20 Best Albums of 2015

After weeks of tweaking my list and re-working my write-ups, I'm proud to announce my picks for the 20 best albums of 2015. I encourage everyone to share their own picks for the best albums of 2015 and/or feedback on my list in the comment box below!

Honorable Mentions:
Lamb of God-VII: Sturm Und Drang
Cult Leader-Lightless Walk
Clutch-Psychic Warfare
Sylosis-Dormant Heart
Altrusium-A Tunnel to Eden 

20.Counterparts-Tragedy Will Find Us: With genre torchbearers Rotting Out disbanding in March and fellow heavy hitters Terror, Turnstile and Defeater all releasing their worst albums to-date, 2015 seemed poised to be the year where hardcore officially died. Thankfully, Canada's Counterparts came along and gave hardcore the rejuvenation it desperately needed with their triumphant fourth LP Tragedy Will Find Us. Tragedy Will Find Us mixes the passion and energy that made me fall in love with the genre nearly a decade ago with the type of poignant lyrical content and emotional vocals you seldom see in the faux-macho-driven modern hardcore scene. Tragedy Will Find Us deserves to be mentioned alongside Defeater's Travels and Modern Life is War's Witness in the greatest melodic hardcore albums of all-time conversation.
Standout Tracks: 1.Burn 2.Resonate 3.Choke


19.The Weeknd-Beauty Behind the Madness: The Weeknd may no longer be the little-known, underground darling he was when he released House of Balloons in the summer of 2011, but Beauty Behind the Madness sees the newly-minted pop superstar returning to his risk-taking roots after his surprisingly stagnant 2013 major label-debut Kiss Land. The dark atmosphere and constant experimentation that drove his widely-acclaimed self-released mixtapes (the aforementioned House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence) is back in full force and that persistent unpredictability makes this record a thoroughly invigorating listen throughout. While these experiments don't always yield excellent excellent results (see the bad Boyz II Men knockoff "As You Are" and the tremendously dull ballad "Angel"), the return of the sense of danger to his music paired with his newfound knack for writing massive, radio-friendly hooks are more than enough to make Beauty Behind the Madness The Weeknd's finest release since House of Balloons.
Standout Tracks: 1.Prisoner (feat. Lana Del Rey) 2.The Hills 3.In the Night 

18.Intervals-The Shape of Colour: Intervals guitarist/brainchild Aaron Marshall was forced to take the band back to its instrumental roots after vocalist Mike Semesky, drummer Anup Sastry and rhythm guitarist Lukas Guyader all left the group between December 2014 and June 2015. Without vocals or a full-time band to support his playing, Marshall cranked the complexity of his songwriting up to the next level on The Shape of Colour. Each one of The Shape of Colour's eight tracks is densely packed with punchy riffs, stunning solos and beautiful melodies that display just how dynamic and gifted of a guitarist Marshall truly is. If The Shape of Colour is any indicator of what Marshall is capable of as a musician, he should never employ a full-time lineup for Intervals ever again.  
Standout Tracks: 1.I'm Awake 2.Sweet Tooth 3.Slight of Hand 

17.The Story So Far-The Story So Far: My soft spot for pop punk is well-documented and for my money, no one is doing it better right now than The Story So Far. Their self-titled third LP doesn't deviate too much from its predecessors, but it's yet another catchy, fun and endlessly re-listenable record from the undisputed kings of the pop punk revival movement.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Heavy Gloom 2.Mock 3.Distaste 

16.While She Sleeps-Brainwashed: It boggles my mind how slept on While She Sleeps is in the modern metalcore landscape. Their 2012 debut This is the Six was one of the most refreshing records to come out of the genre in years and yet pretty much flew completely under-the-radar. The more frenzied and precise attack of their second album Brainwashed will hopefully give While She Sleeps a bit more of the attention they deserve. Lawrence "Loz" Taylor's gritty yet melodic vocals have become even unique since he underwent throat surgery in early 2014 and the barrage of pummeling grooves laid down by guitarists Sean Long and Mat Welsh are more headbang-worthy than ever. Brainwashed is an essential release for any metalcore fan looking for a fresh, exciting and energetic take on the genre.  
Standout Tracks 1.Brainwashed 2.Four Walls 3.No Sides, No Enemies

15.Soilwork-The Ride Majestic: Let's face it, the remaining forefathers of Swedish melodic death metal aren't exactly killing the game right now. In Flames has become a generic alternative metal band, Dark Tranquility hasn't put out a worthwhile record since 2007's Fiction and the newly-reunited At the Gates is still trying to get back into a groove after a nearly 18-year reprieve from writing and recording music together. Despite facing a significant amount more member changeover than any of the aforementioned acts, Soilwork is bucking the recent funk Swedish melo-death acts have fallen into by putting out some of the strongest releases of their career within the last five years. Their recent hot streak continues with The Ride Majestic, which actually manages to top their widely-acclaimed 2013 double The Living Infinite as their best release of the 2000's. The Ride Majestic has all of the vigor and stellar songwriting that made The Living Infinite noteworthy without the bloated runtime and solid amount of filler tracks that prevented it from being truly excellent. I don't know what caused Soilwork to suddenly return to form after years of putting out mediocre-to-decent albums, but I am incredibly thankful that it happened.
Standout Tracks: 1.All Along Echoing Paths 2.The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic) 3.The Phantom    

14.Mac Miller-GO:OD AM: Easy Mac with the cheesy raps is officially gone. The artistic growth Mac Miller showed on 2013's Watching Movies with the Sound Off and 2014's Faces has culminated with the sprawling, mature and powerful GO:OD AM. Over a variety of beats that range from somber and understated to full-on trap bangers, Miller bears his soul about his current state of mind, his previous battles with drug addiction and how getting famous at a young age caused him to lose sight of his priorities. It's staggering how far Miller has come since his party rap debut Blue Slide Park and if this record doesn't up his credibility in the hip-hop community, nothing will.
Standout Tracks: 1.Brand Name 2.Clubhouse 3.Rush Hour

13.iwrestledabearonce-Hail Mary: iwrestledabearonce has been quietly getting better with each new release they put out, but the strides they made on Hail Mary were substantial and completely unexpected. Their trademark tongue-in-cheek metal/deathcore sound has been traded in for a brand of chaotic mathcore so relentlessly spastic and punishing that it makes bands like The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza and Ion Dissonance look like easy listening music. The success of their sound can entirely be attributed to the performances of lead guitarist Stephen Bradley and vocalist Courtney LaPlante. Bradley serves as the ringleader for this circus of chaos with the stream of dizzying and constant-shifting leads he drops throughout the album while LaPlante finally steps out of the shadow of former vocalist Krysta Cameron with her powerful performance that perfectly compliment the manic nature of the music. The non-stop mayhem of Hail Mary will alienate a lot of listeners, but for those that are open to it, it's one of the most insane and enjoyable heavy music rides of 2015.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Doomed to Fail Part I 2.Remain Calm 3.Carbon Copy   

12.Action Bronson-Mr.Wonderful: Abstract hip-hop star Action Bronson should consider changing his name to Mr.Wonderful after the booming success of his major label debut. By letting frequent collaborators The Alchemist, Party Supplies and Statik Skeletah handle a majority of the production and not toning down the eccentricity of his lyrics in the slightest, Bronson was able to effortlessly bring the vibe of his mixtapes to his first studio release. There may be a few unexpected ventures into pop ("Baby Blue") and blues (the really odd three-part rock opera "Thug Love Story 2017" ) featuring Bronson's rather gruff singing, but aside from those unexpected and not particularly effective detours, Mr. Wonderful is Bronsonlino at the top of his game.
Standout Tracks: 1.The Rising 2.Actin' Crazy 3.Falconry (feat. Meyhem Lauren)

11.Vince Staples-Summertime '06: I've been singing the praises of Vince Staples ever since I heard his guest verse on Earl Sweatshirt's "Hive" in 2013 and with the release of his first proper studio album Summertime '06, Staples reinforces why he's one of the brightest talents in hip-hop right now. Summertime '06 is a behemoth of a double album from in which the Long Beach, California rapper weaves a series of tales about how the summer of 2006 changed his life forever. Through the album's 20 tracks, Staples examines the events that caused him to lose his childhood innocence and become a man at 13 years old. Staples raps with a remarkable amount of polish and intensity for a 22 year-old kid with only a handful of formal releases under his belt and the production handled primarily by Def Jef president No I.D. perfectly matches the variety of emotions he conveys on this record. If Staples can keep up this level of quality on his future releases, I wouldn't be remotely surprised if he challenged Kendrick Lamar for the title of best rapper alive.  
Standout Tracks: 1.Norf Norf 2.Loca 3.C.N.B.

10.Rivers of Nihil-Monarchy: It may have taken longer than usual, but don't fear people, the obligatory technical death metal selection on my year-end list is finally here! Monarchy checks all the boxes for what I'm looking for in a tech death album: audible bass, near-constant blast beats, brilliantly-written lengthy guitar solos and the occasional burst of melody for good measure. While all of those elements are key to the success of Monarchy, it's Rivers of Nihil's prominent brutal death metal influence that makes this album really special. The band frequent use of skull-crushing grooves reminds me of Suffocation's early records and gives Rivers of Nihil a fierce edge that a majority of their counterparts simply don't have. Without a doubt, the high water mark for the tech-death genre in 2015.
Standout Tracks: 1.Ancestral, I 2.Monarchy 3.Dehydrate 

9.Lana Del Rey-Honeymoon: You'll be hard-pressed to find a popular artist in music right now that's more hated than Lana Del Rey. The perceived pretension and downbeat nature of her 50's and 60's-influnced indie pop sound paired with her infamous live meltdown on Saturday Night Live in 2012 has made her a popular target for critics and internet music nerds to trash at length. On Honeymoon, Del Rey goes to great lengths to silence every person that has questioned her authenticity and ability as an artist. Behind lush, minimalist production that is eerily reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra and Billie Holiday, Del Rey pushes her abilities as a songwriter and vocalist to staggering new heights. Honeymoon may lack the massive hooks and striking beauty of her earlier material, but Del Rey's music has never been as consistently haunting or well-constructed as it is here.   
Standout TracksL 1.The Blackest Day 2.Swan Song 3.Honeymoon

8.Dance Gavin Dance-Instant Gratification: If you had told me last January that a Dance Gavin Dance record would be among my top 10 favorites albums of the year, I would've told you to get off the crack pipe. Dance Gavin Dance had fallen off big time since the release of their excellent debut Downtown Battle Mountain in 2007 and with their frequent lineup and genre changes, it seemed like they would've never recover. Then Instant Gratification comes out of nowhere and puts a sudden end to their lengthy cold streak. The success of Instant Gratification has a lot to do with the fact that the band was able to keep the same lineup in tact for two consecutive albums for the first time in their decade-long existence. The continuity and newfound sense of stability within the group allowed them to craft the most focused and varied record of their entire career so far. While the album explores everything from Dillinger Escape Plan-esque mathcore ("Shark Dad") to pop ("Death of a Strawberry") to traditional post-hardcore ("Stroke God, Millionaire"), every track is commanded by clean vocalist Tillian Pearson and harsh vocalist Jon Mess-who share an excellent rapport despite their drastically different vocal styles- and Will Swan's captivating guitarwork. When the guitar and vocals are this consistently great for the course of an entire album, you're bound to have something special on your hands. Instant Gratification is without question the most pleasant surprise of 2015 and as long as this lineup can remain in tact, Dance Gavin Dance has a remarkably bright future ahead of them.
Standout Tracks: 1.Stroke God, Millionaire 2.Shark Dad 3.We Own the Night 

7.Mutoid Man-Bleeder: Anyone who says rock'n'roll is dead clearly hasn't heard Mutoid Man. Bleeder, the first full-length from three-piece supergroup featuring Cave In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky, Converge drummer Ben Koller and professional sound engineer turned bassist Nick Cageao, is a giddy throwback to the days where high-energy, riff-driven rock records ruled the musical landscape. With it's concise runtime (just over 29 minutes long) and abundance of killer riffs and soulful choruses, Bleeder is the type of record that demands to be blasted on huge speakers at the highest possible volume. Bleeder is a compact and endlessly fun record that never fails to put a huge smile on my face every time I listen to it. 
Standout Tracks: 1.Sweet Ivy 2.Surveillance 3.1,000 Mile Stare 

6.Intronaut-The Direction of Last Things: After briefly flirting with conventional progressive metal on  2013's Habitual Levitations, Intronaut have returned to their insane, experimental selves on The Direction of Last Things. While Habitual Levitations was still a rock-solid album, it felt strange to hear an Intronaut record without harsh vocals and extensive jazz fusion-inspired bass and drum passages. With their defining elements re-entering the fold on The Direction of Last Things, Intronaut is able to create its most endearing and adventurous material since 2008's Prehistoricisms. Every song has its own unique personality with the nuanced melodies and crushing heaviness working symbiotically to create a cohesive body of work that's subtly gorgeous yet undeniably sinister. The Direction of Last Things reaffirms Intronaut's standing as one of the most forward-thinking and unique bands in modern metal. 
Standout Tracks: 1.Fast Worms 2.Digital Gerrymandering 3.The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing

5.Periphery-Juggernaut (Alpha+Omega): Double albums are usually a recipe for disaster as artists typically don't have enough interesting ideas to fill the extended running time. With the absolutely monstrous Juggernaut, Periphery prove they're one of the rare musical acts that can make a double album work. The vast differences between the two halves (Alpha is a relatively straightforward alternative metal record while Omega is a crushing, multi-layered prog opus) gives Juggernaut the variety it needs to stay engaging for the duration of its imposing 80-minute running time. While frontman Spencer Sotelo's high-pitched, emo-influenced singing and the presence of the occasional Meshuggah-lite groove riff will undoubtedly continue to keep some metal fans away from their music, Periphery's superb musicianship and dedication to further distance themselves from the dreaded "djent" tag that has haunted them since their 2010 debut with each new release they put makes them one of the most exciting young bands in metal right now.
Standout: Tracks 1.Priestess 2.Heavy Heart 3.Alpha

4.Kendrick Lamar-To Pimp a Butterfly: Talking about an album that's this musically-dense and rife with social and political messages is extremely difficult (as evidenced by this terrible, incoherent review I wrote for the album back in March http://maitlandsmadness.blogspot.com/2015/03/album-review-kendrick-lamar-to-pimp.html), so all that I'll say is that I firmly believe To Pimp a Butterfly is the most important album to be released in my lifetime so far. It's the first album I've ever heard that I knew was going to be a classic the moment I finished listening to it for the first time. It's the type of record that parents will pass onto their children and makes the artists behind them immortals in music history. A majority of the "major" events that occurred in 2015 will fade from my memory with time, but I'll never forget where I was and how I felt when I first heard To Pimp a Butterfly. 
Standout Tracks 1.Wesley's Theory 2.How Much a Dollar Coast (feat. James Fauntelroy) 3.Alright

3.The Black Dahlia Murder-Abysmal: Veteran death metal act The Black Dahlia Murder goes against every bit of conventional logic in the music industry. At a point of their career where they could easily be complacent with their legacy and simply be pumping out music for the paycheck, they continue to put top-notch albums that put basically everyone else in the scene to shame. Abysmal is The Black Dahlia Murder delivering yet another slab of distinctly evil melodic death metal driven by intense drumming, killer riffs and Trevor Strnad's powerhouse vocals. While it won't win any awards for originality, Abysmal serves as further proof of The Black Dahlia Murder's unrivaled consistency and proficiency in the death metal genre.
Standout Tracks 1.Re-Faced 2.The Fog 3.Abysmal

2.Battlecross-Rise to Power: Every once in a while you'll stumble across an album that falls into a very specific niche that isn't very well-respected or liked from a consensus standpoint, but you don't really care because it hits all of your personal sweet spots. That album for me is Rise to Power by the much-maligned death/thrash act Battlecross. Battlecross has played a hybrid of Gothenburg melo-death and late 80's thrash since their 2011 debut Pursuit of Honor, Rise to Power just happens to be the first time they've perfected it. The sheer amount of energy, quality riffs and sheer aggression they throw into this lean, filler-free 36-minute album is remarkable and makes Rise to Power one of the very few albums released in 2015 to be highly enjoyable from start to finish.
Standout Tracks: 1.Scars 2.The Climb 3.Absence 


1.August Burns Red-Found in Far Away Places: August Burns Red is the epitome of an anomaly in the metalcore scene. In an age where most of the bands they came up with are disbanding (Texas in July), dramatically altering their original sound (All That Remains) or losing the bite they once had (Parkway Drive), they continue to push their music to the next level with each new release they put out. Found in Far Away Places sees the Pennsylvania-based quintet upping the ante even more than usual and it results in their most impressive effort to-date. Between their brilliantly-executed balance of incredibly technical and sprawling progressive elements and the overwhelming, genuine emotion behind Jake Luhrs' vocals, August Burns Red is able to create a truly epic sound that consistently surprises and dazzles the listener. Found in Far Away Places is a bold, beautiful and awe-inspiring record that deserves to be recognized as a classic in the metalcore genre.
Standout Tracks: 1.Broken Promises 2.Majoring in the Minors 3.Separating the Seas