7) Angra, Secret Garden
There was a lot of hype surrounding this release for me. It was the first Angra album to feature vocalist Fabio Leone, and the band’s first album after it was announced that guitarist Kiko Loureiro would be taking on lead guitar duties for Megadeth. The album delivered every bit of glory that is expected from the Brazilian neo-classical outfit, with a few surprises too. They did a killer rendition of ‘Synchronicity II’ by The Police, and ‘Violet Sky’ showed the band experimenting with more contemporary metal concepts like djent. They were also phenomonal live; their execution is flawless and hearing Fabio sing live is jaw dropping.
Key track: “Newborn Me”
6) Iron Maiden, The Book Of Souls
When this album first came out, I was hesitant to let myself love it at first, and it took a good half dozen listens before I was able to fall for some of the songs. Sure, most bands can fit 11 songs on a single album and not need to do the whole “double” thing, but Iron Maiden is not most bands. This album was not only a double, but the songs were long. At 4 minutes, 59 seconds, ‘Tears of a Clown’ is the shortest song on the album, and three others broke the 10 minute mark. Good! I love long songs. I think that it’s great to see a band that been around for 40 years continuing to experiment and take risks.
“I’m pretty sure I was the first person to play ‘Empire of the Clouds’ over the radio, but don’t quote me on that.” – Zach Fehl
Key track: “When the River Runs Deep” or “Empire of the Clouds” (if you have the time)
5) Nightwish, Endless Forms Most Beautiful
With this being their first studio release to feature new singer Floor Jansen, there was a lot on the line for this album. Maybe it was because I had already seen her with her other band ReVamp and was blown away by her performance with them, or maybe it was the DVD they released of their 2013 performance at Wacken Open-Air that I had obsessed about that gave me undoubtable confidence in this release. Since you’re obviously reading this on a Top 10 list, I think it’s safe to say that I wasn’t disappointed. Not only is this one of my favorite symphonic metal albums of the year, I think this might be one of the best albums of the band’s career. Seeing them live only made my love for this album complete, and I can’t wait to catch them on the next leg of their US tour in February.
Recommended track: “Shudder Before the Beautiful”
4) Damnation Angels, The Valiant Fire
Do you remember that “favorite symphonic metal albums” comment back on the last album? Well here is my favorite symphonic album from 2015. Damnation Angels combined the grandiose songwriting and composing of the Graney brothers, along with the vocal abilities of PelleK to form something truly epic. Unfortunately, right around the time the album was released PelleK parted ways with the band, and the momentum for the album halted.
Recommended track: Under an Ancient Sun
