🌶️ To The Teeth's Best Albums of the Year + 101 Best Heavy Songs Playlist
Best albums of 2020
It's the end of the year. It's a shitty year, but it's still list season and nobody is going to take it from me. I found myself pulled to the music I loved when I was younger more than previous years, and it helped that a few bands from that period of time released very enjoyable records (Sepultura, Katatonia, Deftones, My Dying Bride - what year is it?). But the new blood from bands like Sweven, Kaatayra and Gargoyl seasoned my musical year greatly. The legacy of the late Riley Gale and his Power Trip lives forth one of the best heavy live records I've heard. Anyway, I promised myself not to talk too much about the list. Here’s my top 20 (and then some) of heavy albums that one way or another made an impact on me in 2020.
Sweven - The Eternal Resonance (prog death from Sweden)
Kaatayra - Só Quem Viu o Relâmpago à Sua Direita Sabe (black/folk from Brazil)
Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi (psych black from Finland)
Power Trip - Live in Seattle (thrash/crossover from the USA)
Sepultura - Quadra (groove/thrash from Brazil)
Fluisteraars - Bloem (black from the Netherlands)
Spectral Lore & Mare Cognitum - Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine (atmoblack from Greece / atmoblack from the USA)
Katatonia - City Burials (prog/doom from Sweden)
My Dying Bride - The Ghost of Orion (gothic/doom from the UK)
Deftones - Ohms (alternative from the USA)
Metallica - S&M 2 (heavy/thrash from the USA)
Esoctrilihum - Eternity of Shaog (prog black from France)
Unleash The Archers - The Abyss (power from Canada)
Dawnwalker - Ages (post from the UK)
Xibalba - Años en Infierno (death/hardcore from the USA)
Gargoyl - Gargoyl (prog/grunge from the USA)
Mystras - Castles Conquered and Reclaimed (black from Greece)
Hiidenhauta - Riivin (meloblack from Finland)
Auðn - Vökudraumsins Fangi (atmoblack from Iceland)
Delain - Apocalypse & Chill (symphonic from the Netherlands)
Honorable mentions: Krallice, Lamp of Murmuur, Eternal Champion, Turia, Poppy, Enslaved, Hjelvik, Ayreon, Oceans of Slumber and Protest the Hero.
Bonus non-metal favourites: Eefje de Visser, Natalia Lafourcade, Sault, Angelica Garcia, Run the Jewels, Lianne La Havas, Rufus Wainwright, Maria José Llergo, The Homesick and Pat Metheny.
101 Best Heavy Songs of 2020
From the short and knotty '29' from Soul Glo, to the melancholic, deeply personal 'Rune's Heart' from Panopticon. From Akhlys to Zeal & Ardor. From the fresh Poppy to the long serving Vader. From danceable Ulver to the crushing Black Curse. Here are the 101 best heavy songs of 2020.
Next Year...
PSA for the playlist followers: I’m going to clean it out to make room for 2021’s releases. If you want to keep it as it is, copy it into a playlist of your own. Still to come from me: The List of Lists: my calculated list of the international metalworld’s opinion of this year. Hopefully before next year. (See last year)
Enjoy what’s left of (how it’s called here) ‘Second Christmasday’ and have a very, very good 2021. Take care, stay safe.
Peter