JACOB’S TOP 10 ALBUMS 2020

It’s that time of year again folks, time to discuss our top ten albums of the year. First up is Jacob with his top ten albums of the year.

Ten albums, from this year,
fill’d my heart with great joy,
Last year pro-duced in lim-erick!
And this year, in son-net.
No gigs on, nor fests too,
Indeed felt rather blue,
But artists have been at work!
And promise of joy does lurk,
So on we’ll crack with list,
In great spite, all we missed.
New and old! Small and great!
Classic tracks, and new gifts
And if I thought last year was hard,
Fool on me for aping the bard.

Actually this is a bit tricky.

I nearly had it and you would have all been really impressed and I would have sat grinning on my throne of smugness. But as a compromise I’ve decided to do the rest in free verse. Anyway, to business!

10. Al-Namrood – Wala’at

I discovered AL-NAMROOD a few years ago through an article explaining the nature of the band. Driven by the interest I looked into them and found myself liking what I heard. Cut to this year and I was handed Wala’at to review and found myself enraptured by what I was hearing. Surprising and reliable, AL-NAMROOD should be proud of this offering.

You can read my review of the album here.

Find AL-NAMROOD on Facebook.

9. Heathen Beast– The Revolution Will Not Be Televised But It Will Be Heasrd

HEATHEN BEAST are a new discovery for me, I reviewed this album earlier in the year and it caught me completely off guard. I haven’t really considered myself a fan of hardcore but I think this album has given me an excellent place to start exploring from.

You can read my review of the album here.

Find HEATHEN BEAST on Facebook.

8. Lucifer – Lucifer III

LUCIFER are sort of the modern equivalent to the cult 60’s band COVEN. Except in my eyes they do everything better. This is the third of their self titled releases and like the others it’s a comfortable yet exciting groove to settle into for an hour.

Find LUCIFER on Facebook.

7. The Reticent – The Oubliette

The Oubliette by THE RETICENT is…soul crushing. In the nicest possible way I don’t want to go back to it. It set out with one mission and in my eyes it achieved it amazingly. What it achieved was a heartfelt depiction of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s worth your time listening to it; make sure you have a hug, a hot drink and maybe some nice biscuits on standby.

You can read my review of the album here.

Find THE RETICENT on Facebook.

6) Penguin On Fire – Ma’Or

Sometimes you find something new and whilst you may not consider it to be the greatest thing you’ve ever heard it sticks with you in a way that something more perfect cannot. PENGUIN ON FIRE’s Ma’Or is this for me. Possibly my favourite new discovery this year the lyrics were on point in what proved to be a very difficult year.

You can read my review of the EP here.

Find PENGUIN ON FIRE on Facebook.

5. VHS – Gore From Beyond The Stars

VHS. Just VHS. I’ve a passion for really terrible horror movies, nothing cheers me up in the same way as watching Puppet Master or Satan’s Little Helper. And release after release VHS manage to condense that feeling into an album. The latest release, titled Gore From Beyond The Stars hits as hard as when a sleeping bag meets a tree. (Yes I know that’s not on this album).

Find VHS on Facebook.

4. Ihsahn – Pharos

IHSAHN decided to experiment this year releasing not one but two EPs, Telemark and Pharos.
Pharos blew me away. It’s lead single is a cover of that most metal and KVLT of bands, A-HA. It’s incredible I went back and listened to the original and it’s amazing the difference a talented vocalist can make to a classic song.

Find IHSAHN on Facebook.

3. Devin Townsend – Order Of Magnitude – Empath Vol.1

I don’t usually like live albums. I tend to prefer either listening to them when they are actually live or listening to the studio albums. So when DEVIN TOWNSEND dropped his latest live album I was suitably amazed. I’m not going to say too much more on this as you can read my review via the link below.

You can read my review of the album here.

Find DEVIN TOWNSEND on Facebook.

2. Myrkur – Folkesange

MYRKUR’s Folkesange was released earlier this year before the world became infinitely more stressful. It was in many ways the calm before the storm. I spent many, many hours cycling around my hometown at night listening to it on repeat. It drops all the trappings of black metal for which MYRKUR is known and instead gives a solid folk experience showing the scope of her talent.

Find MYRKUR on Facebook.

NUMBER ONE: Khemmis – Doomed Heavy Metal

KHEMMIS really knocked it out of the park this year with their mini album Doomed Heavy Metal. It’s so well produced and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Hitting you hard with their incredible cover of Rainbow In The Dark and then moving to their own original material it’s an exciting ride.