It's almost time for the Metal Storm Awards, the time of year when we open the floodgates for every peasant in the fields to express their opinion about the best albums of the year (that they have already listened to). But first, we the citizens of MS Towers get to show off our favorite stuff from 2019 and talk about how metal (or not) our year was.

Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveller of the metal world, rest a while here. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive and turning. Support them with a simple listen, and discover the future. This issue features music from Exomnia, Chat Pile, Undeath, Lamp Of Murmuur, Chthonic Deity, Sanguisugabogg & Crypts.

We here at Metal Storm pride ourselves on our thousands of metal reviews and interviews and article; metal is our collective soul and passion, which is why we bother with this junk. That being said, we'd be lying if we stuck to our trve-kvlt guns and claimed that metal is the only thing we ever listen to. Whether we want to admit it or not, we do check out some other stuff from time to time.

The concert articles are back in store. This edition features another two concert reviews as usual. The first one presents the performance of two German bands, Der Weg Einer Freiheit and Downfall Of Gaia (Round 31), while the second one features a very intriguing, talented musician: Marissa Nadler (Round 32).

A few weeks have passed since we learned of the death of Marcel Hubregtse, a man we knew as one of Metal Storm's most devoted stalwarts for the vast majority of the site's existence. In that time, we have had the chance to reflect on the man we knew, listen to some of his favorite albums, and relive time spent in Marcel's company. Many of us never met Marcel, some only once, but he made his mark on our lives through his indelible presence on this site. As the year draws to a close, we wish to offer our own thoughts about and memories of Marcel. BitterCOld has already offered a very...