Ailo’s Top 30 Albums of 2015

In hindsight, 2015 has been a great year for metal. Bands from the underground, such as polish black metal insurgents Mgła and doom duo Bell Witch, have gained well-deserved wider attention, while old titans such as Acid King have made triumphant returns. We’ve lost some good ones, including Nunslaughter’s Jim Sadist and Motörhead’s Philty Animal Taylor, while other bands have made fantastic debuts on the scene. But enough about that. Here’s another list of albums of the year, which you’re most likely sick of by now. Here’s to another year of the good outweighing the shite!

Click on the band – album for the review link (if applicable). Click the cover art for music.

T H I R T Y
Satan’s Satyrs
Don’t Deliver Us

 The Satyrs unleash their weirdest piece of doom punk yet.
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T W E N T Y – N I N E
Tribulation

The Children of the Night

Makes up for the loss of aggression with a plethora of memorable melodies and riffs.
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T W E N T Y – E I G H T
Kroda

Ginnungagap Ginnungagaldr Ginnungakaos

Sprawling pagan metal from the woods of Ukraine.
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T W E N T Y – S E V E N
Akhlys

The Dreaming I

Malevolent black metal of the finest sort.
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T W E N T Y – S I X
Ufomammut

Ecate

Cosmic thunder from the Italian doom titans.
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T W E N T Y – F I V E
Hooded Menace

Darkness Drips Forth

Grimy death doom brewed with glassy-eyed horror.
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T W E N T Y – F O U R
Deathhammer

Evil Power

Thrash metal as it used to be. Possible the coolest vocal performance of 2015.
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T W E N T Y – T H R E E
Monolord

Vænir

Monolord came out extremely strong with last year’s debut, and keep their monolithic doom momentum going.
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T W E N T Y – T W O
Bell Witch

Four Phantoms

Ponderous and beautiful ruminations.
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T W E N T Y – O N E
High on Fire

Lumiferous

Matt Pike is back at his peak. Kick ass.
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T W E N T Y
Christian Mistress

To Your Death

Hard rock heaven from beginning to end.
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N I N E T E E N
Grave Pleasures

Deamcrash

Beastmilk completes their transformation and land with style.
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E I G H T E E N
Thou & The Body

You, Whom I Have Always Hated

Filthy, nasty stuff.
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S E V E N T E E N
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

The Night Creeper

White nights of murder in old London town.
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S I X T E E N
King Dude

Songs of Flesh and Blood: In the Key of Light

The devil is in the details. Gothic ballads with a twist of light.
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F I F T E E N
Obsequiae

Aria of Vernal Tombs

Medieval folky metal without the cheese.
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F O U R T E E N
Misþyrming

Söngvar Elds og Óreiðu

Heralding the end times from the volcanic fires of Iceland.
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T H I R T E E N
Graveyard

Innocence & Decadence

Still at the forefront of the classic rock revival.
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T W E L V E
Bong

We Are, We Were, and We Will Have Been

Mantra doom for doped souls.
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E L E V E N
Year of the Goat

The Unspeakable

Lovecraft, ballads, and love of the occult.
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T E N
Jess & the Ancient Ones

The Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes

Losing yourself in peyote dreams.

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N I N E
Sunn O)))

Kannon

Black Buddhist drones.

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E I G H T
Brothers of the Sonic Cloth

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth

Tad Doyle and his bowel-crushing band.
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S E V E N
Mgła

Exercises In Futility

These riffs are cold.
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S I X
With the Dead

With the Dead

La Grande Danse Macabre.
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F I V E
Leviathan

Scar Sighted

The abyss stares back.

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F O U R
Death Karma

The History of Death and Burial Rituals Part I

Death is just the beginning.

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T H R E E
Acid King

Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere

A wizard riding on a tiger in outer space.
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T W O
Panopticon

Autumn Eternal

Staggering autumnal palette.
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O N E
Chelsea Wolfe

Abyss

Deep dark oceans will drown us all. Intense and endlessly beautiful from the ice queen.
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