Rory’s Ever-Metal Top 20 Albums of 2024
Rory’s Ever-Metal Top 20 Albums of 2024
By Rory Bentley
So it’s been a hell of a bloody year. I’ve been to some great gigs, had some awesome holidays and most importantly listened to some incredible new music. 2024 has been particularly fantastic for albums that have tickled my fancy, to the point where I had to once again break convention and do a Top 20 – and even that has been an absolute fucker to narrow down!
As always this list and its rankings are purely based on vibes, there’s records that I’ve given massive scores to that don’t even brush the top end, and loads that didn’t even make the cut! In many ways a lot of these have come down to timing, my emotional state and the time I’ve had to spend with the album. I’m sure I’ll look back at this and kick myself for not putting Blood Incantation on there, which I just haven’t had the time and brain space to connect with more, though it’s clearly fucking brilliant. At the end of the day an album of the year list is just a snapshot in time and this is my heavy soundtrack to 2024! Enjoy/endure!
20. Grendel’s Sÿster – Katabasis into the Abaton
In a confusing turn of events it appears Dark Juan and I may actually share a few albums in common on our lists, this German Folk/Trad/Doom Metal gem being one of them. I’m sure he gave it some weird score that looks like Pi calculated to a zillion decimal places, but that aside we’re in total agreement that it’s a fantastic record. Caro is quirky in a ‘Bjork after 10 cans of Monster’ way on the mic, bringing every fantastical story to life, and the vintage production crackles with character and warmth. ‘Boar’s Tusk Helmet’ is an absolute cracker of an opener as well.
19. Charlotte Wessels – The Obsession
Since leaving Delian, Charlotte Wessels has become a prolific creative force with her third album in 4 years. While not quite as genre-hopping and experimental as her previous releases, “The Obsession” is her strongest collection of songs and has embedded itself in the business end of my listening in ‘24. The Symphonic Metal of her former band is now firmly back in the foreground, but she has brought the adventurous spirit of the “Songs From Six Feet Under” sessions with her. Songs like ‘Dopamine’ and ‘Praise’ really hit home with me on a personal level, but most importantly they’re beautifully constructed, eminently catchy compositions.
18. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield
Bow before the uplifting, transcendental, joyous power of the mighty Judas Fucking Priest. There’s very few things in this world that I love more than the Gods of Metal. After the rampant success of the killer “Firepower”, the Priest came roaring back with another molten slab of chromium-plated boiling Metal that sounds so vibrant and full of life it’s hard to believe the band has been going for over 50 years. Rock publications love to overhype half-cooked turkeys from legacy bands, but you should absolutely, in this case, defy Flavor Flav and believe the hype. Rob Halford in his 70s is still 11/10 on the mic.
17. Rosalie Cunningham – To Shoot Another Day
My second bit of overlap with the Dark Juan is a hip slice of Retro, Psychedelic charm from the former Purson singer. I can’t get enough of these glorious Pop choruses, warm analogue tones and weird tales of eccentric characters like Timothy Martin and his conditioning school, and the ‘Return of the Ellington’ who has become a regular cast member in Cunningham’s quirky world. There’s a great deal of variety in this 70s-centric collection of toe tappers from the sleazy swagger of ‘Spook Racket’, to the Bond pastiche of the title track, all tied together by Cunningham’s magnificent vocals.
16. Folterkammer – Weibermacht
We don’t kink shame here at Ever-Metal, which is probably for the best because good Lord this album is kinky! Operatic Black Metal with a strong BDSM theme and sung entirely in German sure is a choice. It’s absolutely bonkers, but my word does it whip ass, both figuratively and literally; which the band would probably find a bit vanilla. With members of Imperial Triumphant making up the lineup, you’d expect something off the deep end, but this is a real curveball. The unsettling cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’ at the end will probably give you nightmares or wet dreams. Or both.
15. Dvne – Voidkind
Now this is how you do Prog Metal. What I loved about Prog when I first got into it was the way the great records took your mind to new worlds, painting vast internal landscapes with sound. These days I find there are few bands that give me this feeling, but Dvne are definitely one of them. Combining the crushing riffage of Mastodon with the trippy intricacies of Post Metal, “Voidkind” could easily be subbed in for Hans Zimmer’s sci-fi exoticism to soundtrack the “Dune” movies. I’m so glad that I got to review this one as I feel it forced me to put the hours in to get the most out of the record, which I believe will be viewed as a classic in years to come.
14. Joey Valance and Brae – No Hands
As I write this the weather and the general bleak mood in my brain feels a lifetime removed from when I was pounding the treadmill, with this half hour of joyous party music blasting in my ears in the spring. The Beastie Boys are one of my favourite artists ever and it will always sting that they’re gone, but after last year’s awesome “Punk Tactics” and this year’s magnificent follow up, JV&B are doing a great job filling that void.
There’ll never be another Beastie Boys, but the likes of ‘BUSSIT’, ‘THE BADDEST’ and ‘LIKE A PUNK’ show that their raucous spirit and dedication to quirky, floor-filling beats will live on for future generations.
13. Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition
Death Metal built for arenas? Surely not? You’d better believe it, mate! Packed with massive hooks, grooves and melodies without ever sounding soft or watered down, Gatecreeper have dropped a Metal classic. Having seen ‘Caught In The Treads’ blow the heads off of 5000 people at Damnation a couple of weeks ago, it’s hard to see the band going anywhere but up. Though their core inspiration may be Bolt Thrower, the ’Creeper’s peers are now the Amon Amarths and Lamb of Gods of the world.
12. Inter Arma – New Heaven
Ask me in a year or two and this could be number 1. One of the most fearless, innovative and mind-warping bands of the last decade comes back with their most eclectic release yet. From the squalling, discordant riffs of the title track to the blood-chilling Swans-gone-sludge of ‘Gardens In The Dark’ to the Southern Gothic croon of ‘Forest Service Road Blues’, the record covers a career’s worth of ideas over an astonishing 38 minutes. If you were to claim that Inter Arma are the best band operating in underground Metal right now I would have a tough time arguing.
11. Devin Townsend – PowerNerd
Somehow this guy always turns up when I really need him. I try and avoid hyperbole of any kind, so believe me when I say “Empath” saved my life in 2019. Despite often being portrayed as a mad scientist or an alien, Devin is beautifully human, and more often than not his work is as relatable and emotionally resonant as music gets. Life is fucking hard a lot of the time, being a person with flaws and fears and the gift/curse of mortality can be rough going no matter what your walk of life. Devin has a way of conveying and expressing this struggle with the kind of beautifully simple rawness that you’d expect from a Springsteen or a Johnny Cash, he just does it through epic guitars and soaring operatic vocals.
10. Lowen – Do Not Go To War With The Demons of Mazandaran
In the next addition of ‘stuff that belongs on the “Dune” soundtrack’, we have London-by-way-of-Iran outfit Lowen. After a promising debut album, the band have roared back in their final form, with a sweeping, majestic and devastating trip to the wild heart of the Middle East. Bolt Thrower riffs carve through lush, symphonic melodies and piercing melismatic vocals. Nina Saeidi is in astonishing form, unleashing the kind of vocal force that could shatter ancient temples. One of the rare albums in modern Metal that feels truly original.
09. Oceans of Slumber – Where Gods Fear To Speak
A running theme for this year has turned out to be my established faves delivering great things. This album is a fantastic example of said theme, with Oceans of Slumber’s hardest, heaviest and most Progressive release to date. It’s a heavy-going record thematically, and it won’t be on anyone’s summer playlist, but it’s right up there with the best things the band has done. Cammie’s voice has never been more commanding and expressive, and between the haunting melodies and Dobber Beverley’s skin-flaying percussion this feels like the band finding the perfect sweet spot in their eclectic sound.
08. Ihsahn – Ihsahn
There’s a lot of what I like to call ‘kitchen sink-core’ in my list this year, that is albums that didn’t get the memo about ‘less is more’ but are all the better for it. In the Emperor frontman’s case more is more, like way more! It’s been a long time since the midi keyboard arrangements of Ihsahn’s 90s second wave BM days, and, wonderfully, someone gave the guy the budget for a full orchestra- and man does he make use of it! There’s parts on here that make Dimmu Borgir sound like the first Clash album in their overblown grandeur, but that surgically sharp songwriting nouse and irrepressible spirit of fearless exploration is the loudest thing on here.
07. Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches out to She
If you don’t include the superb “Bloodmoon” collaboration album with Converge, it’s been 5 long years since we got a Chelsea Wolfe record. “She reaches..” sees a return to the more Electronic side of things ala “Abyss”, though this time it’s a more sleek, trippy approach that has more in common with Portishead than aggro Industrial vibes. It’s a sound that suits Wolfe down to the ground and her voice is in stunning form and pleasingly high in the foreground as opposed to the expected cocoon of reverb that usually enveloped those golden pipes. There are very few darkly brilliant Pop songs you’ll hear all year that are the equal of ‘Dusk’; and ‘Whispers In The Echo Chamber’ already feels like a classic.
06. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
I realise that as ‘Captain Hardcore’ I’ve kind of let the side down so far, with only Gatecreeper tangentially related to my proud love of all things beat-down. However, there was never a chance that Knocked Loose would miss out with their flawless, flesh-rippingly savage third full length. The titanic riffs, the oppressive soundscapes and evil Mickey Mouse on the mic combine to create a genre classic and an inexplicably popular record. Not ‘scene’ popular- actually mainstream popular. While every other band is trying to crowbar an auto tuned clean chorus and pointless electronics into their sound because ‘that’s how you get big’, this band have gotten massive while getting more and more abrasive. The deadlift album of 2024.
05. Nightwish – Yesterwynde
My favourite band has righted the ship in spectacular fashion on album number 10. Whilst it may not have the obvious singalong banger we’ve come to expect from a Nightwish album, it is as cohesive, adventurous and fully realised a vision as the band have produced in a long time. Easily Floor’s best studio vocal with the band and it’s in with a shout of being the best thing she’s recorded with them. There’s a spark here that felt missing from much of the last record; and the likes of ‘An Ocean of Strange Islands’ and the gorgeous ’Lanternlight’ bristle with the undefinable magic of old. A glorious return to form and a real shame there’s not a tour to accompany it.
04. Julie Christmas – Ridiculous and Full of Blood
Now this is something special. Me Julie can do no wrong, and it’s so good to have her back after the long gap between 2016’s incredible Cult of Luna collaboration “Mariner” and even longer gap since her last solo release. The Queen of jagged Noise/Rock/Alt-Pop has served up 42 minutes of raw, unbridled and slightly unhinged songs that burst with life and character. Alarmingly aggressive one moment, touchingly vulnerable the next this is an album that is both painfully human yet mesmerizingly otherworldly.
03. DOOL – The Shape of Fluidity
These top 3 are essentially joint number ones, all of which I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing and spending a lot of time with this year. The Dutch Prog/Psyche Rock band’s third album is the most surprising of the three. I already knew they were a great band from their previous work, but this breathtaking opus is as good as Rock music gets. Huge guitars, immersive atmospherics and Raven’s astonishing voice at the centre make up one of the most must-listen Alternative albums of the year. Aside from unbelievably catchy songwriting within progressive compositions, the core aspect that really hits home is Raven’s soul-bearing exploration of their fight for self acceptance as an intergender person after having that decision taken away at birth. It’s tear-jerkingly emotional, yet heart-poundingly triumphant, and after seeing them destroy Damnation this year, I can confirm that these songs go off live!
02. Wintersun – Time II
Against nigh-on insurmountable expectations, largely of his own making, Jari Mäenpäa delivered an album that I must grudgingly concede was actually worth the wait. The reason people stick with Wintersun through thick and thin and fucking saunas is there is truly no other artist making music quite like they do. Death, Black, Folk, Power and Symphonic Metal are melded together with seemingly reckless abandon, but meticulous, kind of infuriating attention to detail under the surface. ‘The Way of The Fire’ is as jaw-dropping a composition as you’ll hear from any genre, and ‘Silver Leaves’ is almost unbearably whistful and cinematic. I don’t know how he keeps getting away with it, but I’m now at the stage where I think we should all just chip in for whatever sauna/studio/back massager Jari wants, because the juice is worth the squeeze.
01. Crypt Sermon – The Stygian Rose
After giving this plenty of thought, when I think of the sheer amount of listens this has got, combined with how long I had this record ahead of release and still continued to smash it, my 2024 Ever-Metal album of the year goes to the mighty Crypt Sermon and this all time Doom classic. I’d been waiting since 2019 for another dose of the ‘Crypt after the marvellous “The Ruins of Fading Light”, the hype was real but man did this deliver!
This is my kind of Heavy Metal, knowingly camp and over the top, but with a serious dedication to the unholy craft. Armed with a killer production from the main man Arthur Rizk, these songs are the genre at its very peak. The riffs are heavier than a mammoth’s gallstone, the solos are blisteringly righteous, and Brooks Wilson has levelled up his vocal chops to Dio spitting razor blades levels of grit and drama.
Every song hits like a runaway hearse, perfectly sequenced across a lean 45 minutes, and there are hooks from here to the bowels of deepest hell. In a year of outstanding, individually catchy songs from artists who are supposed to be infectious, ”Scrying Orb” is right up there with the best of the floor-fillers.
Is this the most original album of the year? Good Lord no. Is it in the conversation for nailing its brief better than any other? Abso-fucking-lutely! Plus you should be happy that after selecting dreamy Alt Rock and weird haunted Christian music for my top spot on the last two lists, I’ve actually gone with some Metal! Eternal Hails etc, see you next year for more beatdown and pop hooks!
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