Steven Indzeoski

My Top 10 Albums of 2015

Steven Indzeoski -

I'm going to start of this post with a language warning. This post may contain some "bad" words, which is not usual for things I write, but this post is an exception since it's titles of things made by other people.

For the past few years I've wanted to do one of these lists but never got around to it. This year I finally forced myself to get this blog up and running again and put a list together.

Honourable Mentions

There are a couple albums that I really enjoyed that didn't quite make the cut for one reason or another.

Myrkur - M

Genre: Black Metal

Origin: Copenhagen, Denmark

Track Listing:

  1. Skøgen Skulle Dø
  2. Hævnen
  3. Onde Børn
  4. Vølvens Spådom
  5. Jeg er Guden, I er Tjenerne
  6. Nordlys
  7. Mordet
  8. Byssan Lull
  9. Dybt i Skoven
  10. Skaði
  11. Norn

Normally I'm not much of a fan of black metal, but I've really been enjoying everything by one-woman black metal project Myrkur. I really like the balance of singing and screaming, and I don't think I have anything negative to say about this album; the only reason it didn't make the list is because it was #11.

Pig Destroyer - Prowler in the Yard (reissue)

Genre: Grindcore

Origin: Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Track Listing:

  1. Jennifer
  2. Cheerleader Corpses
  3. Scatology Homework
  4. Trojan Whore
  5. Ghost of a Bullet
  6. Heart and Crossbones
  7. Strangled with a Halo
  8. Intimate Slavery
  9. Mapplethorpe Grey
  10. Tickets to the Car Crash
  11. Naked Trees
  12. Sheet Metal Girl
  13. Preacher Crawling
  14. Pornographic Memory
  15. Murder Blossom
  16. Body Scout
  17. Snuff Film at Eleven
  18. Hyperviolet
  19. Starbelly
  20. Junkyard God
  21. Piss Angel
  22. Jennifer 2
  23. Unreleased Untitled

This album would likely be on the top 10 list, except that it's a reissue of an album that originally came out in 2001. Since I didn't actually own this album yet I took this opportunity to get it. Album lives up to the hype. If the quality of the original album is all the same as the Piss Angel music video, then this reissue is a major improvement.

The Top 10

With the honourable mentions out of the way, let's get to the list.

10. Fuck the Facts - Desire Will Rot

Genre: Grindcore

Origin: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Track Listing:

  1. Everywhere Yet Nowhere
  2. Shadows Collide
  3. The Path of Most Resistance
  4. La mort I
  5. La mort II
  6. Prey
  7. Storm of Silence
  8. Solitude
  9. False Hope
  10. Circle (Halo - Fallen - Frost - Rebirth)
  11. Nothing Changes

Fuck the Facts has long been one of my favourite bands, and this album reignited that. Stigmata High-Five and Disgorge Mexico are two of my favourite all-time albums, but their last few albums fell short in my opinion. The songs were still good, but the production value seemed much lower, which I found distracting. This album's production seems back up to normal, which made me very happy.

9. Napalm Death - Apex Predator - Easy Meat

Genre: Grindcore

Origin: Meriden, West Midlands, England

Track Listing:

  1. Apex Predator - Easy Meat
  2. Smash a Single Digit
  3. Metaphorically Screw You
  4. How the Years Condemn
  5. Stubborn Stains
  6. Timeless Flogging
  7. Dear Slum Landlord ...
  8. Cesspits
  9. Bloodless Coup
  10. Beyond the Pale
  11. Stunt Your Growth
  12. Hierarchies
  13. One-Eyed
  14. Adversarial / Copulating Snakes

I'm not sure why, but I'd never really listened to Napalm Death much before this year, even though they're one of the "big names" of grindcore. Very glad I bought this album, it's great.

8. Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Genre: Black Metal

Origin: San Francisco, California, USA

Track Listing:

  1. Brought to the Water
  2. Luna
  3. Baby Blue
  4. Come Back
  5. Gifts for the Earth

Along with Myrkur, Deafheaven has managed to make black metal that I enjoy. I know a lot of people complain about Deafheaven being "hipster black metal" but meh, I form my own opinions. Everything that Deafheaven have put out I've enjoyed.

7. Adolyne - Of Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame

Genre: Noise Metal

Origin: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Track Listing:

  1. (A Recurring Zero)
  2. Deserts in My Blood
  3. The Knife Inside
  4. (Moist Pennies)
  5. Crown
  6. Automatic Writing
  7. Swallow the Black Pill
  8. Gnashing of the Teeth
  9. (When Guilt is the Only Muse)
  10. Brawlers Fracture

Local boys Adolyne have never failed to impress me, and this is another great album. Although I still miss the electronics and noise of the first album, everything has still been great.

6. Locrian - Infinite Dissolution

Genre: Experimental (Drone/Noise/Black Metal)

Origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Track Listing:

  1. Arc of Extinction
  2. Dark Shales
  3. KXL I
  4. The Future of Death
  5. An Index of Air
  6. KXL II
  7. The Great Dying
  8. Heavy Water
  9. KXL III

I have a major soft spot for any band that's unique, and Locrian is about as unique as they come. I first found out about them when they did the split album with Horseback, and I've loved everything they've done ever since. Drone music always interested me but it often gets stale and boring fast. Locrian manages to do some drone but without overdoing, while mixing it with other styles.

5. KEN mode - Success

Genre: Noise Rock

Origin: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Track Listing:

  1. Blessed
  2. These Tight Jeans
  3. The Owl...
  4. I Just Liked Fire
  5. Management Control
  6. A Passive Disaster
  7. Failing At Fun Since 1981
  8. A Catalogue of Small Disappointments
  9. Dead Actors

This album is a departure from the style of KEN mode's last several albums. While their previous albums were much more metal inspired, Success is much more punk/hardcore inspired. I wouldn't necessarily say that this is a good thing or a bad thing, just different. While I prefer their last couple albums, I'm sure some people prefer this one. Obviously I still think the album is great, since it's number 5 on my list. As a bass player myself, I also love how the album opener Blessed is just double bass guitar and no regular guitars.

4. Shining - International Blackjazz Society

Genre: Blackjazz (Experimental/Industrial/Jazz/Metal)

Origin: Oslo, Norway

Track Listing:

  1. Admittance
  2. The Last Stand
  3. Burn It All
  4. Last Day
  5. Thousand Eyes
  6. House of Warship
  7. House of Control
  8. Church of Endurance
  9. Need

Until last year, I had never actually heard of Shining. Thankfully, The Dillinger Escape Plan finally came to Saskatoon, and they had Shining opening for them. Usually I like to check out bands I've never heard of before seeing them live but for this show I ran out of time. When I got there Shining had just started playing, and I was immediately impressed. They had both an amazing live sound quality, and the songs were awesome. I was also impressed when the vocalist kept switching between guitar and saxophone mid-song.

3. Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic

Genre: Progressive Metal

Origin: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Track Listing:

  1. Node
  2. The Coma Machine
  3. Dim Ignition
  4. Famine Wolf
  5. King Redeem / Queen Serene
  6. Turn on the Darkness
  7. The Ectopic Stroll
  8. Rapid Calm
  9. Memory Palace
  10. Option Oblivion
  11. Life in Velvet

To be honest, it took me a little while to get into BTBAM. The vocal style is different than most metal. Once I let myself get used to it, I discovered that they're an absolutely amazing band. Really loved this album. I've always described this band to people as "if Queen played progressive metal instead of rock," and the fact that they recently covered Bohemian Rhapsody and the style of the first single from this album made me believe my own statement even more.

2. Intronaut - The Direction of Last Things

Genre: Post-Metal, Progressive Metal

Origin: Los Angeles, California, USA

Track Listing:

  1. Fast Worms
  2. Digital Gerrymandering
  3. The Pleasant Surprise
  4. The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing
  5. Sul Ponticello
  6. The Direction of Last Things
  7. City Hymnal

I've loved Intronaut for years and this album is no different. I'm very happy that they brought back some screaming since I think it suites their music well. I can't get enough of Intronaut's long jazzy instrumental interludes, and they're the main reason I someday would love to get a fretless bass.

1. Sumac - The Deal

Genre: Post-Metal, Sludge Metal

Origin: Vashon, Washington, USA / Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Track Listing:

  1. Spectral Gold
  2. Thorn in the Lion's Paw
  3. Hollow King
  4. Blight's End Angel
  5. The Deal
  6. The Radiance of Being

At this point I think it's impossible for Aaron Turner to create anything I don't love. For anyone not familiar with Turner, he was the frontman of Isis (the band, obviously) and is a founding member of Old Man Gloom. Sumac is his latest project, along with drummer Nick Yacyshyn of Baptists; Turner started Sumac with the intention of creating the heaviest music he'd ever written. Apparently Turner announced that Sumac is to be a full-time band, not just a side project, and that makes me extremely happy.