Onslaught – Generation Antichrist (2020) – If there’s one thrash band that really caught my attention this year, it has to be Onslaught. I know that Testament and Havoc also released albums this year, but Havoc played the Metallica route and Testament lacked a lot of the anger and fury of their mid-era records. I want a disc where the band sounds utterly fucking pissed off and that’s what I’m getting here. The drumming and bass are so pronounced on this record that it literally thumps through your speakers, and the frontman delivers an absolutely seething approach on the vocal lines. I’m also proud to announce that Onslaught is one of the few bands out there to address the clown world that we live in today, with my 2020 anthem, “Bow Down To The Clowns.” I also checked the video out and it’s pretty damn awesome, definitely illustrates the material there. Anyone to the right of Stalin is seen as an evil white supremacist and that is in my mind, completely fucking ridiculous. It’s also dangerous. I’m glad the band is pointing out how the rest of us pretty much have to bow down to these clowns or they’ll destroy our livelihoods with their childish tricks. And I’m gonna say this one more fucking time – When Google and Coca Cola support your counter-culture movement, then it is no longer a counter-culture movement. Aside from that though, the relatively short album is nothing but pummeling, absolutely pounding metal from beginning to end – and these guys actually sound like they’re upset, rather than singing about old serial killers or pushing progressive propaganda. Some of us just want to be left the fuck alone and don’t want all this crap pushed on us. Society today makes me want to go move out into the mountains, the deep forest or even the jungles. You know, I’ll bet ancient tribes are more civilized than what we’re seeing in the first world. And as for that first world, let’s not forget about a little ditty here called “Empires Fall.” According to many, we are already in the age of decadence and if you’ve read up on the cycles of an empire, then you’ll know that the next stage is in fact the last one. Without a doubt, Generation Antichrist is the soundtrack of this generation, blazing guitars and all.
Conflict – Decision Code (2020) – Conflict are an industrial metal band quite similar to Fear Factory, but with notable djent riffs as are prominent with many industrial acts in the modern era. They have a female vocalist by the name of Anna and she’s a beast. Clearly Russia continues to show us that they took the best from Gossow fronted Arch Enemy and not so much it’s current iteration. The record pounds with familiar Fear Fatory-esque drumming aesthetics, though often shifts between Demanufacture and possibly Lacuna Coil. It’s heavier than you think, but definitely has a few clean moments. The record is also synth heavy, though doesn’t forget what it’s made to do and serves as a worthy contender to the now nearly disassembled Fear Factory. What’s more, is that there are several vocal guests on the record including most notably, the former Fear Factory frontman himself, Burton C. Bell. The band more or less gave him full control of the mic for “Architect” which he performs wonderfully on. It seems to follow in the vein of “Expiration Date” which means that once again, we are dealing with the death of the machine, the end of life. Burton seems to be focusing on that quite a bit lately. Aside from all that, you’re going to get quite a few pounders here as well as an instrumental treat in “Megaopolis” which kind of sounds a bit cyperpunk detective and closer “New Industrial Order” which starts out slow, but I guess you can scream about whatever you want on it. It’s a nice doomy track, kind of left-field for them, but it’s good to practice your vocals with. I didn’t say upload that to YouTube or post it on Facebuck (which you can’t) but definitely use it for practice. That’s how I started out, after all. In any case, if you need something to scratch that Fear Factory itch, Conflict will do that for you. It’s not completely Fear Factory, but it’s close enough in the drumming and bass patterns to fit the mold well enough.
Cursed Mantis – Cursed Mantis (2020) – Cursed Mantis came out of nowhere with their weird avantgarde experimental approach to metal, reminding me a bit of Unexpect and other bizarre acts I’ve covered over the years. There’s everything from pure death metal to grind to pop to hip hop beats to industrial, 8-bit and just overall fucking weirdness. There’s also quite a bit about cheese here. I wonder if this record is based on the mouse utopia experiment, as it very well could be. All I know is that if you listen to it for too long, you may wind up with a craving for cheese. The project seems to consist of a both a male and female vocal, with the male vocal focused on destroying your ears and the female vocal focused on clean, beautiful passages. It’s one hell of a mix, folks and I’m sorry that I didn’t get to it sooner. The record is actually labeled grindcore, but how do you figure? I think I could play a pretty good joke on grindcore purists with this one. Though they’re not wrong, as artistic as the record is, it is definitely grindcore in the most extreme sense. I think a lot of folks missed out on this and if you’re looking for something altogether different, magical, demonic and cheesy, then you can’t go wrong with this one. Cursed Mantis is short, but you’ll end up listening to it again soon after the first play – it’s a fun album in these dark times.
Vacant Eyes – A Somber Preclusion Of Being (2020) – You know those doom albums where the band is almost devoid of melody and the experience becomes so bland and monotonous that even listening to the disc is torture? Well, thankfully Vacant Eyes are not that kind of band. The first thing I noticed from the disc were in fact it’s strong lead riffs, melodies and solo bits. Sure, there are some deep-seated moments of vocal gravel and acoustics as you might expect, but there’s more to it than that. You’ve got to guide the listener along somehow when it comes to these kinds of experiences, whether that be with a melody or a vocal and once again, the melodies are king here. The record is quite dark and gloomy, but not without a smattering of piano and some other attempts to slightly liven up which can sound quite dead in some areas. However, we expect that, as when you put a creepy, dark forest on the cover of your album, it should in some way match the album cover. The songs are quite lengthy as you may also expect from doom, but there’s enough meat here to keep the listener hooked as I mentioned. “Apparitions Of Existence” is certainly one of the more standout tracks, yet again I’ll have to mention the potent lead-riffing on the album opener, “A Colorless Eternity.” Just because you’re writing a bleak and rather forlorn doom album doesn’t mean that you can’t utilize captivating melodies and even some shreddy guitar solos. These work when done right and Vacant Eyes show that they can exist within the musical language of doom metal. After all, when you look at early Swallow The Sun, in particular “The Mourning Never Came” you’ll notice that the album is loaded with strong, potent melodies that carry the listener on a journey and prove why the band has made it as far in this industry as they have. There’s something about quality to be said there and Vacant Eyes capture that quality. If you’re going to write doom, don’t write an album that is going to put me to sleep. I’m not looking for musical melatonin and I can’t come on your journey if it is a fight to keep my eyes open. A Somber Preclusion Of Being does exactly the opposite of this, and even though it can be lulling at times, it doesn’t stay within that territory. More doom acts should look to Vacant Eyes for inspiration, or they should look at including packaged coffee grounds with physical copies of their album. Maybe someone can get a deal with Deathwish coffee.
Green Carnation – Leaves Of Yesteryear (2020) – Wow, what year is it? When I saw the name Green Carnation in my inbox, I was taken aback. Their last few records have been a bit light and far removed from the more metallic offerings of their earlier years. But perhaps someone got some Deathwish coffee to them and they decided to pump it up a notch with their latest effort, Leaves Of Yesteryear. Let’s hope that this isn’t the band just playing heavy one last time as the title might inquire. Once can use mental gymnastics to assume that the band are “leaving their sound of yesteryear” and we’ll get an acoustic folk album from them next that will likely turn off a lot of the fans who loved this one. However, what we’re getting is a rather trippy prog metal album that I would define as quite good. Whatever these guys have been doing over the past few years, it definitely paid off this year. Remember that most of the world was still in a heavy lockdown while this album was being released, so for many people, this was an unexpected surprise that certainly made the situation much easier. The album opens with a title cut that feels like a mixture of folk and heavy prog, culminating in a potent solo effort. There are a few harsh vocals, but the chorus shines brighter than most may imagine. “Sentinels” is a synth heavy thrasher with what might even be a tinge of power metal in some areas. There are some unexpectedly heavy grooves here, making Green Carnation sound like an unexpectedly ravenous flower. “My Dark Reflections Of Life and Death” adds to the heaviness of the previous number, but it is a bit more morose in some sections and that works well for the atmosphere. Proggy bits are featured, but unexpectedly heavy grooves and drumming seem to work impeccably well with a vocal approach that has so far dominated this recording as far as I’m concerned. If this record isn’t on you top ten albums of 2020 list, then something maybe wrong with your ears or perhaps the thing in between them. “Hounds” is a bit slower, but builds up into a thunderous prog bout later in it’s tenure. Several guitar solos can also be found here, spicing up what seems to be an amalgamation of many moods, with yet another knock out chorus to boot. Unfortunately, “Solitude” is the only place where I’m lost, as a mostly mediocre piece serves to dampen the mood and end the whole listen on an unexpectedly somber note. If you take this one out, you still have roughly forty minutes of great music that you’ll play again and again. Maybe that ending note brings the album down a little, but it’s still not enough for me to consider it a wash – in fact, it’s far from that. Leaves Of Yesteryear may very well be one of the strongest recordings in the Green Carnation library. If you haven’t heard it yet, you should definitely get on that.
Hail Spirit Noir – Eden In Reverse (2020) – Okay, so it was bound to happen. Hail Spirit Noir are shedding their black metal roots a little to make room for more prog, synths and trippiness. If you’d like me to be honest, it sounds very similar to modern Opeth (especially in the vocal sense) but with a slightly darker and eerie feel – in other words, Hail Spirit Noir are doing progressive metal in a far more realized sense than Opeth achieved with Sorceress last year. Once again, there are virtually no scowls to be found on here, but you like Arcturus don’t you? It’s kind of like that, just a bit more bizarre and frankly, I can handle that. Eden In Reverse takes you places and the synths masterfully achieve that. The drumming is a bit raw in some areas but there’s a sort of prog-jam feel to this whole album that touches on Arcturus (and obviously numerous other classic progressive rock bands throughout the decades) making me wonder if Hail Spirit Noir are also trying to carry the Pink Floyd torch. Though to be fair, Yes, Camel and King Crimson are also notable influences and this album seems to do them all credit. This album is a pure treat for fans of atmosphere, because you have Theremins abound on “Alien Lip Reading” which almost feels like the soundtrack for a Twilight Zone episode. Sure, this may not sound like much to you, but once again; I’m taken on a ride. A very familiar vocalist also appears on “Crossroads” and sounds awfully like the frontman from Borkagnar, bringing even more of a familiar progressive edge to the album. I knew that sooner or later Hail Spirit Noir was going to go full prog and wouldn’t be just blackened prog metal with harsh vocals. Though this is perfectly fine, because the formula has transferred over well and it equaled out to an ultimately weird little record that I’m sure most of you will play again and again. The record still features a few black metal sections, but let’s not kid ourselves here – this is not the back catalogue and if you’d rather have that, it is always going to be there for you. However, when I hear a track that is so retro robotics as “Automata 1980” I can’t help but smile. Eden In Reverse is such an incredible record, it’s a shame I can’t really soak it in as much as I would want to – but that’s just how it goes in this business. Regardless of that, I strongly urge you to give it a try. Yeah yeah, so they may have “sold out” to some people, but I don’t see that at all. The record still comes off as vibrant and uniquely odd as most of their other discs, there just isn’t as much pummeling black metal and it’s nearly devoid of screams. But you can handle that, right? Musicians need to evolve their sound as they go and Hail Spirit Noir did just that. Look, we can’t all be Slayer or ACDC and write the same album every time.
Yousei Teikoku – The Age Of Villains (2020) – I was shocked to find that the band’s people reached out to me and wanted me to promote a single. Well, I don’t normally promote singles, I cover albums and I was definitely happy to check this one out. While not the longest release in their catalogue, it is definitely still a heavy metal record (and keep in mind that they haven’t always done heavy metal music) with large portions of the orchestral and neoclassical elements that have made this band a big name in Japan since the early ’00s. If you’re already into BabyMetal and are looking for something with a bit more substance and maturity, then this is where you’re going to find it. Not only that, but the guitar compositions are completely off the wall on this record, which equal out to some amazingly vibrant solo efforts that just took me by surprise and found me playing electric air guitar all the while. Choirs can also be found on the record in areas, most notably in “Paradiso-Inferno” which almost comes off as a classic Therion track. Djent riffs are also slightly used, as well as some sections that sound very close to that of Nu-Metal and Metalcore. They even channel a little bit of Slipknot here, so the experience gets a bit heavier than you may expect. However, this is still an idol record, so there is a dance friendly number in “Eclipsed” (but it’s still metal, so you won’t feel too guilty about jamming to it) and there’s also a folk number at the very end of the disc that works pretty well too. However, the real standout on this disc for me has to be “Iron Rose.” That song is the very lifeblood of this band, the thing that most people come to them for and will be jamming for days. It’s a neoclassical cut with a killer chorus that should have been used in an anime, a game or something. They’ve had their songs featured in this kind of material before, so I don’t see why they would have left this one out, especially with the flood of anime that we’re seeing on a regular basis now. I remember when there were only a couple of anime films you could check out and you’d watch them over and over again, now I find myself completely overburdened by the amount of anime that has released over the past few decades. Even so, there are lots of series based anime that could have used this one as an opening or maybe even a visual novel, since those are increasing in popularity (and in number as well). The song also jams, so you’re gonna love it. Obviously, Yousei Teikoku wanted to go with a less male harsh vocal approach and Yui wanted her vocals to be more at the center of the band, which works beautifully and should gel incredibly well with the majority of heavy metal weebs out there, like myself. Definitely give it a listen if you wanted your idol influenced J-pop to be a hell of a lot heavier than BabyMetal every thought about. In my eyes, Yousei Teikoku will always be the better act when it comes to this, and they came first – whether you like it or not. I’m definitely enjoying Age Of Villains and I’m sure you will too.