Prepping the Top 10 for 2015

It has been a bloody great year for music.

While awaiting only a few remaining new releases for the year, I figured now to be a good time in compiling the genesis of my top 10 for 2015. I've listed the candidates below--far, far greater in volume than last year's lackluster list. I'm honestly not sure how to approach a final list other than several groupings--one per genre, maybe. One thing's for sure--this has been a kickass year for prog!

Next step is to take extra spins of these albums for full digestion, then narrow it all down. Of course, there's still more to come. Anyone else got their records in mind?

Abigail's Ghost - Black Plastic Sun
Alpha Tiger - iDentity
Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud
Anathema - A Sort of Homecoming
Anekdoten - Until All the Ghosts Are Gone
Angra - Secret Garden
Annihilator - Suicide Society
Answer, The - Raise A Little Hell
Aristocrats, The - Tres Caballeros
Armored Saint - Win Hands Down
Avatarium - The Girl with the Raven Mask
Beardfish - +4626-COMFORTZONE
Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic
Big Big Train - Wassail EP
Black Magik - Providence
Black Star Riders - The Killer Instinct
Black Tower - The Secret Fire
Black Trip - Shadowline
Burning Point - s/t
Carlile, Brandi - The Firewatcher's Daughter
Carpenter, John - Lost Themes
Chaos Frame - Paths to Exile
Children of Bodom - I Worship Chaos
Christian Mistress - To Your Death
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness
Corsair - One Eyed Horse
Crypt Sermon - Out of the Garden
Damnation Angels - The Valiant Fire
Death Dealer - Hallowed Ground
Demolition Train - Unleash the Hordes
Denner/Shermann - Satan's Tomb EP
Dogbane - When Karma Comes Calling
Dommin - Rise
Echolyn - I Heard You Listening
Eclipse - Armageddonize
Encyrcle - s/t
Enertia - Piece of the Factory
Enforcer - From Beyond
Enslaved - In Times
Epitaph - Human, Not Humane
Eradicator - Slavery
Evil Invaders - Pulses of Pleasure
Freedom Hawk - Into Your Mind
Gama Bomb - Untouchable Glory
Ghost B.C. - Meliora
Ghost Ship Octavius - s/t
Gilmour, David - Rattle that Lock
Goatsnake - Black Age Blues
Gov't Mule feat. John Scofield - Sco-Mule ('99 gig)
Great Discord, The - Duende
Gruesome - Savage Land
Hardcore Superstar - HCSS
Hatchet - Fear Beyond Lunacy
High On Fire - Luminiferous
Hollow Haze - Memories of an Ancient Time
Horisont - Odyssey
House of Lords - Indestructible
Huntress - Static
Impellitteri - Venom
Iron Maiden - Book of Souls
Judicator - At the Expense of Humanity
Kadavar - Berlin
Kill Ritual - Karma Machine
Kylesa - Exhausting Fire
Lancer - Second Storm
Leprous - The Congregation
Level 10 - Chapter One
Lucifer - Lucifer I
Marling, Laura - Short Movie
Melechesh - Enki
Moonspell - Extinct
Motorhead - Bad Magic
Night Demon - Curse of the Damned
Night Flight Orchestra, The - Skyline Whispers
Orchid - Sign of the Witch EP
Pantomind - Searching for Eternity
Panzerballett - Breaking Brain
Patchwork - Exit Wounds
Pentagram - Curious Volume
Queensryche - Condition Human
RAM - Svbversvm
Ranger - Where Evil Dwells
Raven - ExtermiNation
Reign of Fury - Death be They Shepherd
Revile - Revolution Isle
Riverside - Love, Fear, and the Time Machine
Rocka Rollas - The Road to Destruction
Royal Hunt - XIII - Devil's Dozen
Royal Thunder - Crooked Doors
Ruby the Hatchet - Valley of the Snake
Ruthless - They Rise
Satan - Atom by Atom
Satan's Host - Pre-Dating God
Saxon - Battering Ram
Scanner - The Judgement
Screaming Eagles - Stand Up and be Counted
Seremonia - Kristalliarkki
Serious Black - As Daylight Breaks
Seven Witches - The Way of the Wicked
Shadowbane - Facing the Fallout
Slayer - Repentless
Sonic Prophecy - Apocalyptic Promenade
Sorcerer - In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross
Special Providence - Essence of Change
Spellbound - Nothing but the Truth
Spitfire - Fuel to Burn
Stars that Move - s/t
Stereo Nasty - Nasty by Nature
Stryper - Fallen
Sword, The - High Country
Tangent, The - A Spark in the Aether
Tank - Valley of Tears
Tau Cross - s/t
Teramaze - Her Halo
TesseracT - Polaris
Theo - The Game of Ouroboros
Thrashback - Night of the Sacrifice
Thrust - Reincarnation
Tremonti - Cauterize
Trial - Vessel
Trixter - Human Era
Trower, Robin - Something's About to Change
U.D.O. - Decadence
Ultra-Violence - Deflect the Flow
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
Valkyrie - Shadows
Venom - From the Very Depths
Venomous Maximus - Firewalker
VHOL - Deeper than Sky
Viking - No Child Left Behind
Vintage Caravan, The - Arrival
Visigoth - The Revenant King
W.A.S.P. - Golgotha
Wilco - Star Wars
Wilson, Steven - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Young, Neil (w/Promise of the Real) - The Monsanto Years
Worldview - The Chosen Few
Zombi - Shape Shift

There are quite a few to whittle down this year and some truly great releases (you really should stick with Seremonia, they are a grower) I loved the Crypt Sermon, Ghost, Christian Mistress, Windhand, Stars that Move, Uncle Acid & Ruby the Hatchet albums.

Three that I really love though that aren't on your list (one of which is my record of the year no doubt)



So good!

 

Retro done right!!



The best thing I've heard this year no doubt.

I'm going to have to do a separate list for metal albums this year, none of them are going to crack my Top 10 so they will be an addendum.

https://tribunalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-impaler

1. Iron Maiden- The Book of Souls
2. Stryper- Fallen
3. Ghost- Meliora
4. Armored Saint- Win Hands Down
5. Queensrÿche- Condition Hüman

Still need to listen to the new Motörhead album though, along with a couple of others.

Oh you are missing some too...
Mortification - Realm of the Skelataur
Powermad - Infinite
Veil of Deception - Tearing Up the Roots
Stars that Move - s/t
Worldview - The Chosen Few
Raven - Party Killers
Halestorm  - Into the Wild Life (though calling the heavy metal is a BIG stretch)
Crawl - Old Wood & Broken Dreams
My Silent Wake - Eye of the Needle

Boris2008 wrote:

So good!

 

Retro done right!!

Yeah, I was impressed with both of these. This was the first Enslaved album I've heard and I liked it a lot more than I expected to.

The Witchwood I like because they've brought in those wonderful Deep Purple and Uriah Heep influences into the mix instead of just doing the Sabbath re-hash that I've grown so tired of.

Got Stars that Move in there; that album is killer.

I thought Enslaved was already in there as well but for some reason I left it out. Adding it.

From the recommendations, there are still a few that I haven't spun yet:
-Powermad - Infinite
-My Silent Wake - Eye of the Needle (love the one track I heard off this, though)
-Need to spin Veil of Deception more
-Love what I've heard from Witchwood but it's only been a couple of tracks. I prefer to take in the whole album before listing it.

Yeah, Halestorm ain't makin' my list. Not even close.

Only three so far

1. Repentless - Slayer
2. What Should Not Be Unearthed - Nile
3. Book Of Souls - Iron Maiden

I forgot to mention this masterpiece, unforgivable! (although I guess that not many of you guys will dig it)

^^Despite the vocals I am loving that; going to hear more when I get a chance.

Also S.D. hooked me up with an incredible album released back in January that I just realized belongs here. Theo is an exceptional modern prog rock record with some great talent. There's a lot of Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, even Tangerine Dream sprinkled in here, while maintaining original compositions. I've been kind of addicted to it. Sadly it's not available on Spotify, nor is there much on Youtube beyond this and a track:



EDIT: Entire album streaming here: http://generationprog.bandcamp.com/album/the-game-of-ouroboros. They also seem to be working on a new album.

You need to remove Orange Goblin from your list. That was released in 2014.

Witchfinder wrote:

You need to remove Orange Goblin from your list.  That was released in 2014.

Removed, thank you. I started getting into that late this year so I thought it was more recent.

corplhicks wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

You need to remove Orange Goblin from your list.  That was released in 2014.

Removed, thank you. I started getting into that late this year so I thought it was more recent.

It was probably my favorite album of last year and I still spin it frequently.

Witchfinder wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

You need to remove Orange Goblin from your list.  That was released in 2014.

Removed, thank you. I started getting into that late this year so I thought it was more recent.

It was probably my favorite album of last year and I still spin it frequently.  

It really grew on me; had it come out this year it would've made my top 10 for sure.

I'm still working thru a list, trying to get a solid lineup I'm comfortable with, currently going back and re-listening to some of "on the cusp" titles that will either get a place or will be shucked to the wayside.

What I'm working with:

Sure things:

Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine
Beardfish - +4626-Comfortzone
Laura Marling - Short Movie
Anekdoten - Until All The Ghosts Are Gone
Enslaved - In Times
Abigail's Ghost - Black Plastic Sun

Potentials:

Echolyn - I Hear You Listening
Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls
David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock
The Aristocrats - Tres Caballeros
Special Providence - Essence Of Change
Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone In The Universe
Witchwood - Litanies From The Woods
Armored Saint - Win Hands Down
Gazpacho - Molok
The Tangent - A Spark In The Aether
Gavin Harrison - Cheating The Polygraph
Tim Bowness - Stupid Things That Mean The World

Iron Maiden, Quensryche and Nightwish will be in my top 10, working through the rest

I will throw Stryper in the mix too. Sadly the Scorps won't make it - After Sting In The Tail, I expected much more than delivered.

Panzerballett's new album Breaking Brain is quickly becoming one of my favorite albums of the year, should easily make the top 10.

Joanna Newsom's Divers may be a contender on my list. I'll just have to devote some more time to it; her music is always very dense.

Haven't heard as many 2015 releases as I'd like, but my faves thus far have been Raven's ExtermiNation and Queensryche's Condition Human.... tho I wanna get hold of a few others (incl. the new Stryper, Motorhead, Ugly Kid Joe, and/or Scorpions) before the year's out

I need to pick up the new queensryche. I am so curious to listen to it. hopefully will try to tomorrow.