1.Shylmagoghnar - Transience

2.Ostura - The Room

3.The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

4.Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name

5.Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs

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

2018 was pretty good year, some solid releases in death and Melodic death metal, Symphonic metal had a pretty good record comparing to previous years, and Judas priest released there best album in almost thirty years.


My favorite non metal albums of 2018

1. Civilisation
By Southern Empire (Progressive rock, Symphonic rock)


2. Schmaltz
By Spanish Love Songs (Pop Punk, Emo)


3. Joy as an Act of Resistance
By Idles (Post-Hardcore, Art punk)


4. TA13OO
By Denzel Curry (Trap, Southern Hip Hop, Trap Metal)


5. OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES
By SOPHIE (Bubblegum Bass, Hyperpop, Experimental)



My favorite movie from 2018

1.Amorphis - Queen Of Time

2.Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name

3.Crescent - The Order Of Amenti

4.Judas Priest - Firepower

5.Shylmagoghnar - Transience

      View entire list ››

Here's my list of symphonic metal albums from the bands that I know of, this list is defined by the terms of "atmospheric/bombastic sounding". This is my first time of making list on this site, so some of this might not make any sense as I'm still a bit confused myself as well, and I don't really prefer to see these in particular orders.

1.Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

2.Within Temptation - The Silent Force

3.Epica - The Divine Conspiracy

4.Xandria - Neverworld's End

5.Nightwish - Once

      View entire list ››

The goats. The near perfect albums that never get old. Some are full of catchy bangers I'm always humming, and some are so full to the brim of details that I still haven't even uncovered them all.

A brief outline of my ratings:
8.5-9.0 = An excellent album with a few mild drawbacks (Weak song, slightly irritating vocals, odd flow)
9.0-9.5 = Perfect albums that haven't quite warranted the time-earnt 9.5+.
9.5-9.9 = Perfect albums that have stood the test of time, ranked by preference.
10 = I don't expect to hear another album like these, ever.

(I use 'perfect' lightly as it makes no sense for a man-made creation to be flawless. 'Perfect' is simply a term to outline how high a level of enjoyment is, specifically the level of enjoyment when minor faults become insignificant.)

(I evaluate albums outside of metal vastly differently to the ones here, which explains the lack of representation of my other favourite genres. Blue Sky Mining is an exception due to being structured very similarly to my optimal metal album. I may add some picks from other genres down the line.)


STATS:
I know y'all don't look at my lists, so these are purely for my own interest.

-Decades
'10s: 36
'20s: 22
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 35
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 3
Contemporary: 2
Folk: 1
Doom: 1
Rock: 1

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Memories Of Old - The Zeramin Game

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Persefone - Aathma

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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.Oak - Lone

2.Oath To Vanquish - Applied Schizophrenic Science

3.Oathbreaker - Rheia

4.Obake - Mutations

5.Obituary - Cause Of Death

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This list aims to be the counterpart to the Metal Storm Top 200 Albums (plus a few extras).

If you discover a new band or already like any of ones here, please give this list a thumbs up and/or leave a comment so we can get these overlooked gems in front of more people.

Criteria:
• High-quality musicianship (i.e. 9-10/10 IMO)
• 1 album per band

Ordered by number of votes then MS rating.

As these are albums with a low number of votes, the rating is likely to change frequently. I will update this list as often as I can.

Updated: 29-Jan-24

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Solipsist - The Human Equation

2.Ayahuasca - Beneath The Mind

3.Cryptomnesia - Primordial Oddity

4.Element (USA) - The Energy

5.Telepathy - 12 Areas

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

I'm trying to find as many albums as I can this year, and I'm building the list day after day. It should end as a top list, but now it's under construction and I'm just tracking a couple of stuff. I'm not focusing on "good" records, but more on whatever strongly catches my attention.

(+) favorites
★ most played

1.Night Verses - From The Gallery Of Sleep

2.Cauldron - New Gods

3.Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

4.Messa - Feast For Water

5.OddZoo - Future Flesh

      View entire list ››

1.Amorphis - Queen Of Time

2.Vermilia - Kätkyt

3.Sulphur Aeon - The Scythe Of Cosmic Chaos

4.Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit

5.Tribulation - Down Below

      View entire list ››

Another installation of famous robpal's HIGH ENERGY list! This time for the year of 2018.
Here are the rules.

No rating=haven't heard yet/not enough spins

★★★★★ - Masterpiece!
★★★★½ - Excellent!
★★★★☆ - Great!
★★★½☆ - Very Good!
★★★☆☆ - Enjoyable!
★★½☆☆ - OK, Nothing Special
★★☆☆☆ - Mediocre
★½☆☆☆ - Poor

1.Odin's Court - Turtles All The Way Down Volume II

2.Kayak - Seventeen

3.White Wizzard - Infernal Overdrive

4.Corrosion Of Conformity - No Cross No Crown

5.Perfect Beings - Vier

      View entire list ››

**DISCLAIMER: This list is based on my own opinion and musical taste, and should not be taken otherwise.
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Self-explainatory list that's used mostly for personal reminders of upcoming releases.
Your recommandations & suggestions are welcome! :-)
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I think it won't be a surprise if I say that my favorite album of 2018 was:
AMORPHIS - Queen Of Time !!!

1.Riverside - Wasteland

2.Conception - My Dark Symphony

3.Amorphis - Queen Of Time

4.Lunatic Soul - Under The Fragmented Sky

5.Skálmöld - Sorgir

      View entire list ››