Cos by this point it's almost mandatory. I've made a pretty slow start to the year but hopefully I'll start catching up soon enough.

1.A Forest Of Stars - Beware The Sword You Cannot See

2.Maladie - ...Still...

3.Dekadent - Veritas

4.Sylosis - Dormant Heart

5.Marriages - Salome

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Moves up and down depending on mood, but top 25-30 usually the same in varying order

1.Sylosis - Conclusion Of An Age

2.Machine Head - The Blackening

3.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

4.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

5.In Flames - The Jester Race

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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 do a top 50, but after around #26 or so, I found myself confronted with about 50 albums that could've conceivably made it in, most of which I hadn't relistened to enough to rank above the others with confidence.

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Elder - Omens

3.Enslaved - Utgard

4.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension

5.Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea

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Actually getting onto this year relatively early, let's see what it's got in store for us all.

1.Weedpecker - III

2.Amorphis - Queen Of Time

3.Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

4.Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It

5.Aviations - The Light Years

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Getting started on this later than usual

1.Persefone - Aathma

2.Schammasch - The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite

3.Au-Dessus - End Of Chapter

4.Heretoir - The Circle

5.Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

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2008 might've been my first proper taste of metal, with the acquisition of albums from the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath and that most grandiose of gateway bands, DragonForce. 2009 might've seen me expanding my palette, with Iron Maiden, Alice In Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, and more entering my world, and Guns N' Roses triumphantly re-entering it. But 2010 was when I delved into more 'intense' stuff with Machine Head, In Flames, and most notably of all, Sylosis, and saw my relationship with metal shift from ever-increasing interest into full-blown love affair. To commemorate this 5-year anniversary, and because I love making lists, I decided to do a retrospective of the best albums and songs that have been released during this time period, and give brief tributes to them. Yay music!

1.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Protest The Hero - Volition

4.Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR

5.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

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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 great standout releases.

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

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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 more sensible level in 2022, but for now, these are the most impactful records from this year. I'd say the number of albums that truly stuck with me from this year is lower than 2020, but there were still gems to be found in 2021.

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

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Cos Radu won't leave me alone

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Grandmother

2.Dreadnought - Emergence

3.Methadone Skies - Different Layers Of Fear

4.A Secret Revealed - Sacrifices

5.Cartographs - Wilt & Blossom

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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 than the 25 I had in last year's list, but to be honest I feel like the competition for 25 spots is more intense this time around, so I'll stick to that (making this the top 2% of albums I heard this year) - shoutouts to Gloson, The Nest, Sum Of R, Process Of Guilt, Dysnostic and Aeviterne, who probably would have had good shots of making it onto this list if I'd made the time to revisit them more. Also shoutout to Laere and Euphrosyne, whose EPs in Clandestine Cuts indicate exceedingly promising futures

1.Psychonaut - Violate Consensus Reality

2.Disillusion - Ayam

3.Persefone - Metanoia

4.Kardashev - Liminal Rite

5.Shadow Of Intent - Elegy

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I'll be spending 2 months in the US so probably won't manage to beat the 130-odd albums I heard in the first half of the year, but I'll do my best.

1.Dirge - Lost Empyrean

2.Ingrina - Etter Lys

3.Between The Buried And Me - Automata

4.King Buffalo - Longing To Be The Mountain

5.A Forest Of Stars - Grave Mounds And Grave Mistakes

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One of likely hundreds of these, more for self-enjoyment (or something) above anything, but if it helps someone find a good album/albums they wouldn't've otherwise heard I'll be happy.

1.Sylosis - Monolith

2.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

3.In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

4.Abigail Williams - Becoming

5.Enslaved - RIITIIR

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I've just turned 27, I guess if I'm lucky I'll live long enough to finish this list.

1.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

2.Schammasch - Hearts Of No Light

3.Abigail Williams - Walk Beyond The Dark

4.Disillusion - The Liberation

5.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

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Because I can't stop listening to music, but neither can I sacrifice my lovely descriptions, so same fare as before, but deleted descriptions for those covered in the first list.

1.Protest The Hero - Volition

2.Persefone - Spiritual Migration

3.Amorphis - Circle

4.Nero Di Marte - Nero Di Marte

5.Monolithe - Monolithe IV

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Been a bit slow checking releases around the halfway point of the year, but should get back into it soon and hopefully flesh out this list.

1.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

2.Horrendous - Anareta

3.Slugdge - Dim & Slimeridden Kingdoms

4.Teramaze - Her Halo

5.Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Exile

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