After another great year of new releases of hard rock and heavy metal and many highly anticipated releases in January and February I thought that I would provide my personal top 5 new albums of 2015. I listed the albums in date of release since I found it impossible to choose an order. Being that it is a list, I had to exclude many excellent albums. I’ve listed some of these as honorable mentions.
Periphery-Alpha/Omega
My first listen of the concept album from Periphery left me unimpressed. I found Spencer Sotelo’s vocals hard for me to listen to. However, I persisted since the band had received a glowing recommendation from Anthrax’s Scott Ian. This album got better each time that I listened to it. The songs are extremely dense and complex, including brutal guitar riffs, beautiful melodies, and even some electronic music parts. Most of all, I find Spencer’s vocals to be spectacular and a perfect fit. Some of my favorite tracks are Omega and 22 Faces.
Cauterize-Tremonti
The second album from Tremonti took a drastic turn from the debut album, All I Was. I was expecting more of a thrash record from Cauterize, but I was left with a mix of the first record and Alter Bridge (Mark Tremonti’s main band). The album was laden with soaring melodies and incredible guitar solos. This change of sound for the band must be due to the addition of Wolfgang Van Halen. Standout tracks include: Radical Change, Flying Monkeys, and Another Heart.
Lamb of God VII: Strum and Drang – Lamb of God
The first release from the band since Randy Blythe’s incarceration in the Czech Republic for manslaughter charges (he was found not guilty) is their most polished release to date. It is your typical Lamb of God (LoG) album, heavy, groove laden riffs with terrifyingly aggressive vocals. However, the band does throw in some variety with a ballad (by LoG standards) with traditional vocals on the song Overlord and the use of a talk box on Erase This. Some other tracks that I found worthy are: Still Echoes, 512, and Engage the Fear Machine.
Repentless – Slayer
Slayer’s first album since the passing of founding member Jeff Hanneman may be their most dense to date. While I did miss some of Jeff’s songwriting on the album I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the songs produced by the band. Gary Holt of Exodus did a splendiferous job of tracking solos on the album while producer Terry Date did a superb job of making an aggressive sounding record. I loved the ode to Jeff that is the song Repentless and the inclusion of one of the final songs Jeff wrote before his passing in Piano Wire. Vices and When the Stillness Comes are some other great tracks from the record worth checking out.
Silence in the Snow – Trivium
Trivium, known for changing their sound with every album, may have made their most drastic change in their career with this album. Noting Ronnie James Dio, Iron Maiden, and Ozzy as major influences on this record they abandoned the use of all screaming vocals for an attempt at a more classic, straight ahead approach. This album does an excellent job in blending classic influences with a modern metal sound. The album also includes a modern day ballad in Until the World Goes Cold! The title track was born out of the band meeting Dio while on tour with Heaven and Hell. How much more awesome could that be? Blind Leading the Blind, Dead and Gone, and The Ghost that’s Haunting You are songs worth listening to.
Honorable Mentions:
Venom – Bullet for My Valentine
Brainwashed – While She Sleeps
IRE – Parkway Drive
Hot Streak – The Winery Dogs
I Worship Chaos – Children of Bodom
Psychic Warfare – Clutch
Meliora – Ghost
Birth and the Burial – Act of Defiance