Tier 1: The Albums of the Year 2020
Well this speaks for itself, no? This is a collection of albums we thought were the best this year. Each reviewer has one pick in here. They all smell delicious, look delicious, and make me hungry. Now I’m just gonna cut this off real quick before I get on a massive bullshit tangent, as I don’t wanna ruin the mood with my peanutbutter jar vs evil Nutella empire story. OH SHIT I’M LEAKING ABANDON SHIP ABONDEN SHIP GO READ THE REST OF THE POST BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE AAAHHHHHHH.
Hạc San – Hồn – Trăng – Máu (Vietnam)
Style: Traditional Prog Metal (clean, Vietnamese vocals)
Related links: Spotify
Pick by: Sam
It was pure luck that I stumbled upon this album. I was bored, and was digging metal-archives in a random month in a random year. I found this Vietnamese album in 2015, and saw they had something out in the very month we were reviewing in. It was pure luck, because this album, or I should say song, is just incredible. Tin can snare tone aside, I’m left absolutely speechless whenever I turn this on. This is 90s Dream Theater worship of the highest order. It’s melodic, it’s beautiful, it’s adventurous, it’s dynamic, it’s gentle, and it soars. They take you on an incredibly moving journey during this song with their amazing keyboard work, touching vocals, and amazing sense of composition. I know metal fans often need more riffs in their prog, but honestly that’s not what you listen to this band for. If you want to be moved by beauty, this is the album for you. Original or not, the level of songwriting this band has blows all of that out of the water. This is an incredible work of art, and is going straight to my list of all-time songs. Suck it, “A Change of Seasons”, Hồn – Trăng – Máu is where it’s at.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: it’s one song
Recommended for fans of: 90s Dream Theater, Frost*, pretty things, keyboards
Cryptic Shift – Visitations from Enceladus (United Kingdom)
Style: Tech Thrash/Death (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Callum
I’m poaching this one from Dylan as Visitations from Enceladus was by far my most revisited album reviewed by the blog in 2020. It scratches the thrash/death itch more than any other release since Vektor’s Terminal Redux. Perhaps controversially, using the golden-age prog, 2112-style album format, the record opens with an almost 26 minute epic. Ambitious, yes, but it pays off. It demonstrates everything Cryptic Shift has in their arsenal: bold songwriting, atmosphere, effortless transitions, and incredible riffs. They still reserve enough secret sauce for Side B so that the remaining three tracks stand out on their own.
Despite sticking to a strong sci-fi theme throughout, the guitars don’t shy away from the fun, head banging riffs the thrash movement was born out of. Atheist-style bass work that adds another layer of complexity to the melodies, fittingly barked vocals and precise death metal drumming culminate in my consideration for the strongest underground release of 2020.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Moonbelt Immolator
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Voivod, Mekong Delta
Vulkan – Technatura (Sweden)
Style: Alternative Prog Metal/Rock (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Stephen
Just one week after our missed albums edition, here we are again talking about Vulkan’s latest album Technatura. As I mentioned in my previous review, there are just too many highlights on the album to cover them all. This album will perfectly scratch the itch for fans of bands like Karnivool, Leprous, The Mars Volta, and Tool. Honestly, if you’re a fan of progressive metal, I’d be willing to bet you will enjoy this album. Technatura is full of heavy polyrhythms, soaring vocals, grooving basslines, tasty drums, and sick riffing. This album is the “cannot miss” category from 2020.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Bewildering Concept Of Truth, Blinding Ornaments, The Royal Fallacy, The Madness Sees No End
Recommended for fans of: Karnivool, The Mars Volta, Tool
IER – 妖怪 (Argentina)
Style: Progressive/Experimental DSBM (mixed, Spanish vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Dylan
So far, when it comes to my album of the year I’ve gone into extremes. 2018 had me giving the award to Potmos Hetoimos, which was by far the most complex and dense album I had reviewed that year. Then 2019 came along and my pick was nothing like the one that came before it. Step in Fluid’s Back in Business was a funky, jazzy and djenty instrumental album which didn’t take itself too seriously in the best way possible. For better or worse, we’re back this year to the most complex/dense thing I’ve reviewed, and it’s undoubtedly the best.
妖怪 (pronounced: Yokai, meaning: “Monster”) is a 95 minute beast of an album that people who immediately write it off for its length will find themselves quickly reconsidering after playing through the first tracks. It’s that good.
Honestly, describing this album in the short format that we’re using for this post is hell on earth (be sure to read my original review if you want further analysis/explanation), but I’ll give it a go: IER is a one man band that plays black metal, with its unique flair being 4 things; 7 string guitars, an amazing production that top-of-the-draw artists can be jealous at, samples from various media of Japanese horror, and a mature sense of songwriting unafraid to explore into all sorts of genres, moods, vocal styles, and scales. This creates a mood so unsettlingly unique that makes you feel like you’re trapped in a horror movie, trying to find a way to escape vicious creatures and victims along the way. Does it warrant its length? Well yes and no. While I find no track to be flat out weak, and its 22 minute closer being massive and almost a mini-album within itself, I find that maybe sacrificing one or two tracks at the expense of a tighter release may have made the album a *bit* easier to digest for those getting into it. Then again, I think that anyone who takes their time with this release is bound to get something great out of it, so I wouldn’t consider its length a flaw.
I said it on my original review and I’ll say it again; If you are a fan of progressive music of any kind, you owe yourself to listen to 妖怪. If you’re overwhelmed at its scale, feel free to split the album (tracks 1 through 5 being “part 1” and the rest “part 2”). But whatever side you’re on, listen to it. I swear you will not regret it.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: 仄暗い水の底, 楔 〜紅い蝶〜, 東海道四谷怪談
Recommended for fans of: Schammasch, Ne Obliviscaris, Enslaved, Opeth
Lör – Edge of Eternity (US-PA)
Style: Progressive Power/Folk Metal (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Andrew
Edge of Eternity hit me in a spot no other album from 2020 could. Playing a wildly unique blend of power, prog, and folk metal, Philadelphia’s Lör followed up their 2017 debut LP In Forgotten Sleep with something much in the same vein yet roaring with character of its own. Edge of Eternity, in its fairly brief runtime of 30 minutes and five songs, manages to cover more ground than most albums do in an entire hour’s playtime. From the typical power metal anthems replete with catchy hooks and gang vocal choruses, to the somber melody-driven ballad which slowly evolves into a grandiose finish, Edge of Eternity is simultaneously filled to the brim with tropes of its genres and of another identity entirely. In Forgotten Sleep is one of my favorite albums of all time, and it goes without saying that Edge of Eternity nowis as well.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Upon a Withered Heart, Ruin, Relic
Recommended for fans of: Wilderun, Aether Realm, Blind Guardian, Tanagra
Manticora – To Live to Kill to Live (Denmark)
Style: Progressive Power/Thrash Metal (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Matt
I regret not giving this album a 10, because how much better does it really get? To Live was great the first time, and since then, it has proven that it stands up to dozens of repeat listens. Just about anything you want can be found here; it’s catchy, innovative, and amazingly heavy. It’s all the best parts of Nevermore and Blind Guardian combined, with a splash of extreme metal that feels completely natural. It pushes the envelope, but never at the cost of a great riff or chorus. Other bands have tried something along these lines, but Manticora takes the competition and beheads it.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Katana – The Moths and the Dragonflies, Eaten By the Beasts, Slaughter in the Desert Room
Recommended for fans of: Nevermore, Blind Guardian, Beyond Twilight
Novena – Eleventh Hour (United Kingdom)
Style: Prog Metal/Rock (mixed vocals)
Related links: Spotify
Pick by: Sebastian
Hello reader, for those of you who are not already familiar, Novena are a progressive rock/metal supergroup featuring members of Slugdge, Bleeding Oath, Slice the Cake, and Haken. What one who is a Haken fan might notice right away is that most of the cleans on this album are sung by none other than Ross Jennings. And I’m sure it is also because Ross made his fair contribution to the songwriting in Eleventh Hour, but it is incredible how much a vocalist can add to the overall quality and aesthetic of an album. I have often heard people refer to this album as “The poor man’s Haken” because of this fact. But upon closer inspection, this album has so much more to offer.
This album has its share of creative and progressive riffs. It has a variety of instrumental solos, including a couple of polyrhythmic sections that may or may not involve hand noises. The album overall is a work of art and a beautiful concept album that has some strong similarities to In Contact by Caligula’s Horse. What you will find is that most of the songs on the album are incredibly catchy and have great lyrical hooks. This really shows how much Ross Jennings adds with his experience in catchy lyrical songwriting. Furthermore, the album mixed and produced incredibly well as it allows the ear to pick up on each individual instrument in every section of music. It really should be stated that the level of production can really add or take away from the life cycle of an album, as it provides different routes of listening. It is the most enjoyable experience when you are in a different mood or are listening to a piece of music through different hardware and you start catching intricacies of its instrumentation that you have never noticed before. This is partly why Eleventh Hour will stand the test of time. Overall, this is an album to go down in the books. It is a truly great piece of progressive music.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Sun Dance, Corazón, Prison Walls
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Kingcrow, Caligula’s Horse, Dream Theater, Flaming Row
Nero Di Marte – Immoto (Italy)
Style: Post-Metal (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Pick by: Chris
Look, I’ve known this was my AOTY pretty much since I finished reviewing it. Immoto is an absolute master thesis on how to structure and write a post-metal album. The ebbs and flows of this album are so well constructed and connected that nothing in this album feels jarring or out of place. The peaks of heaviness and valleys of truly close-to-silence post sections are so dynamically different but make so much sense together that it just really makes clear how well put together this whole thing is. I’m not sure there is a single moment on this record where there is nothing going on, and as such the album feels like a complete work that belongs together instead of a collection of songs. The drumming is absolutely bananas and so well performed and written, while the bass similarly perfectly understands its role, knowing when the time to blend in and add meat to the riffs and when instead to provide a new voice.
The vocals….man the vocals on this record. The Gojira esque pitched screams coupled with almost pad-like hums and vocalizations are truly gigantic on this record, and bring such a sense of emotion and urgency to the record that just really elevates it beyond most (if not all) post-metal I’ve listened to. Impeccably mixed as well, the album really feels natural which further contributes to the organic nature of the album as a whole. This is by far the best thing I listened to all year, period, and I don’t mean for the blog, I just mean this is the best album I listened to this year, period.
You can read the original review here.
Recommended tracks: Sisyphos, L’arca, Immoto
Recommended for fans of: Intronaut, Ulcerate, ISIS, Gojira
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