"Very good" or above. The top 20 are the best of the year. Everything else ranges from 8 to 9.5 on a "10" scale.

1.Afterbirth - In But Not Of

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Godthrymm - Distortions

4.Fvnerals - Let The Earth Be Silent

5.Notturno - Inside

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Not totally clean, and I had to cut some categories to stay in the 1000 lines limit.

1.

2.Avatar - Dance Devil Dance

3.Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A Dream...

4.Code Orange - The Above

5.Death Dealer Union - Initiation

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With over 1300 albums to choose from, it's not easy to narrow down to a top 20. As far as the top albums go, I think this has been a bit of a weaker year than the last few, but there's been some great standout releases.

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

2.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

4.The Gorge - Mechanical Fiction

5.Meridian Sun - The Curse

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I'm a bit late to the party this time around but here is my list once again of what I've listened to throughout the year.

1.Fvnerals - Let The Earth Be Silent

2.Vanishing Kids - Miracle Of Death

3.Oldest Sea - A Birdsong, A Ghost

4.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

5.Victory Over The Sun - Dance You Monster To My Soft Song!

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This is my list of newly released Albums that I listened/will listen to in 2023.
The records are presented in order of release date and I will rate them when I´m certain that I formed an opinion on them, though the ratings might change from time to time.
I hope this list might once again be inspiring to other users maybe some people will find some new music to listen to.

1.Ὁπλίτης - Ψ ε υ δ ο μ έ ν η

2.Rye - В с ё

3.Esoctrilihum - Funeral

4.Great Cold Emptiness - Immaculate Hearts Will Triumph

5.Walg - III

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1.Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns And Seven Seals

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium

4.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

5.Wayfarer - American Gothic

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1.Hanging Garden - The Garden

2.Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars

3.Obituary - Dying Of Everything

4.Runemagick - Beyond The Cenotaph Of Mankind

5.Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current

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1.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

2.Hypno5e - Sheol

3.Sworn - A Journey Told Through Fire

4.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

5.Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

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Here is my top 50 for 2023! Only LPs, no re-recording (looking at you brilliant Paradise Lost, Kauan and Cavalera), that I rated 8 and above.

My biggest year yet in number of album I've given an ear to. Strangely, a tough one for the top 10. A lot a great records. I could have easily add 20 more, but first year I can't really see clear winners (imo of course). So I've mostly gone for comfort with Saturnus, Panopticon and Enslaved, knowing full well I've heard better from them in the past. Still, they genuinely caught my preference. The top spot goes to the biggest "surprise" for me, more than anything else. I did not expect to be that taken by the eerie and glacial atmosphere of Wolvennest DPTL, but I could not stop going back to it again and again.

Album count: 987 (!)
Average rating: 6.37

1.Wolvennest - The Dark Path To The Light

2.Saturnus - The Storm Within

3.Panopticon - The Rime Of Memory

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Enslaved - Heimdal

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1.Vvilderness - Path

2.Air Raid - Fatal Encounter

3.Insomnium - Anno 1696

4.Mithridatum - Harrowing

5.Omega Infinity - The Anticurrent

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1.Thantifaxath - Hive Mind Narcosis

2.Gravenchalice - Messiah

3.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

4.Fleshvessel - Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed

5.Hasard - Malivore

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1.Gridlink - Coronet Juniper

2.Ragana - Desolation's Flower

3.Full Of Hell - When No Birds Sang [Collaboration]

4.Liturgy - 93696

5.Zulu - A New Tomorrow

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2023 Playlist

1.Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden

2.On Thorns I Lay - On Thorns I Lay

3.Rye - В с ё

4.Enslaved - Heimdal

5.Insomnium - Anno 1696

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1.Amorphis - Queen Of Time - Live At Tavastia 2021

2.Riverside - ID.Entity

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

4.Finsterforst - Jenseits

5.Paradise Lost - Icon 30

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The list has gone back to it's original format: my favorites of the year regrouped and ordered by release date (now earliest at the top). The ranked list thing didn't work out for me in the end.

1.Ahab - The Coral Tombs

2.Beyond The Black - Beyond The Black

3.Crom - The Era Of Darkness

4.Haxprocess - The Caverns Of Duat

5.Obituary - Dying Of Everything

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