The Top 20 of 2020 Year-End Poll is Now Open!
My favorite post of the year, every year. I’ll spare you (for now) the wax philosophy on what a year it’s been in general terms, but I genuinely believe we’re existing in a golden age of heavy music that, years from now, subsequent generations of fans will look back on the diversity of sounds and talent and geography and ideas and will wonder at the time that was, much as younger fans do now of the ’90s, and older fans of the ’70s.
You know the drill for the poll. There are 20 slots below. Fill out as many as you want — 20 should be easy to fill, but if you only feel strongly about five records, that’s fine — and hit enter. Your email is asked for to prove you’re human and will not be stored or added to any list or sold or whatever.
Same rules as always: Anything from Jan. 2020 to whatever’s coming out between now and Dec. 31 is eligible. Two lists are tabulated; one of the raw votes, and one in which a 1-4 ranking is worth five points, 5-8 worth four, 9-12 worth three, 13-16 worth two and 17-20 worth one.
Results are compiled and painstakingly checked to account for typographical anomalies, then beamed into a spreadsheet to go up Jan. 1, along with everybody’s individual list in one massive explosion of love for music that, if it doesn’t fill your bucket, you may not have a bucket to begin with.
Let’s do it:
The year-end poll would never be possible with the diligence in technical coordination of Slevin, whom I miss dearly in these days of social distancing. I hope my thanks travels virtually since I can’t buy him bread and beer to show my love.
Thanks for your participation. Please share the link if you can.
Tags: Readers Poll, The Obelisk, The Obelisk The Top 20 of 2020 Year-End Poll, The Top 20 of 2020 Year-End Poll
Pleas change the last 2 polls in Yuri gagarin outskirts of reality & Elder omens
Another poll
Demonic death judge the trail
Yuri gagarin outskirts of reality
1000 mods youth of dissident
Raging speedhorn hard to kill
Black elephant seven swords
Black rainbows cosmic super natural trip
Lucifer III
Brant bjork jungle is the sound
Belzebong light the dankness
Wino forever gone
Old man gloom darkness of being
Elder omens
Horisont sudden death
Psychlona venus skytrip
The brothers keg folklore legendes myths
Sergeant thunderhoof & howling giant turned to stone chapter 2
Blues pills holy moly
Big scenic nowhere lavender blues
Cortez sell the future
Brimstone coven the woes of a mortal earth
This is my right poll
The Obelisk Top 20 of 2020
BandAlbum
1
Blackbird Hill
Razzle dazzle
2
Katatonia
City burials
3
King Buffalo
Dead star
4
Elephant tree
Habits
5
Tar Pond
Electric protocol of constant sadness
6
Stargo
Parasight
7
Godthrymm
Reflections
8
Temple
Funeral planett
9
Witchcraft
Black metal
10
My Dying Bride
Ghost of Orion
11
Noise figures
The perfect spell
12
Atomic bitchwax
Scorpio
13
Spirit adrift
Enlightened in eternity
14
Mercury circle
Dawn of vitriol
15
Green carnation
Leaves of yesteryear
16
Dopesmoker
Zeroin
17
Deathwhite
Grave image
18
19
20
Your Name
Email
This is going to be an interesting year as there doesn’t feel like a “clear” or “obvious” contender for 2020 as compared to prior years. I really dig the unpredictable feel of this one as the top picks could go all over the place.
Also been a fantastic year for death/doom with the likes of Temple of Void, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Goden, Celestial Season, Bell Witch (Albeit a collaboration), and Rotting Kingdom among others!
I am hard-pressed to recall a year with as many late-comer contenders. Just got Serpents of Secrecy, Thou/ERR collab. finally shipped, etc. And I know Colour Hazes’ We Are came a year ago, but Ripple gave it to us stateside this year, so..?
I know my # 1, but 2-20 are all just jumbled in the riff ether between my hearin’ holes.
Seriously though, does Colour Haze – We Are count as 2020? Cause if it does…
Ah, never mind. It came in at #5 last year, so I suppose that rules it out for 2020.
Submitted. Compiled according to my highly scientific system of what I bought, what I think should be in on artistic merit, amount of joy it has brought me in total…
A few that didn’t quite make the 20: Beehoover, Insect Ark, Goblinsmoker, Fistula, IAH
You mean I have to whittle my list of 70+ down to 20? Gruelling but challenge accepted
BandAlbum
1
lowrider
refraction
2
rezn
chaotic divine
3
elder
omens
4
sigirya
maiden mother crone
5
all them witches
nothing as the idea
6
causa sui
szabodelico
7
dope smoker
zeroin
8
huanastone
third stone from the sun
9
spotlights
we are all atomic
10
brant bjork
brant bjork
11
the sword
conquest of kingdons
12
big scenic nowhere
lavender blues
13
king bufalo
dead star
14
Dopelord
Sign of the Devil
15
Acid Mammoth
Under Acid Hoof
16
Ritual King
Ritual King
17
MSW
Obliviosus
18
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin
Stygian Bough Volume I
19
Temple of Void
The World That Was
20
elephant tree
habits
BandAlbum
1 Elder – Omens
2 Rezn – Chaotic divine
3 Lowrider – Refraction
4 Sigirya – Maiden mother crone
5 All them witches – Nothing as the idea
6 Causa sui – Szabodelico
7 Dope smoker – Zeroin
8 Huanastone – Third stone from the sun
9 Spotlights – We are all atomic
10 Brant bjork – Brant bjork
11 The sword – Conquest of kingdons
12 Big scenic nowhere – Lavender blues
13 King bufalo – Dead star
14 Dopelord – Sign of the Devil
15 Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof
16 Ritual King – Ritual King
17 MSW – Oblivious
18 Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume I
19 Temple of Void – The World That Was
20 Elephant tree – Habits
Unlike the clarity of casting a ballot, wearing a mask, and trying to do the next right thing, this poll was massively complicated and wrought with indecision and regret. There were pie charts. I don’t even know where the pie charts came from or, moreover, what purpose they tried to serve in this task, yet there they were. For some reason, this year, trying to arbitrarily and objectively rank peoples’ creative aural lovechildren seems especially difficult. I honestly feel like all of us being robbed of live music has taken away our ability to correctly hear and feel these songs in a way that may well have altered the results of the poll. I really only know two things after completing this: I’m glad this year is ending, and there had best be a venue standing somewhere to see King Buffalo live again, whenever we’re allowed to safely do that.
This is the most righteous statement I have seen crafted in some time. And I would pay whatever they want to see King Buffalo again in 2021. I am also holding on to an Elder ticket from May. Stay safe all and hope for the best!
For yet another year in a row, I felt really good about my top five and then had about 40 albums I thought definitely deserved to be #6-20. Which proved quite stressful and problematic. No doubt my top 20 for 2020 would look different if you ask me again in six months or a year.
So a lot of my submissions go beyond the scope of tunes covered on The Obelisk, so I’ll take the chance to mention some of the goods I found on the blog this year: Yuri Gagarin, Slift and Automatism were my dearest discoveries on here and they all made my list. I probably would have missed the new Atomic Bitchwax which seems to be ignored by most of the other websides I follow. I appreciated the in depth writing on Elder (slight disappointment due to the vocals, but what can you expect after to masterpieces) and Causa Sui (it’s growing on me). On this note, I would love to read JJ’s take on the more jazzy releases by El Paraiso records. Causa Sui fans should definitviely check out the Martin Rudde & Jakob Skott Duo.
Thank you for doing this every year! I never have time to keep up with all the new releases, but thanks to both this vote and your own list, very few slip through the cracks.