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User
Reviews 51
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Last Active 02-06-21 7:10 pm
Joined 03-11-10
Review Comments 5,304
| Pistol's 2015
Another year-end list delayed due to my holding off and racing last-minute to listen to everything I wanted from 2015. The creation of Apple Music and the fact that my new job involves me commuting 50 minutes one-way to work and back really saved music listening for me. Without it, I don't honestly think I would've had the time or motivation to search out and download/purchase all these albums. Now...I need them to keep my sanity on the road each day. My new job is in the biggest hole of a town there is in the deep bowels of Southern Ontario. But I don't mind it, I do miss Calgary a ton though and hope to make my way back there soon. Finally bought a car too! The list below starts with 2 EPs, then 25-11 is loosely ranked while 10-1 I'm pretty comfortable saying are my Top 10. A lot you won't agree with, but maybe one that will get you to listen to something you didn't try? Who knows....happy 2016! | | 27 |  | The Mire
Vice Regalia
EP (Runner-Up): Sad to see them go, but at least they left us with something to hold on to. They were one of the better modern post-metal bands in my opinion and I assume they will return in some form or another some day. Adios! (Post-Metal) Highlights: Gaslighter | | 26 |  | Arcane Roots
Heaven and Earth
EP OF THE YEAR: Without a doubt, one of the best EPs I've heard in ages. All five songs shine with glorious vocals and soaring guitars that remind me of a heavier Dead Letter Circus (equipped with screaming vocals in sections). Hopefully this new sound for them equates to a full album soon of the same ideas. I'd like to see them further explore what they've done here. (Post-Hardcore, Progressive Rock, Alt Rock) Highlights: If Nothing Breaks Nothing Moves, Slow Dance | | 25 |  | Pusha T
King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
Albums released at the end of the year usually don't have enough time to make an impression on me and make my year-end lists. But this one clicked fast and capped off what was probably the best year for rap in ages. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Untouchable, Keep Dealing | | 24 |  | Baroness
Purple
Hot of the press in the last month of 2015, Baroness deliver another solid addition to their very consistent catalog of albums. (Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal) Highlights: Morningstar, Desperation Burns | | 23 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell
Yeah yeah....should be in my Top 3. I don't care. I liked it though, there are some powerful moments on here that really make the music hit you in the gut. (Indie Folk/Pop) Highlights: Should Have Known Better, Fourth of July | | 22 |  | Minsk
The Crash and the Draw
A little too long for my liking (even by post-metal standards), but still thrilling, especially the four-song suite. (Post-Metal, Sludge Metal) Highlights: Within and Without, Onward Procession, The Way Is Through | | 21 |  | Failure
The Heart Is a Monster
Never had listened to these guys much but their lead single caught my ear when it came out. There were some other gems to be found in here as well in what is, in all likelihood, a pretty impressive comeback album after almost 20 years. (Alt Rock, Grunge): Snow Angel, The Focus | | 20 |  | Riverside
Love, Fear and the Time Machine
Far from their best, a little on the safe side. But an average Riverside album is still a pretty damn good album. (Progressive Rock) Highlights: Under the Pillow, Time Travellers | | 19 |  | The Dead Weather
Dodge & Burn
I made a review for this. Go read if you want. Glad to see them back after almost five years. (Blues Rock, Grunge) Highlights: Three Dollar Hat, Rough Detective | | 18 |  | Tyler, the Creator
Cherry Bomb
Here he is on my year-end list, yet again. This might have been his most challenging album to listen to yet (even though it's his shortest). I don't know how he keeps doing it, but I find him just as fascinating as ever on this. Sure, it has some stinkers, but beside those...maybe 2-3 bad songs, it's solid. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Buffalo, Pilot, The Brown Stains of Darkeese Latifah | | 17 |  | Modest Mouse
Strangers to Ourselves
A mixed bag for sure, but the songs that stick are unbelievable. And the ratio of good-to-bad is tolerable enough to consider this a strong release. (Indie Rock, Alt Rock, Lo-Fi) Highlights: Lampshades of Fire, The Ground Walks, Of Course We Know | | 16 |  | Metric
Pagans In Vegas
I guess I'm just one of those people who likes whatever this band decides to make. Another album in this middle section of my list that seemed to be met with mixed reception. (Alt Rock / Indie Rock) Highlights: Blind Valentine, The Governess | | 15 |  | Silversun Pickups
Better Nature
I always find myself comparing this band to the above band (Metric) because they always tend to release albums at the same time as each other. Just like last time, I didn't like the Silversuns' release at first, but over time its songs sprouted wings and songs crept into my head that weren't originally there. Not as good as "Neck of the Woods", but by no means a waste of their talent. THIIIIISSS ISSS NOOOOOTTT CONNECTION!!! (Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Alt Rock) Highlights: Connection, Pins & Needles, Nightlight | | 14 |  | TesseracT
Polaris
Really liked what they were going for here, a more melodic, toned-down version of their sound. What it lacks in heaviness it makes up for in rhythm and flow. (Progressive Metal, Ambient) Highlights: Hexes, Tourniquet | | 13 |  | Dead Letter Circus
Aesthesis
Many folks on the site disliked this. While I think it's definitely their weakest to date, that doesn't stop it from being another pretty damn good offering. It's just being compared to some ridiculously strong albums. This band really can't be accused of releasing a bad album yet. (Alt Rock, Progressive Rock) Highlights: Y A N A, The Burning Number | | 12 |  | Dr. Dre
Compton
Wasn't a fan of how little Dr. Dre actually appears on his own album, but I mean that's always been what he's about: showcasing others' talents. Regardless, he not only caught me off-guard with the surprise drop of his final album, but the fact that it holds a consistent level of quality throughout is something I never could've seen coming. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Talk About It, Genocide, Darkside/Gone | | 11 |  | Vennart
The Demon Joke
Goddammit I miss Oceansize so much. That will forever be one of the bands I hold dear for the rest of my life. They played some of the most powerful and unique rock music I’ve ever heard. When this first came out, I got really sad. I didn’t want to listen to it because I knew it wouldn’t be an Oceansize album. It’s a clunky, bizarre sort of album at first. But thankfully, over time it unfolds itself to you. Backed by Vennart’s ever-beautiful vocals it becomes something new and exciting that shouldn’t even be compared to Oceansize at all, and that’s what I was doing wrong before. Apologies, Mike. (Prog Rock) Highlights: Doubt, Infatuate, Duke Fame | | 10 |  | Drake
If You're Reading This It's Too Late
I let this mixtape sit for a long time this year. I kept thinking to myself: “Drake’s last album was average and this is just going to be 17 songs of him rapping about how big a deal he is. Do I really need to listen to over an hour of this crap?” The answer was surprisingly and unequivocally...yes. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Energy, 10 Bands, 6 Man | | 9 |  | Leprous
The Congregation
Leprous deliver us yet another fine slab of glorious prog rock to keep us preoccupied while they concoct yet another masterpiece. For some reason I can't help but feel like this band still has another classic in them like "Bilateral" and that feeling has not gone away with this. Solberg's vocals here reach entirely new heights and are the best he's ever achieved. The only thing stopping it from reaching the monumental heights of their third album is that they are missing the variety that gave that album a unique feel. (Progressive Rock) Highlights: The Price, Moon | | 8 |  | Ghost (SWE)
Meliora
This is actually the album that kept me from releasing this list sooner. I have been playing it on my morning drive and at work for over a week now. People kept telling me it's good, but I was never a huge fan of those glamorous, costume-wearing AOR bands from back in the day. But Ghost's sound caters to a wide variety of rock fans. I hear a lot of Alice in Chain's harmonies and driving riffs in the opening few songs of the album. The choruses are also phenomenal and stick in your mind like peanut butter. Worth a look and definitely glad I did. (Heavy Metal, Doom, Hard Rock) Highlights: From the Pinnacle to the Pit, He Is, Majesty | | 7 |  | ASAP Rocky
At.Long.Last.A$AP
Normally I’m not the type to listen to rappers who brag about their nice clothing, abundance of women, or how much drug dealing they did as a young kid. But this guy lays out some of the most amazing beats I’ve ever heard and manages to spit out lyrics that even a snotty middle-class white kid like me can sit back and go “yeah....”. I use this album when trying to de-stress during my long drive back home from work, I have had sex with this in the background multiple times, and I even like playing it while cooking up a storm. This album became part of my goddamn lifestyle for fuck’s sake (minus the drug dealing). Needless to say, he’s on my radar now. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Canal St., Holy Ghost, Pharsyde | | 6 |  | Red
Of Beauty and Rage
I’m ashamed to say that in 2013, I officially gave up on Red. These guys were one of my favorite bands from back when I first started listening to music. But “Release the Panic” was probably the biggest sell-out and disappointment of that year for me. So when I heard their lead single “Darkest Part” and its heavier leanings, I was intrigued but also skeptical. I can’t say when it clicked, but sometime by the third or fourth listen this album ascended to a whole higher level and everything just fell together beautifully. The return of both the strings and general heaviness of their old albums is so wonderful to hear again and some of the riffs and peaks these songs reach are among the best of their career. To me, this album is good enough to bring them back to the top tier of hard rock bands and almost matches their magnum opus “Innocence & Instinct”, but not quite. (Hard Rock) Highlights: Fight to Forget, Gravity Lies, The Ever | | 5 |  | Foals
What Went Down
Though the hardcore fans may not approve, I am happy to say I am one of the recently converted fans of this band who jumped on the Foals train once “Holy Fire” hit in 2013. And you know what? This album is like a better version of that one and makes the band feel as though they are closing in on something glorious that has taken their entire careers so far to find. That’s an exciting feeling you don’t usually get when you listen to music; that a band is coming close to perfection. (Indie Rock / Alt Rock) Highlights: Birch Tree, Night Swimmers | | 4 |  | Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
What can I say about this album that hasn’t already been said by folks on this site? I may actually spend most of my time defending why this album isn’t my highest-rated rap album for 2015. Let’s get it straight first; this album is spectacular and continues to establish Kendrick as a clear frontrunner in the modern day rap industry. However, I was a huge fan of “good kid, m.a.a.d. city” and I am among the few who didn’t quite see this reaching the heights of that album, as good as this one is. Because of just how massive and wide-scale his message is here, it’s missing the personal touch that you felt in GKMC, and I happen to miss that a lot. But, you can see that as my #4...it obviously didn’t hurt it too much in my mind and proved to be an exciting listen all the way through. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: King Kunta, Alright | | 3 |  | Intronaut
The Direction of Last Things
For my third favorite album of 2015, I have surprisingly little to say. This is really nothing more than Intronaut being the best version of themselves that they've ever been. "Fast Worms" is at once a formulaic song that sees them running through the motions, but is also one of their best yet. And that really is the theme for the rest of this. Can't wait to see them live in Toronto April 1st. (Post-Metal, Progressive Metal) Highlights: Fast Worms, The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing | | 2 |  | Lupe Fiasco
Tetsuo and Youth
To say Lupe’s relationship with Atlantic records has been “rocky” would be a massive understatement. After the overwhelmingly artificial and commercialized “Lasers”, you could still tell with follow-up “Food & Liquor 2” that Lupe continued to be weighed down by the label and was not having 100% of the say in the music he was creating. “Food & Liquor 2” was only a slightly better version of “Lasers”, yet still suffered from an identity crisis. In 2015 though, Lupe finally gave us the album he always wanted to make. Hearing the music, you really feel like you’re hearing all of him for the first time in years. This album is sprawling and massive in every sense of the word and one day will likely be labelled as his magnum opus. The only reason I might have trouble labelling his most recent album as his magnum opus is because he’s still going and could very well hit us with something even better down the road. (Rap/Hip-Hop) Highlights: Prisoner, Deliver | | 1 |  | Periphery
Juggernaut: Omega
What in the hell is this doing here? In 2015, Periphery went from a band I cared a bit about and dabbled in here and there, to one of the most exciting metal bands out there right now. My taste in metal is probably considered “soft” to most metalheads. I don’t like being bludgeoned repeatedly by grindcore, or being subjected to horrific and shrieking black metal vocals. I don’t need to feel like the world is ending, that society is doomed to endlessly suffer, or that life is bleak and depressing. Is it too much to ask to just be able to enjoy yourself while listening to metal? Periphery answered my question and delivered my album of the year. It’s got everything I want in a well-balanced metal album; melody and heaviness, energetic clean and harsh vocals, and some well-needed variety. This band is experimenting in many different genres here and excelling in all of them. Well fucking done! (Prog Metal, Metalcore) Highlights: Hell Below, Stranger Things | |
PistolPete
01.13.16 | Absolutely love the new list-making feature holy fuck what a relief compared to the old one! (I'm probably wayyy late to the party on raving about it - been a while since I've made a list) | LotusFlower
01.13.16 | "Yeah yeah....should be in my Top 3. I don't care."
no it doesnt, your list gets to be whatever you want it to be. even if that means periphery is no. 1 | PistolPete
01.13.16 | I think of all my year-end lists, I'm most self-conscious of this one, so many weird albums made it high up. But thank you! | RogueNine
01.13.16 | Certainly a unique list, Pete. | tjare
01.13.16 | If Periphery is prog metal I am Satan's steamy ass hole. | Artuma
01.13.16 | funny how this list gets worse and worse towards the end | PistolPete
01.13.16 | What can I say? Haha I like a lot of different stuff. There were a lot of weird albums that made the staff/users best of 2015 from what I remember. I think with the exception of rap, it was kind of a weak year overall. But 2015 was probably the best year for rap in....pfft I'm gonna go and say at least 5 years. | EvoHavok
01.13.16 | I don't think 2015 was bad at all, but what I liked the most out of it doesn't seem to be your cup of tea. | PistolPete
01.13.16 | I forgot to put Pusha T's album on this. That would've easily ranked in the 25-11 bracket somewhere. Can't win 'em all.
[edited, I replaced him as #25. Fuck Vince Staples] | Flugmorph
01.13.16 | 1 has abysmal vocals tho boi | Pangea
01.13.16 | 16 and 5 were disapointments |
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