A quick overview

My personal opinion for the year 2020 is quite fair for both death and black metal, my two favorite genres. This year brought us plenty of great notable and surprising albums. With numerous reviews published this year, I find it important to finally reveal my top ten favorite albums that made a huge impact on me. From January onward there’s been a significant non-stop flow of releases in different genres. Quite fortunately so, because this year’s been catastrophic with the pandemic and lockdowns. It felt like living in a prison! We all sensed considerable change in the quality of our lives. But I believe there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, if we keep on supporting each other.

At the end of each year, we give readers our favorite albums based on our honest determination. The list includes only ten albums, but as usual, I have also decided to include other albums from all possible genres. My actual list includes around sixty albums. So let’s quickly look back on the black metal albums I found worthy of mention here. Finnish black metal seems to dominate. Bands like Aethyrick, Norrhem, Korgonthurus, Kryptamok, and The True Werwolf and Bythos were immediately spotted. While groups from other countries like Prometheus, Auðn, Sombre Héritage, and Gaerea achieved high musical scales on their latest outputs.

2020 brought many new black metal bands that I never heard of in the spotlight. Among the finest discoveries I counted Ymir, The Committee, Serment, Sunken, and Faustian Pact. However this year also was full of anticipation and among these amazing returns, we found some well-known acts like …and Oceans, Naglfar, Armagedda, Dark Fortress, and Mörk Gryning who made successful comebacks. But the biggest surprises w ere the release by Inquisition and Abigor! 

Here is the complete list of black metal albums that are featured on my top albums of the year 2020: 

1. Inquisition – Black Mass for a Mass Grave (review)
2. Mork Gryning – Hinsides Vrede (review)
3. Ondskapt – Grimoire Ordo Devus (review)
4. Akhlys – Melinoë (review)
5. Armagedda – Svindeldjup Ättestup (review)
6. Gaerea – Limbo (review)
7. Dark Fortress – Spectres from the Old World (review)
8. Abigor – Totschläger (A Saint Player’s Songbook) (review)
9. And Oceans – Cosmic World Mother (review)
10. Bythos – The Womb of Zero (review)
11. Naglfar – Cerecloth (review)
12. Auðn – Vökudraumsins fangi (review)
13. Prometheus – Resonant Echoes from Cosmos of Old (review)
14. Ymir – Ymir (review)
15. Serment – Chante, Ô Flamme De La Liberté (review)
16. Sombre Héritage – Alpha Ursae Minoris (review)
17. The Committee – Utopian Deception (review)
18. Faustian Pact – Outojen Tornien Varjoissa (review)
19. Korgonthurus – Kuolleestasyntynyt (review)
20. The True Werwolf – Devil Crisis (review)
21. Carach Angren – Franckensteina Strataemontanus (review)
22. Aversion Humanitatis – Behold The Silent Dwellers (review)
23. Nawaharjan – Lokabrenna (review)
24. Cultus Profano – Accursed Possession (review)

Meanwhile, death metal also delivered some kick-ass records. Looking for quality new old school death metal bands takes some digging, YouTube label channels have made my life easier on that respect. They promoted some of the best debut albums by bands such as Warp Chamber, Nekrovault, Solothus, Worm, Beast of Revelation, and many more. On the other hand, heavyweight groups like Vader, Necrot, and the gothic master’s Paradise Lost took social media by storm!!   

Additionally, American death metal bands like Skeletal Remains, and Void Rot, have also been favored among the fans. This year presented some great debut albums from bands like Bedsore, Plague, and Live Burial. I was really satisfied with what these bands offered. Other great death metal bands that I discovered this year were VoidCeremony, Undeath, and the funeral doom metal band Atramentus, on whom I will definitely keep an eye for future releases.

So, here is the complete list of the death metal albums that are featured on my top albums of the year 2020: 

1. Incantation – Sect of Vile Divinities (review)
2. Skeletal Remains – The Entombment of Chaos (review)
3. Of Feather and Bone – Sulfuric Disintegration (review)
4. Warp Chamber – Implements of Excruciation (review)
5. Worm – Gloomlord (review)
6. Beast of Revelation – The Ancient Ritual of Death (review)
7. Undeath – Lesions of a Different Kind (review)
8. VoidCeremony – Entropic Reflections Continuum:  Dimensional Unravel (review)
9. Atramentus – Stygian (review)
10. Neckrovault – Totenzug: Festering Peregrination (review)
11. Void Rot – Descending Pillars (review)
12. Bedsore – Hypnagogic Hallucinations (review)
13. Paradise Lost – Obsidian (review)
14. Vader – Solitude in Madness (review)
15. God Dethroned – Illuminati (review)
16. Caustic Wound – Death Posture (review)
17. Azarath – Saint Desecration (review)
18. Live Burial – Unending Futility (review)
19. Solothus – Realm of Ash & Bone (review)
20. Funeral Leech – Death Meditation (review)
21. Deeds of Flesh – Nucleus (review)
22. Coffin Curse – Ceased To Be (review)
23. Necrot – Mortal (review)
24. Demonical – World Domination (review)

Whenever I prepare my year’s end list, I always try to include other genres like heavy and thrash. One of the striking releases in heavy metal this year was Cirith Ungol’s fifth album. ‘Forever Black‘. Another great album is Eternal Champion’s sophomore album ‘Ravening Iron‘. As for thrash metal, the most exciting release was by Testament and the Teutonic thrash metal veterans Sodom.

Here is the list for thrash and heavy metal albums:

1. Sodom – Genesis XIX (review)
2. Testament – Titans of Creation (review)
3. Cirith Ungol – Forever Black (review)
4. Eternal Champion – Ravening Iron (review)

Now let’s dive into my actual top ten albums of the year 2020, go to the next page…