4 Metal Releases Of 2020 That Made Quarantine More Bearable
By: Sam Seabridge
Tags: Music, Metal, Rock

Royalty Free — dreamstime. Fair Use.

Let’s be honest, 2020 hasn’t been anyone’s year.

The majority of us have been cooped up in quarantine, stuck indoors, either working from home or staying in bed until 3pm.

Although, our favourite bands have been keeping us in check by releasing new music for us to enjoy until we can all get back to concerts again.

I’ve compiled a list of 4 releases from this year that kept me (and others) in check!

1: Emmure – Hindsight

Album cover. Fair use.

Released: June 26, 2020. Genre: Metalcore/Nu Metal

The four-piece from the US have always been reknown for their unique take on Metalcore, with frontman Frankie Palmieri mixing his vocal style between his mumble rapping and blistering screams.

GIF of Emmure performing “Solar Flare Homicide” Fair Use. Emmure. Vicotry Records.

Following up from 2017’s Look At Yourself, they still managed to deliver a stellar of a record with hindsight. Although a large majority of the songs are shorter efforts, songs such as Pigs Ear and Uncontrollable Descent channel the core brutality that the band have never failed to deliver. A strong album from them!

2: Trivium – What The Dead Men Say

Album cover. Fair use.

Released: April 24, 2020. Genre: Progressive Metal/Metalcore

Trivium have been a prominent competitor in the scene since their debut album, Ember To Inferno.

Matt Heafy performing live with Trivium. Fair Use.

Since then, they have gone on to release several killer hits such as In Waves and The Heart From Your Hate. With the new record, they experimented with several aspects of metal whilst sticking to their roots. It garnered a positive response from listeners, with tracks such as the title track and Catastrophist showing the world why frontman Matt Heafy has taken the band to the heights that they’ve stayed at.

3: Volumes – holywater (single)

Single cover. Fair use.

Released: January 30, 2020. Genre: Metalcore/Djent

Volumes sparked controversy when they fired former vocalist Gus Farias back in late 2019. No one knew where they would turn next, when they surprisingly announced that former vocalist Michael Barr had returned to the band.

Michael Barr performing with Volumes. Fair Use.

With no recognised guitarist (The late Diego Farias had departed from the band alongside his brother), the duel vocal battalion of Barr + Myke Terry showed that they still have what it takes to push to the heights of the scene when they dropped holywater.

4: Bring Me The Horizon + YUNGBLUD – Obey (Single)

Single cover. Fair use.

Released: September 2nd, 2020. Genre: Nu Metal/Electronic Rock

One of Britain’s biggest current rock bands, Bring Me The Horizon have expanded their fanbase within the past 5 years or so by experimenting with modern mainstream sounds as well as their usual metal formula. 2019’s amo saw the band completely abandon the metalcore scene established all the way from Count Your Blessings to Sempiternal. They have recently been working on a project entitled Post Human, with four EPs expected to be released throughout the year until they combine together to form an album.

Taken from the “Obey” music video. Fair Use. BMTH + Yungblud.

One of the singles already released is Obey, featuring English musician Yungblud. An unpredicted collaboration between the two resulted in a pleasant surprise, with their two unique musical paths intertwining to create something we didn’t know we needed.