
(Along with Andy Synn and DGR, TheMadIsraeli has been on the NCS staff the longest, and although a tough year reduced his writing, he didn’t stop listening, and here we have his 2020 year-end lists.)
This year was a tough one for me personally. Quarantine sending the flow of time into a perpetual state of flux, my father passing away this year, and struggling against some tough times that have faced many of us, including threats of eviction, not being able to make bills, etc, this year was a brutal one to say the least. Metal got me through it as always, but I will admit that this year I wasn’t able to be as tuned into the musical landscape as I’d have liked to be. I still managed to encounter some releases though, and I still listened to (by my count) 170+ albums this year, although trust me when I say that for me, Andy, DGR, and Islander, that’s honestly child’s play numbers.
This will, I THINK, change going into 2021. Things have stabilized and I honestly found a refreshed vigor in my life of heavy music with how it helped me survive this year. I have some more ambitious projects planned or in progress, including a new Higher Criticism series set to arrive approximately by late January/early February. Enough about all that though, let’s get to my picks this year. Continue reading »