Top Ten Albums - 2015

10. Pyramaze – Disciples of the Sun:

Nothing revolutionary, but a very solid and very well written effort from a band I’ve only just discovered this year. While still keeping to traditional prog elements, with technical precision ruling the day, Pyramaze crafts a concise and easily accessible record that doesn’t overstay its welcome. As seems to be the tradition in a great deal of prog metal, there is a power metal vibe and sound that permeates the record and there’s a whole hell of a lot of synth spread throughout. While not a turn-off for me, this could be reason enough for some to steer clear from the album. If, however, you’ve no problem with power metal and synth goodness, this is a top notch record that should definitely be added to your collection.

09. The Gentle Storm – The Diary

An odd album, that really only makes this list more for its vision and style than for being a huge favorite. While it’s definitely seen its number of replays from me over the year, the album’s been mostly back burner, so to speak. On the other hand, whenever I do jump back into its world I realize why it’s so damn good and deserves a spot. What we have here is a traditional folk styled album with some absolutely phenomenal vocals from Anneke van Giersbergen and superb composition and instrumentation from Arjen Anthony Lucassen. It’s definitely an album you have to be in the mood for, given its fantasy inspired folk composition and subject matter, it sounds almost like a collection of songs you’d hear in a well-made high fantasy flick. And, if pure folk isn’t your thing, the second half of the album features darker, heavier, guitar driven, versions of the songs found on the first disc. To put it in easier terms, the first half is pure folk, while the second half recalls Nightwish/Eluveitie more than anything else. Being a fan of folk, metal and big orchestral pieces, this album delivers on all fronts.

08. Meg Myers- Sorry

If Tori Amos, Alanis Morissette and Poe had a big threesome during a grunge/alternative concert, Meg Myers would be their glorious love child. Meg Myers carries the tradition of those awesome ‘90s angry chick rockers, but with a touch of alt. rock and modern pop sensibilities. That may sound scary at first and may recall acts like Avril Lavigne, but Meg here isn’t singing about her Sk8er Boi and doesn’t try to oversell her edgy “punk rock” image. More importantly, unlike Avril, there’s an actual honesty to Meg and her music. Yes, it’s a pop record with some alt. touches, but she’s not trying to sell herself on her image, she’s selling herself on her music. She may not be pushing the envelope in any way, but as far as debut albums go, this one definitely shows that Meg is someone to keep an eye on.

07. Chvrches – Every Open Eye

“Eh, I guess I’ll get it” was pretty much my thought process when getting Every Open Eye. Just another random purchase based on some recommendations through Prime. Well, Every Open Eye turned out to be a surprising and infectious little album that definitely recalls the new wave/synth pop style of the ‘80s. The music is catchy and full of heart, but the biggest sell for me was just how lighthearted and positive it all really feels. There’s your fair share of personal/heartbroken tracks, but there’s such a sense of positivity throughout the whole thing that it’s more uplifting than anything else. This one was definitely an unexpected favorite of the year and I’m glad I decided to make that impulse buy, or I’d have missed this little gem.

06. Native Construct – Quiet World

Absolutely prog to its core, Native Construct’s debut album, Quiet World, is a superb reminder of why prog is just so fucking great. From the clear jazz influences, to the superb composition and instrumentation, everything on this album just excels. The lyrics are great and the concept at the heart of the album is unique and involved. It spins an interesting little tale about creator and creation. If you’re a fan of prog music or just concept albums in general, Quiet World is one you shouldn’t miss.

05. Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Despite the controversy surrounding Nightwish, again, booting out their female singer, for some questionable reasons, I decided to give Endless Forms Most Beautiful a listen. Sure it took me a while to get the album, being put-off by the band’s treatment of their ex-female vocalists, but it’s hard to ignore a group that consistently puts out great material, even if you question their views on women.

Anyway, am I glad I decided to give it a purchase, because Endless Forms Most Beautiful is up there with the band’s best, most inspired work. And that’s no easy task either, considering just how good 2011’s Imaginaerum turned out to be. With Floor taking up the vocals, the band has a power that they haven’t had since Tarja was still leading the pack. Anette was great, but she lacked the range to really give the band the operatic bombast that they really needed. Aside from finding themselves a new vocalist who could truly reach Tarja’s lofty standards, Nightwish has never sounded so absolutely revitalized. From the elaborate composition to the lengthy tracks that recall progressive rock more than anything else, Nightwish is pulling out all the stops and going full force. The album is so huge and so great that, even with Floor, I highly doubt they’ll ever recapture the same magic again.

04. Orden Ogan – Ravenhead

I purchased this album very early in the year and it still holds up as one of the best this year, and that's no small feat considering it's competing with the likes of Steven Wilson and Iron Maiden. The light concept is pure epic fantasy and the album is filled with huge sweeping choruses and completely and unabashedly bombastic composition. There's not a single song on the album that fails or feels like unnecessary filler and, unlike other efforts, the album and its songs are brisk and paced wonderfully. It's still longer than your average rock album, but the songs are so brilliantly composed, never outstay their welcome and they're so damned infectious and pleasing that you won't even realize the album's already come to a close and when it does, you'll find yourself wanting more, which is always a good sign. If you feel the need to power metal anytime soon, Orden Ogan's got you covered. They're not pushing the genre forward or bringing in any new tricks, but Revenhead is such an earnest, polished and complete work that it doesn't really matter.

03. Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is yet another example, in a long list of examples, as to why Steven Wilson is among the top musical artists of our time. Inspired by the story of Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman who was found dead in her apartment, three years after the fact. The album, while linked more in theme than story, focuses on: isolation, loss, anxiety and depression. By far, it’s one of Wilson’s most reflective, depressing and nostalgic works, but, like a good portion of his body of work, there’s a silver lining, a hint of hope on the horizon. Strong, consistent, complex and absolutely beautiful, Hand. Cannot. Erase. is one of the standouts of the year and is not to be missed.

02. Iron Maiden – Book of Souls

Muted production without nuance, a weak Bruce and a couple filler tracks aside, Iron Maiden’s newest effort stands strong against the band’s early favorites. While some of the songs can definitely be on the long winded and repetitive side, Maiden hasn’t felt this raw, atmospheric and inspired in years. While their age definitely shows, they’ve still got plenty of energy and aren't far from shaming younger bands on that front.

However, great and inspired tunes aside, the big standout here, the song that practically makes the album on its own, is Empire of the Clouds. A huge, 18-minute monster of a track, re-telling the story of the R101 disaster. It’s huge, packed with emotion and stands among the band’s greatest compositions. It also marks the first time the band uses piano, played by none other than Bruce Dickinson himself.

The album definitely has its faults and it still fails to quite live up to Maiden’s own standards on several parts, but it’s definitely a strong and inspired production that manages to churn out some songs that match, and even surpass, some of the band’s classics.

01. Riverside – Love, Fear and the Time Machine

Of all the albums this year, none of them quite had the same impact on me as this one. Love, Fear and the Time Machine is, for me, one of the strongest albums I’ve heard, not just this year, but ever. It’s more of a personal record than Riverside’s earlier albums and is definitely among their more accessible. Unlike earlier albums this is definitely a more bass/synth heavy album with a greater emphasis on reflective and somber composition, rather than the atmospheric, complex and guitar heavy composition of earlier efforts.

The lighter composition and more personal subject matter doesn’t mean everything has changed though. Chief lyricist, bassist and vocalist Mariusz Duda continues to criticize the modern day obsession with technology, the strange isolation it creates, despite “connecting” us all together and the odd way we allow it to make decisions for us. With lyrics like: “Your filter bubble, on the touchscreen display, has recommended to you, what you should want” it’s clear that Duda is no fan of all the fancy gadgets and distractions we have at our fingertips. He also takes a little time out to criticize the tendency towards narcissism in today’s social media infused world.

More than anything though, I think where Love, Fear and the Time Machine really hits for me is that it has such this sense of nostalgia, in that it reminds me of an old and very close friend. If our relationship, our philosophies, topics of discussion and overall emotional state were to ever be reflected in an album, I think this would most definitely be that album. With Love, Fear and the Time Machine, unlike all the other albums this year, it hits on a much more personal and emotional level and with that, it cements itself as, possibly, one of my all-time favorites. It’s nothing short of magnificent.