#10 - Top of 2020

Wytch hazel - iii: pentecost (bad omens records) 

If you are looking for a melodic hard rock album with a feel-good attitude, look no further than the UK and and amazing Wytch Hazel. The previous album (II: Sojourn) was very interesting but they have managed to evolve their sound with their by far best album so far, III: Pentecost. Armed with a new bassist, Andy Shackleton, the band carries on in their exploration of spirituality, battles and truth with their unique style and the mellow voice of Colin Hendra, the lead vocalist, in the frontlines. After warming up to their retro and uplifting sound with the intro song, you get hit with the awesome "Spirit and Fire", which a very memorable chorus and melodic guitar riffs that are impossible to get out your mind, except by hearing the album on repeat! Other memorable tracks include  and the Lucifer-inspired "Archangel" which has an edgy vide reminiscent of the eerie Ghost-vibe of hard rock/heavy tunes and vocals , and "Dry Bones" which has everything from the best guitar intro riffs to high-pitched vocals that will get any listener pumped for more. The album also has different aspects like the acoustic "The Crown" and the instrumental "Sonata" which change the pace at the right moment, just before the more epic and gloomy "Reap the Harvest" which has a more proggy feeling and a great piano intro/ending. Even if you are no fan of the Christian themes and the album won't entice you to go to church, you will 100% appreciate their ability to write great music and want to listen more of their work in the future!

94.95/100

Below is the official music video for "Spirit and Fire".

 

#11 - Top of 2020

 Haken - Virus (Inside Out Music)

Sometimes life plays funny games, like Haken releasing an album entitled "Virus" in the midst of a huge global pandemic,  with the announcement of the release of the album on April Fool's Day making  some believe it was a joke. Well, let me tell you, Virus is anything but. The heavier approach adopted in "Vector" carries on here with low-tuned guitars, with the aggressive riffing in opener "Prosthetic" showing  the intentions of the band. In "Invasion" the characteristic rhythmic tongue-in-cheek returns, with the vocals and the lyrics building in a clever way on the rhythm section. I would be remiss no to mention "Carousel", one of the most interesting tracks on the album that changes faces and keeps you awake, while "The Strain" has a very catchy main musical theme.

Additionally the five-parter "Messiah Complex" continues the saga of the Cockroach King, which began back in "The Mountain". Without a shred of doubt, Haken have managed to create their own unique sound, and it seems that in their last three works have gradually moved on the heavier end of the spectrum of what they play, without losing their identity. "Virus" is like the last step of a well-designed path. What the next step will be is certainly uncertain but at the same time interesting. We will definitely be there to see it anyway!

94.85/100

Below are the music videos for "Invasion" and "Prosthetic"

#12 - Top of 2020

 Hexecutor - Beyond any human concept Of knowledge... (dying victims prodcuctions)

Hexecutor are one of those rare gems someone can find when looking for new releases in that they play true heavy metal without hesitating to have a rough sound. After a couple of hearings, their songs grow on the listener mainly due to some amazing melodic guitar riffs that can be heard in across all tracks and fit perfectly with the blackened vocals. For those reluctant to overlook the first shock from Jey Deflagratör's intense vocals (and subtle French accent), do not be quick to judge and remember that unique sounds might turn out to be a band's strong point. In their second full length album, named Beyond Any Human Concept of Knowledge..., is packed with heaviness and a strong touch of epicness that peaks with the phenomenal "Tiger of the Seven Seas" and the equally amazing "Belzebuth's Apocryphal Mark", with both going just over 7 minutes of  metal awesomeness! That doesn't mean that the rest of the album is lacking in those elements as the band mixes together thrash, speed and heavy metal tunes, like the shorter but impactful "Danse Macabre", creating an interesting blend of Bathory-like sounds with more virtuosic Fenriz-like guitars. Overall, a great surprise but definitely worthy entry in 2020's top that adds a haunting twist in the heavy metal scene for brave travellers of the seven seas!

94.75/100

Below is the lyric video for "Tiger of the Seven Seas"

 

#13 - Top of 2020

Mekong Delta -  Tales of a Future Past (Butler Records)

The dark Lovecraftian magic of Mekong Delta returns to our bewitchment for a 12th time, in perhaps their most prog-metal infused record yet. Drawing on the style they have created with their latest few albums, Mekong Delta once again produce a great album. The speed is lower this time round, using the patterns they have established throughout their work, creating asymmetrical dark music pieces, with the basslines of their leader Ralph Hubert, featured prominently in the mix. Martin LeMar is by far the most controlled singer to ever have graced the band combining an excellent tone and attitude with a loud and clear voice  "Mental Entropy",  "A Colony of Liar Men", "Mindeater" and "When All Hope is Gone" have certainly a place among to the best compositions by Mekong Delta. The latter, reaching almost  the ten minutes mark will impress the listener with changes in style and a very rich orchestration.  Tales of A Future Past is  a "must" album for all the band's friends and at the same time an excellent and relatively accessible occasion to introduce someone to the mysterious music world of Mr. Hubert and his companions.

94.7/100

Below is the audio track for "A Colony of Liar Men"

#14 - Top of 2020

 Fish -Weltschmerz (7Hz Productions)

Exactly 31 years after leaving Marillion, Fish delivers to us his final musical output. A heavy and difficult decision, an album  full of ominous twists and turns, taking a journey of almost five years to make. Struck by the loss of his father and his mother's dementia, along with health problems, Fish was in trouble with delivering his final piece of music. However, he is used to putting himself in a difficult position. Fish's sensors have been confirmed countless times, and his penetrating observation of modern day targeted this German word that eventually christened the album, a word meaning "global pain", truly prophetic, as it was recorded before the age of  Covid-19, which provided the meaning of the title with an additional semantic weight. Th album is undoubtedly a collection of dark subjects, as the "global pain" in its name demands. "Waverley Steps" investigates suicide, the story of a common human personal disaster that leaves a lonely and impoverished man in a tender winter moment, and "C Song" is written from the standpoint of a man diagnosed with cancer. "Little Man What Now" is inspired by the novel of the same name by German author Hans Fallada, which describes a young couple struggling to survive the financial crisis of the 1930s, with a clear link to the present situation. "Man With a Stick", follows the "stick" in various forms, whether it is a symbol of strength in the course of life and ends up quite the opposite at the end of the road. While, "The Rose of Damascus". is a  15 minute epic about a refugee from Syria, while "Garden of memory" speaks about dementia and its impact on human relationships through the story of a couple. The curtain falls with the titular song, a clear call for resistance to the filth around us, to change things in this world of reckless grabbing. The Scottish warrior with the grey beard always knew that his only weapons were his words. The goal was to write an album that would make the listener wonder "What happens Next". The bard has left the building, indicating it is time for actions and not words...

94.65/100

Below are the music videos for "Weltschmerz" and "The Party's over"

#15 - Top of 2020

 Neal Morse - Sola Gratia (InsideOut Music)

Does Neal Morse ever get time to sleep with all these projects he is involved in? It seems that when you are passionate about your work and find inspiration in your day-to-day life, you use every day to the fullest. Not to be confused with The Neal Morse Band or his involvement with Flying Colors (new release in 2019) or Transatlantic (new release in 2021!), in the 11th album under just his personal name Neal Morse, we can see Morse's his ongoing exploration of religion and spirituality as he presents the story of the apostle Paul, from his persecution of Christians to his conversion. Morse has the support of his The Neal Morse Band members who give the project that extra progginess you might be looking for as the album is packed with amazing prog instrumentals like "Overtune" and "The March of the Pharisees", as well as catchy tracks like "In the Name of the Lord" (with great interludes) which mask the dark themes they discuss, like the stoning of Saint Stephen being discussed in the majestic "Seemingly Sincere" (reaching over 9 minutes). There is also a great sing-along track "Building a Wall" which has a more classic hard rock sound (and a touch of Pink Floyd's themes on the significance of building walls to separate people in history). Wrapping up with the more mellow "Now I Can See/The Great Commission",  Sola Gratia is nothing less than expected from Morse's musicianship which is perfectly supported by his smooth & clear vocals. If you are reluctant to check this out due to its religious themes, you are probably missing out on an awesome concept prog rock album that has all the great elements of classic Prog!

94.6/100

Below are the official music videos  for "In the Name of the Lord" and "Seemingly Sincere".

#16 - Top of 2020

My Dying Bride -  The Ghost of Orion (Nuclear Blast)

People say that Black is typically not a colour. It is the complete absence of colour, the antithesis of light, that is, darkness. My Dying Bride exemplify that saying, going strong for thirty years with ideas born out of these dark moments, distilling them into songs and trying to exorcise the darkness by evoking it.

With their latest album "The Ghost of Orion", the band once more provides us with an excellent example of how sombre doom metal should be played with lyrics that provoke the darkest corners of our soul and music tailor-made to accompany said lyrics. The story behind the creation of this album makes its artistic content even stronger, as the daughter of singer Aaron Stainthorpe was battling cancer at a very young age during the recording of the record, making the content of the album have an extra emotional resonance to people who have faced up against this relentless disease. "Tired of tears", the second track of the album relates this story in a very personal way and, along with opener "Your broken Shore", are among the most beautiful songs the band has ever composed. Among other great compositions are the melodic "To Outlive The Gods", the collaborative effort with folk-metallers Wardruna "Solace", along with the epics "The Long Black Land" and the haunting "The Ghost of Orion".  The album closes out with "The Old Earth", more reminiscent of earlier eras of the band, with brutal vocals from Aaron having a more central role, juxtaposing with the mellow intro. One of the best albums of the band and a release worth having for all fans of great doom metal music. It is worth noting that the band also released an EP in 2020, which relies on their more gothic character which, while not reaching the levels of "The Ghost of Orion", is  a very nice companion piece to this album.

94.5/100

Below is the music video for the song "To outlive the Gods"

#17 - Top of 2020

Armored Saint -  Punching the Sky (Metal Blade)

Sometimes silence is golden. There is very little one can add about Armored Saint and their history, with the band probably receiving less attention than they deserved, while at the same time defining the sound of late 80s and early 90s American heavy metal. Their latest output "Punching the Sky" comes after 5 years from their previous album "Win Hands Down". There are no "surprises" in this release, staying true to its sound as it started in the 80's and evolved little by little through subsequent releases. This means that they continue to create classic melodic heavy metal, which,  freshness and dynamism, clearly benefiting from John Bush's output during his long Anthrax years. The most important difference is that the band has a more intense hard rock approach to its compositions, compared to their 80s roots, offering some songs such as "Lone Wolf" which clearly fall within the bounds of that genre. The album is hands and shoulders (no pun intended) above releases of washed-out idols of older times and show how a band can evolve while at the same time retaining its essence, what truly makes it stand out.

94.5/100

Below is the music video for "Standing in the Shoulders of Giants"

 

#18 - Top of 2020

 Marko Hietala Pyre of Black Heart (Nuclear Blast Records)

Marko Hietala might have become known by joining Nightwish as a bassist and providing some rougher vocals as a support vocalist but he has a very unique mellow but at the same time edgy voice that has led him to get involved in a range of very diverse projects including his own heavy band Tarot for which he is a lead singer, providing supporting vocal for Amorphis but let's not forget his perfect "casting" by Arjen Lucassen for his Theory of Everything progressive metal album (Top 2013) as the vengeful rival. Although he recently announced that he will be stepping down from his role with Nightwish, it doesn't seem he is ready to stop making music as it can be seen from his diverse outputs which include his new solo project. Although the aim was to release his debut as half English, half Finnish the decision was made to first release the album Mustan Sydämen Rovio in 2019 in Finnish with the English version being released in 2020 so this is technically a double entry. Both version are great and enjoyable with Hietala being equally confident in signing and writing lyrics in both languages, though the uniquely-sounding Finnish language adds a folky feeling in every track. The album has been years in the making and presents some more personal themes, including his father's alcoholism which affected him deeply, that would not fit with his other projects and can be heard in tracks like "The Voice of My Father" or "Isäni ääni"" . All tracks have interesting melodies with the catchy "Stones", the more sorrowful "For You" (which has an Ayreon vibe) and the electronic keyboard-based "Star, Sand and Shadow" while the album could be best described as hard rock/prog. Overall, a unique entry that is elevated by Hietala's amazing voice and his great lyrical themes that clearly show he was truly passionate about this album!

 

94.5/100

 Below is official music video for "Stones".

#19 - Top of 2020

Brothers of Metal - Emblas Saga (AFM Records)

Brothers of Metal have definitely grown a lot since their first album, Prophecy of Ragnarök, which showed some interesting elements that have leveled up in the Emblas Saga. Straight from the great intro about the well-known trickster god, "Brood of the Trickster" to the melodic "Powersnake" (talking about Jörmungandr) and the more brooding but mellow "Hel" (telling the story of the queen of the Underground) the band retells the epic Scandinavian sagas under their own heavy/power sounds and great song writing. The combination of female vocals by Ylva Eriksson, rough & clean male vocals by Joakim Lindback and Mats Nilsson and of course epic choruses with strong male vocals elevate all tracks and make them memorable! The list of tracks that are sing-along worthy is long as they achieve a great balance between the catchy Van Canto-like rhythm and one-of-a-kind Sabaton-reminiscent epicness adding their own touch. The most memorable tracks are the uplifting "Chain Breaker",  the heavier "Njord" and the 100% feel-good "One" which show two different aspects of the band's sound! Brothers of Metal do not only excel in heavy riffs but also in more melodic slow-paced songs like "Weaver of Fate" and the Enya-turns-heavy title song "Emblas Saga" which change the album's pace midway preparing the listener for a second and equally awesome dose of power metal epicness! The band goes the extra mile and puts a lot of effort in the presentation of their songs through imaginative, funny and in theme music videos which fit perfectly with the mood and makes you wanna join them for some beer/wine/ale to sing along together!

 

94.45/100

Below are the official music videos for "Njord", "One" and "Chain Breaker".