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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Back when I joined the site in 2011, I did a customary top 100 album list. Every year since then, when I've looked back at it it's become increasingly unrecognisable from my own tastes. Seeing bands I once listened to daily vanish from my playlists, new bands emerge as favourites, and bands even come and go in my reckonings during that time period (Iced Earth, Alcest, even Pain Of Salvation and more certainly peaked in my listening habits around 2011-12 to slowly vanish into obscurity). Now that it's just gone 5 years since I did that list, I thought I might do an updated list just to see how much my tastes have shifted. Whilst compiling the list, I pretty much worked on gut instinct, which was weird as I found myself almost disregarding albums I know I like whilst promoting albums I'm honestly undecided on - it almost seemed to veer away from album quality at times to embracing a subconscious effect the albums have had. Anyway, here it is, plus some honorable mentions that I was surprised missed out.

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Protest The Hero - Kezia

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My top albums of the year, roughly in order.

1.Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

2.Vektor - Outer Isolation

3.Xerath - II

4.Vildhjarta - Måsstaden

5.Havok - Time Is Up

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List of the albums that surprised me this year (2011). Some of the albums were even more unexpected because it was my first contact with the bands. Others were confirmations.
Oh, how I like good surprises... (ongoing list)

1.Grayceon - All We Destroy

2.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

3.TesseracT - One

4.Appearance Of Nothing - All Gods Are Gone

5.Long Distance Calling - Long Distance Calling

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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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that was disappointing year.most of the old bands i like didn't make any thing special for example my dying bride,ghost brigade

1.TesseracT - One

2.Wolverine - Communication Lost

3.The Project Hate MCMXCIX - Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis)

4.Septicflesh - The Great Mas

5.Shining - VII - Född Förlorare

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Just a humble list of albums released this year that I found really enjoyable. There is no real order in here, as it's too hard for me to decided which album deserve, e.g., a 1st place and which - a 13th. So... Just listen to all these good pieces of music and enjoy!

1.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

2.Opeth - Heritage

3.Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

4.Primordial - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

5.Riverside - Memories In My Head

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My top 2011 list per November

1.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

2.Mitochondrion - Parasignosis

3.Ana Kefr - Burial Tree (II)

4.Atlas Moth - An Ache For The Distance

5.SubRosa - No Help For The Mighty One

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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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1.Devin Townsend - Deconstruction

2.Symphony X - Iconoclast

3.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

4.Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

5.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

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1.Avantasia - Angel Of Babylon

2.Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony

3.Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

4.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

5.Accept - Blood Of The Nations

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Not a very good year. Not a single 9, the first six releases coming close though. Finally 20 worthy albums to called the "TOP."

The three EPs were included because they are all over 30 minutes.

1.Magnus - Magnus

2.Beyond Creation - The Aura

3.Obscura - Omnivium

4.Fluxious - Why So Serious?

5.Gorod - Transcendence

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1.Obscura - Omnivium

2.Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstasy

3.Born Of Osiris - The Discovery

4.Magic Pie - The Suffering Joy

5.Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa

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1.Metallica - Beyond Magnetic

2.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

3.Sepultura - Kairos

4.In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading

5.Anthrax - Worship Music

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Purely subjective list based on personal preferences for the year, unrelated to mass opinion of an album or a band's abilities (e.g. Trivium, Oranssi Pazuzu) - many albums lined up to listen to so will increase in size. Also, not entirely in order, middle order mainly just an approximation.

1.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

2.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

3.Infestus - E x I s t

4.Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

5.Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

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