The silver lining to the year of Covid is metal bands seem to have had plenty of inspiration. It was very strong year for black metal and a strong year overall. A bit weak in the death metal category but still some gems to be found. Recommendations and comments are always welcome. Enjoy.

1.Atramentus - Stygian

2.Evaporated Sores - Ulcerous Dimensions

3.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

4.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

5.Hail Spirit Noir - Eden In Reverse

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Seems like there's a limit on how many albums this site accepts on one list. Gonna have to cut out the last ones while adding new albums for the rest of the year.

1.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2.Orbit Culture - Nija

3.Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia

4.Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse

5.Frozen Dreams - The Eclipse Of Eternity

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Just about finished the first half of the year without losing too much to the character limit; I have learnt to make these list descriptions increasingly pithy

1.Enslaved - Utgard

2.Wills Dissolve - Echoes

3.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

4.Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers

5.Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II

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The best of 2020 - reduced down to 25, which was no easy feat. This is still somewhat a work in progress, but far closer to a finished product.

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Enslaved - Utgard

3.Of Feather And Bone - Sulfuric Disintegration

4.Vassafor - To The Death

5.〇 - Entity

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On the picture - John Cobbett - Hammers Of Misfortune, Vhöl, Ludicra, The Lord Weird Slough Feg

1.Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Hammers Of Misfortune - The Locust Years

4.Mastodon - Remission

5.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

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All write-in votes from Metal Storm Awards 2020

1.

2.

3.Amaranthe - Manifest

4.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

5.El Lobo En Tu Puerta - Santana Bendita

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1.Abyssus - Into The Abyss

2.Acephalix - Decreation

3.Ascended Dead - Abhorrent Manifestation

4.Auroch - From Forgotten Worlds

5.Auroch - Taman Shud

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Manuel Castillo (Amusia) is a Mexican youtuber/reviewer specialized in heavy metal, who makes reviews without pression from the labels or distros. His passion and knowledge are the best tools he has and is followed by almost 70,000 people from the Spanish-speaking community. His partner, Carlos, also make reviews but of underground bands.

1.Haunt - Mind Freeze

2.Annihilator - Ballistic, Sadistic

3.Mystic Prophecy - Metal Division

4.Lorna Shore - Immortal

5.God Dethroned - Illuminati

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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 of the past.

However, this year ( especially in metal), we saw some big releases, impressive debuts, and the return of several bands that had been on hiatus for decades. Overall for albums, 2020 was rather impressive. Here's my favorite 100 metal albums of 2020...

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

      View entire list ››

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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1.Inquisition - Black Mass For A Mass Grave

2.The Ruins of Beverast / Almyrkvi - Split

3.Katla. - Allt Þetta Helvítis Myrkur

4.Sodom - Genesis XIX

5.Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods

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1.Benediction - Scriptures

2.Sodom - Genesis XIX

3.Inquisition - Black Mass For A Mass Grave

4.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5.Necrot - Mortal

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Loose order, incomplete

"Extreme" metal albums only

1.Molested Divinity - Unearthing The Void

2.Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus

3.Induced - Coproporeal

4.Putrescent Seepage - Dead And Demented

5.Scatology Secretion - Submerged In Glacial Ruin

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YET another list of my faves in the death metal genre this time in the year of our Lord Satan 2020. Haven't heard all the stuff I'd like yet and I welcome all the recommendations in the comments, cheers!

1.Aborted - La Grande Mascarade

2.Abysmal Dawn - Phylogenesis

3.Æpoch - The Scryer

4.Aeternam - Al Qassam

5.Æther Realm - Redneck Vikings From Hell

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1.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

2.Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned

3.Benighted - Obscene Repressed

4.Thanatos - Violent Death Rituals

5.Sinister - Deformation Of The Holy Realm

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