The Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2020

In todays world we need the hateful nature of black metal more than ever. Here is the best of the  current crop. As with years past I sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes for black metal  there is  only1 new band on this years list . It's been a year for the tried and true though none of the standard veterans from the first run of the second wave. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Black Metal  albums of 2020

10--Autumn For Cripple Children- "All Fell Silent, All Went quiet"

For 11 years years this band from the Netherlands has been brining it with very little fanfare from the metal press. They have dipped in and out of varied incarnations of post- rock and shoe gaze, but this album finds them shifting their the haze to get their snarl back. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/an-autumn-for-crippled-all-fell-silent.html

9- Curse Upon A Prayer - " Infidel" 

This band from Finland is back to make black metal hate again. They make no bones about going after Islam and I respect the hell out of that. This album finds both their range of sonics and songwriting expand. These guys are not a gimmick and serious song writing willing to rip your face off. It is this need to hate that gave them the edge to grab the number 9 spot. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/black-metal-history-month-curse-upon.html

8- Uada- "Djinn" 

This album finds the Portland band excelling at both songwriting and in the sounds they have crafted here, as the band continues to expand their sound. It had drawn some unfounded post punk comparisons. The riffing is very metal, though it is dark and has a fair amount of tension to it. Their songwriting was refined enough to put them at number 8. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/uada-djinn.html

7-Kall- "Brand" 

The boys from Lifelover are back. They have not brought any sunshine this time either. The amount of growth since their 2014 debut is off the charts. They jam the songs out as elements of jazz dance around the depressive tapestry of sound. They command more sonic range than UADA , giving them the number 7 spot.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/kall-brand.html

6- Forgotten Tomb- "Nihilistic Estrangement"

Dark and melodic, while not sacrificing the venom to their hell fire. They really stepped up on all levels and gave the songs more grounded and urban feel than the bulk of black metal out today securing them here at number 6. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/forgotten-tomb-nihilistic-estrangement.html

 

5-Vous Autres -"Sel de Pierre" 

This French band continues to lay to waste with a surreal blend of atmosphere and emotionally crushing  riffs to terrorize your ears. All done with the most monstrous beauty.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/vous-autres-sel-de-pierre.html

 

4-Svnth "Spring in Blue"

One reason I like doing these end-of-the-year lists is how they make me go back and listen to albums that I liked earlier in the year and forgot about. This was one of those. I did tell myself I was going to download this and just now got around to downloading it. That is how 2020 is though. It is everything a thinking man might want from modern black metal. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/svnth-spring-in-blue.html 

3- Tombs - "Under Sullen Skies"

 Yeah it is a tough year for black metal when these guys do not take the top spot. That is not a slight on this album. In fact it is the heaviest of the top 3. They do delve into their more gothy side at time, but for the most part it is hammering and in your face. Mike Hill is pissed and that makes me happy.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/tombs-under-sullen-skies.html

2- Wayfarer - " Romance With Violence" 

These guys are not content with just being heavy anymore. This is sound track to a western in hell. The range of dynamic here is stunning., It was a tough call between this one and the album that took the top spot, it just came down to which one I listened to more. This album is not just one of the best black metal albums to come out this year it is one of the best albums of any genre. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/wayfarer-romance-with-violence.html

1- Chrome Waves - "Where We Live" 

This is the least black metal album of the 3, but it is the best. They ride the line between shoegazing and black metal so hard that I have to listen through the entire album and compare it song by song to see where it fell, it was a 60/ 40 mix. Making it still more black metal than most Deafheaven albums. Not just the best black metal albums of the year but in the top 10 best albums overall. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/chrome-waves-where-we-live.html

SVNTH : "Spring in Blue"

Going into this album I though this Italian band was just going to be riding the Deafheaven band wagon as the post part what given the emphasis. Normally I am a hard sell on instrumentals , but the first song here is one and I liked it . When vocals do come in on the second song , it feels like a mix of sludge and black metal. It is not until mid wya into the song that the fera exposion of a more blackened sound erupts. They are very dynamic and have shifted the mood three times in this song. The doomy sounds returning. Variations of doom open "Parallel Layers" before ebbing down into the most surreal sounds of what most might cal post rock, though there is very little in common with Deafheaven until the speed up coming out of this space. The vocals are more organic it their rasp and these guys have a dirtier sound. I normally do not like long songs, but these guys use their 11 minutes wisely.

Just like the other songs there is a lot going on with " Wings of  the Ark" . Jazz inflected guitar and some really beautifully nuanced playing  that is captured very organically considering the raw edge to this mix. At over fourteen minutes " Chaos Spiral in Reverse" is the albunm's longest song. It starts off very noisy. In fact the first minute cut have been edited out. They get more feral in the black metal attack on this one. I think the fact many of the tones they use are not conventional black metal sounds making them not fit neatly into the expectations of mainstream metal. They ony stay in this black metal mode maybe a few minutes in before exploring clean tones. The guitars are well layered. The guitar solo on this song is really great as it balances melody and shred. Bt the end of the song they have descended more into what you expect from black metal sonically.

The last song is 13 minute. It has more tremolo tension. While I feel they make a more honest stab in the direction of black metal due to the raw nature of what they do, I doubt they are going to be winning over your average fan of black metal. I like the tension in the riffs of the last song, but by the time you get to the end they have shown you all their cards and no surprises to be had. The only unexpected moment is the 80s guitar sound when they go into a Police like riff. The vocals also drop down into a more death metal like growl.  I will give this album a 9, rounding it down due to the fact I can see where the length of some of the songs might keep me from listening to it as much as if they were half the length.