As 2020 comes to a close, so do the articles reflecting on the past year in the entertainment press. For my full thoughts on the year, you can check out my article for Moshville Times, however I thought it would be fun to do the first list on Critical Madness looking at some of my favourite songs from 2020. So many great records came out this year and it was tough picking just 10!
Any list on Critical Madness will ultimately be my opinion or my favourites from the chosen topic that hopefully gets you interested in something new. Let’s get into it!
1. Sodom - “Dehumanized” from Genesis XIX
Anyone who knows me well knows that old-skool German thrashers Sodom are my favourite band, and naturally Genesis XIX is one of my favourite albums of 2020. It was tough to pick a song as I love them all (the title track,"Euthanasia", "Night mehr mein Land" and "Glock 'n' Roll" were contenders) however listening back, “Dehumanised” got my head banging the most with its high speed brutality and blasting death metal moments.
2. Finntroll - “Ormfolk” from Vredesvävd
As soon as I heard the first single from Finntroll’s long-awaited 7th studio LP, I was hooked and knew it would be one my favourite songs of the year. I’m still not bored of it. It has lots of classic Finntroll vibes with the bouncing humppa folk energy and a more atmospheric black metal sound, reminiscent of classic tracks like "Vindfärd/Människopesten" and "Solsagan" . I love the band’s campy moments (that came in spades on previous album Blodsvept) but they’re toned down on Vredesvävd making for a more epic sounding album.
3. Lady Gaga - “911” from Chromatica
Like with Finntroll, I can’t get enough of this song. It took me some time to get into Gaga but after Chromatica I fully dived into her back catalogue and came out a fan. The album is full of great, catchy, retro electronic dance songs but “911” stood out to me. Being one of the darker tracks, it naturally caught me but the heavy disco beat (which could be seriously heavier with some crunchy guitar!), hooky chorus and clever use of autotune made it a regular play. The video is also epic, artistic and captures the lyrical theme brilliantly.
4. Ihsahn - “Manhattan Skyline” (featuring Einar Solberg) from Pharos EP
This one was a really refreshing listen. For no particular reason, Ihsahn dropped off my radar after the Das Seelenbrechen album which saw him amp up his progressive style. I discover his two new EPs Telemark and Pharos and love the direction he’s going in outside of his legendary black metal outfit Emperor. Pharos is the lighter of the two, using generally simple riffing that blends heavy and light sounds well. Opener “Losing Altitude” nearly made this list as it really spoke to me, however this A-ha cover has been on constant rotation since I heard it. The heavy chorus slaps and the whole song sounds huge. Einar Solberg’s vocals are stunning and powerful. All in all awesome.
5. Onslaught - “Strike Fast Strike Hard” from Generation Antichrist
English thrash legends Onslaught have released a consistent series of killer albums since their comeback with 2007’s raging Killing Peace. They’ve put out arguably their best album in 2020 with Generation Antichrist. Every track slays and “Strike Fast Strike Hard” sets the tone. Fast, heavy, topical, catchy and with an awesome vocal performance from new frontman David Garnett. 2020 has been a great year for thrash.
6. Convulse - “Whirlwind” from Deathstar
I’m still pretty new to Convulse, having only checked out their classic death metal debut World Without God about a year ago. I found out their new album was going to be more interesting and progressive and upon checking out Deathstar I was blown away (save for a couple of the songs). Second number “Whirlwind” quickly became my favourite. It has an almost melodic black metal feel and the combination of the compound time and jazz drumming gave the spinning feeling of being caught in the titular storm. The clean mid-section blends seamlessly with the rest of the song and is a musical highlight in itself.
7. Miley Cyrus - “Night Crawling” (featuring Billy Idol) from Plastic Hearts
I used to not have any time for Miley Cyrus’ music until she started dropping material for Plastic Hearts. There’s a lot of styles on display on the album but this big-sounding new wave banger is easily my favourite. Cyrus and Billy Idol’s vocals sound great together and the song is super catchy, especially the cheesy synth melody in the chorus.
8. Hällas - “Tear of a Traitor” from Conundrum
I discovered Hällas very recently in a YouTube video on BangerTV. I was instantly hooked by their retro prog/hard rock sound reminiscent of the legends of the '70s. Their new album Conundrum continues their sci-fi story with some epic tracks. “Tear of a Traitor” is the lead single and perfectly captures their style with harmonised melodies, simple chord riffing and psychedelic synth textures.
9. Ensiferum - “Midsummer Magic” from Thalassic
Folk metal heroes Ensiferum put out their 8th record Thalassic this year and continue to show why they’re kings of the genre. There’s plenty of great Finnish folk melodies, energetic power metal riffing and great vocals all round from the whole band, with new keyboardist/clean vocalist Pekka Montin fitting in perfectly. “Midsummer Magic” is the party song of the album, the acoustic guitar/fiddle intro giving it a drunken campfire vibe before the rousing heavy riffing kick in. The “la la-la la-li hoo! ha! Hei!” outro is certain to be a crowd favourite when gigs and festivals return
10. Hellripper - “Vampire’s Grave” from The Affair of the Poisons
I spent a lot more time discovering bands from my homeland this year and it was difficult to pick a favourite from all of the awesome metal bands Scotland has to offer. Hellripper has been slowly on the rise since it’s invocation in 2014 culminating in a deal with Peaceville records to release second full length album The Affair of the Poisons this year. The songs blend catchy, energetic, high-speed NWOBHM riffs with harsh black metal screeches making for a raucous extreme metal racket - and it’s awesome. Each track is an earworm but “Vampire’s Grave” has been the biggest for me, with the riffs blasting in my head hours after each listen.
Like many compiling their favourite things from the year, I could have made this list a lot longer, with several songs from the aforementioned albums making the cut - there has been some seriously great music in 2020. Despite not talking about them here, I’d still like to share some of the other records I’ve been listening to that came out this year. I’d thoroughly recommend all of them so check them out if you haven’t already!
Cryptic Shift - Visitations from Enceladus
Evildead - United States of Anarchy
Heathen - Empire of the Blind
Ifreann - Desecration EP
Ihsahn - Telemark EP
Night Fighter - Unholy Sepulchre
Poppy - I Disagree
Scordatura - Mass Failure
Skeletal Remains - The Entombment of Chaos
Testament - Titans of Creation
Vader - Solitude in Madness
Virus - Evilution Apocalypse
Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow
Zand - Ugly Pop EP
All of the records featured are available on Spotify and YouTube. Check out all of the artists on their respective websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bandcamp pages.
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