LISTMANIA 2015: A YEAR-END LIST FROM VONLUGHLIO (PART 2)

 

(Our old friend from the Dominican Republic Vonlughlio once again brings us his list of the year’s best releases. It’s a Top 50 list, with honorable mentions as well, and this is Part 2, counting down from No. 24 to No. 1. Part 1 can be found here.)

So here is the second part of my favorite albums of this year, and honorable mentions:

 

24. Archgoat – The Apocalytic Triumphator

https://dmp666.bandcamp.com/album/the-apocalyptic-triumphator

I remember the first time I heard this band over nine or ten years ago and they scared the living shit out of me. Flash-forward to now and they still do. The vocals are what I enjoy the most, like a Demon, it’s just fantastic. The music is top-notch, and after 20 years this band is strong. I hope they continue forever!

 

 

 

23. Horna – Hengen Tulet

https://wtcproductions.bandcamp.com/album/hengen-tulet

Another great black metal band that just gets better and better with the years. Love how their sound is so raw and keeps the listener fully engaged with their music. Great riffs, fantastic drumming, and the vocals are just vicious.

 

 

 

22. Sulphur Aeon – Gateway to the Antisphere

https://sulphuraeon-vanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gateway-to-the-antisphere

Loved their debut album when it was released. This sophomore release by these Germans is just great death metal from start to finish, with great vocals and great guitar, bass, and drumming. Got to say I had high hopes for this, and they delivered a solid release.

 

 

 

21. Sarpanitum – Blessed Be My Brothers

https://willowtip.bandcamp.com/album/blessed-be-my-brothers

Always liked this band’s albums, but this is by far their best work to date. Great death metal, with blackened guitar riffs. Enjoyed the vocals and drums in this release the most. Also, the atmosphere present brings more to the songs.

 

 

 

20. Hymenotomy – Some Necrophiles Having Sex With Autopsied Bodies In the Morgue

Now this band I discovered thanks to a friend and then got their promo, which was some of the best slam I had heard in a long while. So NSE took noticed and signed them. After that they released a new song and I was hooked. This year they released their debut album and it is the best slam release of 2015. Now, if you see the cover of the album and read the song titles you may giggle a bit, but rest assured, musically it is fantastic (and the vocals are my favorite).

 

 

 

19. Putrefuck – Impending Necrophilia in Flesh and Pale Cadavers Arriving To the Morgue

Active Stenosis – Succumbed to Infection

https://activestenosis.bandcamp.com/album/succumbed-to-infection

My two favorite goregrind releases of the year!! Fuck, these two bands are fantastic and simply hands-down the best bands in that genre. I just fell in love with the albums and they have been in constant rotation in my playlist throughout the year. Vocals, guitar, and drums are performed perfectly for this type of music. Other bands within the genre should take notes from these two.

 

 

 

18. Pissgrave – Suicidal Euphoria

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/suicide-euphoria

I found out about this band thanks to a friend posting about them on FB and was impressed with the vocals, just inhuman! So they released their debut album and I had to purchase it. Glad I did — just vicious death metal from start to finish. Definitely a must-have album.

 

 

 

17. Revulsed – Infernal Atrocity

https://revulsed.bandcamp.com/album/infernal-atrocity

Let me start that by saying that the vocalist is none other than Konni (Despondency, ex-Defeated Sanity) and this man is simply one of the best around. Musically this is fucking great metal!!! Guitars, bass, and drums are all played perfectly!!!

 

 

 

16. Viscera Infest – Verrucous Carcinoma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKi2cGeMD-M

This has to be one of the sickest bands from Japan. Pure fucking energy from start to finish of this release. Found out about them late in their existence thanks to my friend Mr. Sick and glad I did. Vocals, guitars, and drums all work together in pure perfection.

 

 

 

15. Mispyrming – Söngvar elds og óreiðu

https://misthyrming.bandcamp.com/album/s-ngvar-elds-og-rei-u

Love the production on this black metal album, with the vocals and guitar work being my favorite aspects of this release. One listen to the whole thing and I knew I had to purchase it, and that it would end up in my top 20.

 

 

 

14. Lost Soul – Atlantis : The New Beginning

https://lostsoulpoland.bandcamp.com/album/atlantis-the-new-beginning

A band from Poland with over 20 years in the scene and great albums under their belt. Very talented group of musicians who know what they want and do it with great precision with their instruments. Overall fantastic release!!!

 

 

 

13. Wombbath – Downfall Rising

https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/downfall-rising

A band that released a classic album in the ’90s, and we had to wait until 2015 for a second one. I must admit I was afraid of what the band would sound like. But once the first single became available, all that went away. The whole thing is pure death metal done right. I just hope I don’t have to wait 20 years for a third album

 

 

 

12. Encenathrakh – Encenathrakh

https://encenathrakh.bandcamp.com/album/encenathrakh-2

Complex doesn’t even begin to describe this album. Changes within changes in each of the songs. Not a single dull moment in this album. These guys take the word experimentation to heart. Regardless, I love each minute of the record.

 

 

 

11. Adversarial – Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/death-endless-nothing-and-the-black-knife-of-nihilism

Their debut was stellar but I have to say that this second album just blew it away. One of the best Black/Death metal releases of the year. Vocals and guitars are amazing, but one of my favorite aspects is the drumming.

 

 

 

10. Leviathan – Scar Sighted

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/scar-sighted

Leviathan has been around for a lot of years, having released great albums. While different from his previous work, I found this new one quite refreshing (if that makes sense). I very much liked very the structure of the songs, the production, and the vocals, bass, and guitar.

 

 

 

09. Heaving Earth – Denouncing the Holy Throne

https://heavingearth.bandcamp.com/album/denouncing-the-holy-throne

With only their second release, Heaving Earth have put out one of the best death metal albums of the year and a personal all-time favorite. The vocals, bass, and drums sound fantastic. But the best parts of this album are the guitars — riff after riff they captivate the listener. I hope this band releases new music soon.

 

 

 

08. Revenge – Behold.Total.Rejection

https://revengeofficial.bandcamp.com/album/behold-total-rejection

One album that with each listen makes me HATE everything and everyone. How this world should just end for all of us. For that, I like it a lot. Great production with killer riffs, and drumming and vocals that just enhance the music even further.

 

 

 

07. Panopticon – Autumn Eternal

https://nordvis.bandcamp.com/album/autumn-eternal

This band gets better with each release. The last album I liked very much, but for me this one is by far Panopticon’s best work. Overall I like everything in this release, from the vocals to the guitar, bass, and drums. Honestly, not one bad album in their catalogue.

 

 

 

06. Hate Eternal – Infernus

https://hateeternal.bandcamp.com/album/infernus

Mr. Rutan and company released what is for me my favorite album of Hate Eternal, now making King of All Kings my second. Astonishing performance in the drums and guitars departments. But the hero of this release is the bass — very audible and not buried in the mix. Very strong performance by J.J. as the talented bass player he is.

 

 

 

05. Abyssal – Antikatastaseis

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/antikatastaseis

A band that doesn’t have any type of social media and yet everyone who is into Black/Death knows about this band. I like how they managed to merge these two elements with some doom and made one marvelous album that has no beginning or end (if that makes sense). I push play and let the music play continuously with this release. Mesmerizing

 

 

 

04. Vulnus – Vessels of Throe

https://vulnus.bandcamp.com/album/vessels-of-throe

BDM from Greece that I discovered early this year when a single from their debut album was released. Instantly liked the drums and vocals (which are my favorite aspects of the album), and the guitar and bass are extraordinary as well. Combined, they bring an old school vibe of BDM that is very present, and I love them for it.

 

 

 

03. Putridity – Ignominious Atonement

https://willowtip.bandcamp.com/album/ignominious-atonement

The heaviest and most brutal band from Italy released their third opus that I was very fortunate to review here at NCS. One of the best BDM releases, with outstanding drumming by The Machine Davide. Paolo (vocalist) gives what I think is one of the best performances, guitarists Paolo and Andrea are simply are talented as hell, and Alessandro (bass) does a killer job as well. Viva Putridity cazzo!!

 

 

 

02. Iniquitous Deeds – Incessant Hallucinations

https://iniquitousdeeds.bandcamp.com/album/incessant-hallucinations

Another BDM gem, and another release that I was fortunate to review here as well. This debut has become one of my all-time favorites from any band. The vocals and drums are just the best of the best. The bass is very listenable and has a great presence in this release — and that damn guitar!!! Holy shit!!! Riff after Riff!!!! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for these guys

 

 

 

01. Horrendous – Anareta

https://horrendous.bandcamp.com/album/anareta

My favorite album of this year! This band has become one of my all-time favorites. I have all their albums, and their previous one made it to No.9 on my list last year, so expectations were high. Once it was released I loved it instantly. For me it is their best work.

This is a band that every time I listen to them, I remember the old days when I first discovered Death Metal. The days when you would swap tapes and go to the local store and make an order for CDs (that’s what it was like in Dominican Republic at the time). I wish that these guys will continue to make music and hope they get more and more recognition.

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Marduk – Frontschwein
• Gruesome – Savage Lands
• Iron Maiden – Book of Souls
• Malevolent Creation – Dead Man’s Path
• Cut Up – Forensic Nightmares
• Bodyfarm – Battle Breed
• Kronos – Arisen New Era
• Arkaik – Lucid Dawn
• Murtad – Extirpate The Remaining Breath
• Depraved Murder – Remnants of Depravity
• Cruciamentum – Charnel Passages
• VHÖL – Deeper than Sky
• Contrarian – Polemic
• Psycroptic – Psycroptic
• Demiurgon – Above the Unworthy
• Enslaved – In Times
• Death Karma – The History Of Death & Burial Rituals part I