Top 5 All Time: Albums of 2020
20 fuckin' 20 eh? If a year could be the opposite of a banger, it'd be this one. Complete train wreck from start to finish. As a buddy of mine put it: not a bop...
...unless, of course, we are talking about all the new music that was released. Because there were A LOT of quality albums that came out in 2020. I have wanted to do an AOTY list for years, but I always forget when things are released/never keep track or take notes. Since I was able to this year, I thought what better time than when some of my all time favorite bands decided to release some truly killer records.
Let's just jump into it. My music taste is all over the map so get off my back.
5) Bouncing Souls - Volume 2
Someone once said the true test of a song is if you can strip away all the frills and bells and whistles and see if it still makes you feel something. The Bouncing Souls have been a punk band for 31 years, and anyone who thinks the band is a one trick pony needs to hear this album ASAP. The album only has one new song; the rest are acoustic versions of some of their most well-known and classic songs. Being from NJ, these guys are local heroes. I've been seeing them live since 1997, and this album just proved to the world what most of us have known all along: they're excellent songwriters.
4) Code Orange - Underneath
At the risk of sounding like a hipster... I've been a fan of this band since the beginning. The first time I saw them was in 2013 in the basement of Webster Hall opening for Terror, Power Trip and Counterparts (when they were still known as Code Orange Kids). They have matured past the "kids" moniker into the force to be reckoned with in heavy music. I must admit that I was a little nervous after their last album that they might take the weird turn/cave in to selling out. I deserve to be beaten to a pulp in a Code Orange pit for letting that thought even cross my mind.
I already wrote about their monumental livestream at the start of the pandemic, but that is not the same as the full album. This album fucking SLAYS, there's no other way to say it. It's legit terrifying. They want to scare the bejesus out of you. That isn't to say there aren't some chiller/far out there songs or moments, but it all flows perfectly together. Their days of basement shows are definitely over.
3) DRAIN - California Cursed
This may be my most listened to album this year. It's so damn fun. This album could have come out in 2001 and I would have liked it just as much as I do now. Pure, unadulterated hardcore. Makes me want to be from California. I am hoping beyond hope that once shows start up again I will be able to see them live, because their live shows look bonkers. Do you walk the walk? Talk is cheap. I'm on a fuckin sick one.
2) Misery Signals - Ultraviolet
2004 called... it wants its metalcore back.
In all seriousness, I was so hyped on this release. Many believe Misery Signals to be the kings of metalcore, and I'm certainly not going to argue against it (I can't say for sure that 7A7P invented melodic metalcore, but I can't say they didn't either). These guys have not lost a step at all. First and foremost, the return of vocalist Jesse Zaraska is a welcome development. His voice and scream is so unique and exactly what I think of when I think of heavy music. Lyrically, this is probably the best work of his career, tackling mental health, the cost of chasing your dreams, regrets, and the band's career.
Drummer Branden Morgan has always been a bright spot in the scene, but he really shines through on this album. Dude can flat out play. He and his brother Ryan, the guitarist, are the only two members of the band that have been there since the beginning.
As far as heavy music goes, this is as good as it gets for me. Not too reliant on any one genre or trope, it checks all the boxes perfectly.
1) Caspian - On Circles
What can I say about these guys man? I discovered this band on a whim back in 2011 when their seminal album Waking Season came out, and was instantly hooked. There's something to be said about a band that takes their time to release full lengths like this. With the exception of some EP's and singles, they've gone 4-5 years between releases, and it shows. From 2015's Dust and Disquiet to this January's release of On Circles, it has been an absolute pleasure to watch this group mature into the post-rock gods they have become.
The opening track Wildblood is an epic, movie-score-like 7 minute opus that paves the way for 40 more minutes of equal parts headbanging and chills. Nostalgist (featuring Kyle Dufrey of Pianos Become the Teeth) is a rare lyrical song for the band, and picks up where Mae's The Everglow left off. And if you thought the album was all flowers and blues, Collapser will easily be their heaviest live song to date. The album ends with Circles on Circles, a heart-wrenching farewell letter that I can't even listen to without choking up.
There's two things in particular to note about this album. First, it was produced by Will Yip at Studio 4, who for my money is in the top 3 producers in the country right now (Kurt Ballou and Will Putney round it out). Will Yip is a genius, a beast, a savage, and a genius again. The production on this album is delicate when it needs to be and monstrous when it has to be. He also produced Volume 2 and co-produced Underneath, so that's THREE in the Top 5 credited to him. What a year he had.
The second thing to note is that this album, and more exactly the single Circles on Circles came out when my family had to bury my grandmother. She was the light of our world and practically raised me as a child. A day doesn't go by when I don't think about her, and this song, this album, and this band was the soundtrack to that time of my life. And I consider myself thankful for it, because it's just what I needed. The shadow that this album casts will remain for a long, long time.
Honorable Mentions
Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress: You could probably swap this out for DRAIN on the list. They both are sick, I just happened to like California Cursed a little more. Gulch is awesome.
Haunt - Flashback / Mind Freeze: I have no idea how this guy puts out this much music. By my count, since May of 2018, so about 2.5 years, he's put out SIX albums. I combined these just to give myself one more spot on the list, but it's actually two separate albums. Insanity.
Hum - Inlet: No this is not a typo. Hum, the 90's band, put out an album this year and it was awesome. Its runtime was like 150 minutes or something </hyperbole> but it was so fun. Lots of head nodding the whole way through.
Deftones - Ohms: I can't not put this album on here based on how much I listened to it. God damn what an impressive offering from these guys. Your favorite band's favorite band.
Run the Jewels - RTJ4: The kings of intellectual hip hop are back, with probably their best LP (El-P?) to date. Banger after banger.
END - Splinters From an Ever Changing Face: Having Will Putney in your band is like using a cheat code (same goes for Kurt Ballou), so no surprise this album absolutely rips. Heavy as all hell.
Year of the Knife - Internal Incarceration: THIS is my type of band, and this was my type of album. Loud, fast, pissed off, heavy, all in one.
O'Brother - You and I: This band can do no wrong. This album is a fucking masterpiece and I am not really even comfortable leaving it out of the Top 5. It's definitely #6. It's just such a moody album that I didn't listen to enough
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero: I liked this album way more than I thought I was going to. Solid from front to back, heavy and headbanging goodness. Anyone who hates on the drumming of Ben Koller deserves a firing squad.
War on Women - Wonderful Hell: Truth be told, before this album I was not a fan of WoW. I saw them open for Boysetsfire years ago and it did not click. After seeing Shawna Potter on some Two Minutes to Late Night videos, I decided to give it a spin. Needless to say... it clicks. Hope they come around soon.
