Top 10 Metal Musicians of 2015
On this list are allowed ONLY metal musicians who released albums or singles in 2015!Or musicians who did something remarkable in 2015 - such as a great live show or something else. By a great live show I mean great music performances and not fireworks, costumes, masks and other effects that are achievements of other types of professionals (engineers, make up artists, shoemakers, and so on).
I really hate lists that say "of 2015, 2011", etc. but in fact include all possible artists from all decades and these lists turn into lists about your favorite musicians of all time, even though the title says "of 2015". Such lists are pointless and are actually duplicates of existing lists about anything "of all time".
So, ONLY metal musicians who did something amazing in 2015!
Even with tongue cancer, his voice was still impressive and he released a great album. There were only some very slight flaws in his singing but hey, he had tongue cancer and he was 57!
His early technique made use of a more aggressive and harsher, "screaming" technique . ...read more.
The best vocal performance of 2015 by a male singer with clean vocals.
The album is amazing, too - a top 3 album from them (out of 10). I personally think it's their best album but I'm OK with the top 3 version. It was their first symphonic metal album but they nailed this demanding subgenre, too!
At 49, Hansi voice sounded unbelievably clean, fresh and youthful - check out the beginning of "Miracle Machine". I haven't heard ANY singer at 50 to sound like Hansi, metal and non-metal (don't count opera singers). Hansi doesn't sound like a metal singer at 49, who's been singing a quite harmful material for over 30 years. His singing style is potentially more harmful to the vocal folds than the styles of Kiske, Halford, Dio, Tate or Dickinson. But his voice can still sound angelic and with no unwanted rasp or any signs of a worn-out voice. Hansi can put lots of rasp to his voice but only when he wants to.
He continued with his typical intense vox and great multi-layered vocal ...more
Words can't describe his fast, brutal and highly technical drumming.
Album: What Should Not Be Unearthed
Mike Portnoy was brilliant as always. Nothing unusual here but he proved he still has it.
Metal Allegiance is a supergroup that released a self-titled debut album.
Best female metal singer of 2015. No surprise, she is actually an opera singer.
Album: Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Frank Sacramone is the mastermind behind this band. The other guys are great, too, but I can't list them all in the item title.
Earthside released the best debut metal album of 2015 and the best progressive metal album of 2015 by underground bands (A Dream In Static).
Songs: The Closest I’ve Come, A Dream In Static, Mob Mentality
“The most ambitious of debuts.” - Metal Hammer UK
“Their ingenious and frequently jaw-dropping epic “A Dream in Static” is one of the best prog metal albums in recent years.” - Blabbermouth.net,10/10
“A Dream In Static is a magnum opus of infinite proportions.” - Sea of Tranquility, 5/5
Travis Ryan is their lyricist and vocalist. In my opinion, the album "The Anthropocene Extinction" has the most important lyrical theme of 2015 - it deals with the results of mankind's influence on the environment, such as the Great Pacific garbage patch.
Even though Kerry King has always been overrated compared to Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.), I was glad to hear Kerry learned certain things from Jeff for 30 years. Kerry was the main songwriter of this album (Repentless) and I was happy he did this effort. Well, there is nothing new, mindblowing or very different from their previous stuff but Slayer are still around with new albums and this is important.
He was in poor health, yet recorded/released an album, participated in tours with bands like Anthrax and Saxon. He died at the end of the year
He just joined Megadeth as a lead guitarist and played on his first tracks with the band.
I don't count the entire Megadeth album though - it was officially a 2016 album. But I take into account Megadeth singles released in 2015 and I highlight Kiko Loureiro because he was a new bandmember and a lesser known metal musician.
The best bassist of 2015. Nothing surprising or unusual, just a proof he's still good.
This guy can still shred. Check out "To Hell and Back" from their 2015 album Underworld.
He rejoined the band in 2015 and proved he's a singer who deserves more attention (he was their original vocalist).
Album: Polaris