Top 5 Upcoming Albums of 2009

After spending a few hours browsing the Web for upcoming rock album releases, it looks to me like 2009 will bring significantly less chart-toppers than last year. 2008 was an anomaly in many ways, one being that Metallica, AC/DC, and Guns n’ Roses each released a new album within a few months of one another after years of nothing from them but rumors, documentaries and lawsuits. But now, as the hype surrounding their epic returns is fading, it’s about time for them to slip away into hiding again, giving way to a handful of evolving bands that will hopefully carry the torch into the New Year with just as much energy. Here are my top five picks:

1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (release date TBA): The fourth and final installment of the band’s element-based discography, Crack the Skye is another concept album, this time focusing on space, air and out-of-body experience. Pushing the boundaries of their already progressive, experimental metal, the new album will feature extended tracks, including a 15-minute jam hailed as “The Last Baron,” along with a slew of other songs that drummer, Brann Dailor, reports “sound real creepy and spaced out and different.” The songs were written predominantly by guitarist Brent Hinds during the recovery period after a head injury he suffered as the result of a physical altercation in Las Vegas.

2. The Bakerton Group – El Rojo (2/17/09): Never heard of these guys? TBG is the psychedelic, instrumental, jazzy alter-ego of Clutch, the groove rock quartet that graced us with “Burning Beard,” “The Mob Goes Wild” and “Electric Worry” (YouTube these videos … For your own good). El Rojo will be the first major release for TBG, and will feature 10 insanely chilled-out, groovy tracks that will be perfect background noise for the morning routine, sex or writing articles for the student newspaper. All four original members of Clutch appear on the new album, along with Per Wiberg from Opeth on keyboards, piano and synths. You must be careful with this one. It’s an acquired taste, but once you have it there’s no turning back.

3. Priestess – Currently Untitled (March 09): Perhaps most recognized for “Lay Down,” as heard and played on Guitar Hero III, Priestess will step beyond their traditional rock sound with 11 new songs that are considerably heavier and more progressive than those on their first album, Hello, Master. Lead singer and guitarist, Mikey Heppner, reports that their tour with Mastodon was a heavy influence on their new album, along with older progressive rock bands like Yes and Gentle Giant. They played six or seven new songs at their show in Columbus last month and I suffered from neck and back pain for the next three days. Let that speak for itself.

4. Johnny Cash – Johnny Cash Remixed (1/27/09): Yeah, I know, his music isn’t classified as rock. But the spirit of The Man in Black is about as balls-to-the-wall rock as it gets and he is still respected for that among artists of all genres, including Snoop Dogg.  Seriously. Johnny Cash Remixed is the latest installment in the Cash legacy and takes the “Folsom Prison Blues” to a whole new level with looped beats, sound samples, synthesizers and just about every other element that composes a hip-hop album. The album features Snoop Dogg, who reinvents “I Walk the Line,” along with DJ Pete Rock on “Folsom Prison Blues,” and Wolf on “Rock Island Line.” Although I’m sure this will rustle some feathers with long-time Cash fans, the songs are surprisingly decent and put a catchy, contemporary spin on his timeless songs.

5. Alice in Chains – Currently Untitled v(release date TBA): I guess this upcoming album could be considered of the same caliber as the latest Metallica or Guns n’ Roses album in terms of anticipation and skepticism. Recognized as one of the most influential grunge rock bands of the early ‘90S, AIC is set to record their first album in 13 years, this time short a crucial member: Layne Staley. It has been reported that William Duvall will replace Staley, who died of a fatal drug overdose in 2002, as singer and will begin work in the studio in the autumn. Will they still have the same down-tuned, melancholy sound that earned them their fame, or will this be a Chinese Democracy situation? Only time will tell.

Other upcoming albums:
1/6 Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilio [vinyl release]
2/3 Cannibal Corpse: Evisceration Plague
2/3 Chris Cornell: Scream
2/6 Heartless Bastards: The Mountain
2/17 Thrice: The Alchemy Indexes I-IV  [vinyl box set]
2/24 Lamb of God: Wrath
2/24 Pearl Jam: Ten [reissue]
3/03 Coheed and Cambria: Neverender [box set]
3/03 U2: No Line on the Horizon
3/24 The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love
4/14 Dave Matthews Band: TBA