SPIN's 20 Best Metal Albums of 2015

Deafheaven’s sublime 2013 album *Sunbather* was an alloy of black metal aggression and shoegaze melodicism as beautiful as it was punishing. Opening with a murmur of ambience before giving way to the sound of church bells and Slayer-like thrash, *New Bermuda* pushes the band’s formula even further, juxtaposing twinkling guitars with searing growls (“Baby Blue”) and lurching, hardcore-style breakdowns with chord progressions that could’ve come from a moody English alt-rock record circa 1988 (“Gifts from the Earth”). It’s an adventurous blend from an extraordinary band.

record menegroth july 4th-8th 2015

Horrendous' third full-length album. Cover art by Brian Smith. Produced at Subterranean Watchtower Studios in the summer of 2015. We are all very proud of the album and feel it is our best work to date. While our composition process has always been spread out over several separated writing-specific sessions, one thing that separates Anareta from our past work is our recording process. We recorded all the songs over one continuous period (the recording sessions for The Chills and Ecdysis were more spread out)–Matt and Jamie stayed at Damian’s house/studio for weeks on end and the three of us lived, breathed and dreamed of nothing but the album during that time. It was our entire lives for over a month (two months if you include the mixing and mastering stage), and we think this complete dedication to the record is one of the factors that really made it turn out so well. There was a lot of magic in the air once we finished the foundation of the record, and each day we built off of the prior day’s creative energies and inspirations until it bloomed into something immense.

By their third album, Tribulation had completed their transition from a brilliantly talented Swedish death-metal band into something less easily classifiable. *The Children of the Night* saw the band fully embracing the gothic tendencies that began emerging on 2013’s *The Formulas of Death* while threading black metal and darkly infectious rock. Sinister and elegant, the album’s dazzling guitar acrobatics, eerie piano melodies, and mystical atmosphere—contrasted by the sepulchral vocals of bassist Johannes Andersson —helped the young Swedes become a unique entity.

CD/LP by Northern Heritage / No Solace 2015. Available at: www.no-solace.com www.northern-heritage.net

Third LP Released in the US by Halo of Flies and IFB Records. Released in Europe by Moment of Collapse, React With Protest, and 7 Degrees Records. Artwork by Fernando Pena ( www.celldeth.com ) Recorded and Mastered by JC Griffin ( lakebottomrecording.com )

Matt Pike’s telltale growl cuts across relentlessly grimy guitars and punchy drums.

Luminiferous: A nine-track venture into those signature sky-shredding riffs of Matt Pike, pummeling bass work of Jeff Matz, and hellish gallop of Des Kensel, Luminiferous is the unequivocal culmination of the band’s characteristically unhinged yet entirely focused savagery. Make no mistake, though. This is not some casual revisit to formula for the Oakland-based trio. Building on those tendencies of its last two predecessors, Lumifierous finds Pike at his most vocally daring yet, infusing the explosiveness of sound with his melodic but no less scorched vocal stylizations. Beginning with the whiplash rhythm of “The Black Plot,” Luminiferous charges forward with abandon, only briefly slowing its churn with “The Cave,” and its descent into a psychedelic and ethereal haze. Whether with the breakneck anthem of “Carcosa,” the blistering thrash of “Slave the Hive,” or the roaring sonic gauntlet of “The Sunless Years,” Luminiferous represents yet another definitive stroke of heavy metal mastery for this inimitable band that’s been breaking and rewriting the rules for years now. Further proof that heavy metal’s throne remains occupied with only one band, Luminiferous is a crowning achievement for High On Fire and an undeniable declaration that their reign isn’t likely to end anytime soon.

Heavy rock titans TORCHE make their Relapse debut with the thunderous 'Restarter', a ten song triumph of an album. TORCHE rose to popularity merging huge infectious melodies with downtuned, crushing sludgey rock and on 'Restarter' they've perfected the marriage. This is a record that is simultaneously hum-able and heavy that will just as easily appeal to fans of Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth as it will Melvins and High On Fire-heads. But what truly sets TORCHE apart from their peers is their ability to use top-notch songwriting and soaring, harmonic vocals to create records that are heavier and louder and hookier than anyone else out there.

On the heels of MYRKUR's universally praised debut EP, comes M, the Danish black metal phenom's highly anticipated first full-length album. Recorded in various locations of Oslo, Norway (including renowned artist Emanuel Vigeland's mausoleum) with co-producer Garm (the mastermind behind black metal legends Ulver) M finds MYRKUR achieving the grandiose heights that everyone hoped she would climb to. The melodies are lush and the brutality devastating--M is a highly developed metal masterpiece that blends second-wave black metal, Nordic folk music, classical instrumentation and haunting choirs. Rounded out on record by members of Mayhem, Dodheimsgard & Nidingr plus a guest appearance from Christopher Amott of Arch Enemy, MYRKUR has quickly established herself as one of the best and most intriguing acts in metal today.

Two-thirds into “The Great Unknown,” a mighty jam that searches out all the right tones, a truly soaring guitar solo is unleashed, signaling that the heavy metal pioneers still have fresh ways of channeling the abyss. In fact, in a blind listening test, this album could pass for a classic ‘80s-era Iron Maiden album; it has all the necessary ingredients, including apocalyptic riffs, imposing drum blasts, and, of course, Bruce Dickinson’s war-torn voice. *The Book of Souls* is a pensive tome that goes through numerous metamorphoses, increasing its smoldering energy with every step.

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