Ghost Cult continues our “End of Year Guest Post Extravaganza” with a slew of posts from bands, industry, PR pros, 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. Nathan, Ollie, and Graham from Possessor shared their collective Top Ten Albums List for 2020. the bands’ new album Damn The Light released this past October on APF Records.
Top Albums of 2020:
1-3 by Nathan Perrier – Drums
4-6 by Ollie Isaac – Bass
7-10 by Graham Bywater – Vocals & guitar
1. Terminal Nation – Holocene Extinction
There’s no doubt about it, this year has been a bastard. This album is the soundtrack to refusing to be overwhelmed by it all, standing up and kicking against the pricks. It’s total throwback stuff reminiscent of 80s crust punk and early death metal, resplendent with feedback-drenched roared vocal instructions on what need to change and why, before frantically kicking into some legit d beatings. When things slow down occasionally you get world-stopping riffs on a par with Asphyx at their best. Heavy as fuck.
2. Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville
I often recoil when bands have a Jazz aspect as so often it’s lumpen and unstudied and largely irrelevant. This is not the case here. The musicianship on offer is exhilarating and savage in equal measures. As a 3 piece all component are at the fore throughout and the results are mesmerising. From a whisper to a jet engine opening up for take-off you get it all here. There are hints of all the relapse greats of the late 90’s here delivered with a stand-alone take on soundtracking a failing dystopian future nightmare. Not for the faint-hearted but sticking with this album for repeat listens will offer rewards unimaginable. It’s a wild ride.
3. Stälker – Black Magic Terror
This is vital listening. Black Magic Terror, come ripping out of your speakers like a Wolfpack on crack. There is no mercy for weaklings! This band love every band I love. It’s all here, I won’t do a list but if it kills and it’s classic, it’s here. Some may say there’s nothing original here, some may say it’s a throwback. I don’t care. This is a masterpiece and deserves a worthy place in the annals of Heavy Metal. Those who don’t like it and lust for progress and originality can go and suck off Opeth in an elevator!
4. Afsky – “Ofte jeg drømmer mig død “
Emotive, melancholic, and powerful. If you are after a solid example of traditional black metal (2nd wave) then this is where it’s at.
5. Calligram –“The Eye is the First Circle”
Bleak blackened crust. Absolute unit of a record and a solid bunch of dudes.
6. ACxDC – “Satan is King”
An Aggressive record exactly how a grind/power-violence album should be.
No bullshit.
7. ZOMBI – 2020
Romero obsessed Pennsylvanian duo Zombi have delivered an exciting and fitting soundtrack to 2020 with yet another otherworldly synth fuelled slab of minimalistic retro energy. More rewarding than their past few records and soaked in a dystopian dread, this could perfectly soundtrack each and every glum day of 2020 just as much as it could the original Transformers movie or Dawn of the Dead.
Fun, catchy, and sinister all at once.
8. Faceless Burial – Speciation
These days we never seem to be short of new mind-blowing death metal from all over the globe. Last year I was besotted with Hyperdontia and Evoked, this year it’s hands down Faceless Burial.
This record is crushing and barbaric yet is literally seeping with catchy hooks and incredibly unique riff patterns. Old school through and through yet with a rotting finger very much on the pulse of modern-day metal…this is a brave and uplifting album that captures a musical chemistry you’d be foolish to skimp on.
9. Black Helium – The Wholly Other
A unique band with several different vibes going on all at once. Imagine Hawkwind performing ‘Live in Pompeii’ and add a dash of Sabbath via Faust via Black Mountain and you’re probably still nowhere close. The utterly hypnotic ‘Pink Bolt’ remains the album’s highlight for me, with its haunting bass riff and minimal guitar flourishes. It’s heavy as hell, and despite this album being on repeat since its release, I’m still finding new rewards far beneath the surface of the chiming fuzz. Also, it goes well with staring at the sky. Something we should really do more of instead of looking at our phone screens.
10. Enslaved – Utgard
Alongside Darkthrone, Enslaved has got to be one of the most original and prolific exports to ever come out of Norway. The bands almost effortless progression from pure snow drenched black metal to a progressive Viking metal majesty has happened gradually over almost thirty years. Utgard reaches dizzying heights of splendour and despair whilst adding new and mouth-watering elements to the bands ever-evolving universe. Highlights for me are the futurist synth-driven ‘Urjotun’ and the stomping ‘Sequence’, although as with most of this band’s back catalogue you’d be hard-pushed to find a track you’d want to skip.