All write-in votes from Metal Storm Awards 2020

1.

2.

3.Amaranthe - Manifest

4.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

5.El Lobo En Tu Puerta - Santana Bendita

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It's that magical time of the year again, when it's almost impossible to choose your top albums for the previous year, but here we are. Some of these bands delivered a much needed soundtrack for one of the toughest years so far, and I must say I'm satisfied. The list in itself is in order about halfway in, the rest I couldn't decide about, so the second half is not ranged in any particular order.  I won't go too much into details, but here are some main impressions.

1.Dark Tranquillity - Moment

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Secrets Of The Moon - Black House

4.Pain Of Salvation - Panther

5.Katatonia - City Burials

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By far the worst year for me... Period!

However, throughout the chaos that has happened in my country, I never stopped listening to new music that comes out this year, and have found some cool gems that have released this year. So it is time to list my favorite albums of the year.

Let's see how many times I change this up after this.

1.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

2.Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II

3.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

4.Urantia - Vermis

5.Autumn's Dawn - Dying Ember

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It is interesting to see how the passing of time affects taste, preferences, and lists of this type. I'm writing these lists as a means to share the music I like, and by now it has become a tradition, albeit one which very few people read on a regular basis, if at all, but one which I have no intention of giving up. I published my first yearly list back in 2007. At first, I would publish them on last.FM and myspace (yes, I am that old), then I moved to Facebook, migrated to Tumblr, think I even tried Instagram, but I was never satisfied with any of those as a platform to share my annual and other lists and scribblings with others. Some years ago I started sharing my lists on the metal storm, thanks to their quite useful tool called lists, which is made for exactly that reason. When I added my lists to the metal storm, I reworked them and expanded a bit, adding some sort of a template, from my old lists that I still had saved up at various places. Besides a top ten and honorable mentions, there are few other sub-categories, which are basically just my way of telling people that I really loved that album, and that they should really fuckin'listen to it. The fact that I think that anyone besides myself is actually that much interested in my annual top lists or best (mostly) metal albums speaks more about me, I guess.

1.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2.Myrkur - Folkesange

3.Ensiferum - Thalassic

4.Thy Catafalque - Naiv

5.Sojourner - Premonitions

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No particular order.

1.Dark Tranquillity - Moment

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

4.Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia

5.Sylosis - Cycle Of Suffering

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Me: What a filthy year.
2021: Could be worse.
Me: How?
2021: Could be raining.

Non Metalstorm Bands

Myth Of I: https://mythofi.bandcamp.com/album/myth-of-i
Aesculeta: https://aesculeta.bandcamp.com

Best Covers Artwork

Eye of Nix - Ligeia https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2521976461_10.jpg
Xenobiotic - Mordrake https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2471456487_10.jpg

1.Exgenesis - Solve Et Coagula

2.Blaze Of Perdition - The Harrowing Of Hearts

3.Blaze Of Sorrow - Absentia

4.Myth Of I - Myth Of I

5.October Falls - A Fall Of An Epoch

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2020 has been nothing short of a horrific year. The music industry was quite possibly changed forever due to the pandemic, we saw tours and festivals canceled, and as of now, live shows seem to be a thing of the past.

However, this year ( especially in metal), we saw some big releases, impressive debuts, and the return of several bands that had been on hiatus for decades. Overall for albums, 2020 was rather impressive. Here's my favorite 100 metal albums of 2020...

1.Spectral Lore - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2.Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus

3.Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

4.Akhlys - Melinoë

5.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

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Maybe this is a top, but those albumes are just the ones that I will listen recurrently.

1.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4.Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

5.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

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1.Countless Skies - Glow

2.Mors Principium Est - Seven

3.Ensiferum - Thalassic

4.Warkings - Revenge

5.Dark Tranquillity - Moment

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updated, but still more bands to consider

1.Spectral Lore - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2.Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods

3.Abigor - Totschläger (A Saintslayer's Songbook)

4.Enslaved - Utgard

5.Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.Haar - The Wayward Ceremony

2.Hacride - Lazarus

3.Hades - The Dawn Of The Dying Sun

4.Hænesy - Garabontzia

5.Hæthen - Shaped By Aeolian Winds

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In rough order of enjoyment, the albums I've listened to from 2020

1.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Plini - Impulse Voices

4.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

5.Atramentus - Stygian

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1.Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned

2.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

3.Finntroll - Vredesvävd

4.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

5.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

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It's closing in on the end of 2021, so revisiting the year of the lockdown

1.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

2.Akhlys - Melinoë

3.Black Curse - Endless Wound

4.Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus

5.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

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Well here it is!

1.Ensiferum - Thalassic

2.Skyforest - A New Dawn

3.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

4.Vredehammer - Viperous

5.Finntroll - Vredesvävd

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