Best of 2020 – Heavy in the Hills – Jim Thompson

Here’s my list where I compare apples to oranges. My number one and number two picks this year are perfect examples of that. Two albums that couldn’t be more different but I love them both. How do you (or I) decide which one is better than the other. How do I make a list of the top 10, or 20 or 50? What about the albums I missed or the ones I haven’t heard yet? These are all things that factor in and ultimately make it difficult and stressful for me to make these year end list. Well, I guess it’s fun. I guess. This year to help keep track of albums, I started a spreadsheet. I ranked albums to remind myself of ones that may have fallen through the cracks months into the year. The spreadsheet also helped to track the stuff I played on my radio show. At the end of the year I ended up with almost 700 albums I listened to in their entirety at least once. That doesn’t include all the times I listened to Van Halen or John Coltrane or the latest abstract Hip Hop releases. Ultimately, I know you, the people just couldn’t get along without knowing my top 99 releases of 2020. I’m doing it for you, my friends.

1. Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi – Psyche out trip out.
   
   
2. Witchskull – A Driftwood Cross – Stoner Metal, Doom Metal
   https://open.spotify.com/album/5b4aABsWm3BjaGwAJbnawk
   
   
3. Vile Creature – Glory Glory Apathy Took Helm – Atmospheric Sludge Doom Screaming
   
   
4. King Buffalo – Dead Star – psychedelic-rock, shoegaze, heavy-psych, Stoner
   
   
5. Tar Pond – Electric Protocol of Constant Sadness – Doom Metal
   
   
6. Sons of Otis – Isolation – Doom Stoner Metal
   
   
7. Witchfucker – Afterhour in Walhalla – Stoner metal with shoegaze elements as well as saxophone sometimes and a bunch of racket…and tribal stuff. Killer album! Male and female vocals back and forth here and there. Instrumental passages. Vibraphone and drill.
   
   
8. Hair of the Dog – It’s Just A Ride – Hard Rock Psychedelic
   
   
9. Steinsopp – Luggefore
   
   
10. Orgone – MOS/FET – Heavy psyche Space Rock
    
    
11. Ulcerate – Stare Into Death and Be Still – Technical Death Metal Blackened Atmospheric
    
    
12. Huntsmen – Mandala of Fear – Atmospheric Post Metal
    
    
13. Goatriders – The Magicians’ Keep – Guitar driven murky non stop psych rock mid speed tugger. Bluesy psych mellowness too. Heavy psych space out.
    
    
14. Swamp Lantern – Phantasms
    
    
15. Ape Skull – Fields of Unconscious – Retro proto metal.70’s vintage, hard-rock, blues-rock, psychedelic-rock, acid-rock, soul, Funky
    
    
16. Dixie Goat – There’s No Light Without Darkness – Stoner Metal Doom Grunge
    
    
17. Molassess – Through The Hollow – Progressive Occult
    
    
18. Population II – A la O Terre – Psychedelic Rock
    
    
19. Thanatos – Violent Death Rituals – Death Thrash
    
    
20. Vitskar Suden – Vitskar Suden – atmospheric Doom, Blues, Psych, Progressive
    
    
21. Gargoyl – Gargoyl – Progressive
    
    
22. Elephant Tree – Habits – heavy-psych, doom, psychedelic-rock, shoegaze, metal
    
    
23. Sleeping Village – Holy Water Retro NWOBHM Doom Metal Stoner Metal
    
    
24. Wailin Storms – Rattle – Gothic Death rock. Soaring guitars. Haunting.
    
    
25. Cardinals’ Folly – Defying the Righteous Way – Traditional Doom Metal
    
    
26. Curse the Son – Excruciation – Thick riffs that chug, plow and steamroll right along with psychedelic vocal harmonies, angry also depressed, but you’re also winning with authority and spacey sections. Vocals sometimes sound like Ozzy, sometimes Chris Cornell. Sometimes Alice in Chains backing harmonies. Also some bluesy bits.
    
    
27. Phe – Glooming Dawn – Stoner Metal
28. Lophius – Their Poison our Antidote – Stoner Doom Sludge
29. Goden – Beyond Darkness – Death Doom Metal
30. Bone Church – Acid Communion – Screaming guitar attack. High energy thick 70’s metal.
31. Fostermother – Fostermother – Doom Metal Stoner Metal
32. Kadavar – The Isolation Tapes – 60’s psychedelic, psychedelic-rock, progressive-rock space, rock
33. They Watch Us From the Moon – Moon Zoom – Doomy spacey psychedelic heaviness.
34. Tombstone Eyes – Land in the Sky – Hammond Occult and sax!
35. Zyclops – Inheritance of Ash – Atmospheric Sludge
36. UUBBUURRUU – UUBBUURRUU – 70´s Psych, Rock, Stoner
37. Lucid Grave – Goddess of Misery – Doom Metal Stoner Metal
38. Kryptograf – Kryptograf – proto-.metal, hard-rock, 70’s, psychedelic-rock, progressive-rock
39. Black Bile – The Substance – Doom Metal Stoner Metal
40. Slow Green Thing – Amygdala – Doom Stoner Metal
41. Lucifer’s Children – Devil Worship – Evil old school occult doom.
42. Lowrider – Refractions – desert-rock, fuzz, heavy-psych, Stoner
43. Lacertilia – Calling the Quarters – Psychedelic Stoner Doom Metal
44. Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof – Stoner Metal Doom
45. Bogwife – Halls of Rebirth – heavy-psych, stoner, doom
46. Acid Mess – Sangre de otros mundos – heavy-psych, psychedelic-rock, alternative, progressive-rock, 90’s, rock
47. Expander – Neuropunk Boostergang – Beefed up Noise rock on steroids times ten.
48. Uada – Djinn – Atmospheric Black Metal
49. Krakslott – Krakslott – Huge riff heaviness with evil vocals. Similar to Graves at Sea, Corrupted, Electric Wizard ect pound it!
50. Familiars – All in Good Time – desert-rock, heavy-psych, shoegaze, stonergaze, stoner, psychedelic-rock
51. Bong Wizard – Left Hand Pass – Stoner Doom
52. Bohren & der Club of Gore – Patchouli Blue – Dark Jazz
53. Hail Spirit Noir – Eden in Reverse – Progressive Psychedelic
54. Eye of Doom – Curse of the Pharaoh – Doom Stoner Metal
55. The Brothers Keg – Folklore, Myths and Legends of the Brothers Keg – Stoner
56. Dungeon Weed – Mind Palace of the Mushroom God – Stoner Metal Guitar rock out
57. Huanastone – Third Stone From the Sun – Stoner
58. Dead Quiet – Truth and Ruin – Hammond Stoner Metal
59. Mountain Witch – Extinct Cults – Doom Heavy Psych
60. Proscription – Conduit – Blackened Death
61. The Wizar’d – Subterranean Exile – Traditional Doom Metal
62. Butterfly – Doorways of Time – Hard Rock
63. Humulus – The Deep – heavy-psych, psychedelic-rock, Stoner
64. Grave Disgrace – Rest in Peace – Doom Metal Stoner Metal
65. Ecclesia – De Ecclesiae Universalis – Doom Metal Heavy Metal
66. Pyrrhon – Abscess Time – Technical Death and beyond
67. Ruff Majik – The Devil’s Cattle – Stoner Blues Psych
68. Ritual King – Ritual King – Stoner
69. Lord Buffalo – Tohu wa bohu – Psychedelic folk mello
70. Kind – Mental Nudge – Stoner Metal Heavy Psych
71. Mount Hush – Mount Hush – 70’s, heavy-blues, heavy-psych, psychedelic-rock, retro-rock, Stoner
72. Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin – Misty Woman – Retro proto metal rock out! Heavy psych.
73. Novarupta – Marine Show – Post Metal Atmospheric
74. Sleepwulf – Sleepwulf – Retro occult doom. 70’s, blues-rock, vintage, hard-rock, retro-rock
75. Outsideinside – II – Retro 70’s jam rock.
76. Hex A.D. – Astro Tongue in the Electric Garden – Stoner Metal Heavy Psych
77. Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville – Technical Avant Metal
78. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals – Stoner Metal Heavy Psych
79. Tombs – Monarchy of Shadows – Black Metal
80. Hydra – From Light to the Abyss – Stoner
81. Psychlona – Venus Skytrip – desert-rock, fuzz, stoner, heavy-psych, proto-metal
82. Kult of the Wizard – Gold – Doom Metal Stoner
83. Lucid Vox – We Are – Psychedelic
84. Dark Buddha Rising – Mathreyata – Doom atmospheric sludge
85. Rezn – Chaotic Divine – heavy-psych, stoner, hard-rock, psychedelic-rock, doom
86. Thou – A Primer of Holy Words – Sludge Doom
87. Temple of the Fuzz Witch – Red Tide – Doom Metal Stoner
88. Sun Crow – Quest for Oblivion – atmospheric heavy slow riffs
89. Dirt Woman – The Glass Cliff – Stoner Doom Metal
90. Ysgaroth – Storm Over A Black Sea – Black Metal
91. Kitchen Witch – Earth and Ether – Stoner
92. Neptunian Maximalism – Eons – Avant Jazz Metal
93. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Progressive Pop
94. Beltez – A Grey Chill and A Whisper – Black Metal
95. Ulthar – Providence – Blackened Death
96. Bait – Revelation of the Pure – Blackened Atmospheric Sludge
97. Calligram – The Eye is the First Circle – Black Crust
98. Desert Storms – Omens – Metal
99. Spirit Possession – Spirit Possession – Black Metal