Best Metal from October 2020

Featuring Pallbearer, Arkheron Thodol, Zeal & Ardor and plenty more

Wow, the past few weeks sure have been A LOT™ and we wouldn’t begrudge anyone for choosing to roll with something a little more soothing than metal as of late. However, we’d like to state our case as for why metal is the perfect genre for tumultuous times, not because it too is full of din and chaos, but because it has amazing relaxation properties.

Yes, you read that correctly, metal is relaxing. Sure, not all metal is, grindcore is very much a thing that is not relaxing in the slightest, but black metal, doom metal, hell even prog metal, are all excellent relaxation tools for the exact reason you’d expect them not to be; because they’re overwhelming. 

The nature of these genres of music means that you’re constantly being pummeled over the head with sounds. Growls, shouts, tremolo, quad-pedal bass drums, down tuned bass guitar, every single component of metal exists to grab your thoughts and yeet them the eff out of your head. So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, pop on some black metal and watch as your thoughts are hucked over the fence with mind-bending force.

With all that in mind, here’s the best albums from October of 2020. Each hand picked to help you achieve the enviable state of “no thoughts, head empty.”

Arkheron Thodol - Rituals of the Sovereign Heart

Our friends in Arkheron Thodol got a lot of love from us in October. Between this stunner of a record and some killer merch, we couldn’t help but give them some much deserved praise. Well if you’re tired of hearing about them, skip on down to the next write up, because we’re gonna give it one more go.

This is just an absolute beast of a record. It stands toe to toe with the best atmoblack records of the year, including last month’s highlight Pristine by Morwinyon. No matter which way you approach it, Rituals of the Sovereign Heart wants to rip your head off so that it can shine light into your soul. Painfully optimistic and blisteringly paced, Arkheron Thodol has made perhaps the most magical experience in black metal this year with Rituals of the Sovereign Heart. 

neánder- Eremit

Everyone knows we love a good doom album over here at Apotheosis, and we couldn’t have been happier with this absolute ripper from neánder. When I tossed this record on (in headphones) even my partner could tell it was one hell of a record on account of my standing up to headbang and make a stank face. Turns out that hip-hop bars aren’t the only thing in music that can curl your upper lip into an involuntary sneer. 

Of all the tracks on this album, the title track “Eremit” captured our hearts most thoroughly. A clear devotee of Sleep and Electric Wizard, neánder deftly utilizes the time tested trick of “playing the same riff again, but slower and heavier.” Luckily, it works every single time. To keep it fresh, neánder tosses in smatterings of black metal tremolo, adding a high end to the crushing doom of their downtuned guitars. The end result; a stoner doom record for the ages.

Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

Known for pushing the boundaries of doom metal into fantastic new realms, Pallbearer takes things back to the beginning on Forgotten Days. Despite being brutally heavy in tone, the vocals and song construction border on inviting. It more than readily calls to mind early Black Sabbath through both the vocals and guitars, though it spices it up for a modern, less easily-shocked audience. This seamless blend of old and new results in a truly exciting doom metal album that fits the terrible times in which it was made.

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

My, my, October was so good for heavy music. This collaboration between the post-rock, indie, ambient, question mark genre goddess Emma Ruth Rundle and our favorite Cajun sludge gods, Thou, is one of the most exciting releases of the year. Despite the very clear differences in the sounds of each artist, they balance one another with a surprising sweetness. Rundle’s cool, calm voice serves as a much needed balm for the crushing grit of Thou’s guitars, and Bryan Funck’s screams are as raw and brutal as they’ve ever been. It’s an album of opposites melding together in perfect harmony, and for that promise alone it demands your attention.

Gargoyl - Gargoyl

Prog metal has been having something of a showcase in 2020. After years of embarrassment for the genre (look the music is nerdy, idk what to tell y’all) the bands who practice this horrendously technical brand of metal are finally getting at the core of what’s exciting; the ability to be technical rather than a relentless exhibition of said technicality. On their self-titled record, Gargoyl gets technical, but never to the point of exhaustion. The songs demand that you stay on your toes, but they aren’t taunting you from a lofty perch. It’s a coach in a car who is driving at 15 where most prog is a Lamborghini whipping past you at 200. The resulting experience makes you a better listener, and forces you to appreciate the brilliance of well executed prog-metal.

Zeal & Ardor - Wake of a Nation

Zeal & Ardor makes metal that no one else would dare make. Not only do they come full throated against the injustices of America like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down, they do so while incorporating the sounds of spirituals and other traditional Black music. But that isn’t to say that it isn’t metal. Just go give “Tuskegee” a listen and tell us that they don’t go just as hard as any other metal band of their style. The only problem, they’re a true one of one. Not a single band makes music as urgent, aggressive and furiously exciting as this. It’s no wonder we chose to heavily feature them in our highlight of Black metal musicians.

Teramaze - I Wonder

Look, some people prefer their metal to only have clean vocals, some prefer screams, howls, growls and yelps. Over here, we bounce between preferences but sometimes the obscenely clean vocals of much derided “pop metal” bands can grab us by the shirt collars and drag us into a fandom. On I Wonder, Teramaze does just that. But unlike most pop metal, they back it up with solid, though not overly flashy, instrumentation and interesting song structures. However, the real star of the record is lead singer Dean Wells, who absolutely owns it his tremendous clean vocals. To get a sampling of them, go check out “A Deep State of Awake” and tell me you didn’t just turn the corner on this underappreciated genre.