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The 20 Greatest Albums of 2015

Thanks 2015, you kicked ass....

8. Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction

Source // heavymetal.se

Source // heavymetal.se

An eye-opening (or should that be gouging) grindcore/deathgrind companion piece to Napalm Death’s Apex Predator-Easy Meat (more on them later), 2015 saw Cattle Decapitation’s progression reach new heights.

Sprinkling ever more harmony over their relentless death grind assault, Cattle Decapitation are operating at a level thought previously impossible; smashing deathgrind/grindcore’s boundaries in the process and elevating them to the big leagues.

Travis Ryan’s vocals were as unsettling as ever and yet his range had broadened exponentially – growls, screams, hushed tones, barks and that fucking terrifying high-end, pseudo-singing that practically defied description – resulting in a performance that more than matched his bandmates relentless speed and ingenuous way around a corrosive melody.

How the hell are they going to top this?

7. Paradise Lost – The Plague Within

Source // upload.wikimedia.org

Source // upload.wikimedia.org

A sumptiously stunning album from one of the UK’s greatest proponents of colossal riff-mongery, Paradise Lost turned back time when they released The Plague Within back in June.

Incorporating the gothic elements they became renowned for with the iconic death/doom that kickstarted their monumental career, it was if 1991 was happening all over again and fans of Paradise Lost’s heavier output wept with joy.

Quite possibly the finest collection of songs the band have ever put their name to, Paradise Lost returned reinvigorated as they re-conqured the land that was first theirs to rule over two decades ago.

Who knew they had it in ’em? Actually, we all did!

About Chris Jennings (1964 Articles)
I love metal. Always have. Always will. As editor of Worship Metal - a site dedicated to being as positive about metal and its myriad of sub-genres as possible - my aim is to 'worship' metal through honest reviews, current news and a wide variety of features; offering the same exposure to underground bands as we do to mainstream/well known acts. Our mantra; the bands are partners and we exist to serve the bands \m/

18 Comments on The 20 Greatest Albums of 2015

  1. I think that “under the red cloud” from Amorphis should be on here. Or the new luca turilli album “Prometheus” or the new blind guardian ” beyond the red mirror”.

    • Chris Jennings // January 1, 2016 at 1:23 pm // Reply

      Good call on Amorphis Johan, Under The Red Cloud made the shortlist incidentally! Thanks for reading and commenting \m/

  2. Clutch on pole position? Well done! Saxon just number three? Are you kidding? 😉 But hey, good work!

  3. Andrew Davey // January 1, 2016 at 3:35 pm // Reply

    Nice to see Paradise Lost on the list. Awesome album, also fantastic to see Saxon at number 3. Well compiled.

    • Chris Jennings // January 1, 2016 at 6:34 pm // Reply

      Cheers Andrew, Paradise Lost’s The Plague Within was a cracking return to form (if you prefer their death/doom period of course). Battering Ram was just exceptional! \m/

  4. Byzantine album “To Release Is To Resolve” should be on this list and in the top 10… otherwise very well done

  5. if you love heavy metal, where’s iron maiden?

    • Chris Jennings // January 1, 2016 at 6:42 pm // Reply

      How dare you question my love for HEAVY METAL! 😉

      Look, in my opinion (and that’s just my opinion) The Book Of Souls was average. I still love Iron Maiden (and heavy metal, obviously!), I just did not love The Book Of Souls.

  6. How about some 2015 masterpieces like Iron Maiden’s Book of Souls, Slayer’s Repentless, Lamb of God’s Sturm und Drang, Kataklysm’s Of Ghosts and God… and the list goes on.

    • Chris Jennings // January 1, 2016 at 6:58 pm // Reply

      Hey Andy, the lack of Maiden is covered above, Relentless was in our 2015 Best of Thrash feature, the L.O.G & Kataklysm albums were great, just not better than the albums selected. As ever, selecting just 20 albums always means some fall foul of the cull, regardless of merit. Thanks for reading and commenting \m/

  7. Victor T. Arthur // January 2, 2016 at 9:49 am // Reply

    Awesome list, Andy! As always your articles are rich and great to read. The exclusion of My Dying Bride’s “Feel The Misery”, Queensryche’s “Condition Human”, and Mgla’s “Exercises In Futility”, (Melechesh’s “Enki” wasn’t as good as previous works but I would take it over that Nile album)are quite glaring omissions. Ares Kingdom also made a truly remarkable album and although I really love Manilla Road, I would substitute “The Blessed Curse” with Tulsadoom’s “Storms Of The Netherworld” easily.

    All that aside, a really awesome list actually. Nice to see Swallow The Sun’s magnum opus celebrated. To me, it really is the finest they’ve ever been…and on a triple album???? Fancy that! More than I can say for a certain classic heavy metal band that also went big with the album format…

  8. Obviously you did not listen to Michael Schenker’s new effort. It sounds simultaneously fresh and familiar – a sure sign things have been done right. As a classic heavy effort it is miles more inspired than the latest Priest or Maiden albums. The tunes, tones and playing leave no other address besides heavy metal to file it under, so it should be considered here.

    • Chris Jennings // January 2, 2016 at 11:09 pm // Reply

      Was it really that obvious? Actually, you’re right, we didn’t…but we will now! Thanks for reading and commenting \m/

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