RESULTS: Your Top Album(s) of 2015 are...

The vote is over, and the results are in!

We had a whopping 582 entries into the poll this year - over 3 times as many as we had last time. I am very excited to announce the winner(s) of the categories.

For those unfamiliar with the poll, I asked earlier this month what the top albums were in 2015, as December usually begins the compilation of most lists. To date, there are very few (if any) decdicated lists/charts with exclusively Christian metal, so this is a fun list to work on. The poll was posted on Reddit's /r/Christcore group as well as CMR. From there, some bands also posted links to the poll, which did influence the responses some. However, we had so many people respond that the top albums were not as influenced by these block voters as last year (where Promise Land had a huge number of responses/voters that skewed the poll).



Points were scored as follows: The top album (per voter) was scored with 5 points. The next 4 albums they selected were given 2 points each, to ensure that voters could select a number of albums for their top list. Additionally, we had genre-specific categories for metal albums, and I tried to ensure these were updated as possible.

Of course, with every poll like this, it isn't exhaustive. A few albums came out later in the year that I couldn't add, or simply didn't find early enough into the vote to add. So a last category of top missing albums is made as well. This list is long, so make sure you have a few minutes to read it all.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #12 - Phineas, 'Til the End (134 Votes)

Phineas may have been higher on the list, but I didn't have them on the poll until about Day 2 or 3. However, they did have a lot of votes, and ended up being the 2nd highest-voted Metalcore album of 2015.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #11 - For Today, Wake (156 Votes)

Top Album(s) of 2015: #10 - August Burns Red, Found in Far Away Places (160 Votes)






In a packed and narrow Metalcore field, ABR was the top metalcore band/album of 2015.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #9 - Impelliteri, Venom (162 Votes)

Top Album(s) of 2015: #8 - Hazeroth, Charms of Sin (165 Votes)

Hazeroth had the #1 Black/Death/Doom album of the year. I am unsure if they had their fans vote or not, but they still managed to get a high spot on the charts. Black/Death/Doom albums just outside of the Top 10 were (in order): 

#13 Immortal  Souls - S/T (Melodic Death Metal)

#14 Blood Thirsty - Woe To The City Of Blood (brutal (Symphonic Death Metal)

#15 Doomsday Hymn - Mene Tequel Ufarsim (Death Metal)

#16 Vials of Wrath - S/T (Black Metal)

Top Album(s) of 2015: #7 - Armageddon USA, Up in Flames (207 Votes)

I do believe this band had posted our poll to Facebook, so I guess you could have an asterisk next to their ranking. However, they still had a fair number of votes prior to their post from my recollection.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #6 - W.A.S.P. Golgotha (216 Votes)

WASP, along with Stryper had two of the latest-in-the-year albums on the charts, showing how popular they are with fans. I was (personally) excited to see how well received the new album was from CMR fans, as it got a whopping 90% from AngelicWarlord.com, which is a site I used to help populate the poll with albums up for vote.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #5 - Teramaze, Her Halo (249 Votes)

Top Album(s) of 2015: #4 - Signum Regis IV: The Reckoning (293 Votes)

In an incredible stroke of luck, IV: The Reckoning is #4 on our list. This is another band that posted the poll to their page, but they did so quite late into voting, and I do believe that they were already well in the Top-10 by the time they posted the poll, so their place on the chart(s) was quite deserved. They had a ton of 2nd-place votes, as opposed to 1st place, showing that a lot of people listened to this album and put it in their lists with about 30 first-place votes, and about 60-70 second place votes. 

Top Album(s) of 2015: #3 - Maestah, S/T (356 Votes)

This album was released in December 2014, so it (barely) counts. Also of note is that they posted the poll very early into voting, so their position was likely very influenced by Facebook votes, which is something that (I guess) happens. Still sounds pretty good for a band based in South America!

Top Album(s) of 2015: #2 - Worldview, The Chosen Few (367 Votes)

Worldview secured the 2nd spot almost as soon as we started the poll, and they held onto it for the entire voting period. I think they did post the poll to Facebook, but the votes that it garnered altered their position minimally, given their proximity to Maestah on the poll.

Top Album(s) of 2015: #1 - Stryper, Fallen (768 Votes)

Did you think the poll would end up any differently? I would have loved to have started the poll back in 2013 when Stryper's last album came out, because I think voting would have been even more dominating than Fallen, but it still wound up with more votes than #2 and #3 combined, despite the lack of posting/voting from their Facebook page. Maybe next time Michael Sweet can post the link for us *hint* *hint*

Top Progressive, Melodic or Symphonic Album(s) of 2015: #1 - Signum Regis, IV: The Reckoning (96 Votes)

Runners Up:

Teramaze - Her Halo (81 Votes)
Harmony - Rememberance (46 Votes)

Top Heavy Metal or Thrash Album of 2015: Stryper, Fallen (101 Votes)

Runner Up:
Maestah: S/T - 68 Votes
Worldview: The Chosen Few - 41 Votes



Top Hard Rock Album of 2015: P.O.D., The Awakening (127 Votes)






Runner Up:
Sweet & Lynch - Only to Rise (96 Votes)
Red - Of Beauty & Rage (43 Votes)



Top Black/Death/Doom Album of 2015: Immortal Souls, Wintermetal (62 Votes)




The Black/Death/Doom category was quite crowded:


 

#1	Immortal Souls - S/T	62
#2	Doomsday Hymn - Mene Tequel Ufarsim (Death Metal)	35
#3	Hazeroth - S/T	24
#4	Vials of Wrath - Days Without Names	19
#5	Skald In Veum - 1260 Days	16
#6	Vials of Wrath - S/T	14
#7	Day of Ascension - S/T	14
#8	Dalit - Descent	14
#9	Opus Majestic - S/T	14
#10	Morgarten - S/T	13

Top Metalcore Album of 2015: August Burns Red, Found in Faraway Places (62 Votes)



 

#1	August Burns Red - Found in Far Away Places	75
#2	For Today - Wake	73
#3	Phineas - Til the End (Metalcore)	50
#4	Haste the Day - Coward	34
#5	Wage War - Blueprints	20

And Finally - EP of the Year:

Signum Regis with the trifecta of #4 for Top Album of the Year, Melodic Album of the Year, and EP of the year!

 

#1	Signum Regis - Through The Storm	79
#2	Disciple - Vultures	46
#3	Devil Wears Prada - Space	38
#4	Skald In Veum - 1260 Days	32
#5	Wolves at the Gate - Reprise	29

Thanks for reading! 

Nice. Thanks for taking the time to do this

KaramKaram wrote:Nice. Thanks for taking the time to do this

Agreed, thanks for all your work.

Always fun to vote on!!!

Hope we get it again next year!!

Yes 2 of my picks made it!

Phinehas and For Today

I was only about half of their votes

I'm very honored to see Maestah on the podium and Doomsday Hymn at #2 Black/Death/Doom Metal album

It's strange to see how Metalcore reached this much relevance in Christian Metal.

It's good to see Signum Regis do so well. They had a good year. It's also good to see Teramaze in the top 5. They're quietly making some of the best progressive/melodic metal out there.

Is Teramaze a Christian band?

sadvader wrote:It's strange to see how Metalcore reached this much relevance in Christian Metal.

I can listen to metalcore on the actual FM radio. Stryper? Not so much.

Additionally, unlike the other genres of metal, metalcore started hand-in-hand between secular and Christian bands... Zao and Living Sacrifice were early bands in the scene, alongside the secular counterparts. And as far as I know, As I Lay Dying sold more albums than any other metalcore band - secular or Christian.

KaramKaram wrote:Is Teramaze a Christian band?

At least one member (Dean Wells, who writes everything) is. I don't think they market themselves as a Christian band. Dean is a member here, you could always ask him. I've had good luck in corresponding with him.

metaldude wrote:

KaramKaram wrote:Is Teramaze a Christian band?

At least one member (Dean Wells, who writes everything) is. I don't think they market themselves as a Christian band. Dean is a member here, you could always ask him. I've had good luck in corresponding with him.

This was more or less why I included them.. I did the same as Halcyon Way last year.

Great work on the list, I have a few bands to check out Excited.

My list:

1.  STRYPER - Fallen
2.  GX Project - Raize Some Hell
3.  Apologetix - Easter Standard Time
4.  Kutless - Surrender
5.  Disciple - Vultures
6.  Seventh Day Slumber - Redline
7.  Apologetix - Music Is As Music Does
8.  Armageddon USA - Up In Flames
9.  The Righteous Blues Band - He Gave Us Freedom
10.  Millennial Reign - Carry The Fire
11.  Gideon's Army - Grace (Remaster)
12.  Scandinavian Metal Praise - Power & Glory Part 1
13.  Worldview - The Chosen Few

Question: Is Armageddon USA the same band as Armageddon who put out "The Money Mask"?

I thought they had broken up.

They are the same!

alldatndensum wrote:They are the same!

Oh wow! I had no idea they were back together! Shows how out of the loop I am.

sadvader wrote:It's strange to see how Metalcore reached this much relevance in Christian Metal.

Its been the forefront and most relevant genre for the past 15+ years where have you been?