You have no doubt been involved in a conversation where a version of the following question has been asked; “If you could only take 10 albums with you to a desert island to listen to forevermore, what would you take?” Which is just a fancy way of saying what is your 10 favourite albums? But I am going to present you here with an alternative take on the desert island albums question.
What if I had to put my faith in the ability of a band to put out a quality next album, rather than one already out? That is how I am going to play it here. I am going to pick 10 bands, and it will be their next studio album release that I will be taking with me to said isolated beach paradise. A fitting way to close out the dumpster fire that was 2020 by looking to the future with my desert island albums!
Establishing the Rules
- One album per band – side projects or supergroups are allowed to be separate.
- Confident that this artist/band will actually release a new album in the near future is critical. i.e. not picking a band on hiatus or in System of a Down mode.
- I am discounting any band which has already released singles from an upcoming album by the end of 2020. I think this is cheating as that gives a heavy hint to whether I am going to like it or not. That unfortunately discounts some likely excellent upcoming albums from Accept, Tetrarch and Epica but dems d rulz!
For the purposes on comparing the result of this in the future, only LPs will be applicable for my desert island albums. EPs or other special releases will be skipped. Will be very interesting to revisit this in the near future. Seeing what I end up spending the rest of eternity with. Which given my hunting skills are refined to reaching to the back of a shelf in the supermarket will probably only last a few weeks anyway.
Criteria for Success
These are some of the criteria I will be using to make my judgement on which bands to pick.
- The reliability of past releases. Some bands just have a habit of constantly putting out high quality albums.
- Consideration of the most recent album. This will give an indication of the current direction the band is taking. Even bands with albums I adore sometimes go off track into territory I am not a fan of.
- Current composition of the band. The loss or change of key band members since their most recent album could impact my faith in the forthcoming release.
- I will look for a breadth of genre selections. I mean I love fantasy power metal but solely living with it for all eternity might cause me to consider jumping out of the plane before it even crash lands on the island.
The Chosen Ones
So using the aforementioned criteria, below are the 10 bands I shall be putting my faith in to put out a killer next album.
Unleash The Archers
With the release of their fifth album Abyss in 2020, Unleash The Archers have simply gotten better and better. Extremely talented, and with one of the best vocalist in metal today. Of all the bands on this list, I can say that my faith in these power metal heroes it probably the highest. I am going to need some epic fist raising singalongs to keep my arm up to wave for the attention of passing planes.
Tallah
Containing the offspring of a certain legendary stickman by the name of Mike Portnoy, you expect Tallah be pretty good. What I did not quite expect was a ground-breaking form of nu-core unlike anything else from their debut album, Matriphagy. A concept album of a man who loses his shit then kills and eats his own mother. Marvellous. Immediately gives me faith in a second release and rightfully earns their place amongst this list.
Trivium
The release of their latest album What The Dead Men Say in 2020 was the first time Trivium did not change up their sound from a previous album. With this they have settled into a fine run of top quality hard hitting metalcore. There are a number of excellent albums in Trivium‘s back catalogue. But the groove they seem to have settled on now gives me no concern as to where they will go next.
Alestorm
If I am going to be stranded on a desert island, then the least I can do is keep myself abreast with the necessary pirate lingo should any lousy sea dwelling scallys come resting ashore. Alestorm have never disappointed with any of their releases. They seem to have settled into a groove of entwining excellent song craft with over the top humour to a perfect combination.
Andrew W.K.
First (and only?) non-metal entry. Perennial party rocker Andrew W.K. was one of the first rock artists I really got into back in 2001 with the release of I Get Wet and has been one of my very favourite artists ever since. Brandishing an extremely upbeat and energetic brand of party anthems, and a genuinely awesome human being to boot. Signing to big time metal label Napalm Records in October 2020 can only mean more awesome to come. Maybe with a heavy metal twist this time?
Anaal Nathrakh
Being alone on a deserted island is going to get pretty bleak and hopeless occasionally (sorry I think I misspelt frequently). So to remind myself that the rest of the world is not so different I shall take along some brutal, aggressive death metal from Birmingham’s finest Anaal Nathrakh. Their latest album Endarkenment was one of the very best albums of 2020. Even if the album is crap I can use Dave Hunt‘s shrieks to keep the predatory birds away. I have total confidence in the genius of Dave Hunt and Mick Kenney.
Volbeat
I have a serious soft spot for rockabilly. I mean all of rock and metal music originally spawned from early rockabilly so why wouldn’t I. Danish rockers Volbeat continually pump out their unique brand of country tinged hard rock filled with memorable hooks and catchy riffs. I have to say I prefer their older albums – Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Bloods and Beyond Hell/Above Heaven in particular. But even at their ‘worst’, Volbeat throw out a mighty fine album. I have no problem trusting the Danish (and American) fellows to keep up the run.
Gloryhammer
There is always a chance, wherever I am in the world that the fabled return of the evil wizard Zargothrax could come to pass. I therefore need to retain the scriptures of mighty hero Angus McFife told through the sacred teachings of Gloryhammer to prepare for that day. The ever expanding nature of their epic song writing and quality brand of power metal is enough to make it on this list. But for the sake of the human race I should just be doubly sure to take it…
Avatar
I am not sure how you categorise Avatar. Avant-garde tinged industrial melodic death metal maybe? I’m not sure I particularly care as they continually pump out excellent albums. Their latest album Hunter Gatherer was not my favourite of theirs (that’s reserved for Avatar Country), but I have no problem taking a future release from the Swedish theatre enthusiasts. They have also hinted that Avatar Country ended their ‘jolly’ phase and we’re now solely into the heavier, moodier end of the spectrum. Can only be positive for a future release.
Powerwolf
Going to the symphonic side of power metal with German fireballs Powerwolf. I toyed here with Ghost to give me a spiritual journey to keep me level headed on the dark winter nights. But I can’t deny the might of Powerwolf, reminding me that metal is the one true religion. Damn straight. Never released a bad album, and would get to keep at the forefront of my memory their awesome heavy metal mass stage shows.
So there we have the 10 artists who’s forthcoming album releases will accompany me on the endless days in isolation on said lonely island. I have the upmost of faith in my desert island albums decision. It will be very interesting to revisit this article with a part two once these respective albums have been released.
Plenty of these artists made it onto my best metal albums and best metal songs of 2020.
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