A collection of metal albums that use Arabian, middle-east and far east folk elements. Recommendations are welcome. Image is the cover artwork of Shangren's Warriors of Devastation.

1.Acyl - Algebra

2.Aeternam - Disciples Of The Unseen

3.Akvan اكوان - شکوه فراموش شده / Forgotten Glory

4.Al-Namrood - Estorat Taghoot

5.Al-Namrood - Kitab Al-Awthan

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I know I probably speak for a lot of people when I say that, very often, the artwork that a band chooses for a particular album can be the icing on the cake, essential to giving a visual depiction that tops off the overall aesthetic of the music. There are plenty of albums that I simply couldn't imagine listening to without staring, zoned out, to the big ball of glorious that is their cover art. Here are some such albums. In alphabetical order by band. Links to full images of the covers have been provided, as well as credits to the artists.

1.Aarni - Bathos

2.Absu - The Sun Of Tiphareth

3.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

4.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

5.Blue Öyster Cult - Fire Of Unknown Origin

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weeee! 2010 is pretty much toast and 2011 is coming 'round the bend. here are my top 25 picks from this past year. top six or seven are firmly in place, the rest of the list is a clusterfuck of high 7 's to low 8's, which are likely to go up or down a couple slots within seconds of my posting this.

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

2.Mar De Grises - Streams Inwards

3.Negură Bunget - Măiestrit

4.Shattered Hope - Absence

5.Eibon - Entering Darkness

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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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weeeee. all my past staff picks now compiled into one swell list.

1.High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine

2.Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough

3.Greymachine - Disconnected

4.Kylesa - Static Tensions

5.Profetus - Coronation Of The Black Sun

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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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In alphabetical order

1.Acrassicauda - Only The Dead See The End Of The War

2.Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

3.Al-Thawra - Edifice

4.Atheist - Jupiter

5.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

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My best of 2010

1.Cradle Of Filth - Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa

2.Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

3.Painted Black - Cold Comfort

4.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

5.Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

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I haven't heard all the albums released in 2010, so this list could and probably will change in time.

1.Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier

2.Exodus - Exhibit B: The Human Condition

3.Death Angel - Relentless Retribution

4.Demonica - Demonstrous

5.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

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1.Atheist - Jupiter

2.Hour Of Penance - Paradogma

3.Flesh Consumed - Ecliptic Dimensions Of Suffering

4.Melechesh - The Epigenesis

5.Canvas Solaris - Irradiance

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This is a list of all the folk metal albums I have listened to that I found to be of at least marginal quality. It is purely for my own organizational purposes and is not meant to be a definitive statement about the genre; for that reason, there are some entries that don't entirely fit the description, including some neofolk albums and bands that don't exactly play "folk metal" but are close enough.

1.Elvenking - Secrets Of The Magick Grimoire

2.Forefather - Ours Is The Kingdom

3.Forefather - Steadfast

4.Forefather - Last Of The Line

5.Dalriada - Áldás

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1.Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

2.Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here

3.Helevorn - Forthcoming Displeasures

4.Melechesh - The Epigenesis

5.Witchery - Witchkrieg

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1.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

2.Ancient Bards - The Alliance Of The Kings

3.Helloween - 7 Sinners

4.Fear Factory - Mechanize

5.Soulitude - Wonderfool World

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1.Vulture Industries - The Malefactor's Bloody Register

2.Carach Angren - Death Came Through A Phantom Ship

3.Melechesh - The Epigenesis

4.Motorjesus - Wheels Of Purgatory

5.God Is An Astronaut - Age Of The Fifth Sun

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1.Overkill - Ironbound

2.Ghost - Opus Eponymous

3.Negator - Panzer Metal

4.Akelei - De Zwaarte Van Het Doorstane

5.Enforcer - Diamonds

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