Since we first began our annual LISTMANIA extravaganza, I’ve limited the year-end lists we re-post from other web sites to those with cross-genre coverage and very large audiences, mainly to see what people who may only dabble in metal are being told they should listen to. Flagging those year-end lists also provides a place where NCS readers can go if they’re interested in recommendations for music outside of extreme metal. I, of course, have no such interest, but I’m trying to be broad-minded at this time of year.

Today I’m re-posting lists that appeared yesterday on About.com and LA Weekly. The first qualifies as a “big platform” site. The second is something of an exception, but honestly, I was getting tired of re-posting lists from big sites that only included one or two metal albums.

ABOUT.COM

About.com is a huge web portal that covers a broad range of subjects, including home care, interior decorating, parenting, travel, money management, health care, food, careers, sports, and technology. They also have an entertainment channel, and if you burrow down into the large array of entertainment coverage you will find About.com Heavy Metal, with a staff of metal writers led by Chad Bowar. Yesterday, they published their list of 2015’s “Best Heavy Metal Albums“. It’s a ranked list of 20, preceded by a list (in alphabetical order) of 20 “Honorable Mentions”. And here are those lists: Continue reading »