Music 2020 Was Awful but Was the Music Good? (2020 d1p AOTY Lists)

[Keyser_Soze]

2020 obviously was not a great year but did that hold back the music? Hard to say. Time to post your album of the year lists. You know the drill

 

 

History

2019 Albums of the Year

2018 Albums of the Year

[Nokt]

Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible

Notable Songs: Satellites, Dreamers Hotel, Crossing the Rubicon

I really feel Enter Shikari hit their stride with this album. Granted there are some songs on this album that I will never even attempt to listen to again, but so many good, catchy songs that I found myself listening to on repeat throughout the year.

 

Machine Gun Kelly - Tickets to My Downfall

Notable Songs: Forget Me Too, Bloody Valentine, My Ex's Best Friend

I was not digging this album at all when it first came out, but once I finally sat down and listened to it, took me straight back to Jr High. Back when stuff like Good Charlotte and Green Day was everywhere. I found myself enjoying the album more and more the more I listen to it.

 

Bring Me the Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror

Notable Songs: Dear Diary, Kingslayer, Teardrops

Half of this EP came out as singles well before the album was put together. Ludens was for Death Stranding, Obey and Parasite Eve came out months in advance of the album. While I wasn't huge on those songs Dear Diary, Kingslayer, and Teardrops were pretty solid songs. Kingslayer in particular was stuck in my head for a long time. Its so hard to not sing along with babymetal. Plus Mick Gordon produced parts of the album and you can definitely tell the influence.

 

System96 - Memories

If you need a solid synthwave album to listen to while cruising look no further.

Notable Songs: Emerald, Unbound

 

Singles List (because good songs shouldn't be ignored):

Caleborate - Clicquot Shower

System96 - Dream

Project AER, WYS - After Sunset (technically on a compilation album)

 

 

[CayceG]

Run the Jewels, RTJ4

 

 

Sturgill Simpson, Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

 

 

[SimpleG]

My best in no order

Ulcerate- Stare Into Death And Be Still

New Zealand Tech Atmo Death

 

Marilyn Manson- We are Chaos

A blind buy for me, that I completely fell for, its MM love letter to David Bowie.

 

All Them Witches- Nothing As The Ideal

Stoner, folk, Americana rock album. It was another blind buy for me, it gets heavy rotation at the house.

 

Nothing- The Great Dismal

A mash up of Alternative and Shoegaze

 

Ulver- Flowers Of Evil

Not sure what to call it but its damn good

 

Gaerea- Limbo

Portuguese Black Metal

 

 

Loviator- Lightless

Canadian Doom

 

Scolopendra- Those Of The Catacombs

Italian Death that sounds like it was recorded in a grindhouse or in the back of a porno theater.

 

Miley Cyrus- Plastic Hearts

Come at me Bro!

 

Intoxicated- Walled

Floridian Thrash/Death

 

 

Honorable Mentions

 

 

 

Earth Rot- Black Tides Of Obscurity

Blackened Death

 

Akhlys - Melinoe

Fantastic black metal but the production turns this into a brick wall and Naas is appears to be a full on white supremist so its hard to listen to when there is much other stuff to listen to thats as good or better.  

 

[Fizzzzle]

My music taste has changed so much this year due to how much more time I've spent listening to music, so it's hard to say

 

Post Human Survival Horror by Bring me the Horizon is probably my overall favorite. 

[Keyser_Soze]

On 12/28/2020 at 1:06 PM, SimpleG said:

Miley Cyrus- Plastic Hearts

Come at me Bro!

 

No hate from me here. I actually enjoyed Bangerz somewhat and Can't be Tamed to a lesser degree. I saw she had an album out this year and I asked myself, "Is this worth listening to, and if it was good could I put it in consideration for AOTY?" So this might actually get me to check it out when I otherwise might not have. 👍

[Bjomesphat]

I've been listening to a ton of punk and post-hardcore lately. Which is pretty new for me as I'm usually into indie rock or experimental pop stuff.

 

My favorites this year:

 

The Microphones - The Microphones in 2020

For me this is like Twin Peaks coming back, or X-Files returning, or all of this old media I grew up with having a revival, except completely nailing it. The Microphones will always be my favorite band/artist of all time and was pretty single-handedly responsible for getting me into more obscure music in the early 00s. After he retired The Microphones in 2005, I just figured that project was dead for good. This album in 2020 is so perfect and a beautiful evolution of his sound while also revisiting what made The Microphones so special. (for those wondering, my elephant icon is from a Microphones album cover)

 

Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream

This is a name I've always heard over the years, but I never took the time to check out their stuff. I pretty much spent the whole summer listening to this and their back catalog. I also picked up every record of theirs on vinyl. I haven't had a new favorite band in years and they're definitely at the top now. Very throwback 90s alt rock / punk but with an insane amount of energy and fuck the man lyrics.

 

Dogleg - Melee

If you like late 90s early 00s emo, this is the best revival you could hope for. And not the pop punk stuff that emo turned into, but like Fugazi and At the Drive In era. This is probably the best album of the year, and will probably be one of the best this decade. It's insane how good it is. And apparently at their live shows, you can challenge one of the band members to a game of Melee, and if you win you can have any merch you want. No one has ever won. The dude is that good.

 

Touche Amore - Lament

I haven't really listened to post-hardcore since like highschool, but these guys hit all the right notes for me. There's even hints of like post-rock and shoegazey stuff too which is really awesome.

 

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Minimalist folk with a beautiful soundscape and tons of layers and texture. It's definitely a headphones album with all of the subtlety in the music.

 

Tame Impala - The Slow Rush

It's Tame Impala, come on.

 

Trace Mountains - Lost in the Country

Kind of indie rock, kind of folk. This one resonated with me a lot as I moved to the rural country last year, and this album kind of encapsulates that feeling in sound. Nice and poignant too.

 

Of Montreal - Ur Fun

It's probably the best Of Montreal has been in 5 years or so. Still haven't hit the highs they've hit in the past, decent album and throwback 80s pop record.

 

Helado Negro - This is How You Smile

Nostalgic and poignant. Very dreamy and ambient. Love this one.

 

Cloud Nothings - The Black Hole Understands

I think this will grow on me. Cloud Nothings is one of my favorite indie rock / post-hardcore bands, but they kind of stripped that energy off this album. It's not bad, just not what I was expecting. However it seems like their 2021 album will be a return to form.

 

Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open

This album is fine I guess, but this is coming from the band that should be the next huge indie rock act so it's kind of disappointing. I dunno, I think the frontman has some distaste for his fans, and pretty much said fuck you on this record and just did something completely different and off brand. It's almost like his previous self-aware pretentiousness just turned into pretentious. I still dig it though.

[DPCyric]

@SimpleG The Miley Cyrus isn't the questionable album on that list fyi.

 

I am sure I can get a top 10 together eventually just been busy with a ton of other stuff. I know the new T. Swift and Black Crown Initiate will be on my list but there was a ton of great albums out last year.

[SimpleG]

1 hour ago, DPCyric said:

 The Miley Cyrus isn't the questionable album on that list fyi

Considering it says right at the top 

 

On 12/28/2020 at 3:06 PM, SimpleG said:

My best in no order

 

[DPCyric]

21 hours ago, SimpleG said:

Considering it says right at the top 

 

 

 

I was implying that another album on your list is more questionable  I don't really care for Miley's voice but it still is like a 4/5 album for me!

 

Edit: I also don't anyone here is pretensious enough to hate on it just because it's pop.

 

[Phaseknox]

My top 23 albums of 2020 (in alphabetical order):

 

Absurd Minds - Sapta

Ad Infinitum - Chapter I: Monarchy

Amaranthe - Manifest

Assemblage 23 - Mourn

Beyond the Black - Horizons

The Birthday Massacre - Diamonds

Clan of Xymox - Spider on the Wall

Delain - Apocalypse & Chill

Diabulus in Musica - Euphonic Entropy

In This Moment - Mother

Leaves’ Eyes - The Last Viking

Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

Mono Inc. - The Book of Fire

Nightwish - Human Nature

Pig - Pain is God

Rotersand - How Do You Feel Today?

Secret Rule - Against

Semblant - Obscura

Seven Spires - Emerald Seas

Stitched Up Heart - Darkness

Trivium - What the Dead Men Say

Unleash the Archers - Abyss

Volturian - Crimson

[DPCyric]

1. Black Crown Initiate "Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape"

 

2. Draconian "Under A Godless Veil"

 

3. Azure Emote "The Third Perspective"

 

4. Amaranthe "Manifest"

 

5. Unleash The Archers "Abyss"

 

6. Aether Realm "Redneck Vikings From Hell"

 

7. Steve Von Till "No Wilderness Deep Enough"

 

8. Taylor Swift "Evermore"

 

9. Green Carnation "Leaves of Yesteryear"

 

10. Melted Bodies "Enjoy Yourself"

 

Honorable Mention: Ravenscry "100"

 

Best E.P. (G) I-DLE "Oh my god"

 

[BloodyHell]

I can't remember the last time I bought or listened to a whole album. I generally just buy single songs.

 

I don't listen to enough music because I prefer podcasts in general.

[Keyser_Soze]

2020 was a challenging year for everyone, but the music scene also suffered a lot. The beginning of the year seemingly saw most of the music releases and then there was a drought. So much of a drought I started doing that 1992 albums thing for fun. But as the year came to a conclusion some good albums started dropping. By the end I felt like the quality of music rose a bit making this an alright time for music, even if we were all stuck at home.

 

Special Awards

 

Most Disappointing Album: Blackpink -  The Album

 

This is going to upset a lot of the blinks out there but the more I hear from Blackpink the less into it I get. Personally I had been waiting since their debut in 2016, which blew me away, for a full album. After a handful of singles and mini albums, 2020 would be the year they dropped their first album. It's a beautiful package actually. I big shiny box (4 different versions) with a hardbound picture book inside and a whole bunch of goodies. But get to the music and it's quite uninspiring. The album clocks in at 24 minutes which is disappointing enough but the music, while not bad, it is lacking variety. I think if you look at a lot of other K-Pop groups (or maybe many artists in general) the songs change up. There's singing, melody, and good hooks. For the most part the music on this album are very similar ostentatious bass beats. The lyrics for the most part are hogwash and the inclusion of guest appearances from Selena Gomez and Cardi B are just a waste of time. I think my main disappointment comes from that when this group first hit I thought they would be the next 2NE1, but they aren't even close. They're like a pretty girl rap group, which might be for some but it's starting to wear thin for me.

 

Best Cover Song: Caligula's Horse - Don't Give Up

Originally recorded by Peter Gabriel this cover of Don't Give Up accomplishes the rare feat of not only being good but better than the original. Caligula's Horse has the luxury of not only being a technically proficient band but they also happen to have a great vocalist. The original song is a lot more electronic and subdued but the cover has a bit more bite and both of the vocal performances are better. In any case this is the correct way to record a cover song.

 

Philanthropist of the Year: Devin Townsend

In a pandemic year where no one could go anywhere or do anything, Devin Townsend hunkered down and gave us oodles for free content. He gave us a series of podcasts, a somewhat retrospective of his career, that were quite informative actually. He released some goofy ambient songs and such. Most importantly he had 4 quarantine concerts. Some free (he put them up on youtube) and some were just five dollars, but totally worth it and all of them were super fun. So Devin Townsend gets a special shout out for 2020 for all keeping us smiling.

 

Regular Awards

Honorable Mentions

 

BoA - BETTER

BoA has been bringing us music for 20 years now. This one happens to be her latest album and it's pretty fun, a lot of variation as you'd expect. Also her second Korean language album in a row, if you find any significance in that fact.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Kylie Minogue - DISCO

If you thought 20 years was a lot, Kylie has been bringing us music for over 30 years! Disco is a high energy album that shows us all that she's still got something left in the tank. It certainly evokes the mood of the album's namesake. Bringing something fun and energetic to a year that was anything but.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song

A hard album to describe but thought it was pretty good. A former nurse turned electronic musicians, she brings some very tight song compositions. But also leans a bit on the indie side because she sings too. There's also a song on here featuring John Cale so she must have some pull. I wasn't into her first album for whatever reason but I really enjoyed this one.

 

Spoiler

 

 

TOP TEN

 

10

 

Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide

 

 

At some point I've probably described Aesop Rock as the Dennis Miller of rappers, in a good way of course. His lyrics are poetic and somewhat complex, you might not grasp what he's saying until you hear it a couple of more times. The album title kind of alludes to the nature of the album actually being about his world travels. Sleeper Car for instance is about a trip to Thailand and Holy Waterfall about a trip to Cambodia. "The strays in the plaza look happier than my neighbors, They answer to Paddington Bear in waders, It's amazers" Amazers indeed.

 

Spoiler

 

 

9

 

Hail Spirit Noir - Eden in Reverse

 

 

I actually had some praise for this band back in 2016 when they released Mayhem in Blue. This album is actually a bit different. They've let up on the harsh vocals, so now they are kind of like straight up kind of a psychedelic metal type of band, well on this album at least. Some of the guitar riffs kind of remind me of Opeth and the vocals are kind of like Solefald at times. Overall it's a very trippy and spacey feeling album and I think the lack of harsh vocals is very fitting. A strange trip (in a good way) for sure.

 

Spoiler

 

 

8

 

Koven - Butterfly Effect

 

 

Koven is one of those electronic groups, a DJ and a singer. It's kinda dubstepish (Drumstep?) but it's also a lot of things. Sometimes you just want to hear a nice voice (Katie Boyle) sing over electronic music and that's what this album gave me and I found it to be enjoyable.

 

Spoiler

 

 

7

 

Havukruunu - Uinuos syömein sota

 

 

These guys are a type of a vikingish / folk black metal group. Pretty uptempo music for the most part, not depressive like a lot of black metal. Certainly not a sound that appeals to everyone but it is fun and interesting.

 

Spoiler

 

 

6

 

Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void

 

 

It's interesting that I did that albums of 1992 list earlier last year and this band actually happened to be on it, their second album to be precise. Sometime after 1999 this band took a long hiatus and this album is in fact their first studio album since 1996! Judging this album based on their old material I would say that the vocals are maybe a little bit more tolerable and the songs are a bit more focused. Overall great songwriting and a great comeback for a band out of the scene for a while, it's like they never missed a step.

 

Spoiler

 

 

5

 

PassCode - Strive

 

 

I actually enjoyed PassCode's  2017 album, ZENITH, a great deal. They released a couple of albums in between this new one and that 2017 album but none of them really blew me away. But this one is a return to form. If you're unfamiliar with the band they're like a J-Pop electronic metal hybrid band, they don't play the instruments but they do the singing and one of them, Yuna, does the cookie monster vocals. If you weren't into them before this won't change your mind but if you've been a fan you'll likely be pleased with this release.

 

Spoiler

 

 

4

 

John Pettrucci - Terminal Velocity

 

 

Dream Theater has had some questionable releases over recent years so the question is, "does Pettrucci have anything left in the tank creatively?" The answer is this album and turns out it is a enthusiastic "yes!" - Not much to say here. Lot's of cool guitar songs and Mike Portnoy on the drums. It's like old times.

 

Spoiler

 

 

3

 

Pain of Salvation - Panther

 

 

I had actually been following this album throughout the year. The band would release several singles up till release, each one sounding very different. In fact I memed with @Greatoneshere about it, not sure if he even liked the band but acted as if he did. The sound of the first couple of songs was unexpected, not really straight up rock like their previous albums. Some poked fun at some of the songs (Panther) calling them Linkin Park of Salvation and at first blush it was odd but after several listens it turned out to be a great song. But there are a ton of other great songs on the album that sound like traditional Pain of Salvation, "Wait" being a huge highlight. In any case I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. It turned out to be a stellar album.

 

Spoiler

 

 

2

 

Dark Tranquillity - Moment

 

 

Funny enough I had also been following this album throughout the year as well and this album could have been a disaster. You had the pandemic, the guitarist left in the middle of making the album. But this turned out to be another album I enjoyed more than I thought I would. It's clear that Niklas Sundin's guitar style is absent. In fact the new guitarist, Christopher Amott, didn't even attempt to emulate it. Normally this would be a big problem but they ended up getting it to work. The albums is a bit more slower and melodic than the rest of their albums so perhaps the Sundin riffs would have felt out of place. But in any case like I said they got it to work and the album turned out fantastic.

 

Spoiler

 

 

1

 

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

 

 

If there was ever an album that released at the right time it is this one. Half fun songs, half political songs it was very topical to current events even before the events of George Floyd. El-P's production is spot on as always and great lyrics. Not only is it the album of the year it's probably the best Run the Jewels album period. The charity concert they aired on cartoon network was also a nice touch, just icing on the cake for such an amazing album.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Greatoneshere]

Pain of Salvation is genuinely good and I'm glad you introduced me to them!

[Guest]

Radiohead - OK Computer

[Iculus]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

Radiohead - OK Computer

the thread is ambiguous. did you like it?

[GeneticBlueprint]

 

Kvelertak - Splid

 

Norwegian hard rock that blends modernity with some 90s alt edge and 70s rock n' roll grooviness.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Fires in the Distance - Echoes From Deep November

 

Gothic and doomy melodeath with lots of pianos and synths.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Myrkur - Folkesange

 

Not white nationalist but #1 with white nationalists. Beautiful Nordic folk tunes about the area's culture and history.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Abysmal Dawn - Phylogenesis

 

No frills no gimmicks just straight up death metal packed to the brim with groovy, crushing guitar riffs.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Testamant - Titans of Creation

 

I have no idea how guys who have been doing this for almost 40 years still have so much gas in the tank.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions

 

Off-beat grooves and long instrumental sections punctuate catchy and harmonious dark melodies.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Cloudkicker - Solitude

 

Fuzzy instrumental grooves with shovels full of melody heaped on top. In the sample song below... the way the song builds into the last guitar riff in the last 45 seconds or so of the song is just orgasmic. And the album does that quite a bit.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Protest the Hero - Palimpsest

 

Written before all the nastiness of 2020 but still somehow all about 2020--racism, shitty government, disease, and death--because white people are the fucking worst. Also the music is just awesome.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Elder - Omens

 

An absolutely epic, progressive masterpiece full of catchy riffs and down-tuned grooves with gobs and gobs of classic rock vibe.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Unleash the Archers - Abyss

 

A little blurb couldn't possibly tell how much I love this album. It ticks every single box that gives me a musical boner:

✓ Metal

✓ Longer songs

✓ Grooves

✓ Melody

✓ Variation

✓ Concept album

 

Vocalist Brittney Slayes absolutely brings it on this album. She has incredible range. The guitar players added a seventh string and then proceed to use all seven strings which is always a plus. These guys used to be pigeon-holed into the power metal genre but that was never quite right. And this album above all their others shows all that they can do... which is pretty much everything. And it all works. The only thing I would complain about on this album is that their bass player left the band between this release and their previous full-length. That component on their previous albums did a lot of work whereas here it's just tracking the guitars and a little buried in the mix.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Dang. I didn't know Myrkur had a new one out.

[GeneticBlueprint]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

Dang. I didn't know Myrkur had a new one out.

 Yeah. It came out earlier in the year. It's relaxing and chill.

[Keyser_Soze]

Also I listened to that Cloudkicker and Protest the Hero album and figured they might make your list.