Too Soon? Axl’s Best of 2015… So Far

Vince and I both keep running lists of our favorite releases of the year, so as to make it easier to remember everything when we have to do the big year-end lists in December; looking at mine as it stands now, I’m already dreading the whittling-down process. At least twelve of these albums won’t make the final cut — probably more, given how fast this list is growing (at least two of the below releases I only heard for the first time this weekend, and already my mind is blown) — but they’re all equally worthy of your precious time. Skip them at your own peril.

In alphabetical order:

Alkaloid – The Malkuth Grimoire (self-released)
Antiversum – Total Vacuum (Invictus)
The Black Dahlia Murder – Abysmal (Metal Blade)
Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction (Metal Blade)
Cloud Rat – Qliphoth (self-released)
Crypt Sermon – Out of the Garden (Dark Descent)
Dendritic Arbor – Romantic Love (Grimoire)
Enabler – Fail to Feel Safe (Century)
Faith No More – Sol Invictus (Reclamation/Ipecac)
Fulgora – Stratagem (Housecore)
Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches – Salem’s Wounds (Century)
Great American Ghost – Everyone Leaves (Goodfight)
Maruta – Remain Dystopian (Relapse)
Meek is Murder – Onward (Rising Pulse)
Morbid Evils – In Hate with the Burning World (Svart)
Napalm Death – Apex Predator – Easy Meat (Century)
Nights Like These – Old Youth Culture (self-released)
Noisem – Blossoming Decay (A839)
Psycroptic – Psycroptic (Prosthetic)
Rivers of Nihil – Monarchy (Metal Blade)
Royal Thunder – Crooked Doors (Relapse)
Sanzu – Painless (self-released)
Sigh – Graveward (Candlelight)
Skinless – Only the Ruthless Remain (Relapse)
Spylacopa – Parallels (Rising Pulse)
Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss (Sargent House)
Xibalba – Tierra Y Libertad (Southern Lord)