The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2015 So Far

The year halfway gone and I wondering why I am so late getting around to doing this. There have not been a ton of metal album this year that really made me crave pressing play on my iPod to hear them repeatedly. I think we are at a place where something needs to happen to shake the trend of this blackened everything murk of death metal. Why albums like Pallbearer's album from last year stand out is it was not on any bandwagon. There already is a Deathspell Omega and Deafheaven so the bands imitating them need to get a clue. These albums bucked most of the trends, but I feel the quality of where we were at in previous July's is not here. Bu for what they are these albums have set the bar for the rest of the year.


10-Istapp -"Frostbiten"

This one has yet to make it over into the promise land of my iPod, this doesn't take anything away from this album as the top three are they only ones who have remained on my iPod since I got them. So that is not to deminish the power of this icy black metal.



http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/istapp-frostbiten.html


 9- Nevoa -" Absence of Void" While hipsters are wasting their time with False they are missing out on this pristine piece of black metal.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/06/nevoa-absence-of-void.html

8-Paradise Lost - "the Plague Within" Another fine album that I can only attribute the fact it did not get more air time to the fact that I listen to two are three new albums a day so they are really slugging it out for my attention and metal that is a little more middle of the road doesn't hit the spot when I want something really heavy.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/paradise-lost-plague-within.html

 8- Khors -"Night Falls Onto the Front of Ours" As I have been going through the list and giving these albums more though part of the problem with metal to today's is that bands who aren't black metal bands are trying to be black metal bands and the real black metal bands are trying not to be. Solid metal album, whose only flaw is not giving over to their dark side.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/04/khors-night-fall-onto-front-of-ours.html

 7- A Forest of Stars -"Beware the Sword You Can Not See" When it comes to progressive metal these guys are still nailing it, but some of the weirdness particularly with the narrative like  tone to the vocals hasn't given it a long residency on the old iPod.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-forest-of-stars-beware-sword-you-can.html

6- Enslaved - In Times These guys are in fine form, not sure why I have not felt as compelled to listen to this album as much as those above it. Perhaps they are in that Opeth middle of the road place now. Viking metal for pot smokers.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/enslaved-in-times.html

 5- Vattnett Viskar- "Settler" Enslaved might have gotten a higher rating when I reviewed the album but this album is one of the few that have stood the test of time and held its ground on the iPod.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/vattnett-viskar-settler.html

 4-Karyn Crisis' Gospel of Witches The least heavy of all the albums on this list, but one of the most interesting and the best metal vocal performance so far. I need to give this one more time.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/02/karyn-crisis-gospel-of-witches.html

3- The Slow Death- "Ark" The best doom album thus far.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-slow-death-ark.html 

2-Liturgy - "the Ark Work" Hunter can be too much of a  hipster for most, but this album is different than any other on this list and that makes me want to listen to it rather than a band that sounds like very other death metal band.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/liturgy-ark-work.html

1- Tribulation- " the Children of the Night" Watain rubbed off on them, but this dash of black metal attitude played to their favor, one of the years best written albums period.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/tribulation-children-of-night.html

Karyn Crisis' Gospel of Witches

I was a fan of Karyn's band in the 90's this was back when the only other female fronted band that played dark and heavy music was Fear of God. So i was looking forward to this album. First thing that stands out is Her melodies sound more assured and her voice is even more powerful now than it was on the first Crisis album. "Alchemist" is the first real song following the brooding intro piece, showcases her She  assemblage of great music guys from Tombs, Vaura, and Danny Walker of Intronaut sitting behind the kit. Her husband Epel Duath guitarist Davide Tiso handles the bulk of the guitar on this album. This was not what I expected as it  carries more of an organic big rock sound  Her melodies slither between the chord placement. The more organic rock feel of "Ancient Ways", sounds more like Intronaut than any of the other components making up this band.

There is there a weird blend of alt-rock and thick chuggy metal on "Aradia" . It has hints of System of Down, in the tight slickness.  The songs are smoother rides than Crisis. She jumps around from register to register and focuses more on singing than she did in Epel Duath. There is a slight nu-metal meets doom element to the creepy feel of "Mother". Ross Dolan of Immolation's backing vocals are most effective in the chorus of this song. Logically the next branch on her family tree is "Father". Rather taking the Jonathan Davis route she goes a more spiritual route looking at some of the father figure deities. There is a power ballad quality to "Goddess of Light".

She displays her keen sense of making odd angular melodies work in her favor and the entire sound finds just the right balance in the process on "Howl at the Moon". At three minutes "Pillars" proves to be timed for rock radio and it's not too crazy that it wouldn't fit along side Flyleaf or the Gathering. The almost pop hooks is not what I was expecting, but the songs are very well written, so it has an almost an A Perfect Circle quality in that regard. I find my self pretty forgiving of commercial qualities when they are handled this way though, I am not sure if it would fly with the kids over at Cvlt Nation or even No Clean Singing.

Despite the excellent vocal performance "the Secret" feels like it  is more of an interlude/ intro into "Salem's Wounds".  It would not be either fair nor accurate to compare the song to Chelsea Wolfe even though they both incorporate dark electronics and ghostly vocals. The guttural vocals serve as a good cue for the song to build with a throb. The flow of double bass on "The Sword and the Stone" off set the almost shoe gazey glaze that throws more of this dark pop against a more ominous Cocteau Twins dynamic.The vocal melodies are sugary sweet even with deathly gutturals as the undercurrent beneath.

It ends with a slow dark drift layered with more of her subtler , yet still amazing melodies, she lets the guitar do more of the heavy lifting here, at times making me feel like I am listening to a satanic version of Muse. Karyn's vocals continue to go from a belt into a growl as needed . I'll go ahead and round this one up to a 10 and see how it sets with me , because all of the songs are pretty much perfect , I was just caught off guard at how un-metal some of the melodies are, but they work and it's great music no matter what genre it is or isn't . It's hard to be a marginal fan of hers , but if you are familiar with her work in any way or that of the musicians backing her then this album is worth your while.