Top 10 Metal Albums - 2015

@forkboy: I'm still undecided on New Bermuda. Count me part of the group that was baffled by all the attention that Sunbather received. I agree New Bermuda is more interesting, and I've listened to it quite a bit this year, but there's just something odd with them that doesn't sit right for me. I know they get lumped into the hipster thing because they don't wear all black or have long hair - that truly doesn't matter and is a silly argument. My problem is that a lot of the hooks in New Bermuda seemingly cover a lot of metal "tropes" within the songs, like maybe they're aping the style more than pushing it forward. I don't know. They're a weird phenomenon. I definitely want to see where they continue to go.

Does Hand. Cannot. Erase. count as a metal album? That is the best album of they year in any genre anyway.

They put out a new track on their Soundcloud page a couple months ago while also starting a crowdfunding campaign to get their record finished and distributed. This band will be fucking huge in a few years' time. Their first record has been in regular rotation with me since its release, and they put on an amazing and fun live show. I saw them open for Periphery a couple of years ago and they just killed it. I also got to meet all of them afterwards, and they were one of the friendliest bunch of dudes I've met.

You know what's up, man. AMAZING record. I can't believe the lukewarm-to-negative response it got when it came out. The only advantage The Living Infinite has over it is that there is just more of it.

I don't like New Bermuda very much and Sunbather was one of my favorites. There are some good moments in there, but a lot of it sounds kinda wanky and lame. This isn't a comprehensive or ordered list, but here are some albums I liked this year:

• Jute Gyte : Ship of Theseus (microtonal black metal)
• The Body & Krieg : The Body & Krieg (not unlike everything The Body does)
• Vampilia + The Body : xoroAHbin (The Body's doom + a weird classical/electronic/avant-garde group from Japan)
• Mastery : V.A.L.I.S. (the most fucked up, technical, nonsensical black metal you can imagine)
• Sunn O))) : Kannon (do we still call Sunn metal? well, anyway, whatever, you know what this is)
• Kowloon Walled City : Grievances (sorta sludgy?)
• RAGANA : Wash Away (black metal + punk, the actual real crossover-appeal black metal album of the year, not New Bermuda)
• Bosse-de-nage : All Fours (another album better than New Bermuda. Has moments that sound like Slint instead of NB's cheesy metal and Radiohead or whateverthefuck, which is infinitely better)
• Locrian : Infinite Dissolution (bit tighter-focused and less drone-influenced than past albums of theirs, which I think is both good and bad but nevertheless this is good stuff indeed)
• Krallice : Ygg huur (nutso black metal[?])
• Wrekmeister Harmonies : Night of Your Ascension (musicians include every single person; pure cinematic doom. Not as good as their previous album but still good)
• Bell Witch : Four Phantoms (dooooooom)

Probably other stuff I don't remember, but hey.

Yay package just showed up

Black Dhalia murder - abysmal

Bolt thrower - Mercenary

Bolt thrower - honour valour pride

Revocation - empire of the obscene

Rivers of Nihil - monarchy

@nickhead: Thanks for the heads up on the EP, I just finished listening to it and I think it's pretty good. Although it released on January 1st (currently wearing the best metal release of 2016 crown) I noticed on the bandcamp page that it was recorded in 2013, so it's not surprising that it sounds similar to Years Past Matter. Which is a good thing since I think YPM is the band's best album (the last track on that thing is so damn good). Metal in 2016 is already off to a good start ha.

Also glad to see Panopticon on the list. I really enjoyed Roads To The North but I do think Autumn Eternal is the better album.

I got hooked up with some Spotify Premium for Xmas so I'll start getting to work on your other picks as well as a bunch of the other suggestions in this thread, maybe I missed out on some real gems.

Been meaning to pick up that new ghost, just got into them recently. Baroness's Purple is really good if anyone likes Mastodon style sludgy stuff. Also not really metal but that new Coheed album was pretty good, a little safe compared to something like Afterman but some catchy riffs.

Just to clarify something here, the free desktop version of Spotify includes many of the features that the paid app version has. If you want to be able to play specific tracks or dig into related artists stuff, you dont need to pay.

I really loved Sunbather and i also really liked New Bermuda,although im not sure which one is better.One of my favorite albums this year was Northlane - Node just in case anyone hasnt listened to it.I like all metal genres but i like the more technical or harder to play metal genres the best,so if anyone has some bands that play some difficult stuff that they would recommend that would be great.I listen to alot of bands and music in general but theres always music you have never heard of,which is awesome and sad at the same time.

For anyone interested, I keep a list of album releases I've listened to throughout the year HERE.

If you like Enslaved (which you do guessing from In Times being up there), I recommend the new Martriden. It was recommended to me by @theloopymonkey and ended up making my personal Top 10.

Also hell yeah @71ranchero with that Soilwork pick. Didn't quite reach #1 for me, but was for sure a top 10 album.

I highly recommend checking out Vattnet Viskar and their newest album Settler it's one of my favorites from this year.

Napalm Death: Apex Predator Easy Meat (can't believe no one mentioned this one yet)

Cattle Decapitation: The Anthropocene Extinction

High on Fire: Luminiferous

Baroness: Purple

Micawber: The Gods of Outer Hell

Frosthelm: The Endless Winter

I'm sure most people wouldn't consider them metal, but I really dug Deafheaven's New Bermuda and An Autumn for Crippled Children's The Long Goodbye. Also, that Black Cilice album that came out is pretty good too.

Indeed, I know a lot of people were let down with Sideshow Symphonies, but I ended up listening to that album a hell of a lot so I was really excited for the return. Luckily, it lived up to expectations.

Been seeing mentions of Obsequiae all over the place, added that to my cart but haven't pulled the trigger. Surprised no one's mentioned Iron Maiden's Book of Souls. I figured it would be too damn long, but it stays consistently good throughout.

As for my contribution, I really, really like that new Vhol album, Deeper Than Sky. It's just exciting and feels unhinged with its songwriting and muscianship.

As for 2016, cannot wait for Ihsahn to release Arktis. Word is that it'll be less experimental that his recent output, which I'm looking forward to because Ihsahn excels at working a solo around some killer riffs. Probably why I liked angL as much as I did. The new song in that hyperlink just rips.

Nice list dude. I got mine.

• Bosse-de-Nage - All Fours
• Intronaut - The Direction of Last Things
• Deafheaven - New Bermuda
• Harm's Way - Rust
• Cult Leader - Lightless Walk
• Shining - International Blackjazz Society
• Wiegedood - De Doden Hebben Het Goed
• Leviathan - Scar Sighted
• Tribulation - The Children of the Night
• Horrendous - Anarerta

@csl316: I really liked Vhol's first album, just haven't devoted time to the new one yet.

Good stuff everyone, as I figured there's a lot out there I missed.

@garris: Should definitely check it out. While some of the songs are sort of samey I really enjoyed a few tracks. Namely, Vices, which has a pretty nice riff and I find the lyrics interesting to think about. Essentially, society's obsession with violence.

@bobby_the_great: Thanks for recommending Cattle Decapitation. Had it come up on spotify and never really checked it out. Probably going to be one of my new go to albums/bands.