Top 30 best metal/rock albums of 2015
My favorite metal/rock albums of 2015. I'm going to say it again: "my favorite" so if you want to complain call your mom. Want to give me your thoughts/disagreements/recommendation like a mensch and not a chutzpah-nicked ass, please do.
I was going to do top 25, but in light of recent news I decided to expand the list to include my 30th pick.
Apologies for if I talk too much. |
| 31 |  | Mastema (USA-TX)
Awake in the Grave
Honorable Mention: I'm including this as an honorable mention since it is just an EP, but this EP kills! Modern thrash produced by Dave Sanchez (of Havok) reminiscent of Chuck Schuldiner of Death. |
| 30 |  | Motorhead
Bad Magic
Much like with Book of Soul, I did expect too much before hearing this, but Motorhead proved again to being one of the most (if not the most) consistent band in rock/metal. This album isn't just good enough for the Motorhead discog, it is heavy, fast, and filled with a life of Rock & Roll. How else would you expect Lemmy to go. RIP |
| 29 |  | Elder (USA-MA)
Lore
Definitely a step up from their previous LPs. |
| 28 |  | Venomous Maximus
Firewalker
Saw these guys live opening for High on Fire and I certainly was not expecting what I got. They got an old school metal feel, highly reminiscent of Thin Lizzy (for me). To be honest, their albums don't do justice for how great their live performances are. |
| 27 |  | Arcturus
Arcturian
Another band I learned about through Jeff Wagner's "Mean Deviation". Their quirky brand of metal follows no one's rules. Once I heard the opening track, "The Arcturian Sign", I was hooked. |
| 26 |  | Enforcer
From Beyond
One of the most fun albums of the year makes me feel like I could be back in 1983. |
| 25 |  | Raised Fist
From the North
Got into these guys around the same time I got into Black Breath, both becoming my go to workout/running bands. Modern hardcore steeped in infectious melodies. |
| 24 |  | Sylosis
Dormant Heart
Not just a rehashing of old school thrash, these guys keep releasing great modern metal albums. |
| 23 |  | Windhand
Grief's Infernal Flower
Another one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Tuned down the morbid heavy feel of the first couple albums but still filled with catchy doom riffs. |
| 22 |  | Tempel
The Moon Lit Our Path
Post-Whatever metal. Album is great for long walks in the cold (moon-lit) snowy winter Colorado woods. |
| 21 |  | Shredhead
Death Is Righteous
Another Israeli band on my list. These guys play a fast and loud style of Pantera influenced thrash that is unrelenting through the full album. Great seeing them get a lot of exposure thanks to their amazing video for "Walk with the Dead" featuring all your metal heroes in addition to Pokemon Snoop Dogg and DragonBall Z sewer fights decked-out South Park style. Definitely one of the best music video ever made. |
| 20 |  | Royal Thunder
Crooked Doors
I fell in love with CVI the second I heard it back in 2012, likely becoming one of my most spun albums that year. I was very excited for their sophomore album, and Royal Thunder certainly did not disappoint. Introducing new levels of expansive guitar work, mesmerizing vocals, and the Royal Thunder brand of heavy. |
| 19 |  | Enslaved
In Times
Much like Under the Red Cloud, this album helped initiate me to Enslaved's music, but it was really the book "Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal" by Jeff Wagner that introduced me to them. They have an amazing discography to go back and pick up which would be too overwhelming if it weren't for how stimulating each album is. Few bands can make music so heavy and yet at the same time so beautiful. I may be late to the game, but In Times is not a bad way to get enslaved. |
| 18 |  | Khemmis
Absolution
Being a local Denver, Colorado band, I've known about these guys for a bit before Absolution was put out, and it is very exciting seeing them get the recognition they truly deserve for putting together such a powerful modern doom album. |
| 17 |  | Intronaut
The Direction of Last Things
This is one weird yet heavy album. It has all kinds of musical signatures in it from jazz fusion to Middle Eastern chant. |
| 16 |  | Breaking Benjamin
Dark Before Dawn
Call it a nostalgia pick if you want but this was one of the bands that helped get me into rock music when I was younger and it was cool hearing something new from them (him?). Took me some time to really get into it but I came to like this album quite a lot. |
| 15 |  | Phrenetix
Fear
Took me a while to get my hands on this album but once I did, it quickly became one of my favorite albums of the year. Exciting and refreshing thrash album from Lithuania, a country not to well known for its metal export. |
| 14 |  | Tribulation
The Children of the Night
Another band I learnt about from Decibel mag and numerous top album lists. They looked so intriguing, and the music certainly does not disappoint. It's great finding more bands looking to push the styles of metal/music that they alchemically fuse together. |
| 13 |  | Amorphis
Under the Red Cloud
Under the Red Cloud is the album that got me into Amorphis, and it is quite a journey working my back through their discography. This album incorporates sounds from all over the world and it is very fascinating. |
| 12 |  | Huntress
Static
These guys seem to have developed quite the cult following. They keep producing very exciting albums with one of the coolest frontmen/women in the biz. I sure hope to hear more from these guys over the years. |
| 11 |  | Iron Maiden
The Book of Souls
I usually don't hold high expectation for 30/40 year old bands releasing new music, especially when it comes to comparisons to their original albums; however Book of Souls can definitely stand it's ground against Maiden's first decade of albums. Not only did they released a great LP in true Maiden style, but they've actually evolved and progressed and still produced a masterful work. This album is ranked so high up for the same reason it (barely) did not crack my top ten: the album is very long and takes quite a bit of an attention span, which I feel helps make the album more exciting. |
| 10 |  | Horrendous
Anareta
I never got to see Death, one of my musical heroes, but Horrendous makes me feel better about it. They remind me how exciting death metal can be. There is a reason they're all over the "Top Albums of 2015" lists, and I have those lists to thank for turning me on to Horrendous (and Decibel magazine really). I won't be surprised to find Anareta climb up this list very quickly. |
| 9 |  | Black Breath
Slaves Beyond Death
These guys really helped me break past thrash and sludge into the more extreme world of metal and hardcore. They dropped much of the hardcore influences on this album and it still slays just as hard, although I wouldn't mind bringing back some of the older sound. |
| 8 |  | High on Fire
Luminiferous
Reminded me why I love High on Fire so much. Seems like Matt Pike wanted to do something a bit different, but not to different. Whatever it is, this album is great and High on Fire killed it live. |
| 7 |  | Angelus Apatrida
Hidden Evolution
With Hidden Evolution these guys definitely put together their own style of thrash, catchy yet heavy. |
| 6 |  | Ultra-Violence
Deflect the Flow
"Why so serious?" |
| 5 |  | Night Demon
Curse of the Damned
Modern old school heavy metal at its finest. CotD is a refreshing album to an old fashioned style. Can not wait to hear more from these guys in 2016! |
| 4 |  | Lamb of God
VII: Sturm und Drang
Many say a "return to form". Whatever it is, I say amazing. They bring in some new ideas to the classic LOG sound, reminding us why they're considered leaders in modern metal. |
| 3 |  | Baroness
Purple
Most anticipated album of the year for me. Blue is one of my favorite albums and this one successfully fuses some early Baroness feel with the Yellow/Green sound. |
| 2 |  | Melechesh
Enki
Really started listening to these guys mid 2014 and they quickly became one of my favorite bands in metal. I grew up listening to middle eastern music, and no band does a better job mixing that in with pure extreme metal (except for early Orphaned Land maybe, another Israeli metal band). |
| 1 |  | Black Fast
Terms of Surrender
This album absolutely kills! I have not been completely floored by a new band like these guys did in a long time. This album is not just a landmark in modern thrash, but in modern metal in general. It is fast, aggressive, and heavy as hell, all while incorporating infectiously technical riffage. I cannot push this band enough! |
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