Taken around 8:30 pm GMT
There was no write-in for djent so I voted for one.
Not totally clean (trolls in last categories are kept for fun),
Thanks to the person who curated most of the write-is since yesterday, it really reduced the work to do!

PS : I cleaned the list listening to The Testament by Seventh Wonder, so I was particularly unhappy to see it in the biggest letdowns at the end

1.

2.A.A. Williams - As The Moon Rests

3.Disturbed - Divisive

4.Dog Fashion Disco - Cult Classic

5.Fleshwater - We're Not Here To Be Loved

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My final list for 2022.
Just one 10 this year for an absolutely spectacular album.

1.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

2.Persefone - Metanoia

3.Jani Liimatainen - My Father's Son

4.Devin Townsend - Lightwork

5.Stratovarius - Survive

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3 extra albums

1.Blind Guardian - The God Machine

2.Stratovarius - Survive

3.Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society

4.Wind Rose - Warfront

5.Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

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1.Seventh Wonder - The Testament

2.Kreator - Hate Über Alles

3.Ghost - Impera

4.Jani Liimatainen - My Father's Son

5.Stratovarius - Survive

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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: 36
'20s: 22
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 35
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 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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1.Wind Rose - Warfront

2.Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)

3.Saxon - Carpe Diem

4.Amorphis - Halo

5.Girish And The Chronicles - Hail To The Heroes

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1.Witcher - Lélekharang

2.Jani Liimatainen - My Father's Son

3.Civil War - Invaders

4.White Ward - False Light

5.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

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Honestly curious to see if I get anywhere near 2021's ludicrous album count (~900) this year; should hopefully be some very high-scoring albums in the first couple of months, but otherwise let's hope for some good stuff this year!

Edit: Somehow managed to reach the list character limit, so going to delete some of the comments

1.Persefone - Metanoia

2.Hath - All That Was Promised

3.Rolo Tomassi - Where Myth Becomes Memory

4.Playgrounded - The Death Of Death

5.Kardashev - Liminal Rite

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1.Grima - Frostbitten

2.Vermilia - Ruska

3.Marrasmieli - Martaiden Mailta

4.Slipknot - The End, So Far

5.Amorphis - Halo

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2022 Playlist

1.Cult Of Luna - The Long Road North

2.Wilderun - Epigone

3.Persefone - Metanoia

4.Allegaeon - Damnum

5.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

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