Best of 2015: Top 15 Albums

2015 was an interesting year on the metal album front. Whilst there were satisfactory releases from the older generation of metal giants such as Maiden and Napalm Death, there were also career defining moments from the more recent generation such as Cattle Decapitation, Ghost, Baroness and more.

I don’t think 2015 was quite as good as 2014. I mean, there were just so many above average releases and modern classics from last year (The Satanist to name just one) it’s been hard to top. On top of that, there’s been many a disappointing album. I won’t focus too much on this years disappointments but for me, Slayer shouldn’t carry on without Jeff Hanneman. He was the driving force for Slayer and Repentless was a perfect example of that.

Anyway, let’s focus on all the awesomeness 2015 had to offer:

15. Sunn O))) – Kannon

Kannon was a solid return from a band that hadn’t put out a solo release in 6 years. It has everything we love about Sunn compressed into 33 minutes.

14. Fuck The Facts – Desire Will Rot

I’m actually listening to this as I write. Discovered this grind gem late on in the year. It will satisfy any grindcore fan as well as draw in outside listeners with its atmospheric and melodic elements that are used tastefully.

13. Panopticon – Autumn Eternal

I knew Austin Lunn wouldn’t disappoint. Roads To The North was one of the best albums of 2014 for me. Its unique approach to black metal still had the charm of the black metal underground, yet pushed things to a new level. Autumn Eternal does the same and even more beautiful than before.

12. Napalm Death – Apex Predator – Easy Meat

Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death came through with one of their best albums this year. Even though they’ve moved to a more death metal than grind sound, they’re still as extreme as ever. I love the lyrical topics on this record. There’s also some clean(ish) vocals which keep the album from being one-dimensional.

11. Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss

Although not strictly metal, I feel I can include this album on the list because of the huge amount of fans Chelsea Wolfe has attained from the metal community. On top of that, her music is darker than a lot of metal acts out there. Abyss is her most morbid yet. Powerful yet pretty, shocking and stunning. This could be her best album to date.

REVIEW: Baroness – Purple

Released: 18/12/15

Label: Abraxan Hymns

It’s been a tough journey for Baroness the last 3 years. The infamous tour bus accident back in 2012 led to the departure of drummer Allen Bickle and bassist Matt Maggioni, leaving John Dyer Baizley the only remaining original member. Purple is the 42 minute product of 3 years of drama and pain for one of metals most beloved bands.

When Yellow & Green was released in 2012, there were claims that the band had softened their heavy sound, they same way bands like Mastodon and Opeth have. Where there were once gargantuan riffs and furious shouts, there were nice chords and sing-along choruses. It was an okay album, but didn’t stand up to Red Album or Blue Record. It’s different here on Purple though. The band are still carrying on in this new direction, but the songs are vastly better than a lot of Yellow & Green. But let’s be truthful, Baroness have never been an extreme metal band. Red album and Blue record had beefy riffs and shouting vocals, but they also had sweet melodies and well though out song structures. Yellow & Green was an album that took the bands unique sound down a different path. Purple is an album that is fully aware of its direction.

All this being said, Purple kicks off heavy as arse. The main riff “Morningstar” is a throwback to the bands first 2 records. Crunchy palm muting complimented by twangy picked chords. Followed by the catchier than winters snottiest cold, “Shock Me”. Which to me, is one of the albums finest moments. Even if it is more alternative rock than metal, it’s rhythms, chord progressions and melodies are genius. And that’s one of the most appealing factors of this release. These aren’t just straight up rock songs. There are tons of musical elements that could please the most musically trained geek. “Try To Disappear” is another fine example of a supremely well written rock song. It’s like a Foo Fighters anthem bathed in atmospheric psychedelia and gooey sludge. This element has never left Baroness’s music. There’s always been lost of psychedelic subtleties. Much like John Dyer Baizley’s beautiful art, there’s layers you don’t notice at first glance. 

Purple’s crowning centrepiece is “Chlorine & Wine”. It was fittingly the first song the band released leading up to the album. It poetically describes John’s experience in hospital after the bus accident. In the songs final moments he screams “Please don’t lay me down / Under the rocks where I found my place in the ground”. It’s sad and heart wrenching, but at the same time optimistic and uplifting. It’s almost an ode to life. Finding light in life darkest moments. “In spite of the winter / There’s ways to keep warm”.

Although tracks 7 & 8 are nothing to shout about, the album ends on the most epic of highs. “If I Have To Wake Up” is another tale of pain told through the medium of wondrous and uplifting melodies. This is surely one of Baroness’s saddest songs. Concluding the journey is a 17 second noise and voice outro. Before I heard this track (if you can call it that) I saw in the credits that it features spoken word from, who I’m assuming is, John’s daughter. This could’ve gone 2 ways: really cheesy or really beautiful. To be honest, it’s neither. It just sums up the them of the album in a few seconds of sci-fi sounding noises and voices. “I’ve done it! / I’m drifting into a world of limitless dimensions!”.

At first listen, Purple may seem like another metal band going down the straight forward rock song route. But scratch beneath the surface and it is an album of limitless dimensions.

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9/10

Favourite tracks: Chlorine & Wine, Morningstar, Shock Me, If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop The Rain?)

RECIPE: Banana Bread/Cake

This is one of my favourite things to bake. It’s so easy and partners a good ol’ cuppa on a Saturday afternoon perfectly. All that and there’s no usage of an animal product in sight.

Ingredients:

Cake

225g Plain Flour

3 tsp Baking powder

100g Brown sugar

3 tsp Cinnamon

3 Very ripe bananas

5 tbsp Sunflower oil

50g Crushed pecan nuts

Icing

50g Non-dairy butter

100g Icing sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (180 for fan assisted).
2. Mash dem bananas. Once mashed, mix in the oil and sugar.
3. Then combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
4. Once these are all combined, stir in the crumbled pecan nuts. You can alternatively use some kind of seed mix if you prefer.
5. Grease up a standard 2lb loaf tin with non-dairy butter and pour in the mixture.
6. Shove it in the oven for 1 hour. If it starts to brown too much 5-10 minutes under an hour, take it out.
7. Whilst the cake is in the oven, make the icing. Beat together the butter and icing sugar until creamy. Then add the vanilla extract and carry on beating.
8. Once you have taken the cake out the oven, leave to cool down for an hour or so. Once it’s cool, spread the icing on top. You could even crumble some more pecan nuts on top if you have any left over.

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Whilst making this I was listening to Cattle Decapitation’s almighty Monolith of Inhumanity. If you’re into your death metal and grind but also love a sweet melody, give this album a listen if you haven’t already. Honestly, this is a modern masterpiece in my eyes.

(This album cover is what I look like yamming into this cake)

Best of 2015: Top 20 Songs

20. Conan – Revengeance

This has got me super exited for Conan’s upcoming 2016 album “Revengeance”. It might even be my favourite Conan song to date.

19. Abbath – Winterbane

Again, what I’ve heard from Abbath’s new project has got me looking forward to 2016.

18.  Kylesa – Shaping the Southern Sky

Whilst I wasn’t overly impressed with Kylesa’s latest effort, this one really stands out.

17. Myrkur – Onde Børn

Another album that didn’t much impress me, but I really love this track. Beautiful melodies over atmospheric guitars.

16. Panopticon – Autumn Eternal

Another stunning piece of work from Austin Lunn here. Panopticon rarely disappoints with his unique style of atmospheric black metal.

15. Akhlys – Tides Of Oneiric Darkness

This is a stunning piece of raw, cold and atmospheric black metal.

REVIEW: Sunn O))) – Kannon

Label: Southern Lord Records

Released: 4/12/15

There’s no doubt that when drone/doom/ambient/experimental giants Sunn O))) announced that their will be a new album this year back in September, many a loud music fan (including myself) were exited and intrigued. Mainly for the reason that it was 2009 when O’Malley and Anderson last released a solo album. It wasn’t like it’s been a long wait with nothing to tide us over. There were collaborations with the likes of Ulver and Scott Walker. Terrestrials with Ulver was a nice album, but nothing to write home about. And Soused with Scott Walker, was… interesting to say the least. Nothing horrifically disappointing, but nothing worthy to put along side the mighty Monoliths & Dimensions.

One of the first things about Kannon that I found quite interesting was that it’s only 33 minutes long. I was intrigued to hear how a band that relies so heavily on long, drawn out pieces can do what they do so well in just over half an hour. Especially after watching Stephen O’Malley’s RBMA Lecture in which he talks about why he makes such long pieces. But to be fair, Kannon is a concise effort. It floats by in 3 movements, telling the tale of East Asian goddess of mercy, Kannon through the medium of noise and chants.

Whilst Black One and Monoliths & Dimensions were dense, claustrophobic and suffocating experiences, Sunn’s sonic aspect feels a lot more airy this time around. The chord progression in “Kannon 1” feel triumphant while the vocals are whispy and reverb soaked. It’s fitting for music about a goddess of compassion and mercy. Even “Kannon 2” seems spacier than usual, even with it’s dissonant notes. Closing the album, “Kannon 3” has some really triumphant moments. Epic chords partnered by harrowing shrieks from Attila Csihar.

I think Kannon works well as an entry level album if you’re new to the band. It’s short, concise and gives you a good idea about the intentions of Gregg Anderson and Stephen O’Mally. Whilst die hard Sunn O))) fans would have been expecting another hour or so long album, the 33 minutes of music we have been given surely won’t disappoint anyone.

7/10

RECIPE: Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Avocado Sauce

Who needs dairy to make a creamy sauce when we have avocados? Well, I don’t anyway. Here’s a recipe for a satisfying creamy pasta.

Ingredients:

6 quartered cherry tomatoes

1/2 a medium pepper, finely sliced

6 small broccoli florets

2 tbsp olive oil

250g pasta

Handful of chopped spinach

Sauce:

1 avocado

1 1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 tsp cumin

4 tbsp soy milk

Serves 2

Preheat the oven to 200°c (180° for fan ovens). Mix all the chopped vegetables into a baking tray along with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables start to brown. Turn halfway through.

While the vegetables are roasting, chop up the avocado and place in a bowl for mixing along with the cumin and mustard. You could also squirt a bit of lemon juice in too if that’s your kinda thing. Mix the ingredients together. Once they are mixed, blend them all together with a hand blender (or whatever blender ya got) along with the soy milk. This should make a creamy, rich avocado sauce.

After you’ve turned the vegetables, get that pasta on.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add the vegetables. The mix in the sauce.

I made this meal twice in one day and didn’t take any pictures either time… It’s good though, trust me!

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Whilst making this I had High On Fire’s classic “Death Is This Communion” blasting. Whilst I loved their latest album “Luminiferous“, this is still my favourite HoF album.