However many. No ranking necessary. What impressed you? What did you play the crap out of? What caught your attention? For me...: Borknagar - Winter Thrice Fallujah - Dreamless Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust Be'Lakor - Vessels Insomnium - Winter's Gate Opeth - Sorceress Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason Anciients - Voice of the Void Wardruna - Runaljod Ragnarök Sig:Ar:Tyr - Northen Ereb Altor - Blot Lit Taut Oceans of Slumber - Winter
Borknagar - Winter Thrice Rotting Christ - Rituals Fleshgod Apocalypse - King Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts These four are easily the masterpieces for me, although I haven't heard a lot of albums that I really would expect to love, such as the new Insomnium and possibly Moonsorrow (although I prefer their older material). I haven't explored a lot of new music this year to be honest. There's already too much great music from the past that takes my attention!
Insomnium - Winter's Gate (album of the year) Thrawsunblat - Metachthonia Astronoid - Air Be'lakor - Vessels Oddland - Origin Embreach - The World that We Have Lost Dark Tranquillity - Atoma Those are at least 8/10. I discovered the Thrawsunblat album just recently, some very nice blackened folk metal. Astronoid is something... different.
I know, nothing from the usual suspects, but... * Katatonia - "The Fall of Hearts" * The 69 Eyes - "Universal Monsters" * Steve'n'Seagulls - "Brothers In Farms"
Also, I just have to note how much of a role expectations play in these year end lists. It's really clear this year when so many lists at so many media outlets have Metallica's solidly mediocre Hardwired...To Self Destruct on their year-end list simply because it a) is Metallica and b) is modern day Metallica that bucked the odds and somehow managed to not suck (and usually completely ignoring the fact that Sodom, Testament and Death Angel all put out better thrash albums this year) . Meanwhile Opeth's Sorceress, while not their best album, gets dumped into people's "disappointment" lists on the basis of it being a perfectly fine album but not being the breakout that listeners had hoped for coming on the heels of Pale Communion.
so many awesome albums this year. in no order, these are my favorites: mithras schammasch wandering wind vredehammer waldgefluster astronoid vex violet cold ultar an abstract illusion (amazing stuff) violet cold oak pantheon grift in the woods
Skálmöld - Vögguvísur Yggdrasils Borknagar - Winter Thrice Naðra - Allir vegir til glötunar Insomnium - Winter's Gate Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale Skuggsjá Listening to Sorceress as I type but still don't find it to be more than a pleasant background. Another release that didn't live up to expectations was Omnium Gatherum's "Grey Havens". On the other hand, there's several recent releases that might have ended up in my favorites list if I they hadn't been forgotten on my list of stuff to check out (Brymir, Saattue, Kypck, Oranssi Pazuzu, Ihsahn, Amon Amarth, Be'lakor, Ereb Altor...), will try to lend them an ear before the winter is over....
Okay, add Alcest - Kodama on to mine as well, just under the wire. Been listening to shoegazer stuff all day as it was and Alcest finally clicked for me.
In no particular order: Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep Of Reason Fallujah - Dreamland Gojira - Magma Deftones - Gore Ghost - Popestar Anal Trump - That Makes Me Smart Brujeria - Pocho Aztlan Aborted - Retrogore