My personal favorite and the beginning of post metal.
Usually at the start of the year I begin listening to all the albums in the best of [year] lists. Somehow I never got around to it in 2020 so I am now a year behind. Anyway, I thought I’d share some of them that stood out to me.
I’ll start with three extreme/black metal albums in no particular order.
The ever brilliant Anaal Nathrakh had another great release in “Endarkenment”. This is “Create Art, Though the World May Perish”:
Napalm Death also stay true to form with “Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism”.
Zero Gravitas Chamber
Then there is Oranssi Pazuzu from Finland who play a form post-black metal that is modern yet clearly rooted in the 90s second wave.
“Kuulen ääniä maan alta” from “Mestarin kynsi”
Here are two somewhat more accessible albums:
Fear Factory released “Aggression Continuum” that reminds me in a good way of “Demanufacture”.
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine
I highly recommend Khemmis to anyone who likes Doom Metal. Their closest cousins outside of that genre could be Mastodon. So if you like them you might give their albums a listen or two.
“Shroud Of Lethe” from the 2021 album “Deceiver”
Did you ever get around to listen to any of the albums?
I did. I listened to some of the recommended albums here as well as some of the albums from the last couple of years that were highly rated by Allmusic.com. I liked them all, I would say that I find contemporary metal more enjoyable than say 1990s metal.
What strikes me the most is the drum work. Obviously “heavy metal guitar” is very distinctive and there’s lots of great solos and stuff, but it was the drumming that really caught my ear over and over again with the “wow” factor.
Shout out to Children of Bodom, whose lead guitarist Alexi Laiho died just over a year ago.
I was so into this band in high school that my friends and I started a band loosely modeled off of their music. This came out in 2000, when the lead guitarist was just 21. Incredibly, it was the fourth CD they released (and the third under the name Children of Bodom).
Children of Bodom was one of my favorite bands until they changed direction with “Are You Dead Yet?”. Their first 4 albums were great.
Two more albums that deservedly ended up on Metal Hammer’s Best of 2020 list:
For the most part, I am not a big fan of hardcore or metalcore. Most of it does too little to distinguish themselves from the rest but I guess - like tofu - if done right, it can be quite good.
Kvelertak blend hardcore with really excellent rock.
“Stevnemote med Satan” from “Splid”
Bury Tomorrow is a British metalcore band with a screaming vocalist that tag teams with the clean singing guitarist. They cite Killswitch Engage and Avenged Sevenfold as influences which can’t be denied.
“Imposter” from “Cannibal”
Glad you liked all the albums. Dave Lombardo is arguably the best metal drummer. I saw him once at a concert doing a drum solo and his arms were whirling around so fast that it looked like he must be an octopus.
Here are four songs from four different bands that he played in:
Apocalyptica - Last Hope
Grip Inc. - Ostracized
Testament - D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Frostcarrier - Ashes of the Dying River
Grim Rites - Church of False Light
Kvltfrost - We Have Always Been Dead
Empyrean Solitude - Longing for the Frostbitten Winds of Winter
Vampyric Rot - Altar of the Cursed Night
all these band names, album titles and cover art have been generated by an AI.