1. Triptykon – Melana Chasmata
- Nothing else was even close to this album, untouchably good.
2. Yob – Clearing The Path To Ascend
- One of the most mind-blowing albums of the year, this one takes you on a journey
3. The Body – I Shall Die Here
- Re-inventing themselves yet again with some beautiful darkness
4. Exhumed/Iron Reagan – Split
- The opposite of the others on this list ahead of them, just a bunch of punky, thrashy goodness
5. Goatwhore – Constricting Rage Of The Merciless
- Solid, crushing, just what you would expect from them but with some tasty twists and turns as well
6. Falls of Rauros/Panopticon – Split
- All of the intensity and beauty you could ever want from black metal
7. At The Gates – At War With Reality
- No, they didn't top “Slaughter of the Soul”, but did you really think they would? Still a damn fine album from one of the all time greats
8. Mortualia – Blood of the Hermit
- If you want black metal,you got it with this one
9. Death Penalty – S/T
- Take the best of traditional heavy metal and NWOBHM and you still wouldn't beat this album. Great stuff
10. Behemoth – The Satanist
- Nergal is back and better than ever. Love it when bands keep improving on the past while still maintaining what makes them great.
