Top 10 Mainstream Metal Albums of 2024

Mainstream Metal is defined here as the middle of the road that does not lean too far in the direction of other genres sludge or black metal that has its own lists. Power Metal and Thrash are the two most common sub-genres, though nu-metal and  Viking metal are both represented as well.  These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say, 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 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 Mainstream Metal albums of 2024.

10-Kerry King- "From Hell I Rise" 

If you were wondering how much of Slayer was Kerry King, the question is about to be answered. The band had been plugging along without Jeff. Jeff played a role in their writing process, so it depends on what side of the band you hope to hear. Mark from Death Angel is handling the vocals,. This album carries a great deal about what made Slayer great but is still not Slayer. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/kerry-king-from-hell-i-rise.html

9-Ghoul- "Noxious Concoctions" 

This album is less raw, and more refined sonically than I have heard from them in the past. They are living up to their creepy persona. The band proves they are more capable than they normally lead you to believe. The drummer really hammers this one home in the best way possible. These guys live at the place where thrash and death metal first met in the mid-80s. This does play to their benefit as it shows that they care about catchy riffs, and writing songs rather than just pummelling you into submission. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/ghoul-noxious-concoctions.html

 

8-Witherfall- "Sounds of the Forgotten" 

These guys are one of the few bands doing this sort of thing that gets it right. They do not skimp on the thrash side of the genre, giving them a darker, more aggressive sound. Joesph Micheal took the mantle from Wurrel Dane on the last Sanctuary tour I caught, invoking that classic sound. On this album, drummer Chris Tsaganeas proves himself capable of sitting alongside any metal drummer doing it today. They balance out the flash of the 80s with headbanging grit here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/witherfall-sounds-of-forgotten.html

7-High Reeper -"Renewed By Death" 

Here is some classic-sounding metal, that could have rolled out from the late 80s. When they chug they mean it. This is a guitar band, as the drums fall behind their chug in the mix. I'm not normally huge on guitar solos but these guys craft them in a way that compliments the song. They get to the point and don't fuck around. The vocals are belted in a way that sometimes reminds me of Mark from Death Angel. They not only capture an authentic sound but wove it into catchy songs.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/high-reeper-renewed-by-death.html

 

6-Flotsam & Jetsam - "I Am the Weapon" 

In their long career, the band has been consistent in cranking out quality thrash with epic power metal-like vocals, though Eric AK has managed to rein his yodels back with age. Not sure I approve of the version of "No Place For Dusgrace' where they re-recorded them out of existence, but that was then this is now. Though it thrashes in a pretty straightforward manner. Despite having forsaken his falsetto, Eric's voice sounds great. I get why he doesn't do it as it sounds very 80s. These guys continued to fine-tune what they do without being trapped in the sound of an era.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/flotsam-jetsam-i-am-weapon.html

                 

5-Borknagar-"FALL" 

The 12th album from these Norse giants hath arrived. It is easy to think of this as the ICS Vortex band, but Arcturus might fit that description better as other singers have claimed the mic. There is the kind of bombast rooted in their black metal history by leading off with screamed vocals and a super aggressive slice with razor-sharp riffing before going into their more progressive side. The more operatic croon of Vortex's trademark soaring bellow drives the songs, even as they  wander off into the majestic wonderment fans know they are capable of,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/black-metal-history-month-borknagar-fall.html

4-Ihsahn- "s/t" 

The Emperor frontman returns for his 8th solo album, taking his black metal past and running it through a wild, wandering filter of progressive rock.  I think he has proven he would be capable of scoring movies. This album lives up to his ambitions, he has already set the bar pretty high for himself though when you do not weight it against Emperor but measure this album against metal music as a whole certainly more thought-provoking than most. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/black-metal-history-month-ihsahn-st.html

3-Seven Hours After Violet- "S/T" 

If you are going to start up a nu-metal, then it pays to be the bass player from System of Down. He is not going to let you forget where he came from. Some of this lies on the shoulders of Taylor Barber from Left to Suffer. After reviewing two Left to Suffer albums, I  still did not know he could sing like this. You can tell they are influenced by nu-metal, and he was a wise choice as the heavier moments bridge a gap between the metal core of today and the 90s nu-metal.  This album impressed me more than expected, and a great deal of the praise should go to Taylor Barber, who let's face it was going up again Serj when it comes to the expectations of System of a Down fan, they rose the occasion 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/seven-hours-after-violet-st.html

2-Atrophy- "Asylum" 

 The band's 1988 "Socialized Hate" album is an underrated thrash classic.  At 59 years of age, Brian Zimmerman is the only original member. His voice has held up pretty well, and carries the familiar narrative of their earlier work, though he has spent some time thinking about what he did on those albums, as the phrasing is more nuanced. The band Zimmerman gathered seemed to be session players on the fringes of the business, but they stepped up to this opportunity and proved themselves as capable as any thrash band, not only standing up to the band's earlier work but creating hooky songs worth repeat listens which earned it places this high up on the list. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/atrophy-asylum.html

 

1-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

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Witherfall : "Sounds of the Forgotten"

 

These guys are one of the few bands doing this sort of thing that gets it right. I think it is because they are not skimping on the thrash side of the genre, which gives them a darker, more aggressive sound. Joesph Micheal took the mantle from Wurrel Dane on the last Sanctuary tour I caught, so this makes sense. Though on the other side of the coin, they also like their power ballads, so that brings them back toward the power metal status quo. To their credit despite the more Bon Jovie moments of the song they do build it up to a heavy enough place for my liking. With the first two songs, drummer Chris Tsaganeas proves himself capable of sitting alongside any metal drummer doing it today.

Things get darker to the point of almost sonically neighboring King Diamond on "Insidious". The neo-classical touches to the guitar playing aid in this. It is well-written and balances flash with head-banging grit. "Ceremony of Fire " is a more rapid-fire affair that could spark Sanctuary comparisons. Though it also has a more anthemic Judas Priest feel. Another factor that plays to their fact is that Micheal's voice carries a piercing menace rather than sounding like Boston or Journey. Which is too mainstream radio for me. That kind of music is too feel-good. I can't relate to that I want to feel bad about music. So far they have not crossed the line into feel-good music. 

The title track works well enough as the previous one, I appreciate where they are going into the chorus as it has a big anthemic quality, but not too feel-good. There are these minute-and-a-half interludes on this album that are more like theatrical bridges rather than songs, so I am not counting them when it comes to this review. "When It All Falls Away" starts off more like a ballad. It is very 80s, as it could have been any band from LA in the late 80s. that was labeled as metal. His singing is impressive but I wish they had come in kicking ass with it. Great guitar playing, but the song is less driven and focused. 

"Opulent" is more of a guitar showcase. It confirms they can play flamenco guitar in case you were wondering. They close the album with the ten-minute "What Have You Done". If it had been a ten-minute power-ballad that would have been a deal breaker. The vocals do have a more melodic and flowing pattern to the verses. The chorus is as soaring as you might expect a band like this to go for. Almost operatic in the manner this is approached. They do get their feet under the song and get into the chugs and gallops as needed. Around the 7-minute mark when things drop all the way down, it works well enough, they could have had more of a jammy feel coming out of it., though they do capture this as the song comes to its climax.  I will give this album a 9 and see how it sits with me. 

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Witherfall : "Curse of Autumn"

 In the 80s I preferred the thrash bands like Flotsam and Jetsam, who had the soaring metal yodel vocals , so these guys work for me where a great deal of other power metal flavored bands do not. It helps that these guys are also darker and more aggressive. It does not always have to be full speed metal ahead for me as I think when they use melody to give themselves more breathing mood on a song like "As I Lie Awake". The only problem is the chorus to this song falls into that happy side of power metal I am not a fan of. I am hoping this album works out more like their last and they largely avoid the common pitfalls of power metal rather than give in a conform to them. 

"Another Face" is like Queensryche with more balls, which could also be Sanctuary, who I saw their singer filling in for Warrel Dane so that makes sense. They have all the proggy elements in place but offer up enough crunch in the guitars to make it work. They find a good balance of pageantry and balls on "Tempest" . If the leaned further in the power metal direction this would not have worked for me. The title track is more of an interlude than an actual song. They kick into a heavier side of progressive with the song that is after this as the album begins to find it's stride. They kick into a more mean spirited thrashing for " the Other Side of Fear".  "the River" is a power ballad. As power ballads go this one works . They resist the urge to over do it with them like Dream Theater. 

"And They All Blew Away" is a sprawling 15 minute epic. It shows their strength with both dynamics and arrangements. The melodic vocals are some of the album's best. I normally do not like long winding songs like this one and while it is not going to be something I casually listen to a great deal, I can say it succeeded in not boring me, which is more than can be said for most songs of this length. They seize many opportunities to flex their chops with flashy solos and embellishments. It is expected for this sort of thing, so the fact they did not forget they were crafting a song while doing it says a lot to me. This album has many strengths though it is not as dark or as aggressive as their previous album and finds them conforming slightly to the genre's expectations so I am going to give an 8.5, so it is still head and shoulders over their peers.