Heavy Metal Yeti's Best Metal Albums of 2020!

*Favourite Album Art*
Autoinducer - Germophobe

    One more time around the great celestial mosh pit brings us together again to take a look at some of our favourite metal albums of the last rotation. Last year I made an effort to get out to every single live show that caught my eye and this year I find myself in the biggest concert drought of my adult life. Things were a bit different this year due to a certain virus impacting every aspect of our lives. I think it may have even influenced my choice for favourite album art of the year... #Germophobe

    While all has been relatively well at Yeti HQ, I am desperately looking forward the days that I can feel the bass drum in my chest and clash with my brothers and sisters in the pit once again! There's been a silver lining to this madness however as 2020 was a year of live streams, drive in concerts, and metalhead innovation at its finest with some of metal's greatest talents taking to platforms like Twitch to connect with fans and create new avenues for support with no touring on the horizon. There's a reason we are the dominate species on this planet and we will weather this storm.

    Some fantastic metal albums came out this year! The underground continued to spew out wicked new releases with bands like Cryptic Shift, Undeath, Sweven, and Odious Mortem really catching my eye along with many new devastating death metal releases across the spectrum. So many bands delivered huge this year and there were certainly many front runners for AOTY depending on your taste. For me personally this list changes depending on my current state of mind but The Ocean Collective, Ulcerate, Intervals, and Eternal Champion absolutely crushed it without a doubt. We also got killer albums from metal giants like Napalm Death, Annihilator, Paradise Lost, Vader, Incantation, Benediction, Sepultura, Lamb of God, Testament, Ozzy, and Dark Tranquility. We even got some new Deftones and on top of all this, Carcass released an EP this year which could be an omen of things to come!

    Sadly though we lost way too many legends this year. Rest in peace Sean Malone, Sean Reinert, Reed Mullin, Neil Peart, Riley Gale, Eddie Van Halen, Pete Way, Peter Green, Brent Young, Lee Kerslake, Frankie Banali, Gordon Haskell, Alex Trebek, Mitch, Merlin and every other metalhead off to the great gig in the sky.

    I don't have much to report on this year for live shows with a everyone in the same boat of disappointment for cancelled or rescheduled festivals and shows. Missing the Mayhem/Abbath tour as well as the "evening with" double set Between the Buried and Me show hurt the worst for me I think. I did manage to get out to the Metallica drive in concert "PANDEMICA" and while it was nice to get out on a summer night to blast metal with friends outside of my living room, the pre-recorded show paled in comparison to some of the live streams we got this year. Speaking of live streams, god damn we had some gems. I watched Between the Buried and Me play Colors in its entirety sitting in a lawn chair on the edge of a lake in Northern Ontario. While I think every band gave us some sort of stream, some of my favourites were from BTBAM, Devin Townsend, Blood Incantation, Temple of Night, Lamb of God, Tesseract, and Obituary.   

    Overall, it's been one hell of a year for the human race and I find myself more than ever relying on the raw power of the music I love to keep me going. I hope everyone reading this is making out okay, and if you're not, keep holding on because sunny days and muddy festivals are on the way. Plague aside, it was another incredible year for metal releases. We all have a lot to look forwarrd to next year and all I can say is that the first mosh pit back is going to be an ABSOLUTE MASSACRE!! In the meantime, here are 30 of my favourite metal albums of 2020!! Cheers to every metalhead supporting underground music during these difficult months as we wait for the return of live shows and normal life! If we all mask up when needed and wash our dirty-ass hands, maybe we can have some live music sooner rather than later!! Cheers! /../;,,;/../

1. Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still
Technical Death Metal - Debemur Morti Productions
https://ulcerate.bandcamp.com/

2. Intervals - Circadian
Progressive Metal - Independent Release
https://intervalsmusic.bandcamp.com

3. Question - Reflections of the Void
Death Metal - Chaos Records
https://question-chaos-records.bandcamp.com/

4. Scarab - Martyrs of the Storm
Death Metal - ViciSolum Records
https://vicisolumrecords.com/album/martyrs-of-the-storm

5. Inferi - Of Sunless Realms
Technical Death Metal - The Artisan Era
https://inferi.bandcamp.com/

6. Odious Mortem - Synesthesia
Technical Death Metal - Willowtip Records
https://odiousmortem.bandcamp.com

7. The Ocean Collective - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic
Progressive Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://theocean.bandcamp.com

8. Bedsore - Hypnagogic Hallucinations
Progressive Death Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/hypnagogic-hallucinations

9. Cryptic Shift - Visitations from Enceladus
Technical Death Metal - Blood Harvest
https://cryptic-shift.bandcamp.com/

10. Spirit Adrift - Enlightened In Eternity
Heavy/Doom Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://spiritadrift.bandcamp.com

11. Uada - Djinn
Melodic Black Metal - Eisenwald
https://uada.bandcamp.com

12. Temple of Void - The World That Was
Death/Doom Metal - Shadow Kingdom Records
https://templeofvoid.bandcamp.com

13. Necrot - Mortal
Death Metal - Tankcrimes
https://necrot.bandcamp.com

14. Sylosis - Cycle of Suffering
Melodic Thrash Metal - Nuclear Blast
https://www.sylosis-band.com

15. Havukruunu- Uinuos Syömein Sota
Black Metal - Naturmacht Productions
https://hammerstunde.bandcamp.com

16. Testament - Titans of Creation
Thrash Metal - Nuclear Blast
http://www.testamentlegions.com

17. Protest The Hero - Palimpsest
Progressive Metal - Independent Release
https://protestthehero.bandcamp.com

18. Mors Principium Est- Seven
Melodic Death Metal -  AFM Records
https://merchbooth.net/mors-principium-est

19. Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind
Death Metal - Prosthetic Records
https://undeath.bandcamp.com

20. Hellripper - The Affair of the Poisons
Black/Speed Metal - Peaceville Records
https://hellripper.bandcamp.com

21. Skeleton - Skeleton
Thrash/Black Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/skeleton

22. Benediction - Scriptures
Death Metal - Nuclear Blast
https://benedictionband.bigcartel.com

23. VoidCeremony: Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
Progressive Death Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/entropic-reflections-continuum-dimensional-unravel

24. Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions
Progressive Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://www.facebook.com/Intronaut

25. Sojourner - Premonitions
Atmospheric Black Metal - Napalm Records
https://sojournermetal.bandcamp.com

26. Carnation - Where Death Lies
Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://www.carnationband.com

27. Ulthar - Providence
Death Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/providence

28. Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron
Epic Heavy Metal - Independent Release
https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com

29. Esoctrilihum - Eternity of Shaog
Black Metal - I, Voidhanger Records
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com

30. Void Rot - Descending Pillars
Death/Doom Metal - Everlasting Spew Records
https://voidrot.bandcamp.com/

EP OF THE YEAR:
Lutharö - Wings of Agony (EP)
Melodic Death Metal - Independent Release
https://lutharoband.bandcamp.com

Honourable mentions: Incantation, Abysmal Dawn, Napalm Death, Defeated Sanity, Skeletal Remains, Black Crown Initiate, Midnight, Draconian, Vile Creature, Imperial Triumphant, Sepultura, Havok, Dark Tranquility, Pyrrhon, Contrarian, Paradise Lost, Ripped to Shreds, Vader, Primitive Man, Paradise Lost, and so so many more!

If you're looking for even more new music to check out, here are my AOTY lists from previous years!
2019 - https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2019/12/heavy-metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of.html
2018 - https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2018/12/heavy-metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of_9.html
2017 - https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2018/03/heavy-metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of.html
2015/2016 - https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2016/12/metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of-2015.html
2014 - https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/heavy-metal-sasquatchs-top-fourteen.html

- Metal Yeti /../;,,;/../

Heavy Metal Yeti's Best Metal Albums of 2018!

*Favourite Album Art*
Mammoth Grinder - Cosmic Crypt

   Earth's molten metal core has circled the sun once again and it's been a hell of a journey!! 2018 was a year full of ups and downs for metalheads as well. Machine Head as we know it called it quits, Batushka are on the rocks, Slayer played some of the last live shows we'll ever see, Blood Music is shutting down, social justice warriors took down Pestilence, Pat O'Brien from Cannibal Corpse got in trouble, Cory Taylor and Rob Flynn got mad at a bunch of people again, and Devildriver released a god damn country album. All the while over, way too may killer bands went on hiatus and we're still waiting for a new Tool album... As always I want to raise a glass and give cheers to the metalheads we lost this year. Rust in Peace Vinnie Paul, Erik Lindmark, Jill Janus, Bret Hoffmann, Mikio Fujioka, Randy Rampage, Carsten Otterbach, Oli Herbert, Stan Lee, and every other metalhead off to the great gig in the sky /,,/

   But all was not lost with the year of the never-ending Nightwish Tour producing some absolutely awesome live tours and some of the best metal releases I've heard in years! Killer new bands like Alien Weaponry and Conjurer released their first full length albums and heavy hitters like Between the Buried and Me and Pig Destroyer found their sound again, with Voice of Trespass being one of he most unique and progtastic metal songs I heard this year. Even better, while all this was happening some of the old guards like Judas Priest, Anvil, Satan, Voivod, Dimmu Borgir, Deicide, Metal Church, Kalmah, Venom, and Cryptospy all put out new material this year.

   It was hard to keep track of all the releases this year, but here are my top 20 albums of 2018! /,,/ For me, album of the year has changed a few times. When I made my list early in December, The Ocean Collective stole my heart with their latest release in geological time; Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic. Phanerozoic is a modern prog metal masterpiece, delivering unbelievable power and atmosphere throughout every song. I kept finding myself coming back to this album, for some reason eerily relating to the Sea Scorpions caught up in the great dying. But as the month went on and I kept listening to my top albums, Rivers of Nihil's Where Owls Know My Name had a bigger impact on me than it originally had earlier in the year. It is for this reason that I have moved them into the pole position as my favourite release of the year. There is something about death metal saxophone that is just too hard to resist I guess!

   While I may have missed a few releases here and there, these are my favourite and most listened to albums from the past year. If you haven't checked any of them out already, take some time to broaden your metal horizons! Cheers to all the metalheads around the world and here's hoping that the next few years take a lesson from 2018 and offer up some more magnificent metal for our headbanging pleasure. Feel free to post your top albums in the comments! /,,/

1. Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://www.metalblade.com/riversofnihil

2. The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic 
Progressive Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://theocean.bandcamp.com

3. Inferi - Revenant
Melodic/Technical Death Metal - The Artisan Era 
https://inferi.bandcamp.com

4. Irreversible Mechanism - Immersion
Progressive Death Metal - Blood Records
https://blood-music.bandcamp.com

5. Between the Buried and Me - Automata I & II 
Progressive Metal - Sumerian Records
http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com

6. GOROD - ÆTHRA
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Overpowered Records
https://youtu.be/GOROD

7. Beyond Creation - Algorythm
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://beyondcreation.bandcamp.com

 8. Obscura - Diluvium
 Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Relapse Records
 https://obscura.bandcamp.com

 9. Alkaloid - Liquid Anatomy
Progressive/Technical Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://alkaloidsom.bandcamp.com

10. Revocation - The Outer Ones
Technical Death/Thrash Metal - Metal Blade Records
https://revocationband.bandcamp.com

11. Psycroptic - As the Kingdom Drowns 
Technical Death Metal - Prosthetic Records
http://psycroptic.com

12. Conjurer - Mire
Sludge / Doom Metal - Holy Roar Records
https://conjureruk.bandcamp.com

13. Alterbeast - Feast
Technical Death Metal - Unique Leader Records
https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/Alterbeast

14. Black Fast - Spectre of Ruin
Progressive Thrash Metal - eOne
https://youtu.be/BlackFast

15. Smoulder - The Sword Woman
Epic Doom Metal - Independent
https://smoulder.bandcamp.com

16. Horrendous - Idol 
Progressive Death Metal - Season of Mist
https://horrendoussom.bandcamp.com

 

17. At The Gates - To Drink From the Night Itself 
Melodic Death Metal - Century Media Records
http://atthegates.se

18. Judas Priest - Firepower 
Heavy Metal - Columbia Records
http://www.judaspriest.com

 

19. Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light
Melodic Death/Thrash Metal - Prosthetic Records
https://skeletonwitch.bandcamp.com

20. Khemmis - Desolation 
Doom Metal - 20 Buck Spin
https://listen.20buckspin.com/Khemmis

Honourable mentions: Sulphur Aeon, Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Mammoth Grinder, Jungle Rot, Gravespell, Voivod, YOB, Kalmah, Gruesome, Immortal, Dee Snider, Necrophobic, Panopticon, Krisiun, Tomb Mold, Harakiri For The Sky, Soulfly, Skeletal Remains, Sleep, and all the other bands that made 2018 a kick ass year for metal!! /,,/

If you liked this list check out my past AOTY lists to see if there is anything you've missed!!
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2018/03/heavy-metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of.html
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2016/12/metal-yetis-best-metal-albums-of-2015.html
https://heavymetalsasquatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/heavy-metal-sasquatchs-top-fourteen.html