Another year, another top 10, or should I say top 25 of the year. Plenty of good albums, but Månegarm, Borknagar and Insomnium without a doubt top albums of the year. Villagers of Ioannina City is a revelation of the year, and while it might not be "metal" definitely one of the top albums of this year. Blind Guardian is not bad, far from it, but I expected so much more from this album hence it (un)deservedly gets to bear the shame of the letdown, although it is a decent album. Maybe I expected too much from it. One of the bands that deserve more attention this year for certain is Croatian Old Night, a real masterpiece when it comes to doom. Another recommendation would be Serbian Svartgren with their new black metal album called Divlja Vatra, or Wildfire. The rest of it pretty much boils down to personal taste and preferences. Darkwater and Bloodbound were a very pleasant surprise when it comes to progressive and power metal respectively. When it comes to symphonic and progressive metal, Wilderun was another pleasant surprise, a band I discovered recently through metalstorm website..

1.Månegarm - Fornaldarsagor

2.Borknagar - True North

3.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

4.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

5.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

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1.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

2.Soilwork - Verkligheten

3.In Mourning - Garden Of Storms

4.Shadow Of Intent - Melancholy

5.Eternal Storm - Come The Tide

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Albums that I listened to in 2019
The Albums are ordered from best to worst but the List is changing till the end of the year.
This is just my opinion.

1.In Mourning - Garden Of Storms

2.Cloak - The Burning Dawn

3.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

4.Darkthrone - Old Star

5.Midnight Priest - Aggressive Hauntings

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1.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

2.Soilwork - Verkligheten

3.Gloryhammer - Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex

4.In Mourning - Garden Of Storms

5.Twilight Force - Dawn Of The Dragonstar

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In no particular order

1.Xoth - Interdimensional Invocations

2.Borknagar - True North

3.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

4.Vorna - Sateet Palata Saavat

5.Darkthrone - Old Star

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1.Darkwater - Human

2.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

3.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

4.Belzebubs - Pantheon Of The Nightside Gods

5.Borknagar - True North

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1.Misþyrming - Algleymi

2.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

3.Sinmara - Hvísl Stjarnanna

4.Fleshgod Apocalypse - Veleno

5.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

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Only good stuff included.

So far 2019 has been truly marvelous year full of stellar metal releases. I'll be updating this list as I find more worthy ones and/or get more into the ones already listed.

My ratings:

✮✮✮✮✮ = Instant classic.
✮✮✮✮½ = The Force is strong with this one.
✮✮✮✮ = Pretty damn good!

1.Finsterforst - Zerfall

2.Iapetus - The Body Cosmic

3.Numenorean - Adore

4.IQ - Resistance

5.White Ward - Love Exchange Failure

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This isn't The Best Of list, just list of albums i listened and liked

1.Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance

2.Waste Of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis

3.Hope Drone - Void Lustre

4.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

5.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

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1.Soen - Lotus

2.Ningen Isu - 新青年

3.Candlemass - The Door To Doom

4.Fleshgod Apocalypse - Veleno

5.Russian Circles - Blood Year

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The best of 2019

1.Disillusion - The Liberation

2.Soen - Lotus

3.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

4.Waste Of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis

5.Lacrimas Profundere - Bleeding The Stars

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(Top 130... won't make it to 200 until early next year... but I don't mind, do you? *sound of crickets* well, ok then, soliloquy over =) )

update: never got to 200, but I'm hoping the 2020's list will - or at least a top 150

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Finsterforst - Zerfall

3.Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

4.Borknagar - True North

5.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

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1.Flesh Of The Stars - Mercy

2.Soen - Lotus

3.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

4.Frostveil - Ephemeral Visions

5.Thank You Scientist - Terraformer

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1.Wormwood - Nattarvet

2.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

3.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

4.Soen - Lotus

5.Brutus (Belgium Band) - Nest

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My top to bottom list of everything from 2019 I've spent time with and have also purchased either physically or digitally (which is why most of them have high ratings). Releases featured on MS only. Whole number ratings out of 10 and my personal opinions included.

NOTE: I am no longer updating this list. 2019 was a monster year for music but I am onto a 2020 list. You can check it out here: http://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6056

1.Soen - Lotus

2.Borknagar - True North

3.Alcest - Spiritual Instinct

4.Thank You Scientist - Terraformer

5.Brymir - Wings Of Fire

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