As it is, it’s just another great album from a great band. If the last two records had been less than what they were, Under the Red Cloud would be every bit the ‘comeback’ or ‘return to form’. This album has all the heaviness and melody that makes Amorphis what it is and everything on it simply clicks. This year’s Under the Red Cloud sees the masters of melodic folk-flavored metal roaring back into form in a grand way. The group’s two previous releases (2011’s The Beginning of Time and 2013’s Circle) weren’t quite as strong as the holy trinity that had come before it ( Eclipse, Silent Waters, and Skyforger) but even a coasting pace in terms of songwriting for these guys is great music. These Finns seem to have a hard time doing anything wrong.
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An overall epic-sounding album (listen to the title track to hear a definition of the word in song form) and deserving of attention from metalheads with a penchant for Blackwater Park-era Opeth. Newcomer Jón Aldará put in an impressive vocal performance, displaying a great range that fits the mellow parts just as naturally as the heavy ones. Not only is each song a rich, multi-layered journey on its own, but the album as a whole flows perfectly. This group of Finns put together an expertly crafted album soaked with 70’s prog influence and occasional folk flair with On Lonely Towers. M breathes and moves like a living being as it’s played, the music is both ethereal and emotive with a lot of nuance to sink into on multiple listens.Ģ015 wasn’t quite the year of melodic death metal, but there were certainly some strong releases ( Hanging Garden, Black Dahlia Murder, etc.), and ultimately two made the year’s Top Ten (see following entry). The songs flow naturally from ethereal folk melodies to savage blasts of ice-cold second-wave black metal and the two directions work great together.
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Amalie Bruun, the lone valkyrie who makes up this entity, has crafted some truly textured and living compositions for her first full-length release. I think it can honestly be said that despair has never sounded so beautiful as on this record. Perhaps more than any other album on this year’s list (except maybe Wilderun’s masterpiece), New Bermuda is an album that needs to be played back-to-front in its entirety to fully absorb and appreciate, but it’s certainly worth the time and effort. The musical dynamics flow from navel-gazing post-whatever to furious flurries of aggression and the emotional ebbs and flows follow right along, taking listeners on a journey of metal feels.
#List of 2015 heavy metal albums how to#
Trendy and anti-trendy fanboy bullshit aside, these guys know how to sculpt an album of emotive and visceral music, and that is absolutely on display with their newest release. Post-black metal band Deafheaven makes for an interesting addition since New Bermuda would see them featured in this annual list for two consecutive records (2013’s Sunbather made it that year). If Saint Vitus played as the backing band in a Baptist Revival tent stuck in the middle of a southern county fair, this is undoubtedly what it would sound like it’s groovy, thick, deep-fried heavy metal soul food. This year’s Black Age Blues is no exception and the result of most of the original line-up getting back together is a record packed back-to-front with bluesy, soulful doom metal that’s as catchy as it is heavy.
#List of 2015 heavy metal albums full#
New Orleans-sounding LA sludge luminaries Goatsnake don’t put out albums often, but when they do listeners can alway rely on a plate full of doom heaviness done to damn near perfection. With bands such as Goatsnake, Khemmis, Crypt Sermon, Avatarium, and Swallow the Sun getting top spots here, it’s safe to say the gloomier side of metal was well represented (including two newcomers, nonetheless). As far as genres go, there wasn’t exactly one brand of heavy that took the crown, although doom, both in its traditional and death-metal varieties, seemed to have a strong showing much like prog metal did last year. What is also very evident going through both this list and ones from other review sites is that very few stand-out albums were released by big-name perennials rather, most of the records that really caught reviewer’s attention were from more underground bands, and even some debuts. Some months seemed like a desert for quality releases while others had more to offer than could be listened to.
![list of 2015 heavy metal albums list of 2015 heavy metal albums](http://myglobalmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/top-albums-2015-staff-pick-e1451772449676.jpg)
![list of 2015 heavy metal albums list of 2015 heavy metal albums](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/100-Greatest-Rock-Albums-social.jpg)
2015 turned out to be an interesting year for metal.