Another Top Metal Albums of 2020 List
The market is completely saturated with metal year end lists. Also this list is currently obsolete as it is the 3rd of January. I am currently wondering the best release to start my new year with (if you have any recommendations drop 'em below!). Still I have to catalog my year end list somewhere or it didn't happen. Thanks for being here Sputnik! |
| 30 |  | Garganjua
Toward the Sun
An extremely emotive mish mash of beautiful post rock atmosphere, crushing sludge metal, and a dash of hardcore breakdowns combined with a well executed concept makes this a cohesive journey into introspection. Best Song: The New Sun |
| 29 |  | WVRM
Colony Collapse
What a fun grind record with plenty of hardcore influence. Some of the best breakdowns and samples I’ve heard all year! Best Song: Thorn Palace |
| 28 |  | Church of Disgust
Consumed by Slow Putrefaction
Superb old school sounding death metal with a new school level of energy. The overall aesthetic of rot and decay is excellently demonstrated across this quick little EP. The songs themselves are memorable and a whole lot of fun. Excellent Bass tone as well! Best Song: Drowned in Eldritch Slime |
| 27 |  | Gorevent
Fate
Probably one of the more one dimensional albums I’ve heard this year. This has to be one of the album’s biggest assets however, as the 20 minute beatdown is short and to the point enough that you immediately want more. The nonstop slamming groove of this album doesn’t hurt either! Best Song: Round 13 |
| 26 |  | Thaetas
Shrines to Absurdity
An amalgamation of all things modern death metal. Shrines to Absurdity is..absurd: odd skronky riffs barrage over a grindlike intensity. There is definitely just the right amount of hardcore influence as well to make this album ridiculously fun. Best Song: Blood Distillery |
| 25 |  | The Black Dahlia Murder
Verminous
The Black Dahlia Murder prove to be one of the most consistent post 2000s death metal act by simultaneously sticking with their tried and true sharp melodic attack but at the same time shaking it up by adding some more NWOBHM oriented riffs here and there. Their ability to stick with a cohesive concept each album helps each release have its own flair as well. Best Song: The Wereworm’s Feast |
| 24 |  | Midnight
Rebirth by Blasphemy
A perfect balance of their classic blackened speed sound with a little more balance of hard rock influence. Instant nonstop fun! Great way to start off 2020! Best Song: Fucking Speed and Darkness |
| 23 |  | Kvelertak
Splid
A fun rocking album that will hook you from start to finish. The more beer consumed during this album’s run time the better! The only major issue is that in hindsight individual tracks don’t stand out as much. Best Song: Rogaland |
| 22 |  | Skeleton
Skeleton
Speaking of fun rocking albums, the self-titled debut from Skeleton is the perfect blend between first wave black metal and hardcore punk pacing. It’s nonstop adrenaline and simplistic riffs in the best way. Best Song: Catacombs |
| 21 |  | Drown (US)
Subaqueous
An absolute monolith of melancholia, the funeral doom found within this album does not feel sparse like on other releases but instead is drenched in reverb. This creates almost a suffocatingly lush environment. Drown easily live up to their namesake. Best Song: Mother Cetacean |
| 20 |  | Paradise Lost
Obsidian
Dark and emotive, Paradise Lost have crafted the perfect album for a dreary winter evening. They also finally balanced out their rival sounds of death doom and British goth music perfectly. Some of their best songs of their modern era are on this release. Best Song: Darker Thoughts |
| 19 |  | Wormhole
The Weakest Among Us
Somehow this album perfectly straddles the gap between brutal ridiculousness and impressive ear melting technicality. It’s fun all the way through! Best Song: The Gas System |
| 18 |  | Shi (?)
Depressive Suicidal Stoner Doom
A band and album that pulls no punches and easily lives up to its namesake. Very much what you see is what you get: heavy, pissed off, lyrically brutal sludge. Some damn catchy tunes though! Best Song: Green Death |
| 17 |  | Umbra Vitae
Shadow of Life
A ferocious maelstrom of hardcore and grind influenced death metal. Excellent riffs and fist pumping moments abound across this release. A quick shot of adrenaline of an album with a lot of replay value. Best Song: Fear is the Fossil |
| 16 |  | Sutrah (CAN)
Aletheia
Sutrah keep technical death metal relevant in 2020 with one hell of an ambitious EP. Over its 30 minute run time, Alethia goes from a swirling ethereal beauty to riff filled savagery and then right back. It also possesses the best production of the year. Best Song: Genese |
| 15 |  | Undeath
Lesions of a Different Kind
The death metal continues with a tour de force of old school influenced death metal seen through a modern lens. It’s chunky groove laden riffage doesn’t take away from the gore soaked atmosphere. Some of the best death metal songs of the year are found on this release. Best Song: Kicked in the Protruding Guts |
| 14 |  | Temple of Void
The World That Was
Temple of Void venture back into the doom realm with their third release and do so with some exciting experimentation on top of the now slower still very death metal focused riffage. There’s some nice added atmosphere, more interesting clean vocals, and even some maiden esque leads. Best Song: Casket of Shame |
| 13 |  | Godthrymm
Reflections
Epic in the most somber of ways. A true testament to the beautiful might of doom. Songs like “We are the Dead” and “Cursed are the Many” easily stand as some of the best most emotive doom songs of recent memory. Best Song: Cursed are the Many |
| 12 |  | Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum
Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine
The fact that this album is a spectacle beyond normal undertaking is its greatest strength and really its only weakness. One of the most expansive and dynamically ambitious pieces of metal of 2020 "Astrology of the Nine" is an epic journey through the cosmos that will not soon be forgotten, just certain parts will also be hard to remember. Best Song: Pluto Part II |
| 11 |  | Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin
Stygian Bough Volume 1
A slow swelling sense of melancholy drapes the run time of this phenomenal collaboration of somewhat clashing styles. Both the soft ethereal acoustic pieces and crushing funeral doom of traditional Bell Witch lend themselves perfectly to the spacious lonesome feel of this LP. Best Song: Bastard Wind |
| 10 |  | The Reticent
The Oubliette
Probably one of the most emotional albums of the year for (with the exception of the top 2). The concept of the album almost overshadows the music and truly is the highlight of the whole release. The music itself is the perfect brooding mishmash of Opeth, Queensryche, and Tool influence which for the most art lends itself perfectly to the overall concept. Best Song: The Oubliette |
| 9 |  | Deftones
Ohms
Deftones does it again with one of their most consistent albums to date. Ohms possesses a beautiful swirling atmosphere over its 10 tracks which comes to culmination in the title track which is one of the best songs of their career. Best Song: Ohms |
| 8 |  | Panzerfaust
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter II
A black metal album that takes its time building mood and ambiance in almost a ritualistic manner. When the songs like Areopagitica finally hit, this album can't be topped! Best Song: Areopagitica |
| 7 |  | Rotting Kingdom
A Deeper Shade of Sorrow
Mournful death doom with absolutely excellent pacing. It’s still slow and heavy without sounding meandering and possesses beautiful melodies without taking away from the depressing bite of the album. Also the title track and Barren Harvest are some of the best songs of 2020. Best Song: A Deeper Shade of Sorrow |
| 6 |  | Wayfarer
A Romance With Violence
One of the most unique visions for an album to come out in 2020. There’s the intensity of black metal, the swagger of old americana and country, and absolutely some of the best riffs of the year. The overall concept adds to the uniqueness as well. Definitely a defining album in modern USBM. Best Song: The Crimson Rider |
| 5 |  | Ulcerate
Stare Into Death and Be Still
An almighty emotive dive into post-apocalyptic soundscapes that fully immerses you into a vicious wall of sound. The moments of melody that are woven into these destructive pieces works wonderfully too and adds a level of memorability to the songs. Some of the riffs and melodies on tracks such as the title track and “No Horizon” are top tier! Best Song: No Horizon |
| 4 |  | Gorephilia
In The Eye Of Nothing
Just a perfect old school death metal album with a hefty amount of doom influence thrown in. The balance between these two styles creates quite a dynamic listen throughout and really helps to break up the individual songs. Also the best riffs of the year are all over this fucking album! Simplicity of Decay |
| 3 |  | Esoctrilihum
Eternity Of Shaog
Absolute madness is the only way I can describe this hour long dive into the diversity that can be found in the modern avant garde black metal scene. Eternity of Shaog contains savage outbursts of anger, followed by bewitching otherworldly melodies, and languid beauty. This is music truly worthy of chronicling the impending madness of an esoteric being locked outside of time and space. The fact that it all came from one guy is unbelievable. Best Song: 2nd Passage |
| 2 |  | Crippled Black Phoenix
Ellengaest
Road hymns for the end of the world is immediately what comes to mind when I think of this release. In the year of 2020, nothing could be better; Ellengaest has served as the perfect backdrop for the stress, difficult situations, and heartbreak that has abounded this year. Their no genre rules approach to making music serves the thematic ideas of hardship and loss perfectly. Best Song: Cry of Love |
| 1 |  | Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou
May Our Chambers Be Full
This album is an emotional dirge ranging from despair, to failure and anger, finally ending on notes of desperate frustration but somehow at the same time, hope? The fact that all of these feelings are expertly conveyed in just a 38 minute runtime makes the album endlessly listenable. The creative dynamic of Emma and Thou paired with exciting song writing and the perfect amount of grungy 90s influence makes this my most listened to album of 2020 and the perfect emotive embodiment to all the emotions found within this year. Best Song: The Valley |
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