[9.0] - Super-long but captivating and hypnotic atmospheric psychedelic/stoner doom album with greater post-metal influence.

[8.5] - Another anticipated debut from a CC band hits the mark.

[8.5] - Great prog-sludge effort with elaborate instrumentation and sick riffs.

[8.5] - Highly dense and elaborate sequel to one of the 2010's most remarkable prog debut albums.

[8.5] - Won't overtake A Romance With Violence for their best, but further proof of their excellence.

[8.5] - Monstruous debut from one of the hottest up-and-coming sludge bands.

[8.5] - Delicious chunk of versatile and savage blackened metal.

[8.5] - Hardcore-tinged post-black with melodic moments.

[8.5] - Inspired combination of deathly doom with more melancholic/lighter sounds such as post-rock and shoegaze.

[8.5] - Delicious drum-heavy long-form sludge/post-metal.

[8.5] - Bleak, imposing post-/sludge/doom metal with lots of suffocating atmosphere.

[8.0] - Quality death metal with disso, tech and prog elements.

[8.0] - Impressive tour de force of sonic violence encompassing sludge, black and hardcore.

[8.0] - Very bright-sounding and evocative.

[8.0] - Tech/prog-death done right.

[8.0]

[8.0] - The avantgarde prog-death insanity of the 2020 EP expanded to more epic proportions.

[8.0] - Really enjoyable trip-hop release, top vibes.

[8.0]

[8.0] - More compelling low-key techno.

[8.0] - Very strong death metal, at times dissonant, sometimes proggy, always atmospheric but also extreme.

[8.0] - Relentless proggy, melodic, blackened tech-death.

[8.0] - Another super-fun listen.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Impressive debut Mexico-themed folky meloblack.

[8.0] - Dense, atmospheric, melody-tinged, post-leaning black metal.

[8.0] - Really nice djenty prog-metalcore release, a bit Contortionist-y or Karmajakah-ish.

[8.0] - Nice maturation from the debut.

[8.0] - Evil Panzerfaust-esque posty black metal debut.

[8.0] - Really solid death/doom + neofolk mix.

[8.0] - They're not quite Moonsorrow, but they're a very able stand-in while we wait for more Moonsorrow.

[8.0] - Might not have the killer songs of New Age Filth, but is a rich and satisfying listen.

[8.0] - Will need more listens, but sounds moderately impressive on first spin.

[8.0] - Neofolk/art rock with metal tendencies, I enjoy this a bit more than the new Myrkur release.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Fascinating mesh of black metal and occult rock/doom.

[8.0] - Delightful melody-heavy meloblack with strong post-metal conclusion.

[8.0] - Fascinating prog/math/jazz/pop big band ensemble genre-hopper; has a really compelling mood to it.

[8.0] - Evocative, rich funeral doom with moving melody.

[8.0] - Enthralling, hypnotic drone/noise rock with insidious layers.

[8.0] - Really warm, melancholic melody in the meloblack here, a standout release in the genre this year.

[8.0] - OSDM with dreamy melodic prog inclinations, works really well.

[8.0] - Solid proggy, techy death with blackened and melodic touches.

[8.0] - Great meloblack album with flamboyant cultish atmosphere; the 16-minute closer also offers a major shift in pace.

[8.0] - Hyper-energetic extreme power-bordering meloblack, a lot of fun.

[8.0] - Very good instrumental prog release.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Shorter and not quite as engrossing as the last couple, but still a really strong and atmospheric record.

[8.0] - Frenetic, exhilarating, melodically inclined tech-death.

[8.0] - Swell mix of Finnish and Gothenburg melodeath sounds with memorable and stirring songs.

[8.0] - Perhaps their best since Carrion Skies.

[8.0] - Completely original prog-tech-death-grind monster of a debut.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Infectiously fun instrumental prog album.

[8.0] - Rich-sounding folky, meloblacky stuff.

[8.0] - Very Finnish melodeath, lots of warm melancholic textures.

[8.0] - Creepy sludgy drone with menacing vocals.

[8.0] - Gnarly, crushing, doomy disso-death.

[8.0] - Mean and sinister extreme doom with a dense sound.

[8.0] - Another strong Finnish-style melodeath release.

[8.0] - Standout meloblack album from this year with great songs, solos and riffs.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Well-crafted, stirring melancholic death/doom.

[8.0] - Really impressive neoclassical-influenced thrash.

[8.0] - Tight and emphatic meloblack/death mix.

[8.0] - Energetic, lively melodeath with exciting lead guitars.

[8.0] - Sorrowful violin-heavy extreme metal.

[8.0] - Brief but compelling psych/stoner with atmospheric tendencies.

[8.0] - Super-fuzzy droning stoner/sludge doom EP.

[8.0] - Takes elements from classic and epic doom, but has a more modern edge reminiscent of acts such as Khemmis; very solid song-album.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Another very good Vektor-esque prog thrash release.

[8.0] - Eclectic, exciting grindcore with wide sonic palette.

[8.0] - Feisty sludge with some cool leads.

[8.0] - Really neat dark gothic stuff.

[8.0] - Another solid Vektory prog thrash release.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Bit more towards post-metal than the doomier debut, but it's a positive shift, this is really satisfying.

[8.0] - Not their best, but further evidence of their quality.

[8.0] - Fierce technical djenty deathcore; not quite Valde-level perhaps, but very meaty.

[8.0]

[8.0] - It's a good year for death/doom.

[8.0] - Oranssi Pazuzu-style blackened psychedelic weirdness.

[8.0]

[8.0] - More proggy sludge, not as good as The Gorge but prefer to Radiant Knife; very hectic but also has some proper fierce riffs.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0] - Nifty stoner/sludge album that starts off chunky and heavy, but becomes more atmospheric and psychedelic as it progresses, in a really interesting way.

[8.0] - Takes the experimentation even further than the 2020 album.

[8.0] - Conventional but evocative post-metal with lots of dainty cleaner parts.

[8.0] - Strong prog-death/tech-death comeback album with a litany of guests.

[8.0] - Not keen on the start, but grows on me as it progresses.

[8.0]

[8.0] - Wilson shows he still has talent beneath the ego.

[8.0] - Solid melodically inclined death/doom.

[8.0] - Insane avant-garde black metal with demented songwriting and inspired other influences.

[8.0] - Avantgarde-tinged black metal with saxophone and ambient parts.

[8.0] - Post-rock with a little extra substance.

[8.0] - Pleasantly strong for what may be their last record, even if it does have a few plodding moments in the second half.

[8.0] - Very solid step forwards for BG.

[8.0] - Slick psybient.

[8.0] - Fun, exuberant comeback from this band.

[8.0] - Standout split from this year.

[8.0] - Strong dissoblack.

[8.0] - Definitely rewards repeat listens; undermined by production, however.

[8.0] - One of the best atmo-black releases thus far this year.

[8.0] - Some very solid riffing on here.

[8.0] - Tender and evocative ambient folky pop.

[8.0] - Solid black-tinged death with hints of doom, dissonance and atmosphere.

[8.0] - Good mix across the two songs of their signature death sound and some of that Timewave Zero ambience rendered more interesting.

[8.0] - Evil dissonance - kinda par for the course for BaN but impressive nevertheless.

[8.0] - Gorgeous artwork, and affecting metalgaze with soothing vocals.

[8.0] - Not as compelling or fresh-feeling as The Puppeteer on first listens, but still an impressive proggy/djenty/corey effort.

[8.0] - Symphy meloblack with prog/avantgarde inclinations at occasional moments.

[8.0]

[8.0]

[8.0] - Well-rounded, multi-faceted urban meloblack.

[8.0] - Not one to listen to as a back-to-back double album, but very fun.

[7.5] - Extremely conventional Finnish melancholic melodeath sound, but rendered impressively well.

[7.5] - Really interesting extreme prog/metalcore sound, has some NeO and BTBAM bits, some djentier parts, generally fluid and exciting.

[7.5]

[7.5] - LLNN hints in the vocals along with synthy, sludgy post-metal, it's a good mix, but not elite Pelagic material.

[7.5] - Melancholic post/doom metal with more than a hint of Amenra to the vocals.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Very jackhammer-y drumming, solid atmo-black.

[7.5] - Doomy, slightly gothic, slightly Chelsea Wolfe-ish post metal with subdued, gloomy soft passages and harsh heavy parts.

[7.5] - Opeth-resembling melodeathy prog.

[7.5] - Hectic, entertaining symphonic tech-death EP.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Sick experimental instrumental rock album.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Rewarding collaboration spanning multiple genres.

[7.5] - Impressive swansong bringing together their black, doom, ambient and other elements.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Super-heavy bass/drum instrumental doom.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Prog-death with plenty of aggression; clean parts are fine, but hold them back from joining the elite in the genre.

[7.5] - Broadly enjoyable industrial death/deathcore release, has some very tasty grooves/riffs on some songs.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Above-average meloblack for the year, some great hooks.

[7.5] - Fierce, chunky, mean metallic hardcore with an oppressive vibe.

[7.5] - An album that grows into itself, when it starts mixing the heaviness and the sad melody on track 6 I'm on board.

[7.5] - A lot heavier than the last album.

[7.5] - Generic but enjoyable sludgy post.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Multifaceted and engaging mix of prog, sludge, stoner, doom and hard rock sounds.

[7.5] - Engaging, at-times droning heavy psychedelic rock/metal release.

[7.5]

[7.5] - An impressive fusion of two disparate bands.

[7.5] - Oddball avantgarde black, offers some unusual interpretations of black metal, some of which sound quite compelling.

[7.5] - Some good meloblack, although I'm not keen on the thrashier parts.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid black/death metal, not too wild for Voidhanger material and even dabbles with cleaner sounds on the last song.

[7.5] - Very pleasant psych/space rock jams.

[7.5] - Cool stoner with mellow vibes but some heaviness, and AIC-style vocal harmonies at times.

[7.5] - Rather compelling post-black with extra dramatic flairs.

[7.5] - Gnarly, post-y sludge with extreme metal elements.

[7.5] - Bilious, bleak riffy sludge.

[7.5] - Solid technical thrash release with some quality riffs and songs.

[7.5] - Fierce djent release, goes vicious at times.

[7.5] - Vicious yet somewhat eclectic blackened hardcore/screamo from Philippines.

[7.5] - Some more feisty belligerence from End, cool guitar leads/riffs.

[7.5] - A step up in consistency of sound/style from the debut, but perhaps not in memorability.

[7.5] - Cool instrumental psych rock album with great 20-min opener.

[7.5] - Nice, engaging post/atmo-black.

[7.5] - Poppy, vibrant synthwave-lite with litany of guests.

[7.5] - Varied black metal with intriguing non-metal electronic detours.

[7.5] - Gnarly sludge with a touch of Remission-era Mastodon.

[7.5] - Gnarly prog-black farewell album; wouldn't mind a bit more of the proggy melodic bits.

[7.5] - Probably their best release thus far; the black metal songs are maybe a bit more full-bodied than the noise-like sound previously, but there's also more ambient atmospheric songs and passages, and everything just works a it better here for me.

[7.5] - Sylosis/Trivium-influenced melodeathy thrash.

[7.5] - Solid deathly black metal.

[7.5] - Good proggy tech-death.

[7.5] - Lot of angry metal/hardcore noise, not quite at the level of a Chaver but suitably fierce.

[7.5] - Very derivative but entertaining Ensiferum/CoB worship.

[7.5] - Very decent deathcore with some adventurous moments with orchestral instruments and other elements.

[7.5] - Fun King Buffalo-y psych rock/metal.

[7.5] - SubRosa with the chamber music dialled up.

[7.5] - Bit better than the last one, decent balance of black and sludge.

[7.5] - Nice melodies in this death/doom.

[7.5] - An intriguingly wide-ranging album with black, doom, alt, post-, folk and gothic elements at different times.

[7.5] - Fun mathy/proggy instrumental album with occasional extreme moments.

[7.5] - Enjoyable melodeath/meloblack debut with great lead guitar melodies.

[7.5] - Very pleasant melancholic folk metal.

[7.5] - Solid deathly BM with subtle dissonant and atmospheric touches.

[7.5] - Another good album with a nifty 80s first wave black/NWOBHM fusion.

[7.5] - Fascinating prog thrash slightly undermined by subpar vocals.

[7.5]

[7.5] - High-energy, riffy proggy deathcore.

[7.5] - Grim, gnarly sludge/noise rock.

[7.5] - Feels like a step up on the last couple.

[7.5] - Solid prog doom.

[7.5] - Bleak, cold, reverberating industrial black metal.

[7.5] - Very nice melancholic black metal EP.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Moody, heavy noise rock.

[7.5] - Nifty prog sludge, occasionally iffy vocals but compositions have a lot of strong moments.

[7.5] - Solid symph-prog-death that sounds a bit like a symphonic Persefone.

[7.5] - Beautiful acoustic neofolk from apparently a former black metal band.

[7.5] - Bit heavier than previous albums, but when she goes for the ethereal gazey sound, it remains enchanting.

[7.5] - Really wish they had a different regular vocalist, the instrumentations are reliably enjoyable.

[7.5] - Sharp, frenetic dissoblack.

[7.5] - Has moments like The Gathering.

[7.5] - Imposing, heavy, nasty drone doom; naturally, the tom-heavy parts are my favourites.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Stirring melodic funeral doom.

[7.5] - A change-up from previous albums of theirs I've heard, but not necessarily a bad one - less epic/progressive perhaps, and more melodeath than meloblack, but still has some of the symphonic bombast.

[7.5] - Enjoyable 90s Gothenburg worship.

[7.5] - High-drama symphonic meloblack.

[7.5] - More pleasant Plini magic with a very nice closing song, although the EP as a whole isn't 'Sweet Nothings'-tier.

[7.5] - Very Heilung-esque neofolk, but without the storytelling - makes for a more consistently enjoyable listen.

[7.5] - Brooding, bleak, understated and naturalistic clean-heavy post-metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pleasant melodic d/d debut.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Psychedelic rock gone blackened, quite an interesting take.

[7.5] - Atmospheric, ethereal stoner/doom.

[7.5] - Very Evergrey-esque melancholic prog.

[7.5] - Blackened sludgy post-hardcore.

[7.5] - Quite melodic for WITTR, the Medieval feel of Initiates Of The White Hart is cool.

[7.5] - Lots of djenty/mathy aggression, not as taken by the cleaner vocals.

[7.5] - Mellow instrumental prog rock.

[7.5] - Solid Japanese power metal, bit too mid-tempo.

[7.5] - Really nice mellow psychedelic/stoner rock with fuzzier parts.

[7.5] - Super-dainty bard-ish acoustic folk, bit too long for the style.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Pleasant stonery psych/prog rock stuff.

[7.5] - Haunting, folkish drone doom.

[7.5] - Catchy fem-fronted poppy djentcore, perhaps the intensity is a bit too high throughout.

[7.5] - Decent black-turn-post-black release.

[7.5] - Evergrey-ish prog.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid stoner rock/metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Overlong but enjoyable medieval-ish meloblack with folk and some Agalloch-y elements.

[7.5] - Nice compact mid-tempo meloblack release.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Not one of their best releases, but still has that rumbling crunch.

[7.5] - Very respectable prog/power, closer to the prog.

[7.5] - Enjoyable symph-tinged techy black.

[7.5] - Melodeathy riffing death metal, good stuff.

[7.5] - Decent tech-death; mostly stands out for the occasional Rob Halford-style falsetto vocals that pop up.

[7.5] - Fun synthwave.

[7.5] - Power metal with some power behind it and depth to the arrangements.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Green Lung go a bit more towards prog/psych rock, still good, still not something I love.

[7.5] - Good meloblack.

[7.5] - Fascinating mesh of grindcore, hardcore, and other metal and non-metal elements.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Satissfying prog/power with hints of Evergrey.

[7.5] - B-tier Grossmann-core prog/tech-death.

[7.5] - The light, hazy vocals play a major role in this being an appealing record.

[7.5] - Solid and theatrical symphonic gothic melodeath(core).

[7.5] - Solid post-hardcorey melodically inclined black metal (not quite metalgaze).

[7.5] - Fun, cheesy, lively power metal.

[7.5] - Overlong but pleasant gothic doom with melodeath moments.

[7.5] - Slightly gothic meloblack, it's pretty good overall.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - Effortlessly delicate piano-led mellow jazz.

[7.5] - Energetic and entertaining genre-crossing record.

[7.5] - Mathcore with a meaty tone and some Deftones-esque detours.

[7.5] - Still pleasant, particularly vocally, but a bit lightweight on the songwriting front.

[7.5] - Quality techy brutal death with grating gargling vocals.

[7.5] - Decent symphonic (melo)death: better than new Septicflesh, not as good as older Septicflesh.

[7.5] - Solidly engaging instrumental stoner/sludge.

[7.5] - Lively, full-pelt, memorable power metal.

[7.5] - Pleasant but overlong gothic death/doom.

[7.5] - Deranged avant-garde blackened metal with free jazz chaos.

[7.5] - Perhaps not quite as strong throughout as Mega Drive's latest, but still satisfying synthwave.

[7.5] - Unorthodox but enjoyable-sounding blackgaze with doomy currents.

[7.5] - Generally enjoyable sludge/doom with prog/post-/stoner elements, doesn't quite work as well on record as live.

[7.5] - Very pleasant and uplifting modern prog guitarist album with some djenty moments and soaring soundscapes.

[7.5] - Understated, ominous, industrial-tinged electronica.

[7.5] - Dramatic atmoblack with ominous organ-style synths draped across it.

[7.5] - Hint of Nasheim to this melancholic black metal.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Nice folksy touches in this djent beast.

[7.5] - Relatively interesting black+ sound from Wolvennest and E-L-R members.

[7.5] - Pretty cool tech-death.

[7.5] - Aside from a few iffier moments, it's a solid rendition of the melodeath sound.

[7.5] - Solid, dense atmo-black.

[7.5] - Stratovarius-ish power metal with some nice epic melodic Finnish moments.

[7.5] - Pleasant instrumental doomy psychedelic jams.

[7.5] - Good prog-death with some cool techy bits in, but also has a few slightly flat songs.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Imaginative, varied extreme-tinged prog that dabbles with some interesting metal and non-metal ideas.

[7.5] - Nice alt-y prog, has a bit of an Eden Circus feel.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Impressive cacophonic/dissonant black metal.

[7.5] - Well-written synth/atmo-black record.

[7.5] - Two profilic musicians create inspired madness.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Nice melodies and solos; this doom isn't all that doomy, but it's enjoyable.

[7.5] - About as vile as all their albums.

[7.5] - Decent deathcore outing with some synth dabblings, more horror-influenced than an attempt to replicate the symph-deathcore trend; lacks a bit in memorability but generally hits hard.

[7.5] - Brief, tasty metallic hardcore EP with good clean vocal snippets.

[7.5] - Captivating psychedelic/space ambient electronic.

[7.5] - Somewhat heavy prog rock with otherwise mellow vibes.

[7.5] - It's no Cairn, but it's some good blackened funeral doom.

[7.5] - Impressive prog death with some jazzy and other quirks.

[7.5] - Juggernaut percussion-heavy symph-deathcore.

[7.5] - Brutal death outer packaging belies a more melody-tinged proggy tech-death release.

[7.5] - Starts off as primitive-sounding blackened death but goes in a myriad of unexpected directions midway through.

[7.5] - Gnarly NWOAHM-style groove metal debut from London with thrash and occasional tech-death inclinations.

[7.5] - Slightly metallic edge to title track on this dark folk album.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Interesting range to this sludge, some more grim extreme stuff, some more Mastodony clean licks, bits are also slightly blackened or even melodeathy.

[7.5] - Nice proggy melodeath/doom.

[7.5] - New-look Backbone, I quite like the instrumentals, but not keen on the clean vocals again.

[7.5] - A bit unimpactful overall, but the song with Andy LaRocque is rather nice.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Mike Lamb and Heike Langhans successfully join forces again.

[7.5] - Feisty blackened grindcore.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Solid and varied post-blacky debut EP.

[7.5]

[7.5]

[7.5] - More transatlantic folk goodness.

[7.5] - Interesting mesh of sludge and OSDM; works particularly well on the longer songs.

[7.5] - Nasty dissonant death/doom, maybe a bit stronger than the one earlier in the year.

[7.5] - Much lighter, and closer to prog and post-hardcore, than their previous album; also less wacky.

[7.5] - Can be really lush and compelling stoner rock, but the superlong third track is a bit of a drag.

[7.5] - Ambient gazey black-tinged metal, has quite the intriguing sound.

[7.5] - Pretty decent brutal death.

[7.5] - Starts off very black metally, becomes increasingly dainty as it progresses.

[7.5] - A good stoner album with some decent jams, but it does work much better when it's focusing on a more serious atmosphere, which isn't often enough.

[7.5] - Quintessential Voidhanger; the discordant dissonance early on is quite grating, but it becomes more palatable later on, and the final song goes in a more restrained, atmospheric direction.

[7.5] - Voidhanger black metal, it has some funky synth bits and the disso approach works pretty well, but it's a bit lacking in impact.

[7.5] - Post-metal debut with lots of heaviness and some gazy bits; improves as it goes on.

[7.5] - Compelling alt-metal with strong vocals and proggy touches.

[7.5] - Black metal supergroup produces competent but unremarkable debut; 'A New Man For A New Age' reminds me of I Will Depart by Abigail Williams.

[7.5] - Good reunion with intense melodeath band I discovered over a decade ago and subsequently lost touch on.

[7.5] - Another bunch of fun black-tinged rock songs.

[7.5]

[7.5] - Overlong but rather pleasant symph-tinged power metal (semi-operatic vocals and occasional Nightwish keyboards).

[7.5] - Cool prog record.

[7.5] - Brooding, riffy sludge.

[7.5] - Ferocious riffy black metal.

[7.5] - Another solid prog/tech-death album from these guys, although I generally found this to be less appealing than last year's.

[7.5] - Good post-y sludgy EP with guitar melodies.

[7.5] - Sludgy stoner doom with blackened vocals; cool stuff.

[7.5] - Original take on alt metal from Indonesia.

[7.5] - Bright, melodic, exuberant instru-prog (with 1-2 vocalled songs).

[7.5] - Pleasant Gothenburg snippet - better than new Scar Symmetry/In Flames, both of whom can be heard in it.

[7.5] - Pretty good blackgaze/atmo-black, but has nothing on The Circle.

[7.5] - Surprisingly engaging raw BM with atmospheric inclinations.

[7.5] - Less hip-hop, more electronic than Our Pathetic Age.

[7.5] - Solid enough atmo-y meloblack.

[7.5] - Decent, kinda trudging death/funeral doom.

[7.5] - More blackened doom than black this time around, has less of a unique personality but still good.

[7.5] - A bit more atmospheric and slightly more conventional than the other one; still interesting, but didn't hook me. Final track is clear standout.

[7.5] - Eclectic mix of cybergrind, industrial, alternative, sludge and other sounds.

[7.5] - Uber-dreamy fare from shoegaze legends.

[7.5] - Solid black metal EP, the choirs on certain songs are a nice touch.

[7.5] - Heavy, synthy post-rock/shoegaze.

[7.5] - Good melodeath with solid In Flames cover.

[7.5] - Sharp-edged Vektor-style prog thrash.

[7.5] - The greater emotional weight of the later tracks works to pull me in after indifference to the earlier songs.

[7.5] - Heavy hardcore/sludge.

[7.5] - Enjoyable sludge/death/doom release, the final song is clearly the standout.

[7.5] - Colour in the art, and colour in the sound; this has a New Age vibe to parts of it.

[7.5] - Ritualistic funeral doom, not a riveting listen but an intriguing one.

[7.5] - Despondent noisy sludge doom.

[7.5] - Tender, dreamy post-rock with peaceful vocals.

[7.5] - Solid 3-track melodeath EP.

[7.5] - Grindcore that's more than just pure blasting; has some mix-up in tempo, groove and the exact form of savagery.

[7.0] - Fairly standard atmo-ish black, but enjoyable enough.

[7.0] - Gojira-y symphonic death, bit inconsistent but has cool bits.

[7.0] - Full-length swiftly follows debut, decent meloblack.

[7.0] - Fun, rowdy stoner/sludge.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Just 2 hours of ambience, but it's nice dreamy ambience.

[7.0] - Blackened proggy avant-garde metal; interesting and has strong moments, but not a consistently satisfying listen.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Folk power light on the power, but has some great lead vocals and a nice mellow feel to it.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Clean vocals not great, but the other symphonic melodeath is pretty solid.

[7.0] - Post-black/blackgaze, bit low on memorability.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Wish they did a bit more with the mesoamerican themes.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Disso-black/death; some bits a bit too a-g/disso, but some solid riffs too.

[7.0] - Iceland cooking up some more esoteric black metal.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Interesting split going from industrial to black.

[7.0] - Good symphonic power/folk from Mexico with slightly rough production but good arrangements and some highlight moments.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Mix of electronic and perhaps indie sounds, quite charming.

[7.0] - Overlong but solid doom with some fun quirks.

[7.0] - Has some good moments but is a tad inconsistent.

[7.0] - Straightforward but nicely atmospheric industrial metal debut, with a chaotic 15-minute noise track at the end.

[7.0] - Fluctuates a bit between compelling passages and parts that just fall a bit flat.

[7.0] - Competent melodeath/doom.

[7.0] - Bit overlong, vocals aren't great, but generally decent proggy melodeath.

[7.0] - Decent tech-death release, bit wacky.

[7.0] - Pleasant symphonic stuff, songs are a tad forgettable (although Spirit Of Forgetfulness is quite rousing) but vocals are enjoyable.

[7.0] - Generally decent but at-times shrugworthy BM.

[7.0]

[7.0] - A bit better than the first couple Leviathans.

[7.0] - Enjoyable synth-y at-times djenty instru-prog.

[7.0] - Droning sludge doom, enjoyable but unoriginal and one-dimensional.

[7.0] - Sludge with post and some gothicy elements, can be cool at times but also occasionally sags.

[7.0] - Decent writing/riffs and actually has some life to it, unlike the Obituary snoozefest.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - The overall vibe of this is quite intriguing with the mix of heavier prog metal and lighter prog rock, but execution isn't too compelling.

[7.0] - Decent tech-deathcore with Fallujah-esque leads alongside the techy riffs and breakdowns.

[7.0] - Prog-metal with a retro prog rock feel, but also some more extreme tendencies.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Wacky jazzy, mathy, avantgarde instrumental metal.

[7.0] - Moody doomy sludge, had some odd vocals at times.

[7.0] - Odd mix of rock styles, some work well, some less so.

[7.0] - Vocals a bit iffy compared with Odyssey.

[7.0] - Odd departure from their usual sound.

[7.0]

[7.0] - By-the-book but enjoyable heavy instrupost.

[7.0] - Fun, brief burst of cybergrind.

[7.0] - Thoroughly Voidhanger chaotic BM, but a bit grating.

[7.0] - Fun Gothenburg/metalcore with good hooks.

[7.0] - Vocals and songwriting moments let this down compared with Skin Show.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Overlong and some vocal roughness, but good heavyish prog rock album.

[7.0] - PTH-style prog-metalcore, lively and generally good.

[7.0] - Unique and intriguing post-rock album with more esoteric song detours.

[7.0] - The collabs with vocals work best here, but generally satisfying djenty instru-prog debut.

[7.0] - Intriguing synthwave with folk and metallic elements.

[7.0] - Nice symphonic arrangements and Anneke-esque vocals.

[7.0] - A bit overlong, but a fun synth-heavy space prog album.

[7.0] - Very bleak dark ambient.

[7.0] - Creatively ambitious, but a tad underwhelming in aspects; cool artwork though.

[7.0] - Fun stoner EP.

[7.0] - Atmo-leaning black metal, good enough to enjoy, but not one to return to.

[7.0] - Cool sludge/stoner death/doom with deep, beastly growls, fat riffs, and some neat lighter moments.

[7.0] - Cut the free jazz out of this drone/noise rock album and I'd like it more.

[7.0] - Spaceslug drummer makes more conventional stoner.

[7.0] - Acoustic hippie Motorpsycho.

[7.0] - Pretty solid meloblack release, had a nice Chelsea Wolfe-style track in Voyeur too.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Decent vocals, writing sometimes feels lacking in direction, but there's some solid songs here.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Proggy metal with more extreme tendencies (e.g. meloblack on Kivun Kieli).

[7.0] - Very conventional-sounding DM given the Transcending Obscurity ties, but a nice meaty production.

[7.0] - Savage, chaotic, grindy, dissonant noise.

[7.0] - Was tagged as sludge by HBIH, it's more sludge-tinged 90s alt rock/metal (hear some Deftones and Foo Fighters, amongst others).

[7.0] - Pretty enjoyable first meaningful listen to Kataklysm.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Super-retro rock/proto-metal, makes for pleasant listening.

[7.0] - Quite interesting post-hardcore sound.

[7.0] - Decent stoner/psych jam with generally mellow vibes but some rocking energy to it too.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Slick noise rock/post-punk.

[7.0] - Nasty dissonant doom/death.

[7.0] - Fairly fun stoner doom stuff, goes a bit straight stoner at times but has cool moments too.

[7.0] - Good death metal/hardcore/grindcore mesh.

[7.0] - Unspectacular but satisfying doomy post-metal.

[7.0] - Techy touches make this grindcore a bit more intriguing.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Some meh tracks, but some good ones too, Twisted in particular.

[7.0] - Some epic cheese here, including the title, but some of the songs here kinda bang.

[7.0] - Suitably atmospheric melo/post-black.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Cool space-ish psychedelic stoner doom.

[7.0] - Blackened, punky, avantgardy mix that doesn't quite work for me.

[7.0] - Blink-of-an-eye techy symph-deathcore.

[7.0] - Metallic synthwave, good fun.

[7.0] - Folk doom with a bit of a 90s Skyclad feel - prefer this folk doom to Fredlos.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Fairly unusual and intriguing blackened grindcore sound.

[7.0] - Quite pleasant-sounding gothic metal/post-punk, but vocals could be better.

[7.0] - Decent doom with occasional more extreme moments.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Tad overlong and not keen on the shouted vocals, but the morose cleans and surrounding music is nice.

[7.0] - Enjoyable cowboy horror country.

[7.0] - Very conventional gothic doom, but sounds pleasant.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Euphoric gazey atmo-black.

[7.0] - Dungeon synthy prog/space rock.

[7.0] - Heavy gothic rock, bit like Unto Others but enjoy it a bit more.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Decent djenty prog album with a sense of fun, but unconvinced by the clean vox and some of the writing.

[7.0] - Very flowery but actually fairly enjoyable symphonic power.

[7.0] - Trad heavy, but more from a hard/occult rock angle, sounds pretty cool.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Decently satisfying sludgy doom.

[7.0] - Subtle, unnerving dark ambient release.

[7.0] - Cool build in the middle of Beyond The Kardashev Scale, but otherwise lacking the standout moments from the 2022 album.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Dramatic black metal with extravagant operatic vocal flourishes.

[7.0] - Explosive meloblack with Behemoth-ish blackened death bits.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Decent enough atmoblack, goes gazey at times.

[7.0] - Nothing too exciting but fairly solid at doing the basics.

[7.0] - Heavy alty hard rock.

[7.0] - Melodeath that's fine, but also doesn't do that much.

[7.0] - Decent gothic deathy doom, sounds best when being melodic but still heavy.

[7.0] - Medieval meloblack, heavy on the medieval folk melodies.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Sludge death, not as good as Thra.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Vicious hardcore/powerviolence on the fringes of grindcore.

[7.0] - Middle-of-the-road melodeath with occasional sparks of inspiration.

[7.0] - Super-long for a grindcore album (50 mins), has some wackiness to it that helps distinguish it, even if it doesn't always quite work.

[7.0] - Lightweight but pleasant post-punky blackgaze.

[7.0] - Doomy occult rock, very classic vibes.

[7.0] - Decent stoner doom, has some interesting flourishes.

[7.0] - Typical juggernaut grindcore, but has some dirgier bits and some solos too.

[7.0] - Blind Guardian meets more trad heavy writing.

[7.0] - Not keen on the vocals, and some songs are a bit by-the-by, but fairly good trad heavy.

[7.0] - Metallic hardcore in the vein of Malevolence; not as eye-rolling as that band but still a bit too posturing for my taste.

[7.0] - Occasionally gaze-y post-black.

[7.0] - Decent hardcore-y black-tinged thrash.

[7.0] - Nu metallic belligerent hardcore.

[7.0] - Starts well, but ultimately kinda generic meloblack.

[7.0] - Fun post-punky hard rock album, but can be annoying.

[7.0] - Avantgarde bluesy noise rock, not for me.

[7.0] - Just chunky deathcore; has more to it than e.g. Distant.

[7.0] - Prog with some personality to it, but with occasional wanky tendencies.

[7.0] - Competent USPM with decent writing but meh vocals.

[7.0] - Doomy black/death, shines most in its more textured, dirgy passages.

[7.0]

[7.0] - Good death/sludge solo project with pleasant dark ambient closer.

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0]

[7.0] - Half-decent death-tinged grindcore pounding.

[7.0] - The general murky vibe here is quite intriguing, but the writing is difficult to derive satisfaction from.

[7.0] - Repulsive gurgling growls are the highlight.

[6.5] - Slightly dry rendition of the Gothenburg sound.

[6.5] - Mediocre stoner metal elevated by some pretty quality psychedelic material.

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5]

[6.5] - Hevy Devy worship sound.

[6.5] - Enjoyable tone but cheesy songs on this alt industrial record.

[6.5] - Somewhat bland melodic prog with unevocative vocals.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Kudos on the re-recording job, but it's not a particularly interesting album.

[6.5] - Overly meandering when not featuring one of several extended samples.

[6.5] - Reasonably decent blackened gothic doom stuff.

[6.5] - Black metal that made no real impression on me when listening.

[6.5] - Decent but overlong epic folk.

[6.5] - A somewhat underwhelming musical baseline of monotone lo-fi, but punctuated with some quite satisfying passages.

[6.5] - Frustratingly inconsistent.

[6.5] - Has some good riffs popping up, but ultimately found it a bit unengaging, particularly in the mid-tempo riff parts; some of the more death-leaning moments added a slight something.

[6.5] - Curious whether this is a marked shift from their previous work, or if this band in general isn't for me; the punky black metal is OK if nothing that engaging, but then the oddball parts can be quite grating.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Avantasia/mid-00s Helloween power metal vocals for mid-tempo heavy metal/arena rock.

[6.5] - Super lightweight for a lot of its runtime, but quite pleasant, and the darkness of For Tomorrow adds a nice added dimension.

[6.5] - Frantic post-black that goes into full dissonance on Look Pt. 3; it's certainly distinctive, but I just don't really enjoy it that much.

[6.5] - Competent, high-tempo but unremarkable old-school thrash sound.

[6.5] - Sludge-lite with good aspects, but not keen on the vocals or some of the weaker writing.

[6.5] - Adequate fem-fronted symphonic.

[6.5] - Listenable but forgettable metalcore.

[6.5] - I like the 'dense stoner doom with female vocals' general vibe, but the songs themselves aren't quite good enough to reach a level of e.g. Windhand.

[6.5] - Lightweight gothic metal with some nice guitar melodies

[6.5] - Wacky circus metal, just a bit irritating.

[6.5] - Boring chuggy melodeath with some nice melancholic Finnish melodeath touches.

[6.5] - Pretty ehh.

[6.5] - Inconsistently shifts between gnarly sludge, tedious groove, left-field AIC-style bits, and some other underwhelming moments.

[6.5] - Vocals too loud and guitars too quiet to hear the mediocre riffs properly, haven't heard Marduk much before but if this is representative, it's another 'classic' BM band I don't get the hype over.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Decent USPM with odd vocals.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Bruce Dickinson-esque vocals are the most notable thing here.

[6.5] - Decent heavy/power with some bland tracks.

[6.5]

[6.5] - Pleasant but forgettable prog metal.

[6.5] - Started off as decent grindcore but became a bit tiring as it progressed.

[6.5] - RoF-style symphonic power, similarly cheesy and lacking in memorability behind the bombast.

[6.5] - Very straight grind; ballistic and unhinged, but not notably so.

[6.5] - Stanne-fronted OSDM, nothing really else to add.

[6.5] - Eclectic and inconsistent; has some Opethian brooding atmospheres and neater clean stuff, but the spazzy sax parts and some creative missteps hold it back.

[6.5] - Pleasant, dreamy but slightly insubstantial blackgaze.

[6.5] - Above-average glam is still glam.

[6.5] - Decent hard rock with underwhelming vocals.

[6.5] - Bit higher-energy thrash, but quickly descends into generic flatness after a slightly promising start.

[6.0] - Emphatic drums, some nice tremolo melodies, but generally soporific metalgaze.

[6.0] - Inconsistent sound and iffy clean vocal parts.