My entire 'Best Rock & Metal Albums of 2020' playlist is here on Spotify.
This page will grow as the year goes on.
Rage - Wings of Rage
One of the first real new releases of the year and one of the highlights. Rage have been doing their thing since 1983 (if you count the first couple of releases as Avenger) and this is a very strong album.
It includes a re-recording of their classic song Higher Than The Sky (known as HTTS2.0)
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Mindless Sinner - Poltergeist
You don't need to see the cutoff-denim-over-leather to see that the cover artwork graces some good old traditional heavy metal. Once again the band have been around since the 80s, but this time with long gaps.Christer Göransson's vocals remind me of Steve Grimmet of Grim Reaper and the music is of that style too.
It's up there with last year's Riot City and Traveller releases and it's great that there are bands still writing and playing this timeless style of music.
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Annihilator - Ballistic, Sadistic
Geoff Waters has been releasing Annihilator records since the late 80s and I don't understand why he hasn't had greater success.
I don't think this record digs its hooks into you quite as well as the previous album, For the Demented, but it's Annihilator and belongs in this list.
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Hazzerd - Delirium
A newer band but compatriots of Annihilator (Canadian) are Hazzerd. It's no-nonsense, tight, old-school thrash with straight-to-the point vocals somewhere between the realms of singing and yelling.I was looking forward to this after enjoying their previous and debut album, and it doesn't disappoint.
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Lovebites - Electric Pentagram
There is no shortage of female-fronted power metal. The band looks more like Babymetal than Battle Beast but happily this has great songwriting and a distinctive vocal style I really like.
The opening track (embedded below) verges into the thrash arena
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Verikalpa - Tuoppitanssi
I am partial to a bit of folk / pirate / viking / troll metal and this is somewhere along those lines. The band are from Finland, this is their second album.Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Seven Spires - Emerald Seas
I was also keen to hear this second album from Symphonic Metal band Seven Spires. Their previous album Solveig is an enduring favourite. I'm not sure yet whether this one matches up. But it has a fab cover and is certainly outstanding in this year's releases so far.Vocalist Adrienne Cowan has popped up in other places including the recent excellent album Signs of Wings from Sascha Paeth's Masters of Ceremony.
Read the reviews and buy on Amazon
Burning Witches
This is the third album from the Swiss all-female heavy metal band and by far the most powerful. They've left behind some of the commercialness and headed in a slightly noisier, thrashier directionRead the reviews and buy on Amazon
This 2020 list is still growing - check back regularly
