If you’ve been with us for a bit then you know the dealio already: In a given year, the moment some song/artist/album clicks with us we immediately begin a draft compiling what will eventually be our year end best list that’s ranked and made up of what we thought were the top albums. The catch? The number of albums on the list corresponds to the year we’re covering! Is this going to keep going as the numbers get higher? Well, considering how large our “Honorable Mentions” sections tend to be (Yes, kids, there’s also “Honorable Mentions” to read about too!) then we’re thinking yes. But that could change and the only way to find out if it does is to keep reading!
We stand by our lack of constant Corlyx coverage this year (Sort of? We still shared news/new music across ye olde socials fairly regularly) beyond our recent “Zombie Kid” post as we’re gearing up to tackle their upcoming DOUBLE ALBUM called PURPLE PAIN which drops on Valentine’s Day but couldn’t deny our #1 most anticipated release of 2024 an honorable mention with the music that did come out starting with “Ghosts Of The West Coast” in late January and finishing up with the aforementioned “Zombie Kid” at the end of November with 5 in between all that to give fans some flavor of what’s to come when their next drops in 2025.
Jeebus, if that was just the first “honorable mention” we might be in trouble and you might have to pull up a chair! Anyway! Along those Electro lines, Front Line Assembly’s Bill Leeb unleashed a stunning solo effort and teamed with Skinny Puppy’s cEvin Key and Delerium/FLA co-conspirator Rhys Fulber for a new Cyberaktif record while I Ya Toyah (Who just finished a European tour with FLA) collaborated with Stabbing Westward’s Walter Flakus for full-length DRAMA.
Want something a little more guitar-centric? Well, Make Them Suffer got their epic Metalcore shred on with Make Them Suffer ahead of a full North American tour hitting Boston in late February of 2025, and Horndal was guaranteed a spot on here from the strength of “Calling: Labor” off Head Hammer Man alone. Also on the Heavy front, UK’s Split Chain signed to Epitaph Records and unveiled a bunch of crushing singles including a cover of Type O Negative’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” before heading back to North America as support on the upcoming Silverstein tour hitting Boston in early January with fellow overseas heavies Hand of Kalliach unleashing the epitome of mixing beauty and brutality perfectly on their Corryvreckan record.
Modern Nu-Metal upstarts Profiler dropped their debut LP and speaking of the dreaded “Nu-Metal” tag, Static-X finished off their Project Regeneration series featuring the last recordings of Wayne Static, Powerman 5000 continued to kick ass with Abandon Ship, and former Fear Factory front man, Burton C. Bell, returned to the spotlight with a pair of original tracks that crushed any doubts that the artist couldn’t still captivate fans. Wanna feel old while reminiscing about Nu-Metal? Vended boasts the KIDS of Shawn Crahan and Corey Taylor of Slipknot and dropped their debut record which definitely shares some DNA but is definitely its’ own VERY heavy thing.
Like your music a little moodier? Well, Nox Novacula dropped their Gothic Post-Punk Feed The Fire, Roseneath went synthetic on a new EP, Tombstones In Their Eyes offered emotive Alt-Rawk, and VR Sex‘s newest was a triumph and possibly the best yet from the Drab Majesty off shoot. Izzy Reign previewed what’s to come on an upcoming 2025 full-length with some killer covers perfect for Spooky SZN and surrounding singles showing off the Heavy Electro to come, Pixel Grip started the year with a successful run on HEALTH’s North American tour and released “Stamina” and Ceremony Shadows entered the scene with the instantly iconic “Resistance”. Along those lines, COMBICHRIST returned with the long awaited CMBCRST and PUREST FORM went old school Industrial all over their self-titled EP.
On the pure Rawk front, Abrams followed up one of our most favoritests (Not. aword) of 2022 with the masterful Blue City, UK’s BERRIES channeled early QOTSA across their stellar Indie self-titled full-length and we couldn’t tell you how many times we listened to Midnight‘s new banger “F.O.A.L” and the record called Hellish Expectations that it’s a part of. Elsewhere, Texas Hippie Coalition delivered songs the size of their home state on Gunsmoke, The Tale Untold loudly announced their arrival on the ambitious debut Counterculture and the Master Of Horror himself, John Carpenter, continued to prove that his musical identity is just as powerful as his visual one with the release of Lost Themes IV: Noir.
24. Nachtmystium-Blight Privilege (Lupus Lounge): This album as a whole was an earworm that we just couldn’t escape to the extent that it wasn’t even on our “Top 24” radar save for an “honorable mention” mention but like Nachtmystium’s controversial leader Blake Judd it just scraped and clawed its’ way back into our good graces. As a Nachtmystium record it’s A+ and as solid as any of the band’s pre-Assassins work and as a “comeback” record it’s absolutely tops.
23. IDLES-TANGK (Partisan Records): A situation where our Spotify Wrapped reminded us why a certain record we had overlooked (Maybe even forgotten for a bit later in the year) deserved a spot on here. While we may not have reviewed the newest record from IDLES that doesn’t mean we didn’t listen to it over and over some more. “Dancer” with LCD Soundsystem is exquisite, “Gift Horse” is an instant gem, and “Pop! Pop! Pop!” is peak IDLES (As is the just released version featuring Danny Brown) and just a small part of what is a fitting follow-up to the smash that is CRAWLER.
22. PIG: Red Room/Feast Of Agony (Metropolis Records): Where do we start with PIG??? One new full-length in the Spring, a new EP in the Fall, and in between a reissue/remaster of the long OOP Sinsation. Yes, kids, that equals THREE new(ish) PIG releases in 2024! The full-length, Red Room, featured guests galore and continued Raymond Watts’ ascension since the recent(ish) PIG resurrection in 2015 while the new EP was the perfect coda for the year that culminated with a full on North America tour that celebrated choice cuts from the aforementioned PIG reissue Sinsation and featured frequent collaborator EN ESCH who put out the killer Dance Hall Putsch.
21. Devin Townsend-PowerNerd (InsideOutMusic/HevyDevy Records): Not so much a “back to basics” record from maestro Townsend but more a modern return to form with a definite Ocean Machine and Infinity feel in terms of the majesty of the songs within. The title track is a ripper, “Jainism” is a signature Townsend anthem, and tracks like “Knuckledragger” and “Falling Apart” are instant DT classics. If you like what you hear here then be sure to catch Devin on the road this Spring with a Mother’s Day stop planned at Boston’s House Of Blues!
20. Ministry-HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES (Nuclear Blast): It’s fitting that the latest Ministry record, their 16th overall, is such a throwback with a very Hypo Luxa overall vibe with Jello Biafra popping up on the very Jello-esque “Aryan Embarrassment” even and followed by a Cruel World 2024 set that featured songs from the long shunned Twitch and With Sympathy records and the announcement that the FINAL Ministry record is arriving sooner rather than later featuring Paul Barker!
19. Better Lovers-Highly Irresponsible (SharpTone Records)/Many Eyes-The Light Age (Perseverance Records): We were going to separate these two. HONEST! And then this list got packed (Have you seen the “Honorable Mention” section yet???) And honestly, this really is the best case scenario because it was going to be TOUGH picking which one of these was the better debut full-length. On the one hand you have this kind of supergroup that’s the merging of Every Time I Die with The Dillinger Escape Plan that fans have been clamoring for fully realized into a pretty perfect union while on the on the you have Keith Buckley’s gorgeous voice emitting that swagger that proliferated The Damned Things releases paired nicely with a ferocious roar that sounds the best it’s ever sounded. Again, thank Christ for small favors.
18. Kerry King-From Hell I Rise (Reigning Phoenix Music): If you weren’t able to make it to one of the few Slayer reunion shows in 2024 then the next best thing is the debut from Slayer axe master Kerry King as it is very much a continuation of what Repentless, the LA Thrash Titans’ final record, started. In addition, KK pulled together some of Metal’s greatest with bassist Kyle Sanders, guitarist Phil Demmel (Check out the debut from Category 7 featuring John Bush, also released in 2024), vocalist Mark Osegueda, and drummer Paul Bostaph (For those not convinced of the Slayer-ness) to assist and make From Hell I Rise a record not to miss.
17. Priest-Dark Pulse (Blue Nine): 2024, the year in which we finally became full-fledged Priest fans. Singles from the Stockholm, Sweden-based Electro unit have continually popped up on various Spotify playlists for years but it wasn’t until we dove headfirst into the latest record that we were completely captivated. And who wouldn’t be with gems like “Black Venom”, “Dungeon Dance”, and “Burning Love” just waiting to be listened to over and over again.
16. Bird’s View-House of Commando (Drakkar Entertainment): The best old school Queens of the Stone Age record to be made by a band not named Queens of the Stone Age! One of the biggest criteria bits on our year end list is this: Did we listen to the record a lot beyond when we were working on a review? And the answer regarding Bird’s View was an ecstatic “Hells yes!” Lead single “Pin Drop” alone was a serious earworm for a spell but it’s the rest of House of Commando that really sealed the deal with tracks like “Stay Down” and “More To Come” staying with us for days and more after initial listens.
15. TR/ST-Performance (Dais Records): Yes! This is the TR/ST record we’d been waiting for! Following The Destroyer double record in 2019, a slew of singles since and a surprise EP release through new label home at Dais Records to jumpstart 2024, the Robert Alfons-led TR/ST dropped an Electro BANGER in September that hearkened back to the silky smooth club anthems heard on 2012’s debut coated with a modern sheen that takes the band to new levels.
14. Pearl Jam-Dark Matter(Republic Records): We initially wrote the 12th album from Pearl Jam off following the usual “Back to basics” hype ahead of the release and then, having been a fan since the beginning, after finally getting the opportunity to see them both times they hit Fenway Park in mid September we gave the record another glance which greatly renewed our love of the longstanding Seattle mainstays with songs like “Scared Of Fear” and “Wreckage” being instant modern PJ classics.
13. Neon Nightmare-Faded Dream (20 Buck Spin): Okay, we were seriously weirded out when this project started dropping songs this year as up until now we basically responded with a “Hard no” for anyone that was “in the vein of” or “inspired by” Type O Negative. But there was something about the imagery and the genuine care it seemed to be put into the songs that make up Faded Dream by Neon Nightmare that set this apart from all the others. If you wanna know who’s behind it all you can head to Google (Or click the header for our review) but we prefer to just listen to these 7 sonic spiritual successor’s to one of our most favorite artists of all time without any pretense and just enjoy.
12. The Browning: OMNI (FiXT): Believe you me, with the amount of times we listened to the title track off The Browning’s latest, we fully expected to add “OMNI” to our 2024 Spotify playlist. But we refrained and went with another instead. But that’s besides the point! The point is that The Browning put out one serious mammer jammer of a Electronic/Metal hybrid that we can’t wait to enjoy live when the band take the stage on January 15th at Worcester’s Palladium as part of their upcoming North American headlining tour which also happens to feature THE DEFECT as support who ALSO HAPPEN to be the guest artist on that title track we love so much (And will also be putting out their own sure-to-be rad LP in 2025). See how it all connects???
11. Bad Nerves-Still Nervous (Loosegroove Records): This was like a comfort record for us for some reason as songs from it seemed to always be on when one leaves Spotify unattended and see’s what happens. We had plans to review it several times close to release and then when Bad Nerves rolled through town with The Hives later in the year but nothing ever manifested so now you get this because Still Nervous is a serious Rawk bangah! And they get the benefit of being backed by Loosegroove Records (Stone Gossard’s label with Regan Hagar) who dropped the debut from Queens Of The Stone Age waaaaayyyy back in 1998. Anyway, the record rules and reminds us a bit of Eagulls but faster with each song having a hook that’ll get stuck in your noodle for a long time.
10. Body Count-Merciless (Century Media Records): We swear this has nothing to do with our recent awakening to the glory that is Law & Order: SVU… It just so happens that the timing kind of lined up perfectly because if you follow this page you’ve probably seen some sort of glaze on the last slew of Body Count releases regardless of the legend that is Odafin Tutuola. Merciless, Body Count’s eighth overall, might be their best yet and it’s not even the one with the Slayer cover on it (That would be 2017’s Bloodlust with this highlighting a collaboration with David Gilmour on the Pink Floyd classic “Comfortably Numb”).
9. Kat Von D-My Side of the Mountain: We were NOT expecting to like this as much as we did/do but can’t deny that what’s within My Side of the Mountain is exactly the kind of Electro/Darkwave we dig. From the instant “Dead” started Kat Von D’s 2nd full-length we were enthralled and it only got better and better the further in you get. Songs like “Truth In Reverse” and “Set Myself on Fire” are peak Electro that’s destined for all the Goth nights while elsewhere you have these cool collaborations like the one with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz on “I Am A Machine” that’s both vibrant and vicious much like the rest of the record.
8. NOTHING MORE-CARNAL (Better Noise Music): The only good thing to come out of the awfulness of Crapulet Fest 2024 (Read our “review” here) was finally discovering the awesomeness that is NOTHING MORE while researching/covering artists ahead of the disasterpiece that never happened. Regardless, NM put out one stellar slap of Heavy Hard Rawk with CARNAL that rightly secured them support slots on some high profile tours to end 2024 (Godsmack) with more already lined up in 2025 (Disturbed’s 25th anniversary of The Sickness tour).
7. Kasabian-Happenings (Sony): Sometimes when putting together the corresponding playlist for our year end list we attempt to go with a less played track that we dig the hell out of to give a little more flavor to what (we think) is an already pretty diverse playlist. However, when attempting to subscribe to that philosophy with the latest from Kasabian we thought it’d be doing you a great disservice not adding “Call” which also happened to feature one of our all time favorite artists Rob Harvey (The Music!!!) And it’s songs like that and the other 9 tracks that make up Kasabian’s eighth full-length, Happenings, that made it a necessary addition to our year end list.
6. Coping Method-Where Spirit Meets Bone (FiXT): This is one of the few where the song we played the most is not making it on the playlist (Like labelmates The Browning!) but to be fair, we consider it a success that we managed to stop playing “Hypomania” on repeat long enough to get through the rest of Where Spirit Meets Bone because what the rest of the Coping Method’s record holds is easily a view into the future of Cyber Metal.
5. Rorschach Test-Fallen (Unlabeled Artists): Rorschach Test is a rare breed in that they started off 2024 with new music and then promised early on that a new RT record would indeed release on Halloween of the same year and y’know what? It fuckin’ did! And we fuckin’ love everything about it! To be fair, it was hard not to be swayed earlier when the title track and the touching “Belated” arrived heralding a new chapter for the Arizona-based Industrial Heavy Rawk outfit spearheaded by James Baker and accompanied now by Kolby Peoples and The Narcoleptic Goddess who have both breathed new life into one of our most favorite artists of the long forgotten Slipdisc Records Industrial era (Which also gave us classics from The Clay People, Drown, and 16Volt). With the album and accompanying videos (Now showing on MTV even!) out and showcasing both some of the most diverse and also heaviest RT work to date, the band is capitalizing with a mini West Coast tour starting on January 17th and we can’t recommend enough that if you live close to one of the tour spots you don’t miss out what’s sure to be one of the great live experiences of 2025 (Dates and more here)
4. Heave Blood & Die-Burnout Codes (Fysisk Format Records): There’s always one record in a given year where we had no idea of the band beforehand and end up a fan for life with whatever was released in that year. Norway’s Heave Blood & Die was that band for us in 2024 with a blistering new record that delivered all the best Indie Alternative RAWK.
3. AMIENSUS-Reclamation I/II (M-Theory Audio): Holy hell, another with the multiple releases! And both halves are beyond epic! We’ve been following along on the Amiensus aural odyssey only since their 2020 record Abreaction and could not have imagined that the Indie Black Metal outfit (Think Rogue Wave meets Satyricon on that one) would grow into this but we’re damn glad we decided to stick around for it all! Part I was pretty fantastic, Part II solidified a spot on here, and together they’re one unstoppable body of music.
2. HIPPOTRAKTOR-Stasis (Pelagic Records): The runnah up! We went back and forth on whether the 2nd full-length from our favorite Belgian progenitors of all things in the modern Heavy realm would be our numero uno in 2024 and it legit came down to time as a deciding factor. And not that we ran out of time or anything to decide but more the top spot on this list went to an artist who’s been doing what they do VERY WELL for almost 25 years now and that just could not be denied! However! There is also no denying that with just their SECOND record, HIPPOTRAKTOR is making their mark and with Stasis they managed to top an already classic debut.
1. earthtone9: In Resonance Nexus (Candlelight Records): It’s May and we’re typing that this is our most favorite record of the year despite some other bangers (See above) and with more still to come (Corlyx and VOWWS have yet to drop theirs [EDITOR’S NOTE: VOWWS is currently AWOL with the new tunes, Corlyx is sitting on a DOUBLE ALBUM for early 2025 release]).
So that was then and this is the now as we type in late December declaring that, yes, this record still owns. Was it a close call on the top spot here? Absolutely! To the extent even that we almost pulled a tie as we’ve done in the past but the long and short of it came down to longevity and e9 has had our attention for almost 25 years now and we could not overlook that at this stage of their career putting out a record as viscious and as vital as In Resonance Nexus should be both highlighted on its’ own AND celebrated over and over again. Which we feel we’ve done. And if you say you’re a fan of The Heavy and haven’t dove in then this is your reminder that it’s not too late.