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Recap 2020


Thumbs up: +1
Using MSA's to organize my listening from 2020.

Created by: LifelikeAdvisor | 13.02.2021



1. Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment
(9) This album is amazing. My most played album of 2020. Favorite Track: Singularity
2. The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic
(9) While a couple songs feel less interesting to me, the beginning and end of the album are classics. Favorite Track: Pleistocene
3. Envy - The Fallen Crimson
(9) I'm not in love with every song, but something about the blend of the beautiful composition and the poetic lyrics hits me pretty hard. Favorite Track: HIKARI
4. Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion
(9) Would have been a 10 except for a few bits in the middle that overstayed their welcome. Favorite Track: Nervous Waltz
5. Paradise Lost - Obsidian
(9) Love how nostaligc the sound makes me. Favorite song: Darker Thoughts
6. Boisson Divine - La Halha
(9) So damn fun and catchy. Favorite Track: La Sicolana
7. Saurom - Música
(9) So damn fun and catchy. Favorite Track: El Queso Rodante
8. Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November
(9) Surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Favorite Track: The Lock And The Key
9. Thy Catafalque - Naiv
(9) brilliant musicianship and engaging throughout. Favorite Track: Tsitsushka
10. Skyforest - A New Dawn
(9) the atmoshphere makes for a dramatic journey and really does its job to transport you. Favorite Track: Along The Waves
11. Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
(9) Loved every minute of this fantastic album. Favorite Track: Excelsior
12. Neptunian Maximalism - Éons
(9) Incredible musicianship and a fantastic ride. Favorite Track: Enūma Eli?
13. Sylosis - Cycle Of Suffering
(9) Fantastic. Favorite Track: Devils In Their Eyes
14. Sepultura - Quadra
(9) I really enjoy the different approaches in this album, especially as I've not listened to much Sepultra. Great introduction. Favorite Track: Capital Enslavement
15. Pain Of Salvation - Panther
(8) This is incredibly digestible with plenty of engaging experimentation. Very engaging production enhances the atmosphere. Favorite Track: Icon
16. Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II
(8) Lush. I love the creative flow and genius of this album. Favorite Track: On The Way
17. Mountaineer - Bloodletting
(8) The warmth of the tracks and the balance between light and heavy moments make this a fantastic listen. Favorite Track: Shot Through With Sunlight
18. Déluge - Ægo Templo
(8) The intensity and fervor of this album is only matched by its compositional beauty. Favorite Track: Gloire Au Silence
19. Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence
(8) The Western themes and imagery really worked to set this apart from other sounds. Favorite Track: Vaudeville
20. Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator Of God
(8) Really fantastic work that shows incredible versatility. Favorite Track: Deep Set
21. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
(8) Great release from amazing musicians. Favorite Track: Dream Gone Bad
22. Vulkan - Technatura
(8) Favorite Track: Bewildering Conception Of Truth
23. Crippled Black Phoenix - Ellengæst
(8) Great atmosphere and emotion. Favorite Track: The Invisible Past
24. Body Count - Carnivore
(8) Ice-T is great and this album kicks ass. Favorite Track: The Hate is Real
25. Aeternam - Al Qassam
(8) Nice blend of melody with middle eastern backdrops. Favorite Track: Palmyra Scriptures
26. Enslaved - Utgard
(8) Really smooth album, definitely an album that will grow on me. Favorite Track: Homebound
27. Necrophobic - Dawn Of The Damned
(8) I'm usually bored by the usual satanic black metal but this was fun, exciting, and pummeling in the best way. Favorite Track: Mirror Black
28. Unleash The Archers - Abyss
(8) First time listening to this band and I enjoyed it, if it felt a little less than satisfactory on the musicality side. Definitely need another listen. Favorite Track: Faster Than Light
29. Black Crown Initiate - Violent Portraits Of Doomed Escape
(8) solid prog metal. Favorite Track: Years in Frigid Light
30. Daniel Tompkins - Ruins
(8) Enjoyable solo effort by a great singer. Favorite Track: Stains of Betrayal
31. Cloudkicker - Solitude
(8) Great instrumental album with catchy lines. Favorite Track: Code Language
32. Vredehammer - Viperous
(8) Loved the synth blended into the death metal. Favorite Track: Aggressor
33. Cytotoxin - Nuklearth
(8) Reminiscient of Cattle Decapitation. Favorite Track: Lupus Aurora
34. Gaerea - Limbo
(8) Fantastic blend of post and black metal. Favorite Track: To Ain
35. Ad Infinitum - Chapter I: Monarchy
(7) Vocals are fantastic and this is a great listen. I got a little bored with the music and can only hope they add more interesting elements to match the vocals. Favorite Track: Revenge
36. Dark Tranquillity - Moment
(7) Emjoyable riffs and melody, I just wish it was more consistent throughout. Favorite Track: Phantom Days
37. Pull Down The Sun - Of Valleys And Mountains
(7) Great debut album, minus some issues I have with the vocals and borrowing from other bands. That said, the last half of the album felt like a more mature sound for them. Looking forward to their next album. Favorite Track: Salt Of The Earth
38. Dawn Of Solace - Waves
(7) Mikko's voice is great and music plays well. Favorite Track: Lead Wings
39. Deafkids - Deafbrick [Collaboration]
(7) Fun, chuncky industrial. Favorite Track: Mega-Ritual
40. Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full [Collaboration]
(7) Emma's voice and the incorporation of post-metal made this an interesting listen. Favorite Track: Into Being
41. Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night
(7) It's great prog but something about it doesn't quite click with me. Powerful ending tracks though. Favorite Track: The Last Song
42. Bloody Tyrant - 島嶼神話 (Myths Of The Islands)
(7) The folk elements are great but doesn't hold my attention as much as I'd like. Favorite Track: 鬼湖 (Sacred Lake)
43. Countless Skies - Glow
(7) Beautiful soundscape that didn't quite reach the heights I wanted. Favorite Track: Tempest
44. Sacred Outcry - Damned For All Time
(7) Not all the songs clicked with me but I loved the music and storytelling. Power metal is always an iffy genre for me. Favorite Track: Damned For All Time
45. Dark Fortress - Spectres From The Old World
(7) I liked the incorporation of cleans and progressive tones. Favorite Track: Pali Aike
46. Garganjua - Toward The Sun
(7) This is almost up my alley, but something about it doesn't click with me. Favorite Track: Mire
47. ...And Oceans - Cosmic World Mother
(7) There's a lot of interesting things going on, probably gets a higher score with more listens. Favorite Track: As The After Becomes The Before
48. Kvaen - The Funeral Pyre
(7) Great melodies and energy; something that will grow on me. Favorite Track: Yee Naaldlooshii
49. Green Druid - At The Maw Of Ruin
(7) Very enjoyable stoner metal with a touch of the darker elements of metal. Favorite Track: The Forest Dark
50. Cirith Ungol - Forever Black
(7) Vocals take getting used to but decent heavy metal. Favorite Track: Legions Arise
51. Draconian - Under A Godless Veil
(7) Enjoyable goth doom, just not my favorite genre. Favorite Track: The Sethian
52. Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions
(7) I don't really click with Intronaut, but their talent is obvious. Favorite Track: The Cull
53. Shedfromthebody - A Dead And Aimless Hum
(7) Enjoyed the atmosphere and ethereal vocals but the album struggled to keep my attention. Favorite Track: Sol
54. Stygian Crown - Stygian Crown
(7) good, chunky doom. favorite track: when old gods die
55. Plini - Impulse Voices
(7) Interesting listen. Favorite Track: Perfume
56. Kekal - Quantum Resolution
(7) Interesting and creative, but didn't hold my attention as well. Favorite Track: Quiet Eye
57. Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers
(7) Solid black metal. Favorite Track: The Wanderer of Abstract Paths
58. Rezn - Chaotic Divine
(7) Good stoner metal, but doesn't do much for me beyond a few songs. Favorite Song: Emerging
59. Jupiterian - Protosapien
(7) crushing atmosphere. Favorite Track: Mere Humans
60. Trivium - What The Dead Men Say
(7) First time listening to Trivium since 2007, not bad. Favorite Track: The Defiant
61. Black Fate - Ithaca
(6) Loved the Kamelot vibes but few of the songs resonated with me. Great vocalist though. Favorite Track: Ithaca
62. Black Royal - Firebride
(6) Dumb fun but without much to keep me interested. Favorite Track: Hail Yourself
63. Irist - Order Of The Mind
(6) Love the Gojira vibes, but little to diversify their sound. Favorite Track: Severed



Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
[ More lists by LifelikeAdvisor ]




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