2024: The Metal List

While the Music Geek is putting the final touches on his annual genre-agnostic and quite Epic "Best Albums Of the Year" List, here's a quick one: 2024's 20 favorite metal and metal-friendly releases. The order is alphabetical, to keep the suspense going on which ones will end up on the other List as well.

Feel free to share suggestions in the "Comments" area on what I might have missed out on. Hail Satan.

BLOOD INCANTATION – Absolute Elsewhere
They have finally created their masterpiece, seamlessly blending Morbid Angel-esque death metal with Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, and even ambient dub influences on the most exciting album of its kind since, like, forever.
BODY COUNT – Merciless
Probably their heaviest album to date, with Slayer-like carpet-bombings (“The Purge”) alternating with Biohazard grooves. Lots of guests, from Cannibal Corpse’s Corpsegrinder to David fucking Gilmour.
COFFIN STORM – Arcana Rising
A bunch of Norwegian underground metal lifers including Apollyon and Fenriz play some riff-tastic epic doom, like Candlemass with Hellhammer’s attitude.
ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM – To Shoot Another Day
This is eccentric and quirky in a very English sort of way. It also rocks like a motherfucker and kicks serious ass.
ESCUELA GRIND - Dreams On Algorithms
Kurt Ballou’s production elevates the grindcore quartet to tier-A status. Katerina Economou on vocals is a beast and every song is a blast (pun intended), even the album closer that features clean vocals.
HAIL DARKNESS – Death Divine
It’s been a while since we got a really good new occult rock band but Hail Darkness are finally here and they’re fantastic – their thing being adding a Jefferson Airplane twist to the Sabbathian riff-fest.
HEAVY TEMPLE – Garden Of Heathens
This fucking rocks (or, rather, RAWKS) in a High On Fire/Yob sort of way, plus I’d listen to a band with a frontwoman named High Priestess Nighthawk any day.
HIGH ON FIRE – Cometh The Storm
Prepare to have your eardrums melted by awesome riff after riff at an unbearably loud volume, like Mastodon trying to be heard over Motorhead playing right next to them.
HIGH PARASITE – Forever We Burn
Aaron from My Dying Bride forms side project and releases a better album than My Dying Bride's. More uptempo, sort of like a Cult/Sisters of Mercy combination with death growls, and it’s fun as hell.
IHSAHN – Ihsahn
This is simply fantastic, the closest he’s ever come to the Emperor vibe but more mature. Godhead status re-confirmed.
JUDAS PRIEST – Invincible Shield
A follow-up to 2018’s excellent “Firepower”, “Invincible Shield” is another fantastic Priest album with Halford in top form, killer guitars, and songwriting that quite honestly is up there with all their classics.
LOWEN – Do Not Go to War With the Demons of Mazandaran
Plenty of other bands have previously infused heavy metal with a Middle Eastern influence, but few have done it as beautifully as Lowen.
LUCIFER – Lucifer V
It’s been a slow, steady development from nice but slightly generic vintage heavy rock to something packing a real punch, but Johanna Sadonis has finally arrived there.
NILE – The Underworld Awaits Us All
A strong brutal technical death metal record, this is probably the 6th best Nile album, and probably the 6th best Morbid Angel album as well.
OPETH – The Last Will And Testament
Akerfeldt’s heaviest album in a long time, this will take you back to the days of “Wateshed” since the death growls make a welcome reappearance.
PALLBEARER – Mind Burns Alive
I like the new Pallbearer, it’s less about crushing doom riffs and more about the vibe and the atmosphere, in an almost post-rock way.
ROTTING CHRIST – Pro Xristou
All the songs have the same mid-tempo beat and the same riff, but it’s a great beat and a fuckin’ awesome riff.
UMBRA VITAE – Light Of Death
Converge’s Jacob Bannon goes full-on death metal, along with members of The Red Chord and Job For A Cowboy. Kurt Ballou produces, of course. Absolutely brutal.
CHELSEA WOLFE – She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
So good it might turn me into a full-time goth in my old age.
ZEAL & ARDOR – Greif
People who screamed “THIS ISN’T METAL!!!” in 2016 and hated them grew to accept them, but they’re back to screaming “THIS ISN’T METAL!!!” in 2024.