1.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2.Kauan - Sorni Nai

3.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

4.Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination

5.Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)

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1.Opeth - Pale Communion

2.Sólstafir - Ótta

3.Lunatic Soul - Walking On A Flashlight Beam

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

5.Insomnium - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

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I began this decade in my final year of high school, in the early phases of my metal journey (Mastodon, Machine Head, Dream Theater, Pantera and Avenged Sevenfold were still recent discoveries). One Masters degree and one PhD later, I'm now a tax-paying Londonian, and have ploughed through what must be comfortably over 2000 new releases during the previous ten years. To commemorate the end of a turbulent decade, I've put together a list of the albums that have stuck with me throughout this decade - I wouldn't consider this to be a 'best albums' list, as there have been some truly ingenious works released in more avant-garde territories, but ultimately these are the albums that have ended up dominating my listening habits, or otherwise making a sufficient impression to make this list.

1.Sylosis - Monolith

2.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

5.Cult Of Luna - Vertikal

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1.The Black Keys - Turn Blue

2.Opeth - Pale Communion

3.Lunatic Soul - Walking On A Flashlight Beam

4.U2 - Songs Of Innocence

5.Wolves Like Us - Black Soul Choir

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1.Freak Kitchen - Cooking With Pagans

2.Threshold - For The Journey

3.Serdce - Timelessness

4.Lux Occulta - Kołysanki

5.Freedom Call - Beyond

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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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If you make a quick comparison between 2014 and the previous years Top 20 Album lists, you would notice that the top album of 2014, have the lowest rating average compared to 2013,2012, 2011 and 2010. No single album so far, have an average above 8.5. This sucks. Here is a list that has some albums that I think are the best of this crappy year (so far).

1.Swans - To Be Kind

2.Lunatic Soul - Walking On A Flashlight Beam

3.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

4.Behemoth - The Satanist

5.

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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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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.Opeth - Pale Communion

2.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

3.Delain - The Human Contradiction

4.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

5.Within Temptation - Hydra

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Pretty much every album that's caught my attention over the year, including non-metal. (Variety is a virtue, y'know )

I'll only be commenting on albums that I've given enough time to really form an opinion on. Chances are albums that failed to interest me beyond a first listen will eventually be removed from the list.

1.Swans - To Be Kind

2.Darren Korb - Transistor Original Soundtrack

3.Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies

4.Gazpacho - Demon

5.Vampillia - My Beautiful Twisted Nightmares In Aurora Rainbow Darkness

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Work In Progress.

Releases not featured on MS:

Nobody.One - Ocean Echo

Enabler - La Fin Absolute Du Monde

Widek - Outside The Universe

1.Mechina - Xenon

2.Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite

3.Revocation - Deathless

4.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

5.Alcest - Shelter

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