All write-in votes from Metal Storm Awards 2020

1.

2.

3.Amaranthe - Manifest

4.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

5.El Lobo En Tu Puerta - Santana Bendita

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Using MSA's to organize my listening from 2020.

1.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

2.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3.Envy - The Fallen Crimson

4.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

5.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

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1.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

2.Cult Of Lilith - Mara

3.The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous

4.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

5.Lethian Dreams - A Shadow Of Memories

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Surely not everything I've listened to, not even close. Every year I use Spotify to make some megalist and start plowing through. Most albums are listened to and discarded, but those that pique my interest get shunted into the Keeper playlist. (I also use other media when needed - particularly Bandcamp - but Spotify remains my favorite.)

1.10,000 Years - 10​,​000 Years

2.Acid Mammoth - Under Acid Hoof

3....And Oceans - Cosmic World Mother

4.Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers

5.Baardvader - Baardvader

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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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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/

All bands will be limited to one album unless they had a significant change in style (e.g. Amorphis and Katatonia). It goes without saying that as this is my personal list the genres that are included more than others expresses my bias and I am open to listening to any suggestions on additional albums to add. This list will be separated by letters as including them all in one list would make it overly long. Just to give you an idea: my personal collection is over 10,000 songs, most of them in the metal genre.

Most of the bands featured here have other great albums so if you like the album featured here be sure to peruse their other works. Artists whose names start with 'The' or A/An' will be included in whatever letter follows, e.g. ' A Forest of Stars' will be included in F. This list(s) contains the most well-known bands e.g. Opeth, to the most obscure e.g. Vanguard x Mortem.

The list(s) will be updated periodically. If you have trouble locating an album on this list or think I missed a particular album feel free to contact me, and share this list far and wide so that more people can benefit from the incredible array of musical experience metal has to offer.

You can find me on all of these other websites: https://my.bio/friedrich-ux

(Broke 10k songs!, onward to 20k...): https://imgur.com/a/PvgLCy3

1.I - Between Two Worlds

2.I Built The Sky - The Sky Is Not The Limit

3.I Shalt Become - Poison

4.Iapetus - The Body Cosmic

5.IATT - Nomenclature

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My favourite albums of 2020.

I've taken a new approach this year - switching to ratings out of 5, rounded to the nearest 0.5. Trying to rate everything to the nearest 0.1 was becoming a chore. Anything rated lower than 2/5 has been excluded.

Also, while my previous lists have been 99% metal, 2020 has seen me exploring music across a much broader range of genres.

1.Loathe - I Let It In And It Took Everything

2.Hum - Inlet

3.Satyr - Locus

4.Deftones - Ohms

5.Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

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Manuel Castillo (Amusia) is a Mexican youtuber/reviewer specialized in heavy metal, who makes reviews without pression from the labels or distros. His passion and knowledge are the best tools he has and is followed by almost 70,000 people from the Spanish-speaking community. His partner, Carlos, also make reviews but of underground bands.

1.Haunt - Mind Freeze

2.Annihilator - Ballistic, Sadistic

3.Mystic Prophecy - Metal Division

4.Lorna Shore - Immortal

5.God Dethroned - Illuminati

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1.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

2.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

3.Haken - Virus

4.Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant

5.Protest The Hero - Palimpsest

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These are my favourite albums from the year 2020, ranked in order from my most favourite at number 1 to my least favourite.

1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Enslaved - Utgard

3.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

4.Elder - Omens

5.Garganjua - Toward The Sun

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1.Sons Of Apollo - MMXX

2.Thoughts Factory - Elements

3.Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

4.Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions

5.Conception - State Of Deception

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1.Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man

2.Orbit Culture - Nija

3.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

4.Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror

5.Paradise Lost - Obsidian

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Brutally honest take on new albums I have listened and rated/commented in 2020 from best to worst.

My ratings:

✮✮✮✮✮ = "Yippee ki yay, motherfucker!"
✮✮✮✮½ = "If it bleeds, we can kill it."
✮✮✮✮ = "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
✮✮✮½ = "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum."
✮✮✮ = "You're a disease? And I'm the cure."
✮✮½ = "Cowabunga!"
✮✮ = "I see dead people."
✮½ = "No not the bees! Aaaaahhhh!!1"
✮ = "It's turkey time. Gobble. Gobble."
½ = "I don't like sand."

1.Neptunian Maximalism - Éons

2.Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II

3.Beherit - Bardo Exist

4.Mors Principium Est - Seven

5.Conception - State Of Deception

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Order is sorted by album repeat.

1.Pain Of Salvation - Panther

2.Enslaved - Utgard

3.Katatonia - City Burials

4.Ensiferum - Thalassic

5.Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero

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2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3.Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November

4.Yuri Gagarin - The Outskirts Of Reality

5.Symbolik - Emergence

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