Grumpyrocker

2009 has been a really strong year for rock music, with several big names such as Megadeth and Paradise lost releasing new albums. My favourite album by far this year was Heaven & Hell's The Devil You Know.

The Black Sabbath Mk II line-up of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinnie Apicce are getting on a bit - but really who the young guns how to create a classic crunch metal album this year. The highlight of the album is the epic Bible Black, you can see the video for this song below. And you can listen to samples of all the songs on record and download it via Amazon MP3.

Here's my selection of the ten best hard rock/heavy metal albums of 2009.

1. The Devil You Know by Heaven & Hell
2. Design Your Universe by Epica
3. Endgame by Megadeth
4. Night is the New Day by Katatonia
5. April Rain by Delain
6. All Shall Fall by Immortal
7. Faith Divides Us by Paradise Lost
8. Black Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater
9. Cheat the Gallows by Bigelf
10. The 13th Floor by Sirena

Honourable mention for The Gathering's The West Pole, very good, but the band isn't really metal anymore. I loved Iron Maiden's Flight 666 but didn't include that as it's a live album rather than new material. Leaves Eyes' Njord might have made the list if it hadn't been mixed by a deaf person.