To say that 2020 has been a shitstorm of misery could possibly be the biggest understatement of the century. Thankfully, music continues to be the catharsis we all need to get us through this absolute prick of a year – and what a year it’s been! From the crafty veterans to the young guns, the bar has unquestionably been raised in 2020. Which, don’t get me wrong, is fantastic for fans, but an absolute ballache for us to try and narrow down our lists to just 10 releases. But somehow, we’ve managed it.
People of the internet…here are the end of year lists from the Metal Epidemic team:
Dave Buchanan
1. Mountaineer – Bloodletting (Spotify/Bandcamp)
2. Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Spotify)
3. Atavist – III: Absolution (Spotify/Bandcamp)
4. Katatonia – City Burials (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. Cult of Lilith – Mara (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity (Spotify/Bandcamp)
7. Black Crown Initiate – Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape (Spotify)
8. Gaerea – Limbo (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. Dawnwalker – Ages (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. La Fin – The Endless Inertia (Spotify/Bandcamp)
Duncan McLeish
1. Mountaineer – Bloodletting (Spotify/Bandcamp)
2. Loathe – I let it in and it Took Everything (Spotify/Bandcamp)
3. Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Spotify)
4. Cult of Lilith – Mara (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. La Fin – The Endless Inertia (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Black Crown Initiate – Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape (Spotify)
7. Deftones – OHMS (Spotify)
8. En Minor – When the Cold Truth has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. Katatonia – City Burials (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. Poppy – I Disagree (Spotify)
Kyle Sevenoaks
1. Static X – Project Regeneration Vol. 1 (Spotify)
2. En Minor – When the Cold Truth has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out (Spotify/Bandcamp)
3. Ihsahn – Pharos EP (Spotify)
4. E.N.D – A Grave Deceit (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. Vader – Solitude in Madness (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Spotify)
7. Cult of Lilith – Mara (Spotify/Bandcamp)
8. Soilwork – A Whisp of the Atlantic (Spotify)
9. Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place to Die (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. Danzig – Danzig Sings Elvis (Spotify/Bandcamp)
Paul Cairney
1. Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Spotify)
2. The Wildhearts – 30 Year Itch (Spotify)
3. Fellwarden – Wreathed in Mourncloud (Spotify/Bandcamp)
4. Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. La Fin – The Endless Inertia (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Pallbearer – Forgotten Days (Spotify/Bandcamp)
7. CJ Wildheart – Siege (Spotify/Bandcamp)
8. Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. Ginger Wildheart – Headzapoppin (Spotify)
10. Winterfylleth – The Reckoning Dawn (Spotify/Bandcamp)
Paul Franklin
1. Electric Hydra – Electric Hydra (Spotify/Bandcamp)
2. Kvelertak – Splid (Spotify)
3. BoneHawk – Iron Mountain (Spotify/Bandcamp)
4. AC/DC – Power Up (Spotify)
5. The Wildhearts – 30 Year Itch (Spotify)
6. Brian Fallon – Local Honey (Spotify)
7. Spanish Love Songs – Brave Faces Everyone (Spotify/Bandcamp)
8. Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man (Spotify)
9. Green Day – Father Of All Motherfuckers (Spotify)
10. Fake Names – Fake Names (Spotify)
Jonathon Hopper
1. Kvelertak – Splid (Spotify)
2. The Wildhearts – 30 Year Itch (Spotify)
3. Nightwish – Human. :ii: Nature. (Spotify)
4. Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. Sepultura – Quadra (Spotify)
6. Thy Catafalque – Naiv (Spotify/Bandcamp)
7. Harlott – Detritus of the Final Age (Spotify/Bandcamp)
8. Burning Witches – Dance with the Devil (Spotify)
9. Killer Be Killed – Reluctant Hero (Spotify)
10. Armored Saint – Punching the Sky (Spotify/Bandcamp)
David Oberlin
1. Die Ärzte – Hell (Spotify)
2. Snog – Lullabies For The Lithium Age (Bandcamp)
3. The Birthday Massacre – Diamonds (Spotify/Bandcamp)
4. …And Oceans – Cosmic World Mother (Spotify/Bandcamp)
5. On Thorns I Lay – Threnos (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Anna Von Hausswolff – All Thoughts Fly (Spotify/Bandcamp)
7. Assemblage 23 – Mourn (Spotify/Bandcamp)
8. Night Club – Die Die Lullaby (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. Various Artists – Streets of Rage 4 (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. Burzum – Thulêan Mysteries (Spotify/Bandcamp)
Ryan Shearer
1. Bring Me the Horizon – Post Human: Survival Horror (Spotify)
2. Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory 20th Anniversary Edition (Spotify)
3. Killer Be Killed – Reluctant Hero (Spotify)
4. Trivium – What the Dead Men Say (Spotify)
5. Palm Reader – Sleepless (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Sordid Pink – Sordid Pink (Spotify/Bandcamp)
7. King Mothership – The Ritual (Spotify)
8. Make Them Suffer – How to Survive a Funeral (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. ENEMY AC130 ABOVE – The Center Of Celestial Existence (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. Kill ROB Bailey – Over Everything (Spotify)
Ken Love
1. Code Orange – Underneath (Spotify)
2. Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity (Spotify/Bandcamp)
3. Ulver – Flowers of Evil (Spotify/Bandcamp)
4. H.E.A.T. – H.E.A.T. II (Spotify)
5. Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Spotify/Bandcamp)
6. Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Spotify)
7. Lamb of God – Lamb of God (Spotify)
8. Greg Puciato – Child Soldier: Creator of God (Spotify/Bandcamp)
9. Mr Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (Spotify/Bandcamp)
10. Ulcerate – Stare Into Death and Be Still (Spotify/Bandcamp)
