26. Omnium Gatherum - "May The Bridges We Burn Light The Way"

Another late doors release that has wheedled its way into the upper echelons of this list by being rather unforgettable. Everything is hinged around the tension between brutality and beauty. It personifies the term melodic death metal by managing to be gloriously accessible, but also absolutely aggressive. What is really intriguing and also enticing about the record is that it balances the two extremes simultaneously, as opposed to having interspersed quiet and loud sections. The heaviness and the harmonious exist cheek by jowl, cohabiting within the same tracks if not the same movements. This is the Finnish giants' tenth album, and they haven’t ever sounded so majestic and in control of their sound. An absolute riot of contrasts that is amazing to behold.