Rolling Metal Thread 2015

Something I posted on Facebook under the title of "10 Great Metal Albums of 2015", although I would probably try to work in King Heavy if I redid it now:

10) Christian Mistress - To Your Death
Fairly straightforward hard rock with twin guitar leads reminiscent of Wishbone Ash and a unique vocal presence in singer Christine Davis.
9) Aevangelist - Enthrall to the Void of Bliss
Discordant, atmospheric black metal featuring unintelligible guttural vocals, churning guitars, and creative use of a harp.
8) Elder - Lore
A melodic prog-metal odyssey featuring five tracks all over 10 minutes long that somehow don’t overstay their welcome.
7) KEN Mode - Success
Arguable whether this is metal, the vocals code as post-hardcore to me, but either way a righteous rocking slab of anger, negativity and irony.
6) Dodheimsgard - A Umbra Omega
Kind of an indescribable maximalist prog-black-metal suite with over-the-top theatrical vocals.
5) Kadavar - Berlin
Another fairly straightforward hard rock album, this time a power trio, with solid songcraft and winningly understated hooks.
4) Satan - Atom by Atom
Don’t be fooled by the name, these guys are more Richard Dawkins than Aleister Crowley lyrically, and don’t miss this non-stop barrage of catchy speed-metal riffs.
3) Mare Infinitum - Alien Monolith God
A unique death-doom-prog-metal sci-fi odyssey, reminiscent of classic-era Opeth for its melodic inventiveness and alternation of clean and guttural vocals.
2) Ghost - Meliora
As enjoyable and slickly-produced an off-beat occult progressive pop metal album as you’ll likely hear this year.
1) Tribulation - The Children of the Night
A seemingly oil-and-water pairing of guttural growls and melodic yet understated classic psych instrumentation that somehow gels into an atmospheric nocturnal journey that was one of the year’s most compelling listens.

Rolling Metal 2016