Apocalyptic Top 30 Of 2020
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It's that magical time of the year again, when it's almost impossible to choose your top albums for the previous year, but here we are. Some of these bands delivered a much needed soundtrack for one of the toughest years so far, and I must say I'm satisfied. The list in itself is in order about halfway in, the rest I couldn't decide about, so the second half is not ranged in any particular order. I won't go too much into details, but here are some main impressions.
When it comes to Dark Tranquillity, I know I can't give an objective rating, so every time they release an album, it ends up being my album of the year. I do, however, think they deserve it. I can't deny they don't deviate much from their usual formula, but I like how this time the album is even more melodic and has more clean vocals. Personally, I would say it is like a good mix between Projector and Atoma (the influences from the latter being more prominent though). I only wish it came out earlier in the year, given the shitstorm we've all been through. Draconian keeps releasing perfectly doomy albums and I just couldn't stop listening to this one. I knew it would be this good even since I'd heard the first single. Katatonia and My Dying Bride haven't disappointed me either. I loved Katatonia's live studio performance during the lockdown and the new songs sounded as great as the old ones. On the other side, I didn't pay much attention to MDB's latest EP, Macabre Cabaret. It was okay, but nothing really special. Secrets of the Moon blew me away with their version of goth rock and I just couldn't stop listening to it for a couple of months. Many people were disappointed that they stepped away from black metal completely on this record, but I love this style so much that I don't care about genres. It does remind me of the singer's side project Crone, it seems its influence took over SOTM and I'm not complaining. Pain of Salvation also keep reinventing themselves and even though I was really skeptical after the second single (the first one was great), the album became one of my favs this year. I was just one big emotional wreck after listening to it so many times, I guess I find myself in their lyrics way too often. POS got released the same day as Ulver's Flowers of Evil. Of course it is not metal but I'm taking advantage of Ulver still being here on MetalStorm to say this is the perfect kind of depressive synthpop, just how I like it. It was the perfect soundtrack for the end of the saddest summer ever. A week later, Oceans of Slumber finally won me over to their side with the self-titled album, they just hit my mood perfectly. The track with Mick Moss of Antimatter makes it even better. I kept playing these 3 albums together for the good part of September and to me, they carry the same kind of energy and mood and I just can't really choose which I like better (yes, lists are tough). Thy Catafalque is such a unique band (or project) that it always seems out of place on these kind of lists but I love just about everyhing Tamas Katai puts out. Avantgarde, not caring about rules, not limited by live performances, yet so amazingly harmonic and melodic, with strange lyrics in Hungarian that I only very partly understand (I have forgotten a lot and his language is quite poetic). Embersolyom, a cover song from the Hungarian band Kalaka, was probably one of my most played ones last year, so damn catchy. Grift, a Swedish one-man project, became one of my latest fascinations. The longing for the abandoned countryside, as well as sadness caused by people's disconnection from nature in combination of folk/acoustic elements and black metal, with Swedish lyrics, sounds like a perfect combination to me. I just wish I can catch Grift on tour once the touring becomes normal again. There are many albums and bands on this list, yet I haven't mentioned some of them, it's usually beacuse I don't think they are that good or I haven't been listening to them enough to give them a proper grade. There are also many that aren't added here on MetalStorm so this will have to do. Till next year!
Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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