MOPE: The Top 20 Albums of 2020

2020. What a year, hey?

Despite everything, the saving grace of my year (along with film) was music - as it has been for the past decade, more or less. Even with the lack of gigs, a non-existant festival season, and general bummed-out vibe, the sheer quality of musical material to be found in the world of "alternative" music has been absolutely staggering. We're on a roll right now, and it's joyous.

As always, there was too much good shit in 2020 to cram it all into a top 20, so I've got to shout out a few honourable mentions before we start on the list proper:

• 100 gecs - 100 gecs and The Tree of Clues: Omitted from the main list on the grounds that it doesn't technically count as a studio album, this remixed version of the debut record from St. Louis freaks 100 gecs is even more eclectic and weird than the original. It makes for a perfect companion piece, and features one of my favourite verses of the year from Rico Nasty. Listen here.
• Idles - Ultra Mono: It's been a pretty rough year for everybody's favourite/least favourite post-punks, who have learned that being the most talked-about band of the moment comes with its fair share of controversy and scrutiny. For what's it's worth, their new album is an excellent example of why they got so big in the first place: no-nonsense confrontational lyricism married to furious, often-angular, always-catchy instrumentation. Listen here. 
• Deftones - Ohms: 2020 marks the year that I, at long last, got into Deftones. White Pony and Around The Fur in particular have been on constant repeat, but their newest effort ain't half bad either. I feel like maybe those with years of investment in this band will have this album in a top 3 spot, but even for a noob like me, it's impressive enough to get an honourable mention. Listen here.
• Run The Jewels - RTJ4: This fourth record from the best hip-hop duo in the world was dropped at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in June following the murder of George Floyd, and is quite possibly the most politically pertinent release of the year; systemic racism, police brutality, and the class divide in America are tackled head-on by Killer Mike and El-P, who effortlessly turn furious political statements into catchy hooks, poetic bars, and bombastic beats. Listen here.
• Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings: Kilmarnock's finest return to form after a relatively forgettable outing in the shape of 2016's Elipsis - A Celebration of Endings sees another great marriage of the Biff's penchant for big stadium-rock hooks to their musically ambitious songwriting, and there's no shortage of riffage along the way. Oh, and on 'Cop Syrup', Simon Neil is screaming again. That's all I need. Listen here.

And if that wasn't enough for you, I've also been really enjoying new records from Trivium, Rico Nasty, Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin, Enter Shikari, Phoebe Bridgers, Big Cheese, Everything Everything, Gulfer, Jeff Rosenstock, The Hell, Bruce Springsteen, Anaal Nathrakh, God Damn, Killer Be Killed, Dune Rats, Chubby and the Gang, A.A Williams, Leeched, CLT DRP, and Napalm Death this year. Told you it was a good 'un.

Right, then... the 20 best records of 2020. Let's go.

Number 20: END - Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face

Best Tracks: Pariah, Fear for Me Now, Evening Arms

FFO: Cult Leader, Vein, Leeched

I'm a simple man, really. If you put a big, bruising metallic hardcore album in front of me which features blast beats, breakdowns, walls of guitar feedback, and throat-shredding screams, there's a 99% chance I'll fall head over heels for it. This debut LP from supergroup END (featuring members of Counterparts, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fit For An Autopsy, Misery Signals, Shai Hulud, and Reign Supreme) ticks all the boxes and then some, with a new pit-worthy riff popping up approximately every 5 seconds. It's like each member brings the heaviest thing from each of their own projects and lends it to the proceedings here, from Brendan Murphy's vocals to Billy Rymer's frantic percussion. Lead single 'Pariah' sums the record up best: hard as nails from start to end, and ending on a mosh-call beatdown which rivals the very, very best of them. Absolutely delicious brutality.

Number 19: Elephant Tree - Habits

Best Tracks: Sails, Exit the Soul, Bird

FFO: Sleep, Pallbearer, Torche

In an age when we're all constantly bombarded with information at every second of every day, there's something to be said for albums that you can truly get lost in; music that takes you away for 45 minutes, into a world of its own. Habits, the second LP from London-based rifflords Elephant Tree, is a prime example. Offering up soaring melodies backed by stoner-doom guitar and basswork which hits like a ton of bricks, this record really is all-encompassing in the best way possible. From the minute that tone first hits your ears at the start of 'Sails', it feels like you're flying high over a crumbling mountain, watching boulders tumble down a cliffside from an ethereal vantage point. I cannot wait to see this band live as soon as humanly possible. Let's hope 2021 will be kinder to all of us.

Number 18: Lil Cucc - I'M JUST HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME and i'm doing a bad job

Best Tracks: WELCOME HOME, CHEEK SPLITTER, to you

FFO: Kanye West, Bo Burnham, Travis Scott

Very few fresh faces have emerged in British hip-hop over the last few years that have impressed me as much as Lil Cucc. On this, his third and supposedly final record, he completes a brilliant trilogy which clearly illustrates both the blossoming of his musical and technical ability and his own personal growth over the last two years. I'M JUST HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME... is a concept album through and through, full of self-referential comedy and returning motifs from Cucc's earlier work - he examines his own music and legacy with a fine-tooth comb, and eventually (on 'CHEEK SPLITTER'), the persona is put to rest once and for all. Lil Cucc is canonically sent to hell, and a phoenix rises from the ashes: somebody entirely new, bold enough to stray away from hilarity in order to confront their own personal struggles. The album's home stretch treats the listener to understatement and intimacy, juxtaposing those iconic trap bangers with something much more real.

It almost goes without saying that both halves of the record are brilliant in their own right, and Lil Cucc's longtime collaborators all leave their absolute best in the booth one last time. With a much broader creative pallette than ever to work with, the likes of Yxng Kids, Lil Cunt, and Yxng Gooch prove that they were always more than an occasional feature - instead, they're integral patches of fabric in a canvas woven by a bonafide prodigy. The sheer ambition demonstrated by the conductor of this mad orchestra is staggering, and to execute it all using an iPhone headphone mic and numerous Garageband files is nothing short of genius. Lil Cucc is dead; love live Lil Cucc.

Lil Cucc · I'M JUST HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME and i'm doing a bad job

Number 17: The Smith Street Band - Don't Waste Your Anger

Best Tracks: God Is Dead, I Still Dream About You, It's OK

FFO: Violent Soho, Jeff Rosenstock, The Front Bottoms

Throw Me In The River, The Smith Street Band's 2014 modern classic, is one of my favourite albums of all time, and was especially formative for me as a young teenager (going through everything a young teenager tends to go through). Two albums removed, and Wil Wagner and co. are still smashing out earnest emo-rock bangers like nobody's business. Don't Waste Your Anger finds the Aussies at their most understated and mature thus far, and certainly their most musically ambitious too - synths and backing vocals from new-ish members Lucy Wilson and Jess Locke add another dimension to their tried-and-tested sound. 'I Still Dream About You' is the standout track for me, but 'It's OK' is another highlight; consisting of nothing but an acoustic guitar, ambient birdsong, and Wagner's brilliant lyricism. It demonstrates strength in simplicity, and shows that great songwriting still lies at the unshakeable foundation of The Smith Street Band.

Number 16: clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned

Best Tracks: '96 Neve Campbell, Check the Lock, Looking Like Meat

FFO: Injury Reserve, Ho99o9, Daughters

I can't remember the last time an artist appeared on my AOTY list two years running, but I'm not surprised at all that the band to finally pull it off are clipping. Visions of Bodies... is a kind of companion piece to 2019's There Existed An Addiction To Blood; playing with similar themes and occupying the same sonic "world", if you will. It's another horrorcore epic of (somehow) equal quality, with MC Daveed Diggs at the centre and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes backing him up with the most creatively abrasive soundscape of the year. Diggs is absolutely incredible. The speed he picks up on some of these tracks, combined with the verbose, often-terrifying lyricism and impeccable flow, makes it feel like he's sold his soul to the devil in exchange for limitless hip-hop talent. I often don't really understand how the interplay between the instrumental/ambient elements and the vocals works so seamlessly, but the effect it ultimately has is uniquely haunting, technically impressive, and catchy enough to fill a dancefloor all at once.

Number 15: Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA

Best Tracks: XS, Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys), Tokyo Love Hotel

FFO: Charli XCX, SOPHIE, Poppy

Yes, the rumours are true: I like pop music now. My caveman brain has evolved slightly over the past few years to appreciate sounds other than fat, distorted riffs, panic chords, and unintelligable screaming - although that stuff will always have my heart. I love Lily Allen, Sigrid, La Roux, Stromae... and most of all, in 2020, I love Rina Sawayama's new album. This is a complete artistic statement from the singer-songwriter, as she experiments with and twists the pop music "formula" to produce something uniquely exciting in both sound and concept. SAWAYAMA tackles both the personal and sociopolitical, especially concerned with Rina's family and her Japanese heritage; both the way it defines her personally and the way it's viewed from a western perspective (mostly brilliantly in 'STFU'). Songs like 'Dynasty' and 'Akasaka Sad' root the record in this idea, with the latter featuring a brilliant verse in the Japanese language. Everything from capitalism to misogyny to specific relationships are all put to the sword through a cascade of creative, intelligent dance-pop bangers here - oh, and did I mention? This has a fair few fat, distorted riffs on it too. 'STFU' is straight up nu-metal. Good shit.

Number 14: Drain - California Cursed

Best Tracks: Army of One, Bad Faith, California Cursed

FFO: Rotting Out, Mindforce, Power Trip

Who could've guessed that sun-bleached California hardcore and ultra-fast crossover thrash would make for such an incredible combination? Well... literally everyone - and Drain are here to show us precisely how it's done. An ode to their home state through and through, this collection of chugging riffs, scorching guitar licks, and two-step-inducing rhythm makes for an unbelievably fun listen, no matter how many times you hear it on repeat. California Cursed has been my go-to workout record in 2020 for good reason: I challenge you to listen to that mosh call on 'Army of One' and not feel like charging headfirst through a brick wall. Sure, this LP is a joyous experience, but it's also beefy as hell, especially towards the second half - tracks like 'White Coat Syndrome' and 'Bad Faith' pack a serious punch. Easily one of the best hardcore albums to come out of an especially impressive year for the genre.

Number 13: Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone

Best Tracks: Routine Pain, Kick, Losers 2

FFO: The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Captain We're Sinking

With 2020 being the year that it was, I'm sure everyone has had moments (or maybe just one elongated moment) of dejection, loneliness, and hopelessness - so who better to capture the international mood than Spanish Love Songs, who kick off their second LP with a track featuring lyrics like: "I just worry about the songs I'll never write/It don't matter, they don't wanna hear me on the other side" and "Have you ever felt lower than everyone else?". Frontman Dylan Slocum is powerfully emotive all throughout Brave Faces Everyone, supported by a band who sit somewhere between The Menzingers and The Wonder Years (with some interesting tonal shifts and additional synths/keyboards along the way). If you feel like a good cry, I probably won't be able to recommend a better, more cathartic musical experience for you this year.

Number 12: Year of the Knife - Internal Incarceration

Best Tracks: This Time, Stay Away, Manipulation Artist

FFO: Jesus Piece, Arkangel, Knocked Loose

What do you get when you cross one of the most aggressive and exciting bands of the last five years with the greatest producer in 21st century heavy music? That would be Year of the Knife's Internal Incarceration - a triumph in jaw-jutting, riff-heavy, terminally-furious metallic hardcore, miles ahead of most of the competition. Delaware's resident straight-edge pitmasters have been one of the world's most exciting prospects since emerging on the scene, and, having recently signed to Pure Noise Records, are now starting to get the international attention they deserve. Their debut LP finds Kurt Ballou at the recording desk (the man responsible for producing 3 of my top 10 albums of the past decade) whilst pure chaos is rendered in the studio. Featuring beatdowns galore and some of the outright toughest tracks of the year, this is the war cry of a band destined to go down as a generational staple in hardcore history.

Number 11: Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

Best Tracks: Rotted Futures, Atomic Age, Alphaville

FFO: Oranssi Pazuzu, Liturgy, Altar of Plagues

I know what you're thinking: finally, one for all the avant-jazz blackened death metal fans out there.

In truth, Imperial Triumphant are hard to pin down. They take from an vast range of styles and influences and combine it all with raw musical talent to create something wholly unique; something that has to be heard to be believed. It feels almost as much of a cinematic experience as a musical one, taking you deep into the heart of a retro-futuristic New York metropolis with a dark and otherwordly take on the roaring 20s. The experience is almost overwhelming at times; such a dense record really requires repeat listens to be able to sink your teeth into it properly. Once you can manage to wrap your head around the maniacal drumming, off-kilter guitarwork, and total disregard for traditional songwriting, Alphaville blossoms into its own sonic galaxy - as awe-inspiring as it is terrifying. What an insane accomplishment.

Number 10: Dorian Electra - My Agenda

Best Tracks: Sorry Bro (I Love You), Edgelord, Ram It Down

FFO: 100 Gecs, Slayyyter, Kim Petras

Yet another record that the version of myself from two years ago would be amazed (and possibly concerned) to see in my top 20, Dorian Electra's My Agenda takes everything that the experimental-pop-master did on 2019's Flamboyant and condenses it into a 25 minute burst of insane, hypersexual energy and cutting sociopolitical commentary. Electra takes equal aim at toxic masulinity, heteronormativity, and conservative persecution of the LGBT+ community here, with lyrics often coming from the perspectives of incel types or right-wing caricatures: "I am the last living gentleman"; "We live in a society / That's always lashing out at guys like me"; "We're out here turning frogs homosexual". 'Ram It Down' is especially brilliant, taking that tired talking point of closet homophobes ("Hey man, love who you want / But just don't ram it down my throat") and turning it into the gayest double entendre possible. 

The actual sound of My Agenda is impossible to define, with elements of industrial music, hyperpop, trap, metal, and just pure fuckin' noise all amalgamating to form hook after hook and banger after banger. With features from the likes of Village People (yes, really) and Rebecca Black (yes, really) along the way, this really is a must-listen on every front.

Number 9: Haggard Cat - Common Sense Holiday

Best Tracks: First Words, Show Reel, Ghosts Already

FFO: Death From Above 1979, Turbowolf, Baroness

"Evolution" is a word thrown around a lot in our current musical zeitgeist, usually without a lot of weight behind it. Whenever a heavy band jumps off the perceived sinking ship that is guitar music and oversimplifies their sound whilst trying to appeal to a wider audience, any form of criticism will usually be met with cries of "It's just their natural evolution, they're evolving as a band!". Well, I call bullshit on trend-hopping metalcore bands, and present to you Haggard Cat's Common Sense Holiday; the sound of two excellent musicians taking their music to new heights through sheer creativity and songwriting prowess.

Both Charger and Challenger, the first two records from the ex-HECK two-piece, are absolutely fantastic in their own rights - but it'd be hard to deny that Common Sense Holiday stands head and shoulders above them both. Each and every track on this thing is a rager, that's a given, but it's also more varied and musically interesting than ever before, as well as catchier and sonically bigger. Songs like 'Human Animal' and 'European Hardware' offer souped-up choruses and memorable riffs in a blues-tinged garage rock format, not dissimilar to stuff like The White Stripes and early DFA1979, whilst 'Rational', 'The Natives', and 'Ghosts Already' have the melodic ear and epic scope of a band like Baroness. Tom Marsh's inventiveness behind the kit compliments Matt Reynolds' mastery of the axe perfectly, and alongside some nail-on-the-head lyricism, Common Sense Holiday becomes not only Haggard Cat's best, but also one of 2020's most enjoyable listens altogether. 

Number 8: Phoxjaw - Royal Swan

Best Tracks: Trophies in the Attic, Triple AAA, Teething

FFO: Biffy Clyro, Stake, At The Drive-In

If you've been paying any attention whatsoever to UK rock music over the past few years, chances are you'll be familiar with Phoxjaw already. The Bristol-based band have been a festival staple and support-slot surefires for a while now - I first saw them at the Louisiana, playing before The Armed - and the sheer charisma and personality in their music has always been at the core of the explosive live shows. As good as their first two EPs are, I'm not sure anyone was quite expecting Royal Swan. 

This is, arguably, the most exciting debut LP from a British band since HECK dropped Instructions in 2016. It's also a difficult one to review, because it completely refuses to be pigeon-holed from the very start - after a twinkly, ambient intro track, 'Trophies in the Attic' sets the tone by attacking from every possible angle... and the rest of the record follows suit. Post-hardcore rhythms, sludgy riffs, stadium-rock hooks, tongue-in-cheek wordplay and changes of pace to make a mathcore fan dizzy all come together in this bubbling melting pot, whilst the band stand around it and continually throw more stuff in, presumably cackling like the witches from MacBeth. Everything, from the way the lead guitar is played to the actual structure of each track, is invigorating and intoxicating; a breath of fresh air from up-and-comers in an already-incredible national scene.

Number 7: Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Best Tracks: Under The Table, Relay, Ladies, For Her

FFO: PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, Nina Simone

The unrivalled critical darling of the entire year, Fiona Apple's fifth studio album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, was not only on the receiving end of Pitchfork's first 10/10 score in a decade, but also summoned a tsunami of praise from diehard fans and first-time listeners alike. As one of the latter, I'm inclined to say that it's bloody excellent as well.

This being the first full record from the singer-songwriter I've ever heard, I went in with no expectations and came out the other end pretty bewildered. Again, this isn't something you can fully take in on a single listen; there are so many layers to the earthy, largely percussive instrumentation and idiosyncratic vocals that I'm still uncovering new things to love upon each revisit. Fetch the Bolt Cutters, musically, is quite unlike anything I've ever heard before (who else would use the bones of their dead dog as an instrument?), but the star of the show is still the lyricism. Fiona Apple's poetic turn of phrase elevates a simple hook into a deeply personal and profound message in pretty much every track across this album - at times it feels like a sardonic confession, at others a defiant, scathing attack, and (most often) an enlightening deliberation on her own relationships, both social and romantic. It's a fascinating look inside the head of a musical genius, and it doesn't hurt that every song slaps too.

 

Number 6: Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress

Best Tracks: Cries of Pleasure, Heavenly Pain, Fucking Towards Salvation, Sin In My Heart

FFO: Converge, Candy, Nails

"Gulch" has been something of a buzzword in hardcore for the past few years. From that video of frontman Elliot Morrow getting mass-whipped with belts during a live set to the infamous Sanrio hoodie (if you know, you know), it seems that an insane amount of internet hype has followed the California band since their debut 7" release in 2018. The question, then, was if their highly-anticipated full-length would live up to all the noise. The answer: fucking duh.

Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress is 8 tracks and 15 minutes long. That's more than enough time for Gulch to rip your goddamn face off with a fierce combination of unpredictable rhythms, wild guitarwork, abrasive production, and inhuman screaming. It's like every member of the band has been possessed for the length of the runtime, and none more so than Morrow, who sounds like Jacob Bannon after chaining a pack of Marlboro. Sam Ciaramitaro (also on vocals for Drain) pounds the drumkit into oblivion, and his unique style is actually responsible for the most memorable moments here; whether it's the ominous intro to 'Cries of Pleasure, Heavenly Pain' or the gradual build of 'Shallow Reflective Pools of Guilt'. If the first 12 minutes of sheer madness wasn't enough, the record also ends on a hulked-up Siouxsee and the Banshees cover. Hearing Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress for the first time is like no musical experience you will have ever had before - so stop reading my AOTY list right now, and check this one out real quick. Trust me.

Number 5: Creeper - Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void

Best Tracks: Cyanide, Thorns of Love, Napalm Girls

FFO: My Chemical Romance, Pulp, Take That, Roy Orbison

Have you ever wondered how many world-beating choruses it's humanly possible to fit onto a single album? I'll tell you now: it's probably about 11, because that's how many (proper) songs are on Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void. The second album from the Southampton goth-pop-punks might come as somewhat of a surprise to people familiar with their debut, Eternity, In Your Arms, which leaned far more heavily on the combination of fast, punky roots and big, theatrical rock. There's still a huge amount of dramatic flair (à la My Chemical Romance and Meat Loaf) on this latest offering, but the focus on guitars and pop-punk songwriting has been substituted for 90s Brit-rock, indie, and classic Americana. And it works staggeringly well.

This album needs you to surrender to a world of dark flamboyance, high concepts, and over-the-top gothic themes - and if you're willing to do that, you're in for a real treat. From the grand piano, to the borderline-doo-wop backing vocals, to the This Is Hardcore-era Pulp guitars and bass, to the lush production job, Sex, Death, and the Infinite Void is a perfect blend of influences which radiates timelessness and defies the era it has been released in. Frontman Will Gould is the beating purple heart of the record, providing charisma in spades through his unapologetic romanticism and unique cadence (the pronunciation of "Vamp-eye-uhhs" on 'Be My End'; the drawling ad-libs on 'Cyanide'). His grasp on a chorus is unmatched - pick literally any track off of this and have fun trying to get the hook out of your head for the next week - and the songs are tailor-made to be sung back by stadiums full of people. The ambition to reach that level is quite clearly there for Creeper, and honestly? If any fresh-faced British rock band can do it, it'll be them.

Number 4: Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything

Best Tracks: Agressive Evolution, Is It Really You?, Heavy Is the Head That Falls with the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts

FFO: Deftones, Employed To Serve, Cave In, Lotus Eater

I mentioned earlier in this post that 2020 was the year I finally got into Deftones, and that came about as a result of everyone and their mum making comparisons between them and this particular album - I Let It In and It Took Everything, from Scouse metal/hardcore crew Loathe. I'd been a casual fan of the band for a while, always making sure to catch them live when possible but never fully going in on the recorded material, so when this (their second full-length) dropped, it came as somewhat of a surprise. It is unbelievably brilliant, and for what it's worth, I think it's a hundred times better than the album Deftones dropped this year. I'm not sorry about it either.

From the first few seconds of 'Agressive Evolution', it's obvious that Loathe aren't pulling any punches on this sophomore record, and by the time it gets to the chorus, it's even more obvious that this is something truly special. I Let It In... is a depthy album of thick textures, with euphoric melody and metallic brutality living side by side in perfect harmony, and it goes to so many more places than you might expect from a band who arrived on the scene with a relatively straightforward sound. There are moments of shoegazey atmosphere (on the verses of 'Two-Way Mirror' and 'Is It Really You?', two of the best tracks here), alt-rock bounce ('Screaming'), almost prog-like song structure ('A Sad Cartoon'), bone-crunching heaviness ('Red Room'; 'New Faces In The Dark'; 'Gored'), and even outright black metal ('Heavy Is The Head...', my personal favourite). Each new boundary-defying venture is executed perfectly and melded together seamlessly. The experience is all-enveloping, drawing you in and taking you on an incredibly complex emotional journey before spitting you out the other end. And the best part? You'll want to re-live it all over again, and again, and again.

And how about that fucking bass tone, eh?

Number 3: Greg Puciatio - Child Soldier: Creator of God

Best Tracks: Fireflies, Roach Hiss, Down When I'm Not, Evacuation

FFO: Depeche Mode, The Black Queen, Alice In Chains, The Dillinger Escape Plan

When The Dillinger Escape Plan split up back in 2017, I was banking on the fact that the members of my all-time favourite band would go on to create more incredible music with other projects - and they didn't take long to prove me right. Liam Wilson took the baton and ran with it in Asuza, Billy Rymer would go on to drum with END (see earlier in this article), and most crucially, Greg Puciato was putting his incomparable talent to good use in The Black Queen and Killer Be Killed (narrowly escaping the list this year) even before TDEP parted ways. With Child Soldier: Creator of God, the frontman has finally exercised full creative freedom... and produced a genuine masterpiece as a result.

This record has everything. There are ambient sections and full-on harsh noise moments; goth-tinged '80s synth-pop and darkwave; huge, grungy rock anthems and throwbacks to Puciato's wild Dillinger days. The sheer breadth of musical creativity on Child Soldier is mind-blowing, and all together it really shouldn't work as well as it does. This is a masterclass in album sequencing, with each track flowing cohesively into the next, no matter how disparate the styles may be (and as such, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't listen to the whole thing from front to back). The greatest tracks ('Evacuation', 'Down When I'm Not', etc.) bring all the separate elements together and combine them in ways which result in not only technical brilliance, but also massive hooks and mosh-worthy moments. Greg Puciato is my favourite frontman of all time, so it's not necessarily a surprise that I like his first solo full-length - but I wasn't anticipating anything quite this impressive.

Number 2: Palm Reader - Sleepless

Best Tracks: Stay Down, A Bird and It's Feathers, Both Ends of the Rope

FFO: Cult of Luna, Black Peaks, Will Haven, Rolo Tomassi

Palm Reader have been the best band in the UK for a few years now. From their starting point as bastions of gnarly British hardcore to their most recent release, the jaw-dropping Braille, it's been an absolute joy for me to watch them grow on a musical level over the past 7 years or so. Sleepless, the band's fourth album, is undoubtedly a new artistic high point, and catapults them comfortably into the highest echelons of heavy music. 

There's plenty of the savagery that I love here (see 'Stay Down'), but this record is also deeper, more complex, and more expansive than pretty much anything else I've heard in 2020, and it's largely down to the interplay between five outstanding musicians. Josh McKeown nails something on Sleepless that most vocalists fail to achieve throughout their entire careers: a wholly unique and distinct sound, both instantly recognisable and incredibly versatile. His ability to convey emotion through fierce, guttural screams and (now far more frequently) brooding melody is something to behold on this album, and his presence heralds the sonic storm created by the rest of the band. The dual attack levelled by guitarists Andy Gillan and Sam Rondeau-Smith is ferocious - switching from beauty to brutality and back again on a dime - and Josh Redrup's powerful bass playing is similarly brilliant; high enough in the mix that you'll feel it in your chest. As a drummer myself, though, I can't help but to focus on Dan Olds' percussive wizardry, and they ways in which he can control the pacing, style, and dynamics of any given track with a flourish or a fill (most perfectly demonstrated on 'Willow').  

I said this in 2018, too, but if Palm Reader aren't playing Brixton Academy by the end of this album cycle, there's no justice in the world. Everybody who knows them knows that they deserve to be playing rooms 50 times the size of, say, The Victoria in Swindon or The Joiners in Southampton (the two times I saw them last) - the problem being, of course, that simply not enough people are in on it. My advice to you is to listen to Sleepless, tell everyone you know about it, and get this band where they've long deserved to be: on top of the fuckin' world.

Number 1: Code Orange - Underneath

Best Tracks: In Fear, Sulfur Surrounding, Back Inside the Glass

FFO: Nine Inch Nails, Jesus Piece, Type O Negative, Disembodied, Machine Girl

I was 14 years old when I heard Code Orange's breakout album I Am King for the first time, and it was somewhat of a pivotal moment in my life. Immersed in the world of 2010s metalcore (think Memphis May Fire and Miss May I), I had no idea that music could sound so threatening - and then, of course, I watched that hate5six video, and suddenly American hardcore was the best thing in the entire world.

Six years down the line, I couldn't have anticipated that Code Orange would become what they now are: a genre-defying behemoth, named the most exciting band in heavy music by more than one major publication (for good reason). Following up a record like 2017's scene-smashing Forever was never going to be easy, but Underneath proves once and for all that the hype was never unfounded. Here, Pittsburgh's finest have produced something that transcends any label you'd try to stick on them, melding their decidedly hardcore roots with wild industrial/electronic experimentation and the scope of 90s alt-rock and metal (in the vein of Type O Negative and Nine Inch Nails). Everything they hinted at on their recent 2018 EP has come together completely on this full-length, in a perfect storm of neck-breaking mosh calls, huge riffs, unforgettable hooks, and reality-warping glitches. This band now creates music in such a way that it allows each member to hit their own personal creative highs - so when they come together, they sound like a motherfucking supergroup.

It helps, of course, that no band has tackled the challenge of COVID-World with quite as much force and drive as Code Orange this year. The sheer creativity involved in the various livestreams, artistic endeavours, promotional campaigns, and even merch drops connected to Underneath is absolutely mind-blowing, and only serves to boost the power of the record itself. The band are on another level to everyone around them, and they've created an nigh-on cinematic world for an already excellent album to prove it. If you're searching for the future of rock, metal, and hardcore, there is a single record you need to look to this year - and it's the one which can lay claim to both the gnarliest breakdowns ('Swallowing the Rabbit Whole', 'In Fear', 'Cold.Metal.Place', 'Last Ones Left') and the biggest choruses ('Sulfur Surrounding', 'The Easy Way', and 'Underneath').

Underneath is the best album of 2020. It's immersive, innovative, soul-destroyingly brutal, catchy, and a brand new benchmark for heavy music. Code Orange is forever. Thinners of the fucking herd.