Welcome to MMA's public vote for the best metal and related albums of 2022. Voting is now open and will close on 17th February 2023. Please read the rules carefully before voting, particularly on inclusions and exclusions.

Anyone with an MMA account, from new members to admins.

The deadline for submitting your votes is 17th February 2023 (extended) to allow enough time for late in the year releases to be included but may be extended if the vote count on that date is insufficient to form a meaningful result.

You may edit your submission at any point up until the closing date, so don't worry if you change your mind.

The vote only ends once an MMA admin posts in this thread saying that it is closed. After that point no new votes or edits will be counted. We will not go back and change anyone's submission once it has been added to our tally. 

You may vote for any release that is tagged as 2022 on Metal Music Archives with some restrictions:

Release Sub-Genre: Non-Metal and Proto-Metal tagged releases may NOT be voted for. The latter is likely to only have been used for any archival releases that may have come out during the year. These are not be counted among the best 2022 albums. Metal Related tagged albums are permitted, however we expect voters to use their discretion with such albums and considered whether a Metal Related tagged release really deserves to be placed on a metal website's best of year list.

Release Type: Live Album, Single, Boxset/Compilation, Demo, Promo/Other and Split may NOT be voted for. The exception where a split may be voted for is if it is a unique record in its own right containing unreleased material and not just a collection of tracks from the bands other releases. An examples of a split from a previous year that would count as acceptable is  https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/album/spectral-lore/sol%28split%29" rel="nofollow - Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum - Sol .  EP's are generally okay to vote for so long as they are made up entirely of new studio material. Ask an admin to verify a particular release if in doubt.

You cannot vote for something that is not in our database at all. If it should be, then please  https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=1&title=suggest-new-bands-artists-to-mma" rel="nofollow - suggest the artist for inclusion  as soon as possible, or if the artist is here but not the release,  https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=60&title=report-errors-omissions-here" rel="nofollow - report the need for an update  or add it yourself. 

Additionally, while recording musicians are welcome to take part, you may not vote for any release in which you took a part in recording, to avoid accusations of bias or rigging. 

You may vote for up to 30 releases in your submission. There is no minimum, but it is preferable that you get as close to the maximum as you can without giving points away to releases that you don't actually like very much. 

Please only post one submission and edit it if you change your mind. We will work through adding everyone's votes from the start of this voting thread which means that your earliest submission will be the one that is counted. We will not go back and edit the one we have already taken if we encounter a second from the same member. 

Please lay your submission out in the following format only - others will not be counted.

Artist – Release

Artist – Release 

And so forth, where the album you list first is your top album of the year. 

To be perfectly clear, this means no numbering, no Release – Artist lists, no spaces between each line (your list should be a maximum of 30 lines long, one for each album) and no commentary on your choices, at least in line (you may talk about or campaign for your choices separately to your heart's content). To help keep this voting thread free of clutter use the MMA Best of Year 2022 Discussion thread for more in depth comments and discussions. https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17770&title=mma-best-of-year-2022-discussion-thread" rel="nofollow - https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17770&title=mma-best-of-year-2022-discussion-thread

You should also use the standard forum font and colour (you're reading it now!). It should not look like this. 

And especially important: no reverse lists even when the rest of this is taken into account: you don't want us to count your opinion in the wrong order and give the most points to your 30th ranked album instead of your first. 

Sticking to the requested format speeds up tallying the result considerably, so please be considerate and stick to it. Admins may edit the formatting before the tally but do not count on it!

MMA is a website run by a small group of volunteers who have to get most of their information about what they add from outside sources, rather than personal experience. Should you encounter a release placed in a sub-genre that is eligible, tagged as 2022 or as the wrong release type, but you know it's misplaced or mistagged (this is especially important if a release should actually be in Non-Metal), that doesn't mean you should ignore it and can go ahead and include it in your submission. We check every release that makes it onto our final tally and if we find a release that shouldn't have been included in anyone's votes, we often end up having to completely recalculate the whole result, which just wastes our time. So please, for the sake of everyone involved's sanity, report releases that are tagged wrong in some way. Don't just go ahead and try to get it into our results. Thank you for your understanding. 

We will be using a score range of 1 to 100 points, rewarding higher placed albums on submitted lists with more points. The exact breakdown from 1st place to 30th is as follows:

1 – 100

2 – 85

3 – 70

4 – 60

5 – 55

6 – 50

7 – 47

8 – 44

9 – 41

10 – 38

11 – 35

12 – 32

13 – 29

14 – 26

15 – 23

16 – 20

17 – 18

18 – 16

19 – 14

20 – 12

21 – 10

22 – 9

23 – 8

24 – 7

25 – 6

26 – 5

27 – 4

28 – 3

29 – 2

30 - 1

The best way that you can help out is just spread that it is happening via word of mouth and to share that it is happening on social media. If you know others who like metal, both online and off, invite them to take part. This is a public vote, so we don't require those who take part to be MMA veterans. 

Have fun!

Wormrot - Hiss

Ratos de Porão - Necropolítica

Sigh - Shiki

David Maxim Miccic - Bilo IV

Soilwork - Overgiveheten

Zeal and Ardor - Zeal and Ardor (2022)

Elder - Innate Passage

King's X - Three Sides of One

Ibaraki - Rashomon

Haunt- Windows of Your Heart

Kirk Hammett - Portals

Generation Kill - MKUltra

Blind Guardian - The God Machine

Sadist - Firescorched

Kreator - Hate Uber Alles

Nechocwen - Kanawha Black

Wilderun - Epigone

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

Ripped to Shreds - 劇變 (Jubian)

Toxik - Dis Morta

Dub War - Westgate Under Fire

Tomb Mold - Aperture of Body

Stratovarius - Survive

Moon Tooth - Phototroph

Cloud Rat - Threshold

Satan - Earth Infernal

Ghost - Impera

VoidCeremony - At the Periphery of Human Realms

BucketHead - Pike 325 Language of the Mosaics

Primus - Conspiranoid

Devin Townsend - Lightwork

Meshuggah - Immutable

Wormrot - Hiss

Toxik - Dis Morta

Witchery - Nightside

Soilwork - Overgiveheten

Bloodbath - Survival of the Sickest

Static Abyss - Labyrinth Of Veins

Kreator - Hate Uber Alles

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

Autopsy - Morbidity Triumphant

Revocation - Netherheaven

Dark Millennium - Acid River

Vio-Lence - Let the World Burn

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying...and the dead

Abysmal Dawn - Nightmare Frontier

Kirk Hammett - Portals

30. All done. A couple of ineligibles removed.

Proudhon - Social Tympanum

Tankard - Pavlov's Dawgs

Lawnmower Deth - Blunt Cutters

Wormrot - Hiss

Xentrix - Seven Words

Antigama - Whiteout

Nicolas Cage Fighter - The Bones That Grew From Pain

Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun

Massacre - Mythos

Primitive Man - Insurmountable

Kreator - Hate Uber Alles

Alestorm - Seventh Rum Of A Seventh Rum

Vio-Lence - Let The World Burn

Piggy - Superfiesta

Ratos De Porao - Necropolitica

Corpsegrinder - Corpsegrinder

Jungle Rot - A Call To Arms

Crisix - Full HD

Dub War - Westgate Under Fire

Party Cannon - Volumes of Vomit

The Troops of Doom - Antichrist Reborn

Gronibard - Regarde Les Hommes Sucer

Rammstein - Zeit

Tenebro - L'inizio di un incubo

DeathFuckingCunt - Decadent Perversity

Aurora Borealis - Prophecy is the Mold in Which History is Poured

Municipal Waste - Electrified Brain

Tempest - Point of No Return

Generation Kill - MK Ultra

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying, The Dead

Immolation - Acts Of God

Xentrix - Seven Words

Undeath - Its Time...To Rise From The Grave

Kreator - Hate Uber Alles

Revocation - Netherheaven

Jungle Rot - A Call To Arms

Saxon - Carpe Diem

Star One - Revel In Time

Messa - Close

Michael Romeo - War Of The Worlds, Pt II

Goatwhore - Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying....And The Dead

Bloodbath - Survival Of The Sickest

Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun

Consumption - Necrotic Lust

Blind Guardian - The God Machine

Watain - The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain

Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

Arch Enemy - Deceivers

Grave Digger - Symbol Of Eternity

The Dead Daises - Radiance

Sigh - Shiki

Acephalix - Theothanatology

Autopsy - Morbisly Triumphant

Threshold - Dividing Lines

Nite - Voices Of The Kronian Moon

Static Abyss - Labyrith Of Veins

Voivod - Syncro Anarchy

Avatarium - Death, Where Is Your Sting

Decapitated - Cancer Culture

Dragonland - The Power of the Nightstar

Spheric Universe Experience - Back Home

Dynazty - Final Advent

Blind Guardian - The God Machine

Galderia - Endless Horizons

Star One - Revel in Time
Dreamtale - Everlasting Flame

Mai Yajima - Metamorphose

Terra Atlantica - Beyond the Borders

Allegaeon - Damnum

Fellowship - The Saberlight Chronicles

Eternal Ascent - Reclamation

Tristan Harder's Twilight Theatre - Drifting Into Insanity

Shaylon - The Initiation of A Timeless Voyager

Seventh Wonder - The Testament

Wind Rose - Warfront

Palantir - Chasing A Dream

Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait: The Orphean Testament

Vision of Atlantis - Pirates

Battle Beast - Circus of Doom

Hammerfall - Hammer of Dawn

Heavy Metal Perse - Jumalia paossa

Persefone - Metanoia 

Induction - Born of Fire

Civil War - Invaders

Freternia - The Final Stand

Epica - The Alchemy Project

Victorius - Dinosaur Warfare Pt. 2: The Great Ninja War

Stratovarius - Survive

Blind Guardian - The God Machine

Star One - Revel in Time

Spheric Universe Experience - Back Home

Threshold - Dividing Lines

Bloodbath - Survival of the Sickest

Arch Enemy - Deceivers

Sigh - Shiki

Epica - The Alchemy Project

White Ward - False Light

Allegaeon - Damnum

Fallujah - Empyrean

Wiegedood - There's Always Blood at the End of the Road

Pure Wrath - Hymn to the Woeful Hearts

Artificial Brain - Artificial Brain

Avatarium - Death, Where Is Your Sting

Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society

Cult of Luna - The Long Road North

Ruby the Hatchet - Fear Is a Cruel Master

Wo Fat - The Singularity

Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait: The Orphean Testament

Wake - Thought Form Descent

Falls of Rauros - Key to a Vanishing Future

Seven Kingdoms - Zenith

Vorga - Striving Toward Oblivion

Kirk Hammett - Portals

Abbath - Dread Reaver

Astral Tomb - Soulgazer

Grave Digger - Symbol of Eternity

Septicflesh - Modern Primitive

Count: 29

Blind Guardian - The God Machine

Spheric Universe Experience - Back Home

Wake - Thought From Descent

White Ward - False Light

Star One - Revel in Time

Threshold - Dividing Lines

Sigh - Shiki

Allegaeon - Damnum

Pure Wrath - Hymn to the Woeful Hearts

Gaerea - Mirage

Arch Enemy - Deceivers

Ultha - All That Has Never Been True

Wiegedood - There's Always Blood at the End of the Road

Fellowship - The Saberlight Chronicles

Esoctrilihum - Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh

Amorphis - Halo

Messa - Close

Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening With the Moonflower Society

Deathspell Omega - The Long Defeat

Avatarium - Death, Where is Your Sting

Falls of Rauros - Key to a Vanishing Future

Drudkh - Всі належать ночі (All Belong to the Night)

Stratovarius - Survive

Wilderun - Epigone

Fallujah - Empyrean

Abbath - Dread Reaver

Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait: The Orphean Testament

Seven Kingdoms - Zenith

Sylvaine - Nova

Elder - Innate Passage

Persefone - Metanoia

Spheric Universe Experience - Back Home

Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Teramaze - Flight of the Wounded

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/kostnateni" rel="nofollow - Kostnatění - https://rateyourmusic.com/release/ep/kostnateni/ohen-hori-tam-kde-padl/" rel="nofollow - Oheň hoří tam, kde padl

Sigh – Shiki (4.5)

Rolo Tomassi - Where Myth Becomes Memory (4.5)

Chat Pile - God's Country (4.5)

Wormrot – Hiss (4.5)

Gospel – The Loser (4.5)

Allegaeon – Damnum (4.5)

Spheric Universe Experience – Back Home (4.5)

Blind Guardian – The God Machine (4.5)

The Callous Daoboys – Celebrity Therapist (4.5)

Kardashev - Liminal Rite (4)

Ken Mode - Null (4)

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy (4)

Ashbreather - Hivemind (4)

Suppression – The Sorrow of Soul Through Flesh (4)

Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings (4)

Black Rose – WTF (4)

Sabaton - The War To End All Wars (4)

Soilwork – Övergivenheten (mdm) (4)

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying...and the Dead (4)

Scumback - Sons Of A Witch (4)

Narbo Dacal - Narbo Dacal (4)

Cult Of Luna - The Long Road North (4)

Primitive Man – Insurmountable (4)

Blackbraid - I (4)

p.s.you'redead Sugar Rot (3.5)

Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9 (3.5)

Saxon - Carpe Diem (3.5)

Lawnmower Deth - Blunt Cutters  (3.5)

Ruby The Hatchet – Fear Is A Cruel Master (3.5)

Grave Digger - Symbol of Eternity (3.5)

AVATARIUM - Death, Where Is Your Sting

OCEANS OF SLUMBER - Starlight and Ash

DISILLUSION - Ayam

ARJEN LUCASSEN'S STAR ONE - Revel in Time

MICHAEL ROMEO - War of the Worlds // Pt. 2

THRESHOLD - Dividing Lines

VOIVOD - Synchro Anarchy

THERION - Leviathan II

EVERGREY - A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)

IN THE WOODS - Diversum

EDENBRIDGE - Shangri-La

AMORPHIS - Halo

DARKHER - The Buried Storm

THREADS OF FATE - The Cold Embrace of the Light

ZEAL & ARDOR - Zeal & Ardor

DEEP SUN - Dreamland - Behind the Shades

ROYAL HUNT - Dystopia Pt II

Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor

The Halo Effect - Days of the Lost

Lorna Shore - Pain Remains

An Abstract Illusion - Woe

Meshuggah - Immutable

Counterparts - A Eulogy for Those Still Here

Elder - Innate Passage

Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation

Diablo - When All the Rivers Are Silent

Russian Circles - Gnosis

Saxon - Carpe Diem

Amorphis - Halo

Lamb of God - Omens

Kirk Hammett - Portals EP

Stratovarius - Survive

Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9

Clutch - Sunrise on Slaughter Beach

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying… and the Dead!

Dreadnought - The Endless (suggested for inclusion, not yet in database)  - Removed from list as not in database yet.

If anyone adds a last minute list before I do the final tally it may still get included though. Any lists altered now may not reflect your changes if I've already added them. The later your list the less likely I'll have got to it yet.