I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1.Thy Catafalque - Meta

2.Sepulcros - Vazio

3.Kassad - Faces Turn Away

4.Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

5.Xanthochroid - Of Erthe And Axen: Act I

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Ratings go from:

WORSHIP ❤️❤️❤️: Absolute greatness, a mindblowing album.
LOVE ❤️❤️🖤: Amazing release with very few flaws.
LIKE ❤️🖤🖤: Enjoyable but far from perfect.
DISLIKE 💔: Not very good or maybe not fitting my tastes.

I've decided to stop rating albums with a numerical value as I tend to feel uncomfortable with that. This list has a minimalistic, subjective and visceral approach, based purely on sensations and personal tastes. Mainly for personal use and doesn't pretend to be a serious ranking, but emerges from the need to remember which bands and albums I enjoyed and the ones I disliked. I constantly revisit new releases so first impressions may change over time. It usually takes 8-10 spins for me to get completely sure of a rating.

1.Æther Realm - Tarot

2.Abhoria - Abhoria

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agrypnie - Metamorphosis

5.Allegaeon - Fragments Of Form And Function

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1.Kauan - Sorni Nai

2.Wilderun - Sleep At The Edge Of The Earth

3.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

4.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

5.Dødheimsgard - A Umbra Omega

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1.Sigh - In Somniphobia

2.Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

3.Sigh - Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien

4.Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

5.Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

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1.Melechesh - Enki

2.Tengger Cavalry - Blood Sacrifice Shaman

3.Fear Factory - Genexus

4.Psycroptic - Psycroptic

5.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

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1.Tribulation - The Children Of The Night

2.Slayer - Repentless

3.Leprous - The Congregation

4.Unleashed - Dawn Of The Nine

5.Kauan - Sorni Nai

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1.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

2.Senegal Grindcore Mafia - Hay Daño En Casa

3.Leviathan - Scar Sighted

4.Ahab - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig

5.A Forest Of Stars - Beware The Sword You Cannot See

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Simple ranking of all my favorite albums. Favorite song from the album in the notes. Sure to change/expand as I learn and explore more within metal.
2023: This was starting to get too long so I split it into separate lists for albums at each ranking 10 to 7. This list will no longer be updated.
10: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6891
9: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7213
8: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7512
7: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=8058

1.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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I will update soon.

1.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

2.Subterranean Masquerade - The Great Bazaar

3.Deafheaven - New Bermuda

4.Leprous - The Congregation

5.Native Construct - Quiet World

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Words are for dummies. So are arbitrary lists. This is the crap I played a lot and liked a lot. My tastes are shit.

1.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

2.Nylithia - Hyperthrash

3.Beaten To Death - Unplugged

4.Cain's Offering - Stormcrow

5.Glaciation - Sur Les Falaises De Marbre

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A list of my favorite 2015 albums. Also with my favorite tracks.

1.A Forest Of Stars - Beware The Sword You Cannot See

2.Shape Of Despair - Monotony Fields

3.Cattle Decapitation - The Anthropocene Extinction

4.Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards

5.Misþyrming - Söngvar Elds Og Óreiðu

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Every album to catch my ear during 2015, rated, with plenty of non-metal for those of you who like to branch out and see what the whole world of music has to offer. Variety'll always be a virtue.

Numerous focused listens needed before rating.
Updates will (hopefully) be constant.

New Update: In order to promote exploration into albums you may not know, I've decided to include "Standout Track" segments for any album which has a track I feel you all MUST listen to. Hopefully these can help hook people with albums they're not familiar with, because chances are they instantaneously hooked me.

1.Death Grips - The Powers That B

2.Leprous - The Congregation

3.Clarence Clarity - No Now

4.Björk - Vulnicura

5.Envy - Atheist's Cornea

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As is the case with my other lists, this is for my own organizational purposes and is designed purely to help me keep track of all the many black metal bands and albums that I enjoy, since I can't keep all of this information in my head. It has no other benefit whatsoever and will likely result in tantrums should anyone else see it. I'm aware that I haven't listened to every black metal album that I should have. I only went down to the 6s on this list, so it's possible that I have listened to your favorite black metal album that you desperately need to suggest and I thought it was terrible. There are a lot of heinously incompetent black metal bands out there.

On the off-chance that you've found this and actually care about what I think (you shouldn't), be advised that my favorites come first. Some are favorites in the general sense; some are favorites within black metal. The first few of those are in some order and not so much after that.

Because this is for my own purposes and not intended to be a definitive list of pure black metal, there are some black metal-adjacent bands, or albums by black metal bands that may not themselves be black metal. That's why you'll find so much Sigh clogging up the top of the list. I prefer to keep whole discographies together on one list. I used to include Primordial, Forefather, and other such bands, but a while back I created a list for folk and I decided that those artists would fit better there.

I update these lists very infrequently. This was last updated December 7, 2022.

1.Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

2.Sigh - Graveward

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Heir To Despair

5.The Meads Of Asphodel - The Murder Of Jesus The Jew

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2015. Best to worst. Simple as that.

1.Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss

2.Sea Witch - The Blackened Sea

3.Echoes Of Yul - The Healing

4.Chrch - Unanswered Hymns

5.Zuriaake - 孤雁

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1.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.

2.Arcturus - Arcturian

3.Symphony X - Underworld

4.Leprous - The Congregation

5.Soilwork - The Ride Majestic

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