I do this every year, so here it is again. A huge playlist on Spotify covering most of the releases from the past year. Enjoy.

http://open.spotify.com/user/a_l_x/play ... dAD8FmUyPp

My top 10 (although there's still a couple of albums I need to hear)

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III - Saturnian Poetry
Epica - The Quantum Enigma
Twilight Force - Tales of Ancient Prophecies
Edguy - Space Police
Equilibrium - Erdentempel
Noble Beast - Noble Beast
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Darkspace - III I
Saor - Aura
Primalfrost - Prosperous Visions

Not exactly the most 'edgy' list, but whatever. All great albums to me.

My Top 5 for 2014

Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun
Behemoth - The Satanist
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Electric Wizard - Time To Die
Dark Fortress - Venereal Dawn

My personal favorites of 2014:

1. Disentomb - Misery
Far and away the best album of the year. This rivals Katalepsy's Autopsychosis for the most brutal, devastating riffage in the genre. It's creative, precise, and strongly fulfills the atmosphere set by the album cover. I feel like I'm wading in hell among throngs of tormenting entities as I'm pummeled relentlessly by elite riff sections, massive gutturals, and near-perfect production. The choices of chords often take the music to another level. It doesn't get much better than this.

2. Infecting The Swarm - Pathogenesis
Probably not for everyone, but the intense and slicing guitar sections are simply amazing in the most subtle of ways. Not overly dynamic or inventive but hits the sweet spot in futuristic atmosphere meets massively ripping guitars. Vocals are good and songs are catchy and memorable. Only downside are the programmed drums, which normally would cause me to chuck this off the list but not in this case. It all blends seamlessly. Masterful work, at times, and I can't wait to hear what's next from this band.

3. Cerebral Effusion - Idolatry Of The Unethical
Chunking, ripping, crushing smashing, pounding brutal death. You can feel the sickness. The overall sound is amazing.

4. Septical Gorge - Scourge Of The Formless Breed
Inventive guitars, awesome technical musicianship and dynamism. Awesome production and elaborate song structures.

5. Omnihility - Deathscapes Of The Subconsious
Some of the most interesting and intense guitars pervade this album but there will be no wankery here - it's all in blindingly fast, mind-numbing riffs. Very cool songs and ideas and this band has a tremendously high ceiling. Not much out there like this. Guitarist is known for his 'gravity-picking' technique, which allows many of the songs to break BPM sound-barriers.

6. Epicardiectomy - Putreseminal Morphodysplastic Virulency
Straight-forward slamming slam-fest. I could do without all the samples but the music is truly sick.

7. Ezophagothomia - Oratory From Burning Coffins [EP]
Amazing BDM.

8. Abysmal Dawn - Obsolescence
Ups and downs on the album, but there is enough outstanding death metal material here I keep returning to it over and over. Particularly, Laborem Morte Liberat Te, Loathed In Life - Praised In Death, Devouring the Essence of God are absolutely top-tier work. Amazing songwriting, tone, musicianship. Took awhile to sink in for me but those tracks are stunning.

9. Soreption - Engineering The Void
Short of something like Spawn Of Possession, the guitar work on this album is technically stunning. Just a maze of changes, diverse and super-technical riffs and insane arrangements they put it all together on this one, though it can be overwhelming at times due to its complexity (similar to how I feel about Spawn Of Possession's latest).

10. Pathological Abomination - Insentient
Slamming goodness. They nail it.

11. Gorgasm - Destined To Violate
Interesting and well-played brutal death.

12. Sinister - The Post-Apocalyptic Servant
Death metal in some of the purest form this album is even better than The Carnage Ending.

13. Dead Congregation: Promulgation Of The Fall
I'd put it higher but it's a bit muddled and takes some work to listen to. I really enjoy it and it's extremely well put together. Would be higher if I wasn't so much into more brutal forms of death metal.

14. Puteraeon - The Crawling Chaos
Not quite the masterpiece that Cult Cthulhu was but a bit chunkier and refined. I miss the pure, raw HM-2 sound, though.

15. Back Door To Asylum - Cerberus Millenia
Excellent Russian brutal death. Guitar tone, rich production, and interesting songs make for a great listen I keep coming back to.

16. Acrania - Totalitarian Dystopia
Top-flight production, crushing riffs, and brilliant drum sections allow me to enjoy one of the very few bands with -core influence.

17. Intended Execution - Abyss Of Humanity [EP]
Disgusting guitar tone, massive slams, and killer breakdown-styled mosh parts. A poor-mans Katalepsy in many ways. Same mid-paced head-trauma.


Other worth mentioning: Desecravity - Orphic Signs, Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain, Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation, Coprocephalic - The Oath Of Relinquishment, Decaying Purity - Malignant Resurrection Of The Fallen Souls, Abysmal Torment - Cultivate The Apostate, Hideous Divinity - Cobra Verde

Disformed - Prelude to Death

While still an underground band, this Finnish band shows great promise. The sound reeks of the grave. I rarely get entirely caught in Death bands, but this one has me hooked. Listen to it, or die a fiery death.

I'ma let you finish, but Suicide Silence had the best metal album of 2014 and they're not even on the archives.

Regarding my choice for the highlights of the 2014, my favorites would be the following albums in no particular order!Anyway,this was a great year for metal, especially death metal.Many great albums came out and still there are plenty which yet to be heard and discovered from the fans!From the scan i have provided,i am still waiting to receive several albums which i consider as great stuff,too!>That would be a Russian osdm monster Pyre-Human hecatomb, Seprevation-Consumed,Skoffin-Lucid persecution,Mentally defiled-Aptitude for elimination,Electrocution-Metaphysincarnation, Human infection-Curvatures in time and Nocturnal-Storming evil.I wish all the members Happy new year and many good headbanging metal stuff in 2015!Cheers!

Stargazer's 'A Merging to the Boundless' kicks ass. Very engaging listening. Saw it recommended earlier in the thread and I can't help but echo. I'm not sure if I like it more than A Great Work of Ages, which I've been listening to simultaneously, but it's a very unique and standout album regardless.

Ataraxia - Wind At Mount Elo
In their most recent album ataraxia redifine their sound adding a darkwave overtone to their usual neofolk/neoclassical sound. One of the most interesting and darkest albums of their career.

http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/Spe ... -9533.html

so, agree and disagree...

^ It's not the Melana Chasmata cover art dude. Eparistera Daimones was released in 2010.

So, I also got around to post my year-end list finally!



Cheggit here: http://moanineggnog.blogspot.com/2015/0 ... -2014.html

The pic is from the Voices From The Darkside site... and then, who cares about T.G. Warrior and his crap

Who cares about Illud Divinum Insanus ver. 2? Seriously, I don't! If it ain't Altars of Madness or Covenant ver. 2.

Ahahahah touchè mate
Ok, I like just the death metal tracks on Illud ('Blades for Baal' destroy 'em all) and I hope in a new album in a 'one way of death metal' mode this time

Atropine - Master Raze
Very good old-school electro with nice ambient influences.

I'm going to skip the more obvious ones (Behemoth, etc)

Srogosc
http://srogosc.bandcamp.com/

Aspherium


Lord Mantis

Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite
I get the feeling that people are going to disagree with me on this one, not too familiar with the EM/MA forums.

lots of people here are down with all kinds of terrible tech prog crap put out on major labels, so you'll probably fit right in

Well you don't have to be so fucking rude about it.

i was being friendly and telling you that you'll fit in actually. theres no sarcasm in that post or smiley face

So does friendliness extend to insulting what people listen to now, or am I missing the point?

A bit late, but here's my take on the best releases of 2014:

#1 Metal Inquisitor - Ultima Ratio Regis
#2 Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
#3 Nocturnal - Storming Evil
#4 Delirium Tremens - Read My Fist
#5 Tyranex - Unable To Tame
#6 Mekong Delta - In A Mirror Darkly
#7 Midnight Priest - Midnight Steel
#8 Wolf - Devil Seed
#9 Children Of Technology - Future Decay
#10 High Spirits - You Are Here

#11 Epitaph - Crawling Out Of The Crypt
#12 Vanden Plas - Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld (Path One)
#13 Condor - Condor
#14 Ear Danger - Warrior Soul
#15 Blood Farmers - Headless Eyes
#16 Weapon UK - Rising From The Ashes
#17 Hitten - First Strike With The Devil
#18 Incantation - Dirges Of Elysium
#19 Morbus Chron - Sweven
#20 Mausoleum Gate - Mausoleum Gate

#21 Abazagorath - The Satanic Verses
#22 Bunker 66 - Screaming Rock Believers
#23 Threshold - For The Journey
#24 Portrait - Crossroads
#25 Air Raid - Point Of Impact
#26 Acheron - Kult Des Hasses
#27 Capilla Ardiente - Bravery, Truth And The Endless Darkness
#28 Amulet - The First
#29 Hyborian Steel - Barbaric Mysticism
#30 Wo Fat - The Conjuring

That's a fucking awesome list. I thought 2014 sucked but now I realize I haven't been listening to nearly enough brutal death metal.

Barbarossa Umtrunk - La Fosse De Babel
Great martial industrial/ambient/neofolk

Torrential Downpour. Bandcamp. Thank me later.