Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves (2015)
I'm really uncertain how I feel about this. It sounds like a mixed bag to be honest, some good tunes and some not so good tunes. It does have some flashes of what they did really well in the past, but even the best songs on this album don't come close to reaching the heights of The Moon & Antarctica or The Lonesome Crowded West. I wasn't expected to be blown away by this album or anything but it's underwhelming to listen to a once great indie rock band sounding so average.
Enslaved - In Times (2015)
An album I've really been looking forward to and it hasn't disappointed. Enslaved are one of those evergreen bands who just continue releasing quality music and never being afraid to evolve, even over twenty years into their career. There's a heavy prog influence and more melodic elements on this album yet it still remains rooted in the band's black metal past.
Ethereal Shroud - They Became the Falling Ash (2015)
This is a one-man band that combines atmospheric black metal with doom. The production makes it sound like it was recorded in a cave. This isn't necessarily a good thing as it sounds a bit muddy and the lack of low end takes away some punch. Like most atmospheric black metal artists they aim for a huge epic and I'm left wondering to myself whether I dig this or think it's very generic. It's okay I guess.