The Top (COVID-) 19 of 2020 - Best in Music
Wow, what a year 2020 was eh? I’m not going to get into you-know-what and you-know-who, I’ve had enough of that nonsense for one lifetime. While the end of the world was happening, it’s easy to overlook that a lot of great music came out this year. When it comes to checking out new music, I’ve had an abundance of time.
Below are my favorite music moments from this past year. Top 19 moments, to be exact:
August Burns Red - Guardians: ABR is one of those bands that I were always on my radar but never got super into them. But at the same time, every time I heard a new song from them, I enjoyed it. I really started to get into them when they released their last album Phantom Anthem (2017). There’s a song on the album called “Invisible Enemy”, and not only is that song an absolute banger, the lyrics really spoke to me at the time. Specifically the first two lines:
“Wounded and tired and worried / It’s like fighting an invisible enemy”
From that point, I was in. I was struggling at my job at the time, my confidence was shaken and it really felt like I was fighting an invisible enemy. I latched onto this song so much that I had two sticky notes above my monitor at work; one had ‘invisible enemy’ on it and ‘be scared or be brave’ on the other (the latter being another lyric in the song). Having those notes in my sightline helped me power through any fears and insecurities I had at the time.
While Guardians doesn’t have a stand-out song like Invisible Enemy, it is still a fantastic album. Not a surprise though, ABR consistently writes great tunes, especially when you consider metalcore to be relatively inconsistent. “Bones,” “Defender,” and “Empty Heaven” are my favorite tracks, and if you like those songs you’ll most likely be into their other songs too. And their Christmas Burns Red livestream show was pretty killer. And they even did a fun cover of “Chop Suey!”
speaking of heavy af bands from Pennsylvania…
Code Orange - Underneath/Under the Skin: Not one, but two releases this year from Pittsburg’s finest hardcore band. Code Orange is an assault on all your senses, from their sound to the energy of their live show. They got my attention on their last full album Forever (2017), and they stepped up their game with Underneath, a monstrous sounding album that goes in a million different directions. And if a normal album wasn’t enough, they also released a live acoustic album Under the Skin, which shows a different perspective on their songs but doesn’t take away from their brutality. Acoustic versions of all their songs, plus a solid cover of “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains. Underneath is definitely not for everyone, but Under the Skin is much more digestible if you want to check them out.
And if two albums weren’t enough for your greedy asses, they also did a full production livestream show (Back Inside the Glass) that absolutely resulted in multiple aneurysms to anyone who watched it.
So if you’re counting at home, that’s two albums, a full livestream show, and a bunch of new merch that I may or may not have invested in. Code Orange are without a doubt one of the hardest working bands out there today, and that DIY attitude allows them to do everything from writing a scary af entrance theme for the Fiend (Let Me In) to having Corey Taylor feature on The Hunt. I’m all in on Code Orange.
speaking of Corey Taylor….
Corey Taylor - CMFT: You can read my review of CMFT here. The Slipknot and Stone Sour singer had himself quite a year. I listened to CMFT again recently in my car, and I was blown away how rad the drums sound, especially on “HWY 666” and “Culture Head.” Those are definitely air drumming songs.
And yes, Taylor also did a livestream of his own called “Forum or Against ‘Em” that was recorded at, you guessed it, the Forum in LA. Between the solo album, the livestream show, and his contributions to NXT, dude is keeping busy.
speaking of NXT…
The music of NXT - For those of you that have outgrown pro wrestling, NXT is a sub brand of WWE. If WWE is the major leagues, NXT is considered the minor leagues. NXT has the far superior brand, but I’ll go down that rabbit hole another time. Not only is the wrestling and story telling in NXT better, but the music is in a league of it’s own. Slipknot’s “All Out Life” is the theme song of the show. They have bands like Code Orange perform entrance songs live. Rhea Ripley has a killer entrance song. And check out this clip of Poppy singing Io Shirai’s entrance at Halloween Havoc. The clip is only like a minute and a half long, but there are at least a dozen things in it that turn me on. And it’s not like Shirai needed another great entrance, her normal entrance theme was already the best.
Between the quality of wrestling and the musical direction, NXT is the future.
speaking of bands and pro wrestling….
Every Time I Die - “A Colossal Wreck”/”Desperate Pleasures”/”AWOL”: The only thing better than watching ETID guitarist Andy Williams wrestle as “The Butcher” on AEW is getting new ETID tunes. “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures” were released at the same time, and “AWOL” was released to those who bought their Tidathon livestream show, which was quite possibly the most entertaining livestream of the year. (If you didn’t see it, I can’t explain it to you). Anyway, the new songs are rad and it sounds like we’re getting a full album in 2021. I’ve been a fan since Gutter Phenomenon (2005) and their energy is infectious. Plenty of bands have the same metcalcore-like sound but few do it better than ETID.
speaking of metalcore-related artists…
Machine Head (feat. Jesse David Leach) - “Stop the Bleeding”: One of favorite singers teamed up with one of my favorite thrash bands and released a stand-alone single, which was inspired by the George Floyd murder and ensuing protests. I’ll admit, I never imagined that JDL and Robb Flynn (MH singer/guitarist) would come together for a song, but I’m glad they did. That’s one of the many things that I love about the heavy metal community, people come together when a issues arises (especially one as important as social justice), artists come together and make their voices heard. The song is good, but I was more impressed at how they viewed the importance and urgency to put this song out as soon as they could.
speaking of Machine Head-related artists…
Echoes of Reckoning - “The Permanent Decay”: EoR is a project of sorts of former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel featuring former Machine Head drummer Dave McClain, Megadeth bassists Dave Ellefson, and Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati. All artists I am familiar with, and a big fan of, so naturally this song destroys. Not sure what Demmel has planned for EoR, but I’m hoping more songs like this one. I’m a big fan of Schieppati and Bleeding Through, an Orange County band that I have been following since I reviewed Portrait of The Goddess for Keeper Magazine.
speaking of OC bands…
Cerebellion - Beyond Our Failures: You can read my full review of Beyond Our Failures here. I don’t really have anything else to add, except that Cerebellion are going to be working hard on a lot of cool things in 2021, so stay tuned.
speaking of sexy hardworking artists…
Taylor Swift - Folklore: For reasons still unknown, I did a full review of this album. Since that review, she released another album called Evermore. I didn’t hear the whole album, but the parts I did hear definitely had the Folklore vibe. Still, cranking out two albums of solid tunes in less than a year is impressive. As someone trying to create content on a regular basis, I respect the hustle.
speaking of talented pop stars…
Miley Cyrus - “Just Breathe”: So I didn’t know MTV Unplugged was still a thing until I heard that Miley did a whole acoustic set this year, and one of the songs she covered was “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam. “Just Breathe” is one of my favorite PJ songs, and it’s one of those songs I get real protective of, just because it’s so beautiful and I would hate to hear anyone besmirch it in any way. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t enjoy her version of it. There’s something about her voice, distinct and full of range. Miley is legit, I’m a fan.
speaking of Pearl Jam…
Pearl Jam - Gigaton: If you didn’t know Pearl Jam was my favorite band, then hi nice to meet you! Ten came out when I was in junior high, I heard “Evenflow” for the first time and I have been hooked ever since. We all have our favorite bands, but PJ was the first band I LOVED. They’re my Grateful Dead. They’re my Bruce Springsteen. They’re my Dave Matthews Band.
Yes of course I’m biased, but PJ is one of the most consistently great bands today. I mean, you’d have to be if you’ve been relevant for 30 years right? You can count on your hands the number of rock bands that can still fill arenas, so I that tells me I’m not the only PJ fangirl walking around.
Gigaton is probably my favorite PJ album since the self titled one (2006), just enjoyable from beginning to end. PJ knows when to be fun (“Superblood Wolfmoon”), when to experiment a little (“Dance of the Clairvoyants”), and when to be serious about the issues they’re passionate about (“Seven O’Clock”). I want that riff from “Quick Escape” on repeat all day. Listen to this version of “River Cross”, and if doesn’t move you in any way, then we probably can’t be friends.
speaking of albums named after units of measurement…
Deftones - Ohms: My full review of Ohms can be found here. The more I listen to this album, the more I love it. They rescheduled their tour for 2021, and I’ll take as many COVID vaccines as I need to to go see them live again.
speaking of Deftones…
Deftones - Black Stallion: To celebrate the 20th (20th!!!) anniversary of the release of White Pony, they reissued the album along with a remix version called Black Stallion. There’s no shortage of artists who name White Pony as one of their favorite albums, and with good reason. White Pony was a game changer, an album universally respected by musicians of all genres.
I was curious how those songs would sound remixed by different artists. Some songs I liked more than others, but overall it was cool to hear each artist’s take on each track. My favorites are DJ Shadow’s take on “Digital Bath,” Paul Salva remixing “Rx Queen,” and the Mike Shinoda version of “Passenger.”
Like most electronic music, Black Stallion is best after consuming your favorite mind-adjusting substance.
speaking of black stallions…
Cardi B (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) - “WAP”: There’s no other song I love rapping more than this one. It’s a little disconcerting that this song taught me that I’ve been doing sex wrong this whole time. Oh well, doesn’t matter. It would be an honor to have either Cardi or Megan laugh my ass out of the bedroom.
Also, “macaroni in a pot” makes me giggle every time.
speaking of rap….
Run The Jewels - RTJ4: There wasn’t a more important album released this year than RTJ4, the soundtrack of social unrest. RTJ4 was dropped right in the middle of all the protests, and the only thing more impressive than the relevancy of the lyrics is the fact that most, if not all of it was written in 2019. RTJ4 is a reminder that racial injustice, biased media, and political corruption was happening long before 2020.
I was never into politics too much, but it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in this country today. Rage Against the Machine were the first band to teach me to fact check my history books, and it’s no surprise that Zack de la Rocha is on this album (“JU$T”). I learned a lot more from RATM and RTJ than I did in any political science class. I say we start teaching history through beats and rhymes, and the first lesson should be taught by Run The Jewels.
speaking of great artists from Atlanta…
Mastodon: Mastodon had a pretty busy year. They released an album of random tracks called Medium Rarities. They had a song on the Bill and Ted Face the Music (“Rufus Lives”). They had a pretty funny cooking show on YouTube (shout out to Chef Troyaredee!), and they did a cool livestream for the Adult Swim Festival. Whatever Mastodon does, I’m in.
speaking of Troy Sanders bands…
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero: KBK is a supergroup featuring Troy Sanders (Mastodon/bass/vocals), Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan/vocals/guitar), Max Cavalera (Soulfly/vocals/guitar), and Ben Koller (Converge/drums). God damn that’s an impressive lineup. And while I like their first album more, Reluctant Hero still hits heavy. And groovy. To me, KBK have their own sound; they don’t sound like a traditional mix of each member’s respective band. “Inner Calm from Outer Storms” is not only one of my favorite tracks, but also the name of my favorite essential oil. “Deconstructing Self-Destruction” is the name of my future TED Talk. This “side” band is better than most full time bands.
speaking of Greg Puciato…
Greg Puciato - Child Solider: Creator of God/Fuck Content: Here’s another dude who had a busy year. The end of Dillinger Escape Plan (for now?) didn’t stop Puciato from cranking out content. New Killer Be Killed album, new solo album Child Soldier: Creator of God, and subsequent livestream/album Fuck Content. Dillinger Escape Plan is good but abrasive and definitely not for everyone, so I would suggest if DEP is too much for you, try listening to Child Soldier instead. Puciato isn’t just a screamer, dude can sing pretty well. Imagine DEP without all the chaos and with some Nine Inch Nails-like vibes. If you want to save some time, check out Fuck Content, which has the live versions of Child Solider songs plus 5 other new tracks. “Absence as a Presence” and “Lying at the Bottom of the Sky” stand out, but basically both releases are worth a listen, whether you’re a DEP fan or not. I’d suggest watching the Fuck Content livestream if you are able to, Puciato knows how to do a live show.
speaking of livestream shows…
Lamb of God - Lamb of God: Last but not least, we’re at Lamb of God. Unfortunately I missed their livestream, but I plan on seeing them tour for this album. Lamb of God is the first album with new drummer Art Cruz. Nothing against previous drummer Chris Adler, but Cruz’s drumming on this album really stood out to me. Not that I could keep up in any way shape or form, but it’s fun air drumming these songs. Drumming aside, the songs are standard fare for LOG, you know what you’re getting at this point. And few metal bands do it better than LOG. I’m also looking forward to digging into singer D. Randall Blythe’s book Dark Days. Stay tuned…
And there you have it, all the music that kept me alive and sane in 2020.
Here’s to live concerts in 2021.
Here’s to supporting your favorite artists.
As Robb Flynn would say…Cheers fuckers, cheers!
