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Top 10 Albums of Any Given Year


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1992

I'll keep it at 10, otherwise it pretty much just becomes the same albums appearing on every list...not that i don't have a ton of overlap anyway.

Incantation – Onward to Golgotha

Bolt Thrower – IV Crusade

Demigod – Slumber of Sullen Eyes

Darkthrone – Blaze in the Northern Sky

Cenotaph – The Gloomy Reflections of our Hidden Sorrows

Mystifier – Wicca

Fleshcrawl – Descend into the Absurd

Miasma – Changes

Purtenance – Member of Immortal Damnation

Cemetery – An Evil Shade of Grey

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41 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

Shit, you people go way to fast for me to keep up. I did many of these sorts of lists years ago but even just updating those lists I'm still back about 5 pages.

I think the hardest part is just remembering what came out in a given year...I'm terrible with album dates and with countries of origin

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34 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

Shit, you people go way too fast for me to keep up. I did many of these sorts of lists years ago but even just updating those lists I'm still back about 5 pages.

One of the perks of being all digital. Easy to sort the whole thing by year and then just scroll down any given year and pick out all the good stuff. Can work up a list for any year in under 30 minutes.

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I always start buying booking through the albums from a year, once I know the releases which I can’t make my list without it’s a lot easier to listen through the rest and narrow things down. Trying to come up with 1993 at the moment, for a Albums which definitely make the list trouble is I’ve got 16 others I feel all deserve to make it as well. 

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58 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

I have my entire catalogue backed up on digital formats and I have them in a spreedsheet and still use RYM etc to see if there is anything I missed. It's still a task that takes me more than 5 minutes.

 

 

It's definitely true that my way I will likely miss some things that I don't have. But I've always looked at these types of lists as lists of my personal favorites, and if I've missed something from decades ago especially, then it's really not one of my favorites and probably doesn't belong on my list. But that's just how I approach it, the rest of the world can do it their way.

Right now it also helps that I just made that big master list last year of my favorite albums for each year going all the way back to 1975, which probably took me a couple of weeks to put together. But now I have it. So with these single year lists we've been doing here I just start with whatever I have listed there and then scroll down through my library and see if there's anything I'd like to add or substitute. 

It is certainly true though that to get to this point where I have so many of these great albums in my library, I most certainly used M-A and RYM quite extensively in my research. And of course forum recos which have been indispensible. You don't get to this point overnight, I spent many many years in search of things I'd missed. Not saying there isn't still plenty of stuff that I've missed, but at this point I don't really care. Nowadays I'm focused on finding newer metal so I don't dig too hard for old 80's or 90's stuff anymore because unless I'm making a list like this I don't really listen to the older stuff all that much.

 

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My view is the similar, if I missed it it's probably not going to be a top 10 favourite. But there has been more than a few years where my list has had 30 or more albums on the short list, to whittle that down to 10 for me often requires a new listening. In the end it doesn't matter to anyone else if Megadeth beats Metallica, or if some unknown band takes 4th over some band everyone knows and loves. But I can't remember what I was listening to or which album got more listens in 1994, shit I don't remember what my favourite album from last month would have been, so I tend to put in a little more effort.

When it comes to sorting shit by date so I know what albums came out in what year that's as simple as turning on the screen to the file server and opening a spreadsheet. It's taking the list from there to the next point that takes time.

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1 hour ago, KillaKukumba said:

My view is similar, if I missed it it's probably not going to be a top 10 favourite. But there has been more than a few years where my list has had 30 or more albums on the short list, to whittle that down to 10 for me often requires a new listening. In the end it doesn't matter to anyone else if Megadeth beats Metallica, or if some unknown band takes 4th over some band everyone knows and loves. But I can't remember what I was listening to or which album got more listens in 1994, shit I don't remember what my favourite album from last month would have been, so I tend to put in a little more effort.

When it comes to sorting shit by date so I know what albums came out in what year that's as simple as turning on the screen to the file server and opening a spreadsheet. It's taking the list from there to the next point that takes time.

Yeah well I'm old so I don't really even know how to make a spread sheet. I can play with one but I've never created one from scratch. I just save lists of shit in notepad. It works for me and it's quite easy to just copy and paste shit right into the composition window here. And this forum actually saves whatever I'm typing for me. I can even close the tab and come back tomorrow and it will all still be there. As someone who can spend many hours composing a post I really love this feature.

And don't whittle down if it's stressing you dude. 10 is just a suggestion, it's not a rule. Do 13 do 18 do 27.  I promise they won't have good ole "drunk with power" Macca-mod come and ban you for going over. 

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It's not the stress it's more the time factor, especially if I want to listen to some of the albums. By the time I get around to a list everyone will have forgotten what they liked that year!

I'll add Macca-ify disclaimers to all my posts. "I dun do nuffin' rong. Dickheads juz gonna hate on me for havin' a different upinion. My list. My Rulez. FU power hungry mods!"

 

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Speaking of lists…

1993: 10. Disincarnate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind

Dark, heavy, caveman death metal done incredibly well.

9. Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon

This album has an almost ritualistic atmosphere, appropriate for black metal wouldn’t you say?

8. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence

Evil sounding death metal with hints of the black metal band Necrophobic would become.

7. Impaled Nazarene - Ugra Karma

More evil, ritualistic black metal. Extra points for some amusing song titles.

6. Mystifier - Goetia

Dark, atmospheric, and evil seem to be recurring descriptors for black metal…

5. Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp

The Greeks have an entirely different approach to black metal. Warm tone sure but memorable Melodie’s and a sinister atmosphere make this stand out among the other black metal N-Tries on this list.

4. Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract

Similar to the previous entry, just a little fuller sounding if you ask me.

3. Demilich - Nespithe

Finnish death metal meanonly one thing… this is fucking weird. Dissonant, chaotic, this is a challenging listen but rewards you in its own demented way.

2. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans

I was dreading this part, two of my favourite albums ever released these spots could easily be reversed on any given day. Heavy, melancholic, melodic at times, this album is Doom/Death at its finest and I will die on this hill.

1. Katatonia - Dance of December Souls

To me this is the definitive Katatonia album. The vocals are tortured, music melancholy, and those guitar Melodie’s are haunting. If this isn’t the first DSBM album it was definitely influential.

 

This list was hell, it feels wrong leaving out Carcass, Crowbar, Darkthrone, Death, Sentenced, and Sinister.s

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    1993

1. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence

Paradise Lost - Icon

Disincarnate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind

Rippikoulu - Musta Seremonia

Dissection - The Somberlain

Sacred Reich - Independent

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses

Life of Agony - River Runs Red

Burial - Relinquished Souls

Brutality - Screams of Anguish

Excruciate - Passage of Life

Rottrevore - Iniquitous

Resurrection - Embalmed Existence

Disfear - A Brutal Sight of War

Overkill - I Hear Black

Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon

Hypocrisy - Osculum Obscenum

Benediction - Transcend the Rubicon

Monster Magnet - Superjudge

Utumno - Across the Horizon

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You asked for it, as predictable as a black metal growl :P

1990

1. Judas Priest – Painkiller

2. Atrophy - Violent by Nature

3. Megadeth - Rust in Peace

4. Exhorder - Slaughter in the Vatican

5. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

6. Obituary - Cause of Death

7.  Death - Spiritual Healing

8. Incubus - Beyond the Unknown

9. Light Force - Break the Curse

9 . Exodus - Impact Is Imminent

10. Suicidal Tendencies - Lights Camera Revolution

 

 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Bloody Kisses is a tricky one. On the one hand it has some of my favourite TON songs, on the other it has some of my least favourite…

No, it's not their best album in my estimation, they have several I like more, but still I love Type O and BK was an extremely important album for me personally in 1993, and my introduction to the band. Bought it on cassette the same day I bought Sacred Reich - Independent. There's a little filler on BK imo but I definitely like a lot more of it than I don't. Some of the songs I used to skip in the 90's like KATWP I've learned to like now. Although I might never need to hear Black No. 1 ever again, even though that's such a cool riff.

And back in '93 I could really relate to the whole Jesus Christ looks like me thing. Maybe all long hairs all look alike and the only long-haired bearded person older people could think of to compare a bearded long-haired person to is Jesus. But that was 30 years ago, I haven't gotten the Jesus comments in many years since I cut my hair. In recent years if anything I'll get Santa Claus. But I really can't picture any band singing "Santa Claus looks like me."

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Aaaaaaaand I think I'm gonna skip 92 as well since my list is about 80% identical to Surge's list and I don't think anybody needs to see the same list twice...

1993

10. Rottrevore - Iniquitous

These guys were making filthy caveman death before it was cool. And doing it better.

9. Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp

See RelentlessOblivion's comment. He beat me to the punch.

8. Rippikoulu - Musta Seremoni

Technically a "demo" but it's a demo that happens to be better than many proper full lengths. Jampack filled to the brim with doomy and gloomy ooze. A death/doom kvlt classic!

7. Mystifier - Göetia

Black metal the Brazilian way. Evil, dark, rotten and primitive. Yeah.... I guess this could actually describe many different strains of black metal, but these guys definitely did things their own way.

6. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence

Fantastic album. We all like it, right? I don't have much more to say. The record is good.

5. Anti Cimex - Scandinavian Jawbreaker

I see the Goatmaster has Disfear on his list. That's a good one too, but for me, Anti Cimex takes the crown for best Swedish D beat album of '93.

4. Immortal - Pure Holocaust 

Grim, icy, frostbitten black metal from the frozen north. The way it was meant to be played. An early 90's BM standout.

3. Demilich - Nespithe 

Definitely an "elitists choice" death metal album if there ever was one. This was an acquired taste for me, and it took some time, but once I finally "got" it, oh boy, it was very rewarding. The type of anomaly that comes only once in a generation.

2. Amorphis - Privilege of Evil

Yes, it's an EP. Yes, all the songs on this EP came out a year earlier on the band's debut full length. However........ I vastly prefer this release. There's just something about it. The songs are somehow punchier, filthier, and just... well... sound better. The rougher production suits this group of songs better and quite frankly, I think this EP is perfect. This is my favourite death metal release of 93 and maybe even a top 10 DM release of all time. I love this thing.

1. Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon 

I like 'A Blaze In The Northern Sky'. I like it a lot in fact. But I do have some gripes with it. Under A Funeral Moon, I feel, is where Darkthrone really found their footing. Hell, I might even say it's where Norwegian black metal as a whole found it's footing and established itself as a cogent musical movement. Darkthrone set a standard with this album. A stone cold classic.
 

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Don't know why I've never really been able to get into either Russian Jawbreaker or His Majesty at the Swamp. On paper both of these albums should be right in my wheelhouse. And Immortal too. I don't actively dislike Immortal but the records don't really excite me and I rarely play any of their stuff. Not sure why I left Goetia off my list. It was really cool seeing Mystifier at MDF a few years ago.

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I feel like 1993 is where our own differences in taste are really coming through. Obviously there’s a little bit of cross over there but nothing like some of our other lists.1994: 10. Oppressor - Solstice of Oppression

Dark, blastula death metal sharing some qualities with suffocation and sinister, at least to my ears.

9. Gorement - The Ending Quest

Grindy mid-tempo in the Bolt Thrower mold, just darker somehow.

8. Ancient - Svartalvheim

Raw and evil black metal, sure plenty of bands were doing similar things by this point but there’s just something about this album I enjoy more than the likes of  Gorgoroth.

7. Obtained Enslavement - Centuries of Sorrow

Tortured sounding melodic black metal. This is a little raw and gives off death metal vibes at times.

6. Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens

If Cthulhu was a musician this is what he would play. Weird, slow funeral doom with an atmosphere of creeping dread.

5. Samael - Ceremony of Opposites

Warm sounding isn’t exactly the norm when describing black metal but it applies here for sure. Despite that it still sounds evil in all the right ways, ceremony of opposites is a unique album amongst black metal some passages are almost groovy, Ku might even enjoy this.

4. Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene

That grimy, murky sound is often duplicated, but never replicated, Incantation are nasty in the best possible way.

3. Skyclad - Prince of the Poverty Line

Folky, energetic, memorable and fun. It’s hard to nail down a genre for this one I’ve always just call it folk metal.

2. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

Does anything really need to be said about this? Dark, evil, black fucking metal.

1. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

Atmospheric, dark, and evil sounding there’s no doubt about that, but it’s the extra layers which set this album apart. Bonus points for a pretty fun cover of a fine day to die. Although I don’t think that’s on the original version of the album?

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      1994

Bolt Thrower - For Victory

Solitude Aeturnus - Through the Darkest Hour

Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene

Xibalba Itzaes - Ah Dzam Poop Ek

Korpse - Pull the Flood

Dawn - Naer Solen Gar Nider For Evogher

Hades - Again Shall Be

Ancient Rites - The Diabolic Serenades

Gutted - Bleed For Us to Live

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Mortuary Drape - All the Witches Dance 

Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

The Black - The Priest of Satan

Napalm Death - Fear, Emptiness, Despair

Extreme Noise Terror - Retro-Bution

Decayed - The Conjuration of the Southern Circle

Samael - Ceremony of Opposites

Uncanny - Splenium For Nyktophobia

Infester - To the Depths, In Degradation

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Not an easy couple of years to narrow down...'93 in particular

 

1993

God Macabre – The Winterlong

Marduk – Those of the Unlight

Excruciate – Passage of Life

Unanimated – In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead

Darkthrone – Under a Funeral moon

Immortal – Pure Holocaust

Morpheus Descends – Ritual of infinity

Depravity – Silence of Centuries EP

Mordicus - Dances From the Left

Altar/Cartilage - Ex Oblivione / The Fragile Concept of Affection

 

1994

Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss

Incantation – Mortal Throne of the Nazarene

Uncanny - Splenium for Nyktophobia

Dawn – Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher

Mortuary Drape – All the Witches Dance

Graveland - Carpathian Wolves

Cianide – A Descent into Hell

Forgotten Woods – As the Wolves Gather

Gehenna – First Spell

Fimbulwinter – Servants of Sorcery

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