CarlG's Best of 2015

Here is my list of “bests” from 2015 and it is pretty lengthy. But, as Thorne has mentioned there isn’t any shortage of great death metal coming out. In fact, I’m finding that many of the bands on my list have first time releases or no more than one other, something I find a bit intriguing. I am a big fan of where bands come from as you guys know, find it interesting that I like certain countries death metal and wonder how much that influences my likes and dislikes.

Poland for example has really let me down recently. Starting with Deivos, a band I considered a big favorite who released a cd I really don’t care for at all. Then Sothoth has turned in a direction I just don’t like. Also Lost Soul, a release I couldn’t even get through 3 songs. Hate changed direction so long ago that they no longer appeal and other 2015 releases from Ogotay, Dira Mortis, Betrayer, Repossession, Sceptic and Disloyal haven’t even begged to be played. The same with Tehace and Cinis from 2014, both bands I love that I don’t care for their latest release.

On the other hand, a few other favorite death metal countries, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands have stepped up to fill the void vacated by the Poles. As I’ve said, the Swedes seem to dominate with great new upcoming bands while the Germans have some veteran bands still putting out great stuff yet the Dutch are really making some quality.

So here it is, comments and opinions appreciated, also on my above statements. I ask anyone that reads this, are the Poles changing? Are they following my own country, the U.S. where it seems bands want to change or in my words “try to fix what ain’t broke” in death metal? It seems the Swedes don’t do this, they do what they do, keep producing that great Swedish sounding death metal. The Germans are death metal machines, they roll it out like tanks, trying to help Bolt Thrower fight the next crusade. The Dutch are taking what has been and doing it all over again only not trying to fix it.

I went downhill this time….

 40) Drown In Blood (Ita) – Addicted To Murder…Italy hasn’t been very kind to my death metal tastes lately. Carnality’s last release was a bust, Fleshgod Apocalypse going symphonic, Natrium so quiet after such a stellar release 4 or 5 years ago, Mind Snare taking a step backwards since losing their great old bassist/vocalist Gigi Casini and Natron not so active, but there is hope.

39) Undead (US) – False Prophecies…this stuff has some good potential, now if only I can devote the time to listen to it. Metal Archives lists country of origin as “unknown” but I’ve read they are from the U.S.

38) Dew Scented (Ger) – Intermination…I really want this to be higher as I’m a pretty good fan of DS but there is just too much better stuff and maybe it should be lower. If you find the bonus edition you can hear a good cover of the great Solstice.

37) Atrocia (Fra) – Dystopia ; The Machine Murders…more good French death.

36) Shrapnel Storm (Fin) – Mother War…another in a long list of releases that needs a lot more plays than it gets. Good solid pure death metal from a band that has been around a few years but this their premier release. I want to hear more of this.

35) Discreation (Ger) – Procreation Of The Wicked…a surprise to me, as this band has been around for 12 to 15 years, with quite a few previous releases, none of which I seem to be familiar with. This isn’t a top 10 release but a pretty solid listen. Tough chore, being a band from that hotbed of death metal, Germany…with all of the stiff competition.

34) Amputory (Fin) – Ode To Gore…some great groove in this Finnish death, another that has been pushed to the side that deserves more.

33) Firespawn (Swe) – Shadow Realms…a really good cd, but one I just couldn’t move higher. I do like the guitar playing of Victor Brandt, ex of Dominion who had one awesome cd and brings that unique Dominion sounding guitar to this cd as well.

32) Jungle Rot (US) – Order Shall Prevail… What can you say about Jungle Rot? Never a great band, always good but never a demanding listen. Maybe a poor man’s Malevolent Creation in that respect. They are always there, always decent releases, just never superb. I enjoy this cd and a random listen is always gratifying.

31) Sadism (Chl) – Alliance…my list is full of new bands, or bands with only 1 cd but here we have an old experienced group that have been doing it for years. I’ve never given their past stuff much attention but maybe I should because this is good!

30) DyingBreed (Bra) – Worship No One…really like this release but it has gotten lost and really should be better than #30. Listening to it now and it’s demanding for more plays.

29) Indeterminable (Rus) – Symbols That Disappeared…not a lot of technical aspects to this just really good no frills death that only has a few listens by me but needs more.

28) Oshiego (Sgp) – Crossing The Bridge Of Siraat…WHAT!!! No frills straight up death…from Singapore!!!

27) The Hell (Srb) – Welcome To…an inaugural cd and very good. Not often a Serbian band makes a best of death metal list either.

26) Disrepute (Ger) – C9H13N03…some more solid pure death metal from another underrated German band. This deserves more listens than I have given it. As I listen now I’m really pissed at myself.

25) Feral (Swe) – Where Dead Dreams Dwell…got that great Swedish guitar sound going and a good solid release from these semi veterans of the great Swedish scene.

24) Sabiendas (Ger) - Column of Skulls...another pretty good release that I’m pissed at myself for not giving more listens, but as I’ve said “too much death and not enough life”!

23) Necrosphere (Ger) – The End Of All Flesh…an end of the year release, so still a bit fresh. Given more time this might be higher but it is definitely a real find for 2015. A new band as well so hopefully more to come in the future.

22) Weak Aside (Ger) – The Next Offensive… good underrated stuff, superb….emmm, maybe not but pretty damn good. And if a description is needed check below, to Musical Massacre, because they sound like twins. Another mid paced Bolt Thrower clone.

21) Musical Massacre (Ger) – Hell Tank 666…this is good stuff, some really good Bolt Thrower-ish groove but lost in the mass of 2015 death. Creating this list makes me realize I need to get back to this. Not a frill in the house, not anything overly creative but a really good listen for those that like mid paced death.

20) Sinister (Hol) – Dark Memorials...surprisingly, a cover cd (I say that in jest). How many death metal bands can do that? Well the mighty Aad Kloosterwaard does it again with another solid release. The only downfall is it is a cd of cover songs. 

19) Malevolent Creation (US) – Dead Man’s Path…these guys couldn’t fuck up a death metal song if Johnny Cash was doing vocals and had Merle Haggard on guitar. Good effort, but not great…which is typical of MC in my opinion. I love em…the old bastards that they are and guess what, they never try to fix what ain’t broke!!!

18) Fleshdoll (Fra) – Blood Red District...another band that has a good release but it is hard to keep up with their own past. A band our buddy Orifice Torture turned me on to quite a few years back that has had some great releases comes back with a good cd but not their best.

17) Bleeding Gods (Hol) – Sheppard Of Souls…I am quite sure it was DDM who turned me on to these guys and another damn good Dutch band. There must be something in the water up in the Netherlands. And surprise, another first full length from this good new band with members from Sinister, Supreme Pain, Grind Minded and Houwitser…quite a list of great Dutch bands there.

16) Supreme Carnage (Ger) – Sentenced By The Cross…another great no frills death metal release! Lots of groove and some good vocals. I really like this cd a lot and they are from Munster Germany (wonder if they know Herman & Lilly)!! Gotta love that.

15) Grave (Swe) – Out Of Respect For The Dead…if you had told me before the year started that Grave would be putting out a new cd I would have no doubt that it would be top 3 or 4 on my year end list. Not to say it is a disappointment, because I do like it, but it hasn’t demanded the plays I anticipated a Grave cd would and maybe shouldn’t be this high.

14) Defloration (Ger) – Created To Kill…like Fleshdoll above, not their best release by far, but pretty good. My only complaint with this cd is the thrashy gang style shouts or clean-ish backing vocals on one song. Otherwise it is what I have come to expect from this vastly underrated band. I’m looking forward to new stuff from these guys as they’ve cut ties with vocalist Uwe Rodel and now have Eric Obald from Rogash, a band that had a superb 2014 release. Not that I’m down on Uwe but Rogash has some excellent vocals in that great release of theirs so expect the same in new Defloration.

13) Apophys (Hol) – Prime Incursion…our buddy DDM informed me of these guys and what a first cd for this new band. The band members have experience with some great bands like Dictated, Prostitute Disfigurement and Toxocara so this shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is.

12) Vader (Pol) – Before The Age Of Chaos – Live… Maybe one of the better live releases I have listened to as the quality is near a studio recording. Another disc I highly recommend. Don’t blow this off because it is a live recording and full of songs already recorded.

11) Daemon Foetal Harvest (Aus) – Beasts of Tribulation … this band has been good, so to have something this quality isn’t really a surprise. It is very good though, so if you haven’t check this out I highly advise it.

10) Bodyfarm (Hol) – Battle Breed…another band that I really like quite a bit. This cd is another pleasant surprise for the year and a great one at that. Like the Germans, the Dutch have ruled the charts this year and this is one great disc.

9) Ammonium (Rus) - The End Of Humanity...another great mid paced pure death metal band! Not anything that is going to excite the tech fans or fans of frills in their death but give these guys a shot. And another good young band with a first release.

8) I Chaos (Hol) - Masterbleeder...here come the Dutch again!! This one is so fucking good that maybe it should be higher. Maybe....but damn, one awesome cd from beginning to end.

7) Penitenziagite (Svn) - Humanity Galore…one awesome cd that I have to credit Thorne with turning me on to. How Metal Archives labels this “black/death” I don’t know or understand, but then again I’ve never been good with this sub-genre stuff. I know it is some good straight up no frills death metal.

6) Neter (Esp) – Idols… these guys have been around awhile, with a previous release that I really wasn’t attracted to so much but this one kills. So much that I ended up seeking out a physical copy. I hope they stay on this path and follow up with another great cd.

5) Humiliation (Mys) – Under The Siege Of Invasion…strange, this band is like a machine. Starting with an EP in 2009 they have released a full length every year since. I have to credit our buddies Thorne and Bongripper for getting me into these guys. First, Thorne who talked me into some bands from that part of the world and then Bongripper for getting me into Humiliation. Wow, I could hardly resist and tracked down all of their cds, then they come out with this new 2015 release, and maybe their best in my opinion. I dare say Bolt Thrower sounding, because no one can do that but these guys have some great groove going on. The vocals are cool too and this is one cd that will get many more plays from me.

4) Sepiroth (Hol) – Uninvolved…Wow, another great Dutch band. Between Germany and The Netherlands I don’t know who has dominated the quality of releases this year. This band has had a prior release, pretty good in itself but this new one is very good. Don’t sleep on this one because you are missing some special death metal if you do. Don’t expect any frills though, because there are none.

3) Overtorture (Swe)...of everything from 2015 this leads my itunes in number of plays with 58, so it very well could be number one. These guys have one prior release that is pretty good, but this one is better.

2) Cut Up (Swe) - Forensic Nightmare... Vomitory reincarnated, what else can be said!!! This cd is special beyond that fact, maybe not the best I’ve ever heard but it’s a good cd none the less.

1) Slaves Of Evil (Pol) - Madness Of Silence... Metal Archives lists this as a 2014 release but it wasn't made available until mid 2015 to my knowledge. It is one killer slab of Polish death that I'm calling a 2015 release. The Poles have let me down recently with Demogorgon, Calm Hatchery and some of the others I’ve mentioned so it’s good I still have this band to cling to.

 More worthy stuff……

Insepulto (Cri) – The Necrodex…just pulled this out, had 4 listens as recent as early Dec but had completely forgotten them. More good stuff….and death metal is declining? I don’t think so…

Bloody Brotherhood (Esp) – Ritual Of Blood

Remains (Mex) – Evoking Darkness…what’s this! Straight up death from Mexico! I’ll take it.

Concrete (Bgr) – Chambers Of Afterlife…really like this and wanted it to be in the top 40 but just can’t.

Vader (Pol) – Future Of The Past II – Hell In The East… a pretty good slab of cover songs.

Disminded (Ger) – Out Of The Ashes…good pure death, not Dutch but from where, yep Germany!

Art Of Torture (Bra) – Impulse To Mutilation…really like this, good straight up death with a brutal edge.

Bloodgush (Idn) – From Past To Chaos…worthy stuff with a technical edge from the land of the great Nadi!

Kaos Vortex (Ger) – Seeds Of Decay

BIID (Mex) – Mind Scars…this year there are two good Mexican bands in my favorites and this is one.

Moridigan (Ger) – Deadborn Nemesis…on first listen I really loved this disc but it has sort of slid into the background recently. I’ll have to get into it some more in the future as it should be top 40.

Abscession (Swe) – Grave Offerings…a very early release from 2015, so maybe forgotten but good stuff. Another inaugural cd from a good up and coming Swedish band (doesn’t it seem like the death metal scene is booming with all of these great new Swede bands popping up?).

Nex Carnis (Irn) – Obscure Visions Of Dark…more great death that should be in my top 40. I like death metal songs 4 to 6 minutes long, here is a cd with 6 songs in that range.

Down Among The Dead Men (Int) – Exterminate! Annihilate! Destroy!...

Mass Burial (Esp) – Soul’s Necrosis…some really good sounding Swedish death metal, from Spain!

Spirit Of Rebellion (Can) – The Enslavement Process

Stormgrey (Ltu) – Pray Crawl Suffer

Vasomortus (Idn) – Instrument Torture of Pyramid…another good release that needs more listens.

Gruesome (US) – Savage Land…

Carnate (Hrv) – Terminus…a death metal band from Croatia! And another pretty good first cd.

Tormention (Swe) – Chaotic Delusions…another good upcoming young Swedish death metal band! 

OutreTombe (Can) – Repurgation…worthy listen.

Necropsy (Fin) – Buried In The Woods…every country in the world has a Necropsy death metal band, this maybe the first.

Phobos Preacher (Esp) – Asfixia…some good chugga chugga riffing to my liking, needs more listens.

Wombbath (Swe) – Downfall Rising…another Swede old / new band that deserves some more listens.

Obsolete Mankind (Can) – False Awakening

Hate Eternal (US) – Infernus…this cd has only gotten 5 listens from me and I want more. I wonder where our buddy Foretold has this ranked?

Skeletal Remains (US) – Condemned To Misery…

Deathbreed (Swe) – New World Order...

Mental Cell (Swe) – Mental Cell..

D.M.C. (Cze) – Blitzkrieg…

Morbid Vomit (Fin) – Murderous Absolution…

Revolting (Swe) – Visages Of The Unspeakable…

Visceral Damage (Esp) – Fracture…Visceral’s 2008 release Icon Of Mass Murder is one of the best cds out there, so this new disc started in a deep hole, trying to duplicate that.

Sotajumala (Fin) – Raunioissa, probably the number one cd that I always say I have to listen to yet never do.

Sphere (Pol) – Mindless Mass, another along the line of the above Sotajumala. A cd I should definitely have given a few more spins.

 EPs...

Demonical (Swe) – Black Flesh Redemption…damn this is good, did I ever say I hate EPs!!!

Them Vultures (Swe) – Weird Tales…strange band name for sure, but check out this 16 minutes of death.

Septic Grave (Swe) – Last Sign…another old Swedish band that’s gone back to the future!

Resurrected (Ger) – Penetrance Of Terror…damn I hate EPs!!! Three good songs here.

Mass Defect (Phl) – Continuity Of Government...these guys are supposed to have a 2011 release, but I can’t locate it. In fact, I just searched, found and emailed the band. That’s how good this is! Thanks to Thorne for his posting of this superb EP.

Astigarraga Thrower – Aiako Harria…of all the Bolt Thrower clones there are out there this is maybe the closest I’ve ever heard, but remember, there is only one Bolt Thrower. These guys are good though.

Anasarca (Ger) – Demo 2015…one of my favorite German death metal bands & only 4 songs!

Endseeker (Ger) – Corrosive Revelation…one last thing, can the Germans do death metal & damn, do I hate EPs.

 Mild Disappointments....nothing against these, they just didn’t grab me.

Prion (Arg) – Uncertain Process Repossession (Pol) – Repossession…after their previous I really waited for this.

Pandemia (Cze) – At The Gates Of Nihilism

Kronos (Fra) – Arisen New Era… I use to be a big fan of this band but have drifted away in recent times. This cd hasn’t done anything to make me return, although I can’t say it’s bad, it just hasn’t even whispered to be played.

Nomad (Pol) - Tetramorph

Krisiun (Bra) – Forged In Fury

Serial Butcher (Bel) – Brute Force Lobotomy…not bad but just doesn't grab me like their previous,

Ogotay (Pol) – Dead God’s Prophet…not really bad, just not near as impressive as I had hoped it would be.

Disapointments...

Deivos (Pol) – Theodicy…until now one of my favorite bands ever, this is not even interesting to me.

Unbreakable Hatred (Can) – Ruins…really disappointed that I didn’t like this. They’ve had a vocalist change and not for the good in my opinion.

Sothoth (Pol) – Rise To Conquer, I really need you guys help with this one, so give your opinions. I really liked this band in the past but for some reason this new one turns me off. I believe it is because of deathcore influence but as I’ve said before I know little of the technicality of music and don’t know if that’s a fair statement. I just know there is a lot in this release that disappointed me. It still has some great groove at times but otherwise it just turns me off.

Hate (Pol) – Crusade Zero…these guys were once death metal legends but they’ve changed.

Dira Mortis (Pol) - Psalms of Morbid Existence…just don’t do it for me like their previous did.

Sceptic (Pol) – Nailed To Ignorance…like all of Poland, these guys just aren’t the same.

Sarpanitum (UK) – Blessed Be My Brothers.. this is so bad that it kills any good their previous releases did.

Lost Soul (Pol) – Atlantis The New Beginning…is the end for me.