Top 15 Jenny

Published: January 22, 2016

This year has been a hectic one in the world of metal album releases. With over 8000 official full album or EPs disseminated since January 1, some amorous of the dark arts are in a querulous quandary of seeking out and narrowing down releases from their favourite acts in the form of a nerdy, geeky, dweeby, top 10, 15, or 100 list. This is a difficult enough feat when checking out albums by known artists, but becomes immeasurably more onorous once delving into the murky recesses and untested avenues of independent productions.

I had a mighty blast, as I do every year, combing through the almost endless pages of search results providing summaries of the yearly metal offerings. I’ve skimmed albums by tried, trusted, and true bands. I’ve supped on superb samples of scarcely-mentioned media. I’ve loved, loathed, or licentiously leered at certain others.

I love end of year lists. Everyone has such diverse, variegated tastes in music. While some folks’ lists are pretty uniform when it comes to sub-genre exploration, others delve into different realms of sonorousness, or have a similar mood and flow no matter under which musical family their musical predilections stem.

For my own list, I did much culling, and it was not easy. I attempted to base my assessment on overall album enjoyment, on musical and technical proficiency, on ingenuity, and on artist inspiration. If a certain album is not here, it isn’t necessarily because I didn’t know about, screen, greatly enjoy, or lack respect for the artist or disc. In some cases, I felt the release was weak when compared to its predecessors. Others I have a feeling are growers and not showers, and will get more spins as time goes on. More still were good, but just didn’t grab me by the mammaries like those listed below. The spice of life and all that.

I wanted to keep my descriptions short and to the top candidates only; little bursts of memory based on my own assessments. Check them out for yourselves, should you be so inclined. I’ve provided links to the specified albums where found, and perhaps you’ll like them as much as I did! Without further ado, here are my Top 15 of 2015.

 

1. Arcturus
«Arcturian»

 Arcturus - Arcturian

Having evolved and undulated from sound to sound since its conception in 1991, Norway’s Arcturus has gone from goth, to avant-garde black metal and beyond. This current rendition revolves around an omnipresent progressive avant-gardian essence cradled in symphonic cadences worthy of the group’s earlier works.

Coupling these points with the vocal clout of mega-skilled ICS Vortex (Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar), I was left ogling and awed at the almost country music twang in the vocal experimentation. With his unabashed accentuation of deep and beastial growls, shrieks, and rhythmic adventurousness overall, Vortex hits home with his premier showcasing on this seasoned artist’s roster. Bravo. Splendid. More.

Author’s Song Picks: «The Arcturian Sign», «Crashland», «The Journey»

Full Album Stream and Purchase:

 

2. Solefald
«World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud»

 SOLEFALD - World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud. Cover

 

From the press release: «World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud» is the forthcoming long player from Norway’s prized Avant Norse folk duo, SOLEFALD. Their first new studio full-length in over four years, the eight-track «World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud» was captured in Norway and Tanzania, mixed and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Cathedral, Angelwitch, Grave Miasma) at Orgone Studio in London and features guest appearances from drummer Baard Kolstad (Borknagar, ICS Vortex), bassist Alexander Bøe (In Vain), guitarist Petter Hallaråker (Rendezvous Point) and keyboardist Sindre Nedland (In Vain, Funeral) as well as renowned world music player Anania Ngoliga of Zanzibar on the kalimba and guitar.

Having come across this disc rather late in the game after its early-2015 issue date, I had already reached a jaded hump in my yearly searches, hobbling and limping along in uninspired, often insipid mishmashes of every possible thing I’ve already heard in previous incarnations by other acts.

You can imagine that when I accessed this release from the Ondes Chocs review list, I had but a passing curiosity to see where this once-spoken-about band had meandered in their musical path.

What a pleasant, electrifying shock of awesome. I remember stopping what I was doing at the time and just staring at the computer screen, a small smile flickering at the corner of my mouth. This, now, was special. I almost had to coin-toss with «Arcturian» on it, I love it so much. Alas, however, given the overall exposure I’ve had to the former, the latter took its humble penultimate spot and still holds a warm spot in my heart.

Having spent the formative part of my teenage years as a gearhead, the industrial elements in this iconoclastic progressive masterpiece are not lost to me. Nor is the obvious connection in eclectic style between my year-end front-runner and the vocalizations of (literal) Bor​knagarian back vocalist Lazare. Here is a work that doesn’t try for experimental – it just is. It is unassuming, not the least bit contrived, and absolutely original. I mean, when an album has a song sounding like angry black metal chickens, you have to at least give the disc a spin, no? A must-listen album.

Author’s Song Picks: «World Music with Black Edges», «2011, or a Knight of the Fail»
Purchase or Stream Full Album: Seeing many international links, so I’d recommend hunting via an online distributor. The full album can be streamed via YouTube.

 

3. Exgenesis
«Aphotic Veil»
(EP)

 Exgenesis - Aphotic Veil Cover

 

Now, here is a promising EP from Swedish duo Exgenesis, sure to lead into at least an interesting full length if indeed the guys decide to carry the torch forward while Jari Lindholm maintains his presence in kindred amalgam Enshine.

Moody, doomy death metal with plenty of soul and synergy is not rare in and of itself, but the tie-in of very unique compositions song to song really make this EP dense and structured in a way some melodic death offerings can fail to match.

I’m surprised it ended up making it so high on my list, but the more I listened and compared it to other efforts, the more I came back to and really adhered to its effortless algorithms. Definitely worth checking out, especially in the dead of winter.

Author Song Picks: Listen to the full EP – it’s only 5 songs, and they all rule for their own reasons.
Full album stream and purchase:

 

4. Spectral Lore
«Gnosis»
(EP)

 SPECTRAL LORE - Gnosis Cover

 

Probably the last release to be added to my culminated list, this EP really resounded with me. Any atmo black metaller worth his or her salt is familiar with 2014’s «III» by this subversive Greek solo act.

Mysterious frontman Ayloss plays all instruments on every release, which on «Gnosis» lend a self-professed oriental black metal drone sound that made me look away from Melechesh (whose own new album «Enki» is also wonderful, by the way. Favourites, favourites).

If you’re planning to curl up with a book on a stormy night, or have a long, rainy car or bus ride ahead of you, I can’t imagine a more optimal setting for this stellar release’s showcase. If you dig it, don’t forget to check out Spectral Lore‘s other 2015 EP «Voyager» for a mirror-image effect of interstellar sunshine to warm your black, evil heart on a silent, winter morning.

Author’s Song Pick: «Gnosis’ Journey Through the Ages»
Full Album Stream and Purchase:

 

5. Nervous Impulse
«Time to Panic»

 Nervous Impulse - Time to Panic

 

Now, for a real change of pace. Montreal’s Nervous Impulse have released their second album since 2009’s «Enough for Dementia». Wow, what a ball-buster! Chock-full of intense death grind, this piece is animalistic and primal from conception to completion.

The collection showcases sampling and lyricism about psychoses and mental breakdowns, issuing blasting, speedy drum orchestrations, dual guitars and beefy bass, and all tied together with vokills to curl your toes, This album already has the right foundation to really set off to a heady start.

It’s an atypical grind album with very unique vokills that lyrically steers away from the often typical talk of poo and politics. Highly recommended to any brutal metal fan. Absolutely, unapologetically punishing.

Author’s Song Pick: «Syrian NATO Meat Grinder»
Full Album Stream and Purchase:

 

6. Enslaved – «In Times»
7. Riverside – «Love, Fear and the Time Machine»
8. Negură Bunget – «Tău»
9. Barren Earth – «On Lonely Towers»
10. Faith No More – «Sol Invictus»
11. Paradise Lost – «The Plague Within»
12. Amorphis – «Under the Red Cloud»
13. Ancient Rites – «Laguz»
14. Heaving Earth – «Denouncing The Holy Throne»
15. Mechina – «Acheron​»

I could spend hours writing synopses for each listing above, but I’ll instead insist, if you are still reading, to go ahead and check out Barren Earth if you dig Amorphis (former members). Ancient Rites tickled my fancy not only because it was an epic comeback after 9 years’ hiatus (nothing can shine a candle to Dim Carcosa, but this is tight!), and Mechina surprised me with «Acheron». I’ve dabbled in their previous releases, and had issues with some of their aesthetics. I feel that if an album can make me hesitate and question myself, then coerce me into multiple spins and grudging admiration, it gets my vote!

-Jenny King

 

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