"Very good" or above. The top 20 are the best of the year. Everything else ranges from 8 to 9.5 on a "10" scale.

1.Afterbirth - In But Not Of

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Godthrymm - Distortions

4.Fvnerals - Let The Earth Be Silent

5.Notturno - Inside

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Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

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Last Updated: April 27th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

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1.Shade Empire - Sunholy

2.Bloodred Hourglass - How's The Heart?

3.Stam1na - X

4.Sepulchral Curse - Abhorrent Dimensions

5.Warmen - Here For None

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Year Currently Covered: 2023

Hey folks! Welcome to the greatly coveted Guib Awards! Instead of creating a list every year, I've decided to make a single one that will change yearly to feature my favorite albums of the past one. So this first iteration will feature albums for 2023!

I will not be covering every genre nor a specific one and I won't limit myself to a single album per genre. It will literally be my absolute favorites of the year currently covered or albums that I listened to a lot more than I'd like to admit, so this won't be as big as my usual lists. Also, I will only cover a maximum of 50 albums, all featured on MS and they will be placed in alphabetical order (of the band's name).

Hope some of you will agree with me, but as always... It doesn't really matter, does it?

Cheers to good music and have fun!

Note: Albums with a "√" are albums I voted for in one of the categories of the last MS awards.

Last Updated: April 15th, 2024

1.Altarage - Worst Case Scenario

2.Baroness - Stone

3.Bloodletter - A Different Kind Of Hell

4.Capra - Errors

5.CauseNeffect - Validation Through Suffering

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Not totally clean, and I had to cut some categories to stay in the 1000 lines limit.

1.

2.Avatar - Dance Devil Dance

3.Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But A Dream...

4.Code Orange - The Above

5.Death Dealer Union - Initiation

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1.Ions - Counterintuitive

2.Kalmah - Kalmah

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1.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

2.Insomnium - Anno 1696

3.Fen - Monuments To Absence

4.Godflesh - Purge

5.Incantation - Unholy Deification

      View entire list ››

Hello there. Below lie my favorite death metal records of 2023 listed alphabetically by band name, with subgenres included if by chance anyone cares. The list will be updated periodically when I get through the ungodly amount of great music the year has produced. As always I welcome recommendations in the comments. That being said, let the blood spill and enjoy the following carnage

1.Absolutism - Asynchronous

2.Afterbirth - In But Not Of

3.Ahab - The Coral Tombs

4.Alkaloid - Numen

5.Altarage - Worst Case Scenario

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1.Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current

2.Kauan - ATM Revised

3.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

4.Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle

5.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

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Pretty average year, with really spare releases for me.

Plus since Epic Games, before won against Google on trail, has sold Bandcamp (wich was bought only to disturb Google during thier trail) to Songtradr (a music licensing platform), wich has cut off half of the stuff just after acquisition, so i feel bad for artists and workers. Pretty sad times for indie music...

1.Blaze Of Sorrow - Vultus Fati

2.Shores Of Null - The Loss Of Beauty

3.Overkill - Scorched

4.Kalmah - Kalmah

5.Burden Of Grief - Destination Dystopia

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I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1.Amon Amarth - Jomsviking

2.Qrixkuor - Poison Palinopsia

3.Skepticism - Ordeal

4.Funeral Mist - Devilry

5.Zeal & Ardor - Zeal And Ardor

      View entire list ››

1.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

2.Oak - Disintegrate

3.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

4.Bizarrekult - Den Tapte Krigen

5.Soen - Memorial

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1.Shylmagoghnar - Convergence

2.Sacred Outcry - Towers Of Gold

3.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle

      View entire list ››

1.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

2.Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit

3.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

4.Church Of Misery - Born Under A Mad Sign

5.Kalmah - Kalmah

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Albums i've listened to multiple times that were released this year. Ranking will be made at the end of the year.

1.Baroness - Stone

2.Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

3.Riverside - ID.Entity

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Enslaved - Heimdal

      View entire list ››