It's time for our yearly Top 10 lists! Once again, the lists are quite diverse, and we hope you'll find something new to explore. Top 10 of 2024 - Mindaugas Lapinskas:
10. SLOWER "Slower"
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/slower-slower These guys from FU MANCHU, LOWRIDER, KYUSS, MONOLORD, KYLESA and YEAR OF THE GOAT who all play mostly slow to mid-paced music in their respective bands, also happen to be SLAYER fans and got this genius idea to record SLAYER covers by slowing them down and weaving into their doom sound. It turned out a fucking great album on its own and I listen to it a lot! It came out in January 2004 and in November they put out another one - "Rage and Ruin" - featuring 4 compositions of their own material and two other SLAYER covers. Amazing stuff too!
9. MASTER "Saints Dispelled" https://master.bandcamp.com/album/saints-dispelled
Paul Speckmann still drives this band on full power! "Saints Dispelled" features a new drummer Peter Bajci and he pushes a great galloping rhythms complemented by meat'n'potatoes Death/Thrash with venomous, spiteful vocals and catchy hooks & riffs galore. Fucking great album! Since it came out in January 2024, I've been jamming this CD regularly and it always delivers.
8. MASSACRE "Necrolution"
https://massacre3.bandcamp.com/album/necrolution Another veteran band in my list, I like this 3rd incarnation of MASSACRE and their work ethic. They're releasing stuff regularly and its pure Old School Death Metal from the masters of the genre. "Necrolution" came out in November so it's still very fresh to this rotten ears, but it's clear that they dish out the same level of headbanging excitement as on the previous album "Resurrection". I feel it growing on me and surely it's gonna be played a lot.
7. MIDNIGHT "Hellish Expectations" https://midnight-ohio.bandcamp.com/album/hellish-expectations
I finally got hooked on MIDNIGHT in 2024! "Hellish Expectations" just blew me away, it's a perfect Black/Punk/Thrash mix which always gets me maniacally headbanging. So after getting a huge dose of "Hellish Expectations", I downloaded all their albums and listened to their full back discography for a month and this was one of the best months, no doubt! Expect total hell!! Now gonna get all their CDs!
6. CASTLE "Evil Remains"
https://castlesf.bandcamp.com/album/evil-remains CASTLE from San Francisco sound monstrous, I love how their rhythms pushes this Heavy/Doom Metal juggernaut. Everything on this album is perfect - great fucking heavy riffs, infectious satanic singing and melodies, clever compositions and I already wrote about the killer rhythm section! Since "Evil Remains" came out, I play it every week for a few times, always gets me hooked and high! Killer album that you should not miss!!
5. SIX FEET UNDER "Killing For Revenge" https://sixfeetunder.bandcamp.com/album/killing-for-revenge
SIX FEET UNDER again delivered a bone crushing, flesh peeling Death Metal masterpiece! Since teaming with Jack Owens they get better and better. I dig it all here - simple but killer compositions, brutal vocal delivery of Chris Barnes, memorable sneaky riffs and meaty production, which sounds very organic and rottingly juicy! Short and to the point killer machine, SIX FEET UNDER rulez!! "Killing for Revenge" is a brutal lesson in Old School Death Metal savagery!
4. ENFORCED "A Leap Into the Dark" EP
I think ENFORCED are among top 3 Crossover/Thrash Metal bands in the world going on right now and anything they release, I fucking dig! This EP doesn't disappoint at all, on the contrary, I can't get enough of this crushing Thrash with Death Metal overtones and Crossover moshing parts. They also did an OBITUARY cover "Deadly Intentions" and made it sound their own. I need to see this band live now! Heavy as fuck and catchy as hell, this EP rips it up!! 3. THE OBSESSED "Gilded Sorrow" https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/gilded-sorrow
This is what it says on the band's PR: "Scott “Wino” Weinrich is a living legend. In a way he’s the American version of Lemmy and shares many traits with the late, much beloved metal icon." And so on, but every time THE OBSESSED releases an album (which is very rarely these days), it's a time for a huge celebration for me. Yeah, I bought it, I played it constantly during spring/summer/autumn and will play it through the winter as well! It's a masterpiece of classic Doom Metal and there's nothing much else to add. Pure Doom Metal bliss!
2. NASTY SAVAGE "Jeopardy Room"
https://fhmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/jeopardy-room A new NASTY SAVAGE album, that for sure came out as a surprise and I've been jamming it nonstop since it somehow landed in my promotional box. The last album "Psycho Psycho" was released 20 years ago so what do you expect after such a long period of silence. Well, NASTY SAVAGE just dropped a nuclear Thrash Metal bomb! Here's everything you need - great, memorable riffs, craftily composed songs with intricate hooks and pure aggressive Thrash Metal energy! They even involved Tardy brothers on a remake of their classic track "Witches Sabbath" which turned out really killer! It was one of the greatest surprises and the ultimate comeback album of the year!
1. HELLBUTCHER "Hellbutcher" https://hellbutcherband.bandcamp.com/album/hellbutcher
From the very first notes of this album you know you are in the Devil's land! Creepy start gives out to the sneaky riffs and opens the gates of Hell! This is the essence of Speed/Black Metal done just perfectly! It's blisteringly fast, smartly composed and just takes you on a delirium inducing headbanging spree! As you should know this is a new band by Hellbutcher from NIFELHEIM and while I know about the huge cult following and legacy of that band and have a big respect for them, HELLBUTCHER debut just leaves all that in the dust. This is the next level Devilish Speed Metal Attack!! And it sure as hell scores No.1 album of the 2024 for me!
Top 10 of 2024 - Giedrius Slivinskas: 10. Múr "Múr" https://murofficialband.bandcamp.com/album/m-r-24-bit-hd-audio
A whirlwind, cinematic, and layered album by a very new band from Iceland, blending post metal with progressive and extreme metal. Winners of the Icelandic Wacken Metal Battle in 2022, they have quickly made their mark in the metal underground, and it’s no wonder Century Media Records acted fast to sign them and release their debut.
9. Quantum "Down The Mountainside" https://quantumstockholm.bandcamp.com/album/down-the-mountainside An energetic debut from a young Swedish prog rock/metal band, offering a swirling mix of melodies and riffs that will appeal to both fans of Rush and/or Opeth or Mastodon.
8. Anciients "Beyond The Reach of the Sun" https://anciientriffs.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-reach-of-the-sun
These Canadians are back after eight years with their third full-length album showcasing some fluent extreme progressive metal with influences from Opeth, Enslaved, and Mastodon.
7. Noor "Mother's Guilty Pleasure Part One" https://noorband.bandcamp.com/album/mothers-guilty-pleasure-part-one
While technically this album was available from December 13, 2023, it appeared on Bandcamp in 2024 and didn’t have a remote chance of making it onto any 2023 year-end lists. The debut from this Canadian band offers a relentlessly attacking and powerful metal style, drawing from early power/speed metal with conviction and spirit, mixing elements of 80s Iron Maiden, early Queensrÿche heavy/power metal, Heir Apparent, early Fates Warning, and some Agent Steel/Liege Lord influences.
6. Blazing Eternity "A Certain End of Everything" https://targetgroup.bandcamp.com/album/a-certain-end-of-everything
The doomy Danes are back after 21 (!) years with a very warm, melancholic, catchy, and moody album. The authenticity of this album has kept me coming back to it multiple times, and its bright nostalgia reminds me of the "Twin Peaks The Return" series.
5. Caligula's Horse "Charcoal Grace" https://insideoutmusic.bandcamp.com/album/charcoal-grace-24-bit-hd-audio
A solid and deep progressive metal album from one of the genre's finest! Led by guitarist Sam Vallen, one of the few musicians with a PhD in the prog rock/metal field, they have crafted well-written, interesting, and dynamic compositions.
4. VOLA "Friend of a Phantom" https://volaband.bandcamp.com/album/friend-of-a-phantom
From its inception, this Danish band was inclined to offer something different, and I remember them mentioning in early interviews their ambition to create prog metal with the catchiness of The Beatles. The fourth album continues their journey in a unique and distinctive style.
3. Opeth "The Last Will and Testament"
https://open.spotify.com/album/1f2Q8urIhVZiuPSiNLcQG6 The extreme prog metal masters have taken a step back to form with this heavy and cinematic concept album.
2. Leprous "Melodies of Atonement" https://insideoutmusic.bandcamp.com/album/melodies-of-atonement
New albums from well-established bands face increased critical attention from fans, who often want to rank the new release in relation to their favorites. Leprous is already in this league, and goddamn, let’s just accept that they are a very distinctive entity that carved out their own space and are hard to imitate. Their eighth album is an excellent example of melodic, vocal-driven prog rock/metal flirting with pop.
1. Vanden Plas "The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things" https://open.spotify.com/album/6ebfIrysSRhz6wwYNy2RAN
I enjoyed everything from "The God Thing" to "Seraphic Clockwork", but my enthusiasm faded a bit for the later albums. The new one from this veteran German band is a solid return to greatness, offering a high-standard progressive metal album in the style of Dream Theater's Images and Words and Awake, with great musicianship, dynamic songs, and soaring melodies.
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