The Metal Scholar's Weekly Listening List (6th January 2020)

The First Of The New Decade!

Yes, now the haze of Christmas and New Year is over it is time to get back down to business. I'm looking forward to what quality albums 2020 will bring me and the rest of the decade for that matter. The 2010s were packed full of epic albums, so the bar can only be raised higher once again. My expectations are understandably high for 2020, so it will be interesting to see what bands can pull it out of the bag. In the meantime, the listening of rotations must be done and new albums can be added as and when they come, we just have to be patient! So fo now, I present to you the first Weekly Listening of 2020! Of course the playlist will be updated also, this means you can reflect on some of the awesome songs chosen in 2019 while listening to the new additions of 2020!

Singles Of The Week

I. Wormwitch (🇨🇦) - Disciple Of The Serpent Star (Prosthetic Records), Black Metal
II. Death Wolf (🇸🇪) - Edge Of The Forest (Blooddawn Productions), Horror Punk
III. Dark Fortress (🇩🇪) - Pulling At Threads (Century Media Records), Melodic Black Metal
IV. Regarde Les Hommes Tomber (🇫🇷) - A New Order (Season Of Mist), Post-Black Metal
V. Neaera (🇩🇪) - Torchbearer (Metal Blade Records), Melodic Death Metal
VI. Sophist  (🇨🇦) - It Will All Vanish In An Instant (Nifelhel Records), Black Metal/Grindocre
VII. Porta Nigra (🇩🇪) - Die Augen Des Basilisken (Soulseller Records), Avante-garde Black Metal
VIII. Carnal Tomb (🇩🇪) - Vast Crypts (Independent), Death Metal
IX. Midnight (🇺🇸) - Rising Scum (Metal Blade Records), Black/Speed Metal
X. Corpsessed (🇫🇮) - Sovereign (Independent), Death Metal

Albums Of The Week

I. Svartgren (🇷🇸) - Divlja Vatra (Independent), Raw Black Metal
II. Navjarmaahr (🇷🇺) - Navje (Independent), Pagan Black Metal
III. Ashen Horde (🇺🇸) - Tintregen (Independent), Progressive Black Metal
IV. Dreadful Fate (🇸🇪) - Bringer Of Damnation (I Hate Records), Thrash/Death Metal
V. Vials Of Wrath (🇺🇸) - Dark Winter Memories (Flowing Downward), Ambient Black Metal

Throwback Of The Week

This week's throwback takes me back to school and being 13/14. I've also chosen this album this week as I will finally be seeing them live in a couple of weeks of which I cannot contain my excitement! Anyway, if being an angsty teenager wasn't enough on its own, my mate showed me this very album. It was an assault on my young ears who was just starting to get into metal. It was a visceral and unforgiving barrage of riffs and percussion, filled with hate and anger. I fell in love with it as I connected it with how I was feeling at the time. Since then it has been a staple of mine. This week's throwback is;

Slipknot (🇺🇸) - Iowa (The All Blacks, USA), Nu-metal

The Weekly Listening Playlist