Top Ten 2015

What’s that? Sleigh bells jingling in the distance? Dickensian ragamuffins throwing snowballs in the street? Must be time for an end-of-year Top Ten again…
This has been a superb year in terms of new releases, no matter what your metal tastes are, and for the first time ever I ended up with a short list of 90 or so albums to try to call to order. Not an easy task, but here, at this point in time at least, is my 2015 Top Ten.

01. The Dreamside - ‘Another Spark Of Light’ (Spin Moon)
       Has listening to The Dreamside changed my life? No, of course not, but has it            enriched it? Oh yes…
02. Amorphis - ‘Under the Red Cloud’ (Nuclear Blast)
       Stunning; simply stunning…
03. Stormqueen - ‘Raising The Roof’ (High Roller)
       A round-up of the band’s exciting back catalogue and a worthy tribute to bassist        Bryn Merrick who passed away a few months back…
04. Leprous - ‘The Congregation’ (Inside Out)
       Challenging, but majestic: what else would you expect from them…
05. Jameson Raid - ‘Uninvited Guests’ (independent)
       Are we ‘Metal People’? We most certainly are…
06. Soldier - ‘Defiant’ (Starhaven)
       This band just keeps getting better and better…
07. Ian Toomey - ‘Ascension’ (independent)
       Great solo album which has picked up some really good reviews across the               board…
08. Abnormal Thought Patterns - ‘Altered States Of Consciousness’ (Lifeforce)
       45 minutes or so in the company of the Tipton twins is never wasted …
09. Vly ‘I/[Time]’ - (The Laser’s Edge)
       Spectacular debut by this multinational progressive metal act…
10. Draconian - ‘Sovran’ (Napalm)
       Fabulous – if, of course, downbeat ‘n’ doomy first outing for new vocalist Heike          Langhals…

Honourable mentions to those who just didn’t quite make the cut:
Black Trip ‘Shadowline’ (SPV)
Dreamgrave ‘Presentiment’ (independent)
Satan ‘Atom By Atom’ (Listenable)
Savage ‘7’ / ‘Live ‘N’ Lethal’ (Minus2Zebra)
Tysondog ‘Cry Havoc’ (Rocksector)
And the entire series of Scorpions’ glory days’ vinyl/CD re-issues by SPV

One day I will come up with a new introduction, by the way! See you next year
John
December 2015