#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"