CRYSTAL BALL – 2020

Incredibly, Swiss metallers Crystal Ball are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. To highlight this fact, they have released 2020, a wonderfully done double disc Best Of / Re-record album. Admirably, the band has chosen the songs based purely on online fan voting combined with sales and streaming numbers. They’ve given the fans the exact songs they want to hear on a Best Of release. Naturally, with so many albums to their name, it’s obvious as to why 2020 is a double album.

One important point about this album is that although this features re-recorded songs, the vast majority of them have new arrangements or new mixes, or added vocal parts. With that said, the new takes on these songs are very well done and don’t spoil the nostalgia of the older tracks from the early part of the band’s career. This was a great move by Crystal Ball. Long-time fans have something fresh to sink their teeth into, while audiences that are not familiar with the band will be introduced to the back catalog in a way that will familiarize them with the band’s sound over the years. It’s worth noting that perhaps half or more than half of the songs on this collection are from the band’s more recent albums. This is a testament to Crystal Ball’s momentum and this release should help maintain it.

Fans of 80s Metal, Melodic Metal, and AOR will be very satisfied with 2020. Despite drawing from songs spread across two decades, the fresh recordings and production on these tracks makes for one seriously powerful double disc release.

Tune in to METALEXPRESSRADIO.COM at NOON & MIDNIGHT (EST) / 6:00 & 18:00 (CET) TO HEAR THE BEST TRACKS FROM THIS UPCOMING RELEASE!!!