How has 2015 shaped up for you musically?

[kirksnosehair]

For me there was a lot to like in 2015. 


The Stand-Out Releases:
Steven Wilson - "Hand.Cannot.Erase"
Symphony X - "Underworld"
Queensryche - "Condition Human"
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness (Zak fucking Stevens  )


Good, Solid Releases:
Magic Pie - "King For a Day"
Iron Maiden - "The Book of Souls"
Kingcrow - "Eidos"
Exovex - "Radio Silence"
Royal Hunt - "XIII-Devil's Dozen"
Beardfish - "+4626-Comfortzone"
PantomMind - "Searching For Eternity"
Spock's Beard - "The Oblivion Particle"
Riverside - "Love, Fear and the Time Machine"
Anthropia - "Non-Euclidean Spaces"
Izz - "Everlasting Instant"
Universe Effects - "In The Haze That Surrounds Us"
The Neal Morse Band - "The Grand Experiment"


Didn't Do Much for Me:
Sylvan - "Home"
Arcane - "Known-Learned"
Kamelot - "Haven"
Native Construct - "Quiet World"

[jjrock88]

For me there was a lot to like in 2015. 


The Stand-Out Releases:
Steven Wilson - "Hand.Cannot.Erase"
Symphony X - "Underworld"
Queensryche - "Condition Human"
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness (Zak fucking Stevens  )


Good, Solid Releases:
Magic Pie - "King For a Day"
Iron Maiden - "The Book of Souls"
Kingcrow - "Eidos"
Exovex - "Radio Silence"
Royal Hunt - "XIII-Devil's Dozen"
Beardfish - "+4626-Comfortzone"
PantomMind - "Searching For Eternity"
Spock's Beard - "The Oblivion Particle"
Riverside - "Love, Fear and the Time Machine"
Anthropia - "Non-Euclidean Spaces"
Izz - "Everlasting Instant"
Universe Effects - "In The Haze That Surrounds Us"
The Neal Morse Band - "The Grand Experiment"


Didn't Do Much for Me:
Sylvan - "Home"
Arcane - "Known-Learned"
Kamelot - "Haven"
Native Construct - "Quiet World"

Symphony X, Queensryche and CIIC are stand outs for me too!!

[Fluffy Lothario]

From this year, I have heard:

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - whatever the Behemoth album is called
Kamasi Washington - The Epic
Florence and the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Fat Freddy's Drop - Bays

None of them is a brilliant album, let's put it that way.

I only know of one or two others I also want to hear - Susanne Sundfor, Coldplay, the new live Swans, Tame Impala (once I get around to checking out the albums before it...)

[KevShmev]

I admittedly didn't check out many new releases this year, outside of the handful from artists I was already a big fan of:

1. David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock (GREAT)
2. Neal Morse - The Grand Experiment (GREAT)
3. Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (VERY, VERY, VERY GOOD)
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi (VERY, VERY GOOD)
5. Muse - Drones (GOOD, SOLID)
6. Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle (SOLID)
7. The Decemberists -  What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (SOLID)

I still need to listen to the Foo Fighters EP we got free and that new Queensryche one.

[Evermind]

I admittedly didn't check out many new releases this year, outside of the handful from artists I was already a big fan of:

1. David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock (GREAT)

Hell yeah, another person who has new David Gilmour album at #1. That makes two of us!

[KevShmev]

 

Call me a sucker for David Gilmour, but I love that entire album to death.  Hard to believe he is almost 70 and still writing an album this good.

[PuffyPat]

2015 has been the best year for music [for me] ever. i've bought more new albums than i can remember buying any other year.

[TioJorge]

Pretty amazing year, the best in a long time for me. My favorites were (no order)

Periphery
Steven Wilson
The Dear Hunter
Between The Buried And Me
Coheed and Cambria
TesseracT
Devin Townsend (live album)

I just got into TesseracT with their release of Polaris and I can't stop spinning it. Really awesome music. I'm threw in Dev's live release because it's got renditions of music that we're likely to either not hear live ever again or not for a really long time. Plus it got me to love a song I was previously lukewarm on.

Coldplay comes in late with an honorable mention and still a pretty fun ride of an album. Other than that...I was lucky enough to have all the bands I follow or am into release spectacular music all around and even got into new bands this year, which happens once every twenty blue moons. 

I think my favorite so far is Periphery's Juggernaut though, if I had to pick a favorite. Wilson's would be my favorite all around but I've been so immersed with him for so many years that a new type of music has been easier to listen to, and it helps that it's fucking amazing as well, even if it's not as technically proficient or as highly produced as Wilson's.

[Sacul]

2015 has been the best year for music [for me] ever. i've bought more new albums than i can remember buying any other year.

Definitely this. I've also gotten into lots of styles and genres, like hip-hop, stoner rock (never thought I'd enjoy this), electronic music in general, industrial rock/metal, trip-hop - geez, there's awesome music everywhere, in any shape 

[Crow]

yeah as far as 2015 releases go it's nothing remarkable, not even close to 2013, but as far as music in general 2015 ruled, i've bought waaayy too many albums this year and built up a massive backlog of other albums i'll need to get eventually 

[gazinwales]

Arcane - Known/Learned (Format CD)

2 CD album of epic proportions.
Progressive rock with a decent blend of ambient sounds.
Perhaps a little too mellow in places, but when my mood is right, this really hits the spot

Rating: 7/10


Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud (Format SHM CD and Clear Vinyl)

I eagerly watched the You Tube trailers for this album, and I was not disappointed.
Sounding fresh and still relevant after all these years, producer Jens Bogren pushed the band
to new levels and got the best out of every member.

Rating: 9.5/10


Avatarium - The Girl With The Raven Mask (Format Clear Vinyl)

Second album from Leif Edling latest band, less doomy than the first one.
Singer Jennie-Ann Smith is once again the star of the show, with her voice carrying
the once again stella 1970’s inspired songs.

Rating: 7/10


Arcturus - Arcturian (Format Deluxe Box Set)

I splashed out just over $100AU for this deluxe box set and when I first played the disc
I deemed it almost unlistenable due to the terrible sound of the album.
I went back to it a few months later and instantly fell in love with it.
It still sounds like it was recorded on a C90 cassette in a garage, but it has heart, soul and a great vibe and Vortex vocals are amazing.

Rating: 8/10


Barren Earth - On Lonely Towers ( Jap CD and Clear Vinyl)

The third album from this so called supergroup with their inspired blend of death metal and progressive rock. New singer Jón Aldará delivers a strong voice behind some great music.
Perhaps not as good as the classic debut album (Curse Of the Red River) but definitely better
than the very patchy second album.

Rating: 8/10


Blind Guardian - Beyond The Red Mirror (Format Jap CD and Vinyl Pic Disc)

I really don’t know what to say about this, after all it is BG, they takes ages to make a new album and every album comes with a lot of anticipation.
It is epic in every way, but maybe too much for it’s own good and gets lost in it’s own attempt to be huge. I really can’t remember a lot about it, not many hooks, or riffs to get stuck into.

Rating: 5/10


Cain’s Offering - Stormcrow (Format Jap CD)

I had massive hopes for this, the long awaited second album from Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) and Jani Liimatainen (ex Sonata Arctica) and I happy to say it’s as good if not better than the killer debut released some six years ago.
Everything that is missing from modern day Sonata Arctica is here, the fast straight ahead songs, killer riffs and massive chorus’s. Nothing new here just power metal metal done extremely well.

Rating: 9/10


Children Of Bodom - I Worship Chaos (Format Jap CD/DVD and Pic Disc Vinyl)

Bodom haven’t delivered a killer album for a long time, too much partying and booze perhaps?
They sacked guitarist Roope Latvala before recording this, who apparently didn’t want to give up the old lifestyle. Well not a lot has changed it’s the same old Bodom, but perhaps a little punchier than recent albums. Some nice riffs, catchy songs and even proper lyrics from Alexi Laiho.

Rating: 7/10


Enshine - Singularity (Format CD)

Never heard of Enshine until a Facebook mate told me to check them out and I did.
Superb ambient doom/death metal, huge epic soundscapes.
I paid only €8 for this and after hearing it felt pretty guilty for not paying more than the minimum
through bandcamp.

Rating: 9/10


Earthside - A Dream In Static (Format CD)

A lot of hype bout this USA instrumental band, who roped to a few big name singers to compliment their huge epic orchestral sounds. Add to the input of Jens Bogren and artwork from Travis Smith, this lives up to the hype, and sounds like it cost a fortune.

Rating: 7.5/10


Ensiferum - One Man Army (Deluxe Tin Shield)

Back to the fast songs that were lacking in the previous album (Unsung Heroes), still with the folk/viking feel. Nothing really new here, just more refining of the Ensiferum wheel.

Rating: 7/10


Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards (Format 2CD)

Despite the quite ludicrous song titles that even out do Rhapsody (Of Fire). Gloryhammer once again deliver a killer power metal album full of sword raising anthems with a concept so ridiculous that it might just even work.

Rating: 8/10


Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody - Prometheus (Format CD)

Since the big split LT has got his nose slightly in from of his former band mates with the excellent ‘Ascending Into Infinity’ (2012) and now this release takes the ‘epic cinema metal’ genre to even new heights. There is a lot going on here and much to digest with some of the best orchestral and soprano vocals I have heard delivered on a ‘metal’ album.

Rating: 8.5/10


Lindemann - Skills And Pills (Format CD)

I am not a Rammstein fan, but I do like Peter Tägtgren, so I took a chance and was more than pleasantly surprised. The music as you’d expect sounds like Pain, but with Lindemann singing in English for the first time, he does a pretty good job. The lyrics range from the brilliantly clever to the school boy rabble, but it works overall.

Rating: 8.5/10


Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Format deluxe Earbook SHM CD and Splatter Vinyl)

I’m a massive Nightwish fan and this first album with Floor Jansen had a lot of expectations.
I never thought it would be a return to the old (operatic) sound of the band. Many were disappointed that it wasn’t a full tour-de-force Floor show, but she fits in nicely and the songs work pretty well.

Rating: 8.5/10


Orden Ogen - Ravenhead (Format CD/DVD and Green Vinyl)

OO deliver another fine power metal album full of memorable songs and catchy riffs.
Not as good as the previous album, but still very strong and makes up for the disappointment of the very lackluster Blind Guardian album.

Rating: 8/10


Riverside - Love Fear and the Time Machine (Format FLAC)

I really don’t know what to say except, I love Riverside own every album, EP and single, but I won’t be owning this. It doesn’t sound like Riverside to me, if Mariusz Duda want’s to do another solo project then fine, this is it, but to my ears this is just a Riverside terrible album and not worthy of being in the band’s catalogue.

Rating: 0/10


Steve Wilson - Hand Cannot Erase (Format Blu-Ray Audio)

I’m a huge Porcupine Tree fan, but never liked any of SW solo material.
I took a chance with this and lost, still not my thing, I tried, but this stuff just bores me to tears.

Rating: 2/10


Soilwork - The Ride Majestic (Format Jap CD)

Off the back of the superb double album (‘The Living Infinite’) killer Japan only EP and live DVD/BR Soilwork again deliver a killer album of catchy melodic death metal. Bjorn Strid sounds better than ever, this is the complete package once again. Maybe just maybe the songwriting well is getting a little on the bare side, with such a strong album to try and match. They didn’t but they went reasonably close.

Rating: 7.5/10


Solution .45 - Nightmare’s In The Waking State Part 1 (Format Blue Vinyl)

I love Christian Älvestam voice, but since he left Scar Symmetry neither he or SS have been as good as they were when they were together. This album has it’s moments, but is ultimately again rather short of their combined best work (‘Holographic Universe’). Some useful riffs and melodies but nothing really memorable.

Rating: 6/10


Stratovarius - Eternal (Format Jap SHM CD/DVD)

Stratovarius seem to be on the up once again, their last album (‘Nemesis’) was one of the best of their career. This one is along similar lines, nothing new, same old stuff, but just really well done and Jens Johansson seems to be the star of the show here. His keyboards dominate the songs for most and has a hand is writing a couple of songs too.

Rating: 8/10


Shape Of Despair - Monotony Fields (Format CD and Marble Vinyl)

Back from the dead, first new full album in 10 years.
Funeral doom is not usually my thing, but this is just superb and really hits me when I’m in the mood for dark, depressing misery.

Rating: 8/10


Swallow The Sun - Songs From The North I, II & III (Format CD)

Triple, yes triple album of new material for their new label (Century Media).
Balls of steel for putting this out in this day and age, ambitious to say the least.
For most it works well, with part I being the ‘normal’ StS sound, part II acoustic and part III full on funeral doom.

Rating: 7/10


Symphony X - Underworld (Format CD)

A much hyped return to the older sounds. All well and good but I can’t remember much about this
at all. Russ Allen is singing a lot more smoother, the rest is by the numbers SX.
Surprisingly poor mix, with not a lot of separation and muddy in many places.

Rating: 6.5/10

[Sacul]

Riverside - Love Fear and the Time Machine (Format FLAC)

I really don’t know what to say except, I love Riverside own every album, EP and single, but I won’t be owning this. It doesn’t sound like Riverside to me, if Mariusz Duda want’s to do another solo project then fine, this is it, but to my ears this is just a Riverside terrible album and not worthy of being in the band’s catalogue.

Rating: 0/10


Steve Wilson - Hand Cannot Erase (Format Blu-Ray Audio)

I’m a huge Porcupine Tree fan, but never liked any of SW solo material.
I took a chance with this and lost, still not my thing, I tried, but this stuff just bores me to tears.

Rating: 2/10

brah, do u even have a soul or what 

Jk, but I find it amazing giving an album 0/10 (specially that one!) of rating. Like, not only it bored you, but you fucking hated it with passion. Tastes I guess - the lowest album I'd rate is Earth 2, and that's a 3/10 record at best imo.

[TioJorge]

I won't comment on the reviews or anything but seeing the word 'Jap' so many times made me feel kind of queasy.

Not that you meant it in any offensive way, it's just weird to me... I've only ever seen it used as an insult. "Got this sweet Jap CD, guys" ...doing it with other nationalities is even weirder "Got this sweet Amer/Mex/Can/Ind/Chi CD, guys". Wut. 

[Bolsters]

Riverside - Love Fear and the Time Machine (Format FLAC)

Rating: 0/10

[TioJorge]

So, funny enough... I had to check out the new Riverside album because of that review and that Gazin was already a fan and wooooowee that shit is awesome. So fucking groovy and sexy. The only other Riverside album I've heard is REM and I'd only heard Panic Room and Rainbow Box. Both of which I liked well enough but I couldn't really get into their other works all that much. I'd only tried with a few other songs on different albums but other bands or songs drew me away. This, however, is encapsulating; completely took me in and was like, "here, lemme give you an orgasm".

So...added to my list is Riverside.  Thanks, dude!

[Crow]

i mean, i'm not crazy about the new riverside, personally, but 0/10 is laughable. i'd give it like a 7/10 which is still y'know pretty good yo

[TioJorge]

I have never and will never get worked up over other people's opinions on music. I was going to say I "don't care", but that's not quite right because I like discussing it, but yeah it's silly. It's like when people who don't like the direction a band they once loved took and just get super angry or are so immensely disappointed that they just rage out. Not that Gazin did that but it was similar in a very passive manner. I mean it's a zero. There is nothing worse. I'd give a zero to an album called "Car horn" and it's the sound of a car honking it's horn without pause. I liken it to previous Opeth fans who just outright said the band sucked and was horrible because they basically did a 180 on their sound.

Just so I'm not gang-raped I'll clarify that I'm not equating this to people who just didn't like it or that it wasn't for them, but the ones that basically turned into toddlers and shit their pants over it. I'll clarify another thing, I'm not saying Gazin is doing that and as I said, I "don't care" if he hates the music but...if you're going to review it and bother to write a couple sentences about it and (more importantly) slap a number on it, at least reflect something beyond your own personal view of the music. I realize it's not a full on professional review or anything but even so...really? Like, it was so horribly unlistenable and fucked up your ears so badly that it's nothing out of ten? That's what I take from reviews like that in which case it's either truly horrid (Lulu, for me, is a good example in that even that wouldn't get a 0, but pretty close; and I downright abhor it), or is just outright "I didn't like this so I'm going to burn it to the ground".

To each their own! Totally fine if someone hates certain music. I was just truly interested in seeing if it was so horrible that it deserved it. On that note, I genuinely, honestly thank you for doing so because I don't think I'd have checked it out just from the glowing reviews and...now that I think on it and type it out, that's pretty weird and fucked up. Par the course for me.  Completely fine if Gazin thinks it's a zero; I just happen to think that's a little silly and kind of dramatic. I kind of expected as much given that I'd heard at least some of their music before and the comments that succeeded his review. I mean, it's really not all that different from what I'd heard before but perhaps I'm misremembering the music, I'll have to check out their back catalog after I'm finished listening to this beautiful symphony of angels having orgasms. I either expected atrocity or an Opeth situation, but even then it's not anywhere near the same realm as the change that Opeth made, which is why I'm still a bit bewildered over the score. If they were playing techno-polka-black-metal, yeah, completely understandable but this? ...hrrm. I digress! Great album.

[Tomislav95]

Great, great years for me. There are many bands I listened before which have new albums as well as bands I discovered through this year's releases.

1. Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2. Symphony X - Underworld
3. Leprous - The Congregation
4. Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud
5. Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls
6. Ghost - Meliora
7. Paradise Lost - The Plague Within
8. The Gentle Storm - The Diary
9. Deafheaven - New Bermuda
10. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye
11. Mark Knopfler - Tracker (still great)

There is also Baroness' Purple which may even be my AOTY since I liked it on first listen (and I usually don't like anything on first listen).
Still can't rate new Riverside, it has some cool songs but overall I can't recall anything from it (other than single which I listened to death during summer).
The Sword's new album is also cool but very different from others (too bad).
Fans of death metal should check Tribulation. I listened to it few times but this whole year was in different color for me, I can't get in the mood for death metal (still this is good, very melodic).
I should also mention Luminiferous by High on Fire, it feels very consistent (after first listen). On the other side, new album by Editors has some great tunes (Marching Orders, Life is a Fear) but it's forgettable as whole album.
One Man Army by Ensiferum is my least favorite album they did so far but I'll check them again in April 2016 when they are coming to my country.
There are few others I have that I didn't listened too much or those I plan to listen to. Really great year for me, I don't think there is any year (I may even say ever) in which so many albums I love were released.

[Crow]

i really need to check out that Ghost album again, it's been getting tons of praise from pretty much everywhere

[jsem]

Haven't found anything really that noteworthy of the new releases I've listened to this year. Dear Hunter doesn't do it for me. SX have taken yet another step away from what I love about them and Underworld sucked. Steven Wilson was good, but I'm not as big of a fan of him as everyone else always seems to be. Metal generally doesn't do it for me anymore Tesseract's Polaris has been my favorite release of artists that could be classified prog or metal.

Otherwise I've been trying to work back on older music. Trane's discography, Mingus' discography, Miles, JJ Johnson, Rollins, Ella, Oscar Peterson, etc. There's a HUGE body of work left to be explored. And also, been trying to work back on even older stuff. Shostakovich, Mahler, Sibelius and even listening more extensively to Beethoven, Bach and Purcell. There's a lot for me to get through and it will take a lot of years....

[Scorpion]

This year has been awesome for me! While there will doubtlessly be some more stuff to discover (JRundquist's list, mainly), these are my favourite albums of the year right now (in no order, each with my favourite tracks linked for someone who wants to check them out):

Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic (Dim Ignition/Famine Wolf)
Alkaloid - The Malkuth Grimoire (Cthulhu, Funeral for a Continent)
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic (The Ride Majestic), Father and Son, Watching the World Go Down)
Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud (The Four Wise Ones, Death of a King,
Enslaved - In Times (Thuriasz Dreaming, Daylight)
Native Construct - Quiet World (Come Hell or High Water, Chromatic Aberration)
Sigh - Graveward (The Tombfiller, A Messenger from Tomorrow)
Vanden Plas - Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld (Path II) (Stone Roses Edge, The Last Fight)
Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine(Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By a Hat?), Time Travellers)
David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock (Faces of Stone, In Any Tongue (sadly, only a live version))

[Tomislav95]

i really need to check out that Ghost album again, it's been getting tons of praise from pretty much everywhere

You should. I mean, it's great from start to finish but very safe album IMO. If you like same hard rock with proggy elements (it's present in some songs) you'll like it. But I don't think it's good to overplay it because it's basically very simple album, nothing too special but every song is at least good. This may sound contradictory but it's how I feel about it
I'm listening to the newest Riverside atm and I like it very much. It could probably get into top 6 with few more listens

[SoundscapeMN]

again, really great to see all the love for the Kaddisfly album "Horses Galloping on Sailboats" 

it only took 8 years to come out, 

[jingle.boy]

Here’s how 2015 shaped up for me musically. Just so you know how I rank things.  The A list is stuff that wow’d the fuck out of me, and is worth purchasing outright (floats my boat, rocks my socks off, etc…); The B+ list is usually worth purchasing, but definitely saved on Spotify. B means there was nothing wrong with it, but it will struggle to get repeat listens (there’s just too much GREAT stuff to justify listening to GOOD stuff); B- isn’t terrible, but outside of a song or two, probably won’t be replayed.  I didn’t even bother listing the 20 or so albums that I ranked C or lower.

Don't blame anyone for not reading the whole thing, even with just a little blurb for each album, this is a big post.  Yes, I listen to a metric shit-ton of music.

The A List - my Top 25 albums of the year.
1.   Vanden Plas / Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld II - I can't believe that this would be better than Part 1, but my god it is.
2.   Symphony X / Underworld - Nearly flawless - and seeing 1/2 the album live was boner-inducing
3.   Magnus Karlson's FreeFall/ Kingdom Of Rick - Just a hair behind the debut, but this still rocked my socks.  11 fantastic songs.
4.   Kamelot / Haven - Another great Kamelot album  Loved it top to bottom.
5.   Lande/Holter / Dracula:Swing of Death - This was surprisingly excellent.  I was expecting a bucket of cheese, but given Jorn's lack of quality solo material lately, this was an absolute gem
6.   Nightwish / Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Floor sounds great; Elan blows, but the rest is fantastic
7.   Universe Effects / In The Haze That Surrounds Us - Holy schnike!!!  Brilliant, BRILLIANT prog-metal.
8.   Queensryche / Condition Human - THIS was what we all wanted from Todd-fronted QR
9.   Borealis / Purgatory - Fabulous.  Such an under-rated band.  Third album, and each one gets better.
10.   Trivium / Silence in the Snow -  Wow… thank god they went 100% clean on the vox - loved this.
11.   Serious Black / As Daylight Breaks - Just solid tunes top to bottom.
12.   Level 10 / Chapter 1 - Top shelf melodic metal.  Sinner + Allen is gold.
13.   Amadeus Awad / Death is Just a Feeling - Great story; Anneke sounds great; music is awesome, but man I want more than 46 minutes.
14.   The Poodles / Devil in the Details -  This is the cats ass - Melodic Metal that is right in my wheelhouse
15.   Teramaze / Her Halo - Killer opening epic track, and continues to rock for the entire 56 minutes; much better than previous album.
16.   Pyramaze / Disciples of the Sun - New lead singer fits in just fine; solid tunes top to bottom
17.   Stratovarius / Eternal - Tolkki-less Stratovarius is just fine by me.  Nearly as good as Nemesis, imo
18.   Kiske/Somerville / City of Heroes - Pretty straightforward, but Amanda sounds amazing, and these are some pretty up-beat and uplifting tunes.
19.   Angra / The Secret Garden - Fabio sounds great with Angra.  Could be my fave album by them
20.   Forgotten Suns / When Worlds Collide - Some very talented dude here - very prog, very heavy, very technical - but not overly so
21.   Phantasma / The Deviant Hearts - Love Charlotte Wessels; Love Serenity vocalist (Georg Neohauser).  What's not to love here?
22.   Cain's Offering / Stormcrow - Some top notch power metal
23.   The Paralydium Project / The Paralydium Project - 3-song EP - stellar.
24.   Shattered Skies / The World We Used to Know - This kinda heavy/djent style usually ain't my cuppa tea, but this worked
25.   Pantommind / Searching for Eternity - Great prog-metal, with an added bonus of Mike Anderson showing up for track 3.

The rest is not ranked, just in alphabetical order.
The B List: B+
Ascendia / The Lion and the Jester -  Vocally, I hope it's a grower - he's pretty low in the register.  Musically, very good.
Damnation Angels / The Valiant Fire - PelleK is such a great vocalist, and this is a great symphonic/power metal album/band.  Too bad he left the band
Eclipse / Armageddonize - Some pretty hard melodic rock with excellent riffs. 
Exxiles / Oblivion - Some good; some excellent; fairly big guest appearances
Impellitteri / Venom - This was overflowing with shred.  With only 2 songs north of 4 mins, it's straightforward power/speed metal, and doesn't portend to be anything else.
Kingcrow / Eidos - Not as good as the previous two in the trilogy, but great prog-metal
Manimal / Trapped in the Shadows - Some old school sounding metal here - very Judas Priest-like
Magic Pie / King For A Day - First 5 songs were pretty enjoyable.  The title/epic track was seriously awesome though.
Mystery / Delusion Rain - Only a couple of listens in, but this is solid stuff, as Mystery always is.  New vocalist picks up right where Benoit David left off
Nth Ascension / Ascension of Kings - vocalist sounds like Magnitude 9
Rox Diamond / Rox Diamond - High quality glam metal
Royal Hunt / Devil's Dozen - Despite the crap that was the opening single they released, this was surprisingly good; thankful for the turnaround, as the last two releases were shyte.
Spock's Beard / The Oblivion Particle - Every listen, this just keeps getting better and better
Steven Wilson / Hand. Cannot. Erase - Never would've thought I'd like this, but it's excellent; starts REAL strong… tails off a little.
The Chronicles Project / When Darkness Falls - Very very good.  Some of it was excellent; late in the year release, I’m sure it will get lots of repeat listens, and trend upwards
Voices From the Fuselage / Odyssey: The Destroyer of Worlds - Heavy, soft; prog, melodic; very diverse.

The B List: B
Europe / War of Kings - Standard Europe material.  Predictable and enjoyable - exactly what I expected.  I'm still a big fan of Joey's voice
House of Lords / Indestructible - Standard HoL material these days.  Predictable, but good none-the-less.  I'm still a big fan of James' voice
Inner Odyssey / Ascension - First half is fairly medicore, but the latter half is some tremendous prog-rock
Iris Divine / Karma Sown - Pretty good effort for their second release.  Real heavy - I liked their debut better though.
Iron Maiden / Book of Souls - Some really good tracks, and some forgettable.  This is probably gonna struggle to get repeated listens
IZZ / Everlasting Incident - funky, very diverse.  Enjoyable, but nothing compelled me to go back to it.
Jordan Rudess / The Unforgettable Path - Nice background music of mostly covers.  Doubt I'll go back to it.
Klone / Hear Comes the Sun - Dark, grungy... Very Devy-like
Magic Kingdom / Savage Requiem - Fantasy/power metal; pretty standard stuff
Mechanism / Between the Words - ok, but not wow'd
One|Cinema / One|Cinema - Pretty diverse - metal-as-fuck, melodic, ballad.  Hell, even a jazzy song.
RavenBlack Project / Breaking Through The Mist - Quite the vocal lineup with Matos, Boals, White, Somerville, and Oliva.
Scorpions / Return to Forever - Incredibly impressed for a 50 year old band
Soul Secret / 4 - Kinda disappointed after the first two albums were so strong.  Still pretty good tho
Subsignal / The Beacons Of Somewhere Sometime - Rich, textured, layered - all the things that can be counted on from Subsignal.  And Arno sounds like sonic gold of course.
The Gentle Storm / The Diary - Nothing wrong with it, I just think I'm used to vocal variety with Arjen's music
The Winery Dogs / Hot Streak - Just some damn fine rock music
Tony Mills / Over My Dead Body - Enjoyable… something didn't quite click as much as it should have (2nd half was better than 1st). 
Trans-Siberian Orchestra / Letters From the Labyrinth - Wasn't as bad as others were saying - sure… same old TSO formula, but not terribly disappointing
Zierler / ESC - Best thing Kelly Carpenter has been on since Epysode, but still too much metal, not enough prog for me.

The B List: B-
A Sound of Thunder / Tales from the Deadside - huge cheese-fest of a story; musically, some good, some mediocre
Blurred Vision / Organized Insanity – Not overly memorable, but not unenjoyable
Box of Shamans / Belief and Illusion -
Chaos Frame / Paths to Exile - Courtesy of TAC… musically it was excellent - a lot of thrash and growlies though.
End of the Dream / All I Am - Joe recc'n; vocally a lot like Manda Ophius; musically like Within Temptation; One keeper
Eternal Journey / Nebular - reminds me of Angra/Redemption; eclectic
Kinetic Element / Travelog - ok, but not wow'd
Lonely Robot / Please Come Home - I was expecting more with it being a favorite vocalist (John Mitchell).  The guitar work is stellar though
Midnight Rain / Truth is in the Light - ok, but not wow'd
Rafart / Dark Night of the Soul - ok, but not wow'd
Seven Steps to the Green Door / Fetish - Given it's a lot of the contributors from Flaming Row, I expected to enjoy this one more - really eclectic shit here.
Silientlie / Layers of Nothing - Eclectic.  All kinds of prog and metal here.
Sonic Prophecy / Apocalyptic Promenade – good, but a weak vocalist
The Tangent / A  Spark In The Aether – The Music That Died Alone Volume Two - First go around was meh; second was a bit better.  Couple of good songs here.  Still kinda eclectic, even for a neo prog outfit
Deadly Circus Fire / The Hydra's Tailor - Decent, but a little too heavy and growlie for my likings.
Exovex / Radio Silence - One standout song, the rest was meh.  With Gavin H on drums, this probably appeals to PT fans - of which I'm not one of them
Luca Turilli's Rhapsody / Prometheus - Symphonia Ignis Divinus - Opera, with a metal twist.

And my disappointments of the year:
Audio Plastik / In the Head of A Maniac - Very disappointed after nearly a 3 year wait, and 2 iterations of the band.
Blind Guardian / Beyond the Red Mirror - Never been a HUGE BG fan, and this was mediocre at best. Bought this hoping it would help BG 'click'.  It didn't.

[cramx3]

Blind Guardian / Beyond the Red Mirror - Never been a HUGE BG fan, and this was mediocre at best. Bought this hoping it would help BG 'click'.  It didn't.

Ugh, what a disappointment that album was.  Forgot about it when I thought about new albums this year its that bad.  A few good songs, but really a step back from the last album.

[Zantera]

Top 30:

1. Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2. Vennart - The Demon Joke
3. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
4. Julia Holter - Have You in my Wilderness
5. Deafheaven - New Bermuda
6. The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Harmlessness
7. Beach House - Depression Cherry
8. The Dear Hunter - Act IV
9. Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic
10. Foxing - Dealer
11. mewithoutYou - Pale Horses
12. We Lost the Sea - Departure Songs
13. Turnover -  Peripheral Vision
14. Riya - Sublimation
15. Hop Along - Painted Shut
16. Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss
17. Loma Prieta - Self Portrait
18. Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine
19. Prurient - Frozen Niagara Falls
20. Everything Everything - Get To Heaven
21. Fightstar - Behind the Devil's Back
22. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress
23. Mew - +/-
24. Attalus - Into the Sea
25. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
26. Joanna Newsom - Divers
27. Grimes - Art Angels
28. Boris - Urban Dance
29. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
30. Gunship - Gunship

[Sacul]

Wow, you might be the only one I know that even likes the new Boris album/s

[Bolsters]

Vanden Plas / Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld II - I can't believe that this would be better than Part 1, but my god it is.
Symphony X / Underworld - Nearly flawless - and seeing 1/2 the album live was boner-inducing
Magnus Karlson's FreeFall/ Kingdom Of Rick - Just a hair behind the debut, but this still rocked my socks.  11 fantastic songs.
Lande/Holter / Dracula:Swing of Death - This was surprisingly excellent.  I was expecting a bucket of cheese, but given Jorn's lack of quality solo material lately, this was an absolute gem
Nightwish / Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Floor sounds great; Elan blows, but the rest is fantastic
Level 10 / Chapter 1 - Top shelf melodic metal.  Sinner + Allen is gold.
Amadeus Awad / Death is Just a Feeling - Great story; Anneke sounds great; music is awesome, but man I want more than 46 minutes.
The Poodles / Devil in the Details -  This is the cats ass - Melodic Metal that is right in my wheelhouse
Shattered Skies / The World We Used to Know - This kinda heavy/djent style usually ain't my cuppa tea, but this worked
Pantommind / Searching for Eternity - Great prog-metal, with an added bonus of Mike Anderson showing up for track 3.
Steven Wilson / Hand. Cannot. Erase - Never would've thought I'd like this, but it's excellent; starts REAL strong… tails off a little.

I support the inclusion of all of these...even Steven Wilson. However these comments about Élan are unacceptable.

I actually kept track of every new release I listened to last year (partly so I knew what I'd checked out, partly for shits n' giggles) and it ended up being exactly 100 albums. No fucking way am I making a list like yours though. I'm trying to muster the attention required to make a top 20 or so (unranked) but haven't gotten to it yet.

[Sacul]

I made this for the prog page I admin - not many records, but they're all pretty great at least 

[bl5150]

Vanden Plas / Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld II - I can't believe that this would be better than Part 1, but my god it is.
Symphony X / Underworld - Nearly flawless - and seeing 1/2 the album live was boner-inducing
Magnus Karlson's FreeFall/ Kingdom Of Rick - Just a hair behind the debut, but this still rocked my socks.  11 fantastic songs.
Lande/Holter / Dracula:Swing of Death - This was surprisingly excellent.  I was expecting a bucket of cheese, but given Jorn's lack of quality solo material lately, this was an absolute gem
Nightwish / Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Floor sounds great; Elan blows, but the rest is fantastic
Level 10 / Chapter 1 - Top shelf melodic metal.  Sinner + Allen is gold.
Amadeus Awad / Death is Just a Feeling - Great story; Anneke sounds great; music is awesome, but man I want more than 46 minutes.
The Poodles / Devil in the Details -  This is the cats ass - Melodic Metal that is right in my wheelhouse
Shattered Skies / The World We Used to Know - This kinda heavy/djent style usually ain't my cuppa tea, but this worked
Pantommind / Searching for Eternity - Great prog-metal, with an added bonus of Mike Anderson showing up for track 3.
Steven Wilson / Hand. Cannot. Erase - Never would've thought I'd like this, but it's excellent; starts REAL strong… tails off a little.

I support the inclusion of all of these...even Steven Wilson. However these comments about Élan are unacceptable.

I actually kept track of every new release I listened to last year (partly so I knew what I'd checked out, partly for shits n' giggles) and it ended up being exactly 100 albums. No fucking way am I making a list like yours though. I'm trying to muster the attention required to make a top 20 or so (unranked) but haven't gotten to it yet.

I definitely support Kingdom of Rick




Happy to have contributed a few to the list

[Train of Naught]

I'm pretty interested in that Kendrick Lamar album, so many people seem to like it,  no matter what kind of music they listen to.

[wolfking]

I don't think I can rate a top 10 to be honest.  If I were to pick 10 albums though;

Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls
Magnus Karlsson - Kingdom of Rock
Borealis - Purgatory
Stratovarius - Eternal
Angra - Secret Garden
Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun
UDO - Decadent
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness
Solution .45 - Nightmares in the Walking State
Queensryche - Condition Human

That would be 11, can't leave one out.  WASP, Trivium, Amorphis, Praying Mantis, Between the Buried and Me and VP would be next.

[Zantera]

Wow, you might be the only one I know that even likes the new Boris album/s

Urban Dance was a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 for me. Definitely the best out of their 3 albums last year, even if they were fairly underwhelming as a whole. Definitely a step down from Noise the year before.

[jingle.boy]

@ Brent...    I pulled a 'shmegland'

I don't think I can rate a top 10 to be honest.  If I were to pick 10 albums though;

Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls
Magnus Karlsson - Kingdom of Rock
Borealis - Purgatory
Stratovarius - Eternal
Angra - Secret Garden
Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun
UDO - Decadent
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness
Solution .45 - Nightmares in the Walking State
Queensryche - Condition Human

That would be 11, can't leave one out.  WASP, Trivium, Amorphis, Praying Mantis, Between the Buried and Me and VP would be next.

No Symphony-X?

[wolfking]

@ Brent...    I pulled a 'shmegland'

I don't think I can rate a top 10 to be honest.  If I were to pick 10 albums though;

Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls
Magnus Karlsson - Kingdom of Rock
Borealis - Purgatory
Stratovarius - Eternal
Angra - Secret Garden
Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun
UDO - Decadent
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness
Solution .45 - Nightmares in the Walking State
Queensryche - Condition Human

That would be 11, can't leave one out.  WASP, Trivium, Amorphis, Praying Mantis, Between the Buried and Me and VP would be next.

No Symphony-X?

It is a great album, but didn't have the staying power as all the others IMO, but the songs were awesome.  Would definitely be top 20 though.  Thinking about the album now, maybe it could be there. Hmmm...