Beth’s Top 10 Albums of 2024
Beth’s Top 10 Albums of 2024
By Beth Morait
It’s been a year of two halves for me this year. For the first part I was struggling with a lot of things, and not having the time or energy to listen to new music led to a massive drought, as far as writing reviews was concerned. But, the second half of the year has seen a rebirth for me as a review writer. And damn there has been an absolute ton of brilliant new albums that I’ve been honoured to review. It’s been a tough job picking out my ten favourite, but here it is: My top ten of 2024.So, who’s taken my number one spot this year? Well, you might be surprised. Read on to find out. And if you want to check out my original reviews, hit the band names to be linked through to them. Or check out the bands via Facebook, and their music via Spotify.
10. The Funeral Portrait – Greetings From Suffocate City
Dropping in September, this album from USA Emo Rockers The Funeral Portrait pleased my inner child a lot. Lee Jennings’ vocals stood out for me as one of the best in the genre, reminding me a lot of Panic! At The Disco’s Brendan Urie. Musically, it’s pure Emo/ Stadium Pop Rock, which has a big draw for the younger generation, and is still melodically pleasing to me.
https://www.facebook.com/@TheFuneralPortrait
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Ub4uRu4MftC1TCauizseQ
Billed as Alt Rock, the “Inner Darkness” EP by American band 10 Years was billed as Alt Rock. But I was pleased to discover it was a lot more than that. Full of classic riffs, but interspersed with a mix of clean and scream vocals, it had a real Linkin Park vibe about it, and left me wanting more. I will be eagerly waiting for their next album.
https://www.facebook.com/10yearsmusic
https://open.spotify.com/album/2FgZ9LfQxQfUPGhHYtFTTG
8. Massive Wagons – Earth To Grace
The thing with the Wagons is you always know what you’re going to get, and that it’s likely going to be better than what you got before, even though what you got before was stunning. And this album lived up to that expectation. Everything about it is strong, no-nonsense Hard Rock. But what sets it apart is the capacity for such intricate story-telling, without being too overdone lyrically. Frontman Barry Mills’ poetic ability is brilliant, and this, coupled with the musicianship of every member of the band, made for a really enjoyable listening experience. ‘Night Skies’ is still one of my favourite tracks over the last few years.
https://www.facebook.com/MassiveWagons
https://open.spotify.com/album/5VpMvzjf5YnblQ8OxA0qc1
7. Mushroomhead – Call The Devil
Avant-Garde Metallers, Mushroomhead are now well-seasoned professionals, and they do love to create a bit of theatre with their music. “Call The Devil” was the band’s 10th studio album, and it’s one of a collection of albums that I regularly have on loop in my car. And it’s that way that it passed the 10-year-old test. My youngest loves it, and regularly asks me to put it on, then sits in the back of the car singing along and moshing out. He’s fussy with what he likes, so this is high praise indeed!
https://www.facebook.com/mushroomheadofficial
https://open.spotify.com/album/6a9tn0up9UcqpqEn49X49o
6. Seething Akira – Cancel Estate
I accidentally found this album, purely because I loved the play on words in the album title “Cancel Estate”. It’s amazing how just two words can inspire so many meanings, and these two words did it here for me. Musically, Seething Akira is Metalcore, with a twist of 90s Dance. It’s something completely different, and this album was full of banger after banger that could bring together the heaviest of Metalheads and the 90s Burberry-clad Ravers quite easily. I loved it, and am now definitely a Seething Akira fan.
https://www.facebook.com/seethingakira
https://open.spotify.com/album/27xLmYxBpOa80S6XCrKKur
I like a lot of musical genres, but my heart is firmly planted in all things Prog. So it’s no wonder that some prog made my list! Canadian Progressive Rockers Fen (not to be confused with the British Post-Black Metal band) released “Dear Mouse” back in September, after a 12-year hiatus. It’s a very mature album, that takes the theme of “endings”, and explores it in an uplifting way. Musically, it’s up-beat Alt Rock done really well, and this is another of the albums that’s been played to death in my car.
https://www.facebook.com/fenmusic
https://open.spotify.com/album/5ffEz6JTxMFQtzSv7UGWWC
The solo project of Dave Fox, lead guitarist in NWOBHM band Seventh Son, is something quite special. It moves away from Classic Heavy Metal, to a more Alt-Metal affair, with more than a smattering of 90s influence, making it nostalgic and current all at the same time. It’s probably my favourite ‘hidden gem’ find of the year, which I happened upon by accident in our emails. Dave literally handles everything in the band himself, including PR, and everything is done in an incredibly accomplished way, making this album, and the project, the best solo effort of the year, and one that I’ll be closely following for a long time. To have that much talent for songwriting, playing, and promoting music wrapped up inside one person is brilliant, if wholly unfair! I wish I was that talented!
https://www.facebook.com/UnwantedGuestDF/
https://open.spotify.com/album/4aPxPSjPPDeOOsdGx0eBMM
3. League Of Distortion – Galvanize
As we moved into the final quarter of 2024, I went on a bit of a Modern Metal bender, listening to a lot of new Modern Metal albums. German band League Of Distortion’s Galvanize stood out from the pot for me, more than any other. With powerful vocals, and catchy melodies, this album was going to be high up in my top 10 from my first playthrough. It ticks all the boxes of what I like: Melodic, but still gritty. Cleverly constructed, with a hit of Progressiveness and experimentation, but not to the point where it lost direction. It had hints of Neue Deutsche Harte, and made clever use of beats borrowed from Dance music, and samples that expanded the sound further. I can’t wait to hear more from them in the future.
https://www.facebook.com/leagueofdistortion
https://open.spotify.com/album/6TBCblKWMhVuHmnYoyeVUa
I know this may shock you, but Devin didn’t make it to my number one spot… It was a very close run thing, and right up until the penultimate week of November, “Powernerd” was a dead cert for my top spot. It’s Devin back to his ‘Heavy Devy’ best, and my favourite release from the Canadian Progressive Maestro since “Epicloud” back in the DTP days. Based round the theme of bereavement, and dealing with loss, it is pure genius lyrically, and musically, with nods back to the past, and moments that simply take your breath away. For emotional connection alone, it’s a masterpiece, and that’s before you add in the extraordinary talent, musically, of Devin and all the musicians who took part in the album. It was so close to being my favourite release of the last few years… Literally so, so close…
https://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend
https://open.spotify.com/album/2UfPWyvEAbQmQR6s6ob7tX
1. Opeth – The Last Will And Testament
Then Opeth decided to drop the album of the decade with a month left of 2024 to go! Aaargh good lord, do you know what kind of a quandary this created for me?! “The Last Will And Testament is the Swedish masters of Prog’s 14th Studio album, but their first ever full concept album. Set in a post-WWI era, it weaves an intricate tale of scandal, deceit, and drama within a family, which is uncovered at the reading of the will of the protagonist, a conservative patriarch. Playing cleverly with the theme, it takes Opeth back to their heavier roots, skillfully using lyrical brilliance, and musical techniques to invoke specific emotions, through the different voices of the characters. It’s like a soap opera, if soap operas were sophisticated and meticulous. It is quite simply the most stunningly executed album I’ve heard in a long time, and each time I listen to it, I find new intricacies that I missed on previous listens. It just keeps getting better and better, and more poignant, and more devastating with each listen. Mikael Åkerfeldt is right up there with the top, top musical minds in our generation. We are incredibly lucky to be alive, witnessing this in real-time, as this album will be talked about by generations to come. We can say we were there.
https://www.facebook.com/Opeth
https://open.spotify.com/album/1f2Q8urIhVZiuPSiNLcQG6
Honourable mentions:
Like I said, trying to narrow this list down to 10 was ridiculously hard, and there were a couple of bands who just missed out on my final cut, but are definitely worthy of your attention:
Reese – Long Streets (Alt Rock)
Dirty Shades – Stuck In Motion (Progressive Post-Rock/ Punk/ Metal)
Toby And The Whole Truth – Look Out! Vol. 1 (Classic Rock)
Aiwaz – Darrkh… It is! (Gothic Doom)
And that’s me done for the year. It’s been an interesting one. But, music-wise, it’s been astounding. Music is truly a universal and ageless language, and having music in my life will always be a gift most treasured to me. Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves, and here’s to another year of phonic excellence in 2025. Cheers.
Disclaimer: This article is solely the property of Beth Morait and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this article, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
