The end of every year goes together with media publishing lists of their albums of the year and whatnot. We don’t escape this, and as such we gathered the opinions of our team to compile what we want to put forward as some of the best releases of the year. It gives us a list with a nice diversity in genres and bands (from “big ones” to “underground”) and hopefully covers most of the releases that are worth spending some time on listening to. While this year was rather fucked up, the quality of music was up there really. So without further-ado… here is GRIMM’s list of albums of the year 2020!
3. Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi
Normally we would have seen the grand unveiling of Oranssi Pazuzu’s latest masterpiece at the orange demon’s home away from home, the annual Roadburn Festival in Tilburg. Due to the worldwide pandemic, we had to do with the album and an online stream release show (which was deemed by many one of the best streams that happened). If you’re not familiar with these Finnish guys, you’re in for a treat or a rude awakening, depending on how you see it. Arisen from the black metal of the murky swamps of Finland, they’ve risen far above the genre by infusing samples, cosmic sounds and weird tidbits within their mind-bending musical creations. Dabbling in the forbidden lore of obsidian psychedelics, Oranssi Pazuzu has ripped a tear in the fabric of space and time and opened a portal to a dystopian future of mind controlled masses on ‘Mestarin kynsi’.
Read the full album review here.
2. Paradise Lost – Obsidian
The British doom metal institution, Paradise Lost, has set a high bar on their latest release ‘Obsidian’. Over thirty two years they have gained admiration and solemn reverence, broadening from traditional death/doom metal to electronic facets of gothic rock. The musical aspect on ‘Obsidian’ is highlighted by the melancholic, clean vocals shining even brighter by the at times used deep growls. The music is richly enhanced by elements of gothic doom metal and stands solid as an ancient British castle.
Read the full album review here.
1. Psychonaut – Unfold the God of Man
Technically, the album we deem as the best release of the year 2020 is a re-release. Psychonaut is a Belgian band that seemed to come out of nowhere some years ago and has quickly conquered many hearts in their own country and far beyond. They already released ‘Unfold The God Man’ back in 2018, but by catching the attention of the much lauded label Pelagic Records (having been a home for quality bands like Cult of Luna and Ylva to name a couple), they got to re-release their debut full-length in 2020, possibly and obviously gaining even more fans. Pegging their music in one category is a rather difficult task, though post-metal is the closest you can get. Their influences range from the proggy side of the 70s to more contemporary creatives like Tool or their country mates of Amenra. The album is loaded with emotive landscapes and soaring compositions, going from almost ethereal atmospheres to bludgeoning heaviness at the snap of a finger in an adventure for the mind and soul. Throughout ‘Unfold the God Man’, Psychonaut manages to keep a great balance between psychedelic proggy bits and grooving heavy passages. It seems like they’ve managed to harness all the best elements from major acts like Tool, Mastodon, Amenra and so on and mold it into an original and fine blend that drags you along the emotional soundscapes they muster up. This year the broke through to more places in the world than ever before, well deservedly so and we see a great future for these guys!
Read the full album review here.
To listen to our choices of 2020’s best, hit up our Spotify playlist here:
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] with an incredible flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] with an incredible flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] with an incredible flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] with an incredible flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t enjoy […]
[…] an incredible flow of quality releases. Just look at our reviews, editor’s top lists, and GRIMM’s top albums of 2020, which are all chock-full of amazing music. We therefor see no reason why 2021 shouldn’t […]
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