Whittling down a year’s worth of releases for these end of year round-ups is always a challenge, but this year has been the hardest in recent memory by some margin; the amount of top quality metal dished out in 2024 would put your local blacksmith to shame.
We’ve truly been spoiled over the last twelve months, whatever sub-genre of metal you’re most invested in. I’ve spent a lot of column space this year raving about the new wave of old school death metal, which still shows no signs of fatigue, but the more technical, modern strain of the genre is quietly undergoing a resurgence too; I haven’t had space to fully digest the new Defeated Sanity album just yet, but cursory spins make me think it’s one of the most imaginative, forward-thinking releases the subgenre has seen in a while, whilst Ulcerate’s latest is a huge achievement in terms of balancing brutality and melody.
It’s been a great year for doom and sludge too, with elder statesmen like Melvins and Ufomammut returning with some of their heftiest material in years. Whilst sludge metal may have seemed a little oversaturated and burnt out in recent years, the traditional sludge sound made a big comeback in 2024, whether from returning legends like Toadliquor or members of Dystopia and Laudanum in Deadform, or new bands like Bile Caster and Blind Monarch who perfectly captured what made those original 90s sludge bands so thrilling whilst still pushing the genre forward in their own unique way.
I could have easily filled a top 50 this year, and still feel like I’m missing out something crucial, but I’m already tight for space as it is – so let’s just get stuck straight into it, shall we?
EffluenceNecrobiologyPutrefactive
Easily the most chaotic record of the year, this US goregrind solo project’s latest full-length felt like a new watermark for the genre, tearing apart the rulebook whilst welding pingy snares, detuned riffs and guttural gurgles to a jazzy, free improv framework. The end result is certainly not for the faint hearted, but remains one of 2024’s most adventurous and consistently surprising metal records no matter how many times I spin it.
FórnRepercussions Of The SelfPersistent Vision
Having already perfected their unique style of “funeral sludge”, Boston’s Fórn took some very creative liberties with their sound on their third album. The inclusion of Elizabeth Colour Wheel’s powerhouse vocalist Lane Shi Otayonii as a full-time member brought a whole new dimension to the band, with her soaring voice and hypnotic electronics blending perfectly with their thunderous death growls and cavernous riffs.
StillA TheftFloodlit
Hull post hardcore act Still have always been an interesting proposition, but this second album was the most cathartic and powerful thing they’ve released so far. Stripped down to a trio, the band delved deep into dissonant black metal territory, arriving at an incredibly fluid but authentically harrowing sound. As cold and bleak as A Theft was, however, it sidestepped the inhuman, mechanical feel that a lot of dissonant black metal can fall into, retaining a visceral emotional chokehold throughout as guitarist/vocalist Fraser Briggs grappled with the recent loss of his father.
KralliceInorganic RitesSelf-Released
US black metal underdogs Krallice’s 15th full-length was their most cohesive and well-realised in years, fusing all the synth based experiments they’ve toyed with of late with some of the most inventive yet straightforwardly powerful black metal they’ve ever put to tape. Fittingly for the last album to be recorded at guitarist Colin Marston’s Menegroth Studio, it feels like a weighty full stop to mark the end of this era of Krallice; where they go next is anyone’s guess, but this is an immensely satisfying note to bow out on.
HorsebastardHorsebastardSelf-Released
Liverpudlian speed freaks Horsebastard have been at the forefront of the UK grind scene ever since their debut album Giraffetermath landed a full decade ago, but even by their standards, this self-titled opus is absurdly intense, pushing the BPM limits to a jaw-droppingly swift degree. The manic, unhinged energy coursing through this LP is unreal, with vocalist Chris Reese’s madcap howls and screeches sounding more like a pack of wild apes than any other extreme metal vocalist you’d care to mention. Simply put, grindcore does not get more exhilarating than this in 2024.
DarkthroneIt Beckons Us All…….Peaceville
On their third post-lockdown album, Darkthrone finally perfected the frosty, doom-laden heavy metal style they’ve been exploring for the past few years. The songwriting felt tighter but also more adventurous, Fenriz’s melodic vocal contributions sounded stronger than ever and, of course, the riffs were all solid steel rippers – but what really elevated this one was the eerie, almost mystical atmosphere emanating right off it.
Paysage d’HiverDie BergeKunsthall
After the more straightforwardly aggressive Geister split opinions in 2021, Die Berge was a return to form for legendary Swiss solo outfit Paysage d’Hiver, harking back to the more hypnotic, blizzard-like wall of sound that typified classic records like Das Tor, with layers of ice cold tremolo hiding some of the most rewarding song-writing in the project’s history. With its genuinely transfixing pacing and riffs that felt as vast and harsh as the Alps themselves, the 100-minute runtime seems to breeze past, making this the ideal soundtrack for those long winter nights.
ScarcityThe Promise Of RainThe Flenser
Although the full band set-up and more traditional album structure may have made Scarcity’s second record a less daunting prospect than their singular, Glenn Branca-inspired debut Aveilut, it was no less of a rewarding listen, building just as much tension and proving mastermind Brendon Randall-Myers’ lofty, densely orchestrated vision for black metal works just as well in shorter, more digestible segments too. Thrillingly, it was also written with live performances in mind, making this the first step towards finally experiencing this uniquely mindfucking music in person.
High On FireCometh The StormMNRK Heavy
Parting ways with a drummer as unique and heavy hitting as Des Kensel would have spelt the end for most bands, but Matt Pike’s enduring power trio hit the ground running with former Big Business sticksman Coady Willis, dishing out a supremely robust set of classic High On Fire thumpers. Rather than just being a convincing victory lap, however, Cometh The Storm also pushed the band’s sound into some interesting new places, with a variety of psychedelic, Eastern sounding flavours alongside their usual meaty gristle.
Chat PileCool WorldThe Flenser
The second album from the Oklahoma noise rock quartet may not have been as immediately arresting as their 2022 debut God’s Country, but repeat spins proved it to be just as powerful, with a bristling, paranoid intensity lurking at its core. The shimmers of brooding death rock and hazy shoegaze textures seeping into the band’s confrontational Godflesh-ian pounding added extra layers of emotive depth, which, combined with the subtler but no less infectious song-writing, accurately captured the insidious anxiety of day to day life in 2024.
CuntroachesCuntroachesSkin Graft
The long-awaited debut from this gnarly German trio did not disappoint at all, taking their bizarre blackened no-wave sound into ever more surreal and visceral pastures. Like an ungodly, Cronenberg-esque fusion of early Beherit, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks and thumping overdriven Berlin techno, Cuntroaches is genuinely disorientating in the best possible way, a pulsing, psychedelic mass of searing noise that manages to be just as fun as it is abrasive.
ToadliquorBack In The HoleSouthern Lord
Sludge legends Toadliquor returned out of nowhere with a pretty much perfect follow-up to their classic 31 year old debut album without missing a beat. The band’s tortured, physically painful brand of sludge metal sounded as fresh as ever, nailing both the miserable atmosphere and gargantuan, swinging grooves that made them such a force to be reckoned with in the first place – but Back In The Hole wasn’t just an exercise in nostalgia, seamlessly updating the trademark Toadliquor dirge with unsettling synth sections and an even more psychedelic undercurrent.
Black CurseBurning In Celestial PoisonSephulcral Voice
Outdoing the masterclass in extremity that was 2020’s Endless Wound was a tall order, but Denver supergroup Black Curse’s second album nonetheless managed to be one of the most ludicrously hostile records of the year. Significantly upping the war metal influence whilst also venturing into much longer, more ambitious song structures, Burning In Celestial Poison pushed the limits of the band’s brute force to a near transcendental degree, sustaining that white knuckle intensity throughout. A seething, violent inferno of an album.
The Body & Dis FigOrchards Of A Futile HeavenThrill Jockey
Whilst the recently released The Crying Out Of Things proved The Body are just as creative left to their own devices as they’ve ever been, their record with sound artist and DJ Felicia Chen (aka Dis Fig) stood out as the pair’s most powerful statement this year. Feeling like a real collaboration in the truest sense, Chen’s haunting, forlorn vocals and jittery electronics are a perfect compliment to Chip King’s piercing shriek and churning guitar tone, each bringing out new emotional nuances in the other – it’s hardly surprising she was invited back for a victory lap on The Crying Out Of Things.
Chelsea WolfeShe Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To SheLoma Vista
The opening moments of Chelsea Wolfe’s latest may have suggested a return to the driving, industrial tinged alt-metal of Hiss Spun following the dark folk of Birth Of Violence, but from there the album blossoms into a very different beast. The strong darkwave flavour from Pain Is Beauty is back, but the trip hop influence makes this feel like uncharted territory for Wolfe, with sumptuously nocturnal electronics accompanying some of her strongest songwriting yet on tracks like ‘Tunnel Lights’ or the intoxicating ‘Eyes Like Nightshade’.
PyrrhonExhaustWillowtip
The Brooklyn quartet’s fifth album was their most efficient and destructive yet, coalescing the vibrant noise rock influences of 2020’s Abscess Time with the disorientating chaos of 2017’s What Passes For Survival to create a dizzyingly expressive style of death metal that really doesn’t sound like anyone else. The intelligent, sardonic lyrics are the icing on the cake, refusing to bow to cliche and instead charting their own distinctive path, just like the music on offer here.
Oranssi PazuzuMuuntautujaNuclear Blast
Continuing their journey far beyond the confines of black metal, Finnish cosmonauts Oranssi Pazuzu made perhaps their biggest leap into the unknown yet with this taut, tense and otherworldly opus. With nary an ounce of flab on it, the 43 minute Muuntautuja was also arguably their most cohesive and focused record yet, forgoing the exuberant sprawl of their last two albums but managing to feel every bit as expansive in the process, really honing in on the bizarre electronics that have gradually crept into their sound to create a record amorphous and Lovecraftian enough to genuinely deserve the title – as this record’s name translates to English – Shapeshifter.
Spectral VoiceSparagmosDark Descent
Whilst their sister band Blood Incantation’s new album felt like a kaleidoscopic burst of colour, Spectral Voice’s highly anticipated second album was almost the complete inverse, achieving a similarly immersive approach using nothing but the darkest, most murkiest black. These riffs are pure evil, but have a curiously meditative quality to them, which, when combined with the increasingly ambitious song structures and even more unhinged, animalistic vocals, made Sparagmos the most genuinely trance inducing death/doom of the year.
ThouUmbilicalSacred Bones
After exploring ever more grandiose, slow-burning sonic vistas on their last two records, Umbilical was perhaps the most immediate, visceral album Thou have ever released, taking its cues from fiery hardcore punk 7-inches rather than introspective post-metal epics. Custom-built for mosh pits and mic grabs rather than solemn contemplation, the riff-focussed Umbilical was thrilling from start to finish, but still maintains the depth and nuance of the band’s more elaborate works – especially once you dig into the wry, sarcastic lyrics, sending up not only the band itself but also the very ideals hardcore is built upon.
Blood IncantationAbsolute ElsewhereCentury Media
Denver death metal outfit Blood Incantation’s ascent into full-blown prog madness was undoubtedly 2024’s biggest event in terms of metal albums, and with good reason; the music here is so vibrant and colourful, so rich with ideas and so effortlessly well executed that it’s impossible not to be swept up in the enveloping cosmic atmosphere of it all. Seamlessly fusing caustic Morbid Angel-isms with Berlin school electronics and 70s prog soundscapes, the album is technically astonishing – but ultimately, Absolute Elsewhere took the top spot for me simply because of how much of a joy it is to listen to, with each new listen revealing another hidden nuance or detail. One of those rare breakthrough albums that deserves all the hype it gets.
