It's that magical time of the year again, when it's almost impossible to choose your top albums for the previous year, but here we are. Some of these bands delivered a much needed soundtrack for one of the toughest years so far, and I must say I'm satisfied. The list in itself is in order about halfway in, the rest I couldn't decide about, so the second half is not ranged in any particular order.  I won't go too much into details, but here are some main impressions.

1. Dark Tranquillity - Moment

2. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3. Secrets Of The Moon - Black House

4. Pain Of Salvation - Panther

5. Katatonia - City Burials

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1. Cult of Lilith - Mara

2. Ulcerate - Stare Into Death and Be Still

3. Draconian - Under a Godless Veil

4. Dark Tranquillity - Moment

5. Lucifer - Lucifer III

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By far the worst year for me... Period!

However, throughout the chaos that has happened in my country, I never stopped listening to new music that comes out this year, and have found some cool gems that have released this year. So it is time to list my favorite albums of the year.

Let's see how many times I change this up after this.

1. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

2. Paradise Lost - Obsidian

3. Autumn's Dawn - Dying Ember

4. 〇 - Entity

5. Light Field Reverie - Another World

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It is interesting to see how the passing of time affects taste, preferences, and lists of this type. I'm writing these lists as a means to share the music I like, and by now it has become a tradition, albeit one which very few people read on a regular basis, if at all, but one which I have no intention of giving up. I published my first yearly list back in 2007. At first, I would publish them on last.FM and myspace (yes, I am that old), then I moved to Facebook, migrated to Tumblr, think I even tried Instagram, but I was never satisfied with any of those as a platform to share my annual and other lists and scribblings with others. Some years ago I started sharing my lists on the metal storm, thanks to their quite useful tool called lists, which is made for exactly that reason. When I added my lists to the metal storm, I reworked them and expanded a bit, adding some sort of a template, from my old lists that I still had saved up at various places. Besides a top ten and honorable mentions, there are few other sub-categories, which are basically just my way of telling people that I really loved that album, and that they should really fuckin'listen to it. The fact that I think that anyone besides myself is actually that much interested in my annual top lists or best (mostly) metal albums speaks more about me, I guess.

1. Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2. Myrkur - Folkesange

3. Ensiferum - Thalassic

4. Thy Catafalque - Naiv

5. Sojourner - Premonitions

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No particular order.

1. Dark Tranquillity - Moment

2. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

3. Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

4. Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia

5. Sylosis - Cycle Of Suffering

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Another end to a year, another list to make.

Like always I've added the specific genre/subgenre so you can easily pick out the albums that might be of interest to you.

I know some of you like statistics, so I put in a bit of extra effort to add some numbers:

- 317 albums
- Total points given: 2366,1

1. Paradise Lost - Obsidian

2. IAH - III

3. Asian Death Crustacean - Baikal

4. Dawnwalker - Ages

5. Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned

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2020 has been nothing short of a horrific year. The music industry was quite possibly changed forever due to the pandemic, we saw tours and festivals canceled, and as of now, live shows seem to be a thing of the past.

However, this year ( especially in metal), we saw some big releases, impressive debuts, and the return of several bands that had been on hiatus for decades. Overall for albums, 2020 was rather impressive. Here's my favorite 100 metal albums of 2020...

1. Spectral Lore - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2. Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus

3. Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

4. Akhlys - Melinoë

5. Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

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1. Communic - Hiding From The World

2. Sepultura - Quadra

3. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4. Oceans Of Slumber - Oceans Of Slumber

5. Sorcerer - Lamenting Of The Innocent

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One of hellowa ride in fucked year from all sides. This year did not affect my life , I actually got some money.
I never ever have listened new albums as this year. It was basically this years album year. I can say thanks to Radu again. I see in him me as I was young and had passion to add, edit and do things in MS. If there wont be Radu my list be by 300 porer IMO.

1. Árstíðir Lífsins - Aldrnari [Split]

2. Árstíðir Lífsins - Saga Á Tveim Tungum II: Eigi Fjǫll Né Firðir

3. Í Myrkri - Drivende I Dødens Æter

4. ...And Oceans - Cosmic World Mother

5. Acârash - Descend To Purity

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1. Vanden Plas - The Ghost Xperiment - Illumination

2. Dark Tranquillity - Moment

3. Demons & Wizards - III

4. Brothers Of Metal - Emblas Saga

5. Bonfire - Fistful Of Fire

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Maybe this is a top, but those albumes are just the ones that I will listen recurrently.

1. Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

2. Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4. Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

5. Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

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1. Enslaved - Utgard

2. The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3. Panychida - Gabreta Aeterna

4. Kvelertak - Splid

5. Counting Hours - The Will

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1. Konvent - Puritan Masochism

2. Paradise Lost - Obsidian

3. Incantation - Sect of Vile Divinities

4. Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5. Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

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1. Draconian - Under a Godless Veil

2. Paradise Lost - Obsidian

3. Sojourner - Premonitions

4. Heaven Shall Burn - Of Truth & Sacrifice

5. Nephylim - Severance of Serenity

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1. Mors Principium Est - Seven

2. Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

3. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4. Ensiferum - Thalassic

5. Paradise Lost - Obsidian

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