"Very good" or above. The top 20 are the best of the year. Everything else ranges from 8 to 9.5 on a "10" scale.

1.Afterbirth - In But Not Of

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Godthrymm - Distortions

4.Fvnerals - Let The Earth Be Silent

5.Notturno - Inside

      View entire list ››

Year Currently Covered: 2023

Hey folks! Welcome to the greatly coveted Guib Awards! Instead of creating a list every year, I've decided to make a single one that will change yearly to feature my favorite albums of the past one. So this first iteration will feature albums for 2023!

I will not be covering every genre nor a specific one and I won't limit myself to a single album per genre. It will literally be my absolute favorites of the year currently covered or albums that I listened to a lot more than I'd like to admit, so this won't be as big as my usual lists. Also, I will only cover a maximum of 50 albums, all featured on MS and they will be placed in alphabetical order (of the band's name).

Hope some of you will agree with me, but as always... It doesn't really matter, does it?

Cheers to good music and have fun!

Note: Albums with a "√" are albums I voted for in one of the categories of the last MS awards.

Last Updated: April 15th, 2024

1.Altarage - Worst Case Scenario

2.Baroness - Stone

3.Bloodletter - A Different Kind Of Hell

4.Capra - Errors

5.CauseNeffect - Validation Through Suffering

      View entire list ››

1.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

2.Oak - Disintegrate

3.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

4.Bizarrekult - Den Tapte Krigen

5.Soen - Memorial

      View entire list ››

1.Shylmagoghnar - Convergence

2.Sacred Outcry - Towers Of Gold

3.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle

      View entire list ››

Albums i've listened to multiple times that were released this year. Ranking will be made at the end of the year.

1.Baroness - Stone

2.Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

3.Riverside - ID.Entity

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Enslaved - Heimdal

      View entire list ››

Right... Let's get this out of the way from the get-go. Alternative metal is hard to define. I guess that comes from it always wanting to experiment, explore and fuse heavy metal with non-metal music genres. It also makes it an ever changing and growing genre.

Also, before you guys flood me, yes my list contains a lot of Industrial & Nu Metal bands, as well as other genre.. As far as I'm concerned, my picks all fit quite well in the scope of an alternative metal list. Don't you agree? Wait... You disagree? Well, let's agree to disagree and move on.

As for the list itself, I'm going to try and list through time what I (me, myself & moi) consider as essential alternative albums. I will also limit myself to a maximum of 4 releases each year to prevent a messy list, which often makes it a difficult decision, especially in the early 2000's. So yes, it is possible your personal favourite won't be featured. You can tell me all about it in the comments below and we can discuss it, even argue it.

Now, have fun, enjoy my list and let me know what you think or would personally put in your favourite alt-metal list!

-Guib-

EDIT: I will now add my pick for best album of each year using the (best of xxxx) in the chosen album's description.

- - - - -

Guib's Best Alternative Metal Album Picks

Best Of 2022
Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Best Of 2023
Mutoid Man - Mutants

Best of 2024 So Far
...tbd

- - - - - - - - - -

Last Updated: March 27th, 2024

1.Living Colour - Vivid

2.Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

3.Faith No More - The Real Thing

4.Godflesh - Streetcleaner

5.L7 - Smell The Magic

      View entire list ››

1.Fleshvessel - Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed

2.The Glorious Dead - Cemetery Paths

3.The Devil's Trade - "Vidékek vannak idebenn"

4.Rannoch - Conflagrations

5.Thelemite - Survival Of The Fittest

      View entire list ››

I reckon 735 albums in the first 6 months of this year is a 6-month record I will never match, but let's see how many I get through in Q3 and Q4

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

2.Meridian Sun - The Curse

3.The Gorge - Mechanical Fiction

4.Earthside - Let The Truth Speak

5.Wayfarer - American Gothic

      View entire list ››

1.Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns And Seven Seals

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium

4.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

5.Wayfarer - American Gothic

      View entire list ››

1.Riverside - ID.Entity

2.Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

3.Baroness - Stone

4.Haken - Fauna

5.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

      View entire list ››

1.Orbit Culture - Descent

2.Tryglav - The Ritual

3.Cloak - Black Flame Eternal

4.Thy Catafalque - Alföld

5.Mass Hysteria - Tenace - Part 1

      View entire list ››

Albums that are considered good on my first time of listenin'.

1.

2.

3.

4.Afterbirth - In But Not Of

5.Appalooza - The Shining Son

      View entire list ››

Pretty much everything I’ve listened to this year, let me know what I’ve missed and what you’ve found and cheers to 2024 being even better 🍻

Check out my seven favorite album covers that I’ve looked at so many times this year, they’re fucking awesome:















Here’s a link to some of my favorite songs from the year, max 2 per album: Best Songs of 2023

1.Silent Planet - Superbloom

2.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

3.Voice Of Baceprot - Retas

4.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

5.TesseracT - War Of Being

      View entire list ››

2023 here we go. My target for the year is 100+ albums, at a rule of 2 albums a week minimum.

1.Nospūn - Opus

2.Periphery - Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre

3.Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden

4.Crow Black Sky - Sidereal Light: Volume Two

5.Against Myself - Tides Of Insanity

      View entire list ››

Another year begins. This time I'm adding Country of origin next to the rating and genre.

1.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

2.Wayfarer - American Gothic

3.Varathron - The Crimson Temple

4.Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

5.Shylmagoghnar - Convergence

      View entire list ››