Top 20 of 2020 (or my favorites that did make it to my list)

After a teaser earlier this week with several good albums, herewith my absolute favorites of the year. While this year is definitely the year of progmetal I am pleased to see that also ProgRock, Hardrock, Thrash, Death, Black, Melodic and AOR made it to my list. And still some people say that my taste in music is limited. Well let the countdown begin and you can be teh judge of that.

20. Novena - Eleventh Hour
While they already released an EP in 2016 a new band to me. I knew Ross Jennings from Haken, but also had others on CD already with No Sin Evades His Gaze. A heavier Haken with grunts by Gareth Mason of Slice the Cake (waiting for their CD releases). A wonderful album, which grows to a stunning finish with Corazon, The Tyrant and Prison Walls at the end. If the whole album was like that they would have scored even higher. Now a very fine discovery.

19. Red\Shift - Grow.Decay.Transform. 

An independent release that I found on Angry Metal Guy. 76 minutes is long, but the trio with three voices gives a progmetal variation in the Mastodon vein that sounds very good. King's X says hello as does Tool at times. They also set my PR for waiting time between ordering and receiving, which was over 4 months. Still picking it up occassionally.

18. Solitary - The Truth Behind The Lies

Thrash metal to me has two options. Either you go short and at full speed with no time to catch your breath (Reign in Blood) or you go more widespread with time for intro's, instrumentals and possibly even a ballad (Master of Puppets) My UK thrash friends from Solitary are in the first camp. With TTBTL they easily release their best album to date, which is a kick in the face (or anywhere else) for 36 minutes. Still with enough variation and in Homage to the Broken a new personal favorite to thrash Musicon one day.

17. Pattern Seeking Animals - Prehensile Tales

At first this band might seem a less heavy version of Spock's Beard, Not that SB is heavy, but Alan Morse and Ryo Okumoto usually help cracking up their music. Turns out that without them the songs speak much more and this was such a pleasant release with six songs that all worked for me. Two epics 12 and 17 minutes, two songs around 8 minutes and two short songs in prog under or just over 5 minutes. Always good when albums you did not have that high hopes for on forehand surprise you.

16. Alcatrazz - Born Innocent

Alcatrazz making a come-back album after 34 years!!. That is good news with three orignal members and Joe Stump as current guitar hero. This resulted in a very fine album indeed. And then they decided to split. I wonder which band is coming to Musicon (if etc.) next year the band with Doogie White on vocals, or Graham Bonnet with a new outfit. Both seem welcome to me, but I would have preferred this band.

15. Anubis - Homeless

Anubis are my favorite progrock band that formed in this century. This helped by two legendary shows in de Boerderij and later 't Blok. This album is their fifth studio album and surprises. Gone are the epics and long songs. 9 titles in 42 minutes is very to the point for this lot. Well it works fine and now they can spice their live-set even further with the inclusion of some short rockers. 

14. DeadRisen - DeadRisen

To many maybe yet another project of Mike Lepond, for me the new album with Will Shaw on vocals. After all he sang on Heir Apparent's The View From Below, my album of the year 2018. Then I also saw him live and what a voice on stage. This band plays Heavy Metal no bones about it and Ten songs 48 minutes. some fast some mid-tempo and a ballad. All sounding so well it became a must hear album for anyone into metal really.

13. Armored Saint - Punching The Sky

It is 2020 and the Saint marches on. Actually this album should have been much higher on my list if I look purely at the songs, the performance and how much I like this style. Maybe it is the lack of surprise that put them only on 13. I know what I get and I know I shall love it. Up to the next live gig and the album shall only get better. Possibly the most underrated band in metal.

12. Heathen - Empire Of The Blind

 See my comments under Solitary and this must be 2020's Master of Puppets. We have an instrumental intro and outro, plus a wonderfull instrumetal shred fest. Than there is a dark ballad as well, but mostly we get thrash overdosed with crazy stunning guitars. When you then add catchy choruses like the one of Sun in my Hand, you have for me the best thrash release of the year. They were supposed to tour Europe, hope that shall still happen when possible. 

11. The Reticent - The Oubliette

Again Chris Hathcock presents us a progmetal concept album filled with emotion and heavyness. This time the topic is Alzheimer and you can hear it comes from the heart. Amazing how one man can put this work together. A must hear for anyone not scared of by your occassional grunt. Again only placed at 11 because I thought his pre-decessor a bit stronger and at the time this rollercoaster was all new to me. This album shouts for a place on PPE stage.

10. Compass - Our Time On Earth

This band is created by Steve Newman known from melodic rock band Newman. Turns out that when he goes a bit more prog the music only gets better. I say a bit as this album is still filled with lots of accessible melodic rock. A conceptalbum that is pretty easy to follow musically and lyrically. Only mystrey remains, why does a four-man band put three people on their band pictures?

9. Dark Forest - Oak, Ash & Thorn

Another great discovery through angrymetalguy for me. This is their fifth album, but I had never heard of them. They mix NWOBHM galloping rhythms with some folky influences and sing about old England heroics. This is Heavy Metal of the uplifting kind, that makes me smile and should be a party live. I have not yet dug into their past, but when finding time for that definitely will.

8. Pyramid - Amnesty

Rune's Progfiles put me on the right track for this band. Not holding their first two releases, this is number three since 2017. So productive they are, especially if you consider I saw the drummer with Redemption and keys plus guitar with Arch Echo. If you like your progmetal heading towards tech metal and can appreciate a band like Zero Hour this one is not to be missed. from vocals to instrumentally they do everything right and deserve at least to lose their independent status.

7. Waiting For Monday - Waiting For Monday

2020 got me nostalgic remember? Well this lot put everything I ever liked in AOR together in such fashion that they completely surprised me. I did not even know such strong albums were still written nowadays in a style that is very much late seventies/early eighties. This time no project on Frontiers, but an actual band releasing an album that sounds even very nice to Josie. Check the clip for End of a Dream and order I'd say.

6. Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

After my AOR pick now for something completely different. Not every year a Black Metal band makes it to my end of year list. This band is not Scandinavian face painted, but shirt wearing Americans who mix spaghetti western sound with their BM. When I read about them and played the album on bandcamp I was so blown away that I even ordered the cool Long sleeve together with the CD. Original, heavy and accessible, while different. Must be checked out by all.

5. Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night

Now some five weeks after release I still could not figure out how much I like this album. It is long to start with, but also less heavy than Theories of Flight. Still it is Fates Warning and if I am forced at gunpoint to name one favorite band I probably mumble, well that's impossible, but OK FW. Ray Alder is without doubt in topform all through the album. The variation in styles is also wider than normal. Yet I stil need to hear some of these songs live in order to potentially make it my album of the year after all.

4. Exist - Egoiista

So True, So Bound in 2017 was a pleasant surprise, but Egoiista overcame my wildest expectations. What a rollercoaster of an album this is. Maybe the best Cynic album after Foucs? At least the opening song dedicated to Sean Reinert makes you think so. We have tech death, but than in the Cynic style, but also  clean vocals. You go from neck-break speed banging to a ballad and instrumentally the whole album is a joyride. This band should be huge, but then again most on my list should.

3. Hittman - Destroy All Humans

An album I still did not receive on CD (note Vivas Machina on the picture) making it to my Top20 must be special. Well Hittman are making a comeback after 27 years and then release an album Queensryche can not match during the past 27 years. Why I say this? because that is the most heard comaprison.  Does not matter to me, can't get enough of this US metal with progressive traces. I am even open to shout along with lyrics like Love the Assasin that's all. Welcome back my friends now come over to Europe.

2. Fish - Weltschmerz

Fish announced this farewell album for years. In 2018 I already saw several songs being played live. Now that the double CD was finaly released I can say that few albums in history got me this emotional. Start looking at the 100 page booklet filled with the beautiful Wilkinson family designs. Than the music holds two wonderful epics in Waverley Steps and Rose of Damascus. Some more upbeat songs and in Garden of Remembrance a song that will touch anyone who faced Alzheimer from nearby. What a way to say goodbye. The best news is that on the many extra's at one point Fish states still planning two tours. One based around this album and Vigil, a second playing two nights in a row at several venues going all throug hhis career. Thank you Fish for so many unforgettable hours on CD and live on stage. A hero is leaving us with a blast.

1. Psychotica Waltz - The God Shaped Void

Maybe Fish deserved the top spot based upon his career, but let's face it musically Psychotic Waltz are so close to being perfect to me. Definitely the best live band in the nineties, now released a come-back album after 24 years. It follows perfectly on their four classics from the nineties. Overall this album is a bit heavier and slower than their past. This suits fine with the voice of Devon Graves. Starting the album with flute and that so typical sound that makes you recognize PW by a mile. How is it possible that the guitar tandem of Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin are not world famous. Psychotic Waltz are heavy, spooky, mysterious and metal.  I loved the album upon release in February, still do so ten months later and probably will pick it still up ten years from now. Given the overall pleasure playing this album presented to me throughout depressing 2020 makes it a well deserved number one.

20 albums that did (just) not make it to my Top 20 of 2020

2020 has been a shit year to almost everybody on almost all fronts. Never all is bleak so apart from some very good times in Portugal, a nice spring and summer the biggest surpise was the huge amount of great CD releases. So in 2020 I am allowed to pick a top 20 and long time thought I needed to extend to at least a top 30, as there simply were too many very good albums. As that would be the easy way out I played, listened, thought and defined a Top 20 after all. Now I only need to listen some more and rank them over the next few days. Meanwhile I herewith share 20 albums I also highly enjoyed, but this week did not make the cut. Maybe next week some of them would, but one has to take decisions in life. 

So if there are any rules let me set them out here. I am old school. This cannot only been seen by the bolding head, but also by the fact that I don't do Spotify, Deezer or any streaming service. So in order to qualify I must have bought the album. Normally I check albums of bands I do not know on bandcamp or youtube and decide after first hearing if a purchase is necessary. A direct result of this is that I have not heard many new albums. Several of those I would typically pick up during after a show, but that did not happen this year. So I shall not rank the albums that missed the top 20 as they are in no particular order. I will discuss them under genres. I know I shall forget a lot of albums hich I missed and should like but again tough luck.

For me 2020 was a year of nostalgia with the large amount of time spent at home. This resulted in me going back to the styles I loved in the eighties most, which does reflect in my list. 

Extreme metal
Especially the more extreme end of metal came less into my picture. I do like extreme metal live and often pick up albums after shows or buy in advance and play a lot at home before a gig. Now that I only saw the very short Imperial Belial gig in January and the shows of Diabolical in February plus the Noctem/Spectrum of Dilussion later that month. The last band released an album that received praise, but I have not heard it yet. Dark Tranquility, Fen and Enslaved I should also have picked up at a show, but not heard yet. What I did buy and liked a lot are albums by 1. God Dethroned , 2.Rages of Sin, 3. Contrarian and 4. Azusa. Rages of Sin even released the probably best extreme metal album ever released in The Hague. Pity they could not tour, nor do all seated shows, to bring the album even more alive to me. Azusa last year blew me away with album and show in their very own hardcore/progmetal way but was now less of a surprise to me. God Dethroned I missed in Baroeg due to storm in February and Contrarian is too recent to judge completly.

Progmetal

Musically 2020 has absolutely been the year of progmetal. Most of the greats releasing an album and several new discoveries to add to the party. Starting with the best release that did not make it to my Top20 5. Wolverine. This band released video/audio beauty A Darkened Sun, but not releasing same in any format. I donated at their side, but could not buy a release anywhere, staying restricted to Youtube plays. Another band that came with a very strong release was 6. Green Carnation. Their only problem was that of the five songs the longest was a re-release and one a cover, so only three new songs made them drop out of my Top20. Of the big names in Progmetal three bands released an album that definitely did not disappoint, but also was not their best work ever. 7. Haken were more to the point and definitely overcame their Mountain/Affinity dip. 8. Pain of Salvation could never follow up In the Passing Light of Day, but did not falll back to Road Salt levels either. A pleasant album indeed. 9. Oceans of Slumber released yet another moody masterpiece but where The Banished Heart held in the title track and No Color, No Light two breathtaking beautiful songs, this album had no such highlights. Good but not at their best therefore. 10. Gargoyl is a new band around David Davidson (Revocation) Reason enough for me to order fast, but this one is hard to get into. Still sort of struggling with it, while hearing the beauty in songs. Finally 11. Katatonia fall in this area of progmetal, but also doom. This year's release received more praise than I really understood. Album of the month in Aardschok, but not enough happening for me. Very nice on Sunday mornings though.

Doom

Doom for me best works live. That being said not all doom. The more accessible doom mixed with Heavy Metal works anytime. 12. Sorcerer released another winner with Lamenting of the Innocent. Unfortunately the Little Devil show got canceled, as we already were with 8 having tickets and counting. That day in Tilburg probably would have catapulted this album straight into my Top10. Another LD winner Spririt Adrift I have not even heard yet, knowing I should love that album as well reading the reviews. I even never took the time to listen to the new Bell Witch which I definitely still should do. iOPages magazine put me on the track of 13. Lotus Thief. This and is hard to box again, but doomy rules to me, while prog must be there given the magazine I first read about them. Nice one

Thrash Metal

2020 was agood year for Thrash Metal, but I missed most albums. I mean I did not even hear Testament. Still a few made it to my Top20 and 14. Havok was a nice album as well. I did not pick up Warbringer whom I thought stronger when seeing them together. 

NWOBHM

If I missed out on many many thrash metal albums NWOBHM almost completely passed me in the blind. I should have bumped into albums by Raven, Tokyo Blade or Satan's Empire really. The only highlight was that I finally got hands on Traitor's Gate Devil Takes the High Road. One of my absolute favorites of teh year, but a re-release so not qualifying.

Hard Rock

More mainstream hardrock had some good albums as well. To me both 15. Horisont and 16. The Night Flight Orchestra were very uplifting albums perfectly matching a warm summer. Yet for both it was not their strongest release ever.

Prog Rock

While over the past years prog rock lost playing time to extreme metal in my CD player, this nostalgic year they made a comeback of sorts. Still I missed many releases especially Lee Abraham, whom I follow rather close. I just discovered 17. Vulkan and it seems to be a grower even. 18. Prehistoric Animals released an album even stronger than their debut making you happy, maybe lacking a bit of punch though.19. The Pineapple Thief  is perfect for the Sunday morning, but too slow most other days in the week. Finally 20. Pendragon originally disappointed me. Too calm and easy. When Nick Barrett played a brilliant version of water during Proglove home sessions I needed to review my disappointment and now play the album with pleasure looking out for their bi-annual return to de Boerderij in years to come. As re-releases do not count I won't add Marillion's script box to any list. Otherwise candidate for album of the year with all the extras.

Portugal

No Portuguese album in my list this year. This mainly due to bad luck. Last visit to Glam O Rama resulted in sold out album by Gaerea and waiting for the release of Attick Demon to come in any day. The one I most definitely should have is Wanderer, so next time and year better luck.

So these were only albums I loved, but just not making my Top20. Imagine what a ride that will be. Online on Thursday, still needing to play some and decide on picking orders and rankings.

Hittman - Vulkan - Contrarian

Some last CD tips for your christmas shoppings. A special edition as two of them I have not even  received on CD yet myself.

Hittman - Destroy All Humans

Under the header "bands that disappeared for a long time and make a sensational come-back" 2020 gives us Hittman. In 1988 Hittman released their self titled debut album. US metal with some progressive hints and they were compared with Queensryche as happened to more bands from that era releasing albums in this style (Crimson Glory, Heir Apparent, Lethal) I loved the album and bought the LP. Five years later they were suddenly back (pre-internet days so some releases came as a surprise indeed) Viva Machina was as strong and I got the CD. Then all went quiet and I never managed to see them playing live. So when a return album was announced I was interested indeed. The first clips released sounded promising and I was ready to order. That is where the delay started as I was waiting for Large or Amazon.nl to bring this release. Well waiting in vain only last week I ordered the album directly from the No Remorse label, waiting everyday for the mailman next week. So I played this album many times on Youtube to get the idea. Opening Metal Archives for the lyrics to read along and what I found is one of the absolute highlights of 2020. So they still sound like old school Queensryche, but if that results in album Queensryche can not match since 1994 Promised Land I am not complaining. Actually quite the contrary I can't hear this album enough. Eight songs starting and ending with the longer ones with the rest around 4-5 minutes. This style of metal comes pretty close with my favorite music. Starting with a great vocalist Dirk Kennedy who lost nothing of power in his voice. Guitar solo's all over and a base of heavy metal with progressive trends. All eight songs are ace and in Total Amnesia they look back on their absence from the metal world in a funny way "Marches of Saints, warnings of Fate, When was this life that you claim I was leading". Well what count is that they are back and how. Now bring them over to Europe in 2022 and I am prepared to travel to see this live.

Vulkan - Technatura

Sometimes you read a review and decide to check the band out on bandcamp. If then your next decision is to hear the full album at once, the only next step can be buying the album online. That is what happened with Vulkan for me. This album came out much earlier this year, but I missed it. I found it at Angry Metal Guy under the header Things you might have missed in 2020.  Well what an interesting release this is. These Swedes mix two languages on a concept album and my Swedish is limited to "I don't speak Swedish" and "two strong beers please". So there goes the storyline. Well not to worry as the music speaks for itself. It is progressive rock, although as heavy as some progmetal as well many times. Basically having all the ingredients that should make younger prog rock/metal fans happy (those who go and see Haken, Leprous, Caligula's Horse, but avoid the originals (Hittman)). A very nice album indeed, which also is still to arrive on my doormat, but might be tried by you before that within the year.

Contrarian - Only Time Will Tell

This one I do have on CD. Reason is that I pre-ordered as soon as I learned of the album, based upon last year's very strong Their Worm Never Dies. Another year, another album, another vocalist, another drummer and another bassist. Result? same highclass OSTDM. The drummer/vocalist was George Kollias of Nile fame, being replaced by two different band members. The vocals now only do grunt and some spoken parts The music is another Sci-fy concept album that clocks slightly under 35 minutes. this is OK for me with this style of music. The title track is instrumental and according to the booklet a variation of the song 4th of July by U2. Not knowing that original it did not hinder me. Not sure if I will see this band playing live anyday, but pretty sure I will see bassist chapman stick player Bill Bodily as he just joined Flotsam and Jetsam as well. For anyone into Tech Death a tip, although also OSDM lovers might appreciate this album.