Memento's Preliminary 2020 Top 30
Considering the sheer excessive amount of recent releases I have listened to as of late, and given we're still trapped inside a pandemic, I thought it might be appropriate to construct a preliminary top 30 list of my favourite releases of this year (so far of course), alongside some possible comments, decimal ratings, you know the drill. This year has been pretty disappointing for music on the whole, I think, but on the other hand, some absolutely quality material was also released this year, including one bonafide masterpiece. |
| 30 |  | Chicago Underground Quartet
Good Days
Genre: Avant-garde jazz
Rating 3.7
Further Remarks: In comparison to their debut, this release is relatively weak, but it's still a solid slab of eccentric jazz music. |
| 29 |  | Thaetas
Shrines to Absurdity
Genre: Techincal death metal
Rating 3.75
Further Remarks: This year has been pretty great for tech death without a doubt. I'm excited to see where these guys will go in the future, because this debut showed massive potential. |
| 28 |  | Afterbirth
Four Dimensional Flesh
Genre: Brutal technical death metal
Rating: 3.76
Further Remarks: Honestly, the second best brutal technical death-metal record this year, it riffs, it gurgles, it... you know the deal. |
| 27 |  | Regarde Les Hommes Tomber
Ascension
Genre: Blackened sludge metal
Rating: 3.76
Further Remarks: This record simply serves to affirm the fact that, blackened sludge, is best sludge. |
| 26 |  | Sweven (SWE)
The Eternal Resonance
Genre: Progressive death metal
Rating: 3.76
Further Remarks: Morbus Chron: (Even More) Prog Edition. |
| 25 |  | Biesy
Transsatanizm
Genre: Black metal
Rating: 3.76
Further Remarks: Black metal says trans rights in the most appropriate way I can think of. Also, the music is pretty great electronically influenced black metal with some splendid use of dissonance. |
| 24 |  | Light Dweller
Hominal
Genre: Blackened death metal
Rating: 3.76
Further Remarks: Remember when I said there was always that 'one' great blackened death-metal record? Make that two. |
| 23 |  | Beneath the Massacre
Fearmonger
Genre: Technical death metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Only for those that can handle the shred, and I warn you, this much shred cannot be handled by many. |
| 22 |  | Ulthar
Providence
Genre: Blackened death metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: In recent years, there is always that one really great blackened death-metal record, Providence is that record. |
| 21 |  | Meridian Blank
Scenes & Fragments
Genre: Post rock
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Psychedelic post rock that is as compositionally impressive as it is subtle in its sonic machinations. |
| 20 |  | Rannoch
Reflections Upon Darkness
Genre: Progressive death metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: It progs, it riffs. Can't really ask for more. |
| 19 |  | HMLTD
West of Eden
Genre: post-punk
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Charmingly eccentric post-punk that is sure to please the hipsters. |
| 18 |  | Sallow Moth
The Larval Hope
Genre: Death metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Magic: The Gathering and dissonant death metal is a great combination. Noxious Revival is a great magic card and a great song. Go listen to it if you have the time, it's totally worth it. |
| 17 |  | Nero di Marte
Immoto
Genre: Post-metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: More bands should mix existentialist philosphy with post metal (anybody read The Plague this summer?). Hopefully the ambient interludes will be shorter on their next release. |
| 16 |  | Aseitas
False Peace
Genre: Extreme metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Pulls out all the extreme metal halmarks and blends them together in a wonderfully sophisticated manner, also, it riffs, hard. |
| 15 |  | Wake
Devouring Ruin
Genre: Extreme metal
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: An absotutely engrossing and crushing transdisciplinary extreme metal effort. |
| 14 |  | Myrkur
Folkesange
Genre: Folk
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: She went full folk this time, and the end result is nothing short of stunningly beautiful. |
| 13 |  | Shabaka and the Ancestors
We Are Sent Here By History
Genre: Afro-jazz
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Although perhaps a bit bloated, these guys still crafted one of the best jazz records of the year (so far). The textures and instrumental layering that underlies them is absolutely enchanting at times. |
| 12 |  | Karmacipher
Introspectrum
Genre: Technical death metal
Rating: 3.9
Further Remarks: Profoundly sophisticated yet nauseatingly dissonant death-metal from Hong Kong, with Kevin Paradis on drums. Need I say more? |
| 11 |  | Mekaal Hasan Band
Andholan (Special Edition)
Genre: Jazz fusion
Rating: 3.8
Further Remarks: Fantastic Middle-Eastern tinged jazz fusion, which got a re-release this year which surely improved upong the previous version. Amazing vocals and grooves, just splendid. |
| 10 |  | Defeated Sanity
The Sanguinary Impetus
Genre: Brutal technical death metal
Rating: 3.9
Further Remarks: It riffs, it smashes, it gurgles, it slams, (and the production is great, and the dynamics, and it's actually quite sophisticated, and... you get the point), in short, it great. |
| 9 |  | The Necks
Three
Genre: Avant-garde jazz
Rating: 3.9
Further Remarks: It's another gorgeously textured avant-garde jazz experience from the ever enigmatic trio. Fantastic stuff. |
| 8 |  | Pyrrhon
Abscess Time
Genre: Technical death-metal
Rating: 3.9
Further Remarks: Noisy, abrasive, complex, nauseating, confusing, it's Pyrrhon through and through, and it's delicious. |
| 7 |  | NEPTUNIAN MAXIMALISM
Éons
Genre: Avant-garde jazz/drone metal
Rating: 4.0
Further Remarks: "If supermassive black holes could talk", sums it up pretty well actually. |
| 6 |  | Haken
Virus
Genre: Progressive metal
Rating: 4.0
Further Remarks: Another progressive-metal tour-de-force, from one of the finest modern prog bands around. Fitting album title if there ever was one. |
| 5 |  | Bambara
Stray
Genre: Post-punk/Indie rock
Rating: 4.0
Further Remarks: Fantastic slab of charmingly melancholic post-punk with some absolutely fantastic bass lines and an exceedingly tasteful production job. |
| 4 |  | Thy Catafalque
Naiv
Genre: Progressive/Experimental (black) metal
Rating: 4.1
Further Remarks: Mixing progressive metal, industrial music, Hungarian folk music and a whole host of other sonic flavours together into a delectable musical concoction, solo artist Tamás Kátai adds another splendid addition to his discography. |
| 3 |  | Keleketla!
Keleketla!
Genre: jazz fusion/afro jazz
Rating: 4.1
Further Remarks: An international love affair! Massively enjoyable afro jazz collaboration whose overall musical approach is nothing short of pluralistically splendid. Thanks for putting this on my radar Dedex (check his review). |
| 2 |  | Imperial Triumphant
Alphaville
Genre: Avant-garde (black) metal
Rating: 4.2
Further Remarks: New York avant-garde metal band Imperial Triumphant release another slab of highly experimental, highly sophisticated, jazzy avant-garde metal, which perfectly encapsulates both the vile luxury and concomitant degradation of our existential condition in its glorious dialectical paradoxicality. |
| 1 |  | Ulcerate
Stare Into Death and Be Still
Genre: Technical death metal
Rating: 4.5
Further Remarks: Taking a more tonal direction in relation to their usual counterpoint dissonance-driven modernism, Ulcerate nevertheless manage to add another dense, emotionally intense tech-death masterpiece to their already impressive oeuvre. |
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