10 (2015) This is what I want all black metal to sound like. Strong riffs that justify their repetition, incredible poetic lyrics on the horrors of man (that you can actually understand!) and dripping in angry atmosphere. And the drums, man!

10 (2019) Symphonic Opeth with fantastic songwriting. A perfect path through highs and lows to maintain atmosphere and achieve awesome climaxes like the starts of standout tracks Far From Where Dreams Unfurl and The Tyranny of Imagination. Amazing vocals too! Just a perfect album.

10 (2014) NeO's stylistic peak for me. Longform without being too indulgent, the songwriting is surprisingly tight and has a lot of fun to it. Tim's ambient violin interludes set an incredible atmosphere and the metal tracks are consistently catchy alongside their technicality.

10- (2011) I've never heard anything like this before or since. Truly phenomenal orchestration and mixing in the black metal.

10- (2016) Such a well-connected played-through album with no filler, and a wonderfully dark and moody atmosphere. Flows brilliantly.

10- (2012) Outstanding debut album, perfectly solidifying what the band is about with some stellar songwriting to boot. Perhaps marginally too long? Maybe I'd cut Of the Leper Butterflies.

9+ (2015) Is it just me who thinks Amorphis are basically pop-metal? And yet obviously they are fantastic, with some of the best melodies and tightest songwriting out there. Brilliantly catchy.

9+ (2018) Riffs after riffs pummel you on this one, more stank-face present than on basically any other album I've ever heard.

9+ (2019) Dripping with atmosphere, with some stellar post-rock inspired builds and crescendos. Lights on the Hill and The Fall are all-time great post-metal songs; Nightwalkers maybe could've been a B-side.

9+ (2019) Constantly creative and excelling at almost every genre experiment they try, it's really no wonder this would work. An awesome mix of heavy, thrash and stoner vibes with fantastic songwriting to boot.

9 (2018) This album is surprising at every turn, with so much ground covered - mathcore is the centre, but there is post-metal and post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, even thrash metal. But more importantly it's so beautiful, with Eva's clean and harsh vocal interplay and the guitar melodies being constantly gorgeous.

9 (2012) Galneryus are so fun, and this is their most bombastic and goofy. Slightly long in the tooth but The Promised Flag, Lonely As a Stranger and Angel of Salvation are all-time great songs for me.

9 (2013) Awesome concept executed wonderfully, with the first two-thirds being easily 10/10 material. The doomier final third just loses my attention a little bit.

9 (2017) Who knew that a simple idea like "what if tech death... but fast?" would lead to a modern classic album? Obviously this rips and every member is virtuosic in their performance, with awesome songwriting to boot.

8+ (2012) Super consistent album with great atmosphere throughout, and Rosemary is one of Deftones's best songs.

8+ (2017) Total riff-fest that makes me want to destroy my own house. Starts to get a bit samey in the back half though.

8+ (2019) For me, these guys are the kings of this melodic symphonic deathcore/brutal-power-metal style, not Lorna Shore. Ripping riffs with incredible legible vocals and catchy af choruses. Not convinced on ending the album with a 10-minute instrumental, followed by one more normal song - a weird choice in my eyes.

8+ (2010) Incredibly perplexing avant-garde music, honestly more like Industrial Electronic music than Black Metal. Deeply spooky.

8 (2015) These guys have such a knack for writing catchy fun songs. I love that it's basically a pop album with some distorted guitars and it's still freaking awesome.

8- (2015) Not as fantastic as Angel of Salvation but a strong second in their discography with Sho. Voice of Grievous Cry is the pick; Chain of Distress is also an awesome power ballad; the Rain of Tears, Reward for Betrayal and Soul of the Field run is a bit too filler-ish for me.

7+ (2018) Very solid and super fun melodic black metal, though it is eclipsed by the 2020 followup Dawn of the Damned, which is vastly superior.

7+ (2010) Not quite as enamoured with this as many are, slightly too meandering for me. But between the interlude sections there is some top quality, heavy and atmospheric post-metal. The concept is a cool idea too.

7+ (2016) Another album that is hard to be objective about because it introduced me to metal, but I still believe this is mostly strong across the board. Some tracks are pretty generic or way too soft, but the epic title track, Ascension and Divide and Conquer are highlights.

7 (2013) Totally gorgeous melodies that, for me, get a bit ruined by the contrast of the growls. For me, an Amorphis-style mix of cleans and occasional growls would elevate this so much. Luoto might be the best instrumental intro track... ever?

7- (2018) Most of these songs have at least one awesome moment in them, and most are also too long. 27 minutes of instrumental is way too much. The title track holds a special place in my heart though, being somehow one of my gateways into metal originally in 2018.