Members of the TMO crew nominate their favorite albums from the first half of 2015.
Neil Pretorius:
Kamelot – Haven
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvUeqRwWorM]
I’ve lavished all kinds of praise on Haven ever since its release (it was also my pick of the month for May), and it continues to grow more enjoyable with each listen. I knew what I wanted from Kamelot going into the second album of the Tommy Karevik-era, and Haven has met and succeeded all my expectations. The grandeur of Karma and Epica are here, as are the progressive touches and darker tone of their post-Ghost Opera works, and they sound in fine fettle throughout. It may change yet—there is a new Iron Maiden due soon—but for now Haven would have to be my Album of the Year.
Honourable Mentions: Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Sunset in the 12th House – Mozaic.
Joshua Bulleid:
Orden Ogan – Ravenhead
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yn6fR7CAD0]
2015 has been a bit of a slow year for me, at least far as great albums are concerned. However, the year started of strong with a slew of strong contenders in its first month and Orden Ogan’s Ravenhead remains the best album released this year, and—I’m starting to think—a hot contender for my favorite power metal album of all time.
Power metal isn’t my usual genre of choice but there’s no denying there’s some killer power metal releases being put out at the moment (over the last eighteen months or so) and Ravenhead is without a doubt the most powerful of these most-powerful records. The upped aggression and thrash-dabblings don’t hurt one bit and Orden Ogan’s masterful songwriting makes sure Ravenhead is an album that will stick with you, long into the future.
Honourable Mentions: Keep Of Kalessin – Epistemology, Armageddon – Captivity And Devourment.
Nathan Hare:
Bell Witch – Four Phantoms
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cng2DEH5IYI]
For as much as I listen to doom, I’m not a huge fan of funeral doom. However, there’s no denying the power of Bell Witch’s sophomore album; Four Phantoms is beautiful, sublime, and soul-crushingly heavy. It is a very poignant, introspective album, which is fully immersive, and as the tracks take shape they become dreamlike and meditative to the point of being almost trance-inducing. It’s rare to hear an album that’s as emotionally heavy as it sonically, but Bell Witch has accomplished just that with Four Phantoms.
Neill Bird:
Obsequiae – Aria Of Vernal Tombs
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaFIDnsWCQQ]
Since its release, I’ve been spinning Aria Of Vernal Tombs non-stop. This album contains a perfect blend of melody and heaviness and some of the more inventive songs of the year. It’s an album that takes the listener to another world, and another era. Obsequiae have a more than worthy follow up to an already incredible debut and are poised to just get bigger going forward.
Honorable Mentions: Dorthia Cottrell – Dorthia Cottrell, Prurient – Frozen Niagara Falls.
Evan Mugford:
Leprous – The Congregation
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G9Qd_84YZs]
The most beautiful and unlikely oddity to emerge from the year’s first half must assuredly be The Congregation, the fourth full-length release from Norwegian progressive metal dynamos Leprous. The band’s simplified approach and their ever-improving use of melody has enabled them to eclipse 2013’s Coal, while the quartet’s balance of estranged darkness and overwhelming hope has produced a record that is as emotive as it is rewarding.
Honorable Mentions: Arcane – Known/Learned, Cave of Swimmers – Reflection.
Shawn Miller:
Macabre Omen – Gods Of War – At War
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7WOng8p24Y]
Merging the epic pacing of Bathory’s Viking era with the grandiose theatrics and subtle melodies of the Hellenic black metal scene, Gods of War – At War is one of the best Greek, black metal, albums to come out in years. A decade after Macabre Omen’s debut, Gods of War – At War shows the band at the top of their game, rivaling the best of Rotting Christ and Varathron.
Honourable Mentions: The Gentle Storm – The Diary, Gloaming – Keep Close the Watchfires.
Ailo Ravna:
Acid King – Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS-He0PUBzk]
Picking an album of the year for the first half of 2015 is not an easy task. At the time of writing, I still haven’t decided what should be my number one, and I can think of at least six albums that fit the bill. The album I listened to the most, however, was Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere, the return of the venerable Acid King. Middle Of Nowhere has it all; laid-back rhythms, easy riding, and towering doom. In a time when doom metal is over-saturated with occult aesthetics and eerie atmospheres, it’s refreshing that Acid King just keep on trucking with their bowel-shaking stoner haze. A future classic, for sure.
Honorable Mentions: Leviathan – Scar Sighted, Death Karma – The History Of Death And Burial Rituals Part I
Alex Melzer:
Jørn Lande & Trond Holter present Dracula – Swing of Death
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL7_tV6oZyI]
Elaborate concept albums with different characters etc. are often very ambitious affairs that more often than not fail to live up to the expectations, especially if they are based upon classic literature, but what former Dream Police guitarist Trond Holter and vocal jack-of-all-trades Jørn Lande have created with their take on the story of Dracula, titled Swing of Death, must be one of the strongest of its kind. Atmospherically dense, powerful and expressive, this album could be performed in a theatrical setting and probably harvest standing ovations. Lande with one of his most spirited performances to date and a sublime command over the musical side by Holter make Swing of Death an outstanding effort that sets the benchmark of similar albums to come.
Honorable Mentions: Orden Ogan – Ravenhead, Eclipse – Armageddonize, The Gentle Storm – The Diary
