2020 has been nothing short of a horrific year. The music industry was quite possibly changed forever due to the pandemic, we saw tours and festivals canceled, and as of now, live shows seem to be a thing…

1.Spectral Lore - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2.Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus

3.Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

4.Akhlys - Melinoë

5.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

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I don't think these are necessarily the best 30 albums of this year, but they're the ones that have I guess endured in my psyche and inspiried revisits more than most others. I was tempted to…

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Elder - Omens

3.Enslaved - Utgard

4.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

5.Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea

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Maybe this is a top, but those albumes are just the ones that I will listen recurrently.

1.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4.Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

5.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

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1.Turia - Degen Van Licht

2.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

3.Fluisteraars - Bloem

4.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

5.Elder - Omens

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1.Konvent - Puritan Masochism

2.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

3.Incantation - Sect Of Vile Divinities

4.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

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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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In rough order of enjoyment, the albums I've listened to from 2020…

1.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Plini - Impulse Voices

4.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

5.Atramentus - Stygian

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Some of the highlights for me this year: Anaal Nathrakh, Cult Of Fire, Enslaved, Necrophobic, Paradise Lost, Testament....Some are pre orders but I'm sure the new Dark Tranquillity, Sodom, and Uada…

1.Abysmal Dawn - Phylogenesis

2.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

3.Azarath - Saint Desecration

4.Benediction - Scriptures

5.Cadaver - Edder & Bile

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1.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

3.Finntroll - Vredesvävd

4.Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned

5.Enslaved - Utgard

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1.Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism

2.Dark Fortress - Spectres From The Old World

3.Primitive Man - Immersion

4.Enslaved - Utgard

5.Solothus - Realm Of Ash And Blood

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My favourite albums of 2020.

I've taken a new approach this year - switching to ratings out of 5, rounded to the nearest 0.5. Trying to rate everything to the nearest 0.1 was becoming a chore. Anything…

1.Loathe - I Let It In And It Took Everything

2.Hum - Inlet

3.Satyr - Locus

4.Deftones - Ohms

5.Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

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It's closing in on the end of 2021, so revisiting the year of the lockdown…

1.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

2.Akhlys - Melinoë

3.Black Curse - Endless Wound

4.Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus

5.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

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Well here it is!…

1.Ensiferum - Thalassic

2.Skyforest - A New Dawn

3.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

4.Vredehammer - Viperous

5.Finntroll - Vredesvävd

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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…

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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Keeping track of what I heard and liked in 2020…

1.Protest The Hero - Palimpsest

2.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3.Orbit Culture - Nija

4.Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron

5.Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned

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