š¶ļø LIST OF LISTS 2020 š - Oranssi Pazuzu made the album of the year, according to the international press
Psych black escapism
The Finnish psychedelic black metallers Oranssi Pazuzu apparently offered the perfect kind of escapism with Mestarin kynsi, the kind listeners around the globe could very well use this wretched year: they stand far and above the rest, with 166 points. Number two are nu-metal-era alternative darlings Deftones' Ohms (124 points), and on three isĀ longstanding UK grind/death act Napalm Death (112 points), who surprised friend and foe with Throes Of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism. Following on number #4 is the technical death metal of Ulcerate (103) from New Zealand - just one point in front of Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou (102), the collaboration between the California post-rock singer and the Louisiana sludge band. Quite the diversity in style and geography.
Oranssi Pazuzu were on 33 lists. Thatās a lot, considering that second placed Deftones were named on just 19 lists - Napalm Death are on 21 lists, just with less points. The acts highest up with the least amount of namedrops are Black Curse (#14) and Paysage dāHiver (#16), both on eleven lists. Black Curse were named best of the year four times, which adds up quickly. Ulcerate on the other hand, got so high with just one number 1 spot and a lot of mentions lower on lists. That also goes for the collaborative record by Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou (on #5), and even moreso for Spirit Adrift (#11), who were on zero top spots: a lot of people loved it, just not enough to count as their record of the year.Ā
Last year we saw a lot of big bands taking points. Of course they have the advantage of just being big, so itās something to take in account - without dismissing their quality. This year Napalm Death might qualify, like Katatonia and maybe Code Orange. Bigger bands I had expected higher up because of their name Ć”nd their releases, are Vader, Sepultura, Pain of Salvation, Benediction, Benighted, Alestorm, Ayreon and, perhaps most surprisingly, Nightwish. The apex symphonic band was named only once, outside a top 10. Considering the hype, I expected Akhlys to be a little higher, they were on just three lists. Totally living up to their hype though is US black metal act Lamp of Murmuur, who reached up to place #19 (in a perfect tie with Mr. Bungle, both with 56 points).
Find the best 101 songs of the year playlist here. And follow my regular playlist to stay up to date with new releases in 2021. My personal topĀ 20 of the year is here. Support: Patreon.
The List of Lists
1. Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi (psychedelic black from Finland)
2. Deftones - Ohms (alternative from the USA)
3. Napalm Death - Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (grind/death from the UK)
4. Ulcerate - Stare Into Death and be Still (tech death from New Zealand)
5. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full (sludge/doom from the USA)
6. Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville (avantgarde/tech black/death from the USA)
7. Code Orange - Underneath (metalcore from the USA)
8. Sweven - The Eternal Resonance (progressive death from Sweden)
9. The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic (prog/sludge/post-hardcore from Germany)
10. Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron (epic heavy from the USA)
11. Spirit Adrift - Enlightened in Eternity (doom/heavy from the USA)
12. Cirith Ungol - Forever Black (heavy/doom from the USA)
13. Katatonia - City Burials (prog/doom from Sweden)
14. Black Curse - Endless Wounds (death from the USA)
15. Havukruunu - Uinuos Syƶmein Sota (pagan black from Finland)
16. Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald (black/ambient from Switzerland)
17. Svalbard - When I Die, WIll I Get Better? (post-hardcore/metalcore from the UK)
18. Pallbearer - Forgotten Days (doom from the USA)
19. Lamp Of Murmuur - Heir of Ecliptical Romanticism (black from the USA)
19 (ex aequo). Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of the Easter Bunny (fusion/experimental from the USA)
20. Necrot - Mortal (death from the USA)
21. Paradise Lost - Obsidian (doom/death/gothic from the UK)
22. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero (metalcore/groove from the USA)
23. Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment (industrial black/grind from the UK)
24. Thy Catafalque - Naiv (avantgarde from Hungary)
25. Enslaved - Utgard (prog black/viking from Norway)
26. Wake - Devouring Ruin (grind/crust/black from Canada)
27. Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus (tech thrash/death from the UK)
28. Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence (atmospheric black/folk from the USA)
29. Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night (prog from the USA)
30. Gulch - Imprenable Cerebral Fortress (hardcore from the USA)
31. Spectral Lore & Mare Cognitum - Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine (atmoblack/ambient from Greece & atmoblack from the USA)
32. Armored Saint - Punching the Sky (heavy from the USA)
33. Unleash the Archers - Abyss (power from Canada)
34. Uada - Djinn (melodic black from the USA)
35. Atramentus - Stygian (funeral doom from Canada)
36. Esoctrilihum - Eternity of Shaog (prog black from France)
37. Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions (progressive/post from the USA)
38. Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus (tech/brutal death from Germany)
39. Vile Creature - Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! (sludge/drone/doom from Canada)
40. Fluisteraars - Bloem (black from the Netherlands)
41. Pyrrhon - Abscess Time (tech death from the USA)
42. Protest The Hero - Palimpsest (prog metalcore from Canada)
43. My Dying Bride - Ghost of Orion (gothic/doom from the UK)
44. Xibalba - AƱos En Infierno (death/hardcore from the USA)
45. Malokarpatan - KrupinskƩ Ohne (black/heavy from Slovakia)
46. Afterbirth - Four-Dimensional Flesh (progressive brutal death from the USA)
47. Ulver - Flowers of EvilĀ (avantgarde/electronica from Norway)
48. Midnight - Rebirth By Blasphemy (black/speed from the USA)
49. The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous (melodic death from the USA)
50. Undergang - Aldig i Livet (death from Denmark)
Fine print
I didn't link all the records to avoid spam filters. I've calculated lists by Angry Metal Guy (x 10), Bandcamp, Consequence of Sound, Cursed, Cvlt Nation (x4), Decibel, Forbes, Hardforce, Invisible Oranges (x10), Kerrang, Last Rites (x7), Metal Hammer (x11), MetalInjection (x9), Metalinsider, MetalSucks (x6), Mondo Sonoro, No Clean Singing (x5), Popmatters (x2), Revolver, Riff Magazine, Stereogum, The Quietus, To The Teeth (thatās me), Toilet ov Hell (x7), Treble, Zes Losse Tanden. I gave every number 1 position 10 points. A second place got 8 points, a third 6 and the rest of the top-10 positions got 5 points. A top-25 was 3 points, and everything below 1. When two records had equal points, the amount of list mentions prevailed. When those were equal as well, the amount of number 1ās (or, subsequently number 2ās) counted. A total of 597 records were counted this year.