Ghost Cult is kicking off our “End of Year Guest Post Extravaganza” with a slew of posts from bands, industry, PR types, and more! We’ll be sharing lists, memories, and other shenanigans from our favorite bands, partners, music industry peers, and other folks we respect across the globe. Today we have Dave Smalley (Dag Nasty, ALL, Down By Law) of Don’t Sleep with his top 10 releases of 2020. Don’t Sleep’s Debut Turn The Tide is out now via Mission Two Entertrainment and you can buy it here!
Sepultura: Quadra
Heavy and hard and continually excellent for over 30 years. Call it thrash metal, or death metal, or whatever you want. I call it heavy metal, emphasis on heavy. The new album is brutal, with some super cool breakdowns. Worthy.
Ozzy Osbourne: Ordinary Man
The Prince of Darkness. There is only one. I have seen Ozzy maybe the most of any artist in my checkered life – from the Jake E. Lee days in ‘82 through to his most recent tour. Different but still sounds like classic Ozzy. The Post Malone collaboration is cool and fast, surprisingly good. The first two songs (“Straight to Hell”
and “All My Life”) are the best. Ozzy’s still Ozzy. Respect.
AC/DC: Power Up
Thank you, God. Best new album of the year. Bliss.
Be Well: The Weight and the Cost
I love good, well-crafted, and distinct hardcore that stretches the boundaries, but still rocks. Be Well’s new album knocks it out of the park. Well, freaking done; unique singing from Brian McTernan and outstanding guitars from Mike Schleibaum, though all of the players nail it. Distinct.
Don’t Sleep: Turn the Tide
An excellent debut full-length album from Don’t Sleep, a band of four rockin’ hardcore players from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and yours truly. Hey, I have to be honest. I love this album, especially the nearly five-minute dark reggae song “The Wreckage.” This is a great hardcore album, with a ton of musical depth. Truth.
Coriky: Coriky
Early Fugazi, sprinkled with a dash of The Evens. There’s so much to love about this, and not just because it’s Ian MacKaye. But partly because of that. There’s something so catchy about these rhythmic sparse songs with deliberately spartan production; this album takes you to a different space. Refreshing.
Iron Maiden: Nights of the Dead (Legacy of the Beast, Live in Mexico City)
I’m not a huge fan of live albums. I think they almost always pale next to a brilliant studio album. Live shows? Hell yes, every night! But for listening and rocking out when driving or working out, I’m normally not doing the live album thing. However…this is Maiden. The band I’ve seen probably second-most in my life after Ozzy. And while I wouldn’t put this album in Maiden’s top five, or maybe even in the top 10, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear new versions of Aces High, Run to the Hills, The Trooper, etc. Nostalgic.
Deep Purple: Woosh
I remember as a young dude getting Deep Purple Machine Head and being blown away. This is a band that has their own sound, even with three different singers! I mean, think about some of their hits: “Smoke on the Water” of course, but also “Hush,” “Highway Star,” “My Woman From Tokyo,” etc., etc., etc. I love this album, and most especially the keyboards taking you right back to the late 1960s. Trust me – put this on late at night with headphones and be transported. Cool.
Def Leppard: Def Leppard
Admit it: There is a delight in listening to Def Leppard. As long as you balance it with Motorhead or Don’t Sleep or Fugazi or something deep, you should feel no shame in enjoying this band, just like you need some sugar in your dessert. You can’t live on it, and it doesn’t sustain you, but it tastes good while you’re having it. This new album is classic Def Lep, and it’s really quite good. Will totally make you remember their ‘80s hits, in a good way. Party.
Cro Mags: In the Beginning
Heavy. Excellent. Heavy. Real. Heavy. Distinctive. Heavy. Brutal. Heavy.