(Re-Rank’d) Albums Of The Year 2020

Fucking Covid, man.

Welcome back to RE-RANK’d! Had a bit of a holiday break there, go check out the Type O Negative list!. But, we are back at it again! This year, much like 2019, was VERY good, but with a planet sized asterisk in that this was the Covid year, well, the FIRST Covid year…(thanks Donny). Everything shut down. I was supposed to see bands with my wife for the first time and go to wrestling shows, but NO. Fucking Covid.

But let’s get on to what we’re here for. On to the LIST!

As always there are additions and subtractions. None to subtract(yay) but maybe one or two to add…

EP OF THE YEAR….and none again. JFC dude.

Don’t fret…there will be more, oh yes, there will be more.

13. Plini - Impulse Voices (Originally Not Listed)

Ah yes, this beautiful bastard is back with his one, and only, record to date. And it’s a beaut. Plini is just so damn good man. The ultimate chill music, with some of the best guitar work you’ll hear. My favorite in particular is Papelillo. Such a groove in this one. Starts off slow, head bob action, then it just builds and builds. With the guitar work getting shreddy-er and shreddy-er then it slows again before the final stretch hits you hard. It’s SO good.

Favorite Track - Papelillo

12. Within The Ruins - Black Heart (Originally #.12, Last)

The one where we lost vocalist Tim Ruins. Maybe it’s the fact i’m still not used to the new vocalist Steve Tinnon yet, but this one still ranks low on their records. Yet, it’s still fantastic. Still has the new clean vocals from Paolo that fit them perfectly. And of course still has the immortal Joe Cocchi on guitars. Now with TWO instrumentals. The groovy Eighty Sixed and the latest(and possibly greatest) entry in the Ataxia series in Ataxia V. Look if you want your deathcore with great vocal work and HEVY guitars, it’s all there. But i’m always here for the instrumentals. Pure creativity in full display. Eighty Sixed’s(?) chorus is so damn fun, and how it’s woven into the song is perfect. Ataxia V is insanity, how it manages to sound like the rest, while being completely different, blows my mind. Speed shreddy goodness and sexy flamenco grooves(oh yes), with plenty of breakdowns in there as well. I strive to be half as good as this man is…and I fail to hit even a fraction of that.

Favorite Track(s) - Eighty Sixed and Ataxia V

11. Suicide Silence - Become The Hunter (Originally #.11)

Eddie Hermida is no Mitch Lucker. And Become The Hunter will never beat The Cleansing. But damn is it up there. After the “Tee-hee” incident, i’m glad SS came back to their roots and delivered a GREAT back-to-basics deathcore record. The first 3(full) tracks alone, rival some of their old stuff. And tracks like Skin Tight break up the usual circle pit tracks and give a slower, but still angry, sans “tee hee”, song that fits right in. Really solid record all ‘round. Shame it’s the only good Eddie record they’ve put out…

Favorite Track - Feel Alive

10. Trivium - What The Dead Men Say (Originally #.10)

The 2nd in the New-Heafy trilogy that spans 4 years(we’ll be back next year). This is the runt of the litter, but the runt still kicks ass. The intro one-two punch is probably the best of the three and The Defiant is my favorite chorus of them as well. The biggest gripe I have with this one is the lack of HEVYness that we got in The Sin And The Sentence. We haven’t fallen fully back but you can tell it was swaying there. Still retains the faster pace, for sure. But nothing really gets me besides the singles and my favorite, The Defiant.

Favorite Track - The Defiant

9. Static X - Project Regeneration Vol. 1 (Originally #. 6)

A bit of a bump down, but you’ll see why later. The late great Wayne Static’s last gift, two albums worth of recordings. While at first I felt this was going to be a cash grab, it’s turned out to be a fantastic tribute to Wayne. His stand-in Xero, who is TOTALLY not Edsel Dope, has been doing great work with them live. Really dig the full costume he gets into, looks sick. But what of the Vol. 1? Yeah it’s more Static, and boy howdy it’s good. Pretty much every track hits. Some feel like B-sides to great albums before, yes, but it really feels like Wayne is still here with the modern production and his timeless vocals. It doesn’t feel disjointed at all. Like really, I can’t find an outright bad song here. Evil disco isn’t dead man. Rest In Peace Wayne.

Favorite Track - All These Years

8. Body Count - Carnivore (Originally #.8)

My first exposure to Ice(mutha-fuckin-bitch-ass)T was his FANTASTIC cover of Suicidal Tendencies Institutionalized. “I just wanna kill some muthafucka’s on Xbox!” I THINK I like it more than the original….But Carnivore is my first album of theirs i’ve dug into. Just a fun as hell hip-hop metal mashup record, Ice has way too much fun on here. Beatin’ up muthafucka’s who talk shit online, covering Ace Of Spades, propping himself up to Another Level, and covering his old hip hop stuff. While also taking it serious for a bit, talking about the police brutality stuff that’s been going on, and giving a fantastic tribute to Nipsey Hustle. I’m really looking forward to the latest from them, and REALLY hope to see them live someday, Ice looks like he’s having a blast every time I see videos.

Favorite Track - NOW IM ON ANOTHER LEVOOOOHHHHHL// Another Level

7. Protest The Hero - Palimpsest (Originally #.7)

I still haven’t found a more underrated, more talented band, than Protest The Hero. What used to be just a shreddy technical post hardcore band from Canada. Now, they’re fucking ARTISTS. This album is pure songwriting art. Storytelling in song form. It’s not approachable in the slightest, nothing really “catchy” here. But go in expecting talent of the highest order, you won’t be disappointed. Stories of iconic people and historic events. The track that really stands out for me is the Hindenberg track, From The Sky. Absolutely beautiful song. The usual technical guitar and drum showcase of prowess, but really it’s way the vocal work tell the story really put it over the top for me. The ending in particular wells me up every time I hear it, such a heartstring pulling vocal performance.

Favorite Track - From The Sky

6. Alestorm - The Curse Of The Crystal Coconut (Originally #. 9)

2020 being the shit year as it was. I remember one thing that brought us all together, and it wasn’t that ivory tower sing-a-long circle jerk of the celebrities, nah dude, it was sea shanties. Specifically for me, it was Alestorm’s brand of sea shanties. This album made me fall in love with the lads. Had me go in the deep end and listen to(and also love) their older work. Pirate metal is pure fun, you can’t be mad at it, it’s designed to make you sing along with your lads with a tankard of ale in hand. I went out and bought the collectors edition of their newest album(we’ll talk about THAT later) and got myself an Alestorm tankard that I treasure dearly. This album is my favorite of theirs, only because it’s my first. The first 4 songs back to back got me outta the depths of Davey Jones’ Locker, that was somehow filled with mask-less people. Learned ‘em all on guitar and can play quite well I might add. The rest of the album is fun as well, but really, the star of the show is the absolute masterclass of songwriting that is, Tortuga. What if Pirate Metal, but hip hop? Yes. Can, and WILL, sing this one, in full, every time. First time hearing this, I was taken aback while at work. I think I may have spun it on repeat every day after that? I don’t remember.

Favorite Track - TorTUUUgaah // Tortuga

5. I Am Abomination - Passion Of The Heist II (Originally #.5)

Another WOEFULLY underrated band. The god-loving technical metalcore band, I Am Abomination. Thought to have been dead, resurrected and brought back just in time to release their best work. Guitar and vocal work that rival the greats of the genre. Mostly clean vocal work except with the inclusion of fantastic guest vocalists Jesse Cash of ERRA fame and Ben Duerr of Shadow Of Intent fame on a couple tracks. Man, the guitars shred so damn hard on here. It could really be an instrumental album on it’s own but that would remove the magic of IAA that makes this one special, the god-loving, alien drama that unfolds. But the tracks that makes me a believer the most, are the one-two punch of Martyr and Deicide. Nothing will prepare you for the heavenly ambiance of Martyr to be absolutely engulfed by the coming of the demonic hellspawn, Ben Duerr in Deicide. It’s incredible to behold. The end is nigh, or something. Great album.

Favorite Track(s) - Martyr, Deicide

4. Make Them Suffer - How To Survive A Funeral (Originally #.4)

This is MTS really coming to their own with their new sound. While Worlds Apart was a good time, it didn’t really WOW me like this one did. It didn’t hit me at first, but man it grew on me as the year went by. Every track hits. The catchier melodies of Erase Me, How To Survive a Funeral and The Attendant mixed in with the HEVYness of Falling Ashes, Bones and Drown With Me. For me, depending on the mood, I have 2 favorites. The Attendant, and Drown With Me. The Attendant is a softie, a showcase of Keyboardist Booka Nile’s talent. An atmospheric euphoria type of song they do so well. While Drown With Me, smashes my face in with a hammer. It’s that kind of album. It’s fantastic.

Favorite Track(s) - The Attendant, Drown With Me

3. Code Orange - Underneath (Originally #.2)

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Code Orange is a band that is just odd. But REALLY FUCKING HEVY. No one sounds like them, the Industrial sounding Nu-Metal fusion with Hardcore is such an assault on the senses. Right out the gate you have my favorite track Swallowing The Rabbit Whole. A riff-laden barrage from guitarist/vocalist Reba Meyers and vocalist Jami Morgan that gets the blood pumping and a taste of the weird-ness to come. You only get sporadic breaks from the chaos. Tracks like Who I Am, Sulfur Surrounding and Autumn and Carbine showcase the vocal work of Reba. She isn’t my favorite vocalist of the two, but her unique voice fits in really well to what else is going on. The HEVYness on the other hand takes front and center in tracks like You And You Alone, Cold.Metal.Place, and Erasure Scan. The riffs hit like mack trucks. But between all the traditional hardcore sounds in here, there’s an Industrial layer in here that totally shifts everything around, like really, some songs intermittently stop or stutter or distort in odd ways. Like I said, an assault on the senses, and worth a listen if you can hang in there with it.

Favorite Track - Swallowing The Rabbit Whole

2. Tallah - Matriphagy (Originally #.3)

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Tallah. This absolute powerhouse of young talent. While Spencer Charnas has the clean vocal game on lock. Justin Bonitz has the screaming game, by a country mile. I’ve never heard a man who could go as high or as low, sometimes at the same time, or even go as fast, as him. Go listen to their song Gooba, it’s literally modern day Twist(by KoRN). But let’s not leave out the rest of the band, oh no. You have a band that can go harder than Iowa-era Slipknot, yes, HARDER. If you somehow make it past No One Should Read This, then you’ll completely understand. You get a drum masterclass from drummer prodigy Max Portnoy(yes THAT Portnoy)on this whole album that doesn’t let up even for a second. The guitars are chug-riffic and sound fantastic with Max’s drums. I don’t even know what else to say, other than these batshit kids should be on top of metal right now. This album held up with me so damn well, even their newest record rips too! If I had a favorite it’d be that opener No One Should Read This, GOD it gets me going every fucking time.

Favorite Track - The whole album, but No One Should Read This

Loathe - I Let It In And It Took Everything (Originally #. 1)

I don’t think there’s an album that has had quite the impact on my mental health like this one. Allow me to be real for a sec here. You can skip to the album review further down if you’d like.

When this album came out, it was during the chaos of Covid. My job required me at the time to be around a lot of people(I was ESSENTIAL after all). And where I live, some of us ain’t the most progressive or, LEFT, as others. So that bred a lot of nasty, hateful, truly fucking awful people to want to be nasty, hateful, and truly fucking awful. It was during this time that I found out I have really bad anxiety. Never really understood it, sure I was a socially awkward kid who didn’t really like being around people that much, but then I was fine with it and never had a REACTION to it. Until Covid. There were times I’d be working in crowds and I just straight couldn’t breathe, I’d attempt to hide the fact I’m feeling lightheaded or dizzy. You know, just play it off. Nah. I’m dealing with massive crowds not being 6ft apart(cause fuck that amirite?) being mask-less most of the time. Constantly worrying if i’m gonna catch this thing, this was PRE vaccine, so we were all fucked if one of us got sick. So to deal with it i’d hide out somewhere and just blank out into space. I’d listen to music of course but my job NEEDED me to attend to others, so no buds for me with them around. But when I could, I’d hear this album come up in the rotation and I thought it was ok, then move on to Knocked Loose. But I remember specifically one time when it HIT me during one of my attacks. Two Way Mirror came on, and i fucking lost it. Like fuck, I well up just thinking about that time, I was scared man. I could lose my family, my wife, my kid, my best friend. My parents got Covid during the holidays that year, they both smoke…you do the mental math on the odds there. Thankfully though, we all made it out ok. Only minor scrapes with the ‘Rona.

But enough of the bad times, let’s talk about this record.

So this album gave me solace in a dark fucking time. I really didn’t get it at first. Is it HEVY? Yes. But it’s also HEVY in atmosphere. Pure unfiltered shoegaze ala Deftones, but WAY better. Aggressive Evolution and Broken Vision Rhythm combine to start you off HEVY but you get a little taste of lead vocalist Kadeem France’s beautifully smooth vocals thrown in. But the majority of the 2 is the full on aggression from both the guitarist Erik and bassist Faisal’s intense growls and nasty LOW tuned djent akin to KoRn or Meshuggah. Then enters the most important track for me, Two-Way Mirror. A beautifully euphoric vocal powerhouse from Kadeem. “Hoping to find faith, miming dissolving grace, just say ‘i know’”. Backed by Erik’s fantastic guitar work, simple yet extremely effective. 451 Days is a pure soundscape, with an expression from Nina Simone playing in the background on what freedom is. Then New Faces In The Dark and Red Room pound you back life again. Screaming goes back into that soundscape in a more straight forward track that features more great lead vocal work and a fantastic chorus, but he ups the emotion ten-fold on Is It Really You?. You’re in this deep corridor with just the keys in the back, then a powerful crescendo hits and takes you on a beautiful journey. But you aren’t prepared for this one-two punch. Gored takes you in and goes FULL djent, all HEVY, all chaos. Just when you gather yourself, you reach the void of the black metal and djent ripper, Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Thoughts. “Lethargic in motion, a sensation like no other strikes the body. Over and over….over and over.” If you survived, you go towards another swirling sonic corridor of A Sad Cartoon. This two parter slows everything down for the last time. Another beautiful song with a euphoria that swells so hard towards it’s end and during the reprisal let’s you off gently into the Title Track. Where it takes you on your final journey. Slow, seeking the exit of this void, you’ll be hit one more time with the HEVYest of riffs, beating you down, before it finally, slowly, lets you go.

I didn’t know I could love this kind of thing. I was always HEVY or die. But this album gave me so damn much. I had to sit down and really take my time with it, with nothing else going on, to truly appreciate this. Genre melding journeys are what attract me the most now. I’m still…STILL waiting for whats next from Loathe. This album could take the decade for me. Nothing has topped it, though many have tried.

Favorite Track(s) - The whole album from start to finish.

Man, I know that was long winded, but it was important to me to get that out. Music can be powerful, some may just use it as background noise, but not me. It’s gotta mean something, or spark a feeling at least. If i don’t feel anything, what the hell am I doing? Anyways, if you somehow made it down here, thank you, truly. Doing these lists have been rewarding as all heck, man. Still got 2 to go before the big one, I dunno if it’s gonna be big, but I might do something different for ‘23. ‘Till next time…