As 2009 comes to a close, I wanted to wish all of you happy and healthy holiday season. It's been a crazy year for me and Branch Marketing Collective...and 2010 will be even crazier. Below is a recap of music biz and personal projects I've been working on this year and a preview of what is to come. Also, as always, I have included my Top Albums Of The Year so you know the best albums to buy with all those gift cards.
I hope everyone finishes 2009 on a great note, and I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you in the coming months.
Rock!
Marc
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN 
Option Paralysis release date and more
The Dillinger Escape Plan have announced the release date for their next masterpiece, Option Paralysis. Mark your calendars for March 23, 2010 in the US (March 22 in UK/EU) for the album! A new song will debut in the coming weeks, but for now the band is leaking out track titles piece by piece, with the first two being "Farewell, Mona Lisa" and "Good Neighbor".
DEP have lined up US & Canadian tour dates to end 2009 and they start this Friday in Long Island, then the guys will be doing a special run of small club shows in Europe in Feb 2010. Check the band's
MYSPACE for a complete list.
www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplanwww.optionparalysis.net www.season-of-mist.com/ 
InsideOut Music has been delivering the best in innovative progressive rock for 20 years. In the past few months, there have been new releases from
REDEMPTION,
SHADOW GALLERY and
THE TANGENT.
2010 is going to be another great one with the beginning of the year bringing new albums from
KING'S X, KAIPA, ASPERA and more. But the biggest splash on from InsideOut came last week with the latest release from...
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - ADDICTED!
The new album debuted #168 on the Billboard Top 200 last week (as well as #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart). The album features guest vocalist, Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) and it was the highest debut from any of Devin's releases over his 15 year career. You probably know Devin best as the man behind Strapping Young Lad, but you can check him out ON TOUR with his latest incarnation starting Jan 8th with Between The Buried And Me.
http://www.myspace.com/devintownsenddtbhttp://www.insideout.de 
Superball Music was formed in 2007 and features some of the best alternative and indie rock bands out there. You are probably most familiar with the label because of releases from such epic bands as
OCEANSIZE and
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD...2010 has even more on the horizon, and the first release to lead the charge is
SIX GALLERY - BREAKTHROUGHS IN MODERN ART
Superball Music is pleased to announce their first worldwide signing of an American artist, Columbus Ohio's Six Gallery.
Often compared to contemporaries such as Minus The Bear, Maps and Atlases, and Aereogramme, Six Gallery will be re-releasing their debut album, Breakthroughs In Modern Art on March 23rd. The band is currently on their "Weekend Warrior" tour and will be playing a special show at Spike Hill in Brooklyn, NY on December 12th (so let this serve as an invite to you all)
Six Gallery have also premiered the first track, "Bermuda Triangles" off the band's new album, currently streaming on their Myspace page, and be sure to look out for more information and album details including track list and cover art coming soon! Absolutepunk already showed the band love with an amazing review you can check out here.
Watch the making of Six Gallery's new album, Breakthroughs In Modern Art, here and read yesterday's DoneWaiting.com interview with singer / guitarist Daniel Francis here!
www.myspace.com/sixgallerywww.superballmusic.com 
NIGHT IS THE NEW DAY in stores now With 10 releases under their belt over the past 18 years, Katatonia has remained one of the leaders in melancholic Swedish metal, that takes more from Jeff Buckley than it does At The Gates. Their latest release, Night Is The New Day, has already been heralded worldwide as well as by one of my favorite vocalists of all time, Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth:
"KATATONIA's Night Is The New Day Is Possibly The Greatest 'Heavy' Record I've Heard In The Last 10 Years"
The guys just released a video for "Day And Then The Shade" which you can check out HERE
www.nightisthenewday.comwww.myspace.com/katatoniawww.peaceville.com FULL METAL TEXAS
With the success of the first ever Full Metal Texas at Emo's Annex earlier this year...we are making the move across the street to Emo's Main Room & Emo's Jr. for 2010. Bands like Skeletonwitch and Kylesa blew away 500 people over six hours in 2009 and next year we'll be feeding the metal appetites of 1500 people on March 18, 2010. We are talking to bands and sponsors now, so please reach out if you are interested in being part of the madness!
www.fullmetaltexas.com 
Century Media USA celebrated its most successful year yet, as 2009 marked many huge accomplishments for the label that thrived in an overall down economy. This was spearheaded by such major releases from
LACUNA COIL, SUICIDE SILENCE, WINDS OF PLAGUE, DIVINE HERESY, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE and DESPISED ICON, who all debuted in the Billboard Top 200 chart upon release this year. The label also had 17 releases debut on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
Billboard Top 200 Chart Debuts
LACUNA COIL - Shallow Life(#16) * This marked the highest Billboard charting debut in Century Media history
SUICIDE SILENCE - No Time To Bleed (#32)
WINDS OF PLAGUE - The Great Stone War(#73)
GOD FORBID - Earthsblood (#110) - Heatseekers (#2)
IWRESTLEDABEARONCE - It's All Happening (#122)
DIVINE HERESY - Bringer of Plagues (#148)
DESPISED ICON - Day of Mourning (#162)
3 INCHES OF BLOOD - Here Waits Thy Doom (#195)
2010 will bring new albums from
DARK TRANQUILITY, DEICIDE, NEVERMORE, TURISAS and more!
The year will start off with an amazing release from the Israeli metal band,
ORPHANED LAND. Their new album, The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR, comes out February 9th and you can check out more about them
HERE
www.centurymedia.com 
Some of you may know, and others may not, but one of my many projects is a t-shirt line called
KOSHER KLOTHING. Believe it or not, I actually own the trademark to the work "Kosher" for all clothing and have a line of shirts that have graced the shelves of stores around the country.
If you are looking for the perfect Hanukkah, Christmas or even Kwanzaa gift, head over to
www.kosherklothing.com and buy away (and help me make room in my closets!)
You've all been asking when the hell we are opening
One Barrel Bar...and the answer is still "hopefully soon". We have some great possible locations in the NYC area and hope that 2010 is when we bring the best in bourbon, beer and rock to the masses. In the meanwhile, check out
www.onebarrelbar.com for the latest news and reviews of our favorite libations.
Another reason to look forward to 2010 will be the launch of
Science Of Silence Records. A new label releasing limited edition vinyl for the best in post-rock, instrumental and avant-garde metal.
News and webstore coming soon, so be sure to bookmark
http://www.scienceofsilence.net
Some of my partners in crime on the music biz side of things are BlueHaze and Dympol. Both companies are bringing new business models to the ever changing biz.
BLUEHAZE IPHONE APPSThe company is not only known for their concert community, but for their iPhone App which they are offering to bands for FREE. Check out more at
www.bluehaze.comDYMPOL - DISCOUNTED MUSIC PURCHASES ONLINEDympol (pronounced "dim-ple") stands for Discounting Your Music Purchases On-Line. By working with sponsors that believe in the value of music, dympol is able to offer variable discounts that help you buy more for less while helping recording artists and other creators earn more. Check out more at
www.dympol.com THE BEST OF 2009Last but not least is my yearly Top Albums (and other things) of 2009. This is the time a lot of you say "Marc listens to some weird s**t", but as always my musical tastes span many genres, so there is usually something here for everyone (unless you like country music).
Enjoy and be sure to go and buy some of these at your local record store!
Top 20 albums of 20091. Devin Townsend Project- Addicted! - http://www.myspace.com/devintownsenddtb
2. Prodigy - Invaders Must Die - http://www.myspace.com/theprodigy
3. Katatonia - Night Is The New Day - http://www.myspace.com/katatonia
4. The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life And Death - http://www.myspace.com/thedearhunter
5. Metric - Fantasies - http://www.myspace.com/metric
6. Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion - http://www.myspace.com/dredg
7. Faunts - Feel. Love. Thinking. Of. - http://www.myspace.com/faunts
8. Muse - The Resistance - http://www.myspace.com/muse
9. Brendan Benson - My Old, Familiar Friend - http://www.myspace.com/brendanbenson
10. Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue - http://www.myspace.com/aliceinchains
11. VNV Nation - Of Faith Power And Glory - http://www.myspace.com/vnvnation
12. Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs - http://www.myspace.com/ghostbrigade
13. Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions - http://www.myspace.com/biffyclyro
14. My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire - http://www.myspace.com/officialmydyingbride
15. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust - http://www.myspace.com/dovesmyspace
16. Mastodon - Crack The Skye - http://www.myspace.com/mastodon
17. Volbeat - Guitar Gangsters and Cadlliac Blood - http://www.myspace.com/volbeat
18. Fever Ray - Fever Ray - http://www.myspace.com/feverray
19. DM Stith - Heavy Ghost - http://www.myspace.com/dmstith
20. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect - http://www.myspace.com/betweentheburiedandme
Top 5 songs of 2009Prodigy "Omen"
Dredg "Ireland"
Metric "Help I'm Alive"
Volbeat "Hallelujah Goat"
Devin Townsend Project "Hyperdrive!"
Top 15 concerts of 2009Faith No More @ Download, UK
Nine Inch Nails @ Terminal 5, NYC
Paul McCartney @ Citi Field, NYC
Metallica @ MSG, NYC
Prodigy @ Download UK
Hall & Oates @ Irving Plaza, NYC
King's X @ Terminal 5, NYC
Frank Turner @ DC's, Hoboken
VNV Nation @ Nokia Theater, NYC
Dredg @ Highline Ballroom, NYC
Septic Flesh @ Scion Rock Fest, Atlanta
Skeletonwitch @ Full Metal Texas, Austin
Johann Johannsson @ Le Poison Rouge, NYC
Night Ranger @ BB Kings, NYC
Krallice @ Scion Rock Fest, Atlanta
Top 5 TV showsModern Family
The League
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Chuck
How I Met Your Mother
Best of the rest (albums that is)...A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
Air - Love 2
Amorphis - Sky Forger
Animals As Leaders - Animals As Leaders
Astra - The Weirding
Baroness - Blue Album
Behemoth - Evangelion
Beirut - March of The Zapotec and Realpeople Holland
Bob Mould - Life And Times
The Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
Chimaira - The Infection
Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West
Constants - The Foundation, the Machine, the Ascension
Decemberists - The Hazard Of Love
Devin Townsend Project - Ki
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Lining
Ensiferum - From Afar
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
If These Trees Could Talk - Above The Earth, Below The Sun
Insomnium - Across The Dark
Irepress - Sol Eye Sea I
Isis - Wavering Radiant
Iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening
Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage
Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life
Lamb Of God - Wrath
Maria Taylor - Lady Luck
Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster - III
Mew - No More Stories...
Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind
Morrissey - Years Of Refusal
Naam - Naam
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Part Chimp - Thriller
Patton Oswalt - My Weakness Is Strong
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Pelican - Ephemeral
Placebo - Battle For The Sun
Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - 11:11
Russian Circles - Geneva
Satyricon - Age Of Nero
Scale The Summit - Carving Desert Canyons
Silversun Pickups - Swoon
Skeletonwitch - Breathing The Fire
Soulsavers - Broken
Steven Wilson - Insurgentes
Swallow The Sun - New Moon
Telefon Tel Aviv - Immolate Yourself
The Gathering - The West Pole
The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come
Therapy? - Crooked Timber
Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade
Zao - Awake?
Zero 7 - Yeah Ghost
