Welcome to Metal Power Rankings: Our weekly rankings take a number of factors into account, such as newsworthiness, record sales, internet buzz, word of mouth and overall importance in the genre. Ultimately, it’s subjective, but if a band generates enough buzz, they’ll wind up on the list. In this fast-paced week, Faith No More take the top with ease, but a certain Unholy See and lots of new entries are storming in…
1) Faith No More (unchanged)
Sol Invictus was nearly a top 5 record at Billboard, 25 years after Mike Patton joined the band for The Real Thing. Welcome back, you madmen.
2) Ghost (debut)
In classic Ghost fashion, the band rustled jimmies everywhere with a wink and a smile this week. First they snuck a commercial onto VH1 Classic in the dead of night during a replay of Caddyshack, and then they announced their new album will be called Meliora and arrives August 21. We get the feeling something big is in the works, even by the standards of a band that understands the theatrical better than nearly anyone else.
3) Lamb of God (unchanged)
They didn’t do anything crazy this week, but there’s plenty of crazy ahead.
4) Slayer (from 9)
The title of Repentless isn’t any smarter now than it was last week, but with that announcement out of the way, excitement for the record itself is starting to build.
5) Refused (re-entry)
Did you hear “Francafrique” yet? EX–ter-mi-nate the brutes!
6) Metallica (from 7)
They’re just going to quietly sit here and outsell a ton of current bands with The Black Album until the new record lands.
Knotfest 2015 will feel like a victory lap after they get done with this massive Lamb of God tour.
8) Coal Chamber (from 12)
A top 40 debut for Rivals is impressive enough, but it’s also considerably less than the decidedly more niche-in-theory album Napalm just released from Kamelot. Let’s see how that Fear Factory tour goes.
The band may be contradicting each other in interviews, but they’re clearly professionals about moving forward after that weird meltdown from a few weeks back. That’s part of why they’re so absurdly successful.
10) Neurosis (debut)
Neurosis only tours occasionally these days, so it’s good to see them jumping back on the road again. Could there be a new record in the cards soon? Here’s hoping.
The video for “Praise Abort” is actually a little tamer than the song itself, and that’s saying something. If it’s any indication of what the Rammstein frontman’s solo debut will sound like, this is going to be a wild listen. With Hypocrisy legend Peter Tagtren on guitar, things look promising.
We’re not quite convinced that the hype around this record is real beyond aging doom heads, but it’s also a very solid listen, so we’ll see!
13) Battlecross (debut)
The hard-nosed road dogs just announced a new record for August, and quite a lot of metal fans have reason to be excited.
A little more of an upstart than Paradise Lost but seeing similar press attention, the new album from Ihsahn’s former backing band is doing for the prog world what Paradise Lost is doing for doom at the moment.
How did Fun Fun Fun Fest get this complete shock of a one-off US show to happen with them and not with, say, Maryland Deathfest? We’re not entirely sure, but it feels like Cronos is about to teach a lot of unsuspecting Chvrches fans a thing or two about evil. Now play a full tour, come on!
