JOSH: Despite my co-workers’ best efforts to turn me on to indie rock, I remain a metalhead, and 2005 was, indeed, a great year for headbanging. Resurgences in several subgenres, including black, doom and tech, led to some impressive output by labels such as Relapse and Southern Lord, despite a continued overabundance of tired metalcore, emo bands pretending to be metal and the continued proliferation of the contradiction in terms that is Christian metal all clogging the scene. The following albums represent the grimmest of the grim, the blackest of the black and the heaviest of the heavy in 2005.

1. Sunn 0))), “Black One” (Southern Lord)

On “Black One,” experimental/doom duo Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley decided to mine the deepest recesses of the black metal underground, with stunning results. Featuring contributions from the masterminds behind U.S. black metal leaders Leviathan and Xasthur, “Black One” was 2005’s most unsettling listen, taking down-tuned doom riffs and warping them into a churning abyss coated in layers of obsidian lava.

Xasthur front man Malefic’s vocal performance on closing track “Bathory Erzebet,” which was recorded inside a coffin, is truly the stuff from which nightmares are made.

2. Deathspell Omega, “Kenose” (Norma Evangelium Diaboli)

Intended to be a companion piece to last year’s “Si Monvmentvm Reqvires Circvmspice,” this 30-minute album from mysterious French black-metal outfit Deathspell Omega is the audial equivalent to a bad acid trip to hell. With only three lengthy, untitled tracks making up the entire disc, Deathspell Omega ventures even further away from black-metal orthodoxy into the realm of grim psychedelia, twisting and contorting the genre’s stylistic limitations until they are nearly unrecognizable.

3. Earth, “Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method”

(Southern Lord)

Coming off like the bastard child of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Spaghetti Western soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone, Earth guitarist Dylan Carlson somehow manages to bridge the enormous gap between the heaviness of metal and the desolate atmospheres of the American Old West. By incorporating traditional instruments, such as banjo, pedal steel and lap steel guitars, into its sound, Earth has created the cinematic score for that last great Clint Eastwood shootout that only exists in your head.

4. Ion Dissonance, “Solace” (Abacus)

With both Meshuggah and Cryptopsy hitting creative roadblocks on their respective new releases, 2005 was time for a new band to step up to the plate and take over the tech-metal throne, and that band was Canadian five-piece Ion Dissonance. Easily the country’s heaviest export since John Candy, the band is also one of the most technically gifted groups of musicians in all of metal, effectively shutting the mouths of naysayers who dismissed its previous work as mere Dillinger Escape Plan worship with a mindbending brand of guitar- and drums-based calculus that is distinctly its own.

5. Soilent Green, “Confrontation” (Relapse)

Having now survived two van wrecks and a hurricane, New Orleans band Soilent Green is truly a band that cannot be killed by conventional weapons. On “Confrontation,” the unkillable quintet continues to refine its patented ability to take a song in 1,000 directions at once and still make complete sense. Soilent Green sounds as if every conceivable metallic subgenre got together for a marijuana- and alcohol-fueled orgy with hardcore and punk acting as reluctant witnesses to the debauchery.

Honorable Mentions: High on Fire, “Blessed Black Wings” (Relapse), Kreator, “Enemy of God” (SPV)

KATIE: Despite my co-workers’ attempts to morph my love for indie rock into a love for darkness and death metal, I have prevailed and come to the conclusion of what should adorn my list. It was a banner year for the music industry – well at least the indie-rock stream – and the following albums are proof. The curtain rose on many newcomers this year, including Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Micah P. Hinson, Shout Out Louds and Bloc Party. And some of the industry’s favorites gave their fans another reason to confirm the love for their musical tastes.

1. Andrew Bird, “The Mysterious Production of Eggs” (Righteous Babe)

Andrew Bird’s fifth release, “Mysterious Production,” encapsulates thought-provoking nonchalant music in its finest and most comfortable attempt. Bird fills his disc with explosive violins, finger-picked acoustic guitars and lush orchestrations. The album stays consistently fresh and experimental, delivering nothing short of melodic perfection. “Fake Palindromes” and “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left” are exceptional tracks, leading listeners to wonder if Bird has accomplished the next to impossible and invented a sound all his own.

2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” (Clap Your Hands Say)

A carnival on crack? An ice cream truck headed toward the land of gumdrops? How do you describe this kaleidoscope of distorted fun? The self-released, self-titled debut by Brooklyn experimental rock quintet Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an album that has pushed its way up thanks to its under-produced, yet lavish feel. The driving guitars, catchy melodies and the wailing vocal stylings of Alec Ounsworth, which crack and bend as if he’s making his transition into manhood, are enough to leave anyone feeling high as a kite.

3. Micah P. Hinson, “Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress” (Overcoat)

Yes, it’s difficult to fathom, but singer-songwriter Micah P. Hinson owns the combined vocals of Bob Dylan, Tim Buckley and Leonard Cohen. His gruff sound, layered on top of light instrumentals provided by the Earlies, brings Hinson into a state of alternative country that is only supposed to be meant for aged, seasoned musicians. No singer-songwriter in his early 20s should have the weathered, rocky sound Hinson conveys. For this, he stands out.

4. Bright Eyes “Digital Ash in a Digital Urn” (Saddle Creek)

For all of you wondering why this was chosen over “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” – the album that was simultaneously released alongside “Digital Ash” – the answer is simple: Conor Oberst mixes up a sound unfamiliar to Bright Eyes, and that in itself is enough. “Digital Ash” winds its listener through electric paths that are unconventional and neoteric to the ears. Oberst relies on a large gathering of musicians to create the stimulating landscapes in which his cloudy, dark vocals are deeply planted.

5. Iron & Wine “Woman King” (Sub Pop) and Iron & Wine and Calexico “In the Reins” (Overcoat)

I’m kind of cheating here, but these two EPs from Iron & Wine, when combined, easily equal a full album. It’s not just that singer-songwriter Sam Beam has whispering vocals that send chills up the spine, or that “Woman King” softly explodes with its violins, banjos, piano fills, electric guitars and lively, clip-clopping percussion. It’s the fact that these two elements are fused together to recreate a nostalgic old Southern folk mix that is carefully crafted in every way. “In the Reins” stirs up Western twang with the pedal steel and underlying mariachi tones with the trumpet – compliments of the Southwestern collective Calexico. Soundwise, the tracks on this disc scream Iron & Wine. Calexico, however, marks the EP with its steady, colorful arrangements bold enough to enhance Beam’s timid creations.

Honorable Mentions: John Vanderslice “Pixel Revolt” (Barsuk), Decemberists “Picaresque” (Kill Rock Stars)

DANTE: My musical taste is as much influenced by what I like as where I work. Or, more specifically, where I sit when I’m

at work. Claustrophobically seated between a short-fused, black-metal anti-Christ with razor-blade teeth and fireball eyes and a Converse-clad Midwestern belle with a tear in her eye and indie rock in her soul, escaping the influence has been impossible.

Therefore, it makes sense that my favorite records of 2005 mix my undying love for old-school posi-core with the articulation of a pretentious indie diary entry and the carnage of a meth-fueled, heavy-metal bloodbath.

1. Xiu Xiu “La Foret” (5 Rue Christine)

Like it has throughout its entire career, Xiu Xiu continues to defy conventional classification. There isn’t one note, one second or one sound on the album that could be directly accredited to another artist’s influence. Xiu Xiu has reached the creative pinnacle that few bands will ever know – atmospheric, detached, engaging and seldom showing any sign of structure, but pulled off without being overly pretentious or art for art’s sake. At times relying on nothing more than a soft xylophone scale or single guitar chord to keep the album from being nothing but silence, at others a quick synthetic burst of burning-heart emotion. Like most Xiu Xiu albums, “La Foret” is best characterized as one of those ‘had to be there’ moments, because the only true description of the album’s brilliance is in the noise itself.

2. Pelican “The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw” (Hydra Head)

“The Fire in Our Throats” is a creation so truly powerful it carries its genius not only to the ears but through them and into the entire body. Turning a blind eye to vocals, Pelican has risen to a new pinnacle of musicianship, one in which it finds itself light-years ahead of any of its peers. The music possesses the raw intensity that demands it be listened to, it becomes so riveting at times that to even divide attention with something else becomes impossible. As the brooding guitar melodies slowly expand and develop, they approach a volcanic climax that ends in total euphoria. It’s that good.

3. The Dream is Dead “Hail the New Pawn” (Escape Artist)

F—k the left, f—ck the right and, most of all, f—k you. This is the undeniable mission statement of Indiana’s most blood-thirsty political dissidents, The Dream is Dead. “Hail” comes off less as an album and more as a death threat to every indifferent American, every blind consumer and every money-hungry politician within these borders. The band embodies the hardcore formula of straight-to-the-point viciousness – their seething hatred brings the music to a sonic speed that at times challenges the speed of grind. In short, this band is simply the most dangerous and volatile thing in Indiana, even surpassing ex-murder capital Gary.

4. Verse “Rebuild” (Rivalry Records)

The highly profitable metal-mixed-with-hardcore subgenre, better known as metalcore, skyrocketed bands to major-label deals and gold records all year and the purist hardcore movement couldn’t just sit back and watch. In many ways, it was a return to form in certain hardcore scenes – bands like Verse, delivered huge LPs that were a grim reminder of what hardcore is all about. Filled with two-steps, sing-alongs and a you-can-do-it attitude, “Rebuild” is an urgent call to arms for jaded hardcore kids, positive-minded youth and everyone who sees right through the sincerity of bands like Norma Jean or As I Lay Dying. This is the record that should reaffirm the faith of the disillusioned and let the newcomers know that the old-school will not relent or back down. It’s always been about struggle and records like this prove that the fire still burns.

5. Sufjan Stevens “Illinois” (Asthmatic Kitty)

Only a colorful troubadour like indie-rock royalty Sufjan Stevens could breathe such life into the opaque landscape that covers the state that served as his lyrical inspiration. Drifting along like the soundtrack to a big stage musical that doesn’t yet exist, Stevens takes listeners on an 80-minute whirlwind tour of the state’s landmarks (i.e. Chicago) and most notorious natives (i.e. Al Capone, John Wayne Gacy and Honest Abe Lincoln). Carrying a musical suitcase that could rival that of indie-cult phenoms the Polyphonic Spree and includes all the broadway constants such as brass, a choir and the piano, “Illinois” is 22 finely crafted songs – better described as movements – that capture and hold the attention of the ears and the imagination.

Honorable Mentions: Jesu, “Jesu” (Hydra Head), Nile, “Annihilation of the Wicked” (Relapse), The Pussycat Dolls, “PCD” (A&M)