The great, genre-defying metal band Inter Arma returned this year with a new covers album, Garbers Days Revisited (on Relapse), which includes unique takes on a wide variety of music, such as Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Tom Petty, Prince, Husker Du, Cro-Mags, Venom, and Ministry.

Now that the year is coming to a close, we asked the band what music they dug in 2020, and drummer T.J. Childers replied with his picks for the top 10 albums of the year. Like their covers album, his choices are very diverse, with metal (Napalm Death, Pallbearer, Oranssi Pazuzu), and a variety of non-metal too (Freddie Gibbs, Run The Jewels, Neil Young, Steve Earle, etc). Read on for his full list and a brief intro blurb…

T.J. Childers' Top 10 Albums of 2020
2020's been a tough year for music (or the lack thereof) but we're happy that bands and artists have persevered on through the madness and hopefully spread a little happiness to some folks in an otherwise dismal goddamn year! Stay safe and wear a motherfucking mask!

Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi
Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist – Alfredo
Run the Jewels – RTJ4
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Napalm Death – Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
Pallbearer – Forgotten Days
Neil Young – Homegrown
Steve Earle – Ghosts of West Virginia
The Mountain Goats – Getting into Knives

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Related: see year-end lists from members of Pallbearer and Spirit Adrift.