| 2020 |
| 1 |  | Sons of Apollo
MMXX
It's very similar to their previous album, and therefore have similar strengths and weaknesses: it's a great album in terms of technique and production values, and it's obvious everyone on this supergroup is a master in their craft - but once again the result is a safe, unoriginal album that struggles to let go of its many influences and bring something new and interesting to the table. The weaker parts here stick like a sore thumb, but the stronger parts mostly feel like a deja vu - which is, for the second time, a shame. Still an undeniably solid album nonetheless. |
| 2 |  | British Lion
The Burning
It's really not that bad, and Harris' presence is definitely felt, but overall, the album's just pretty boring. It's a fine album all around, just not very exciting. |
| 3 |  | Kirk Windstein
Dream In Motion
That was a little boring sadly. Didn't like it a whole lot. |
| 4 |  | Sylosis
Cycle of Suffering
I quite like this album - they take more of a metalcore approach here and sound a little different than before, but it's still good to see them coming back to action. |
| 5 |  | Kvelertak
Splid
Liked this album a lot. It's just pure fun. 2020 only just started, but this one seems to be one of the best albums released so far. |
| 6 |  | Demons and Wizards
III
I was very pleasently surprised with this album. They sound just as good as they did 20 years ago. Overall it still feels like a perfect 50/50 mix of both Iced Earth and Blind Guardian, two bands that I like overall, so I like the result just as much. |
| 7 |  | Archon Angel
Fallen
Not a bad power metal album, with some cool traditional heavy metal inspirations on one hand and some epic symphonic moments on the other hand, but overall it's not very impressive and doesn't manage to shine brighter than other bands in the genre. |
| 8 |  | Allen/Olzon
Worlds Apart
I actually loved it a lot more than I expected to. This is band obviously a successor to the previous collaboration arranged by Frontiers Records, Allen/Lande, and it also features Magnus Karlsson who wrote their first 3 albums. As much as I absolutely love both Allen and Lande, none of their 4 albums together was especially great, and I expected Worlds Apart to be just as mediocre. But this one's actually a super fun album - it's catchy, it's melodic, it's symphonic, it's dramatic and and all of the songs work great. Olzon and Allen are a perfect match, complimenting each other's vocals and harmonizing fantastically. Superb! |
| 9 |  | Ozzy Osbourne
Ordinary Man
This is some good stuff actually. I'm not a huge Ozzy fan, but this one's not half bad. I hope this one's his last album - he deserves to rest. |
| 10 |  | Alestorm
Curse Of The Crystal Coconut
Another stellar Alestorm album. It's silly, it's fun, it's a great time and I like every minute of it. |
| 11 |  | Trivium
What The Dead Men Say
This album is more of the same great stuff they gave us on the previous one. This time I feel like it's a bit more heavy and aggressive. Solid pop-metal hymns full of heaviness and fun. Great stuff as always. |
| 12 |  | Elder (USA-MA)
Omens
Probably the best album of the year so far. This is a continuation of their previous albums in the best possible way. Absolutely fantastic stuff here - love love love it. |
| 13 |  | Ayreon
Transitus
I'm not really an Ayreon fan, it doesn't really feel like music to me. Pleasant listen nonetheless. |
| 14 |  | Aeternam
Al Qassam
Sadly a step down from the previous ones, but still a good album. Really wanted to love this one... |
| 15 |  | John Petrucci
Terminal Velocity
Again, Really wanted to love this one... It is technically amazing but feels a bit soulless... this album is pleasent to hear but nothing more. Suspended Animation this is not. |
| 16 |  | Neal Morse
Sola Gratia
Not a bad album, but not a terribly exciting one either. |
| 17 |  | Unleash The Archers
Abyss
Pretty good album. My gut reaction is that it's not amazing, but that was my gut reaction for their previous one - which I now think is amazing, lol. Gonna come back to this one a few times at least. |
| 18 |  | Haken
Virus
Didn't like this one a whole lot - a shame, since I absolutely loved Vector. I think consistency is Haken's greatest weakness since they can produce some of the best progressive metal albums I've heard, and then give us a totally forgettable album immidiately after. This one's pretty forgettable. Messiah Complex is great, though. |
| 19 |  | Lamb of God
Lamb of God
A rather typical LOG album, which is fine by me. It's not very memorable but the energy and force is definitely here. |
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