1.Beast In Black - Dark Connection

2.1914 - Where Fear And Weapons Meet

3.Duskmourn - Fallen Kings And Rusted Crowns

4.Grima - Rotten Garden

5.Gojira - Fortitude

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At around 450 album, I've been averaging something like 75 new albums per month since the start of 2021, not to mention albums I only listen to 1-2 songs of before moving on. It's been intense, and I'm hoping the lifting of restrictions will mean I get through slightly less music in the rest of this year, but let's see what the rest of 2021 has in store musically.

1.Between The Buried And Me - Colors II

2.Year Of No Light - Consolamentum

3.Be'lakor - Coherence

4.LLNN - Unmaker

5.Spaceslug - Memorial

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As is the case with my other lists, this is for my own organizational purposes and is designed purely to help me keep track of all the many black metal bands and albums that I enjoy, since I can't keep all of this information in my head. It has no other benefit whatsoever and will likely result in tantrums should anyone else see it. I'm aware that I haven't listened to every black metal album that I should have. I only went down to the 6s on this list, so it's possible that I have listened to your favorite black metal album that you desperately need to suggest and I thought it was terrible. There are a lot of heinously incompetent black metal bands out there.

On the off-chance that you've found this and actually care about what I think (you shouldn't), be advised that my favorites come first. Some are favorites in the general sense; some are favorites within black metal. The first few of those are in some order and not so much after that.

Because this is for my own purposes and not intended to be a definitive list of pure black metal, there are some black metal-adjacent bands, or albums by black metal bands that may not themselves be black metal. That's why you'll find so much Sigh clogging up the top of the list. I prefer to keep whole discographies together on one list. I used to include Primordial, Forefather, and other such bands, but a while back I created a list for folk and I decided that those artists would fit better there.

I update these lists very infrequently. This was last updated December 7, 2022.

1.Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

2.Sigh - Graveward

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Heir To Despair

5.The Meads Of Asphodel - The Murder Of Jesus The Jew

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1.Ethereal Shroud - Trisagion

2.Veilburner - Lurkers In The Capsule Of Skull

3.First Fragment - Gloire Éternelle

4.Replicant - Malignant Reality

5.Dormant Ordeal - The Grand Scheme Of Things

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For those interested in suggestions of albums by genre

Removed:
- Trolls
- Limp bizkit outside of Alternative category
- albums already nominated. After the results, I will add the nominated albums that don't receive enough votes to be displayed in the results, as "staff write-ins".
- albums with a release date not in 2021

1.

2.Heleven - Into The Oceans

3.Imminence - Heaven In Hiding

4.Lantlôs - Wildhund

5.Leprous - Aphelion

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Another year, another list. Huh time flies. First 10 in order I think was best of the best. Last 10 worst of the worst. Rest is in a order as I think they fits (based on todays perspective) , maybe december albums are higher as januari ones and also some middle albums might be 2-3 places higher, lover.
PS If there are duplications, let me know.

1.Thyrathen - ThanatOpsis

2.Black Soul Horde - Horrors From The Void

3.Cult Of Eibon - Black Flame Dominion

4.KK's Priest - Sermons Of The Sinner

5.Icon Of Sin - Icon Of Sin

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My top best albums of 2021!

1.Iotunn - Access All Worlds

2.Ethereal Shroud - Trisagion

3.Evergrey - Escape Of The Phoenix

4.Mare Cognitum - Solar Paroxysm

5.Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon

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F*ck 2020! 2021, here we go!

1.Gråt Strigoi - Communion Of The Nameless

2.Vouna - Atropos

3.Ethereal Shroud - Trisagion

4.Noltem - Illusions In The Wake

5.Big Brave - Leaving None But Small Birds [Collaboration]

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The goats. The near perfect albums that never get old. Some are full of catchy bangers I'm always humming, and some are so full to the brim of details that I still haven't even uncovered them all.

A brief outline of my ratings:
8.5-9.0 = An excellent album with a few mild drawbacks (Weak song, slightly irritating vocals, odd flow)
9.0-9.5 = Perfect albums that haven't quite warranted the time-earnt 9.5+.
9.5-9.9 = Perfect albums that have stood the test of time, ranked by preference.
10 = I don't expect to hear another album like these, ever.

(I use 'perfect' lightly as it makes no sense for a man-made creation to be flawless. 'Perfect' is simply a term to outline how high a level of enjoyment is, specifically the level of enjoyment when minor faults become insignificant.)

(I evaluate albums outside of metal vastly differently to the ones here, which explains the lack of representation of my other favourite genres. Blue Sky Mining is an exception due to being structured very similarly to my optimal metal album. I may add some picks from other genres down the line.)


STATS:
I know y'all don't look at my lists, so these are purely for my own interest.

-Decades
'10s: 38
'20s: 25
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 36
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 4
Soundtrack: 3
Contemporary: 2
Folk: 1
Doom: 1
Rock: 1

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Memories Of Old - The Zeramin Game

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Persefone - Aathma

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Albums i've enjoyed in 2021

1.Turnstile - Glow On

2.Deafheaven - Infinite Granite

3.Herzel - Le Dernier Rempart

4.The Flight Of Sleipnir - Eventide

5.Midnight Odyssey - Biolume Part 2 - The Golden Orb

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1.1914 - Where Fear And Weapons Meet

2.Stormkeep - Tales Of Othertime

3.Mare Cognitum - Solar Paroxysm

4.Every Time I Die - Radical

5.Archspire - Bleed The Future

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1.Cân Bardd - Devoured By The Oak

2.Thy Catafalque - Vadak

3.Iotunn - Access All Worlds

4.Aquilus - Bellum I

5.Dordeduh - Har

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In no particular order (after the top 5), here are my AOTY for 2021.
Some albums are not featured here, for which I've added description and Bandcamp link.
Enjoy :')

1.

2.First Fragment - Gloire Éternelle

3.Beast In Black - Dark Connection

4.Khirki - Κτηνωδία

5.Omnium Gatherum - Origin

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It's always changing.

1.Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty

2.Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet

3.Equilibrium - Sagas

4.Týr - Ragnarok

5.Finsterforst - Rastlos

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My top 3 albums per year starting in 1999.

1.

2.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

3.Finntroll - Midnattens Widunder

4.Shaman (FIN) - Idja

5.

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