25 Best Metal Albums Of The Decade

18. Saor - Aura (2014)

Simultaneously soaring and grounded, Saor's blend of atmospheric black metal and Celtic folk music is a joy. Multi-instrumentalist and frontman Andy Marshall couldn't have devised a better descriptor than "Caledonian Metal" to capture a sound that borrows as much from Scottish folklore and heritage as it does extreme music and while 2019's Forgotten Paths runs it close, Aura remains his finest work.

The careful, tasteful implementation of folkish instrumentation is something many other bands in the genre could learn from. With Saor, these seemingly disparate elements fuse in stunning fashion, creating soundscapes that evoke glens, lochs, fields, and the painted warriors traversing them.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.