LUKE SAUNDERS

Say what you will about the miserable state of the world at large in 2015, but at the very least some of life’s more trying and depressing twists and turns were contrasted against an absolutely stellar year of excellence in the heavy music universe. Making sense of the plethora of killer metal I consumed this year and siphoning out the best of the bunch was no easy feat, but if 2015 has taught us anything, nothing in this world of ours was meant to come easily.

Of course as the end of year round-up ensued, I kept coming across excellent albums that had escaped my radar, or that I’d inexplicably neglected over the course of the year. I didn’t have enough time to invest in, absorb, and appreciate the following artists and their latest musical conquests, but if I had they may very well have threatened my final list. So apologies and much respect to the 2015 releases from Elder, Vastum, Draconian, Imperial Triumphant, Cruciamentum, He Whose Ox Is Gored, Hooded Menace, Amorphis, My Dying Bride and Kampfar, I look forward to getting to know you better.

I would also like to sincerely thank the loyal readers and new visitors that frequented this humble metal blog this past year and whom make this gig so worthwhile. Anywho, enough chit-chat, here’s the albums (and some other tidbits) that proved the most compelling and impactful of 2015.

10. Trials –This Ruined World (Self-Released). 2015 ushered in some impressive independent artists flying the solo flag, but few impacted me quite as powerfully as the third album from Chicago thrashers, Trials. These exciting young guns take old school influences such as Morbid Angel, Metallica, Carcass and Testament and weave them into their own distinct and exciting modern thrash creation, delivering darkly thrilling thrash songs that are dense, complex and incredibly catchy. These guys should be huge.

9. Nechochwen – Heart of Akamon (Self-Released). This was another unsung gem that came out of leftfield and won me over. Combining rich instrumentation and mythology from their Native American roots, with scorching bursts of atmospheric black metal and Opethian mellowness, Nechochwen crafted an album of elegance, beauty and just the right amount of cutthroat savagery.

8. Alkaloid –The Malkuth Grimoire (Self-Released). Bloated run-time aside, the debut LP from these seasoned vets is a remarkable platter of progressive and vaguely experimental prog-death, featuring dazzling musicianship, wily songcraft and boulder smashing grooves.

7. Sulphur Aeon – Gateway to the Antisphere (Van Records). Sulphur Aeon’s superb sophomore album moved me in all the right ways, unleashing a discordant crusher of pulverising heaviness, unsettling atmosphere and insidious melody attached to memorable songs.

6. Obsequaie – Aria of Vernal Tombs (20 Buck Spin). Medieval enthusiasts Obsequaie followed-up their excellent debut with a phenomenal sophomore album. Effectively refining and developing all the great aspects of the debut, Aria of Vernal Tombs boasted improved production, catchier songwriting and even stronger melodies interwoven into the band’s timeless and enchanting tapestry of folk and melodic black metal.

5. Wilderun – Sleep at the Edge of the Earth (Self-Released). Another kick-arse independent album unleashed by Boston’s folk metal juggernaut Wilderun, Sleep at the Edge of the Earth is a masterfully written and enchanting metal album. Playing a folky style of metal which generally sits outside my comfort zone, Wilderun’s heady mix of symphonic metal, folk and progressive death proved particularly beguiling and featured heavily in my listening rotation throughout the year.

4. Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss (Sargent House). Although her music doesn’t strictly qualify as metal, Chelsea Wolfe has established a strong connection with the metal community through her diverse, very dark and challenging musical adventures. Abyss is the heaviest and most ambitious work of Wolfe’s stellar career. Emotionally draining, eclectic and downright unsettling, Abyss is a haunting collection of tunes that incorporates elements of goth, doom, folk, industrial rock and electronica without losing grip of overall cohesion and flow. Jarring, beautiful and spinetingling all at once,Abyss is a rewarding and deeply affecting work of art.

3. Horrendous – Anareta (Dark Descent Records). Horrendous convincingly proved last year’s exceptional Ecdysis album was no one-off fluke, returning in quick time with their powerhouse third album, Anareta. Following a similar path to its predecessor, Anareta is an altogether darker, meaner and more intricate beast which once again pumps out a ridiculous array of killer riffs and memorable hooks and melodies. As fresh sounding and forward thinking as old school death gets, Anareta propelled Horrendous into the realms of the death metal elite. Soulful, progressive and brutal, Anareta carries on the timeless legacy of the much missed Death and their spiritual leader Chuck Schuldiner.

2. Vhöl – Deeper Than Sky (Profound Lore). As impressive as Vhöl’s debut was, Deeper Than Sky blows it away. Substituting some of the crustier blackened leanings of the debut with potent, rifftastic old school progressive thrash, Deeper Than Sky manages to sound retro and cutting edge at the same time. Boundless energy, dynamic songwriting and incredibly tight performances defined an album with multiple high points. John Cobbett’s manic riffs, psychedelic musings and heroic solos are to die for, while Mike Scheidt delivered the most versatile vocal performance of his stellar career. I fucking love this album.

1. Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Kscope Records). Just like Chelsea Wolfe, Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson holds a strong connection with the wider metal community despite falling into the progressive rock category. Wilson’s exceptional fourth solo album was the most engaging piece of music I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in 2015. A sprawling conceptual masterwork, Hand. Cannot. Erase. captivates from the smooth poppy prog of the title track, through the metallic crunch of “Home Invasion”, unforgettable sprawl of “Ancestral”, and tearjerking melodies of “Happy Returns”.

Honourable Mentions:

Top Half…

Mgla – Exercises in Futility
Baroness – Purple
Royal Thunder – Crooked Doors
Beaten to Death – Unplugged
Slugdge – Dim & Slimeridden Kingdoms
Alustrium – A Tunnel to Eden
Gorod – A Maze of Recycled Creeds
Satan – Atom By Atom
Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction
Myrkur – M

Bottom Half…

Khemmis – Absolution
High on Fire – Luminiferous
Clutch – Psychic Warfare
Faith no More – Sol Invictus
Barren Earth – On Lonely Towers
Goatsnake – Black Age Blues
Killing Joke – Pylon
Caligula’s Horse – Bloom
Leprous – The Congregation
Abhorrent – Intransigence

2015 Disappointments: Secrets of the Sky/Void of Sleep. Two immensely talented bands both delivered very solid, occasionally great sophomore albums, but when stacked up against their excellent debut offerings and a ridiculous bounty of high quality 2015 metal releases, they proved ever-so-slightly underwhelming.

Enslaved – In Times. An album that only engaged me on the short term, and despite bursts of trademark blackened prog brilliance, In Times smacks of a band in need of fresh ideas and inspiration.

Solid but overrated:Nile – What Should Not be Unearthed, Paradise Lost – The Plague Within

Most anticipated albums of 2016: Vektor, Wormed, Xanthochroid, Be’lakor, Ihsahn, Pallbearer (?).

2014 Flashback: Voices – London. I didn’t properly give this remarkable second album from Voices (featuring ex-members of Akercocke) proper time and attention until this year, which is a shame as it probably would have come close to topping my 2014 list. London is an artful explosion of discordant, ugly extreme metal that’s a punishing, absorbing and highly addictive masterwork.