If there was one personal silver-lining from this most unique and challenging of calendar years it was the infiltration of splendid musical entertainment into my aural passages on a daily basis during the hours of work… hours that had previously been metal-free while attending the office. Suddenly, in between hours upon hours of Microsoft Teams meetings – no longer will a telephone call do, no, no, instead every issue demands an hour-long video call – I finally had the joy and majesty of tunes to accompany my “new normal” and I am delighted to be making the most of it, still.
Yet, the brain is a weird and wonderful thing. Mine decided it wasn’t really in the mood for new music. Well, it was, just not contemporary new. 2020 became the year of the revisit and the deep-dive as, with the release schedule altered and amended as bands weighed up whether to sit on albums or release them into a COVID-filled, tour-free void, inspired by a weekly Twitter poll I became caught up with, I went right back to the roots.
Indulging my preferences, and getting my full-on retro on, I embarked on chronological reviews of several artists. I’m pretty sure Alice Cooper was the first, and I ventured from Love It To Death (RCA) through to Raise Your Fist and Yell (MCA) [Trash and Hey Stoopid – both Epic – having long been staples of the library, and I’m not too interested in anything more recent than them], Deep Purple followed shortly after, and Marks II and III were voraciously devoured before a spreadsheet of epic proportions was born from following a Dayal Patterson inspired rabbit hole and a conversation about Venom.
Starting with Overkill (Bronze), I began a journey from and through the roots of extreme metal, hopping from punk, hardcore, thrash to Hellhammer & Frost and beyond – a route taking me through increasingly more gutteral and deathly music that continues today [I’ve just tipped over into 1993, having not-long had some Dreams of the Carrion Kind (Roadrunner) and with the Emperor / Enslaved split up next] of an Evolution of the Extreme that I hope one day to bring to Ghost Cult, in all its 200 album glory, telling the story of the sprawl and progression of Death and Black metal through the most essential albums – essential in terms of both quality and influence.
In addition to that, regular musical interaction with friends saw myself and fellow The King Is Blind member, Lee Appleton, undertake a simultaneous run-through of the Ulver discography – complete with blow-by-blow discussion of an enlightening and motivational realisation of the qualities of …William Blake, Messe (both Jester), and The Assassination of Julius Caesar (House of Mythology) in particular; truly respecting and recognising the standard and calibre of a unique and phenomenal band at each response and counter-response they undertook.
Similar dives of Deftones, Devin (who also provided my first “live stream” experience), Van Halen, Isis, and more, sound-tracked lockdown and the many hours of work undertaken either in the spare room, at the kitchen table, or, like now, on the sofa. In addition, and in between, I began a reverse alphabetical trawl through all of the albums I have amassed in my library over the years – beginning with Zoon (Beggars Banquet) by The Nefilim, and 114 albums later, Filter‘s Title of Record (Reprise) is being piped into my conscious by my newest best friends, my Samsung Galaxy Buds – best in-ears I’ve ever had and, finally, my realisation of the difference good headphones can truly make! Only 1,102 to go. I may be finished by 2027!
So, with all that, I didn’t think I’d given much time to new music this year. As in, new-to-the-world music. So, I didn’t think I’d have much to contribute to an end of year poll, let alone an article. However, while curating the Ghost Cult albums of the year 2020 (click for parts one, two, and three) as the votes came in, I realised I’d found more time than I had realised. Indeed, I have listened to the top album of my list – no spoilers just yet! – as many times as I would a favourite album in any normal year (if not more… soooo slinky!)
Heavy music had been the gift that kept giving, that kept lifting my spirits throughout the year of the virus when work was getting on top [this was definitely the busiest year in my professional life], that kept my legs powering on as I got my fitness back on track and ramped up from my first ever 5km to completing several 10kms as we rolled round to autumn, and that provided the soundtrack to those late night Pro Evo / eFootball PS4 evenings!
I think that is probably more than enough of a ramble. But I think music deserves an overblown build up, as it has certainly helped as a sanity check, an outlet, and a mood reset on many an occasion this year. So, here’s to great music, and here’s to my favourite albums of 2020…
First, though, an acknowledgment for some of the other albums I enjoyed this year, that I hope you’ll check out if you haven’t already – Bütcher 666 Goats Carry My Chariot (Osmose); Cirith Ungol Forever Black (Metal Blade); Judicator Let There Be Nothing (Prosthetic); Video Nasties Dominion (APF), Bleed From Within Fracture (Century Media); Kataklysm Unconquered, Irist Order of the Mind (both Nuclear Blast).
Right, onto the big twenty for you all. And thanks for indulging me…
20. Bring Me The Horizon Post-Human (Sony / RCA)
BMTH back in the zone with some big, rockin’ tunes!
19. Paradise Lost Obsidian (Nuclear Blast)
Unexpectedly strong outing from PL. Good mix of most aspects of their canon. Nicely done!
18. Amaranthe Manifest (Nuclear Blast)
Big, slick, pop-Metal. Tunes for days!
17. Ironflame Blood Red Victory (Divebomb)
Glorious, unashamed ‘eavy Metal; my favourite pure HM album of the year.
16. Oranssi Pazuzu Mestarin kynsi (Nuclear Blast)
Born from avant-garde post-Black Metal swirls of creativity, this builds to brilliant and devastating effect
15. Midnight Rebirth by Blasphemy (Metal Blade)
Blackened speed n’ roll. Old skool rough n’ready metulz. With horns!
14. Ulcerate Stare Into Death and be Still (Debemur Morti)
Opening up the impenetrable veil slightly, producing an immersive brain-melting atmospheric technical death metal masterpiece
13. Trivium What The Dead Men Say (Roadrunner)
The Sin & The Sentence Part II? All good with me…
12. Kvelertak Splid (Rise)
All the black n’ roll fun!
11. H.E.A.T. Heat II (earmusic)
Big cheese, massive tunes. Very 80’s. Very Rawk.
10. Elder Omens (Stickman)
Retro, epic, stoner-y lengthy journey.
9. Oceans of Slumber Oceans of Slumber (Century Media)
Natural successor to The Gathering; progressive, expansive, multi-faceted with powerful deathly segments woven in
8. Winterfylleth The Reckoning Dawn (Candlelight)
My favourite of theirs… added bite, added dynamics, top drawer epic windswept Black Metal,
7. Napalm Death Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Century Media)
Grind, Groove, post-Punk, Industrial, rage… everything you want from Napalm, and more
6. Deftones Ohms (Warner)
The ‘tones never disappoint. This may climb higher, but got to it late. Love it, though.
5. Poppy I Disagree (Sumerian)
Twisted metal, pop, industrial Manson-isms… a whole variety of stuff. All of it good!
4. The Ocean Collective Phanerozoic II (Metal Blade)
Dark progressive doomy introspective, um, excellent metal
3. Svalbard When I Die Will I Get Better (Church Road)
post-Hardcore, post-Black Metal, shoegaze; meaningful, powerful… great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B7wLmw9b7U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFh1blBRNN4
2. Katatonia City Burials (Peaceville)
One of my favourites from an already stellar and perennial band.
1. Ulver Flowers of Evil (House of Mythology)
An even slinkier refinement on Assassinations.. and I bloody loved that one!
Be awesome to each other. Take care, all!
STEVE TOVEY