My 10 favourite albums of 2020

Even though 2020 felt like quite the disaster, there were some great musical moments to be had. Many bands released awesome albums during times where the world truly needed something good to look forward to. Even though I’ve done this annual summary of my favourite album releases before, never have I felt the list to be so vital and required.

A great album release was something worth its weight in gold this year. When so much went wrong, it was critical to enjoy these new musical moments.

My 10 favourite albums of 2020

My 10 favourite albums of 2019

The new music I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in 2019 has been outstanding. For my musical tastes, this year has been amazing. Looking back—listening back too I suppose—my musical tastes have seemingly changed slightly as well. The amount of screaming I can not only tolerate, but honestly enjoy has increased dramatically.

Not only have Google Play Music and YouTube made some seriously impressive recommendations, they’ve made sure I knew as soon as my existing favourite bands released something new. That combination of recommendation types has resulted in a somewhat surprising list for me.

My 10 favourite albums of 2019

My ten favourite guitar moments—not a top ten list

I don’t know why, but I’ve been reading a lot of articles lately with titles such as the top ten guitarists, the top ten metal guitarists, the top ten shredders or the top ten female guitarists. I’m not sure why the latter is even a thing. If someone can play guitar and play guitar well, I don’t care who they are—I’m jealous no matter what. Anyhow, all this recent reading got me thinking. Not thinking about making a top ten list. This isn’t that. Sure, it’s a list of guitarists. But it’s not a list where the focus is on who is best—no matter the particular focus on skill/genre. No, this is a list on my personal ten favourite guitar moments. These are the songs that made me the guitarist I am today.

I mention that not to focus on my skill—it’s not great. It’s to focus on the styles that have influenced what I like to play. Metal. My ten favourite guitar moments—not a top ten list

Songs that say “Go!” (at least seven of them if we’re counting)

Well look at that. March is getting closer to ending and I’ve not written anything on this site since the year started. Slack! Lazy! Unmotivated! Well all that changes now because I’ve found a theme in certain rock songs that motivates me. These are the songs where the vocalist chooses the most opportune time to yell something motivational. These are songs that say Go!

It’s not always delivered at the same moment in a song, but the result for me is always the same. It’s the sign to get the fist-pump of awesomeness ready. The scream of approval for the epicness that is about to come. The customary heavy banging of the head. The attempt to thrust your foot through the floor. All of these uncontrollable moments. The band knows it, you know it. The vocalist authenticates it.

These are some of my favourite “Go!” moments. These will surely get me pumped enough to finally get back into the swing of things.

Things being guitar playing, blogging and music-creating on a regular basis. Songs that say “Go!” (at least seven of them if we’re counting)

Nailed it with a single album release

Back in June, I asked a question on Twitter that was “What was the best rock/metal band that only released one album?” To many people, this kind of band is deemed to be a one-hit wonder. But as someone who has never released any kind of album—or EP for that matter—this question really got me thinking.

What if these bands made one album so good, they felt like they had nothing left to prove?

As I consider putting together an EP—which will no doubt take me the next ten years—I find myself wondering if I will put together the best I’ll ever have to contribute and then never try again. It’s likely. It’s also likely that I will never release an album like anything in this short list I’ve compiled called Nailed it with a single album release.

Enjoy. Nailed it with a single album release

My top 10 metal versions of pop songs

Have you ever heard a popular song and thought “I don’t mind that at all! Pity it isn’t heavy metal.” I’ve had that thought plenty of times over the years. Oh, I should point out that I only hear pop songs through friends and family.

Street cred retained.

Luckily for us all, there are plenty of rock and/or metal bands who have re-recorded some of the most popular pop songs (pop pop songs?!) and I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you. Enjoy! My top 10 metal versions of pop songs