I have the feeling that the 2016 Top 10 just about came out. But time does move fast when you are having fun. And we now need to attack the 2017 Top 10 quickly, lest another few months go by.
Methinks that the records retained in 2017 were not as blackened as in former years. Instead, we found a fair share of interesting progressive and avantgarde records that bubbled to the surface. Many bands also engaged in all flavors of ‘post rock or metal’, and those – I admit – delivered the best quality stuff, in general. In other words, those outfits striding across the mighty genre list without sticking to one were the most successful. And we got them from unexpected places sometimes.
So, let’s see what juicy record really cut deep and made it onto the 2017 Top 10 Records. [...]
Many a metal wizard is already active in the Power Metal arena with many more trying to get a foothold in a very crowded genre. And this breeds uniformity, which – by definition – shuns progression and evolution to anything new. Methinks that the ‘typical’ sound and style now ingrained themselves into the minds of fans and pros alike. So much so that a certain expectancy arose with the fan community as to how Power Metal ought to sound. Known values are good for the soul, are they not? 
The blasted July 2017 EP The Slavic Covenant of Incursed did not impress the RMR deck crew. Too many oldies and not enough goodies, I can tell ya.