1.Wyatt E. - Zam​ā​ru Ultu Gereb Ziqquratu Part 1

2.Obscure Sphinx - Emovere

3.The Great Old Ones - Kadath

4.Wardruna - Birna

5.Sulfator - Gemini

      View entire list ››

A tricky list to write - there's a lot of albums I enjoyed this year, but very few standouts; after the top 3, any of the following albums could arguably be shifted up or down a few places. It certainly…

1.Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke

2.Dvne - Voidkind

3.A Swarm Of The Sun - An Empire

4.Horndal - Head Hammer Man

5.Anciients - Beyond The Reach Of The Sun

      View entire list ››

With 600-odd albums across Q1 and Q2, I've gotten through marginally less than last year so far, let's see if I keep that up…

1.Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke

2.A Swarm Of The Sun - An Empire

3.Panzerfaust - The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion

4.Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

5.Anciients - Beyond The Reach Of The Sun

      View entire list ››

With over 1300 albums to choose from, it's not easy to narrow down to a top 20. As far as the top albums go, I think this has been a bit of a weaker year than the last few, but there's been some…

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

2.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

4.The Gorge - Mechanical Fiction

5.Meridian Sun - The Curse

      View entire list ››

Hoping to not beat last year's total albums, but to still find the good stuff this year.

1.Vulgaris - Seat Of The Fire

2.Dvne - Voidkind

3.Persefone - Lingua Ignota: Part I

4.Eternal Storm - A Giant Bound To Fall

5.Horseburner - Voice Of Storms

      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 ››

Same deal as always - scenes if I somehow manage to break the 1200-album record I hit last year…

1.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

2.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

3.Fvnerals - Let The Earth Be Silent

4.Enslaved - Heimdal

5.Moonreich - Amer

      View entire list ››

I've played somewhere in the region of 1200 albums this year - there's been a lot of great stuff among them, so this will not be an easy list to narrow down - I'd like to say I can be stricter…

1.Psychonaut - Violate Consensus Reality

2.Disillusion - Ayam

3.Persefone - Metanoia

4.Kardashev - Liminal Rite

5.Shadow Of Intent - Elegy

      View entire list ››

Fell just shy of 100 albums per month for the first half of the year, I imagine I won't be matching that but let's try to get to a full 1000 albums for the year at least.

1.Psychonaut - Violate Consensus Reality

2.Disillusion - Ayam

3.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

4.Panzerfaust - The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter III: The Astral Drain

5.Wake - Thought Form Descent

      View entire list ››

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…

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

      View entire list ››

Hitting somewhere within the region of 900 new albums that I've heard released in 2021, I've consumed a frankly ridiculous amount of music this year; I reckon things will return to a slightly…

1.Between The Buried And Me - Colors II

2.Dvne - Etemen Ænka

3.Heliocentric - Ishmael

4.Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon

5.Spaceslug - Memorial

      View entire list ››

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,…

1.Between The Buried And Me - Colors II

2.Year Of No Light - Consolamentum

3.Be'lakor - Coherence

4.LLNN - Unmaker

5.Spaceslug - Memorial

      View entire list ››

After clocking well over 700 albums in 2020, I'm hoping 2021 will be a bit busier IRL and thus slightly less comprehensively covered in these lists, but let's see - with all the new strains emerging,…

1.Vulgaris - Asundre

2.Dvne - Etemen Ænka

3.Heliocentric - Ishmael

4.Decline Of The I - Johannes

5.Dordeduh - Har

      View entire list ››

I don't think these are necessarily the best 30 albums of this year, but they're the ones that have I guess endured in my psyche and inspiried revisits more than most others. I was tempted to…

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Elder - Omens

3.Enslaved - Utgard

4.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

5.Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››