A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2014 and the first half of the 2010's was the time of black metal revival, a great time for the genre, along with Doom and Progressive metal the first half of the last decade was going strong for the more extreme side of metal.

1.Septicflesh - Titan

2.Insomnium - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

3.Schammasch - Contradiction

4.Shylmagoghnar - Emergence

5.Saor - Aura

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1.Aephanemer - Know Thyself

2.Andy Gillion - NeverAfter

3.Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia

4.Michael Romeo - The Dark Chapter

5.Decimals - Symmetry

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Do you know this feeling when you stumble across a random word, and then suddenly that name pops up just about everywhere? That specific term haunting yours truly has long been "Portland, Oregon". It seems to me that every new discovery was founded in Portland, apparently every other album was mastered at Brad Boatright's Audiosiege Studio in Portland, and every single of my favorite bands had, at some point, performed on a stage somewhere in Portland.

In the 1980s, LA was undeniably the world's glam metal capital, alongside with San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal as a counter development. Then we witnessed the death metal boom of the early 90s, with Tampa, Florida as its global hotspot. Not to forget the New York punk and hardcore scene (NYHC), the rise of sludge metal from the swamps of New Orleans during the late 80s, grunge from Seattle gaining mainstream prominence in the early 90s...
Apparently, there has always been a tendency in the US towards rapidly developing, locally restricted music scenes, in whose environment a completely new style or genre could develop in order to have a lasting impact on the global musical landscape within a few years.

So I just had to find out if my mind was playing tricks on me or if Portland really is the current capital of the US for heavy music and extreme metal - hence this list.

Inclusion criteria:
featured on Metal Strom and
established in Portland or
a long-term creative phase in Portland or
still active and currently based in Portland
(that's why Leviathan is here but Lurker Of Chalice isn't)

Only one album (preferably the most recent full-length album) per band.

By the way, according to this article, Portland harbors the highest amount of active metal bands per capita in the US. Quite a surprise, isn't it?

While we are at it, what's your favorite Portland band?

1.Abhorrent Affliction - Forever Will He Reign

2.Acathexis - Acathexis

3.Ænigmatum - Deconsecrate

4.Ævangelist - Dream An Evil Dream III

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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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.Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony

2.Cadaveria - In Your Blood

3.Caïna - Mourner

4.Caïnan Dawn - F.O.H.A.T.

5.Cain's Offering - Stormcrow

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I've been listening to Metal since 2005 and it has become my biggest passion in life.

Rarely a day goes by where I don't listen to it in one form or another. The bands I listened to in my teens inspired me to pick up the guitar (and later drums) and start making music of my own.

So here are the albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the album give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 25 EPs (ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

Genre-Specific:
Top 50 Black Metal Albums
Top 50 Melodic Death Metal Albums
Top 45 Thrash Metal Albums
Top 40 Power Metal Albums
Top 30 Doom Metal Albums
Top 30 Heavy Metal Albums

1.Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Opeth - Still Life

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1.Seven Impale - City The Sun

2.Gazpacho - Demon

3.The Pineapple Thief - Magnolia

4.Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

5.Amplifier - Mystoria

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These are my favourite albums of 2014. You can find this list, together with some sentences about the albums, in my blog

http://forsakenatthegates.blogspot.se/

1.Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

2.Teramaze - Esoteric Symbolism

3.Anubis Gate - Horizons

4.Delain - The Human Contradiction

5.Vanden Plas - Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld (Path 1)

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Will be updated constantly as I remember albums/have time to add them! if more than one album per year- runner up. If none, then i picked none for that year.

1.The Agonist - The Eye of Providence

2.Queensrÿche - Condition Hüman

3.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

4.Marty Friedman - Inferno

5.Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia

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Cos, y'know, same shiz different year. Ran out of space again so will post final album opinions in comments.

1.Infestus - The Reflecting Void

2.Dirge - Hyperion

3.Nero Di Marte - Derivae

4.Steve Rothery - The Ghosts Of Pripyat

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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Only metal (and appeared on MetalStorm) here, for my "all-genres" top album, it's right here : https://rateyourmusic.com/list/mKekchoz/2014___music/

1.Darkspace - Dark Space III I

2.Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails

3.Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden

4.The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li

5.Monuments - The Amanuensis

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1.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2.Psygnosis - Human Be[ing]

3.Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds

4.Descend - Wither

5.Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend

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My favourite albums of 2014. (In order of preference, and only including albums I would rate 7+).

1.The Contortionist - Language

2.Rings Of Saturn - Lugal Ki En

3.Archspire - The Lucid Collective

4.Xerath - III

5.Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails

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So here it is > These are the releases i tend to hear most of the time this year. Some of my all time favourite bands released weak albums while others suprised me while i was cooking pasta .Fell free to comment and tell me your positive opinion (or else you will reveive tons of shit etc)

1.Aenaon - Extance

2.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

3.Major Parkinson - Twilight Cinema

4.Mors Principium Est - Dawn Of The 5th Era

5.Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity)

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1.Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain

2.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

3.Threshold - For The Journey

4.Overkill - White Devil Armory

5.Orange Goblin - Back From The Abyss

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So far, 2014 has been such an amazing ride in every respective field of music. Metal is no stranger, since its wide variety of sub-genres make this 2014 race and interesting one.
This list is 100% based on my personal taste and, while I try to listen to every genre and release, some are just way to Heavy for me so there probably won't be much Extreme stuff around here.

1.Major Parkinson - Twilight Cinema

2.Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi

3.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

4.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

5.IQ - The Road Of Bones

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