Jeff Treppel’s Top Fifteen Metal Albums of 2015
My 2015 at MetalSucks will forever be known as the year when I fought the Varg and the Varg turned out to be the white supremacist version of someone who records himself playing Minecraft. If Charles Manson had access to social media, would he share cat videos? Outside of that little adventure, my year was actually pretty good on a personal level. I mean, our civilization seems focused on complete self-immolation, but there’s not much I can do about that.
As far as metal goes, there was way too much good shit out there this year. I could put together a top 50, easy. And that’s without lying to myself that I give a shit about anything with blastbeats! I’m sure other people will be able to say intelligent things about all the pancreas-squeezing death and black metal out there, but if you’re looking for falseness, old dude metal, and experimental bullshit, you’ve come to the right place.
15. Armored Saint – Win Hands Down (Metal Blade)
Despite lyrics that are basically the metal equivalent of dad jokes (really the reason this isn’t higher on my list), nobody else delivered giant riffs, impassioned vocal performances, and just plain fun quite like Armored Saint did on their seventh full-length. Considering how effortless they make it all seem 30-odd years into their career, it’s disappointing that so few of their peers seem to be able to do the same.
14. RAM – Svbversvm (Metal Blade)
RAM seemed determined to prove that that Judas Priest’s Painkiller should’ve been the future of metal – and they’re right, of course. In case you’re unconvinced, their fourth album argues their hypothesis extraordinarily well. Not so much subversive as it is a reminder that metal remains most potent in its purest form.
13. Intronaut – The Direction of Last Things (Century Media)
What with my inherent apathy towards post-metal, I have a lot of internal resistance whenever it comes time to listen to a new Intronaut album. And then I listen to it, and I kick myself, because these guys are next level, mixing in prog weirdness, jazz fusion surprises, and an inventiveness that doesn’t dull the emotional impact.
12. Baroness – Purple (Abraxan Hymns)
Yellow & Green was ruined for me when someone pointed out that John Baizley’s singing sounded like Chad Supermarket from Nickelback. Thankfully, he got that shit under control on Purple. It’s a tighter effort in every way, reminding us that there’s no one better when it comes to tying heavy rock songs into pretzel twists and emerging with triumphant anthems.
11. Thy Catafalque – Sgùrr (Season of Mist)
Not only did Thy Catafalque find the link between pagan black metal, Krautrock, and unhinged bizarro prog, they succeeded in making it irresistible – like a one-man Magma for the 21st century. Sole member Tamás Kátai channels everything from neo-folk to anime soundtracks in his quest for the perfect sound, and the journey is just as invigorating as the results.
10. Prurient – Frozen Niagara Falls (Profound Lore)
If you missed seeing Prurient open for Godflesh, you missed the most harrowing half hour of your life (well, musically speaking). You can make up for it with this 90 minute beast, which thrusts together squealing feedback and pulsating sequencers into some of the most melodic atonality you’ll ever hear. Not exactly radio-ready, but Dominick Fernow makes noise accessible. It’s earsplittingly beautiful.
9. Myrkur – M (Relapse)
Myrkur catches a lot of shit for Pitchfork paying attention to her and I guess her not being a Norwegian dude from 1993, but the buzz is warranted. Take the Gothic romance of early Lacuna Coil and Nighttime Birds-era The Gathering, mix in some screeching evil and Renaissance flourishes, and you have a recipe for a black metal record that actually does something interesting with a moribund genre. How dare she!
8. Lucifer – Lucifer I (Rise Above)
Johanna Sadonis (The Oath) and Gaz Jennings (Cathedral) make beautiful music together. Without venturing far from the keystone that Black Sabbath planted, they’ve built a doom monolith with Lucifer I. It’s hard to argue that there’s much new happening here, but the combination of Jennings’ unbeatable riffs and Sadonis’s charisma can’t be denied.
7. Visigoth – The Revenant King (Metal Blade)
More than anything else on this list, this one is for me. Sometimes I just need to listen to an incredibly earnest American power metal band singing about an epic role-playing session. Following in the hallowed footsteps of Manilla Road and Virgin Steele, Visigoth bring a heft that their European brethren often lack. Pulp at its finest.
6. Zombi – Shape Shift (Relapse)
This may seem like a stretch, but considering that this site hosts a Synthwave Sunday, it’s clear that metalheads dig synthesizer music. After four long years, Zombi have returned to remind us that they’re the undisputed kings of this stuff. Inspired by Goblin, John Carpenter, and Tangerine Dream, they bring a metal sensibility to a pretty minimalist style, and succeed in making it infectious to boot.
5. Horrendous – Anareta (Dark Descent)
Hey look – some actual death metal! There’s an unfortunate conservative streak to a lot of Death’s children, an unwillingness to stray from the core of one particular scene. Horrendous dispenses with that, drawing on the entire filthy gamut to create an intricate masterpiece with surprises around every turn. It’s hard to believe that this is their third album in as many years – much less how they consistently raise the bar with each.
4. Coliseum –Anxiety’s Kiss (Deathwish)
“We Are the Water”’s opening pays respect to Killing Joke, and then Coliseum launch into the best postpunk album recorded since Sonic Youth carved an expressway to yr skull. Not content with merely aping their influences, this Louisville trio bring the concise songwriting chops they honed as a hardcore outfit to create their tightest, catchiest work yet. The darkness they conjure feels overwhelming.
3. Pinkish Black – Bottom of the Morning (Relapse)
If anyone succeeded this past year in casting a more sinister mood than Pinkish Black do here with a few keyboard strokes, I sure didn’t hear it. The creepiness envelops the listener like John Carpenter’s vengeful fog bank. Even though these guys could give Zombi a run for their horror soundtrack money, the Dallas duo use goth rock and postpunk song structures to create something truly unique.
2. Midnight Odyssey – Shards of Silver Fade (I, Voidhanger)
2 ½ hours of one-man atmospheric black metal – wait, don’t go! Other one-man outfits generally go for lo-fi minimalism; Dis Pater uses the opportunity to explore the outer limits of his imagination – and that’s a pretty cosmic expanse. The word “epic” gets bandied around a lot, but the all-encompassing keyboard swirls and brilliant use of space in the mix immerses the listener fully in his frozen void. While it’s a lot to absorb, it’s also unbelievably satisfying when it finally comes back down to earth.
1. Tribulation – Children of the Night (Century Media)
If you took pretty much everything I raved about in the preceding write ups and put them altogether, it would probably sound something like this. Creepy atmosphere, great songwriting (I am totally happy with death metal bands embracing psychedelic elements), and a real rock ‘n roll swagger – these Swedes figured out my happy place and created a soundtrack for it. They’ve combined Gothenburg death metal with classic rock and loaded it with hook after hook. This is an album for people who love metal in its grandest sense.
