There’s no getting around the fact that 2020 was a nightmare year for so many reasons. Yet, for all the social, political and economic trauma inflicted by COVID 19, 2020 saw some utterly remarkable releases and putting together this list proved to be a considerable challenge. Indeed, it may well have been one of the best years for high profile releases in some time and it says much of the strength of the competition that the likes of Vader, Testament and Idles, all of whom released stunning albums this year, did not make the final cut. Of course, any albums of the year list is always going to be highly subjective, and we’d welcome reader suggestions as to what we missed… but here are the twenty albums (arranged alphabetically, rather than order of preference) that managed to glue themselves to the SonicAbuse stereo during the many lockdowns we endured.
Joe Bonamssa – Royal Tea
It’s difficult to remember a time when SonicAbuse featured an album of the year list which did not include a Joe Bonamassa release, but when you consider the consistent quality of Joe’s work, then it’s not hard to argue the merit. What truly places Joe ahead of the competition is not so much his consistency, as his desire to push himself forward on each successive release. Building upon the subtle progressive elements that crept into 2018’s Redemption, Joe fully embraces his British influences on Royal Tea to deliver a rich, warm album that sees him coax his exquisite talent into new areas. A true artist, Joe Bonamassa continues to justify the faith of his loyal fanbase with each new release.
Albert Cummings – Believe
Tracked at the legendary FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, soaked in horns and steeped in blues tradition, Believe is (or certainly should be) the album that brings Albert Cummings to widespread acclaim. Bravely opening the album with Hold On (and making it his own in the process), Albert Cummings shows no fear as he draws liberally from a range of influences including Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Muddy Waters, all the time carving out his own niche in the blues firmament. A wonderful album, Believe is a soulful blues gem that is more or less essential listening.
Kirk Fletcher – My Blues Pathway
A sumptuous mix of covers and originals, Kirk Fletcher’s My Blues Pathway manages to capture one man’s journey through music in just ten short tracks. There’s a warmth to Kirk’s playing that is entirely irresistible, recalling at times Robert Cray; and the deftly chosen covers are delivered in Kirk’s own style, making for a coherent and compelling journey. The perfect soundtrack to the long summer evenings of August, My Blues Pathway was lodged in the player for weeks, and still makes repeated returns… it’s that good.
Green Carnation – Leaves Of Yesteryear
A truly beautiful return from these Norwegian masters of melancholic prog. Featuring a fifteen-minute reworking of My Dark Reflections Of Life And Death (originally featured on Journey To The End Of The Night) and a magnificent cover of Black Sabbath’s Solitude, nothing on Leaves Of Yesteryear feels wasted or left to chance. From the dense production to the psychedelic artwork, this is a magnificent piece of music with which to greet the wee small hours.
Hellripper – The Affair Of The Poisons
Short, sharp and imbued with the same spirit of piss ‘n’ vinegar that drove an acne-ridden Metallica to unleash Ride The Lightning, Hellripper’s The Affair Of The Poisons is as old-school as a denim jacket and fucking awesome to boot. From the arcane artwork to the gritty production, set this malevolent disc on the player and you’re in for forty glorious minutes of old-school violence that will leave your head spinning.
Katatonia – Dead City Burials
Like Opeth, Katatonia are one of those rare bands who seem to gently expand on their oeuvre with each release. However, unlike Opeth (or, say, Anathema), whose trajectory has increasingly drawn them out of metal’s orbit, Katatonia remain tethered to the darkness; and if they’ve stretched the point to some considerable degree (for example on Dethroned And Uncrowned), they’ve used the freedom to explore the realms of doom, progressive and even gothic rock with aplomb. City Burials sees the band return after a four-year absence, adopting a more metallic pose in the process. The results are as majestic as the title suggests and, as the subsequent live release (Dead Air) highlighted, the tracks on offer here sit comfortably amidst the band’s classic anthems.
Mr Bungle – The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
Without wishing to sound reductive, it’s essentially Mike Patton and his merry band of miscreants doing thrash… except the simple act of writing that sentence does little justice to the mayhem they unleash. Not exactly eccentric (at least not by Patton project standards), The Raging Wrath… feels more like a love letter to the earliest days of thrash (a feeling further underscored by the presence of Scott Ian), shot through with elements of grind and black metal for good measure. Intense, and yet a whole hell of a lot of fun too, The Raging Wrath… probably wasn’t the come-back fans were expecting (is it ever wise to expect anything of Mr Bungle?), but that doesn’t make it any the less brilliant.
My Dying Bride – The Ghost Of Orion / Macabre Cabaret
Following five long years of inactivity, My Dying Bride returned with a new album and a new EP. Both proved to have been worth the wait, with the EP (especially its glorious, ten-minute title track) slightly having the edge on the album thanks to the savagely pared back approach the format demands. As we have come to expect, both releases demonstrate those majestic qualities of which the band have so often shown themselves capable and, from the moment The Ghost Of Orion lumbers into view with Your Broken Shore, the listener finds themselves drawn into that ethereal realm of decaying kingdoms that My Dying Bride so effortless evoke. The band have been much missed this last five years, and it was a true pleasure to become lost within their arcane melodies once more.
Napalm Death – Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
Even by Napalm Death’s lofty standards, Throes Of Joy… is a particularly impressive outing. A searing indictment of the state of things, the album hits the ground running with the menacing Fuck The Factoid and steadfastly refuses to let up over the ensuing forty-odd minutes. With Russ Russell’s typically powerful production giving the band the perfect blend of raw power and depth, Throes Of Joy is a dizzying experience that, impressively, is never dulled by the familiarity of repeat listens. As a side note, fans should ensure they get the special edition, as it features an exceptionally potent cover of Sonic Youth’s blazing White Kross.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin Kynsi
The Finnish black metallers hit a remarkable home run with Mestarin Kynsi. A swirling, psychedelic beast of a record, there is not a weak moment to be found. From the moment the band seek to hypnotise the listener with opening gambit Limestys (much as a cobra might its prey), you feel yourself succumbing to the album’s serpentine charms. Imbued with the questing spirit of black metal, rather than a copycat of acts gone by, Oranssi Pazuzu are true masters of their art.
Paradise Lost – Obsidian
The fact that Paradise Lost continue to appear on album of the year lists has less to do with their well-earned legendary status and more to do with the fact that they have remained a fiercely creative entity, constantly reinventing themselves, whilst remaining tethered to those aspects of gothic rock and doom that have informed their sound since their debut album. Obsidian is, in all regards, a stunning body of work that does much to summarise the band’s remarkable career and it stands as one of the finest entries in the band’s storied canon. Punishingly heavy and yet, at times, breathtakingly beautiful (a juxtaposition the band perfectly achieve on opening track Darker Thoughts) Obsidian is nothing less than a masterpiece.
Pearl Jam – Gigaton
It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since Lightning Bolt, but Pearl Jam have not been idle, and a good deal of that time was spent in touring. Given the back-to-basics approach of Lightning Bolt, and the ferocious live shows that followed in its wake, fans would have been forgiven for expecting more of the same. However, Pearl Jam have never bowed to expectation and Gigaton is infused with a post-punk sound at which the band had hitherto only hinted. With the band raging at the growing inequity of a Trump-led society, Gigaton features some absolute belters, the highlights being the blistering bass runs of Quick Escape and punchy opener Who Ever Said. But, in truth, it’s an album of highlights and the sum is greater than the parts. As relevant and vital as they’ve ever been, Gigaton is simply a great album.
Raging Speedhorn – Hard To Kill
Fucking Brilliant.
Oh… you want more? OK – this Russ Russell produced beast is likely to be responsible for the NHS running out of neck braces, such is the sheer ferocity of the band’s delivery. Everything that is great about Raging Speedhorn can be found here and if you don’t head bang yourself into a coma with a giant, shit-eating grin on your face, you’re doing it wrong. Seriously – Buy. This. Record.
Sepultura – Quadra
Following up the monstrously brilliant Machine Messiah was never going to be easy, but Sepultura made it appear so. A perfect partner to that album, Sepultura hit the ground running with Isolation and Means To An End, slowly allowing the progressive influences of Machine Messiah to seep in with tracks like Guardians Of Earth. However, it is the closing triptych (Quadra, Agony Of Defeat and Fear-Pain-Chaos-Suffering) that cements the band’s reputation as one of metal’s most forward-thinking and inventive acts and leaves the listener awe struck at the creative flame that still burns bright within.
Smashing Pumpkins – CYR
Following on from the excellent Oh So Shiny And Oh So Bright Vol 1, CYR might share artwork with its predecessor, but that’s where the similarities end. Billy and co. take us off the beaten path with an album that expands on the tooled-up electronica of Ava Adore and refits it for the new millennium. As with the Pumpkins’ previous dalliance with electronica, you can just as easily imagine these imaginative tracks being played on traditional rock instruments in an arena full of [ahem] adoring fans as pumping out of a giant sound system and therein lies the genius – Billy knows how to write good songs regardless of the method of delivery. Drawing from a range of influences, albeit with long-time Billy favourites Depeche Mode and Talking Heads at its core, CYR is an unexpected and brilliant album.
Soul Asylum – Hurry Up And Wait
Soul Asylum are one of those rare bands that have tasted success, but never allowed it to define them. Whilst there must have been a temptation to endlessly re-write Runaway Train (at least from a commercial point of view), Soul Asylum have always harboured a more ambitious and creative streak, preferring to explore the vast possibilities of Americana across their varied catalogue. It is for this reason, as well as the stark honesty of Dave’s beautifully honed lyrics, that the band continue to strike a chord with their ardent fans and Hurry Up And Wait offers up some of the most gorgeous melodies heard on record this year.
Tomorrow’s Rain – Hollow
Released in both English and Hebrew, Hollow is a genuine passion project. Frontman Yishai Sweartz poured his living soul into an album that was years in the making and, in combining the scabrous doom of My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, with the atmospheric gloom of The Cure and Dead Can Dance, Tomorrow’s Rain crafted a record that is strangely timeless in its delivery. The fact that the band were joined by a host of well-known guests from across the world of metal only served to underscore the depth of the material on offer, and the resultant album is an emotionally harrowing, yet cathartic journey that is well worth undertaking.
Trivium – What The Dead Men Say
Trivium have not had the easiest time of things and often seemed to be trapped in a cycle wherein one album would be met with widespread acclaim, only for its follow up to be unfairly met with almost equal measures of opprobrium. However, the band’s tenacity and drive paid off when they unleashed the devastatingly powerful What The Dead men Say, a blisteringly heavy album that exemplifies all those virtues that the band’s supporters have long extolled. Ambitious in scope and note-perfect in delivery, What The Dead Men Say refines the template laid down on The Sin And The Sentence and arguably stands as the band’s most complete album to date.
Robin Trower, Maxi Priest & Livingstone Brown – United State Of Mind
In a year when, in all honesty, there was little worth celebrating, an unexpected collaboration sought to leaven the darkness. The brainchild of producer Livingstone Brown, United State Of Mind draws together the remarkable talents of guitarist Robin Trower and singer Maxi Priest. The results are stunning and these two legends in their respective fields have enough mutual respect to share the spotlight with not a thought given to ego. From the mellow strains of the opening track, to the gorgeous closer (Where Our Love Came From) listeners cannot help but feel the clouds lifting, marking the album out as one of the year’s rare moments of positivity and calm.
Ulver – Flowers Of Evil
Unexpectedly providing a direct follow-up to the masterly Assassination Of Julius Caesar, Ulver managed to surprise their loyal fanbase by not really doing anything surprising at all, beyond refining an already special formula to a quite remarkable degree. Intelligent, spacy electronica with elements of post-rock caught up in its matrix, Ulver’s ability to utterly hook the listener with their sumptuous sound is unsurpassed and Flowers Of Evil is further evidence of the band’s staunch refusal to conform to anyone’s expectations. Arty, intelligent pop music with pristine production, thanks to the weighty lyrics, Flowers Of Evil is the most beautiful kiss of death you’ll ever experience.
EPs Of The Year
Sons Of Silver – Doomsday Noises
I must have lost track of the number of times I listened to this insanely catchy EP somewhere around the hundred mark. Certainly, there seemed to be a point where it was on rotation at least a couple of times a day, and yet the power of the tracks never dull. With intelligent (even prescient) lyrics, punchy grooves and great musicianship, the only negative I can find is that there’s yet to be a physical edition. Choosing a highlight is tough, but if forced, I’d go with Outbreak for sheer peanut-butter-on-your-brain catchiness.
Soilwork – A Whisp Of The Atlantic
Sixteen bloody minutes?? Yet, Soilwork’s progressive leanings are not without precedent, as double album, The Living Infinite deftly highlighted. Nevertheless, the twists and turns of this EP’s title track mark this out as one of the most assured performances this impressive band has ever delivered. Whilst the EP’s other four tracks would, by any band’s standards, be impressive in their own right, A Whisp Of The Atlantic goes above and beyond and is something truly special indeed.
Live DVD/Blu Ray Of The Year
Ayreon – Electric Castle – Live And Other Tales
In a year largely deprived of live activity, fans were forced to dig into their DVD collection to slake their thirst for live music. Amidst the releases made throughout the year, one stood out thanks to its gloriously over-the-top production and, above all, the presence of one John De Lancie (that’s Star Trek’s Q to you, Squire) as narrator. With a remarkable cast of supporting musicians, typically note-perfect performances and a mix to die for, Electric Castle is a feast for the eyes and the ears.
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