The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2024

As the world finds itself coming closer to critical mass, We need heavy music more than ever. This is the culmination of all the other metal lists. Yes, I have done other metal lists for other blogs, and I see them as being a refining process for when I make this list. The results might vary to at the end of the day I checked my Last FM to see what I actually listened to the most and here we are with these results. Truth be told this still included most of the number-one picks from the varied sub-genre lists, though other albums that ranked maybe two are three on their respective lists, also earned a place here, due to growing on me or replay value of their albums. While results may have varied, this is the final word. 

The very fact these bands made it to this list means they are cream of the crop so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. You can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to over six hundred new albums this year, so chances are  I heard your favorite album and was not impressed.  I hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2024

10-Deadform - "Entrenched In Hell" 

This is the first full-length from this Oakland-based crust trio which features Dino Sommese from Dystopia on drums as well as sharing vocal duties with Brian Clouse from Stormcrow, who is also playing bass in this project. The furious sounds unleashed on this album highlight the things I love about the Crust genre. It's heavy, yet grooving in its pummeling. There is also a dark apocalyptic mood churning from the songs. The tones coming from their blown-out amps are burly enough to belong to a sludge band, but they are played with more of a punk attitude. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/deadform-entrenched-in-hell.html

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9-Maul- "In the Jaws of Bereavement" 

This album clicked for me right away as it packs a powerful punch, yet does not shy from guitar melodies to show they care about writing songs. North Dakota is not where I would expect this to come from but here we are. There is no shortage of head-banging grooves. This album makes a strong argument for having the bass prominent in the mix when it comes to death metal. There are some technical thrashing riffs, that are balanced out by locking into chugs to bring a more deliberate attack that plays to their strengths. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/maul-in-jaws-of-bereavement.html

8-Witnesses - "Joy" 

 Despite my preference for Kody Ternes as the vocalist, things changed, and  Bibby from Seventh Angel is handling the vocals this time around. He is more of a metal singer than Ternes, he does make melodic choices that think outside of the power metal box, some doom singers lean toward. His voice grew on me.  Not as dark as some of their previous work the album deals more with self -actualization. There is a highly emotive nature they invoke with the atmosphere. It is one of Greg Schwan's strengths as a songwriter. Things are very dynamic, with the vocals soaring above it all. They once again excelled, and if you are a doom fan who enjoys melody then this album is a must.  This band is onto something and it is one of the more original expressions of doom I have heard in a minute. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-witnesses-joy.html

 

7-Crypt Sermon- "The Stygian Rose" 

Taking their  80s-flavored metal down its darker grittier path, not unlike Savatage or Metal Church, the songs benefit from more vocal colors going on this time around. The riffing carries more thrash, as they hit their stride as songwriters.  There are lots of tasteful guitar solos that relentlessly hit you with killer riffs. This album finds them coming into their own, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the albums these songs draw inspiration from.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/crypt-sermon-stygian-rose.html

6-Full of Hell-"Coagulated Bliss"

This album grew on me more than any other this year, partly due to catching these guys live where it all clicked. It's also a huge step of maturity in songwriting. From a production standpoint, it's more organic. They were not darker, but more punk than the sludge-tinged gnarliness that comprised their guitar tone on other albums. The guitarist claims that he learned how to serve the song during their sessions for the album with Nothing. Things here reflect that due to the fact it is angular and mathy, but not spastic. The vocals are more deliberate as well.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/full-of-hell-coagulated-bliss.html

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5-Death Killer -"Total Destruction of the Entire Universe" 

Here is the kind of industrial album I was waiting for. It is both pissed and heavy as hell with a fair dose of chaos in its veins. There is a great balance of instrumentation and programming/ electronic elements. It is not industrial music to dance to it is industrial music that is going to kick your face. Not unlike Ministry's "Filth Pig" album in that regard though this is heavier. It blasts at you like a jackhammer, as it sonically fucks your brains out right from the first song

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-death-killer.html

4-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning" 

It's been 8 years since the last album from this California-based hard-core band. They are just as angry as they were on "You Will Never Be One of Us".  The grind-core influence on the band has them spitting out minute-and-a-half songs that are propelled by an unrelenting momentum. The faster moments that create a frenzied wall of sound are balanced out by the intentional songwriting masterstrokes delivered here, and find this album to be worth the wait and put the band on the top of the heap. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

3- Weston Super Maim- "See You Tomorrow Baby"

This band is out to crush you with their industrial-strength metal, possessed by chaotic outbursts of jarring mathematics like a grind-core version of Meshuggah. This album proves you can go to the extremes of heaviness while still having a huge sound. At times electronic sounds enter the fray. Impressive guitar work does not hinder the sheer weight this album hits you with while writing memorable songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/weston-super-maim-see-you-tomorrow-baby.html

 

2-200 Stab Wounds - "Manual Manic Procedures" 

 Less than a year after the previous release, the guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. My only complaint about the first album was that it was so straightforward that there was little to separate it from veterans like Cannibal Corpses. Now they are really bringing it hard this time around. They give the oppressive pounding. Plenty of syncopated punches and little nuances make it clear that this operation is meticulous. Perfect blend of creepy melodic parts, and aggressive hooky riffs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

1-Glassing-"From the Other Side of the Mirror" 

 This band has a history of ruling, and it's not stopping. This album was darker and more melodic, giving me more of what I wanted from them. At times, the screamed vocals offset what might otherwise be creepy bass-driven shoegaze. They get feral and deface your eardrums with their tangible sense of anguish. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here making them the best metal album of the year with the inner apocalypse they project outwardly

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/glassing-from-other-side-of-mirror.html

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The Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2024

There is no shortage of inspiration for death metal these days, as death is all around us. Perhaps that is why there has been such a huge outpouring of quality death metal this year. These albums celebrate annihilation in all of its forms.   These albums captured what death metal should be with very little compromise,  After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024. The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Death Metal albums of 2024.

10-Living Gate-"Suffer as One" 

Here is another supergroup making old-school death metal, This one features members of YOB, Amen Ra, and Wiegedood. Some elements are not unlike 'Formulas Fatal to the Flesh " era Morbid Angel, as the riffs twist and turn with a great deal of technical prowess. They are not taking the easy way out by just dialing in a certain retro sound, as the guitar replicates the Trey chaos while the drums are prone to go off on their own path. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/living-gate-suffer-as-one.html

 

9-White Stones -  "Memoria Via" 

The band's 3rd album has all of the great t guitar playing with a progressive touch to their take on melodic death metal. Right from the start Opeth bassist Martin Mendez is bringing exotic chord progressions. When growled vocals come, there is more of a rock tone placed back further in the mix. Perhaps because this album is done in his native tongue, so he did not want that fact as prominent. It's way more progressive than the first two albums bringing them much closer to where he left off with Opeth,. It does get ambitious in the maze of twists and turns by the third track, though is still an interesting listen thanks to the prominence of riffs to hook you back into it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-white-stones-memoria-via.html

 

8-Daath-"Deceivers" 

Returning from a 13-year hiatus, Eyal Levi is the sole original member, though Sean Z returns to lend his growl to the proceedings. The bigger more grandiose sound of this album is largely due to the addition of Jesse Zuretti who handled the orchestration, synths, and some additional guitar. Obscura guitarist Rafael Trujillo is also adding to the guitar fold. This album features a whos who of guest guitar spots from modern metal bands ranging from Ice Nine Kills to Archspire. Around here we place minimal emphasis on guitar solos, so not going into a breakdown of them for this review. Instead, we are focusing on the songwriting, things like hooks and dynamics.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/daath-deceivers.html

 7-Civerous -"Maze Envy" 

Despite the Morbid Angel-like album cover this band takes things in a more dismal direction. The growls are lower and make no attempt to form hooks. The vocals exist only to create a perverse layer of humanity being defiled with each wretched utterance. It is more of a vibration than anything that really bears being paid attention to. The way the riffs are phrased does have a machine-like grind similar but is balanced out by depressive melodicism. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/civerous-maze-envy.html

6-Gatecreeper - "Dark Superstition" 

Right out the gate, they are crept up with harder-hitting riffs, that carry a more hardcore influence punch to them. This is the band's third album and it sounds like not only are they coming into their own, but stepping into the spotlight to earn a larger metal audience. There is more of an Entombed-like grit at times, and a huge vocal sound that shows the benefits of bigger budget production. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/gatecreeper-dark-superstition.html

5-Ritual Fog-"But Merely Flesh" 

This band from Tennessee attacks with a very deliberate groove not unlike Obituary at times, with their more rabid moments reminding me a little of Rigor Mortis. The vocals are varied, sometimes more snarled, and others growled more with varied tones. The lyrics are articulated enough to know what the songs are about. These guys have not only captured the sound of the era they are paying homage to but also care about writing songs.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/ritual-fog-but-merely-flesh.html

 

4-Undeasth - "More Insane" 

Here is an album, that grew on me with each listen. It captures everything you could want from classic death metal and is a huge improvement when it comes to songwriting, and shows these guys can kick ass when they set their insane minds to it. It earned this spot due to how much I listened to it. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/undeath-more-insane.html

3-Deceased -"Children of the Morgue" 

Hailed as one of the longest-running death metal bands still kicking it, this band feels more like thrash on the opening track of their 11th album. With kinda of a Venom vibe lurking under the current. Harmonizing riffs add a melodic edge though the riffs are pretty catchy. They even allow themselves to go into a gallop that recalls early Iron Maiden.  At the end of the day, it was the end of the day it was hooky old-school metal songwriting that brought me back for more. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-deceased-children-of.html

        

2-Maul- "In the Jaws of Bereavement" 

This album clicked for me right away as it packs a powerful punch, yet does not shy from guitar melodies to show they care about writing songs. North Dakota is not where I would expect this to come from but here we are. There is no shortage of head-banging grooves. This album makes a strong argument for having the bass prominent in the mix when it comes to death metal. There are some technical thrashing riffs, that are balanced out by locking into chugs to bring a more deliberate attack that plays to their strengths. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/maul-in-jaws-of-bereavement.html

 

1-200 Stab Wounds - "Manual Manic Procedures" 

. Less than a year after the previous release, the guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. My only complaint about the first album was that it was so straightforward that there was little to separate it from veterans like Cannibal Corpses. Now they are really bringing it hard this time around. They give the oppressive pounding. Plenty of syncopated punches and little nuances make it clear that this operation is meticulous. Perfect blend of creepy melodic parts, and aggressive hooky riffs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/death-is-june-200-stab-wounds-manual.html

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September's Top 10 Albums

It's time for September's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not writing little blurbs on them and just linking the reviews. I am using this to organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til  November so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from Pop to Black Metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for  September of 2024.

10-Ellende - "Todbringerin" 

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/ellende-todbringerin.html

9-FANGE- "Perdition"

Industrial 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/fange-perdition.html

8-Mamaleek - "Vida Blue"

Prog- Fusion

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/mamaleek-vida-blue.html

7- Crippled Black Phoenix - " 'The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature"

Prog Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/crippled-black-phoenix-wolf-changes-its.html

6-Brume - "Marten" 

Post Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/brume-marten.html

5-trauma ray- "Chameleon" 

Shoe-gaze 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/trauma-ray-chameleon.html

4-Mothica- "Kissing Death"

Alt Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/mothica-kissing-death.html

3- DEADFORM -"Entrenched in Hell' 

Crust

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/deadform-entrenched-in-hell.html

2-Maul -" In The Jaws Of Bereavement"

Death Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/maul-in-jaws-of-bereavement.html

1-Nails - "Every Bridge Burning"

Hardcore

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/nails-every-bridge-burning.html

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Maul : " In The Jaws Of Bereavement"

 

This album clicked for me right away as it packs a powerful punch. Guitar melodies show they care about writing songs. North Dakota is not where I would expect this to come from but here we are. There is no shortage of head-banging grooves. This album makes a strong argument for having the bass prominent in the mix when it comes to death metal. The second song opens with a faster more technical thrashing riff, but they soon lock into the more deliberate attack that plays to their strengths. 

The vocals range from a gurgle to a more hard-core flavored spew. They also hit some breakdown-style riffs that show hard-core is certainly an influence. "Weaving Cerebral Horrors" starts with a good groove, but when they speed, it begins to sound like everything else. They return to the cool riff, which does lean in a more metal-core direction. I can hear Cannibal Corpse's influence in what they do, but they are not really paying tribute to the more expected forefathers of the genre like most bands do which is a relief. "Spontaneous Stigmata" runs off a powerful chug you can not resist headbanging to. The vocals are lower and more vicious. 

They relent and offer some creepy guitar to lead into "An Alluring Deciet' which is a little like one of Slayer's serial killer ballads. The growled vocals create more of their own sound with this. "Midwest Death" is a purposeful stomp. It's another head-banging essential. "Unbridled Delusions" rides a mid-tempo thrash riff for all its worth and manages to milk some more from it. There is more of a head-bobbing breakdown feel to "Stuck Stomped and Smeared". They gore grind into "With Each Voracious Lick:"  They maintain a relentless chug as the vocals go through a range of histrionics and growls. I will round this up to a 10 and see how it grows on me, I love how they cover such a wide range of death metal on this album.  It drops October 4th on 20 Buck Spin. 

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