Celebrating new music is important. In the subculture, we are constantly faced with a chorus of people who will tell you that the genres are dead and that there is nothing good coming out anymore. This opinion alone indicts how out of touch a person can be. There is a deluge of incredible new music coming out every year and it is important to take the time to praise the work of those who contribute to the subculture's sonic archive.
2020 was the worst year of my life. nothing has made sense nor does it ever feel like it will again. Truthfully, I've spent the entire year trying to forget the day before it so the proposition of trying to remember everything that happened this year is absurd. I apologize to artists whose releases I may have forgotten or not heard. It was an unfair year for everyone.
Best Hardcore / Punk LPs
1.) Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (Closed Casket Activities)
2.) Oily Boys - Cro Memory Grin (Static Shock)
3.) Muro - Pacificar (Beach Impediment)
4.) Rated X - United Front (Painkiller)
5.) Lebenden Toten - Synaptic Noise Dissociation (Iron Lung)
6.) Big Cheese - Punishment Park (Triple B)
7.) Chubby And The Gang - Speed Kills (Static Shock)
8.) Subdued - Over The Hills And Far Away (La Vida Es Un Mus)
9.) Mil-Spec - World House (Lockin Out)
10.) Destruct - Echoes of Life (Grave Mistake)
11.) Loose Nukes - Cult Leaders (Mutant Sounds)
12.) Drain - California Cursed (Revelation)
13.) Rat Cage - Screams From The Cage (La Vida Es Un Mus)
14.) Bib - Delux (Pop Wig)
15.) Gag - Still Laughing (Iron Lung)
Honorable Mentions
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Best Metal Releases
1.) Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron (No Remorse)
2.) Bone Awl - An Obelisk Marks The Line (Klaxon)
Honorable Mentions
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Best Rap / Hip-Hop Releases
1.) Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist - Alfredo (ESGN)
Raspberry Bulbs – Before The Age Of Mirrors (Relapse)
The Fight - Endless Noise (Triple B)
Geld - Beyond The Floor (Iron Lung)
Three Knee Deep - Three Knee Deep (Triple B)
White Stains - Make Me Sick (Song Book)
1.) Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron (No Remorse)
2.) Bone Awl - An Obelisk Marks The Line (Klaxon)
3.) Gravesend - Preparations For Human Disposal (Stygian Black Hand)
4.) Black Curse - Endless Wound (Sepulchral Voice)
5.) Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind (Prosthetic)
6.) Of Feather & Bone - Sulfuric Disintegration (Profound Lore)
7.) Miasmatic Necrosis - Apex Profane (P2)
8.) Undergang - Aldrig i Livet (Me Saco Un Ojo)
9.) Skeleton - Skeleton (20 Buck Spin)
10.) Internal Rot - Grieving Birth (Iron Lung / 625 Thrashcore)
11.) Caustic Wound - Death Posture (Profound Lore)
12.) Revenge - Strike.Smother.Dehumanize (Season Of Mist)
13.) Slutet - Love & Beauty (Behest)
14.) Siege Column - Darkside Legions (Nuclear War Now)
15.) Kommand - Terrorscape (Maggot Stomp)
Goatpenis – Decapitation Philosophy (Nuclear War Now)
Scalp - Domestic Extremity (Creator-Destructor)
Omegavortex - Black Abomination Spawn (Invictus)
Best Rap / Hip-Hop Releases
1.) Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist - Alfredo (ESGN)
2.) Megan Thee Stallion - Good News (1501 Certified)
3.) 21 Savage and Metro Boomin - Savage Mode II (Slaughter Gang)
Honorable Mentions
Best Hardcore / Punk EPs
1.) Public Acid - Condemnation (Beach Impediment)
3.) 21 Savage and Metro Boomin - Savage Mode II (Slaughter Gang)
4.) The Weeknd - After Hours (XO)
5.) Benny The Butcher - Burden Of Proof (Griselda)
6.) Future and Lil Uzi Vert - Pluto x Baby Pluto (Epic / Freebandz)
7.) Westside Gunn - Pray For Paris (Griselda)
8.) J Hus - Big Conspiracy (Black Butter)
9.) Drakeo The Ruler - We Know the Truth (Stinc Team)
10.) Conway the Machine - From King to a GOD (Griselda)
11.) Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake (Generation Now)
12.) Juicy J - The Hustle Continues (Trippy Music)
13.) Pop Smoke - Meet The Woo 2 (Republic)
14.) King Von - Welcome to O'Block (Only The Family)
15.) Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL (Stinc Team)
Juice WRLD - Legends Never Die (Grade A)
Future - High Off Life (Freebandz)
Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats - Unlocked (PH)
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Best Releases In Open Competition
1.) Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now (Asylum)
2.) Nothing - The Great Dismal (Relapse)
3.) beabadoobee - Fake It Flowers (Dirty Hit)
Best Releases In Open Competition
1.) Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now (Asylum)
2.) Nothing - The Great Dismal (Relapse)
3.) beabadoobee - Fake It Flowers (Dirty Hit)
4.) Sweeping Promises - Hunger For A Way Out (Feel It)
5.) Narrow Head - 12th House Rock (Run For Cover)
6.) Straw Man Army - Age Of Exile (D4MT Labs)
7.) Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song (Smalltown Supersound)
8.) Hum - Inlet (Earth Analog)
9.) Jesu - Terminus (Avalanche Recordings)
10.) Supercrush - Sodo Pop (Don Giovanni)
11.) Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)
12.) Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA (Dirty Hit)
13.) Dame - Dame (Beach Impediment)
14.) Soccer Mommy - color theory (Caroline International)
15.) Popcaan - Fixtape (OVO Sound)
Honorable Mentions
Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Clean Slate)
Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? (PMR)
Yumi Zouma - Truth Or Consequences (Polyvinyl)
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1.) Public Acid - Condemnation (Beach Impediment)
2.) Heavy Discipline - Heavy Discipline (Painkiller)
3.) Spine - L.O.V. (Bridge 9)
4.) The Chisel - Deconstructive Surgery (La Vida Es Un Mus)
5.) Loose Nukes - Forced Compliance (Self-Released)
6.) Healer - Resurgence (From The Head Of Zeus / 625 Thrashcore)
7.) Haircut - Cake (11PM)
8.) Nosebleed - Outside Looking In (Triple B)
9.) Krigshoder - Krig I Hodet (Suck Blood)
10.) Pain Of Truth - No Blame... Just Facts (Daze)
Honorable Mentions
Mindforce - Swingin' Swords, Choppin' Lords (Triple B)
Mystic Inane - Natural Beauty (La Vida Es Un Mus)
G.U.N.N. - Peace Love And Heavy Weaponry (Going Underground)
Rolex - Rolex (11PM)
Real People - Life Without A Head (Self-Released)
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Best Demos
1.) Quarantine - Demo
Best Demos
1.) Quarantine - Demo
2.) Tower 7 - Entrance To A Living Organism
3.) NSA - NSA Is Watching
4.) Hounds Of War - Demo
5.) Pillars Of Ivory - Genesis Twenty Twenty
6.) Flower City - Demo
7.) Septic Yanks - Septic Yanks
8.) Subliminal Excess - Demo
9.) Vivisected Numbskulls - 4 Track
10.) The Annihilated - Demo
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Special Commendations
Because of the lost year, in lieu of best live shows which historically have been part of the end of year awards, we are choosing to award special commendations to bands, labels, and other figures in the subculture who soldiered on to keep the spirit of community alive in a time defined by isolation.
While venues remained shuttered and live shows becoming an increasingly distant memory, bands have been forced to become more creative with how they provide audiences with an at-home that could move audiences in a way that made them feel like they were watching something more than a glorified YouTube video. To punctuate the release of their latest album The Great Dismal, Nothing, with Full Of Hell in tow, put on The Great Dismal: An Auditory And Ocular Trauma. In collaboration with creative agency Everything Is Stories, the band's performance played like a movie that hit the emotions this year ground into oblivion. Truthfully, I had no expectations going into the stream and by the time Nothing began their set with "A Fabricated Life", I was crying. Maybe it was the song. Maybe it was the last few months. Maybe it was a confluence of the last year. I don't know. Live shows in our world are not a mere rehearsal of songs. They are a place in time. Nothing's set came at a time and place where the songs spoke to the times and of times lived and times not yet known. A livestream of that kind may not ever happen again, let alone be as powerful. Justified Arrogance would like to commend Nothing, Full Of Hell, and Everything Is Stories for helping to redefine the virtual show experience.
There is a boom of bootleggers and independent merchants emerging across all subcultures right now. Hardcore punk, metal, pro wrestling, movies, and everything in between. That on its face is something commendable but I would like to highlight the efforts this summer, specifically after the protests and riots began across the country in June. Hundreds of merchants stepped up to raise money toward bail funds, black and indigenous organizations, and other worthwhile charities. It was a once in a lifetime moment to see what's often dismissed as a fringe community come together to produce tangible economic might to support those who are without economic might. Justified Arrogance would like to commend anyone and everyone who raised money or even just donated money toward BLM causes. Please keep that energy moving into the future.
While we do not typically celebrate live albums, they are an important component of the subculture as they seek to capture the energy that sets us apart from others. Be it Lemmy's wanton recklessness at the Hammersmith, Greg Wilmott's mischievous banter on WERS, or Dmize's gang callouts on Crucial Chaos... live albums don't necessarily take you to the show, but they certainly tell you what happens at those shows. The purpose is to feel it, not replicate it. Power Trip's Live In Seattle was released in May this year and provided audiences with a taste of the bedrock that made the band's name in their live shows. Masterfully mixed by sound engineer Zach Rippy, this live album captured the band's tight instrumental section, the string section's buzzsaw riffs, and Riley Gale's inimitable energy. Power Trip shows have always been known to be violent spaces. However, if you're able to get out of the blast radius, they're also a marvel to behold because you're witnessing the best thrash band in a generation working to engage the audience as much as they do to win them over. Which is part of the point: Power Trip wanted to win you over. What they wanted was more than passing fandom. They wanted more than shirt sales, streams, or records sold. They wanted you to tell your friends, make you keep coming back to their shows, and earn and keep your loyalty because they deserved it. This live album captures that drive to win the crowd. Justified Arrogance would like to commend Power Trip for adding to the elite volume of worthwhile live albums. I hope future vocalists will also call their friends out for being on their phone during the chorus.
Last but not least, Justified Arrogance would like to take a moment to remember and celebrate the lives of Riley Gale and Wade Allison. This blog, really me as a person, would be nothing without the influence both of these incredible people had on my life. The first two essays this blog ever did were about Power Trip and Iron Age. All I ever wanted was for them to think I was cool and deserving of being around them because I counted every time hanging out as a privilege. Everything I ever did was because I wanted them to be proud of me. I know the standards they created and the standards I had to live up to because I never wanted to be unworthy of their friendship, much as I often felt like I was. Truthfully, I do not know where to go from here. This world is new and alien to me. I do not know it and I do not want to know it but I'm going to keep trying because I know that's what they'd want. As much as existing hurts, the thought of disappointing and dishonoring them hurts even more.
Thank you for saving my life, Riley.
Thank you for teaching us how to live, Wade.
Thank you both for being my brother.
Riley Gale and Wade Allison were the absolute best of us and I hope that others remember their example. Your best is always a stepping stone to better. Never stop looking to the next level.
Do it for them because they wanted you to do it for yourself.
- James K
