Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
August Burns Red-Guardians
Gunna-Wunna
Miley Cyrus-Plastic Hearts
Protest the Hero-Palimpsest
Ulcerate-Stare Into Death and Be Still
20.City Morgue-Toxic Boogaloo:
Getting a new City Morgue record in the contentious, doom-filled landscape of 2020 was a much-needed act of unholy divine intervention. Packing 10 tracks worth of shouted rapping over chugging guitar-driven production into an under 20 minute package, Toxic Boogaloo is a deadly efficient blast of cathartic rage from NYC's most sinister hip hop duo that might as well have been called Chicken Soup for the Discontent Soul.
Standout Tracks: 1.Crank 2.The Electric Experience 3.Buakaw
19.Venom Prison-Primeval:
Re-recording old material often feels like a gimmick used by acts to make a quick buck off the material only a small amount of people have heard once they achieve some degree of breakout success, but in the case of Venom Prison-it was a very smart move. Primeval sees the Welsh outfit cleaning and beefing up the material from their first two EP's (Defy the Tyrant, The Primal Chaos) with crisper production that puts additional emphasis on the guitars that drive their riff/breakdown-driven attack and vocalist Larissa Stupar upping the intensity of her screams. Cap things off with a pair of killer new tracks ("Defiant to the Will of God, "Slayer of Holofernes") and you have an excellent LP that cements them as one of the most promising acts coming up right now in the extreme metal ranks.
Standout Tracks: 1.Usurper of the Throne 2.Narcotic 3.Defiant to the Will of God
18.Yves Tumor-Heaven to a Tortured Mind:
Whatever planet or galaxy Yves Tumor descended from must be a WILD place. Heaven to a Tortured Mind is a hazy yet soulful creation that features a level of genre-bending experimentation (glam rock funk and psychedelia are just a few of the little musical niches that are explored here) that no one from Earth could possibly cook up and while not everything works (particularly on the back third when the tempo starts to slow down), it's non-stop risk taking makes it a uniquely invigorating listen that demands to be revisited.
Standout Tracks: 1.Gospel for a New Century 2.Kerosene! (feat. Diana Gordon) 3.Super Stars
17.Mac Miller-Circles:
What a legacy capper for the late Mac Miller. Circles, which was just about completed before the rapper/singer's death in September 2018, is an appropriately bittersweet sendoff for Miller that celebrates the confident vision and mature artistic groove he settled into with the somber soul-driven sound he started exploring on his previous record Swimming. Miller was just starting to really come into his own as an artist and it really sucks that we'll never get to see where he would've gone from here.
Standout Tracks: 1.I Can See 2.Everybody 3.Circles
16.Gulch-Impentrable Cerebral Fortress:
No record made me miss live music more in 2020 than Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress. Gulch has the type of fast, raw and unapologetically unpolished sound that can only be cultivated from years of attending shows in dirtball venues. You can basically visualize the sea of moving bodies and discarded beer cans occupying a (likely) Asbestos-ridden warehouse or basement with every snare hit, slam riff and throaty scream they deliver over the course of this pummeling DIY -core special that runs for an entirely on brand 15 minutes. Hopefully I'll get to see them play in the type of venue that bred their sound once the 'Rona subsides.
Standout Tracks: 1.Cries of Pleasure, Heavenly Pain 2.All Fall Down the Well 3.Fucking Towards Salvation
15.Ariana Grande-Positions:
While Grande's return to the trap pop well isn't quite as consistently rewarding as thank u, next, Positions still features enough dazzling moments standouts ("Love Language", "Safety Net", the trio below) full of smooth hooks and addictive lowkey melodies to go down as another cohesive, accomplished effort in her rock solid discography.
Standout Tracks: 1.Positions 2.My Hair 3.Motive (feat. Doja Cat)
14.Taylor Swift-Folklore:
Much debate has broken out in the social media realms of late about which of Swift's surprise 2020 folk pop albums is better. For me, the answer is Folklore and it's not particularly close. While Evermore has many of the same strengths (cohesive sound, great downtempo production from Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, Swift's hauntingly beautiful vocals), the whimsical, fable-like atmosphere that adds a layer of wonder to the largely third person narratives spun in the lyrics and stirring magic of the run of songs from "Mirrorball" to "Invisible String" puts Folklore on another level of greatness.
Standout Tracks: 1.Seven 2.August 3.Mirrorball
13.Kali Uchis-Sin mideo (del amor y otros demonios)
Colombian-American singer Uchis' first predominantly Spanish language release is an impassioned, intoxicating journey through the wide array of Latin music genres that influenced her artistry growing up as well as another stunning showcase of her exceptional versatility that I've enjoyed more with each listen and possibly would've contended for a top 10 spot if it hadn't been released so late in the year.
Standout Tracks: 1.//Aguradente y limon 2.telepatia 3.Vaya con dios
12.Black Crown Initiate-Violent Portraits of a Doomed Escape:
With its impressively nuanced songwriting, generally epic tone and nice balance of heavy/melodic moments, Violent Portraits of a Doomed Escape marks another notable step forward from this steadily improving progressive death metal quartet.
Standout Tracks: 1.Invatation 2.Trauma Bonds 3.Holy Silence
11.Dua Lipa-Future Nostalgia:
It only took two albums for Lipa to cement herself as a pop juggernaut. By going all in on infectious energy, big choruses and bouncy disco meets modern synthpop production, she creates a bubbly, glossy sugar rush of a record that serves as a very potent (not to mention, consistently effective) antidote to a shit mood.
Standout Tracks: 1.Hallucinate 2.Levitating 3.Cool
10.21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Savage Mode II:
Hip hop's most prolific moden rapper/producer duo reunited after a little bit of time apart (their last full project together was 2017's Without Warning) and that 3-year gap did nothing to erode their deep artistic connection. 21 continues to up his confidence/technical prowess on the mic without shaking the deadpan aesthetic that makes his gangsta rap bars cut particularly deep while Metro takes advantage of 21's improvement to add some more upbeat textures and tempos (the almost soulful "Mr. Right Now", the old school west coast tribute "Steppin on N***as") to the beats without skimping on the cold, ominous cuts ("Glock in my Lap", "Runnin", "Snitches & Rats") that their musical partnership was built on. If these guys continue to remain in sync like this, I hope we get a dozen more entries in the Savage Mode series.
Standout Tracks: 1.Glock in My Lap 2.Runnin 3.Brand New Draco
9.The Black Dahlia Murder-Verminous:
A bit of a cooldown after 2017's relentlessly blistering Nightbringers seemed inevitable for The Black Dahlia Murder and that's exactly what Verminous provides. Black Dahlia dives back into the eerily atmospheric sound they showcased on past efforts including 2013's Everblack and their 2007 classic Nocturnal with the type of unwavering giddiness, clinical songwriting precision and filler-free tracklist that have become so synonymous with their band that they feel practically guaranteed at this point.
Standout Tracks: 1.The Leather Apron's Scorn 2.The Wereworm's Feast 3.Removal of the Oaken Stake
8.End-Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face:
Big shoutout to End-whose lineup includes Counterparts vocalist Brendan Murphy, Fit for an Autopsy guitarist Will Putney and Structures drummer Andrew McEnaney-for not only being the only metal supergroup that put something out in 2020 that lived up to the talent level of its members, but releasing one of the best heavy music records of the year period in Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face. This laser-focused debut LP (!) conjures up a vicious metalcore storm that dispenses a tidal wave of punishing, hopelessness-fueled chaos for 40 straight minutes and displays plenty of proof that its members-particularly Murphy and Putney-can excel outside of the established comfort zones of their primary groups.
Standout Tracks: 1.Reach of Resurrection 2.Fear for Me Now 3.Covet Not
7.Halsey-Manic:
Although Badlands and Tragic Fountain Kingdom were middling records plagued with huge consistency issues, Halsey's huge potential always managed to shine through. On her third LP Manic, she (mostly) puts her past weaknesses to bed and capitalizes on her talent. From both a thematic and musical perspective, this record covers a lot of ground and that variety establishes a loose vibe that allows Halsey to be more vulnerable as a lyricist and dynamic as a vocalist-which results in a honest, lively and thoroughly memorable record that will hopefully go down as just the first great thing she puts out.
Standout Tracks: 1.3AM 2.Graveyard 3.Still Learning
6.Kvelertak-Splid:
Since their inception, vocalist Erlend Hjelvik has been the focal point of Kvelertak. From his distinct shriek/growl/singing combo to the glowing eyed owl mask he sported at every live show, he made their unique hardcore punk/black metal/hard rock hybrid sound mesh and is the perfect spokesman for an act that positioned themselves as the guardians of all things cheesy and excessive. In a truly stunning turn of events, Hjelvik's departure ended up leading to the best material they've recorded since their groundbreaking 2010 self-titled debut. Not only does Hjelvik's replacement Ivar Nikoalisen do a great job of fitting Kvelertak's '80s rocker from hell vocal mold, his fiery presence provided their core guitarist/songwriting braintrust (Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland, Maciek Ofstad) with a needed jolt of inspiration that resulted in them coming out of the riff lab with some of the meatiest, shamelessly over-the-top guitarlines they've ever written.
Standout Tracks: 1.Discord. 2.Uglas Hegemoni 3.Crack of Doom (feat. Troy Sanders)
5.Bring Me the Horizon-POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR:
Bring Me the Horizon's unexpected return to the world of metal takes the essence of the multiple 90's/00's genre trends (metalcore, nu metal, industrial metal) that shaped their early works and sprinkles in the hookiness/heavy electronic programming use they picked up during their recent pivot to synthpop to create a preposterously catchy, fun release that manages to hit all of the nostalgic pleasure centers while also sneakily morphing into something completely fresh. If the rest of this planned series of releases is in even the same stratosphere of quality as this, I'll happily stop actively slandering their first three albums.
Standout Tracks: 1.Kingslayer (feat. BABYMETAL) 2.Obey (feat. Yungblud) 3.Ludens
4.Deftones-Ohms:
Apology accepted for Gore, Deftones. Reuniting with iconic producer Terry Date and actually letting guitarist Stephen Carpenter into the studio to drop some heavy riffs to put alongside the mellow ones they've favored in recent years not only atoned for the sins of its disturbingly lifeless predecessor, but allowed Deftones to churn out their most stunning, well-balanced and generally crisp-sounding group of tunes since their 2010 masterpiece Diamond Eyes.
Standout Tracks: 1.Radiant City 2.Urantia 3.Genesis
3.Run the Jewels-RTJ4:
Undeniably benefiting from an eerily timely release just a week after the killing of George Floyd, the latest tremendous collection of hardcore political hip hop anthems from Killer Mike and El-P provided catharsis, motivation and even some distractions for a world that needs their art now more than ever.
Standout Tracks: 1.out of sight (feat. 2 Chainz) 2.walking in the snow (feat. Gangsta Boo) 3.the ground below
2.Rina Sawayama-Sawayama:
There are artists who bend the rules of a genre, then there artists like Rina Sawayama that actively destroy the concept of conventions entirely. Every time it seems like Sawayama is settling into a specific sound (Gaga-esque theatrical pop, Eurohouse, nu metal), it heads down a path that is completely unlike the one (and often more exciting) that came before it while retaining a preposterous level of catchiness at every rollicking, unpredictable turn. Having the courage, confidence and musical tools to pull off so many different styles over the course of one album without it ever feeling disjointed or half assed takes the work of a special artist and even after only two major releases, it's clear that Sawayama is in that rarefied air.
Standout Tracks: 1.XS 2.Love Me 4 Me 3.Who's Gonna Save U Now?
1.The Weeknd-After Hours:
Starring down the barrel of 30 during the writing process for his much-anticipated seventh full length release put The Weeknd in a reflective headspace and the regrets that stemmed from that soul searching fueled a much different type of record from him. By creating a loose concept album centered around how he hurt himself and the people he cared about with the shallow, nihilistic antics of his 20's that successfully combines the garage rawness of his early mixtapes with the infectious 80s-inspired pop of his recent offerings, The Weeknd is able to put together the most mature, dazzling release since his breakthrough 2011 effort House of Balloons.
Standout Tracks: 1.After Hours 2.Too Late 3.In Your Eyes
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