2020 Year-End Recap: Best Albums

#15. ELDER – Omens: There is an art to painting mental landscapes with music alone, and Berlin psychedelic prog rockers Elder are masters of it. The group’s fifth album enhances their already stellar reputation and repertoire. Omens creates a universe of its own, and a dreamy, delightful one at that.

#14. HORISONT – Sudden Death: Longtime purveyors of ’70s-style classic hard rock, Swedish band Horisont has always delved into a multitude of influences and creative inspirations to present variety from one album to the next. Their sixth offering Sudden Death heavily explores the band’s classic prog tendencies and is richly compelling in a manner only Horisont albums can be.

#13. CIRCLE OF SIGHS – Salo: With a splendid debut LP, Los Angeles progressive synth doom unit Circle Of Sighs has staked its claim even in an already crowded field of psych / stoner / doom bands and projects emerging from all over the world. Salo is a fittingly apocalyptic soundtrack to the year that was 2020.

#12. HALLAS – Conundrum: Swedish band Hällas created their own, instantly recognizable brand of “adventure rock” through their 2015 self-titled EP and the outstanding 2017 debut LP Excerpts from the Future Past, garnering widespread admiration in the process. On the follow-up effort, they have cranked everything up several notches, and sure enough, Conundrum is love at first listen.

#11. FATES WARNING – Long Day Good Night: Progressive metal group Fates Warning is essentially a supergroup within itself, boasting of four of the finest musicians on the planet. When it comes to studio albums, this band continually attains new peaks, and has done so yet again with their 13th album, Long Day Good Night. 72 minutes of pure prog perfection.

Ready for #10 to #6? Unveiled on Page 3 …