Favorite Metal Albums of 2015 - Part 1

It’s that time of year again - the annual scramble to dust off my blog and pull together a list of great music from the last twelve months. As usually, the following list is a list of my personal favorites from 2015 and only include albums that I purchased (digital, CD, and/or vinyl). This was a really great year in new metal releases and there are many records that I didn’t even get a good chance to explore (or didn’t want to cough up the money, considering I’m not independently wealthy). I did enjoy reading a lot of reviews and end-of-year lists from metal writers across the internet. And clearly I'll be busy catching up well into the new year.

Here I'll begin my favorites list with number 6-10 (in no particular order):

#10 Coal Chamber - Rivals

After 13 years, you'd wonder if a new record would make sense. It's hard to judge the right time to come back with it being dismissed as just a 'comeback.' Coal Chamber demoed their chops on tour before recording a new album. That momentum, combined with the skill and wisdom that comes from age, thunders through on every track. Coal Chamber proves that they can lock into their signature heavy, down-tuned groove and tear the house apart.

#9 Marilyn Manson - Pale Emperor

Another solid bit of swaggering, blues-inflected dysfunction from the antichrist superstar. Pale Emperor is a polished tome of solid musicianship. The art is allowed to breathe and rise with a life of its own. Manson feels dangerous again, flirting with the great fire that once made him the most feared in all the land. Also, bonus points for rhyming Mephistopheles and Los Angeles.

#8 Lamb of God - VII: Sturm Und Drang

The latest from Lamb of God debuted at #2 on the billboard chart thingy and even has a Grammy nominated song. Despite all of that, I really like it. As expected, this is a fierce riff and hook-heavy record complete for guest vocalists and a few surprises. On Overlord, for example, we hear a different side of the LOG sound and vocal approach. It's refreshing to hear a band stretch and experiment. (And yes this album was born out of tragedy - go watch the As the Palaces Burn documentary). On an unrelated note, is it me or is guest vocalist Chino Moreno’s (Deftones) singing getting harder and harder to understand?

#7 Ahab - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig

This year was good for doom, especially the slow-burning soundscapes produced by European bands like German nautik doom four-piece, Ahab. Two albums removed from their epic homage to the classic Moby Dock, the group tackle another novel about life and loss at sea. Long songs will reward careful listeners, chilling them with salty sea spray and the punishing depths of icy waters. Bonus points for an awesome album cover.

#6 Between The Buried And Me - Coma Ecliptic

With an eclectic blending of styles, textures, and structures BTBAM has produced another excellent album. Sure, it's a concept album that tells a story, but I'm more enraptured by the music itself. The vocals are as dynamic as the instrumentation, as the band continues to push boundaries. Bonus points for keeping keyboards cool.

Best of 2012 (2 of 3)

Continuing to look back at 2012 in music, here are some more of my favorites:

Ahab
German doom metal group, Ahab's first release was an epic concept album based (not surprisingly) on Moby Dick. On their second album, they've returned to nautical imagery with The Giant. Even without another literary work to draw from, Ahab draws in the listener with long, intense passages punctuated by desparate vocals. You feel swallowed by the sound and drug to the ocean floor, the weight of the world bearing down. As beautiful as it is heavy, The Giant is enormous.

Between The Buried And Me
Firmly entrenched in the progressive death metal genre, Between The Buried And Me continue to push the envelope. Their follow-up to the 4 track EP, Parallax II is a galloping 10 song journey with their trademark twists and turns - pummeling blast beats give way to Spanish guitar and orchestra flourishes, while vocalist coos and bellows. The depth of the instrumentation is staggering. Having seen their wizardry live before, this album will be an epic adventure on stage.

Storm Corrosion
The long-anticipated collaboration between prog rock masters Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth) and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) provides a lush soundscape for listeners to lose themselves. The vocals are serene and supported by a delicate balance of sparse instrumentation and ambient sounds. Intricately composed, the album cannot be digested in one sitting, but sampled again and again.