Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls voted album of the year

As we roll into a brand spanking new year it’s a good time to reflect on the past 12 months of metal and see which records really stood out.

And it comes as no surprise that the heavy metal titans Iron Maiden came out on top in a Hammer readers poll. All 50 of our albums of the year (which you can read here) were eligible in the vote, and Maiden’s 16th studio album won by quite a large margin.

Track By Track: Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls

This should come as no surprise to avid metalheads as Maiden’s triumphant double-album rocketed to the #1 spot in over 40 countries around the world! If you’ve been on a recent year-long holiday to a massive rock on Jupiter, you really need to listen to this record.

But which other albums made it into the top bracket of 2015? Here’s the top 20 albums of the year, as voted for by Metal Hammer readers. You’ve gotta admit, it’s one hell of a playlist.

  1. Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls
  2. Ghost – Meliora
  3. Lamb Of God – VII: Sturm Und Drang
  4. Parkway Drive – Ire
  5. Clutch – Psychic Warfare
  6. Faith No More – Sol Invictus
  7. Slayer – Repentless
  8. Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful
  9. Marilyn Manson – The Pale Emperor
  10. While She Sleeps – Brainwashed
  11. Paradise Lost – The Plague Within
  12. Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction
  13. Bring Me The Horizon – That’s The Spirit
  14. Baroness – Purple
  15. Napalm Death – Apex Predator - Easy Meat
  16. Tremonti – Cauterize
  17. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Blossom
  18. Motörhead – Bad Magic
  19. Fear Factory – Genexus
  20. Deafheaven – New Bermuda

Which albums will make it into 2016’s list we wonder. Well here’s what we’re stoked for over the next 365 days…

13 albums we're looking forward to in 2016

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