Things You Might Have Missed 2020

Necrot – Mortal [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Ferrous Beuller on December 14, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, 65 comments

“People are never satisfied. They are saturated with options, and with choice comes entitlement. Corpulent technicality and aimless dissonance have somehow convinced people that songwriting isn’t necessary. Fucking die. Whatever happened to the basics? But not just the basics, the fucking basics. Evolution is key, but nothing can replace those original elements that, when correctly combined, elicit such a chemical crush. Oakland’s Necrot have been descanting the insalubrious since 2012 and boast members of Mortuous, Vastum and Acephalix”. Death be simple.

Houkago Grind Time – Bakyunsified (Moe to the Gore) [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Dr. Wvrm on December 13, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, 43 comments

“Far be it from me to let my shit-tier time management fall on Andrew Lee, the one man behind one-man-band Houkago Grind Time (and 2020 death metal standout Ripped to Shreds). Bakyunsified (Moe to the Gore) may house a whole lot of meta anime piss-takes, but don’t let that fool you: this spin is more grind to the core than it has any right to be.” Anime grind had to happen.

Counting Hours – The Will [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Steel Druhm on December 11, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 45 comments

“Longtime members of the AMG metal intelligentsia are likely aware I enjoy me some melancholy melodeath and downbeat mope-core. Said intelligentsia may also have noticed I tend to namedrop long-defunct Finnish melodeath act Rapture rather frequently. That’s because I really loved their sound and truly miss them since they called it a day after releasing the excellently bleak Silent Stage way back in 2005. Over the years various bands helped fill the hole left in my wretched soul, but no one could truly replace Rapture. Finland’s Counting Hours may have come as close as inhumanly possibly though with their debut The Will.” Inherit the sadness.

Wanderer – Awakening Force [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 10, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 54 comments

“For the second year in a row, a metal band from Portugal floored me with something I had no idea that I wanted to hear until I heard it. Last year it was Midnight Priest, and this year it’s Wanderer with their debut record Awakening Force. It’s not that either band are doing something extremely novel, but it’s their execution and emphasis on specific parts of their influences that make them both special.” All that wander and not lame.

Plague – Portraits of Mind [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Steel Druhm on December 9, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, 19 comments

“I suppose there’s a certain dark irony to the fact that death metal had one of its best years during a global pandemic. It’s a double irony that in a year fraught with so much outstanding death metal, it’s Plague’s unsung debut Portraits of Mind that keeps drawing me back as the days (and plague) drag on.” Portraits of 2020.

Death. Void. Terror. – To the Great Monolith II [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Dear Hollow on December 8, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 35 comments

“One of my main motivations regarding black metal is finding albums like this. Offerings from Ancient Moon, Dolorian, or Amnutseba have come close, hinting at a devastatingly empty atmosphere and pitch-black density through aural executions of dread that invoke the feeling of drifting in the eternal void. Attempts have never really hit the sweet spot, until Death. Void. Terror.’s 2018 debut To the Great Monolith.” Monoliths R Us.

Catalepsia – Inheritance [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Steel Druhm on December 8, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, 32 comments

“2020 felt like a year in which a lot of quality albums escaped our reviewing grasp. In some cases we simply didn’t get promo and in others we just missed the boat altogether because we’re fallible human beings. Count Inheritance, the sophomore album from Latvia’s Catalepsia, in the former category, and it was our loss for not getting our hands on this freaky beast way back in January.” Sleep studies.

Akurion – Come Forth to Me [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Diabolus in Muzaka on December 7, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Death Metal, 38 comments

“I’ll spare you the introductory remarks: Akurion continues in earnest what was started on Cryptopsy’s Whisper Supremacy by expanding smartly upon that foundation. It’s not that it directly lifts ideas, but there’s a certain energy, an essence, a je ne sais quois to None So Vile’s successor that I’ve just never again heard until I heard Come Forth to Me.” One for the Vile files.

Árstíðir lífsins – Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Twelve on December 6, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Black Metal, 37 comments

“Árstíðir lífsins was perhaps my most joyous discovery of 2019. I’ve heard Norse-themed black metal done before, but never the way this trio does it. Saga á tveim tungum I: Vápn ok viðr confidently strode into my top ten for the year, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the followup record ever since.” Saga for the ages.

Vulkan – Technatura [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Huck N Roll on December 4, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Progressive Metal, 47 comments

“People hate social media because of all the idiots, lunatics, and imbeciles. I must have the best-curated friend lists on the planet; aside from blocking a few conspiracy theorists, flat-earthers, and all-around rednecks this year, my feeds are pristine. In fact, I’ve gotten a ton of great recommendations from my Twitter pals, and the best of the bunch was Technatura, the third album from the Swedish heavy prog band Vulkan. I’ve never heard of them just like they’ve apparently never heard of PR, because I didn’t know about this album until months after its release. That’s a shame, because this is one of the strongest progressive rock albums of the year.” Secret Spock.