The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2024...so far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2024 is at its midpoint. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. There are varied shades of metal represented. Perhaps death metal is leading the charge, but there is also doom and deathcore in the mix.  T. For my ears darkness trumps speed when it comes to heavy, so these bands reflect that sentiment. Death metal just seems to be bringing it harder than other genres so far. Given the impending wars that lurk at every corner of the globe, this is a fitting soundtrack to the demise of the US.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out and with all that said here are the top 10 Metal albums of 2024 so far. 

10- Gatecreeper- 'Dark Superstition" 

 Right out the gate, they are creeping 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 grit to this album, but with it also comes more of a "Wolverine Blues" groove. 

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

9-Knocked Loose- "You Won't Go Before You Are Supposed" 

"Suffocate"  was enough to make me look forward to checking this album out. This album is heavier than expected. They are hard-hitting without falling into too many of the metal tropes. This is the album, that is poised to break these guys big. They have established what they are doing here and now need to expand upon that concept, and are willing to indulge their more power- violence-leaning influences. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/knocked-loose-you-wont-go-before-youre.html

 

8-Sect -"Plagues Upon Plagues" 

This band is comprised of who's who of post-millennial  Hard-core. At the mic former Cursed vocalist Chris Colohan, who is giving an impassioned performance, with a husky croon that winks in the direction of Neurosis. His approach gives the dark tension of the music, more depth and makes more of an impact when it does get time to scream and kick the riffs in.  Those riffs are driven by former Earth Crisis guitarist Scott Crouse. Andy Hurley from Fall Out Boy / Racetraitor beating the drums. Hurley shows restraint and keeps things at a more sludged-out pace rather than pouring on the punk mania.  The heft of the guitars is bolstered by Jimmy Change from Undying and bassist Steve Hart. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/sect-plagues-upon-plagues.html

7-My Dying Bride  - "A Mortal Binding" 

The band's 14th full length, stays true to who they are, without being predictable. You never know what side of these guys you are going to get, anything from morose doom to the dark vein of death metal they helped create to melodic goth rock with major depression. The wailing tones of the violin weeps over the low-end crunch. Guitar solos are well paced and deliberate with every not counting to draw out the melodies. While Aarons's growl on the first song is not as guttural, his sung vocals are more refined. In both cases, the vocals are really well produced and mixed. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/my-dying-bride-mortal-binding.html

6-Benighted - 'EKBOM" 

 I like the darker atmosphere that haunts this French band's brand of grindcore. By grind-core, there is a surprising blend of technical death metal in their songwriting DNA. This keeps things spastic and unpredictable.They can make you bob your head to their blend of madness. Some songs were just pure death metal with the grindcore taking a back seat in the meat wagon for the roaring vocals and double bass to be more dominant with a more Morbid Angel-like intention to the beating they are dishing out. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/benighted-ekbom.html

5-Terminal Nation- "Echoes of the Devil's Den" 

This dark hard-core band opens up their new album with a bleak doomy sound of dystopia burning. The vocals snarl and bark with animalistic anger. When they gain momentum it's difficult to hear where the metal ends and the hard-core begins. The chug driving this album is powerful. This is a dark and gritty take on metallic hard-core that crosses it with death metal in a manner that is more deserving of being called metal core or deathcore than the kids who have taken on those labels. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/terminal-nation-echoes-of-devils-den.html

 

4-Chapel of Disease -"Echoes of Light" 

After hearing a ton of interesting things about this album I finally remembered to hunt it down and give it a listen.  The German band is a fairly interesting progressive death metal band, that wacky time changes aside and a penchant for rock n roll riffs are not too far out in left field. They are at times like a less gothy Tribulation. The guitarists are calling the shots here 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/chapel-of-disease-echoes-of-light.html

 

3-Candy- "It's Inside You" 

Their 2022 album "Heaven is Here"  took the number two spot on our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums list of the year, and tenth on the best overall Metal list of the year. With guests like  Aaron Melnick of Integrity lending guitar solos to a song, team-ups like this only make sense here as their hard-core grind carries the same raw sludge-like tone Integrity uses, making their influence on this band more apparent. That is not to say this is almost trying to capture the hardcore sounds of the 90s, the band continues to be very forward-thinking, but those influences abound from different angles.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/candy-its-inside-you.html

2-Glassing - "From the other side of the Mirror" 

Their last album "Twin Dream" made it known that these guys are one of the best heavy bands going. There is more darkness and melody in the opening track than most bands have in their entire albums. 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.

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

1-200 Stab Wounds - " "Manual Manic Procedures" 

I liked this band's debut "Slave to the Scalpel" It even made the number 9 slot on last year's Top 10 Death Metal Albums. Less than a year later these guys have worked hard to perfect their craft, as this is more nuanced and dynamic songwriting. The lyrics have more depth this time around rather than just horror tropes. Might turn out to be the death metal album of the year right now it is certainly the album to beat. 

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

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