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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For me more than you, as the sheer amount of music in the world has turned me into a goldfish as far as remembering what I've listened to and what I thought of it. However, if you find something cool from here, more power you my friend!

1. Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

2. Fallujah - Dreamless

3. Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

4. Death Grips - The Bottomless Pit

5. Iamthemorning - Lighthouse

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Been a bit slow checking releases around the halfway point of the year, but should get back into it soon and hopefully flesh out this list.

1. Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

2. Horrendous - Anareta

3. Slugdge - Dim & Slimeridden Kingdoms

4. Teramaze - Her Halo

5. Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Exile

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Cos by this point it's almost mandatory. I've made a pretty slow start to the year but hopefully I'll start catching up soon enough.

1. A Forest Of Stars - Beware The Sword You Cannot See

2. Maladie - ...Still...

3. Dekadent - Veritas

4. Sylosis - Dormant Heart

5. Marriages - Salome

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My second 5-year summary list, just to give mentions to some bands that released songs I have loved over the past few years which didn't necessarily deliver a whole package that won me over. The top order of this list will probably have a greater focus on melodic, hooky, punchy-yet-accessible more mainstream songs, as a) those songs are more likely to stand out and worm into your head, especially on an uneven record, and b) they help fuel my workouts so get a lot more plays.

1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Widower (Runners-up: N/A)

2. Be'lakor - In Parting (Runners-up: The Dream And The Waking, Remnants, Of Moon And Star)

3. Voyager - A Beautiful Mistake (Runners-up: The Morning Light)

4. Protest The Hero - Drumhead Trial (Runners-up: Skies, C'est La Vie, Sex-Tapes)

5. Sylosis - Serpent's Tongue (Runners-up: The River, Paradox, Kingdom Of Solitude)

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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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Cos, y'know, same shiz different year. Ran out of space again so will post final album opinions in comments.

1. Infestus - The Reflecting Void

2. Dirge - Hyperion

3. Nero Di Marte - Derivae

4. Steve Rothery - The Ghosts Of Pripyat

5. Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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I doubt I'll have the time to sample enough music to match the 201 albums I covered in 2013, but hopefully I'll be able to listen to a fair few things and pass on me ol' thoughts.

1. Sleepmakeswaves - Love Of Cartography

2. Infestus - The Reflecting Void

3. Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

4. Ortega - Crows

5. Dirge - Hyperion

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Because I can't stop listening to music, but neither can I sacrifice my lovely descriptions, so same fare as before, but deleted descriptions for those covered in the first list.

1. Protest The Hero - Volition

2. Persefone - Spiritual Migration

3. Amorphis - Circle

4. Nero Di Marte - Nero Di Marte

5. Monolithe - Monolithe IV

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1. Persefone - Spiritual Migration

2. Amorphis - Circle

3. Nero Di Marte - Nero Di Marte

4. Riverside - Shrine Of New Generation Slaves

5. The Ocean - Pelagial

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Because I reached the word limit on the previous list, and don't want to lose my quite excellent in-depth descriptions. Those without descriptions are from my other list.

1. Sylosis - Monolith

2. Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

3. In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

4. Abigail Williams - Becoming

5. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Area 52

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One of likely hundreds of these, more for self-enjoyment (or something) above anything, but if it helps someone find a good album/albums they wouldn't've otherwise heard I'll be happy.

1. Sylosis - Monolith

2. Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

3. In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

4. Abigail Williams - Becoming

5. Enslaved - RIITIIR

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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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1. Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2. Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera

3. Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

4. Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

5. Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth

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Moves up and down depending on mood, but top 25-30 usually the same in varying order

1. Sylosis - Conclusion Of An Age

2. Machine Head - The Blackening

3. Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

4. Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

5. In Flames - The Jester Race

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