The words “metal radio” almost seem like a contradiction in 2009, but there’s still heavy music to be found for those that look. Radio industry trade magazine FMQB (or Friday Morning Quarterback) has been tracking what’s getting spun on college radio, metal commercial specialty (aka, one hour new music shows, usually on Sunday nights), and outlets like SiriusXM and Music Choice, and have come up with a list of the most-spun bands of the year. The most-spun album by far is Lamb of God’s Wrath, which isn’t that surprising, given that a) they’re a huge band and b) the albumwas released in January, so it had a whole year of airplay. The full list can be seen here, but here’s the top ten, with my thoughts after the jump.
| 1 | LAMB OF GOD | Wrath | (Epic Records) | 10570 |
| 2 | MASTODON | Crack The Skye | (Reprise Records) | 8559 |
| 3 | CHIMAIRA | The Infection | (Ferret) | 7549 |
| 4 | SHADOWS FALL | Retribution | (Everblack Industries/Ferret) | 6866 |
| 5 | SLAYER | World Painted Blood | (Columbia/American) | 6738 |
| 6 | MEGADETH | Endgame | (Roadrunner Records) | 6090 |
| 7 | HEAVEN & HELL | The Devil You Know | (Rhino Records) | 6086 |
| 8 | KILLSWITCH… | Killswitch Engage | (Roadrunner Records) | 5815 |
| 9 | DEVILDRIVER | Pray For Villains | (Roadrunner Records) | 5231 |
| 10 | GOD FORBID | Earthsblood | (Century Media) | 5231 |
Most of the top ten isn’t a huge surprise. As I said, LoG has been out there forever, and bands like Killswitch and Shadows Fall are staples on metal radio. It is, however, interesting to see a disconnect between these bands’ popularity and their record sales. Shadows Fall, God Forbid and Heaven and Hell might have lit up the phone lines at metal radio, but they sure didn’t sell a ton of record while doing that. Also, credit should be given to both Slayer and Megadeth, as their albums didn’t come out until later in the year, but got enough airplay to crack the top ten.
