I, for one, cannot wait to welcome with open arms the year ahead, to throw away all the bad memories of the previous, and move onward and upward! Let’s face it, most of us have probably had a pretty miserable 2020, with COVID-19 changing our lives, and in most situations for the worse. We have pretty much all given up on our normal social lives, our relationship sphere of friends and families who we spend time with has become smaller, our work situations have changed because of it, and some might even have lost loved ones to the pandemic. It’s definitely not a year that’ll be remembered for much good, and for me personally it was probably the worst year ever, losing first my dad back in January and then 6 months later the passing of my mom as well. No, it was not because of COVID-19, however, in the situation of my mother’s passing, the travel ban prevented me from attending the funeral in Denmark, so sitting on the other side of the Atlantic and dealing with the loss on my own was not easy. However, two things kept me going throughout the year, one being the close friends and family I have (in Denmark and here in the US), and the other being music. For someone as “obsessed” with music as I have always been, I used it this year as an escape from everything else, and I indulged myself in music listening to a greater extent than ever before. Perhaps that is why I found so many amazing albums this year, because when you need something really bad, then you might actually find it – perhaps it truly was a great year for music in general – at least for me, 2020 held many amazing listening experiences that I will treasure forever as they helped me get through the year.
100. Electric Mob – Discharge
It’s been said before that a bad singer can ruin an otherwise excellent album, but would the opposite be true as well? Could a great singer lift a poor album to become stellar? No, not really … Brazilian vocalist Renan Zonta is one-of-a-kind, a truly gifted vocalist who can sing any classic rock tune and give it the necessary ballsy edge it deserves. Apparently, he was on his home country’s version of “The Voice” and did garner quite a following there, which eventually led him to lock down a record deal for his 70’s/80’s inspired, blues-based rock band Electric Mob. Unfortunately for Renan, and for us listening in, the end result is quite uneven. Yes, Renan is incredible, and brings to mind such singers as Sebastian Bach, David Coverdale, Ray Gillen, Jeff Scott Soto, Robert Plant and even Chris Cornell all in one. There’s a certain swagger to him, and you’re never left with the feeling that he isn’t in control of both his voice and this band – this is 100% an output built around the front man, and that’s the downfall of “Discharge”, as the songwriting, besides a few high-points, is quite lackluster, and the production is flat as heck and does nothing other than promote the vocals while failing in every other territory. I go back to this album once in a while just to listen to Renan Zonta, and silently pray that one day we’ll see him in a band with a bunch of guys who knows how to write for a cohesive whole. He is such a talented singer, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing from him in the future – unfortunately Electric Mob isn’t the right band for him.
https://youtu.be/wAdCDhi-qQM
99. Scardust - Strangers
I wanted to love this album; I really did. I can hear the potential in it, as it has all the ingredients I like in music: impressive instrumental skills from all band members, an incredibly gifted female singer, interesting guest performances (hurdy gurdy, anyone?), nice production, melodies galore, progressive elements all over, plenty of drama, hints of world-music, a lyrical concept, and an overarching identifiable sound that is “theirs alone” so to speak (Scardust honestly sounds like themselves, and not anyone else). Their musical inspirations from what I can tell also includes a multitude of what I love; Seventh Wonder (melodic prog metal), Symphony X (heaviness, chops), Epica (symphonic), Trans-Siberian Orchestra (orchestral), Ayreon (theatrical), and Orphaned Land (world-music). It’s all there, and in places it works incredibly well as expected or at least hoped-for; “Addicted” is my absolute favorite song, with great choir parts, a “playful” rhythmic backbone, insanely great vocals from Noa, and a guitar-bass interaction reminding me of Seventh Wonder meets Symphony X. And I already mentioned the guest hurdy gurdy – this makes the song “Concrete Cages” such an interesting and unusual listen! What’s not to like? Well, the big problem with the “Strangers” album is that too much of a good thing can ruin an album really easily, and here it is the symphonic and theatrical aspect that gets pushed to the forefront in every single song, forced down our throats like a duck being bred for foie-gras, to the point where it becomes overwhelming and takes away from the great parts of the music, and eventually it annoys me. The same thing happened to the last SW album (“Tiara”) or the latest Ayreon disc (“Transitus”) – it’s just too much! When the band is at their best, they are phenomenal, and I can easily see why it will end up high on a lot of year end lists, but for me, it’s just not an album I enjoy listening to from start to finish.
https://youtu.be/kq0R1DBV6hg
98. Exocrine – Maelstrom
What pushed me away from Rivers of Nihil a few years ago, might be the thing that actually makes me appreciate Exocrine; yeah, I know, weird … But see, while I thought Rivers of Nihil sounded disjointed and didn’t really tingle my spider senses (okay, my love for tech-death) because of their use of brass instruments, the use of trumpets really pulls things together for Exocrine. Go figure! Musically this is some seriously heavy and dark over-the-top death metal with a symphonic element to it (think Fleshgod Apocalypse meets Behemoth) but put into a tech-death scenario (think Necrophagist or Gorod), and then with the added trumpet. If you’re expecting lots of melodies and sing-along moments, stay clear of this. If you like your music heavy, technical and with some spice – try this on for size!
https://youtu.be/Afl6zx2beX8
97. Deadrisen – Deadrisen
Symphony X bassist Mike Lepond has been on 276 albums (or so) in the last couple of years, and when I heard of yet another power/prog metal band with him in it, I honestly didn’t pay much attention until a buddy of mine told me to check it out. I did and was very surprised by the quality at hand. Led by guitarist Rod Rivera and aforementioned Lepond, the music leans heavily towards that of Symphony X, yet with a more power / classic metal edge and less of a progressive / symphonic side. Produced by Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo the comparisons aren’t lessened, but that’s whatever it is – at the end of the day it comes down to whether Deadrisen can hold their own, and I’m happy to report that they can. Yes, it’s not all perfect, and a few songs have a tendency to veer off into a “hard rock” area that doesn’t go well with the power/prog sound of the rest of the disc, but this is a debut album and I think (and hope) that these guys, including drummer Dan Prestup (Midnight Eternal), vocalist Will Shaw (Heir Apparent, Athem) and keyboardist Tony Stahl (Livesay), will stick together and keep honing their song writing skills.
https://youtu.be/l17r6MrTDbA
96. Decembre Noir – The Renaissance of Hope
The Germans have always been a bit second rate in terms of creating great doom metal if you ask me – give me the British, Finnish or the Swedish doom scene any time of the day. It seems like the gothic influences has stood better than raw/pure doom in Germany (think Empyrium, Lacrimas Profundere, Vision Bleak), and only Ahab has actually carved a place in my book as a true first-class doom band. However, Decembre Noir has done a decent job over the years through their now 4 releases, and “The Renaissance of Hope” brings a certain hope (pun intended) to the notion that also the sauerkraut-eating Germans can come up with something worthwhile in the genre. Musically we’re not too far from early Katatonia with hints to early Paradise Lost and Anathema, but in a quite dark setting that even hints at early Swallow the Sun. Occasionally they dip their toes into melodic death territory, like Amorphis, which at least for my liking doesn’t work quite as well, but soon they are back into the crunchy, pummeling doom death, and man, I like that stuff!
https://youtu.be/-qVNRRxBlow
95. Thoughts Factory – Elements
I’m sure this one is on a lot of prog metal fans list this year, and rightfully so. This is the classic style of ultra-melodic prog metal that we know and adore from such bands as Vanden Plas, Circus Maximus, Shadow Gallery, Redemption, Threshold, or even Dream Theater for that matter. It’s one of those albums that won’t offend anyone though – it’s very “safe” and we can always discuss if this really is progressive then, but nevertheless it’s a great album with big melodies, a really good singer (with a slight German accent), lots of keyboards (like, lots!) and a crystal-clear production. I’m digging this, even if it’s not a genre I listen to much these days.
https://youtu.be/M8NVdoqR9Bo
94. Nightwish – Human. :II: Nature.
What was once a band on their way to becoming one of the greatest, to a band obstructed by their own internal struggles, Nightwish have been through a heck of a lot in the past 15 years or so since their chart-topping “Once” (2004). After a decade long debacle following the outing of original vocalist and fan favorite Tarja, over two albums with Anette Olzen who never caught on in the hearts of the fans, to eventually pulling in Floor Janssen, who seem to have finally united the fans and more importantly the band itself. “Human…” is their second studio release now with Floor at the mic, and it is by far the better album of the two. It sounds like bandleader Tuomas was quite inspired this time around, as he has created an almost one-and-a-half hour-long double album consisting of a “metal” part and a “symphonic” part, that can be heard as separate entities. The first part has some really strong material, with first single “Noise” being an instant classic in the catalogue, but also songs like “Pan” which changes from beautiful moments to hard-hitting ones (quite a progressive song), or the ultra-melodic “How’s the Heart?” with its Celtic influence (and even a uilleann pipe solo). If Nightwish had stopped at the first 9 songs (~50 minutes), I would have called “Human…” a great album and would most likely had it in my top 30 of the year. However, Tuomas was apparently in such a good mood and feeling quite inspired, that he decided to create himself a little ~33-minute symphonic suite, which honestly has nothing of relevance to the metal audience or to the band itself, and it takes away the fun about the rest of the album as an example of really poor choices made somewhere up in Finland. It’s clearly a Tuomas solo instrumental album that should have been kept as such and not included with the rest of this work. The Human part of the new Nightwish disc is great, and I really like it. The Nature part however is easily forgotten and for all intent and purpose should be removed from this album.
https://youtu.be/LczGSoibRe8
93. Paralydium – World’s Beyond
What would happen if a Scandinavian band decided to take the symphonic and melodic parts of Symphony X and blend them with the progressive metal of Dream Theater? Well, you’d get either Circus Maximus, Pagan’s Mind, Theory or Seventh Wonder, right? Right … except that now Sweden’s Paralydium are doing their best to join the exclusive club of “bands-that-aren’t-original-in-any-way-whatsoever-but-still-kicks-all-kinds-of-ass”, and they seem to fit right in. With plenty of technical skills, soaring vocals, dueling guitar/keyboards and plenty of symphonic semi-neoclassical songwriting (occasionally reminding me of Time Requiem/Majestic), Paralydium’s debut (not counting the EP done under the Paralydium Project name) is a splendid listen, that brings much joy, but also unfortunately ends up far down my list due to the facts that (1) I really don’t listen much to this genre these days, and (2) vocalist Mikael Sehlin just isn’t quite there for my liking.
https://youtu.be/9ijAtXkwwUc
92. VoidCeremony – Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
This has to be the stupidest album title of the year, “Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel”, not even drunk-as-a-skunk would I try to read that out loud. But that’s what California based 4-piece VoidCeremony decided to call their latest release, so who am I to argue? Now, I’m not a math-genius or anything, but I can put 2 and 2 together and usually I end up with 4 - knowing that California has some quite liberal marihuana laws, I wouldn’t be surprised if something of that caliber was partaking in the making of this album, as it is every bit as disjointed and chaotic an affair musically as the title would make one assume. That said, what comes across in one way (disjointed, chaotic) most likely is incredibly well-though-out and part of an extensive planning process, because this is technical death metal after all, akin to Death, Atheist, Cynic and Pestilence in their prime, yet more crazy and off-the-hook than either of those. There’s a certain old-school feeling to not only the music, but also the production, and occasionally the guitar riffs bear more of a resemblance to first-generation Norwegian black metal (think Emperor or Immortal) than the clean-cut guitars of a Schuldiner or Shaefer. And the drums? Man, they are out there for sure, slipping & sliding all over like Bambi on ice. Vocals? Brutal as fuck, and perhaps the reason my favorite song is the instrumental “Binded to Unusual Existence”. Now, I haven’t mentioned the most important instrument yet, the bass. The reason is that I don’t even know how to describe it, because it’s messed up – for real – it’s just as ridiculous as the album title. It sounds like someone told the bass player to just have fun with it, and whatever he recorded they’d mix onto the album no matter what. So, do I like the album? Heck yes! Those bands I mentioned are all bands I dearly love, and VoidCeremony touches upon all of those with a youthful spirit. It is however a tough one to listen to; the production is partly to blame, but also the chaotic and disjointed songwriting is rough on the ears. On good days this could be a top 20 albums, but most days it’s just not what I’m in the mood for. Judge for yourself …
https://youtu.be/3BXc38lvUuQ
91. Annihilator – Ballistic, Sadistic
Like most other thrash metal fans of the eighties and nineties, I have a love/hate relationship with Annihilator. Here’s a band that started out with a true slam-dunk in their first three albums that were all incredible musical pieces, but also showed a band that could not keep a line-up intact to save their lives. So, when they after three albums and three different singers chose to have band leader Jeff Waters take the microphone on album #4, my interest in the band started to dwindle a bit … A few albums later they had the original vocalist rejoin, only to be replaced on the next album by yet another singer. That lasted two albums and a new guy comes in, who then at least stayed on-board for five albums before also he fell victim of the revolving door policies. The last 3 albums have been fronted (once again) by main man Jeff, who finally, with 2020’s “Ballistic, Sadistic” comes up with quite an acceptable vocal performance (yes, I’m one of those who thought that he should have stayed far away from the microphone to begin with). Musically this is great stuff; heavy metal with a thrash metal back bone, and lead by Jeff’s awesome guitar tone, that has always stayed the same throughout his 17-album career, perhaps closest to “Never, Neverland” and “Set the World on Fire” in sound, which obviously should make any long-time fan happy. Okay, so not all that glitters is gold, but overall, this album hits all the right spots for me, and when I’m in the mood for some old school melodic thrash metal, it doesn’t get much better than Annihilator. After 30+ years in the business, it’s quite impressive that Jeff Waters can create an album that would end up among the five best of his many albums, at least in my rankings.
https://youtu.be/OaJcTDjARak
90. Godthrymm – Reflections
Let’s be real; any band that consists of ex-members from My Dying Bride, Anathema and Solstice will have to be good, right? Well, yes – obviously! Godthrymm consists of Hamish Glenncross on vocals and guitars (ex-Solstice, ex-My Dying Bride, ex-Vallenfyre, ex-Seer’s Tear), Shaun Taylor-Steels on drums (ex-My Dying Bride, ex-Anathema, ex-Solstice) and a bassist going by the wonderful name of Sasquatch Bob (yes, I kid you not!). Musically we are now in the territory of classic UK doom death, so if your mind immediately goes to “Turn Loose the Swans”, “New Dark Age”, “Gothic”, “The Silent Enigma” or even “Forest of Equilibrium” you have hit the nail on its head. This is exactly what you get here, perhaps mostly leaning towards the sound of Paradise Lost’s incredible “Gothic” album (I swear that Hamish on more than one occasion sounds like a young Nick Holmes), without quite reaching it. “Reflections” is a very strong album, bringing back memories of all the classics of the genre, and serves as a great introduction to a new player on the doom metal scene that hopefully one day can deliver a future classic of their own.
https://youtu.be/jd1Hd31NNJU
89. Cloven Hoof – Age of Steel
I love Iron Maiden (who doesn’t?), and it’s been too long since we’ve had an album from the NWOBHM overlords, so to fill the void long-running scene-colleagues Cloven Hoof (celebrated their 40th anniversary last year) have decided to go full-out Maiden worship on their latest album, “Age of Steel”. There are songs here that sounds so much like “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” (“Alderley Edge”) or “The Evil That Men Do” (“Touch the Rainbow”) that it’s almost embarrassing – however, it’s done with such great finesse and attitude that I am willing to forgive the possible copyright infringement here, and rather view it as a band paying tribute to the sound, they were part of throughout the years. Luckily there are other inspirations to be found here; “Bedlam” comes across like a nice mixture between Bruce Dickinson’s “Chemical Wedding” (hah, there’s the Maiden reference again) and Edguy’s “Tears of a Mandrake”, “Gods of War” comes across like Helloween (think “March of Time”) meets Edguy (“Vain Glory Opera”), and so on. Yes, it’s far from original, (like REALLY far – three trips around the equator wouldn’t begin to cover it far) but it’s just the kind of music to make me smile and remember why I love the classic days of heavy metal so much.
https://youtu.be/xGok9MzRdxs
88. DGM – Tragic Separation
Considering that it’s been 5 years since the last Symphony X album (and even longer since their last great one – “Paradise Lost”, 2007), I must say that it’s nice to listen to the new DGM album “Tragic Separation”, as it’s the closest we’re going to get to a quality product bearing the SX-mark all over it. Yes, once again we find us in “imitation is the highest form of flattery” territory, and we can obviously discuss whether that makes “Tragic Separation” a strong album on its own merits, or if it should be seen as a solid carbon-copy and nothing else. In my opinion, the first option sounds most appropriate, as while 95% of the inspiration seem to come from the hands of the New Jersey quintet of Romeo/ Pinella/Allen/Rullo/LePond, the Italian quintet of Mularoni/Arcangeli/Basile/Casali/Constantino are obviously just as skilled on their instruments as their US counterparts, and compositionally this actually doesn’t fall far behind. Songs like the opener “Flesh and Blood”, the explosive “Stranded”, or the brilliant “Turn Back Time” are perfect examples of where the student becomes the master, as these songs could just as well have been placed on any SX disc of the last ~20 years (at least from “The Odyssey” and forward). Big surprise, and what sets these guys apart, is the inclusion of “hard rock” melodies, which the song “Surrender” is a proud example of. This song sounds more like an 80’s metal/hard rock tune, than a prog metal one, and unfortunately this is also where things fall a bit apart. While I am on-board with the SX worship, these “unwelcomed” 80’s flashbacks just take a bit of the edge away from the album. Oh well, can’t win them all … When DGM (yes, it still is and always will be a stupid name) are at the top of their game, they are world-class, and when not, meh ...
https://youtu.be/fJhyycfUUf0
87. Miracle Flair - Synchronism
I'd never heard about this band until I received the promo from the label, and I decided to give it a spin - I must say I'm very impressed by this Swiss outfit. Fronted by Nicole Hartman, who - thick accent aside - is a wonderfully gifted vocalist. Musically we're somewhere in melodic hard rock meets power metal territory (think Eclipse meets Evergrey meets Delain?), but with slight hints of progressive metal here and there. The song "In Love and Hate" reminds me of something I could see Carisma have put on their “1825” album years ago, which says a lot about the class of this disc. Besides Nicole’s voice, what really lifts this album up, are the great solos from guitarist Daniel Maurizi – dang, this guy can play! Just because there’s a female singer fronting this, don’t expect it to be one of the typical symphonic metal albums that we seem to get overfloated by these days. This isn’t the 105th Nightwish clone, instead it’s all about great melodies and great performances. While it’s not an album that will change the face of music in any way, “Synchronism” is so well done, and such a pleasant listen that it deserves to be heard by everyone who claim to enjoy melodic metal.
https://youtu.be/8WealR0vyqM
86. Cryptex – Once Upon a Time
I love anything pompous, theatrical and over-the-top symphonic in music; whether it’s used in musicals (Jesus Christ Superstar), rock (Supertramp, Meatloaf, Queen), hard rock (Jono, Moahni Moahna), or metal (Savatage, A.C.T.), the pomp element will always get me going. There’s been a few feeble attempts at the genre over the years, Rough Silk being an example of where the intentions were good, but it occasionally went horribly wrong – another recent one is this years Scardust (which you probably already noticed was struggling to even stay within top 100 of my list). It’s truly a balance act, you either go full on with the theatrics, or you do it gently … and it’s difficult to get it just right without falling off the line. The band in question here, Cryptex, does it quite well though, and mostly I’m on board with what they are dishing out. This is another of those albums I probably wouldn’t have heard about had it not been for Man of Much Metal and his wonderful blog, so thank you for that one! It does hit on most of the bands I mentioned above, but I also hear something distinctly “mainland-Europe” in it, that reminds me a bit of Sieges Even and also the Danish now sadly defunct Chrome Shift, although both of those are more “progressive metal” in expression. “Once Upon a Time” is an interesting album for sure, and when they get to the really pompous stuff like in “Haunted” or the ah-da-da-da-da-dum part in “I Don’t Know Why” I’m 100% on board. At other times it’s good, but not as sky-reaching great as one could hope for. I think what’s holding it back for me are the vocals of Simon Moskon, that just feels a bit flat or boring compared to the rest of the music. I’m sure they’ll get it right with the next album though, as I see so much potential in this.
https://youtu.be/01YGTrGFvYc
85. Sorcerer – Lamenting of the Innocent
While 2015 comeback album “In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross” made it to number 44 of my album list that year, and their 2017 masterpiece “The Crowning of the Fire King” climbed all the way to number 18 on my annual list, it’s truly sad to see their 2020 album “Lamenting of the Innocent” drop towards the bottom of my list, not even breaking the top 80
However, as often goes, when expectations are ridiculously high, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Doom Metal is one of my favorite musical genres – I’ve made that clear many times over the years, and Sorcerer have been filling that itch for a Candlemass/Solitude Aeternus style doom-act capable of crossing into more “mainstream” metal in recent years, with their two aforementioned albums. But, on “Lamenting of the Innocent” it really seems like the band has taken a step too far into the power metal realm, as the entire album basically sounds like a slowed-down version of US Power Metal. This is “Doom Metal for those who don’t like Doom”. Besides the fact that there are some obvious Candlemass “rip-offs” here and there (“Institoris”, “Hammer of the Witches”, or obviously the song “Deliverance” as it features Johan Langqvist from said band as guest vocalist), this honestly reminds me more of a Jag Panzer album than anything a doom band would put out. While there are some great parts on the disc, there are also too many that comes across as throw-away material that just didn’t make it onto the two previous albums. It took the band 25 years from they started out as a demo band till they finally released their debut album, then 2 years before the next album, and now just another 3 for “Lamenting …” to come out – perhaps they should have taken another “long break” to write some better songs.https://youtu.be/XoA9-85l7-w
84. Spell - Opulent Decay
Take your old classic hard rock albums from Sabbath, BOC, Heep or Lizzy, throw them in a blender with modern-day “retro” bands such as Ghost, Graveyard or The Devil’s Blood, add a bit of NWOBHM metal spirit (think Maiden or Diamond Head), and some Rush mid-80’s synth, and the end result is “Opulent Decay” from Canadian band Spell. It’s hardly original – heck, it’s far from it – but it’s very well done and permeates a mood of tranquility, hypnotic trance, and psychedelic ethereal spirituality … it verges on the edge of metal, occasionally leaning towards the doomier side of things, but keeps one foot solidly planted in the grass (!) of the early 70’s. Depending on my mood of the given day, this is an absolute winner (and might as easily have made it to top 50), yet other days there’s something about it that bothers me – I don’t know if it’s the vocal style or the psychedelic elements that seem a bit “forced’. This is one of those albums that shows how much potential this band possesses, but also highlights their faults.
https://youtu.be/7IJXNLh5AQY
83. Ayreon – Transitus
Arjen Lucassen – the name alone signifies a hyper-prolific songwriter, musician and producer, who’s created some of the very best albums of the past couple of decades within the hard rock, progressive metal and symphonic metal genres, a cornerstone in establishing the metal-opera genre, and all-around icon for thousands of musicians and music fans out there. However, to stay on top of your game for so long you need to consistently deliver! Both in quantity (the market demands new releases ever so often) and in quality, and this is where the problem lies; the moment quantity overtakes the quality. What I’ve found is that Arjen’s biggest enemy here is himself and his own success. More demands more, right? So, if Arjen has made something super-symphonic and highly conceptualized already, then where does he go next? Yes, you guessed it, he adds even more of the conceptual storyline to it (by adding a fulltime storyteller, taking up ~25% of the disc’s playing time), going even more symphonic (there are more keyboards than guitars to be found now), and adding even more layers of different vocalists to it, to the point where one becomes inseparable from the other (best example here is the song “Your Story is Over!” where 4 wonderful female singers - Simone Simons, Amanda Somerville, Marcela Bovio and Caroline Westendorp - all gets to sing in a less than 3 minute tune, and the end result is that you can’t tell who is who anymore). I get the idea behind “Transitus” and to a certain extent it’s cool to see Ayreon go all out with a story, but let’s face it; the album is too long, and there are way too many songs that are of the 2-3-minute length, which doesn't really do anything except moving a storyline along - the song itself never gets to build and evolve, and at the end I honestly don't remember many of the tunes. What I do remember are specific performances, and the winners here are Dee Snider (come on, he is and always will be THE MAN!), Tommy Karevik (as if anyone doubted the qualities this guy possesses), and Paul Manzi (brilliant and underrated vocalist). As for Arjen himself? Well, hopefully next time he’ll hold back a bit – or a lot – and write something more focused on the songs, and let go of the big concept, as it really isn’t necessary in order to entertain us.
https://youtu.be/ozmTXh2CBWw
82. Harlott – Detritus of the Final Age
2020 might be one of the very best years for thrash metal releases since the genre took its leave in the early 90’s. The rethrash wave of the 2000’s/2010’s has been its own little thing, but not one I’ve ever paid much attention to, so it wasn’t until the recent 5-10 years releases from old school giants like Testament, Kreator, Death Angel, Exodus, and Destruction that I truly cared about thrash again. Let’s be real here; thrash seem to come primarily from 3 distinct scenes; Germany (the “teutonic” style), California (the “bay-area” style) or New York/New Jersey, (with occasional spin-offs from UK or Scandinavia) so when a band like Harlott originates from out of Melbourne, Australia, it’s quite a shock to me to say the least. My expectations based on that weren’t really high to be honest as the only thrash metal band of note from the land-down-under in my book is Mortal Sin (no, I never liked Hobbs Angel of Death, sorry), but the immense number of great reviews led me to check out “Detritus of the Final Age” and I sure am happy I did. With a sound pulling from all over the place (I hear both Kreator, Slayer, Dark Angel and Exodus in this) these Aussies have created a great little 48-minute assault of high quality brutal old school thrash, including such splendid songs as “Bring on the War”, “Idol Minded”, “As We Breach” and the epic tune of the disc “Miserere of the Dead”. Fast-paced, full steam ahead, very aggressive and quite “simplistic” in nature (well, except on the aforementioned “Miserere of the Dead”). Yes, this deserves all the hype it’s currently getting.
https://youtu.be/DPG6BfMukI8
81. T.H.E.M. – Return to Hemmersmoor
US/German band T.H.E.M. (or is it just Them now?) has released their 3rd full length in the impressive “Return to Hemmersmoor”, which once again is a conceptual album with a storyline that even good old King Diamond would be happy with. Speaking of the Danish king (well…), T.H.E.M. are obviously inspired not only by his spooky concepts, but equally by his musical outputs as especially the first two albums took more than just the cliff-notes off of the classic King Diamond song writing. Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, right, so I’m sure King didn’t mind – that said, it looks like T.H.E.M. decided it was time to move towards something new and fresh and gave their songwriting a well-deserved face lift and introduced new elements making it less of a copycat, and more of unique band of their own. There’s a bit of US power metal (Iced Earth) now in songs like “Free”, a bit of thrash/speed metal (Exodus, Annihilator) with “Battle Blood” a good example of that, and even slight hints of progressive metal all over the disc. Looking at my rankings over the years (2016’s “Sweet Hollow” was my #21, and 2018’s “Manor of the Se7en Gables” was #40) is seems like I really am losing my interest in the band, or that their outputs starts dwindling in quality, but honestly, that’s not it. 2020 has just provided us with so many great albums, and although “Return to Hemmersmoor” didn’t make it up towards the top of my list, it is still a really great album and I’ve had many hours of enjoyment out of this.
https://youtu.be/tncmVzuaNuQ
80. Volturian – Crimson
Volturian in an Italian melo-death/pop metal band quite similar to Sweden’s absolutely horrible Amaranthe! There, I got it off my chest – I dislike the music of Amaranthe with a passion! Now, these Italians have taken a page or two hundred out of the Amaranthe-playbook, given it their own tiny twist, and ended up with a result that honestly isn’t too far removed from the original outset. However, what Volturian has that works in their favor is Federico Mondelli; this guy is the main songwriter, not only here, but also in his other two bands Frozen Crown and Be the Wolf, and he is just absolutely amazing. I’ll go as far as to say I kinda have a man-crush on the guy, in the effect that everything he touches becomes gold to me at least. Frozen Crown is one of the very best power metal bands out there right now, and Be the Wolf is (pun intended) a beast of its own with their unique blend of all thing’s hard rock/metal. So, under his leadership, and with his incredible guitar playing and amazing voice taking part in this project, no wonder that Volturian succeeds where others (Amaranthe!!!) fails. This is “danceable” pop-metal with a backbone in melo-death of the Gothenburg camp, lots of pomp (and less circumstance), and of course the “angelic-female-voice” of Federica Lanna that this genre demands. First two singles “New Life” and “Broken” are great examples of the qualities found within “Crimson”. There’s obviously also a few issues with the album, evidenced by the fact that it didn’t even crack my top 75 of the year – primarily the flat and very in-organic production, but also the quite unnecessary cover of Roxette’s “Fading Like A Flower” (hey, I loved this song back in ‘91, but I don’t really need this cover in 2020). That doesn’t deter from the overall qualities of “Crimson” though, and it solidifies my opinion of Federico Mondelli as Italy’s #1 song writer today. File this under “Albums I shouldn’t really like, but I can’t help do”!
https://youtu.be/FQXo8kNqLZw
79. One Desire – Midnight Empire
Finnish band One Desire got themselves some well-deserved attention with their self-titled debut album a few years ago, even climbing into the top 30 part of my 2017 list. They are now back with their second disc, which continues exactly where the first one left off – high-octane melodic hard rock (think White Lion, Talisman, Winger) bordering on the AOR genre (think Journey, Soul Sirkus, FM) with memorable sing-along songs, and a high overall level of song writing and performances. However, and this is One Desire’s “downfall” if you will, their songs tend to all sound very much alike, and while there are a few absolutely incredible tunes that you can’t get out of your head after listening (“Shadow Man”, “Godsent Exstacy” and “Only When I Breathe”) the rest seem to become a bit of a blur of well-done but not exceptional hard rock songs. I noticed the same thing with the debut album (lead single “Hurt” was an out-of-this-world hit!) and had hoped the band would have stepped it up on this second one, but the end result is pretty much the same; 3-4 wonderful tunes and the rest good but not great.
https://youtu.be/HQO_30t2_e8
78. Darzamat – A Philosopher at the End of the Universe
Darzamat? Hmmm, the name rings a bell, and if I remember correctly it’s one of those mostly second-rate Greek black/goth bands that there were quite a lot of in the late 90’s / early 00’s thanks to the success of Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh (think Nightfall, On Thorns I Lay, Swan Christy, The Elysian Fields …)? Well, here’s the kicker … it is NOT a Greek band, although they were part of that same scene and that specific sound. In fact, they are Polish!!! What gives! Going back through the stack of promo CDs I’ve received over the years I find that I apparently do have “Transkarpatia” (their 2005 album) in my collection and looking them up on Metal-Archives I also remember having seen their first two albums (yeah, those cover art pieces are hard to “unsee”). Well, with that little introduction out of the way, let’s get back to the 2020 album “A Philosopher at the End of the Universe”, which is quite an impressive affair. Musically we’re somewhere in gothic/symphonic metal land with a very dark (almost black metal) atmosphere surrounding it. Nearest comparisons would be the aforementioned Greek bands Septic Flesh and Nightfall, Portuguese goth masters Moonspell as well as early Theatre of Tragedy (before the Norwegians went into Alternative Pop territory). Where Darzamat sets themselves apart from those bands, is through their use of two equally great front-vocalists in Flauros (who provides an impressive deep growl one moment, then goes into almost black metal shrieks the next) and Nera (who provides the smooth female vocals) – both vocalists are superb at their job, and with the great, almost-sing-along, melodies, the album is a superb example of a genre that is nowhere near as flourishing in 2020 as it was 30 years ago, yet still holds plenty of relevance.
https://youtu.be/bT6kPy_qXZc
77. Alestorm – Curse of the Crystal Coconut
We can talk for hours about the relevance of a band such as Alestorm in today’s metal scene; do they bring something new to the genre? Do they provide anything relevant? Are they just a gimmick? Haven’t we heard enough “crude joke songs” in metal already (I mean, Spinal Tap and Bad News did this thing 30 years ago)? But, at the end of the day, this IS really fun and I’m laughing hard whenever listening to Alestorm. Don’t expect to be blown away by over-the-top technical abilities, or even a modicum of genuine metal pedigree here. It’s all folk-inspired, pirate-drinking-themed, happy-go-lucky-heavy metal, infused with some of the wackiest keyboard sounds not to come out of either an old computer game or my son’s room when he is hammering away on his keyboard. And oh boy, the lyrics … with such classics as “Your pirate ship can eat a bag of dicks”, “We’re only here to drink rum, shoot guns and live for the party”, or “We are the pirate metal drinking crew, we don’t give a fuck, we think you all suck” the course has been plotted. Don’t take this seriously (like really, DON’T!), just sit back, pour yourself a big glass of rum (or even better, drink straight from the bottle), and have fun for the next 44 minutes, and when done, rinse and repeat ...
https://youtu.be/749wEN2cuFA
76. Delain – Apocalypse & Chill
Pretty much everything I wrote about the style of Within Temptation’s “Resist” album last year can be repeated here; Delain has slowly moved towards a more poppy sound, and with this new disc they’ve truly crossed-over to the point where they might as well be a “pop”-based rather than a “heavy metal”-based act. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so, but obviously there are purists out there that think it sucks and that the band should have stuck to what they knew how to write for. Oh well, I like what they do now, and though I’ve never been the biggest Delain fan (I own all their albums but found them just at a level below Within Temptation), I think “Apocalypse & Chill” in many ways is their most mature effort, but not necessarily best. I’ve always felt that Charlotte was holding back a bit – either she did it on purpose or she just didn’t have the vocal power others in the genre (Sharon, Tarja, Simone, Floor) possess, so to hear her really give it her all, especially on a song like “We Had Everything” makes me happy – by far her best performance ever. The production is also really well-polished, and it helps push the “pop” message across, but at the same time it also takes the metal aspect out of the album, and somehow makes it sound just a tad too clinical. I’ve spent a lot of time with the album this year, primarily because it didn’t click with me at first, and then when it finally did, I quickly dumped it again. Some days I would rank the album higher than where it is now, but other days I find that the end result is a bit flat.
https://youtu.be/OfP_OhLQvOE
75. Light Field Reverie – Another World
It’s incredible how after listening to a voice just once, you know that this is going to become a favorite of yours for years to come. This is what happened in 2015 when I first heard Heike Langhans on Draconian’s “Sovran”, and immediately thought that this was one of the very best female vocalists in the doom/gothic genre I ever heard, and two years later she cemented that position with her guest appearance on Hallatar’s masterpiece “No Stars Upon the Bridge”. Well, 2020 will finally bring Heike’s incredible voice to the forefront, as not only is there a new Draconian album out, but also a little “side-project” going by the name of Light Field Reverie and its full-length album “Another World”. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware of this band/project until seeing my friend’s end-of-year list the day before Thanksgiving (yeah, he is faster at putting these together than I am), but the moment I saw the mention of Heike I purchased the album on iTunes and thank goodness! “Another World” is written with Heike’s voice in mind, no doubt about it – it’s like every single song lives and breathes with her vocal timbre, and while it’s only a 40 minute ordeal, you really can sit back, close your eyes and immerse yourself into this very atmospheric and melodic doom landscape (into another world perhaps?), that musically lands somewhere between the early works of Within Temptation / Theatre of Tragedy and the later style of Anathema, occasionally (mostly thanks to Heike’s voice I guess) pulling from the Draconian or even later Swallow the Sun song book. Would this album work as well with another vocalist? Probably not, and that’s why I for now rank it three-quarters of the way down my Top 100 list of the year – that said, I’m loving each second of this thanks to Heike.
https://youtu.be/J72wtM8d1DM
74. Northern Crown – In a Pallid Shadow
Continuing their awesome sound from their previous two albums (“The Others” 2016, “Northern Crown” 2018), Florida’s doom metallers are back with another slab of dark, slow-paced, gothic-tinged metal/ rock somewhere between My Dying Bride, Black Sabbath and Tiamat. There’s a little bit more of a hard rock than metal sound this time around, occasionally crossing over into a doom version of Deep Purple. It’s hard to imagine music of this kind can come from sunny Florida, but nevertheless that’s how it is. Frank Serafine still sounds like Thomas Sabatthi from Year of the Goat, just check out opener “Leprosarium”, which pleases me quite a lot. I don’t understand why this band is unsigned – music is great, artwork (by Travis Smith) is top-notch, and the production is perfect for the genre (heck, they even had Dan Swanö master it). There should be plenty of labels out there wanting to pick up these guys. All 5 songs are of really high quality, but the album feels a bit short to be honest, more like a long mini album than a full album, and this is one of those times where I’d actually would have liked a bit more bang for my buck.
https://youtu.be/_twfdyxb_Xc
73. Gathering of Kings – Discovery
I was late to the party that was Gathering of Kings’ 2019 debut “First Mission” – while I had seen the band prepare for the release, and listened to several of the singles, it wasn’t until I saw on several year-end-lists that I decided to pick it up. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with their second album, so when “Discovery” was announced I made sure to add it to my list of things to purchase on release day. Musically “Discovery” picks up right where “First Mission” ended – this is super smooth AOR, somewhere between Asia/Styx, but thanks to the multiple guests it also get this “pomp rock opera” feeling that we know from Avantasia or Phenomena – and with such accomplished vocalists as Apollo (Spiritual Beggars/Firewind/We Sell the Dead…), Rick Altzi (Masterplan/At Vance…), Johnny Lindqvist (Nocturnal Rites) it’s no wonder that the album also occasionally crosses over into “metal” territory without really going all in. The music is composed by Victor Olsson (ex-Saffire) and it’s big and grandiose, although far from original. That said, I really enjoy listening to this album, and every single time I put it on I get this big smile on my face - this is “happy music”, if there’s such a thing.
https://youtu.be/zgmbkdsDEUs
72. Damnation Angels – Fiber of Our Being
Back around 2013 I got involved with this British power metal band that sounded eerily like Kamelot, although with a singer who weren’t as “smooth” as Khan (or Tommy for that matter). For a few years I was their manager, and I really got to respect their song writing skills. Let’s be honest, they aren’t here to reinvent the wheel, but on those first two albums (and an EP) of theirs, they created some Kamelot-like songs, that I’m sure even Thom Youngblood would be proud to call his own. Things change, I left the business, and apparently the band changed singers, welcoming Ignazio Rodriguez all the way from Argentina. First of all, I like the new singer - he isn’t as “unique” as PelleK, but he has much better control and thus is more pleasant to listen to. Musically it’s less “Kamelot worship” this time around, and instead more stealing with arms and legs from Eclipse and Evergrey and putting it into a symphonic metal setting. Every single song is instantly memorable and that’s where this band’s force lies - super solid song writing albeit hardly original. This is a band that knows how to make the best of material that is not really original. But they will never write a masterpiece in any form or shape; their songs are just too derivative of other songs and there’s not an ounce of originality to be found here. I’m warming up to the new one more and more, and it might (thanks to new singer) come out on top of any of the previous discs.
https://youtu.be/lRMm7l4tSEA
71. Satan’s Fall – Final Day
Finnish speed/heavy metal band Satan’s Fall are this year’s true metal purists, the band that best encapsulates what old school is all about. What we have here is a high-octane blend of old Iron Maiden (“Killers”), old Judas Priest (“British Steel”), old Metallica (“Kill ‘em All”), old Iced Earth (“Night of the Stormrider”), old Helloween (“Walls of Jericho”) and obviously (as the name eludes) old Mercyful Fate (“Melissa”). Did I say “old” enough times??? There’s no denying that music of this caliber can only be done if you are a fan of the genre, and there’s no “quick cash grab” involved at all, as this is written completely from the heart & soul, regardless of the style of music having any potential to sell or not. You can literally smell the denim and leather that the guys are wearing, you can imagine them sitting at home in Mom’s basement sowing band-patches onto their jackets, and you can easily feel the fun and energy coming out through the speakers when these guys play. So yes, there’s a heck of lot of classic old school metal in here, some speedier than other, and some are performed better than others (let’s be honest, with this kind of music it’s all about attitude, not whether you hit the right notes as a singer, or if you’re really tight as a drummer), but man, throughout it all you can’t help smile, headbang, lift your hand up high doing the devil-sign, and let out a high-pitched “YEEEEAAAAAAAAH” even if it makes your 9-year old son ask you if you’re feeling alright.
https://youtu.be/opf0jrqh91A
70. Black Swan – Shake the World
It wasn’t a lot of melodic rock / hard rock albums that found their way onto my list this year, and perhaps it’s a sign that either the genre has done itself in (yes, Frontiers Records, I’m looking at you with all those albums sounding identical) or perhaps I just lost interest in it?! Either way, once in a while an album comes that hits on all the things that made me like the genre to begin with, and here’s one that takes me right back to the early 90’s: Black Swan. Sounding like a mixture of such bands as MSG, Dokken, Winger, Mr.Big, Whitesnake, etc. ain’t a bad thing, and honestly shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as these guys are members/ex-members of exactly those bands. Vocalist Robin McAuley (from McAuley Schenker Group and nowadays Michael Schenker Fest) sounds amazing here, and not at all like a 67-year-old rocker. Alongside him we have bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken/Foreigner) and drummer Matt Starr (Mr. Big/Ace Frehley), and obviously that makes the music groove and swing like it absolutely should for this kind of music. And, high point of the band, at least to me, is guitarist Reb Beach (Winger/Dokken/Whitesnake) who crafts some of the very best solos I’ve heard all year – just check out the brilliant solo on “Johnny Came Marching Home”! A lot can be said about the hard rock genre, and while some of it comes across as cheesy, Black Swan actually does things right – there’s a nice balance between songs about rock’n’roll dreams and all the clichés that comes with it, but also songs that have a deeper meaning (aforementioned “Johnny…” deals with soldiers coming back home from the war plagued with PTSD). Once in a while Frontiers finds a great band among their multiple “projects”, and this is one of them!
https://youtu.be/hNGOVHOHbGw
69. Warbringer – Weapons of Tomorrow
Warbringer is one of those albums I picked up on a whim, and I am really happy I did so, as this is rethrash done just right! Yes, another “young” band, giving the thrash metal genre a fresh spin. There’s no doubt that these guys love the good ol’ days of thrash, as there are more than just a few riffs borrowed from Testament, Death Angel, Slayer, Exodus and even Metallica, but all done with a respect for the classics. Now, here’s the kicker: this album, besides the already mentioned onslaught of classic thrash metal riffs and great melodies all over, it also holds some of the best black metal songwriting of the year! I kid you not! Whoever or whatever possessed band leader John Kevill (such a diverse vocalist!) and the rest of the band to infuse black metal into their thrash was a pure stroke of genius, as it makes for one heck of an interesting album, and especially the tune “Heart of Darkness” stands out as merging the two genres in a way I never expected - mind-blowing! Now, that’s not to say that the rest of the album is at that level, but they come close often, with “Notre Dame” (also leaning towards black here and there), “Unravelling” (classic straight ahead Slayer thrash) and “The Black Hand Reaches Out” (first single and probably the commercially most accessible song – very Testament like) being my favorites of the bunch.
https://youtu.be/ZNBOi-RPHnM
68. Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost
Yet another proto-metal / retro-hard-rock band, this time the British quartet Wytch Hazel, centered around vocalist/guitarist Colin Hendra, who is one of the more interesting vocalists I’ve heard in this genre. Not necessarily technically amazing, he is however very competent in getting a message across in his own peculiar way. The message? Well, it’s a Pentecostal Christian one, so there’s a lot of “Holy Ghost”, “Hand of God”, “Sake of the Lord”, “Angel of Light” etc. being sung out loud and proud here. Regardless of lyrical choice, the music rocks, and songs like “Spirit and Fire”, “Ancient of Days” and “Archangel” are just flat out great and makes you want to join Colin in his praise of the mighty warrior in the sky. Musically this is total late 70’s or early 80’s UK rock/metal at a time when the NWOBHM was just about starting up – you can pull traces of early Maiden here, hints of Thin Lizzy, some clear Angel Witch links, a ton of great guitar harmonies in the vein of Satan (the band), and some Wishbone Ash. In some way - and this might sound like I’m making light of the quality of music here but I’m not – I feel like “III: Pentecost” could be the unofficial soundtrack to Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” movie and coming from me that’s actually quite a compliment.
https://youtu.be/zDbugGsj7xM
67. Horisont – Sudden Death
There’s a lot of the “retro-metal” (ugh, I really dislike that term) or “vintage-hard-rock” bands out there these days, and some are better than others. Sweden’s Horisont belong in the “great” category, at least to me, as they have a sense of honesty about what they do, it’s not just about jumping on a trend that’s hot right now or doing something because it could be a way to make money. I get the impression that these dudes 100% live for this kind of music; the sweaty, jeans-clad, raw 70’s rock, that sometimes evoke the feeling of a trucker movie, or young people having fun on roller-skates outside an American burger joint – it’s like a little time-bubble of its own and that’s what I like about Horisont. So yeah, it has a real “Americana” (Styx, Kansas, Chicago) feel to it in a lot of ways, but at the same time some of the riffs bears a resemblance to UK classic rock (Thin Lizzy, Status Quo, Nazareth), some of it leans towards prog territory (Yes, Rush, Uriah Heep), and some of it even harken back to the days of The Beatles – and, just to add another layer of complexity to it, there’s a song in Swedish on there! I got into the band late, around their previous two albums (“Odyssey” and “About Time”), and I tried going further back in the discography of the band, but it didn’t really click with me. However, I’ve noticed the while the band seem to have gotten more “metal” on those two mentioned releases, it looks like there’s actually less metal to be found in the music this time around, and it suits the band really well – kind of like they had to try a few heavy metal songs over the last few years, but then deciding that it’s the rock approach that works best for them, and that’s applaudable. I can totally get onboard with that, and it makes “Sudden Death” one of those albums that I can listen to again and again.
https://youtu.be/RxHGfmT_1MM
66. Aether Realm – Redneck Vikings from Hell
I always found it interesting how music genres go through “waves”. With the melo-death scene we had the original first wave which primarily consisted of Swedish (Gothenburg) bands, the second wave was spawned by Children of Bodom and a bunch of bands from all over the world (Withering Surface from Denmark, Night in Gale from Germany and others come to mind), and the third wave was initiated by the Finnish band Wintersun and their self-titled 2004 debut album. Now, Aether Realm from North Carolina (yup, my “local boys” here in Northern ‘Cackalacky’) steal with arms and legs from Wintersun, but they are a full decade and a half too late to claim part of that third wave, so would that make them melo-death v.3.5 or v.4? Either way, Aether Realm delivers the goods with plenty of speed, furor and strong songwriting, a pinch of folk/bluegrass music, some thrashing riffs, a backbone of death metal, a touch of gothic atmosphere, lots of melody and even some classic heavy metal stylings. Yup, it’s all the marks and makings of a good melo-death album, and when you then add in some NC hillbilly/redneck originality in a few songs you end up with a fun, yet still serious enough album, that can be counted as one of the “feel-good” albums of the year.
https://youtu.be/pRJo0Yyj4V4
65. Solitary Sabred – By Fire and Brimstone
The original US Power Metal scene was a big go-to for me in the late 80’s with bands such as Omen, Agent Steel, Manowar, Cauldron Born, Vicious Rumors, Sanctuary, Syrus, Helstar and Jag Panzer all taking up large amounts of my listening time. Well, what would you say if I told you that here in 2020 it’s possible to find a band that sounds exactly like those aforementioned bands, AND that the band I’m taking about isn’t even from USA? I give you Solitary Sabred, a band from Cyprus of all places! Wrapped in a cover artwork that doesn’t leave you any doubt about the content inside, “By Fire and Brimstone” is a killer album of 41 minutes of pure 80’s nostalgia, with screaming guitars, pounding drums and a vocalist that is equal parts Warrel Dane, King Diamond, J.D. Kimball and Eric Adams. Even 30-something years later I still enjoy US Power Metal, especially when it’s done as honest and true-to-the-genre as here.
https://youtu.be/NEWSs72Bkxk
It's such an awesome disc.
