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

Vattnett Viskar : "Settler"

I am glad this album doesn't sound like its cover. You learn that real quick when they start off with blast beats. A very American take on this, but black metal just the same. When it slows the song improves despite taking on more of a Deaf Heaven quality.  On "Yearn" the blast beats come to an end and their sounds morphs into more of a sludge band. There is more of a melody even against the rasp of the vocals. Like Enslaved they take the songs through some interesting twists and turns. When they pound the point home and get mean on this album it feels meaner than the last album, despite the fact that as a whole this album is slicker.

With a slamming blast of well mixed double bass right into your fucking face  they make  "Impact" live up to the song's name. I didn't take note of the doubled almost gang vocals that are thrown into it until a couple of listens. There is a powerful but smoother groove to "Glory". The tight chugs on this song demonstrate how the riffs on this album are catchier, making it  in some ways  a more accessible listen. No denying the album is  pretty hook infested. This is not a bad thing, they have not suddenly turned into Killswitch Engage. The bass player really makes himself known on "Glory" when it breaks down. At times you can hear the band break off  from the typical American black metal sound and go in a proggy direction rather than the dip into sludge they took earlier, though this does arguably have some of the post-rock leanings USBM bands tend to have. When they hang on the blast beat it takes on a more atmospheric drone. I know atmospheric is one of the words commonly used in conjunction with this band, but I think that is only one element of the intricate design in place here."Heirs" starts of in a more typical black metal direction. It's the drumming that keeps it from getting stuck there. In parts it sounds like something Russian Circles would be proud of.

On the title track the drummer really shine when he is not in the more straight ahead pound that propels some of the bridges. The guitar is well layered and this album sounds great from a production stand point. The mid range rasp of the vocals is typical over driven. When they dip down into the lower darker riff it has tons of power behind it.  This album is much more melodic than the previous one, in fact my iTunes was tricking me by going in to Alcest as soon as a song ended and at times it was hard to tell  where Alcest began and Vattnet ended. They close on a heavier note. The vocals take on a more run of the mill growl. The floating post-rock parts flourish. If we wondered what Sannhet might sound like with vocals this is not far from it. The melodic builds still pack a punch to them as they send you floating off much like the cover of this album. They close out with a sweeping guitar solo, that proves they have the chops to pull it off when they want to. If you miss when Mastodon wasn't writing radio songs and instead was  really heavy with a sense of adventure, then you will certainly dig this album.I dig it enough to round it up to a 9.