Tag Archives: onslaught

The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2020

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“Rock stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.” – Eddie Van Halen

What can I say about the year of 2020? No words can describe all the pain, fear, anxiety, losses and struggles we all had to endure during what’s going to be sadly remembered as the worst year of our modern times. We saw the rise of coronavirus, which had a huge negative impact on pretty much everything and everyone we know, with millions of hardworking people unfortunately losing their jobs, concerts being cancelled, restaurants and other businesses being shut down, people getting stuck in their homes and having to deal with psychological issues like depression, and more important than that, with countless lives, and in some cases people really close to us, people we love, losing their battle against such horrible disease. We also witnessed a gut-wrenching surge in racism against black people all over the world, and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement in the never-ending fight for freedom and justice, trying to make our world a better place for everyone. And last but not least, we lost so many iconic figures it’s hard to list everyone without crying a little. We lost sports titans such as Kobe Bryant, Diego Maradona and Paolo Rossi, amazing, talented actors and actresses including our beloved “Black Panther” Chadwick Boseman, the original “Darth Vader” David Prowse and the unstoppable Mad Max’s villain “Immortal Joe” Hugh Keays-Byrne, and music geniuses like Rush’s unparalleled Neil Peart and one of the best and most revolutionary guitarists of all time, the one and only Eddie Van Halen. May their souls rest in peace.

However, although we might be living such difficult and stressful times, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with the development of effective vaccines that will certainly put our society back on track sooner than later, giving us all some hope and pointing to a much better future for all of us. In the meantime, I guess one thing that we metalheads have been doing (and will always do) throughout such shitty year is using the music we love to face all of our problems and fears with our heads and horns high in the sky, never giving up nor giving in. Having said that, I’ll leave you with The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2020, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, showing to us all that it doesn’t matter what happens with the world, heavy music will always stand strong. From the most primeval form of Black Metal to fast and electrifying Power Metal, from a beyond amazing soaring numbers of women kicking ass in an array of styles such as Doom, Symphonic and Death Metal to the most underground Atmospheric Black Metal entities you can think of, from our good old Rock N’ Roll to modern-day Alternative Metal, music prevailed above darkness, pain and hate, and that’s how it will be forever and ever. Enjoy our list of top metal albums for this (terrible) year that’s coming to an end, and let’s keep raising our horns and banging our heads together in 2021!

1. Primal Fear – Metal Commando (REVIEW)
Join Primal Fear’s undisputed rock brigade and become a true metal commando to the sound of their breathtaking new album.
Best song of the album: Infinity

2. Trivium – What The Dead Men Say (REVIEW)
It’s time to listen to what these four (un)dead men from Orlando, Florida have to say in their thrilling new opus.
Best song of the album: Amongst the Shadows & the Stones

3. Testament – Titans Of Creation (REVIEW)
The titans of Thrash Metal are back in action with another technical, melodic and absolutely pulverizing album of extreme music.
Best song of the album: Night of the Witch

4. Lamb of God – Lamb of God (REVIEW)
Re-energized and unrelenting, Lamb of God are finally back after five years with their pulverizing eighth studio album.
Best song of the album: Gears

5. Sepultura – Quadra (REVIEW)
A sensational concept album based on Quadrivium embraced by a fusion of Thrash, Groove and Progressive Metal.
Best song of the album: Guardians of Earth

6. Onslaught – Generation Antichrist (REVIEW)
These UK veterans are ready to set the world on fire once again with one of the most ferocious Thrash Metal albums of the year.
Best song of the album: Religiousuicide

7. Ecclesia – De Ecclesiæ Universalis (REVIEW)
This army of French inquisitors stands strong on their crusade against every doom heretic with their incendiary debut album.
Best song of the album: Antichristus

8. Eleine – Dancing In Hell (REVIEW)
Time for us all to dance in the fires of hell to the sound of the striking new opus by this unstoppable Swedish Symphonic Metal group.
Best song of the album: Where Your Rotting Corpse Lie (W.Y.R.C.L.)

9. Grave Digger – Fields of Blood (REVIEW)
Grave Digger celebrate 40 years of their undisputed Heavy Metal on a journey back to the vastness of the Scottish Highlands.
Best song of the album: Freedom

10. Konvent – Puritan Masochism (REVIEW)
A dark, primeval and stunning fusion of Death and Doom Metal masterfully crafted by four unrelenting women hailing from Denmark.
Best song of the album: Puritan Masochism

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Genus Ordinis Dei – Glare of Deliverance (REVIEW)
12. Paradise Lost – Obsidian (REVIEW)
13. Axel Rudi Pell – Sign of the Times (REVIEW)
14. Raventale – Planetarium II (REVIEW)
15. Hellsmoke – 2020 (REVIEW)
16. My Dying Bride – The Ghost Of Orion (REVIEW)
17. Burning Witches – Dance with the Devil (REVIEW)
18. Naglfar – Cerecloth (REVIEW)
19. Scarlet Aura – Stormbreaker (REVIEW)
20. Thundermother – Heat Wave (REVIEW)

And how about we also pay a tribute to the bands that released short and sweet albums that condensed pretty much the same amount of electricity, rage and intricacy than any of the full-length albums from the list above? That’s why we’re also going to provide you as usual our Top 10 EP’s of 2020 for you to see that size doesn’t really matter.

1. Front – Antichrist Militia (REVIEW)
2. Malfested – Shallow Graves (REVIEW)
3. Tøronto – Under Siege (REVIEW)
4. Soul Dissolution – Winter Contemplations (REVIEW)
5. Lutharö – Wings of Agony (REVIEW)
6. Póstuma – Moralis (REVIEW)
7. Black Sun – Silent Enemy (REVIEW)
8. MĀRA – Self​-​Destruct. Survive. Thrive! (REVIEW)
9. Serocs – Vore (REVIEW)
10. Invocation – Attunement to Death (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2020? Also, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC+2 on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show! And if you lost some or most of our special editions of The Headbanging Moose Show, including our Top 20 Underground Albums of 2020 – Parts I and II, go to our Mixcloud page and there you have hours and hours of the best of the independent scene, sounds good?

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2021!

And before we go, let’s bang our heads one last time in 2020 with a classic Christmas song by an amazing Romanian band that loves Heavy Metal from the bottom of their hearts, pointing to much better times ahead for all of us! Enjoy!

Album Review – Onslaught / Generation Antichrist (2020)

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These Bristol, UK-based veterans are ready to set the world on fire once again with one of the most ferocious Thrash Metal albums of the year.

Synonymous with the brilliance and endurance of today’s Thrash Metal movement, Bristol, UK-based veterans Onslaught are ready to set the world on fire once again with one of the most ferocious Thrash Metal albums of the year, the excellent Generation Antichrist. Their long-awaited new album was recorded at Dugout Productions in Uppsala, Sweden, with Grammy Award winner Daniel Bergstrand (Behemoth, In Flames, Meshuggah) at the helm, capturing Onslaught’s classic sound with a pristine modern production. Not only that, Generation Antichrist is the first album to feature new vocalist David Garnett, replacing longtime frontman Sy Keeler, delivering a vocal performance on par with the brutal musical attack crafted by guitarists Nige Rockett and Wayne Dorman, bassist Jeff Williams and drummer James Perry. Influenced by second-generation Hardcore Punk bands and inspired by a world full of hatred, megalomaniacs and political madness, Onslaught are eager to unleash the new beast that is Generation Antichrist, one of their best efforts since their inception in the distant year of 1983.

Tune in to an old school Thrash Metal intro titled Rise to Power, starting in a visceral and heavy-as-hell way with James demolishing his drums while newcomer David showcases his growling abilities, setting the tone for Strike Fast Strike Hard, bringing forward modern thrash the likes of Exodus during their Rob Dukes-era that’s more than perfect for slamming into the mosh pit like a maniac, with Nige and Wayne being unstoppable with their shredding and wicked solos, making the song’s electricity and aggressiveness go through the roof. And they keep hammering our heads without a single drop of mercy in Bow Down to the Clowns, with Jeff firing sheer thunder from his bass while James’ drums dictate the song’s headbanging rhythm. In addition, the song’s backing vocals provide an amazing support to David’s sick screams in great Thrash Metal fashion.

The title-track Generation Antichrist couldn’t have sounded darker and more austere than this, a brutal and high-octane extravaganza tailored for diehard fans of Thrash Metal showcasing a fantastic job done by both Nige and Wayne with their axes while James continues to pound his drums manically, and get ready to crush your skull into the pit together with Onslaught in the modern-day thrashing tune titled All Seeing Eye, where David’s vocals match perfectly with the message from the song’s lyrics and the band’s vicious sounds, proving why he was the chosen to be Onslaught’s new frontman. Following such devastating tune we have Addicted to the Smell of Death, a great title for a frantic display of Thrash Metal led by James’ machine gun-like beats accompanied by a demented riffage, also bringing to our avid ears classic backing vocals and endless stamina, with David once again going berserk on vocals.

Then it’s time to break your neck headbanging to the sound of Empires Fall, again presenting elements form the current thrash blasted by Exodus, Testament and Death Angel, proving why Thrash Metal doesn’t need to be played at the speed of light to sound infernal, whereas the demolishing hurricane titled Religiousuicide is an ode to 80’s and 90’s Thrash Metal that will make your blood boil without a shadow of a doubt, all spiced up by its acid, blasphemous lyrics (“Sacrament or Sacrifice / Holier than thou / Anti cult or Antichrist / Messiah take a bow / Hanging on the Holy Cross / Judicious parasite / Religion takes it up the ass / Is Jesus Fucking Christ”) barked by David while Nige and Wayne are on fire with their strident solos from start to finish. And last but not least, the band offers a new version of A Perfect Day to Die, originally released in 2019 as a single still with Sy Keeler on vocals, sounding just as incendiary and visceral, with Jeff and James making sure Onslaught’s kitchen remains rumbling and metallic.

In summary, the reinvigorated old school Thrash Metal platoon known as Onslaught are simply kicking some serious ass throughout the entire Generation Antichrist, with newcomer David bringing a huge dosage of adrenaline to the band with his raspy vocals and, therefore, pointing to a bright future in their already awesome career. You can find more details about Onslaught, their music and their tour dates (whenever this COVID-19 madness is over, of course) on their official Facebook page and on Instagram, listen to more of their crushing thrash on Spotify, and purchase your copy of Generation Antichrist from the AFM Records webstore or by clicking HERE. I’m sure all fans of classic and modern thrash like myself are going to be truly impressed with the high quality of the music found in Onslaught’s new effort, urging us all to slam into the circle pit even if we have to do it by ourselves while isolated in our homes.

Best moments of the album: Strike Fast Strike Hard, Generation Antichrist and Religiousuicide.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 AFM Records

Track listing
1. Rise to Power 2:05
2. Strike Fast Strike Hard 4:38
3. Bow Down to the Clowns 4:50
4. Generation Antichrist 5:43
5. All Seeing Eye 3:50
6. Addicted to the Smell of Death 3:55
7. Empires Fall 5:34
8. Religiousuicide 3:29
9. A Perfect Day to Die (2020 version) 3:50

Band members
David Garnett – vocals
Nige Rockett – guitar
Wayne Dorman – guitar
Jeff Williams – bass
James Perry – drums