

Darkest Hour
Misery Signals
Between The Buried and Me


Should be a great hot adelaide day.  Hopefully i don't hit the turps to early like this year and be fingered by 4 in the arv