Some excellent records this year, it was sometimes really difficult to choose in what order I wanted to rank them.

I based this list on the scores I would give each album. When it's a tie between 2 or more albums, I usually pick the one I listened to the most during the year.

NOTE: If I at some point listen to an album that I think deserves to be in this top 20. I'll edit it into the list.

1.Iron Mask - Diabolica

2.Heavenwood - The Tarot Of The Bohemians: Part 1

3.Fractal Cypher - The Human Paradox

4.Stone Magnum - Holy Blessings To None

5.In The Woods... - Pure

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1.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2.Gojira - Magma

3.Twilight Force - Heroes Of Mighty Magic

4.Dark Oath - When Fire Engulfs The Earth

5.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

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Scoring copied from Sword_Chant:

✮✮✮✮✮ - Incredible, possibly Album Of The Year
✮✮✮✮½ - Awesome
✮✮✮✮ - Solid release
✮✮✮½ - Good release
✮✮✮ - Not bad
✮✮ - Disappointing
✮ - Bad / very bad

1.Be'lakor - Vessels

2.Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

3.Borknagar - Winter Thrice

4.Ihsahn - Arktis.

5.Fleshgod Apocalypse - King

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1.Enemy Of Reality - Arakhne

2.Alter Bridge - The Last Hero

3.Testament - Brotherhood Of The Snake

4.Anciients - Voice Of The Void

5.Crowbar - The Serpent Only Lies

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Albums I've heard enough times to consider ranking

1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Deströyer 666 - Wildfire

3.Suicidal Angels - Division Of Blood

4.Hobbs' Angel Of Death - Heaven Bled

5.Sojourner - Empires Of Ash

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1.Fleshgod Apocalypse - King

2.Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

3.Anciients - Voice Of The Void

4.Devin Townsend - Transcendence

5.Dark Tranquillity - Atoma

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1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Be'lakor - Vessels

3.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

4.Virvum - Illuminate

5.Thy Catafalque - Meta

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Very late starting on this one, been rather unable to keep up with releases over the summer so will try to catch up on as many cool releases as possible in the last couple of months of the year. Be prepared for pithy reviews

1.Ortega - Sacred States

2.Riverside - Eye Of The Soundscape

3.Oathbreaker - Rheia

4.Devin Townsend - Transcendence

5.Allegaeon - Proponent For Sentience

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My Favorite Albums Of The Year \m/

1.Onmyo-Za - 迦陵頻伽

2.Dream Theater - The Astonishing

3.Epica - The Holographic Principle

4.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

5.Opeth - Sorceress

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1.Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

2.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

3.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

4.Ihsahn - Arktis.

5.Haken - Affinity

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Favourite albums of 2016 (including only those which I would rate 7+)

1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Slice The Cake - Odyssey To The West

3.Animals As Leaders - The Madness Of Many

4.Gardenjia - Arkestral

5.Hypno5e - Shores Of The Abstract Line

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https://fullblackreviews.blogspot.com
My blog if you want to read some reviews.

1.Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep Of Reason

2.Schammasch - Triangle

3.Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä

4.Bethlehem - Bethlehem

5.Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis

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Like my other genre-based lists, this exists purely for my own organizational purposes and not to provide a definitive statement about or guidebook to the thrash genre. I've folded some speed metal and other occasional outliers into this list, maybe a few not-so-thrash albums by otherwise-thrash bands, since they're close enough and I wasn't going to make a separate list.

1.Slayer - Reign In Blood

2.Gama Bomb - Citizen Brain

3.Cross Examination - Menace II Sobriety

4.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Plini - Handmade Cities

3.Alcest - Kodama

4.The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation

5.Thank You Scientist - Stranger Heads Prevail

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1.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2.Dark Tranquillity - Atoma

3.Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep Of Reason

4.Opeth - Sorceress

5.Devin Townsend - Transcendence

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