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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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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If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I'm not broke yet.

Character limit maxed in mid-May (lockdown increased my music intake too much), so needed to cut down some entries.

I also gave up listing all the potential MSA candidates I ploughed through in late December

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Elder - Omens

3.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

4.Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea

5.Barishi - Old Smoke

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2020 is the year of positivity!!!! Or so I thought, when the year started. "This year I'm gonna stay positive and get shit done!" - and then personal crisis after personal crisis, with horrible election cycles, catastrophies and now a literal pandemic killing hundreds of thousands and dooming us all to stay inside. Weightlifting had another massive outing with rigged competitions on top of the already well known doping, and the US police force kills more than ever.

1.Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

2.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3.M.S.W. - Obliviosus

4.Drown - Subaqueous

5.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

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I have fallen behind on my 2020 albums listening but I might as well start a list now. This is a work in progress obviously, I'll probably be adding albums this time next year. (LOL)

1.Conception - State Of Deception

2.Zopp - Zopp

3.Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Alone Together

4.Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant

5.Anubis Gate - Covered In Colours

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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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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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The title is pretty much self explanatory. This is the list of albums released in 2020 that I listened to the most in the past year. The first five are in strict order of preference, the rest are a bit more loosely placed.

Best EP: Fleshvessel - Bile Of Man Reborn
Best demo: Lamp Of Murmuur - The Burning Spears Of Crimson Agony

1.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

2.Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

3.Sweven - The Eternal Resonance

4.Hail Spirit Noir - Eden In Reverse

5.Dool - Summerland

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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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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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Reviving the old tradition of yearly lists. I was uncertain, because my lists have barely any metal and certainly none that MSers don't already know about, but there's nowhere else to publish this shit, either!

1.Ichiko Aoba - "Gift" at Sogetsu Hall

2.Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

3.Ichiko Aoba - Adan no kaze

4.tricot - 真っ黒 (Makkuro)

5.tricot - 10

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1.Vile Creature - Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!

2.Fuck The Facts - Pleine Noirceur

3.Duma - Duma

4.Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full [Collaboration]

5.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

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No stars - Don't know yet
✮✮✮✮✮ - Incredible, possibly Album Of The Year
✮✮✮✮½ - Awesome
✮✮✮✮ - Solid release
✮✮✮½ - Good release
✮✮✮ - Not bad
✮✮½ - Shuffle material (probably boring as an album)
✮✮ - Disappointing

1.Earth Rot - Black Tides Of Obscurity

2.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

3.Benighted - Obscene Repressed

4.Thurisaz - Re-Incentive

5.Heaven Shall Burn - Of Truth & Sacrifice

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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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