Instead of reminding everyone of the horrible year we’ve had by sharing this list of my top 20 albums of 2020 with all of you, I want to think that I am sharing new music that can keep being an outlet to rely on when times are tough. We’re in a moment in time where we’re all vulnerable and music keeps being one of the best tools to help our mental health. The following albums are the ones that helped me go through the year and I hope you find something that you can add to your playlist and enjoy it as much as I do. Within each album, there is the country, genre, and their Bandcamp links (for those that have Bandcamp) in case you want to directly support them in these troubled times.
20. King Gorm – King Gorm (Self-Released)
https://kinggorm.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Heavy Metal
Favorite Track: Beyond Black Rainbow
19. The Stone Eye – Ventura (Self-Released)
https://thestonedeye.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Alternative/Grunge
Favorite Track: Ventura
18. Space Corolla – Cordales EP (Self-Released)
https://spacecorolla.bandcamp.com/
Country: Puerto Rico
Genre: Mathrock
Favorite Track: Cordales
17. Katatonia – City Burials (Peaceville Records)
https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/city-burials
Country: Sweden
Genre: Doom/Goth
Favorite Track: Rein
16. Fullminator – Omniplasm (Self-Released)
https://fullminatorofficial.bandcamp.com/
Country: Puerto Rico
Genre: Thrash Metal
Favorite Track: Artificial Immolator (AI)
15. Lightmaker – Lightmaker (Self-Released)
https://lightmaker.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Doom
Favorite Track: Hanging Crown
14. Anastasia Minster – Father (Self-Released)
https://anastasiaminster.bandcamp.com/
Country: Canada
Genre: Dark Jazz
Favorite Track: The Ocean Song
13. Kilter – Axiom (Alter-Nativ Label)
https://kiltertrio.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Jazz/Metal
Favorite Track: Kafkanated
12. Zeal & Ardor – Wake of a Nation EP (Self-Released)
https://zealandardor.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Metal/Black Metal
Favorite Track: Tuskegee
11. The Pineapple Thief – Versions of Truth (Kscope Records)
https://kscopemusic.bandcamp.com/album/versions-of-the-truth
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Progressive Rock
Favorite Track: The Game
10. Porta Nigra – Schöpfungswut (Soulseller Records)
https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sch-pfungswut
Country: Germany
Genre: Black Metal
Favorite Track: Unser Weg Nach Elysium
9. Egregor – Pachakuti (Self-Released)
https://egregorband.bandcamp.com/
Country: Chile
Genre: Progressive Metal
Favorite Track: Grito Insurgente
8. Code Orange – Underneath (Roadrunner Records) https://codeorangekids.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Industrial/Metal
Favorite Track: In Fear
7. Lesser Glow – Nullity (Pelagic Records)
https://lesserglow.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Doom/Post Metal
Favorite Track: Versterven
https://youtu.be/-t-7WXppQH8
6. Mountaineer – Bloodletting (Lifeforce Records)
https://mountaineerlfr.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Doom/Post Metal
Favorite Track: The Weeds I Have Tended
5. Dopelord – Sign of the Devil (Self-Released)
https://dopelord.bandcamp.com/music
Country: Poland
Genre: Doom Metal
Favorite Track: Heathen
4. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – K.G. (Flightless Records)
https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/
Country: Australia
Genre: Acid Rock/Experimental Rock/Progressive Rock
Favorite Track: Ontology
3. Killer Be Killed – Reluctant Hero (Nuclear Blast)
Country: Brazil/United States
Genre: Metal
Favorite Track: Dream Gone Bad
2. Emma Ruth Rundle/Thou – May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones)
https://thou.bandcamp.com/album/may-our-chambers-be-full
Country: United States
Genre: Doom/Metal/Dark Folk
Favorite Track: Ancestral Recall
1. The Ocean Collective – Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic|Cenozoic (Pelagic Records)
https://theocean.bandcamp.com/
Country: Germany
Genre: Post Metal
Favorite Track: Miocene|Pliocene
Special Mention:
If you have ever found out about an album or a band that has been there all along but for some reason, you never got to pay attention to them, this may be a familiar scenario to you. These are the bands that this year introduced to my life, but haven’t put out a record in 2020 (excluding one of them, but this is her main project). I was obsessed all year long over these:
Mars Red Sky
https://marsredsky.bandcamp.com/
Country: France
Genre: Stoner/Doom Metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYb-M0Msdvo
New Keepers of the Water Towers
https://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-child
Country: Sweden
Genre: Progressive Metal/Post Metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG3DDWqEBEo
Emma Ruth Rundle
https://emmaruthrundle.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Genre: Dark Folk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz90JZuOckM
Spotify Playlist Link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PEFloPYA3851AmmtGWxX3?si=j5RxIU7VQ52tgCfwKLmjyw