Favorite Secular Albums: 2015

Can be any genre (from Metal through New Age) ...

What are your favorite albums this year? I put this thread in the non-metal section - as ALL genres can be represented (Metal too).

Gosh, I haven't bought much new ones from secular bands...  But these are all quite good:

Iron Maiden- The Book Of Souls
Kauan - Sorni Nai
My Silent Wake - Damnatio Memoriae
A Sickness Unto Death - The Great Escape

Uhhhh, none really for me this year

Only 2 come to mind for last year too

WovenWar - Self-titled
Dragonforce - Maximum Overload

My 2015 picks:

Carach Angren - This Is No Fairytail (Can't. Stop. Playing this!)
Grieving Mirth - Calamitosvs Omine (Blew Shining away at their own game.)
Abigail Williams - The Accuser (biggest surprise - didn't expect it to be blacker than Marduk)
Cradle of Filth - Hammer of the Witches (Obviously much better when they got rid of Paul and recruited fans of OLD CoF)
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic (surprising blast beats!)
Marduk - Frontschwein (almost like it as much as Wormwood)

I almost added Deafheaven - New Bermuda to the list, but the more I listened to it, the more I only liked certain riffs or parts of songs... Its ok, but it sounds goofy in some parts.

Helloween-My God Given Right
Iron Maiden-The Book of Souls
Disturbed-Immortalized

Kamasi Washington - the Epic
Father John Misty - I Live You Honeybear
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
Leon Bridges - Coming Hone

Well, I am a Christian, but I mostly listen to secular music. I have no Christian albums from 2015 so far. Though I am planning on picking up Stryper, Diviner and Signum Regis soon.

Still haven't purchased even one Christian album this year.

Fave albums for 2015 for me would be:
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1. Sirenia - The Seventh Life Path



This would be album of the year for me.

A beautiful combination of Gothic Metal and Symphonic Metal, with undertones of Melodic Death Metal. This album captured my attention right away when I first bought it back in May. Right after my birthday, so it was kinda like a belated birthday present to myself. I was wondering then if it would stack up to be album of the year or not ... and I was right. Each time I come back to the platter of Gothic Metal goodness and taste the crispy apples of Symphonic Metal delight, I am hooked deeper and deeper by this monster. Anyway - good album.

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2. Cradle of Filth - Hammer of the Witches

I concur with my friend Thomas on this one. This album is very very good!!! I almost voted it as my album of the year, save for the fact that I love the new Sirenia SO much - I just could not bring myself to do it. Anyway - this album is very good. Symphonic Black Metal of the finest quality. Undergirded by Gothic Metal and Melodic Black Metal (lots of melodic territory on this one), this album just sets out to SLAUGHTER!!!


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3. Chant - Brave New Apocalypse

This is a good and solid Industrial Rock album. Pretty underground release. I doubt anyone here as heard of it - unless they are in the current Industrial scene. I saw this band open up for KMFDM last summer - and they KILLED! Excellent show - and I bought this album at that show. Sure enough ... the album really nails it too. Great studio recording and great live band!


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4. Cattle Decapitation - The Anthropocene Extinction

This is a really good Deathgrind album. If that genre suits you - then look into this one! It's very intricate throughout. There are some songs that are very Technical Death Metal oriented, but they always go somewhere - instead of just wanking around like a lot of Technical Death Metal does. Recommended. Solid album.

Helloween-My God Given Right
WASP...Golgotha
Saxon...Battering Ram

Gotta agree with Saxon, it is fantastic although I haven't downloaded the whole thing yet from iTunes. Also, The Purple Album from Whitesnake, although it is not new material.

The new Def Leppard, Samantha Fish, and One Hand Dan albums.

Each time something from Helloween comes out I try so hard to like them and if it's just for the sakes of the time before Kiske left the band, but I fail and I fail. I just can't get over the their constant output of hymn after hymn after hymn. Have they lost any sense for suspense in their arrangements of songs and albums? What am I not hearing that others can? I'm lost with them.

I think for me the top album for 2015 for me was the Birds of Satan album. Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters' side project very 70s feel guitar rock

alldatndensum wrote:The new Def Leppard, Samantha Fish, and One Hand Dan albums.

Samantha Fish is good! She can sing those blues! I have seen her once, she is from my hometown here in Kansas City, Mo..

sadvader wrote:Each time something from Helloween comes out I try so hard to like them and if it's just for the sakes of the time before Kiske left the band, but I fail and I fail. I just can't get over the their constant output of hymn after hymn after hymn. Have they lost any sense for suspense in their arrangements of songs and albums? What am I not hearing that others can? I'm lost with them.

All i ask for from Helloween is a collection of catchy chorus-driven numbers, and thats what i get from the new album. Songs like Lost in America and If God Loves Rock and Roll are total earworms for me, but i can understand if someone prefers the kiske-era material as well.

For me

Birds of Satan
Art of Anarchy

think both are self titled.

Runner up

Foo Fighters - Saint Cecilia

I really like what I've heard from Art of Anarchy!

...probably Diviner.....great metal.

I still have a several things to give a listen, but my top 5 are pretty firmly entrenched:

1)  Satyrasis - ...of the Dead
2)  Keep of Kalessin - Epistemology
3)  Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards
4)  Mgla - Exercises in Futility
5)  Cattle Decapitation - The Anthropocene Extinction

Honorable mentions are 
Carach Angren -This is no Fairytale
Saxon - Battering Ram
Soilwork - The Ride Majestic
Nile - What Should Not Be Unearthed

Albums that did not grab me like I hoped were the new efforts from Blind Guardian, Nightrage, and Symphony X.

PlaceOfASkull wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:The new Def Leppard, Samantha Fish, and One Hand Dan albums.

Samantha Fish is good! She can sing those blues! I have seen her once, she is from my hometown here in Kansas City, Mo..

I got into her because of our mutual like of cigar box guitars.  She is amazing on 3 or 6 strings!

I look at list like mine and Tom's and RavenWolf's......and I compare them to Alldat's and Wildworld's and others.......it is just ASTOUNDING how broad of a swath of music is represented on the board....

exo wrote:I look at list like mine and Tom's and RavenWolf's......and I compare them to Alldat's and Wildworld's and others.......it is just ASTOUNDING how broad of a swath of music is represented on the board....

Very true! I think the diversity here is very awesome!!!



Good call on Cattle Decapitation by the way!

My favorites from 2015 would have to be (in no particular order)

Black Star Riders - The Killer Instinct
The Amorettes - Game On
Eclipse - Armageddonize
Queensryche - Condition Human
Whitesnake - The Purple Album

exo wrote:
1)  Satyrasis - ...of the Dead
.

Lyrics aside, yes...that is a very good album.

My top five

1. Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss (Industrial/Folk/Doom)
2. Baroness - Purple (sludge/Prog metal)
3. Kadavar - Berlin (psych/classic rock)
4. Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon (don't hate)
5. Joanna Newsom - Divers (avant-garde/folk)

Good taste and welcome to the board Remnant!! I like your shirt! Siouxsie is bomb!!!