
Written by Mass
Album of the Year 2019 Ranking followed by the top 10 spotlight.
Rank | Band Name | Album Title | Country | Genre |
50 | Cult Of Luna | A Dawn To Fear | Sweden | Atmospheric Sludge |
49 | Pretty Maids | Undress Your Madness | Denmark | Hard rock – Heavy Metal |
48 | Abbath | Outstrider | Norway | Black Metal |
47 | Atrium Carceri And Cities Last Broadcast | Black Stage Of Night | USA – Sweden | Dark Ambient |
46 | Hate | Auric Gates of Veles | Poland | Blackened Death Metal |
45 | Joep Beving | Henosis | The Netherlands | Neo-classical – Ambient |
44 | Nurez | Sonnensterben | Germany | Atmospheric Black Metal – Progressive Black Metal |
43 | Wolcensmen | Fire In The White Stone | England | Dark Folk – Darkwave – Neo-folk |
42 | Helheim | Rignir | Norway | Viking Metal – Black Metal |
41 | Sleep Dealer | This Winter was Somber | Russia | Post Rock – Experimental |
40 | Carcariass | Planet Chaos | France | Progressive Melodic Death Metal |
39 | Ofdrykkja | Gryningsvisor | Germany | Atmospheric Black Metal – Black Metal – Doom Metal |
38 | The Elysian Fields | New World Misanthropia | Greece | Helenic Black Metal – Symphonic Blackened Death Metal |
37 | Crows in the Rain | Sorrow for an Unfinished Dream | Iran | Post Rock – Ambient |
36 | Numenorian | Adore | Canada | Post Black Metal – Blackgaze – Atmospheric Black Metal |
35 | Eternal Storm | Come the Tide | Spain – Scotland | Melodic Death Metal |
34 | Tenebra Arcana | Martiri dell’odio | Italy | Symphonic Black Metal |
33 | Brymir | Wings of Fire | Finland | Symphonic/Melodic Death Metal – Pagan Metal |
32 | Aukai | Reminiscence | USA | Ambient |
31 | Null | Lore of a Sleeping Forest | USA | Atmospheric Black Metal |
30 | Deer Park Ranger | Wolf | USA | Post Rock |
29 | White Ward | Love Exchange Failure | Ukraine | Experimental Metal – Post Black Metal – Avant-garde Metal |
28 | Hanging Garden | Into that Good Night | Finland | Melodic Doom Death Metal |
27 | Daigo Hanada | Ouka | Japan | Neoclassical – Ambient – Minimalist |
26 | Illyria | The Carpathian Summit | Australia | Atmospheric Black Metal -Blackgaze – Post Metal |
25 | Iapetus | The Body Cosmic | USA | Melodic Death Metal – Progressive Extreme Metal |
24 | Misery Index | Rituals Of Power | USA | Death Metal – Grindcore |
23 | Veldes | Flameless | Slovenia | Atmospheric Black Metal |
22 | Slow | VI Dantalion | Belgium | Atmospheric Funeral Doom Metal |
21 | Alaskan Tapes | Views From Sixteen Stories | Canada | Ambient – Chillout |
20 | Rotting Christ | The Heretics | Greece | Melodic Black Metal |
19 | Laveya | Fortvilelse | ? | Ambient – Atmospheric Black Metal |
18 | The Hu | The Gereg | Mongolia | Folk Rock – Folk Metal – Hunnu RockFOLK ALBUM OF THE YEAR |
17 | Suldusk | Lunar Falls | Australia | Dark Folk – Neofolk – Post Rock – Atmospheric Black MetalDARK FOLK NEOFOLK ALBUM OF THE YEAR |
16 | Shadow Of Intent | Melancholy | USA | Symphonic/Melodic DeathcoreDEATH METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR |
15 | Ludovico Einaudi | Seven Days Walking Project (Day 1 – 7) | Italy | Neoclassical – Ambient – Minimalist |
14 | Netherbird | Into The Vast Uncharted | Sweden | Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal |
13 | Hugar | Varda | Iceland | Ambient – Post Rock – Neoclassical |
12 | Sabaton | The Great War | Sweden | Power MetalPOWER METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR |
11 | Vukari | Aevum | USA | Black Metal |
10 | April Rain | 7 Summer Days Noir OST | Russia | Post Rock – AmbientPOST ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR |
09 | Amon Amarth | Berserker | Sweden | Melodic Death Metal |
08 | Sun of the Dying | The Earth Is Silent | Spain | Atmospheric Doom Metal – Doom Death Metal |
07 | Vorna | Sateet Palata Saavat | Finland | Melancholic Metal – Melodic Black Metal |
06 | Tyr | Hel | Faroe Islands | Viking Metal – Folk Metal – Progressive Metal |
05 | Wormwood | Nattarvet | Sweden | Melodic Black Metal |
04 | Death Angel | Humanicide | USA | Thrash Metal |
03 | Soen | Lotus | Sweden | Progressive Metal |
02 | Insomnium | Heart Like a Grave | Finland | Melodic Death Metal |
01 | Swallow the Sun | When a Shadow is Forced into the Night | Finland | Melodic Doom Death Metal |

10. I am usually not a big fan of OST (official soundtrack) albums. I find them out of context and mostly lacking relevance; that would be even worse when I have not watched the film or played the game. This year however, we had some amazing soundtrack for movies and games which were released and made me have second thoughts. The Icelandic Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker, Chernobyl) was the one who impressed me and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did great on Watchmen. But it was this simple postrock band from Saint-Petersburg who even outperformed their previous and superb albums and created a piece so magnificent that even I, a big fan of them, was astonished. Truly a remarkable music album (and not just OST). POST ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR

09. It may have been uninspiring to some fans, but to me, it was Amon Freaking Amarth and it was damn cool. If it weren’t for this damn geographical determinism, I would have been a Viking and chanting songs along these guys on long boats drinking mead and raising shields and stuff, you know. So, I hugely enjoyed this album and that’s why it is this high on my list.

08. Sun of the Dying was a big surprise for me. This year had gone pretty bland in the Doom domain and their album, which was released late in November, was a pleasant and gloomy gift for my winter. It is a pretty solid album where world class musicianship meets vocal prowess and lyrical ingenuity. DOOM METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

07. Vorna was a band that I listened to actually after the year was through and it made things more challenging for me as I had to rearrange my picks of 2019 so I could fit this gem in. That’s how extraordinary this album was. It propelled its way right to the top 10 and without doubt, this band is one of those which I will return to and expect much of in the coming years. The Finnish beasts have done a great job on this album.

06. Tyr has been a favorite since more than a decade ago. It was back in the 2008, 2009 that I discovered these Faroese Vikings and their progressive brand of melodic death which is filled with Viking lore and myths. I don’t know which came first: my love for Tyr the metal band or Tyr the ill-fated, self-sacrificing Norse god of war and justice. That is of no significance now as they both reside in the halls of the depths of my heart. VIKING METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

05. This band was the major discovery of my year. Nattarvet is only Wormwood’s sophomore release and it has such an epic impact on the listener that it nothing grander can be expected. I mean this is a pinnacle just a few bands can reach; even veterans may not be able to produce such robust and haunting music. The musicianship is at its highest and lyricism is of aesthetic value indeed. BLACK METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

04. Death Angel is my favorite American thrash metal band. Way higher than the so-called “big 4” and slightly above Testament, this band creates the brand of thrash I care much for. Humanicide is the best they have produced to date and it is a full-fledged thrash masterpiece with speedy riffs, bombastic drumming, uplifting soloes and ruthless vocals. THRASH ALBUM OF THE YEAR HANDS DOWN.

03. Honestly I was rather disheartened when the first singles were released a few months before, but upon release and with a dramatic turn of events, it catapulted itself among the top albums of the year. The more I listened to this album, the more I learnt to enjoy it and the more I could appreciate its grandeur. It is profound, innovative, masterly, and in the meantime, immensely gratifying. PROGRESSIVE METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

02. Wow! Wow! Wow! I have listened to this album more than 20 or 30 times and I just can’t get enough of it. Insomnium has been one of my top 5 bands for more than a decade. Across the Dark was my serious gateway album to melodic death and ever since I have remained totally hooked on this genre and specifically this band. I cannot possibly say how contented I was after listening to this masterpiece. To tell you the truth, it was my AOTY up until maybe a few days ago and it would have been on the top spot, had it not been challenged by the next one on the list. It is a praiseworthy and heart-winning (if not award-winning; who cares about them anyway?) album which sweeps the listener off their feet and takes them to the frigid Fennoscandian dead-lands. Heart Like a Grave sits so high and mighty on a top shelf within my heart. MELODIC DEATH METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

01. When a Shadow is Forced into the Night is up here, situated on top with a minuscule margin of superiority over Heart Like a Grave, for two reasons: its enduring impactfulness and the appreciable undertone of grief underlying the whole album. I assume it was this level of sorrowfulness and the personal relevance I felt towards this work that made it stand atop the rest, not to mention the fact that I was still moved by every single track of this album even after about a year-long interlude between the last time I had listened to it last winter and this time, though it was always on my mind. They have always had an aura of loss and despair around them and they have used such motifs as the main subject matter of their lyrics and the message behind their music. This album, however, is on a higher plateau and is a true, invaluable gem of these Finnish gods of melodic doom. ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Your list proves that heavy metal knows no national boundaries and it could unite the world.