This is probably my favorite superlative to give out at the end of each year. It is given to the artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. In the past winners have included:
2000- Radiohead - Kid A
2001- The Strokes - Is This It?
2002- NERD - In Search of...
2003- The White Stripes - Elephant
2004- The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005- The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006- TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007- Kanye West - Graduation
2008- Santogold
...and now to add to my growing list of revolutionary acts is a band from the south that in no means in a southern band. A band that has made metal and hard rock something much more technical and precise. An act who can tell a story, cross genre's and make you fear for your life at the same time. The recipient of the 2009 League of Their Own is:
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
This has been a long time coming for Mastodon and their legion of devoted fans. Bursting onto the music scene with their debut Leviathan in 2004. A record that saw them create a musical score to Moby Dick, then following it up with 2006's aggressive Blood Mountain. This year's release, Crack the Skye is an achievement from such an act not herd since the hay day of loud rock. Crack the Skye is a record that is supposed to sound like an out of body experience and take you through the journey's of time travel and wormholes. A record that mixes metal, prog, classical, hard rock and at some points blues and jazz. Mastodon are technical masters and have created a record so original and fresh, it just makes me thrilled we are living in a time when they are being so creative.
Key Tracks: Divinations, The Czar: Usurper / Escape / Martyr / Spiral
Top 10 Albums of 2009 Coming in Two Weeks!! Stay Tuned!
