We are now over that hump! 50-41 in my top 100 albums of 2020.
50. Huntsmen - Mandala of Fear
Hunstmen is a mix of Yes, Black Crown Initiate, Tool, Intronaut, Anathema etc. The opening track goes back and forth between soaring clean vocals and harsh death vocals, and it absolutely crushes.
Unfortunately, as you progress towards the B side of the album, it starts to drag and goes on for too long. The album has a running time of 78 minutes. If they made some cuts, this album would be ranked higher.
49. SouphL - CommérageS
SouphL is an avant garde death metal band from Québec. They go off in really strange directions at times. One moment you're listening to some savage grating death metal, and then the next you end up in this weird jazz jam.
Definitely not for everyone, but if you are looking for something out there, give this one a try.
48. Gas - Vórtice
An experimental jazz trio from Uruguay. They are made up of drums, bass, and keyboards.
I really don't know much more about this band, but what I do know is that they play some killer jazz fusion with some latin flair.
47. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Alone Together
Rikard Sjöblom is formerly of Beardfish, who broke up years ago. I was all set to see them as a part of Progressive Nation, but due to visa issues, the band wasn't able to make it out here to tour.
Luckily, Rikard Sjöblom is still making music under his own moniker, and continues making quality 70s style prog rock.
46. Moon Hooch - Life on Other Planets
Moon Hooch is a band out of Brooklyn, New York. Made up of a drummer and two saxophonists, they got their start busking all over NYC.
They mix jazz and dance music, and it just wants to make you get up and dance. This sounds like music that is meant to be seen live, and hopefully I'll get a chance to do that soon (piss off pandemic!).
45. Ailiph Doepa - Plasma ~the world~ & Exormantis
I'm cheating once again and combining these two albums in one spot. Ailiph Doepa hails from Japan and they are very Mr. Bungle weird, and give off some major Maximum the Hormone vibes.
44. Half Waif - The Caretaker
Half Waif (aka Nandi Rose) is an indie / art synth pop artist out of New York. She wrote this album on her own, and it apparently ended up being from the perspective of an external character named the "caretaker." The caretaker is tasked at upkeeping the estate, but is doing a poor job.
This is a deeply personal album, and you can hear it in how she expresses her vocals, all backed up by keyboards and synths.
43. Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota
Finnish band Havukruunu plays old school black metal. All the songs are in Finnish, so I have no idea what they are singing about and don't really care. It's all about the music here, and it's stellar.
While not revolutionary, it ticks all the right boxes when it comes to black metal. Great riffage, fast drumming, sounds kind of like crap, and great folky guitar licks.
42. TWRP - Over the Top
TupperWare Remix Party (TWRP) is a fun party time Daft Punk synthfunk JAM! Look at that album cover! Nominee for album cover of the year right there!
All of their songs are just so danceable and just so much fun. Coupled with the ridiculous costumes that the band wears, this music would make for a great time in a live setting.
41. The Grand Astoria - From the Great Beyond
I listened to The Grand Astoria's The Mighty Few (2015) only once, thought it was pretty good, and then forgot about them. They popped back up on my radar in 2017 with their EP The Fuzz of Destiny. Also good, but then they just kept ending up slipping through the cracks.
Now we have From the Great Beyond in 2020 and this band is here to stay in my repertoire of bands. They are a drone doom psych prog band from Russia. I'm also aware that this is listed as an EP in Bandcamp but an album in Spotify. Who cares, for my purposes this is an album, and an excellent one at that.
