This past year has been chaos – in nature, politics, and the arts. The international metal scene aligned with said madness – unveiling truly diverse and powerful music.
For the throne of Album of the Year, our nominations range from Eastern Europe, northern Africa, and Latin America to Asia. Black Spikes represent modern metal of Lithuania, while Ukrainian act Ignea is perfecting progressive melodic death metal. Originally from Tunisia, Myrath is going grandiose with some power-prog heaviness; and heading over to Mexico, a mix of Latin rap and pop with djent metal can be heard at a Ladrones show. Last but not least, Japanese avant-garde black metal pioneers Sigh turned to prog and folk on their fourteenth full-length album. Vote for your favorite below (and be sure to stay tuned for our other best of the year categories to vote on).