Best albums

1. Razor Of Occam - Homage To Martyrs
This was the year when new and semi-new acquaintances made a huge impact on me and made it straight to the top of the list. Razor Of Occam is originally from Australia but are now based in England and their debut album has this kind of great flow that I love and is a perfect mix of brutality, clever melodies and great vocals.

2. Asphyx - Death... The Brutal Way
Asphyx I know since way back in the days but I lost them completely along the way, but this album is a masterpiece filled with monster riffs and is heavy as hell, only beaten by Bolt Thrower in heaviness and pure, primal metal.

3. Tribulation - The Horror
Yet again debutants. Swedish death metal in it's most classic and raw form, sounding like a tape found in a vault locked and hidden back in the early 90's. Some may object and say that we have heard this before, and indeed we have but seldom this extraordinary good. Riffs to die for and two thumbs up.

4. Immortal - All Shall Fall
Immortal have indeed been around for quite a while and are widely praised in the metal scene, but I have actually just recently started to indulge in their back catalogue. A phenomenal band that play black metal exactly the way I love it, and this is remarkably good. By some it is considered a "comeback", since it was seven years ago since the last album, and it was not really sure that they would return to the scene, but I give thanks to the horned one that they did, since this is utterly brilliant, even compared to their earlier work.

5. Ignominious Incarceration - Of Winter Born
Another new band to the scene. Hailing from England, Ignominious Incarceration play technical death metal of the kind that I normally don't go out of my way to praise, but here I think most things just fall in place. A great flow while still heavy with great melodies.

Runner-ups: Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave, Pestilence - Ressurection Macabre, Powerwolf - Bible Of The Beast, Hardcore Superstar - Beg For It, Impious - Death Domination, Dying Fetus - Descend Into Depravity, Behemoth - Evangelion, Mr. Death - Detached From Life

Biggest disappointments

- Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
I think I can just second what my fellow writer Thomas said in his list: "This was not what I was hoping for; boring, uninspired and very, very far from any old magic."

- 3 Inches Of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom
From one album to the other they just lost everything that was good about them. Just plain boring and the lack of memorable riffs, refrains and melodies are brutally apparent.

- Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos
Most people seem to like this one more or less as much as their last two albums, but I just can't seem to hear it. Kind of boring and weak, and not what I expected or hoped for when it comes to Kreator, who in their best moments are just brilliant.

- Unanimated - In The Light Of Darkness
Having made one of the jewels in early swedish death metal (Ancient God Of Evil, 1995), an album with slight black metal elements that has stood the test of time extremely well and are considered a classic, Unanimated sadly disbanded and everyone thought that was it. The anticipation was sky high when they announced a new album last year but it is unfortunately far from the good old days.