The Icelandic Black Metal scene received quite a bit of hype and love in the middle of the last decade. As with most things, the supply of greatness couldn't live up to the demand. We have a handful of true gems from this scene and a lot of mediocre schlock.

Ordered from best to worst based on my opinion. Listen and decide for yourself.

1.Misþyrming - Söngvar Elds Og Óreiðu

2.Wormlust - The Feral Wisdom

3.Almyrkvi - Umbra

4.Carpe Noctem - In Terra Profugus

5.Wormlust - The Wormlust Collective

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol

2.Wachenfeldt - The Interpreter

3.Wake - Devouring Ruin

4.Waldgeflüster - Femundsmarka - Eine Reise In Drei Kapiteln

5.Walknut - Graveforests And Their Shadows

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Input:
10 years
20 decade lists
749 bands
973 albums

Output:
200 top albums from 2010-2019


FAQ

How are the points calculated?
Simple math.

Ranked top lists:
1st place = 150 pts.
2nd place = 149 pts.
...
100th place = 51 pts.
...
150th place = 1 pt.

Alphabetically sorted lists:
Each place = 100 pts.

Why just a Top 200?
Because 200 list entries are more than enough.

Is it by pure coincidence that the first four positions are occupied by bands with the initial letter "E"?
Yes.

Will your list be updated on a regular basis?
No.

Why is my favorite power metal abum not featured?
I don't know. Let's ask the list owners:

AgentOrange94 - Top 10 Albums Of The 10's
andreosokin - Top 25 Albums Of 2010s
ChapuLviz - Top 100 Grind List (2010-2019)
Chobo_jokeR - JokeR's Top Hunnid From 2010 - 2019
Desha - Me(tal) In The 2010s
Draugen - Top 100 of the 2010s
embracing - My Completely Subjective Top 10 Of The 2010-2019 Decade
Enemy of Reality (RIP) - 100 Album Guide To The Decade 2010-19
FullyOttoMatic - 50 Favorite Metal (And Metal-Adjacent) Albums Of The 2010's
Iron Men - A Decade Of Aggression
Kuroboshi - Top 100 Albums Of 2010-2019
Maco - 2010-2019 Top 100
musclassia - 150 Albums To Become An Adult To: 2010-2019
mz - Best Of 2010-2020 By Mz
Neachy - Neachy's Select: Top 100 Albums Of The 10s
nikarg - Old Nick's Top-101 Of The '10s
nonZero - My Top 50 Albums of the 2010s (deleted)
RaduP - You Know It's Technically 2011-2020, Right?
VIG (RIP) - VIG's Top 100 Of The 2010s
Zap - I Too Listened To Some Metal In The 2010's

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

2.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

3.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

4.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

5.Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

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To explain the title, there is no year 0, regardless of what Ghost may tell you. Thus, the first decade was years 1-10, instead of 0-9. So then it would be 11-20, and so on. But I know that would imply that Paranoid is a 60s album, which we cannot have.

So now that all the cool kids are doing it, here is my top 100 albums of the "decade", most of it might be a bit too mainsteam, most of it you'll find on others' lists, and so on. Restricted to one album per artist/band (including collabs), ordered alphabetically.

1.Abyssal - Antikatastaseis

2.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

3.Akhlys - The Dreaming I

4.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

5.Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury

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The best of 2010-2019. At the end it tuned out to be less diverse than what I thought it would be in terms of musical genres, with mostly black and death metal record filling the spots.
Recommendations more than welcomed.

1.Sutcliffe Jugend - Blue Rabbit

2.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

3.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

4.Schammasch - Contradiction

5.Lorn - Subconscious Metamorphosis

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100 full length albums that I favor in approximate order of preference plus 10 non-LP releases at the end. Limited to metal albums and albums featured on the site.

1.Indesinence - Vessels Of Light And Decay

2.Mitochondrion - Parasignosis

3.Murmuüre - Murmuüre

4.Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

5.Ustalost - The Spoor Of Vipers

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Top 100 albums of 2010-2019

1.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

2.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

3.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

4.Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry

5.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

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Bassy black metal. Easy enough to understand: black metal with a distinctly pronounced role for the bass and in which the bass is noticeably audible.

Alphabetical order by band, one album per band. Recs appreciated and encouraged. Links for full streams when available.

1.Abigor - Time Is The Sulphur In The Veins Of The Saint: An Excursion On Satan's Fragmenting Principle

2.Aeon Patronist - Mortal Prosternation

3.Aluk Todolo - Voix

4.Angst Skvadron - Sweet Poison

5.Annthennath - States Of Liberating Departure

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Self explanatory. Favorite metal albums from this current decade. It's probably going to be mostly black, doom, and drone related type albums, as that's mostly what I listen to, but not entirely. Full streams provided when available.

Hopefully this'll be something to return to nostalgically when I'm 40 and we can access the Internet neurologically while we sleep.

1.

2.Ihsahn - After

3.The Body - All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood

4.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

5.Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones

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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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I've always been a huge fan for psychedelic music of any and all kinds. The enveloping atmosphere, the ability of minimalist solos to create a grand sense of harmony, and all those deliciously trippy effects that you can zone out with... they all come together for such a stimulating, otherworldly experience. This is often the type of music I'm most comfortable with: dazing, mind numbing, and hypnotizing.

My psychedelic definitions (including, but not limited to)
1. Very free flowing and (often) formless guitar playing. Specific soloing style of focusing more on the individual notes themselves to create a grand harmony around the main rhythm at hand.
2. Intense manipulation of guitar tone, including feedback, delay, looping, etc.
3. Heavy use of electronic effects. This is something that goes back to the earliest psychedelic bands of the 60s who used hammond organ and harpsichord, but today it's evolved into a wide range of keyboards, synths, equalizers, etc.

Recs both encouraged and appreciated.

1.Aarni - Bathos

2.Æthenor - En Form For Blå

3.Angst Skvadron - Sweet Poison

4.Atomikylä - Erkale

5.Bong - Stoner Rock

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1.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

2.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

3.Master's Hammer - Ritual

4.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

5.Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

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- My TOP 75 from 90s (and 80s), 00s and 10s.
- Each TOP 75 ordered from my most favourite down.
- One album for every band in one TOP 75.
- Only full-lengths or EPs/demos with more than half an hour.

Description includes: Genre (traditional/true BM bands are labeled with their countries, e.g. Norwegian Black), year and my personal favourite song of the particular album with link.

Hall of Fame (bands in each time period): Agalloch, Blut Aus Nord, Enslaved, Immortal, Nokturnal Mortum, Summoning

1.

2.Windir - Arntor

3.Paysage d'Hiver - Paysage D'Hiver

4.Blut Aus Nord - Ultima Thulée

5.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

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In alphabetical order by album title!

1.Gris - À L'Âme Enflammée, L'Äme Constellée...

2.Obsidian Tongue - A Nest Of Ravens In The Throat Of Time

3.Finnr's Cane - A Portrait Painted By The Sun

4.Sun Devoured Earth - A Static Life

5.Agrypnie - Aetas Cineris

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Here are my top 20 metal albums of this year (without any order).

* The list's title in eng means: "decent year".
** To create the thumbnail I used Sky Ferreira's cover art for Night Time, My Time, shot by Gaspar Noé.

1.Gris - À L'Âme Enflammée, L'Äme Constellée...

2.Obscure Sphinx - Void Mother

3.SubRosa - More Constant Than The Gods

4.Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

5.Funeralium - Deceived Idealism

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