Rhys' top 20 albums of 2013.

So you heard the thoughts of the GMA team on what release we felt was the best from each country this year, now it falls down to the owner Rhys Stevenson to tie up this year with one final review of the year, what a year it has been for metal! Bloodstock experienced a marriage proposal and wheelchair crowdsurfing whilst Ian Watkins gets jailed for abhorrent goings on that we shall not even allude to. Furthermore bands have disbanded and formed and loved musicians sadly departed. None the less, metal lives on and here are Rhys' top 20 albums of 2013.

20. Litvintroll - Czornaja Panna

Probably one of the most promising bands to emerge out of the Belarusian Metal scene, by implementing the classic and recognizable sound of Eastern European Folk Metal with vocals that resonate within the Pagan Metal style, Litvintroll certainly are proving themselves to be one of the most exciting bands to emerge from this area. What I really like about this release is that it provides you with sensational music as well as a taste of the Belarusian language, but more so the feeling you can listen to it next to a camp fire.

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19. Dagoba - Post Mortem Nihil Est

Industrial Metal style bands seem to be cropping up out of the French Metal scene as if it was dying out of fashion. But none the less the veterans Dagoba certainly keep that power exploding. What I like about this album is that it weaves Groove Metal and Industrial Metal together to give a sound that forms the underbelly of the Modern Metal storm, that is the phase seeming to be dominating the metal music industry. Let's see if the French musical magicians deliver another album that will shake the very foundations of Europe.

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18. Cnoc An Tursa - The Giants of Auld

You have to admire bands who use historical culture and bygone times for their lyrics. This includes Cnoc An Tursa whose much-anticipated debut album "The Giants of Auld", now whilst hogmanay may provide the setting for this album to be played to the masses, it's delinquent Ancestral Folk Metal feeling merging with the sharpness of Black Metal provides the ultimate sound of which signifies the elegant beauty of Scotland, why I like this album is because it has that emotional connection with a culture of such grandeur.

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17. Hail Of Bullets - III The Rommel Chronicles

How many bands are out there who sing about WW2 campaigns and theaters, ones that make it interesting and educational? Not many. Hail of Bullets serve up their third album which features that sound of Old-School Death Metal and lyrics so brutal that it warps you back in time to where it happened. Without a doubt "III The Rommel Chronicles" is the best album they have released so far, so why do I like it? Simple, with a fascination of WW2, Hail of Bullets qualify with guns blazing in both the music and lyric departments.

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