TOP 50 of 2014.

The great return of Empyrium!

Album rate 8 & above

Album count: 144
Average rating: 7.04

1.Empyrium - The Turn Of The Tides

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

3.Fen - Carrion Skies

4.Anathema - Distant Satellites

5.Moanaa - Descent

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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.Macabre - Murder Metal

2.Macabre Omen - Gods Of War - At War

3.Macbeth - Romantic Tragedy's Crescendo

4.Machinae Supremacy - Overworld

5.Machine Head - The Blackening

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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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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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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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Every year, hundreds of albums are written and released for people to buy and hopefully not steal. I spend most of my free time searching far and wide for new music, most of which only very few people know about. This list will contain all the albums released this year that I listened to, and what I thought of it. The rating system is as follows:
Based = Awesome, Perfect
Chill = Solid, Substantial
Dope = Good-not-great, Something I'll only listen to if I'm bored
Retarded = Mediocre, Unremarkable
Mindfucked = Complete waste of time
Also, there will be albums that aren't metal that will appear here, just cause.

1.1349 - Massive Cauldron Of Chaos

2.Abigor - Leytmotif Luzifer - The 7 Temptations Of Man

3.Aborted - The Necrotic Manifesto

4.Aenaon - Extance

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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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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I'll start off by saying that I wasn't planning on doing a list so early on in the year, but I've come across numerous albums that I'd like to share with people who enjoy my lists (or people who hate my lists).

This list will be a little different than my 2013 list. I created that list at the end of the year, and then decreased it to my Top 25 of 2013. This list will be a compilation of all 2014 albums I've come across and given a listen.

1.Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution

2.Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation

3.Ophis - Abhorrence In Opulence

4.Ghost Brigade - IV - One With The Storm

5.Infestus - The Reflecting Void

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Revised to TOP 20 but might still update...
Last updated: 3/14/15

1.Lantlôs - Melting Sun

2.Eden Circus - Marula

3.Moanaa - Descent

4.Fen - Carrion Skies

5.Pet Slimmers Of The Year - Fragments Of Uniforms

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Favorite albums of the year.

1.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2.Rishloo - Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth

3.Lantlôs - Melting Sun

4.Gates - Bloom and Breathe

5.Falloch - This Island, Our Funeral

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Thank you all once again for all of the suggestions and recommendations from 2014, and for following this list over the year! I can't promise I'll get to all of the suggestions, nor will I make this list as much of a priority. However, I will probably get to them at some point in the near future. The only thing I need to do is adjust my ratings, which are skewed very high at the moment.

1.Qualeaceans - Capture Of Ziz

2.Amogh Symphony - Vectorscan

3.Schammasch - Contradiction

4.Kayo Dot - Coffins On Io

5.Stoic Dissention - Autochthon

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Daily updated

1.Morbus Chron - Sweven

2.

3.Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite

4.Behemoth - The Satanist

5.Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi

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