It’s the time of year again when the Midlands Rocks contributors round up their personal favourites of the last twelve months. Unsurprisingly we dispensed with the “Best Gigs” list this time around but despite the absence of live performances 2020 still gave us some music to remember. As usual there are some eclectic selections amongst the team spanning the entire spectrum of the church of Rock with multiple appearances for the likes of Massive Wagons and Brothers Osbourne and veterans such as AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen also doing well.
A recurring theme on the 2021 wish list is the return of live music which naturally is something we all can’t wait to see happen. Let’s hope it won’t be too much longer until we can get to hear some of these new albums come to life on stage. When the time comes be assured the MR team will be out and about supporting the local venues here in the Midlands and beyond – see you down the front!
Gary Cordwell
Artist Of The Year
Bruce Springsteen
Top 10 Albums
- Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You
- AC/DC – Power Up
- Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways
- Bob Mould – Blue Hearts
- Larkin Poe – Self Made Man
- The Wildhearts – Thirty Year Itch
- Drive-By Truckers – The Unraveling
- The Flaming Lips – American Head
- Mark Lanegan – Straight Songs Of Sorrow
- These Wicked Rivers – Eden
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- The vaccine
- The return of live music
- The Damned reunion
- The Eagles at Wembley
- Coughing unselfconsciously
Peter Dennis
Artist Of The Year
LOVEBITES
Top 10 Albums
- Napalm Death – Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
- Wolf – Feeding The Machine
- Fake Island – Cell Division
- The Infernal Sea – Negotium Crucis
- Power Trip – Live In Seattle
- Change – Closer Still
- LOVEBITES – Electric Pentagram
- Onslaught – Generation Antichrist
- Code Orange – Underneath
- Raging Speedhorn – Hard To Kill
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- New Iron Maiden album
- Mercyful Fate at Bloodstock
- Opeth at Arctangent
- Outbreak Fest
- New Eyehategod album (A History Of Nomadic Behavior)
Claire Frays
Artist Of The Year
Sabaton
Top 10 albums
1. Five Finger Death Punch – F8
2. Dance Gavin Dance – Afterburner
3. Trivium – What The Dead Men Say
4. Bury Tomorrow – Cannibal
5. Sylosis – Cycle Of Suffering
6. Lamb of God – Lamb of God
7. DevilDriver – Deadling With Demons
8. Apocalyptica – Cell-0
9. Madina Lake – The Beginning of New Endings EP
10. State Champs – Unplugged EP
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
1. Hopefully being able to go to gigs and festivals again
2. New music and the latest video skits from Ghost.
3. New music from Westview – check them out if you haven’t already.
4. Madina Lake making their big comeback after reuniting for some live stream shows and new EP.
5. Seeing what Alexi Laiho brings to the table with Bodom After Midnight.
Jason Guest
Artist of The Year
Mr Bungle: Mike Patton, Trey Sprunce and Trevor Dunn – with Dave Lombardo and Scott Ian!
Top 10 albums
- Mr Bungle – The Raging Wrath of The Easter Bunny Demo
- Brave The Cold – Scarcity
- Mrs Piss – Self Surgery
- Tētēma – Necroscape
- JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland – Oscillospira
- Convulsif – Extinct
- Pharaoh Overlord – 6
- Kairon; IRSE! – Polysomn
- Imperial Triumphant – Alphaville
- Sepultura – Quadraere
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- Faith No More – 11 June 2021 @ O2 Academy, Birmingham (rescheduled from 15 June 2020)
- The new album from Ghost later in the year
- Karnivool – 25 September 2021 @ O2 Institute, Birmingham
- Having a drink at a gig
- Having several drinks at several gigs!
Andrew Manning
Top 10 Albums
- Nightwish- Human.ll:Nature
- Fish – Weltschmerz
- Sons of Apollo- MMXX
- Brothers Osborne – Skeletons
- Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown – Pressure
- Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations 2020
- H.E.A.T- H.E.A.T ll
- Joe Bonamassa- Royal Tea
- Haken – Virus
- Kansas-The Absence of Prescence
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- The return of live gigs
- Confirmation that Wolverhampton Civic Hall will finally reopen in 2022
- Steven Wilson new album The Future Bites
- Fewer of my musical heroes going to the great gig in the sky
- AC/DC Tour????
Dean Pedley
Artist Of The Year
Massive Wagons – delivered a superb album and were justly rewarded with seeing it crash into the Top 10
Top 10 albums
- Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You
- Massive Wagons – House Of Noise
- Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Reunions
- AC/DC – Power Up
- The Cadillac Three – Tabasco & Sweet Tea
- Morgan Wade – Our Vinyl Sessions (EP)
- Brothers Osborne – Skeletons
- Amy Macdonald – The Human Demands
- The Cadillac Three – Country Fuzz
- Drive-By Truckers – The Unraveling
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- Gigs of any size, anywhere
- Festivals of any size, anywhere
- Debut album from Dawn After Dark, 32 years late
- Buying an overpriced pint in a muddy field
- First night back at The Robin 2
Angri Peters
Artist of the Year:
Low (for their “Friday I’m In Low” live streaming on Instagram during lockdown. Performances and guitar lessons from their own home bringing some love into the world)
Top 10 albums
1. Spectres- “It’s Never Going To Happen and This Is Why”
2. Anna Von Hausswolff- “All Thoughts Fly”
3. Metz- “Atlas Vending”
4. JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland- “Oscillospira”
5. AA Williams- “Forever Blue”
6. Sly & The Family Drone- “Walk It Dry”
7. FACS- “Void Moments”
8. Bill Callahan- “Gold Record”
9. Richard Dawson- “2020”
10. C. Diab- “White Whale
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
1. Getting out to see someone/anyone at The Hare & Hounds.
2. The next A Winged Victory For The Sullen album
3. Pigs X 7 finally playing their twice postponed gig from this year
4. Supersonic Festival, always
5. OM live at The Crossing
Paul Quinton
Artist Of The Year
Danny Vaughn, great album with Dan Reed and his Lockdown online shows are a hoot.
Top 10 albums
(In alphabetical order of artist)
BLUE OYSTER CULT – The Symbol Remains
DELAIN – Apocalypse and Chill
FM – Synchronised
H. E. A. T. – II
JIM KIRKPATRICK – Ballad of a Prodigal Son
MAGENTA – Masters of Illusion
OVERLAND – Scandalous
PURE REASON REVOLUTION – Eupnea
SNAKE OIL AND HARMONY – Hurricane Riders
SOLSTICE – Sia
Top 5 hopes (or wishes) for 2021
1. The obvious, that somehow, somewhere, someone, finds a way of conquering this damned virus and let’s us get back to something like normal life, which includes live music.
2. That all our music venues find a way through to the other side, whatever it takes.
3. That there’s a way to solve the streaming issue so that musicians who aren’t at the arena level earn a bit more than £2.27 for 1,000,000 streams or whatever the current rate is.
4. Being a big Prog fan, I wish the old school fans, those who appear to think that the recording of good new music ended in 1978, would open their minds a little and realise that there are some great new artists out there, just waiting to be heard,,and to be honest, that goes for some other genres as well. Give them a try, you never know your luck.
5. In the immortal words of Jack Nicholson, ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’
Rich Ward
Top artist
Toyah & Fripp for their entertaining and mostly baffling videos.
Top 10 albums
- The Dirty Knobs – Wreckless Abandon
- Deep Purple – Whoosh!
- Buffalo Summer – Desolation Blue
- Gotthard – 13
- Massive Wagons – House Of Noise
- Haxan – White Noise
- UFO – Strangers In The Night (Box Set)
- Brothers Osborne – Skeletons
- Thin Lizzy – Rock Legends (Box set)
- AC/DC – Power Up
Top 5 things to look forward to in 2021
- Gigs
- Gigs
- Gigs
- Gigs
- Mask burning ceremony (followed by a gig)
