Introspective and immersive Black Metal from Venezuela. There will be a good chunk of Black Metal on this list (because I like Black Metal), however very little (if any) of it will be the stereotypical socially inept Norwegians in corpse paint screaming in goblin voices about Satan. Black Metal has evolved and continues to evolve.
Read MoreA sprawling experimental album that seems intent on pushing every envelope that it can get its hands on. Whilst it flirts with Metal (amongst other styles) this is distinctly not Metal.
Read MoreThe return of Kvelertak’s man mountain of a former vocalist. For his solo debut he has gone heavy and Nordic. Viking Mythology is front and centre here and drives every track. Surprisingly this is far less accessible than the three albums he did with Kvelertak. The chugging rock n’ roll heart has been ripped out and replaced with something far darker and impenetrable.
Read MoreThis is an up-tempo, power-pop/grunge crossover. It is bouncy, accessible and has its tongue firmly in its cheek. There is a spirited and vibrant energy to these songs. There is heaviness on offer but is offset by a joyful abandonment that just makes you want to pogo with glee.
Read MoreIn my eyes, Conner Oberst is an underrated genius. As Bright Eyes, he re-invented American Folk for the twenty-first century. He took the coarseness of country and coupled it with the anthemic beauty of pop. Over twelve years and eight albums (I am not counting the Christmas one, neither should you as it’s shit) he cast a wonderful spell over modern music, creating soul searching and highlypersonal indie-folk. In 2011 he retired the Bright Eyes moniker and went off to do things under his real name.
Read MoreI am a Manics completist. When they release tenth, twentieth and thirtieth anniversary editions of every album, I buy them religiously. When James and Nicky both released solo records in 2007 (Shaun just couldn't be arsed), I bought each one. They were shit. Utterly shit. Mercifully “Even in Exile”, James’ second solo stint, is much better. Much, much, much better.
Read MoreThis is proper Swedish Death Metal. It feels like it has fallen through a hole in space and time from the heady glory days of the mid-nineties. The guitar’s crunch, the riffs pierce and the vocals growl. It is gloriously malignant and majestically heavy.
Read More(Apparently) the final solo album from the Prince of Darkness. Now Ozzy albums are a rather good barometer of where Metal is at the time of release. “Ultimate Sin” is slick commercial eighties Metal, “Ozzmosis” and “Down to Earth” are both a mix of Nu-metal and Industrial while the truly terrible “Black Rain” is a stab at alt-metal. Well, recent years have seen a resurgent in classic heavy rock and what do you know, Ozzy has made a bonafide traditional heavy metal album.
Read MoreBritish Death Metal has always been about directness and simplicity. It has rejected the flashness of the American variety, where they seem intent on packing in as many notes as humanly possible, and it sticks its nose up at the Swedish brand, where bands are too attached to their old Iron Maiden records for their own good,. British Death Metal is as nuanced as a sledgehammer and looks to do the job with as minimum fuss as possible.
Read MoreA combination of stealth and hard work has meant that, without anyone really noticing, Haken have become a major force in modern Prog-Metal. This is their sixth album and probably their heaviest so far. Heaviest actually in both senses of the word. Having played with an eighties synth sound on 2016’s “Affinity”, “Virus” follow’s 2018’s “Vector” into a much more insular metallic feel.
Read MoreThere are a fair few albums on this list that have been buried by 2020. Albums that would have built momentum during the year, fuelled by triumphant festival appearances and months and months of solid touring. With the live arena mothballed, bands have had to stick their material out and hope for the best. “Cannibal” is one such album. By far and away the best thing Bury Tomorrow have ever created, its release should have triggered a tidal wave that would have whisked them to the top of the pile. This was their time, and this was the record that would finally allow them to realise their potential.
Read MoreSelf-titled fourth album from this unique Houston outfit. There are two distinct things that makes them stick out from the crowd. The first is Cammie Gilbert’s non-metal voice. Her vocal style is soulful, melodic and drenched in r’n’b (proper r’n’b mind); it feels a million miles away from Metal’s usual gruff growled delivery.
Read MoreYet more prog metal. This time from down under. Like most modern Prog, ‘Rise Radiant’ mixes complexity with slick accessibility.
Read MoreJust to clarify this is Gargoyl without the ‘e’ at the end and is different from Gargoyle, the eighties Japanese thrash band and Gargoyle the eighties hair-metal band from Portland. This is the debut release from the hyper-modern Prog-Grunge (prunge doesn’t quite work) side project from Revocation’s David Davidson.
Read MoreCOVID and the resulting lockdowns has had a massive negative effect on the music industry. However, for some this forced shutdown has actually had positive outcomes. German retro rockers Kadavar had become part of a never-ending treadmill of album/tour/album. It was only when this was unceremoniously interrupted, did the two Christophs and Simon realise the effect that it was having on them and the people they love.
Read MoreMore retro rock but this time from Sweden. The previous two Blue Pills albums have been authentic slices of seventies Blues Rock. However, this time around they have gone back further. This is fantastic facsimilia of sixties power-pop. Think The Mamas & The Papas and Janis Joplin. It oozes Californian sass and sunshine. It is an upbeat and frequently joyous album
Read MoreDark Tranquillity, the Gothenburg melodic death pioneers that aren’t At the Gates or In Flames. Actually, that is really rather tough on Dark Tranquillity as there is far more to them than being the “Return of the Jedi” of Metal’s most important trilogy. While In Flames metamorphization from (melodic) Death Metal to alt-metal has been well documented, Dark Tranquillity shift over the years towards a much more Gothic/Doom tinged melodramatic sound has gone very much under the radar.
Read MoreGloriously over the top wide screen Black Metal! When it first emerged in Norway in the early nineties, Black Metal was a distinctly underground affair with a penchant for zero production and down-tuned guitars. Over the years it has evolved, and the type of Black Metal favoured by Necrophobic is well polished and full of slick hooks.
Read MoreBleed from Within’s goose seemed to have been well and truly cooked. The momentum and good will that they had in the early part of the decade seemed to have dissipated and 2018's “Era” slipped out seemingly without anyone noticing. However instead of resigning themselves to being a footnote in a ‘where are they now?’ article, they have rolled up their sleeves and got back into the fray. "Fracture" is a remarkable comeback.
Read MoreThere are two distinct sides to Amalie Bruun. There is the bewitching Black Metal queen, putting her nightmares to music via haunting distortion and there is the diligent custodian of Nordic folksong, painstakingly preserving the traditional sounds of a pre-Christian Norway. After two albums where she has let the former persona run rampant, “Folkesange” allows the other side of her personality to take centre stage.
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