10* - Never thought Trivium might top my album list, but I could not stop listening to this one upon its release; from my PoV by far their best work, no weak songs, title song and Phalanx are standouts

10* - Juha moves towards Trees of Eternity; very heart-touching album; perfect All Hallows' Grieve with Cammie Gilbert; black metal vibes on This House Has No Home sound nice as well

9.5* - Unlike many I am a fan of 2010 IM albums and this one is on par with TTF and TBoS; the last two songs are my favourites, however Smith/Dickinson songs are also good

9.5* - Leprous poppier approach on Pitfalls was surpising but interesting; Aphelion follows the same path though the mood is less depressive and music is more progressive

9.5* - Very similar to Lotus but lacks some ingenuity; still addictive and has lots of catchy melodies and riffs

9.5* - Evergrey produces one quality album after another; many good songs, perfect production; a bit better than Atlantic

9* - Charming atmosphere is here as always; this time Kauan takes traditional guitar focused post-rock approach

9* - Very melodic and aggressive; somewhere in between Cradle of Flith and Necrophobic; much better than their previous album

9* - Atmospheric black with folk and gothic vibes from my own country; on the same level as their debut but more black than atmospheric this time; title song is one of my favourites in 2021

9* - Mana was good but this album brings Unto Others (Idle Hands) to another level; the debut was more on gothic rock side; this record fluctuates between heavy metal and gothic; all songs are 8*+

9* - It sounds like Sin/Pecado with progressive influences; not my favourite Moonspell album though much better than 1755; Greater Good and Entitlement will be on my 2021 top songs list

9* - It's not even melodic death metal but trad / prog metal with growls; the first part is very easy-to-listen, the second is more progressive; overall - nice album

9* - I don't like the production on this record but it's the only thing which annoys me; songs, melodies and atmosphere are entrancing

9* - Quite typical atmoblack but very melodic and very atmospheric; small confirmation why I like MC songs more than Spectral Lore on Wanderers; the first and the last song I like the most

9* - DGEF always had this small post-metal influence in their sound; curtain has been drawn now: it's 60/40 black metal vs post metal release; interesting that both parts are fine; Monument and Immortal are my favourites

9* - GY!BE are back; their best album since 2002; hands down

9* - Superb piece of art; atmoblack mixed with doom and post metal parts; a bit long and repetitive - the only reason why it's not at the very top of my list

8.5* - Winner of 2021 top albums on MS; nothing new, but the same level as their previous albums, which is enough to understand its quality

8.5* - My favourite album from Tamas; comparing to Geometria and Naiv it has better production with heavier sound and gothic influences on top of traditional TC folk/black base

8.5* - My guilty pleasure in 2021; accidentally listened to this one via Spotify recommendations and tbh I do not know why but I liked it so much; probably Katatonia vibes made it for me

8.5* - Nice gothic doom / melodic death metal album, one of the surprises this year; title song in my top 5 in 2021, very desperate

8.5* - Definitely a step down in comparison with Mass VI; too much 'spoken word'; I hoped Oathbreaker singer would bring some fresh air, but her contributions are barely noticable; though still a solid album; best song - De Evermens

8.5* - Shame on me I had not heard anything about this band until I read a review on AMG; Katatonia or maybe Anathema vocals with post metal guitars; the last track brings me memories of the Amanes from Tiamat's Amanethes

8.5* - The only problem with this album that it's too long; other than that the album is almost as good as its two predcessors

8.5* - I not a fan of tech death but this one broke my heart; so melodic, heavy, mindblowing and addictive; probably my all time favourite from this genre

8.5* - Little bit worse than Runaljod, better than Skald; listening to it a lot before going to sleep; dark and relaxing at the same time

8.5* - Gothic and doom influences are so high here that I might not consider it being black metal anymore; among my top3 from TRoB; Ropes Into Eden and Anchoress in Furs are lovely

8.5* - I like this hated album; especially Personal Shopper and King Ghost; also deluxe box set contains few tracks that are better than few on the main release

8.5* - Good album but without highlights; the band develops their Garden of storms progressive style; previous attempt was definitely stronger

8.5* - Interesting thrash discovery from Chile; sounds like it was made in 80s; progressive 19 min title song, use of clarinet and beautifiul solo in Equilibrio Fatal would make it thrash classics if released by a classic band

8.5* - This guy creates numerous albums each year; this is the poppiest album he ever made; it was recorded on twitch stream which makes the whole story even more weird; consists of blackgaze, shoegaze, gothic metal and even pop punk; Pluie has so beautiful melodies

8.5* - My fav dissonant death metal album of this year

8* - Nice mix of post and progressive metal

8* - Quite a disappoinment; I expected it to be stronger with Mick Moss and Aaron Stainthorpe on board; few songs e.g. A Pain for All Your Tears are still great

8* - Beautful melancholic modern classic

8* - Atmospheric black from the depths of Siberia; a little weaker than their previous one; I prefer Elderwind's release to Grima's but Rotten Garden is good

8* - A mix of dark folk, Summoning and gothic doom; recommended for listening before going to sleep

8* - Worse than their classics but better than Magma; enjoyed it a lot

8* - Powerful continuation of the topic; favourites - fn .380 acp#19074 and 7th song with Nick Holmes; would be fun if they play live show with Kanonenfieber and Minenwerfer in Saraevo :)

8* - Poppy djent meets progressive metal; better than previous one

8* - One of new MDM instances for me; first song is huge

8* - Challenging experience with four stories about addictions; musically post metal, post rock, metalcore, screamo and spoken word which for some reason does not spoil it

8* - Probably a final album from Daniel who's suffering from leukemia and telling us a story about his sickness and how he copes with it

7.5* - The Alien and Invisible Monster are good but the rest is uneven, DTish in bad meaning

7.5* - Light Amorphis for breakfast listening

7.5* - Another surprise, new progressive death metal band from the UK with 90s sound; would be higher on the list if I was more death metal fan

7.5* - Emo lo-fi album; creates nostalgic feelings

7.5* - Tribulation continues Down Below story, good but nothing spectacular

7.5* - Relaxing shoegaze with many famous female singers

7.5* - Progressive metal and black metal in a single bottle; the best out of 3 ex-Negura Bunget releases

7.5* - Some cool post metal from Poland, quite standard

7.5* - Some cool post metal from London, not that standard but with several weaknesses here and there

7.5* - Very interesting mix of funeral doom and blackgaze from my city; would be in top 20 if all songs were blackgaze with the same quality

7.5* - Well-known release from new supergroup; unfortunately did not click with me much

7.5* - A solo album from Riverside keyboardist; songs with Mick Moss sound like it was Antimatter; the rest of the album is weaker

7.5* - Another Negura Bunget fragment with more folk influences comparing to Dordeduh

7.5* - A beautiful modern classic album; a bit repetitive; my family members feel happy when I start listening to this instead of Plebeian Grandstand

7.5* - Such a weird thing; dungeon synth with raw and atmospheric black metal; sounds like it was recorded in a barrel; becomes very addictive if you are into it

7.5* - Polished tech/melodic death metal with progressive influences

7.5* - Raw black / doom lofi with acoustic parts, reminds me of early Emperor and Ulver

7* - 80s black metal and heavy metal mix which starts good and then becomes boring

7* - Melancholic or even depressive stoner; I do not like stoner rock / metal that's the problem; otherwise very beautiful album

7* - Antsy post metal; lacks structure but the mood is exciting

7* - The biggest disappointment for me this year; I liked their previous effort so much; it's still a good album but my expectations were extremely high; however high expectations is my problem; 7*

7* - Tech / melodic death played very well

7* - French atmoblack, quality flow without big standouts

7* - Dissodeath; some people praise it as the best metal album of the year, others hate it; I am in between; it has good and bad moments; worth listening

7* - Cool mix of black, post metal, heavy and dark jazz; but there's just 2 songs

7* - Famous old band, good album; Molten Black Earth reminds me of Bolt Thrower

7* - Their best release in years; alternative metal / rock and sometimes hard rock is there

7* - Standard melodeath except the first song where metalcore influences could be found; very very long with bonus tracks which are not good at all

7* - Sounds like leftovers from A Dawn to Fear, though Three Bridges is nice

7* - Standard but good melodeath / gothic doom album from Finland

7* - Gothic metalcore; I was surprised I liked it because I do not like both artists from this collaboration

7* - Quite good but passable atmoblack with folk influences

7* - Very melodic this time but not that inventive; their weaker release up to date

7* - Mix of post metal and metalcore with blackgaze; some songs are good, others I can't stand

7* - Mix of Leprous, Iron Maiden and stoner metal; something new for me

7* - This is not for everyone; noise, black, metalcore with dissonant approach

7* - Standard black / atmoblack; powerful but I like Mare Cognitum more

7* - Second tech death release in my top 100; surprising for me; very professional and has classical metal touch but far too long

7* - EP with one good song (The Conjurer) and 3 mediocre

7* - Dark mixture of post and black metal

7* - Another good atmoblack album which turns into blackgaze from time to time

7* - Huge fan of the first part while the second ruins it for me; surely better than Emperor of sand

7* - Tech death with melodeath elements; weaker than Diluvium

7* - Dark and dissonant death / black

7* - My fav depressive black album this year

7* - Progressive metal with oriental sounds; quite bumpy album

7* - Similar to Mgla and Uada; last three songs are better than the beginning

7* - Non standard post metal approach here, interesting but short

7* - Standard post metal approach here, good

7* - My favourite album from them; I like harsh vocals and MDM guitars

7* - Modern heavy metal with post metal sound, well done

7* - My fav screamo record this year

7* - Post rock dinosaur is here, far from GY!BE level but still impressive

7* - Attractive black / death with weird guitar tone

7* - Darkwave from ex-sludge metallers, a bit boring but has its moments

7* - Similar to early Swallow the Sun or another gothic doom band from 00s era

7* - Death metal from Birmingham with Karl Willetts on vocals; worse that previous one