1.Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas

2.Devin Townsend - Empath

3.Mgła - Age Of Excuse

4.Borknagar - True North

5.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

      View entire list ››

Do you know this feeling when you stumble across a random word, and then suddenly that name pops up just about everywhere? That specific term haunting yours truly has long been "Portland, Oregon". It seems to me that every new discovery was founded in Portland, apparently every other album was mastered at Brad Boatright's Audiosiege Studio in Portland, and every single of my favorite bands had, at some point, performed on a stage somewhere in Portland.

In the 1980s, LA was undeniably the world's glam metal capital, alongside with San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal as a counter development. Then we witnessed the death metal boom of the early 90s, with Tampa, Florida as its global hotspot. Not to forget the New York punk and hardcore scene (NYHC), the rise of sludge metal from the swamps of New Orleans during the late 80s, grunge from Seattle gaining mainstream prominence in the early 90s...
Apparently, there has always been a tendency in the US towards rapidly developing, locally restricted music scenes, in whose environment a completely new style or genre could develop in order to have a lasting impact on the global musical landscape within a few years.

So I just had to find out if my mind was playing tricks on me or if Portland really is the current capital of the US for heavy music and extreme metal - hence this list.

Inclusion criteria:
featured on Metal Strom and
established in Portland or
a long-term creative phase in Portland or
still active and currently based in Portland
(that's why Leviathan is here but Lurker Of Chalice isn't)

Only one album (preferably the most recent full-length album) per band.

By the way, according to this article, Portland harbors the highest amount of active metal bands per capita in the US. Quite a surprise, isn't it?

While we are at it, what's your favorite Portland band?

1.Abhorrent Affliction - Forever Will He Reign

2.Acathexis - Acathexis

3.Ænigmatum - Deconsecrate

4.Ævangelist - Dream An Evil Dream III

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

      View entire list ››

1.Abyssus - Into The Abyss

2.Acephalix - Decreation

3.Ascended Dead - Abhorrent Manifestation

4.Auroch - From Forgotten Worlds

5.Auroch - Taman Shud

      View entire list ››

Here is a list of all the bands who received at least one write-in vote during MSA 2019.

Following the annoucement of the results, this information is lost, I post it here so you can continue to explore your favorite genres !

I'm still working on fixing links, if you find errors, feel free to notify in the comments !

1.Babymetal - Metal Galaxy

2.Cave In - Final Transmission

3.Mother Of Millions - Artifacts

4.Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

5.Soen - Lotus

      View entire list ››

Once again I will try to comprise a mini-compendium of the toitest death metal releases of the year, this being 2019.
Will definitely be updated as I hear new shit so check back for more and recommend me stuff!
In alphabetical order by band name.

1.Abnormality - Sociopathic Constructs

2.Aephanemer - Prokopton

3.Altarage - The Approaching Roar

4.Ataraxie - Résignés

5.Baest - Venenum

      View entire list ››

1.Waste Of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis

2.Stellar Master Elite - Hologram Temple

3.Mephorash - Shem Ha Mephorash

4.Nile - Vile Nilotic Rites

5.Strigoi - Abandon All Faith

      View entire list ››

1.Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance

2.Gatecreeper - Deserted

3.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

4.Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas

5.Mortiferum - Disgorged From Psychotic Depths

      View entire list ››

Albums that I listened to in 2019
The Albums are ordered from best to worst but the List is changing till the end of the year.
This is just my opinion.

1.In Mourning - Garden Of Storms

2.Cloak - The Burning Dawn

3.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

4.Darkthrone - Old Star

5.Midnight Priest - Aggressive Hauntings

      View entire list ››

1.Darkwater - Human

2.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

3.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

4.Belzebubs - Pantheon Of The Nightside Gods

5.Borknagar - True North

      View entire list ››

It may have been a slow start to 2019, but May and June have started to kick things into high gear. I recently decided to start collecting vinyl, which has lead me to start a list. It's been a couple years since I've done one, so I figured I'm due. Enjoy.

1.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

2.Haunter - Sacramental Death Qualia

3.Schammasch - Hearts Of No Light

4.Blood Incantation - Hidden History Of The Human Race

5.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

      View entire list ››

The best metal albums and EPs for 2019.

1.Possessed - Revelations Of Oblivion

2.Lord Gore - Scalpels For Blind Surgeons

3.Nucleus - Entity

4.Denner's Inferno - In Amber

5.Exhumed - Horror

      View entire list ››

1.Blood Incantation - Hidden History Of The Human Race

2.Possessed - Revelations Of Oblivion

3.Nile - Vile Nilotic Rites

4.Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance

5.Witch Vomit - Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave

      View entire list ››

1.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

2.Wormlust - Kosmískur Hryllingur [Collaboration]

3.Decoherence - Ekpyrosis

4.Kwade Droes - Onder De Toren

5.Abyssal - A Beacon In The Husk

      View entire list ››

Listing albums that I have listened and liked enough to rank. My tastes skew towards Death/Black Metal which means I probably give most other genres a pass. I also don't bother rating such albums unless they catch my ear.

1.Vader - Thy Messenger

2.Legion Of The Damned - Slaves Of The Shadow Realm

3.Unfathomable Ruination - Enraged & Unbound

4.Embrional - Evil Dead

5.Malevolent Creation - The 13th Beast

      View entire list ››