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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I don't think these are necessarily the best 30 albums of this year, but they're the ones that have I guess endured in my psyche and inspiried revisits more than most others. I was tempted to do a top 50, but after around #26 or so, I found myself confronted with about 50 albums that could've conceivably made it in, most of which I hadn't relistened to enough to rank above the others with confidence.

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Elder - Omens

3.Enslaved - Utgard

4.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

5.Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea

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WELL,
-WHAT DID YOU DO DURING Pandemic Grandmum?

-I discovered great albums, sipped on my wine and wore my mask, I shaved my balls.

- Epicus Legendicus Metallicus!

1.Eyeless In Gaza - Act I: The Protagonist

2.Turia - Degen Van Licht

3.Clouds - Durere

4.Panzerfaust - The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter II: Render Unto Eden

5.Of Feather And Bone - Sulfuric Disintegration

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1.Turia - Degen Van Licht

2.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

3.Fluisteraars - Bloem

4.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

5.Elder - Omens

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1.Afsky - Ofte Jeg Drømmer Mig Død

2.Panzerfaust - The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter II: Render Unto Eden

3.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

4.Spirit Adrift - Enlightened In Eternity

5.Armagedda - Svindeldjup Ättestup

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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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Just about finished the first half of the year without losing too much to the character limit; I have learnt to make these list descriptions increasingly pithy

1.Enslaved - Utgard

2.Wills Dissolve - Echoes

3.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

4.Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers

5.Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II

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The best of 2020 - reduced down to 25, which was no easy feat. This is still somewhat a work in progress, but far closer to a finished product.

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Enslaved - Utgard

3.Of Feather And Bone - Sulfuric Disintegration

4.Vassafor - To The Death

5.〇 - Entity

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Bury me six feet deep
Cover me in concrete
Turn me into a street

1.Fluisteraars - Bloem

2.Sightless Pit - Grave Of A Dog

3.Neptunian Maximalism - Éons

4.Iress - Flaw

5.Drown - Subaqueous

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2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November

4.Yuri Gagarin - The Outskirts Of Reality

5.Symbolik - Emergence

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1.Imha Tarikat - Sternenberster

2.Akhlys - Melinoë

3.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

4.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

5.Jordablod - The Cabinet Of Numinous Song

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The silver lining to the year of Covid is metal bands seem to have had plenty of inspiration. It was very strong year for black metal and a strong year overall. A bit weak in the death metal category but still some gems to be found. Recommendations and comments are always welcome. Enjoy.

1.Atramentus - Stygian

2.Evaporated Sores - Ulcerous Dimensions

3.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

4.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

5.Hail Spirit Noir - Eden In Reverse

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To keep track of albums i've listened to this year.

1.Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

2.Malokarpatan - Krupinské Ohne

3.Sweven - The Eternal Resonance

4.Elder - Omens

5.Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough: Volume I [Collaboration]

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Seems like there's a limit on how many albums this site accepts on one list. Gonna have to cut out the last ones while adding new albums for the rest of the year.

1.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2.Orbit Culture - Nija

3.Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia

4.Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse

5.Frozen Dreams - The Eclipse Of Eternity

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As is the case with my other lists, this is for my own organizational purposes and is designed purely to help me keep track of all the many black metal bands and albums that I enjoy, since I can't keep all of this information in my head. It has no other benefit whatsoever and will likely result in tantrums should anyone else see it. I'm aware that I haven't listened to every black metal album that I should have. I only went down to the 6s on this list, so it's possible that I have listened to your favorite black metal album that you desperately need to suggest and I thought it was terrible. There are a lot of heinously incompetent black metal bands out there.

On the off-chance that you've found this and actually care about what I think (you shouldn't), be advised that my favorites come first. Some are favorites in the general sense; some are favorites within black metal. The first few of those are in some order and not so much after that.

Because this is for my own purposes and not intended to be a definitive list of pure black metal, there are some black metal-adjacent bands, or albums by black metal bands that may not themselves be black metal. That's why you'll find so much Sigh clogging up the top of the list. I prefer to keep whole discographies together on one list. I used to include Primordial, Forefather, and other such bands, but a while back I created a list for folk and I decided that those artists would fit better there.

I update these lists very infrequently. This was last updated December 7, 2022.

1.Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

2.Sigh - Graveward

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Heir To Despair

5.The Meads Of Asphodel - The Murder Of Jesus The Jew

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