ALL THINGS OLD SCHOOL AWARDS - The Best of 2020

Later than usual The 2020 All Things Old School Awards is here (despite what was said in 2019) highlighting the best in hardcore, punk and thrash. I will skip the part where I'd comment what a lousy this year was for a lot of people (me included) and go straight to music productions, which surprisingly didn't slow down and helped us cope through 2020.

First I'd like point out the increased (and needed) partake of women in the underground/DIY scene, they can be seeing not just holding the mic speaking their minds but also picking any instrument and hammering it down in any given style, after all this is not just boys fun.

In 2020, besides the usual newcomers arriving each year, a great deal of veteran bands put out something this year, both in metal and hardcore punk. The problem is most of them lack the excitement and criativity it once had, more suitable for diehard fans, these are some of the big names that didn't make the list: Terror, Subzero, Cro-Mags, D.I., No Redeeming Social Value, Stalag 13, Adolescents, The Spits, Cruel Hand, Testament, Buried Alive, Field Day... There was also these slick throwback compilations, featuring new tracks by a bunch of first-wave Oi!/Street-Punk bands released by Pirate Press.

The full list of some of the finest releases from Youth Crew to Crossover Thrash to Street Punk can be listened on another damn streaming playlist, tons of tracks were heard and filtered down to a minimun, even so it passed the 100th mark, check it to see if you slept on something:

All Things Old School is a webzine about the pioneers of raw, fast and aggro music and those who carry on this sonic force through the decades. A new decade just started and somehow this blog survived an entire one, inevitably it will cease to get updates eventually, thanks to the few (and proud) dozens who stood along all these years, stay safe!

RATED X - UNITED FRONT (Painkiller Records)

It goes without saying "I told you so" but T.Pimlott did it again and United Front was the album with the most rotations here this year and most likely in other boomboxes out there. It's as old school as you could possibly get, mosh for days in a brute and vibrant soundtrack back to back! Shouts to Heavy Discipline and their obliterating new LP also on Painkiller Records.

INSIGHT - REFLECTION (Mission Two Entertainment)

Technically a reissue but it also features 4 glorious new songs plus a few extras. Reflection was one of the biggest (positive) surprises of 2020, bringing back such a crucial band that was INSIGHT.

CHANGE - CLOSER STILL (React! Records)

LegitimateBros are 4ever! This supergroup brings the best from the 00's Youth Crew revival era while managing to keep Closer Still with a contemporary feel rather than just another copycat, the same goes for the Swedish in Speedway and their killer debut EP.

FUSE - THIS SEGREGATION WILL END (Quality Control HQ)

These girls (and guy) bust hard and they are here to stay! More and more asian countries like Singapore are offering new hardcore acts that are reaching ears all over the planet, now with FUSE they've put Lion City Hardcore on the map for good. The impressive "classic" sound of This Segregation Will End comes from their conjunct work with both Howard (Obstruct, Insist) and Killingsworth behind the soundboard, the result brings you back to the late 80's dirty streets of NY boosted with stomps of modern era hardcore and defiant lyrics.

CONQUEST FOR DEATH - A MAELSTROM OF RESENTMENT & REMORSE (Refuse Records)

Another welcome surprise from 2020, the multinational group CONQUEST FOR DEATH, led by Devon from What Happens Next? brings their trademarked infectious thrashcore back to the studio after a long hiatus with over a dozen new slabs of self-described "sporadic bursts of intense activity". On a close tie, the Hungarian in Crippled Fox represented the thrashcore nation at the highest level with their new LP In The Name Of Trash.

EXPOSURE - ATONEMENT (Street Survival Records)

Mannheim was the birthplace of one of the illest crossover albums out in 2020, EXPOSURE stepped up the ugly game by blending UK82 with Thrash/Death Metal, more than 2 years on the making, the Atonement!

THRASHWALL - THRASHWALL (Firecum Records)

Boombastic Thrash Metal heading your way straight outta Portugal, courtesy of THRASHWALL debuting at maximum outpout, I'm still trying to figure out how they got to this level right out of the gate, this album is the autobahn of Thrash, no speed limit!! For more Portuguese assault check Mindtaker.

ETERNAL CHAMPION - RAVENING IRON (No Remorse Records)

The moment the album starts you realize the 4 year wait was damn worth it, the prodigal son of Irong Age and Power Trip returns fully charged in Ravening Iron with 8 epic tracks of NWOTHM finest.

CUERO - CABEZABOTA (Mendeku Diskak)

Black Metal Skinheads baby, CUERO proved that more bands other than Battle Ruins can mix Metal and Oi! and come out with amazing results. This is a band you should pay a closer attention to in 2021!

*               SPECIAL MENTIONS             *

Big Laugh - Maniac Revision (11PM)

Honey - Nightmare Come To Life (Self-Released)

Peace Test - Uniform Repression (To Live A Lie)

Weight - Weight EP (The Essence)

Pillars Of Ivory - Genesis Demo Twenty-Twenty (Streets Of Hate)

Sanity Control - War On Life (Seeing Red)

Big Cheese - Punishment Park (Quality Control HQ)

Decimator - Alienist (Thrash Or Death)

Dregs - Built To Rot (Refuse)

Sand And Salt - Thrive! (Drone Attack)