Before we look back at 50 Metal Songs That Defined 2009, let’s see what else was going on at the time.

For movies, it was the year of the groundbreaking 3D film, Avatar, and the release of ‘The Hangover,’ which you haven’t stopped quoting since. The baby that was told to shut up now knows how to do long division. Ben Stiller was still getting trapped in overnight mayhem at museums and Inglourious Basterds was so badass you immediately threw out your copy of The Boondock Saints.

In the news, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, Michael Jackson died, a plane disappeared and was assumed to have crashed somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, a harrowing plane landing along the Hudson River was expertly piloted, the Hubble Telescope was repaired and your cellphone ran just fine on 3G before you developed the need to watch Netflix at absolutely any moment.

And heavy metal? It was extreme. Hardly any bands featured just clean singing, but you’ll find a couple along the way. See the full list below, and we know you want to relive the nostalgia, so here’s a playlist with everything, too. You wouldn’t have had that in 2009!

50 Metal Songs That Defined 2009

"2009's 50 Best Metal Songs" Playlist

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