This is a small list (that will grow over time) presenting all the top albums I have heard surrounding the prog-metal scene. I will try to add some lesser known bands that are incredibly good... Alphabetical order

1.Abydos - The Little Boy's Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About The Inhabitants Of His Diary

2.Age Of Silence - Acceleration

3.Akashic - A Brand New Day

4.Amaseffer - Exodus - Slaves for Life

5.Andromeda - II = I

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RANKING CRITERIA :

1. Originality

2. Songwriting

3. Vigorous performance

1.Anacrusis - Screams And Whispers

2.Overkill - Feel The Fire

3.Nuclear Assault - Game Over

4.Wrathchild America - 3-D

5.Toxik - World Circus

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1.Carnophage - Deformed Future // Genetic Nightmare

2.Cerebral Bore - Maniacal Miscreation

3.The Slow Death - II

4.Human Parasite - Proud To Build The Insidious Catastrophe

5.Dying Fetus - Infatuation With Malevolence

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Here are some totally Brootal albums I can't get enuff of! In alphabetical order...

1.Aeon - Rise To Dominate

2.Aeon - Bleeding The False

3.Aeon - Path Of Fire

4.Behemoth - The Apostasy

5.Blood Red Throne - Altered Genesis

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1.Testament - The Dark Roots Of Earth

2.Zonaria - Arrival Of The Red Sun

3.Qafas - Larghetto Laments

4.Sun Devoured Earth - Sounds Of Desolation

5.In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

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From last.fm (27.07.12)

1.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

2.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

3.Machine Head - The Blackening

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Machine Head - Through The Ashes Of Empires

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Looking at this list I realise that 2011 was a better metal year than I remembered it to be. Interesting year with a lot of surprises. The Shining album is in my opinion awesome, one of their best. Power Quest released their best album since "Wings of Forever". Amon Amarth keep on surprising me with solid releases (and I thought I was over them years ago). Opeth's "Heritage" was way better than my expectations. Amebix gave me some of the best tracks of '11. Overall, a really good year.

1.Shining - VII - Född Förlorare

2.Lifelover - Sjukdom

3.Aquilus - Griseus

4.An Autumn For Crippled Children - Everything

5.Öxxö Xööx - Rëvëürt

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1.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

2.The Haunted - Unseen

3.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

4.Mastodon - The Hunter

5.Flotsam & Jetsam - The Cold

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If you have any recommendations on similar albums I might like, you can suggest me.

1.Behemoth - Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)

2.Behemoth - Grom

3.Lutomysl - Catharsis

4.Furia (POL) - Martwa Polska Jesień

5.Behemoth - Pandemonic Incantations

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1.Pallbearer - Sorrow And Extinction

2.Dawnbringer - Into The Lair Of The Sun God

3.Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion

4.Ahab - The Giant

5.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

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1.Atoma - Skylight

2.Sybreed - God Is An Automaton

3.Katatonia - Dead End Kings

4.Anathema - Weather Systems

5.Eisbrecher - Die Hölle Muss Warten

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1.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

2.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

5.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

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(Probably are plenty of more obscure discs I've never heard of that you could substitute for a few of the following, but a lot of them would likely require some journey into the web. Where people have a tendency to make their presence known. Not advisable when hungover. Best to stick to the whole alone thing and the sorts of albums that everyone should either have a physical copy of or at least in their comp music folders somewhere.)

1.Warning - Watching From A Distance

2.

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.

5.Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade

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1.Kreator - Coma Of Souls

2.Kreator - Extreme Aggression

3.Kreator - Phantom Antichrist

4.Kreator - Enemy Of God

5.Kreator - Terrible Certainty

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