Rolling 2020 Metal Thread

Nobody posted this so I may as well - Decibel's Top 40 albums of 2020

40. Dark Fortress, Spectres from the Old World, Century Media
39. Fawn Limbs, Sleeper Vessels, Roman Numeral
38. Exgenesis, Solve et Coagula, Rain Without End
37. Megaton Sword, Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire, Dying Victims
36. Oranssi Pazuzu, Mestarin Kynsi, Nuclear Blast
35. Svalbard, When I Die, Will I Get Better, Translation Loss
34. Enslaved, Utgard, Nuclear Blast
33. In the Company of Serpents, Lux, Self-released
32. Xibalba, Años En Infierno, Southern Lord
31. Wake, Devouring Ruin, Translation Loss
30. Cirith Ungol, Forever Black, Metal Blade
29. Proscription, Conduit, Dark Descent
28. Celestial Season, The Secret Teachings, Burning World
27. Midnight, Rebirth by Blasphemy, Metal Blade
26. Krallice, Mass Cathexis, Self-released
25. ACxDC, Satan is King, Prosthetic
24. Temple of Void, The World That Was, Shadow Kingdom
23. Atramentus, Stygian, 20 Buck Spin
22. Tombs, Under Sullen Skies, Season of Mist
21. Haunt, Flashback, Church
20. Kirk Windstein, Dream in Motion, eOne
19. Pallbearer, Forgotten Days, Nuclear Blast
18. Lamp of Murmuur, Heir of Ecliptical Romanticism, Self-released
17. Godthrymm, Reflections, Profound Lore
16. Dropdead, Dropdead, Armageddon
15. Ripped to Shreds 亂 (Luan), Pulverized
14. Vile Creature, Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!, Prosthetic
13. Of Feather & Bone, Sulfuric Disintegration, Profound Lore
12. Armored Saint, Punching the Sky, Metal Blade
11. Incantation, Sect of Vile Divinities, Relapse
10. Goden, Beyond Darkness, Svart
9. Paradise Lost, Obsidian, Nuclear Blast
8. Uada, Djinn, Eisenwald
7. Sweven, The Eternal Resonance, Van
6. Necrot, Mortal, Tankcrimes
5. Spirit Adrift, Enlightened in Eternity, 20 Buck Spin
4. Paysage d’Hiver, Im Wald, Kunsthall Produktionen
3. Imperial Triumphant, Alphaville, Century Media
2. Eternal Champion, Ravening Iron, No Remorse
1. Napalm Death, Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism, Century Media

Some have decried the inclusion of so many old bands but it makes sense in this year of uncertainty that people would gravitate to known quantities.

I have checked out most of these albums. The ones that made my purchase list are Napalm Death, Imperial Triumphant, Paysage d’Hiver, Paradise Lost, Of Feather & Bone, Vile Creature, Haunt, Tombs, Krallice, Cirith Ungol, and Oranssi Pazuzu, nearly a third of the list.

A lot of the rest I liked but not quite enough to pull the trigger on buying the album. In the past I might have seen these bands on tour and picked them up from the bands so the pandemic was responsible for me consuming less music this year.

There are a handful of things I didn't get to check out so far and I will spend the next few days doing that, starting with the Eternal Champion.

The Eternal Champion LP is GREAT. I voted for only nine of those dB albums, but that's been par for the course lately. Drifting away from black metal will do that!

I've heard 11 of those (Enslaved, Xibalba, Tombs, Pallbearer, Dropdead, Armored Saint, Incantation, Necrot, Spirit Adrift, Imperial Triumphant, and Napalm Death). Enslaved and Tombs and Dropdead were all kinda forgettable, but the others were good. I just don't have as much time to listen to metal as I once did, and anything new I do check out is gonna have to compete with comfort-food metal (Judas Priest, Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, Grand Magus) for my few available listening hours.

We briefly discussed it in the EOY lists thread but you're right, this is a better place for it. The Eternal Champion is really good btw, and I say this as someone with very little appetence for power metal in general.

I've been re-listening to various faves now that 2020 is drawing to a close and of those 50, probable locks for my own top 50 are currently: Paysage d'Hiver, Necrot, Atramentus, Oranssi Pazuzu. Possibly the Eternal Champion if it doesn't outstay its welcome.

It's gotta suck for Eternal Champion to be completely sold out of vinyl and CD copies of this album right when they are getting lots of end of year buzz.

They keep popping CDs on. In fact, just today they added CDs back to their Bandcamp page.

However $19 is a bit much (with shipping) and Amazon has it for $13.98 and I am a Prime Member so no shipping however the release date is the week before Christmas but I can wait a few weeks to save five bucks.

It's not on Spotify, which is a bummer mainly because I cannot add anything from the album to my Best of 2020 playlist. There's always a few albums that I like that aren't on Spotify but this is considerably higher in profile than the other stuff.

Stoner metal and heavy psych are still mostly terra incognita for me but Rezn’s Chaotic Divine is doing a damn good job of holding my attention despite clocking at 1h4m.

Ha, Eternal Champion must have restocked those CDs between my post earlier and yours, I had just checked there before I posted and everything was sold out. Think I may wait for Amazon myself too though, seeing as that’s an option.

that band name keeps reminding me of the Sega Genesis game so i want to buy it

Bornyhake, the guy behind Borgne, among innumerable other projects, somehow also found the time to record a one-man funeral doom album as My Death Belongs to You, and it's a 2020 subgenre highlight alongside Atramentus's Stygian and Ahab's Live Prey:

https://mydeathbelongstoyou.bandcamp.com/releases

The subgenre being funeral doom rather than one-man funeral doom, mind you.

missed this but the new KD is still coming out, just bumped to 2021, and new Mercyful Fate as well

http://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=39864

Came here to post about the new Akhlys sounding great and scary and saw NYCNative's post about the guy. Always disappointing to hear.

I'd not heard them before and death metal is usually a hard sell for me, but Of Feather and Bone seems like a very full-on and exciting project. Very murky and changeable and quite doomish in places.

With December now looming on the horizon, I’d like everyone to know that I’m up for a 2020 metal poll if you are, so do honk if you’re interested.

I'll participate.

Incidentally the Decibel list prompted me to listen to anything I hadn't heard before and I wound up adding Celestial Season and Eternal Champion to my Amazon want list.

the Eternal Champion is fun.

about to dig into the new Cadaver and Sodom.

uhm one song into the new Cadaver and it's going very welllll

oh, the full length? thought the D.G.A.F. (oof) ep was pretty weak stuff.

yeah the full length.

this is much better than the EP, which I only played once.

nice

i didn’t even realize an lp was incoming until i saw this but i’m rooting for cadaver, didn’t like the feeling of not really feeling a cadaver record

i’ve been pretty into this expanded version of the recent oksennus lately -

https://necrolatryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ty-n-orjat-paholaisten-y-st-nouskaa

a bit like like a (way) less polished later corrupted record

title track to Genesis XIX (the new Sodom) is fantastic.

but there is nothing on this album unexpected.

which for Sodom is juuuuuust fine by me.

lol "Glock 'n Roll" just steals the middle section of JP's "Painkiller"

With December now looming on the horizon, I’d like everyone to know that I’m up for a 2020 metal poll if you are, so do honk if you’re interested.

Very much so

I'm down, too (though feeling wholly behind with so many albums on my need-to-hear-this-still-list)

I am not a big Sodom fan at all — if it wasn't for Tankard, they'd be my least favorite German band — but the new album is really good.

Glad to hear *checks notes* three fellow ILXors are interested in a 2020 metal poll. Anyone else? I’d rather not bother seandalai if it can be helped.

I'll definitely put in a ballot.

I would also vote in the poll.

yes

I might have somewhere around 20 or 25 albums this year, which is a lot for me.

Yes.

I will voet

That’s the spirit!

In!

i may even vote for some albums not from Tampere, Finland if we're lucky

With December now looming on the horizon, I’d like everyone to know that I’m up for a 2020 metal poll if you are, so do honk if you’re interested.

HONK

Forgot about Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Ascension is kicking my ass right now

Nice to see loads of enthusiasm for the poll! Got lots of catching up this year due to various reasons so woohoo

WILL VOTE.

Forgot about Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Ascension is kicking my ass right now

― black dice live ft. jerry garcia (rizzx),

That is one I bought too. I had somehow forgot about it.

I've not really engaged enough this year to vote but will definitely read and take part.

Pom has done it 2020 Metal ’n’ Heavy Rock Poll: NOMINATIONS Thread (open until the 8th of January 2021)

I got my LP of the new Fuck the Facts but have not listened yet. each format/pressing has a different bonus track. fiendish!

I really like it

will vote!

same!

digging the new Azarath. the drums are thunderous, the riffs almost drone-y in a way in where they repeat over and over and over before giving way to another passage.

It’s really good, yeah. At first pass I can’t say I like it less than Blasphemers’ Maledictions.