I. On this fifty item list you will find the product of several tandem-pursued specializations honed in clusters over the years, all of them bearing their own uneven contributions to heavy rock music: Death metal, black metal, thrash metal, speed metal, doom metal, traditional heavy metal, heavy psychedelic rock, progressive rock, noise rock, hardcore punk, metalpunk, etc. and their permutations, all intermingling within various states of downturn and revival. The pursuit of all of these things at once ad nauseam is an act of crazed passion on my part, not a typical reaction to the seeming impenetrable fringes outside of generalized populist music. These selections are tuned exclusively to rhythms and voices which speak to great unknowns with wonderment, the unanswerable nihil of existence taken in as morbid transcendental muse, and as such they are personal and entirely independent selections which do not represent any manner of zeitgeist, agenda, cronyism or trend.

II. Upon completing the seventh year of this website’s existence only fifty selections were warranted, whittled down from a several thousand options to roughly one hundred. Alas, I understand this number will already prove unreasonable or unwieldy for many readers. A process of reduction from countless viable items to less than one tenth of everything means the result is uneven in its potency, sometimes fixated, sometimes unfocused, and cannot be functionally all-inclusive. There are entire labels I wasn’t able to mention, niches I didn’t touch upon, at some point the line has to be drawn and monthly coverage is pretty thorough otherwise: [January], [February], [March], [April], [May], [June], [July], [August], [September], [October], [November], [December].

III. These items were first ordered by highest general ratings then entirely reconsidered one-by-one by way of my enduring metrics: Immersion (fixation, memorability, efficacy of songcraft.) Connection (personal investment, bias, and general enjoyment.) Theme/lyricism (profundity and cohesion.) Audio-visuals (design experience and appeal, cohesive presentation.) Lasting value (perceived over time, considered as a physical product.) I keep track of the number of listens via automatic data collection, allowing for an objective tiebreaker when needed. No additional metrics were needed/used this year. The final list took roughly one day to compile and seven days to order.

IV. All but two items have received video reviews, these along with Bandcamp streams are available on the Review for each item. Only one item on this list didn’t receive a longform review. Click the appropriate link to access these since embeds were preventing this page from loading for mobile users.

IV. Each day I meditate with all-consuming gratitude aimed toward the bands, labels, distros, artists and PR firms who choose to work with me as well as the kind few readers who donate to the site intermittently. Thank you!

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Idiosyncratic as ever in their pursuit of their own spin on Impetigo and Autopsy tinted experimental death metal this early year released self-titled DIPYGUS record both reinforces what is cool about their gig, their lyrics and strong aesthetic while also introducing more of the wild ideas that’d been baked into their ‘Wet Market‘ EP. The more eerie, uncomfortable atmosphere they add to their work the more their clubbed-out but (at times) kinda prog-riffed rhythms stand out, a vortex of disgust and creeped cryptid descriptions. Underground death metal for the extra-weirding brains seeking bursts of sensory overload that still has riffs.

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No doubt this was one of the most contested inclusions on this more limited than ever list because I could easily justify including a hundred solid death or black metal releases that I’d connected with more, that had some cool-ass spin on an old sound and I didn’t even dig into a lot of the psychedelic doom/stoner and hard rock stuff I’d reviewed… But ‘Echoes of Light‘ is just far too compelling as the divorce of CHAPEL OF DISEASE, the full feed into their heavy rock inspired guitar-slinging work and its catchy, one of a kind step away from death metal. It still feels great to jump back into this album and take the ride and not only because it sounds like nothing else but because it is kind of a sweet death n’ roll jam from a certain context, also kinda has some ‘dark metal’/gothic rock hooks which somehow find a way to work.

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While I was moreso on board with the first BLACK PYRAMID album and everything had been diminishing returns from that point on it was rad to see them return in a new configuration, bearing their classic sludgy and tuneful psychedelic doom metal sound and put more of a progressive rock flavored spin on some of their compositions. ‘The Paths of Time are Vast‘ just barely bumped out the latest High on Fire album for this year’s ranking, for the record I completely loved ‘Cometh the Storm‘ and all of its indulgences, too.

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Baltimore, Maryland’s progressive death-thrasher quartet NUCLEAR TOMB introduced themselves to me by way of their ‘Succumbing‘ EP, a strange blend of fresh and personalized ideas infused with their love for the classics era of oddball thrash and death. They’ve released a debut LP at exactly the right point of readiness, they’re tour capable and have an overall knack for the demented side of death/thrash metal, technical/progressive thrash, and sound design + aesthetics which should be wildly appealing to fans of said things. For me the best songs here kinda skate the line between Аспид and the first Atheist record in how they wheel and deal crooked rhythms.

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Los Angeles-area epic doom metal quintet STYGIAN CROWN are easily one of the heaviest in their field when it comes to actual doom metal riffs flowing at a constant rate with well-thought inspiration taken from both extreme and classic metal tastes. This sophomore LP from the group doubles down on their strengths, tightens up the songcraft, infuses a bit more melody and man do the guitarists shine on this record. ‘Funeral For a King‘ is definitely a bigger equals better kinda deal and I think every choice they’ve made here is brilliant. An even more confident and soaring performance from vocalist Melissa Pinon is perhaps up there with the best of doom this year, fine use of simple harmony and theatric cadence throughout.

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Riffs. HYPERDONTIA‘s latest album is all about the riff and that isn’t to say that their previous records weren’t but this one clearly locks its shit down from the first song and attacks nearly as hard as last year’s EP had. A bit more abrupt, brutal yet focused on hitting riff-after-riff ‘Harvest of Malevolence‘ is the rare type of death metal action, a high standard achieved on par with the old ways delivered with brutal conviction. Every time I saw this album, caught a glimpse of its cover or mention of it online I’d happily cranked it up and ripped through. If you liked this album make sure you don’t miss the latest LP from Engulfed as well and equally riff-focused record with the maestro Mustafa on guitars.

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Indianapolis’ finest, most charismatic death dealers OBSCENE have been on a roll since their first album and on this third cycle they’re thrashing, melodic, and generally upping their ear for songs that stick without forgetting the ‘old school’ standard. You’d think that description meant an indecisive mush but these folks maintain an authenticity rooted in actual fandom and I mean, clearly a sense for the enthusiasm it takes to push death metal on the unsuspecting public. ‘Agony & Wounds‘ could’ve been trimmed back a bit but at the end of the day you’re getting a proper death metal album that never falls into anything bog standard. Also make sure you check out the drummer’s melodic death/doom metal band Mother of Graves who also had an exceptional album out this year.

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Though I’d always appreciated the vision Daniel Corchado had for his epic heavy metal built project ACERUS it’d particularly come together for my own taste with ‘The Tertiary Rite‘ (2020) where the speed/thrash metal elements kicked things out a bit harder. Not to mention vocalist Esteban Julian Pena who shows a broad and performative range on ‘The Caliginous Serenade‘ a nearly hourlong epic which fumes with inspiration taken from all over the traditional heavy metal headspace. Give this record some extra attention and patience, it starts out in an anthemic speed metal mode but eventually sprawls out into some of its best pieces in the second half.

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Though I have undying love for the many obscurities available to the fast-moving, quick to learn, and ever evolving early days of Swedish death metal I have to admit I never considered the first demo from MOONDARK to have the potential left behind by other bands (Utumno, Crematory, Nirvana 2002, Darkified, et al.) and the bands that these folks either moved onto (Dellamorte) or later revived (Uncanny, Interment) certainly helped make these names more than participants in a scene but some of the most underrated stuff in a then crowded scene full of ideas. Well, there was more than a bit of potential in that demo tape and after something like ten years of figuring it out, getting the right folks back in gear, etc. ‘The Abysmal Womb’ is not only an impressive revival of the original idea behind the band they’ve actually got riffs and production values that’re up to par with the best death/doom metal around today. They’ve struck the perfect balance between what the core idea was and how far they can take it into a tuneful, riff-heavy ‘old school’ death metal album. All killer material and world class production values on this one.

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The return of (now) Chicago-based technical/abstract death metal trio GIGAN after seven years was entirely welcome, appropriately familiar and up to the very high standards the band’ve always set for themselves. Far out but never completely disassembled by their own avant-garde/psychedelic ambitions this latest album finds some of their best production values overall, a heightened sense for spacious atmosphere, and focuses its tunneling vision towards wild combinations of effects. ‘Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus‘ is both a reintroduction to start and a deeper dive into their own idiosyncrasies later on so stick around for the second half on this one or you’re missing out.

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‘Edifice‘ was more than a bestial head-crushing bout of savagery as expected, for all of the wide-eyed violent mayhem HERESIARCH bring to this latest LP they’ve found a way to root their molten black abyssal heave in the riff, within rhythmic signature which is far from typified bestial death/war metal adjacent volatility. As such the experience is less a caustic nuke of random tirades and more a conversation in mayhemic nihil, bleak in outlook and burning from the inside out. This album alongside the related Aberrator debut ‘Beckoning Tribulation‘ spoke to different venues for abysmal yet brutally achieved death metal with a proper realism to their render. Give both records some serious attention.

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Getting me to sit down with a black/heavy metal record in 2024 wasn’t all that easy, I tried to resist the shlock of it all as much as possible. So much of the black metal + trad. metal idea is shitty corpo-asswiped cheese, bad NWOTHM, or just flat out riffless tripe. In the case of the dedicated duo behind INCONCESSUS LUX LUCIS none of these things apply as they’re heavy metal maestros of the riff first and spiritually driven maniacs second. The progression toward pure metal tempos and bounding rhythms was gradual but still unexpected as ‘Temples Colliding in Fire‘ showcases a love for the classics and for traditional heavy rock shaped songwriting with a slightly obsessive edge to its rhythms. This one has only improved over time and was well worth the patience it’d taken to fully immerse into their gig.

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Cleveland-based crew NOXIS are a bloodied and brutal explosion of outrage on this kinda unexpectedly on-fire debut LP having cut their teeth on many small releases and various line-ups for several years. ‘Violence Inherent in the System‘ is a brain-slapper, a modern death metal record which takes cues from Cryptopsy‘s early rhythm section and riffs from all over the ‘old school’ prog n’ classics-minded headspace for its sound. This record bursts with ideas from the get-go, packing the whole of its ~50 minute spin with abrupt tempos, inward churning riffs and a complex whorl of movement which outdoes most anything we’d heard from them in the past. For my own taste this is one of the most promising newer death metal bands around with signs of big-brained thinking all over this LP.

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Trondheim-based duo WHOREDOM RIFE made terrifying waves with their first few full-length releases, each honing in on their own ideation of Norwegian black metal with impressive results yet with ‘Den Vrede Makt‘ it appears they’ve taken one step in the direction of their -own- sound rather than continued ideation of the old ways. I’d love their previous album ‘Winds of Wrath‘ (2021) quite a lot yet I have to admit this is probably their most easily approached release to date thanks to their own instincts being tuneful and dramatic in a rare sort of way. If you liked this record make sure you don’t miss Djevel‘s ‘Natt til ende‘ as well the new Parfaxitas LP.

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In torment on a path towards Hell via blasphemic possession this sophomore full-length album from Los Angeles-area doom metal quintet EARLY MOODS communicates the throes and tribulations of their vision through traditional yet doubly heavy analog-feeling production values. While I was a huge fan of the heavy rocking ground they’d covered on their self-titled debut as well as their first EP this album felt like the one where Early Moods were shining in their own skin, taking their experience and putting it into more performative and melancholic pieces. I love the dark and patient mood of this album just as much as I do the huge riffs and boss production that helps raise it all up to an unholy level of pure doom.

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Sent from Oslo, Norway with a thousand riffs welled up in their wings this debut LP from ABHORRATION is the absolute distilled ideation of late 80’s death metal with an ‘Altars of Madness‘ skull, a Sadistic Intent mind, and physicality on the level of early Angelcorpse. A true riff album on the level of say, Nekromantheon‘s latest works but with some serious attention paid to building a tuneful wreckage out pre-1990 era Morbid Angel. Of course this whole album is exactly my kind of shit, and rest-assured it’ll be on rotation for years to come, but I did bump this one down a number of times for the sake of bringing in records that were innovative etc.

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Under their original name (Commando) these Arvika, Sweden based folks played more of an early Slayer-feeling sort of traditional heavy metal but with the name change to COMMAND and this tightly presented waking nightmare ‘Resver‘ they’ve landed upon something unexpected and unique enough. If you are a fan of In Solitude‘s terminal years as well as Morbus Chron‘s final album you’ll appreciate some of the tendencies of this album up front. As a fan of this style I’d found ‘Resver‘ was mature, measured and contained in its general theme as they communicate disillusionment, alienation and horror. I loved this album’s understated songcraft, the tunnel vision of the production values, and the surreal shouted-down-a-hallway feeling of their presence despite it all being “traditional heavy metal” at the end of the day.

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Yet another album from thus far prolific Finnish melodic black metal duo AETHYRICK arrives and of course we know what to expect in terms of neatly crafted, inventive and spiritually guided black metal spun through arcing threads. As noted in the press materials this release picks up speed, adding vibrancy to their careful compositional neatness alongside some changes to their drum sound as well as their implementation of keyboards. These folks remain one of my favorite black metal artists to arrive beyond 2018 or so and I cannot stress how impressive that they’ve managed such thoughtful, immersive and complete their creations in every case. Don’t miss the band’s split LP with Marras which was released nearby the album.

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Instantly memorable, striking in its wilding melodic ambition, and delivered with a scarring series of whirring strikes this latest album from Atlanta, Georgia-based quartet VIMUR miraculously overtakes the brutal ambitions of ‘Transcendental Violence‘ (2022) with tuneful, rousing black metal pieces. Brandishing a fireblade and a clear taste for melodic black/death metal old and new ‘The Timeless Everpresent‘ is an undeniable font of inspired guitar work which is unafraid of both sentiment and impassioned wrath when building its profound statements. From my point of view this was easily one of the most underrated black metal experiences from the greater USBM pool this year.

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From the first single released I was transfixed by ‘Nebulas of Self-Desecration‘ in the sense that Santiago, Chile-based fellowes UTTERTOMB had been soul-searching for a decade and a half before they’d found the right time for a debut LP. This means they’ve a full-fledge personality in hand, songcraft which is dripping with psychoactive, morbid swerves but also classic Chilean brutality. While I would consider their work doomed and atmospheric to a unique degree what’d surprised me most about this record was its willingness to take on experimental forms, dial in different morbid shades of rhythm, and present something which stands tall in its general category.

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Five years beyond their bolt-from-the-blue debut LP (‘Oútis‘, 2019) Slovakian trio CEREMONY OF SILENCE return for an equally brilliant sophomore album one which matures within its ambitious storytelling and redesigns its contemporary blackened/technical death metal sound and style. ‘Hálios‘ is a second chapter, a differently tonal experience from a yet masterful set of technicians who’ve retained the sparking, energetic fusion of their first record but presented it from a more hulking station. There is dark, wrathful havoc in these events as often as there are moments of sunlit heroism and at the end of the day it was simply one of the most memorable records I’d touched all year with plenty more depth to consider within the booklet/lyrics. Also make sure you don’t miss the 2024 editions of related band Porenut‘s ‘Mislives‘, a unique re-recording/rework of their 2013 debut.

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Eldritch mages of occult death metal via an avant-garde thread this latest work from the legendary minds behind Chilean quartet UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN continue to master their own path, irregulated and impassioned pieces written for two main guitar threads. If you are a fan of a certain era of The Chasm or the more challenging side of the second At the Gates record you’ll appreciate the volatile yet creative pathways carved here on this album, wheeling between ideas in a sort of mad trance and shredding quite a lot in a sinister as possible way. Otherwise of course their work is heavy as ever, less focused on choppy angular riffs and more centered in thrashing and blasted movements alongside hymnal backing vocals. The whole album is exceptional in its detail if you’ve a mind or both atmospheric values and composition working in tandem. Also don’t miss bassist Atomizer Pig‘s latest album with Atomicide, ‘Manifest of Aversion‘ is easily one of the heaviest death metal records out of Chile this year and also related to one of my favorite nowadays groups Rotten Tomb.

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Though the supreme examples of morbid thrash metal were few and far between in 2024 some of the very best music released this year directly addressed the highest standards for the riff set by the late 80’s thrash ’til death mania. You should count Brisbane, Australia-based black-thrashing fiends MAGES TERROR among the best doing it today, packing every second of these pieces with possessed energy, wraith like vocal scourge and riffs which outclass anything even kinda along these lines these days. What matters most here is that all of the songs hit, they never stop chopping away at the violent intensity of their rhythm-focused step but all of it lands tuneful and thrilling in its movement. All the leads are fittingly set, the extremes explored are wildly inspired even if entirely rooted in the 80’s evil thrash metal toolset and the whole deal still has me stoked about the result even over six months later.

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British epic heavy metal quartet PHAËTHON delivered what is easily the best in this particular lane circa 2024 with its NWOBHM inspired melodies, dual-lead slinging and overall shout-along worthy set of songs here. Brought to you by way of folks involved in extreme metal groups (Craven Idol, Fen, et al.) who’ve taken increasing interest in classic heavy metal attributes over the years what we get here is anthemic, inspired, and rooted in telling stories worthy of all the bluster and soldiery involved. Truly one of the best pure heavy metal records of the year and the one that I’d found most memorable.

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Windsor, California-based death metal quartet LACERATION follow up their intense, nigh flawless debut LP (‘Demise‘, 2021) with a more focused, deadlier second album which tightens up their production values and songcraft so that everything lines up in the most ideal way for ‘I Erode‘. From death-thrashing riff counts, circa ’95 Suffocation level technicality, and the hurling crunch of peak Morbid Angel this concise and exceptionally well produced record set a golden standard for classics-minded death metal in 2024. Easy to pick up and rip through per its ~half hour length I’ve found myself returning to this one more and more for all that it packs into its seven core pieces. Also related thrash metal group Scythe released an EP, ‘Mask of Lies‘ this year, check that out too.

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The opening of “Beyond the Pillars” and the foreboding landscape illustrating the cover of ‘Master of the Games‘ hardly prepared me for the point-and-click power-thrashing adventure that was the return of Detroit, Michigan-based quintet DEMON BITCH. Having taken their time building a world best unveiled through masterful narration, exuberantly thrashing heavy metal and some neoclassic detailing we’ve gotten the very best next step, a grand leap in capability and artistry, from these fellowes. Hyper-active and soaring-loose as their work might be each of these songs either drives home their over the top personae or catches the ear in a well of intrigue for an experience beyond worthy of repeated listening. There were a surprising number of USPM inspired records out this year but this was the one with an edge, a power-thrashing vault that’d helped press through its ~46 minutes enough to be a consistent thrill with a proper dungeon master at the helm.

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From their initial vortex of weirding old school death metal to this classic doom metal stoked vision of rotten and pained death/doom metal the greater trip available to the CRYPTIC BROOD discography only becomes deeper enriched with every entry. ‘Necrotic Flesh Bacteria‘ reads to me as a tightening of the fuming, nuclear-green hairiness of their work to the point where every riff matters, and they’ve got a ton of ’em in mind. These folks’ treatment of traditional doom metal’s darkest early days makes for a tense yet putrid experience, keeping in mind I’d already loved what they’d done with ‘Outcomes of Obnoxious Science‘ (2019) and this feels like an even better representation of their work. If you’re looking for that early Autopsy level of slap or the melancholic dance of Dream Death‘s debut there’ll be something familiar yet unique to their perspective here on an album I’d say fans of ‘old school’ doom metal will also appreciate.

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Can’t argue that SKELETAL REMAINS don’t have that dog in them at this point, they’d been relentless in their pursuit of straight-forward, high standard death metal perfection from the time they were retro-death underdogs ’til this incredible precedence was set by their passage into more major label associated territory. For many bands that transition is too quick, rooted in trends, and has no foundation to stand on but as we found with ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘ and its predecessor they’re here to slowly win the race with deliberate, masterful death-work. Leaning more into the mid-to-late 90’s side of classic death metal means we get a more wall-to-wall brutal beast out of these folks as they near early Hate Eternal levels of volatility without losing their thrashing early 90’s death headspace. There just isn’t a better role model for death metal musicians today in terms of the actual outcome, much as I hate to use the term “taste level” it is definitely there with these guys and the real heads can still hear/see it a mile away.

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Continuing their streak as one of the best heavy metal inspired melodic death metal bands out of the United States HOUSE OF ATREUS returned for an EP this year and a memorable, substantial one persisting with a style that meets a standard no similar band can achieve any longer. There are only a few bands that do anything remotely similar to Arghoslent‘s style any longer and these folks have their own interests in Hellenic black metal, traditional heavy metal, and such that they’ve always had their own vision and told their own stories. I am not an echo-chamber enjoyer or an “internet activist” so I dunno why people sent angry messages to me when I reviewed this album and I don’t really care, this EP rules and these folks’ discography smokes front to back.

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From my experience this second album, and righteously profound double LP, from Brooklyn’s SPITE is easily one of the most underrated black metal records of 2024. ~68 minutes of blasphemy split amongst twelve robust themes makes for a demanding record which develops each of its pieces with some manner of impact and plenty of cleverly stoked riffcraft. Daunting as this record might appear I believe if you enjoyed Negative Plane‘s ‘The Pact…‘ you’re basically pre-qualified to like this one for its challenging, sometimes technical play with rhythms that frequently change direction or feed off of a thrashing early 90’s black metal feeling. A black metal album for the obstinate riff enjoyer at the very least and an ambitious work for those with the patience and curiosity to see it through.

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Now on their second full-length album BYTHOS is a Finnish black metal project from members of Behexen and Horna with one major component being LRH whose own main band Night Shall Drape Us also released a somewhat similar album about one week later. Whereas that band is a bit more theatrical considering the two vocalists involved this one is much more traditional in its focus on diabolic melodicism. That is to say that ‘Chthonic Gates Unveiled‘ is almost surprisingly accessible, tuneful at its core that it feels like it should be on a bigger stage and revered for its intricate songwriting with a simple effect. This is probably one of the finest albums in this style I’ve heard this year and the appeal of their work only seems to enrich from song to song. Either way, a huge improvement over their debut and a quick favorite on my part which I’d felt held up particularly well throughout the year.

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Technical wizardry and advanced knowledge of extreme metal’s most sophisticate underground musical ambitions have taken the great sojourn of MEFITIS to incredible highs over the last several years yet it’ll have to be the two-sided coin of ‘The Skorian // The Greyleer‘ that begins to define their work at a level of precision most folks can approach. A distinct approach to galloping rhythms and run-on thrashing rants has made all of their work exciting, particularly in the realm of composition for two distinct rhythm guitar voices in tandem, and this is still an incredible standard but this time around one could just as easily show up and be pleased with their heady songwriting. Analog recordings make for a distinct, carefully tuned sound which allows for all instruments to shine within the surrealistic atmosphere generated, a feat which is integral to their “dark metal” (melodic black/death, technical death, gothic metal, et al.) sound which now more heartily includes clean vocals into their repertoire. Easily one of the best bands around today who possess an innovative, intelligent element which extreme metal has never celebrated in earnest. Distinct and exceptional in every case and impeccably performed/composed.

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Ontario, Canada-based trio ADVERSARIAL return after nine years unscathed, unbothered by trends yet evolved well beyond their 2015 released sophomore full-length album. Sporting a sound I’d described as brutal death blasted blackened death metal back when their first album released here we’ve got the still evolving ideal of the folks involved holding fast to the obliteration their sound with a style of riffcraft fans of ‘Unholy Cult‘ and certain Ulcerate and/or Drawn and Quartered records should appreciate. ‘Solitude with the Eternal‘ isn’t a stupid ass blackened brutal death record, in fact the amount of wild-fingered riffcraft and swerving alienated immersion they can fit into these ~3-4 minute skull-whipping pieces is appreciably intense without ever reaching a point of chaos for the sake of it. Short, easy to dig into, brutal as shit, and in the best tradition of blasphemic death metal this one was a keeper from the first spin and still kicks ass nearly a year later.

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Yeah I dunno I don’t give a flying fuck about Godzilla (!) but Seattle/Portland-based death-thrashers OXYGEN DESTROYER are completely insane in terms of generating brutal throngs of elite-level riffcraft and ‘Guardian of the Universe‘ is the second time in a row where they’ve nailed it, hit it out the park, killed ’em all with their rhythms. It is damned near possible to get the sleepy-eyed masses to show any enthusiasm for a band who deal in precision and ancient traditions of death-thrash from a serious place and in this sense these folks and this particular album struck gold pretty quick and dirty earlier this year. If you liked this record make sure you check out the previous one, too, as it upholds a similar standard but leans into blackened thrash bottlenecks more than some of the ‘brutal thrash’ stabbing we find on this one.

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Ten years beyond their debut LP (‘Idola Specus‘, 2014) Berlin-based death metal trio DROWNED return with an album that offers more active, viciously ruptured death made to build beyond their cryptic mid-paced death/doom metal vision into a headier vortex of classicism and personal trait. Since I’d had the privilege of interviewing the band about this album just as my fandom was running its hottest this record left a huge impression upon me, not only for their return being so class but recognizing how much more valuable their riffs/songcraft was beyond so much else I’d heard this year. While I appreciate that all types of folks participate in extreme metal modulation there are clearly folks who are most insightful, talented in their wielding of those extremes and no doubt ‘Procul His‘ is a brilliant showcase of this.

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A record like ‘Ontology of Nought‘ offers disassembly beyond a readable level of abstraction, twisted works in long form experiential chunks which generate the anxiety, pleasure and the horrors of the modern mind to the point of oppressive atmospheric weight. Berlin-based duo INGURGITATING OBLIVION certainly got my attention by featuring folks from Defeated Sanity and Sacral Rage on this latest album, after a seven year distance beyond the last, but it was the broken action of this album that’d felt so profound as it sank in. From jazz fusion to technical brutal death and beyond no description of sub-genre quite suits the actual modus which yanks us away from structure, any sort of comfort zone beyond vibes. Per my own experience this was not only unique but thoroughly entertaining to return to and rediscover, a different angle upon death metal that expresses things I’ve never heard elsewhere in ingenious ways.

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Each of SHAARIMOTH‘s releases offer something different, an evolution dependent on interest and collaboration which centers around black and death metal muse and in the case of ‘Devildom‘ they’ve opted for something riff-driven and inherently death metal in stature despite the declarative occult black metal feeling of the work. Though it might appear strange that I’ve compared the effect and action of this album to that of Mithras or more recent Lantern releases you’ll get what I mean by the time “The Midnight Sentinel” has shown its cards, vibrant and technical pure death metal inspired sounds with many layers to each riff and their connectivity from statement to statement. There is something willful, unhindered and full of disdain delivered by these works which I’d found unique and particularly surreal for a 2024 release which I believe fans of Bølzer will appreciate alongside the bombast and Morbid Angel-esque trample of the record otherwise.

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Here is another album I’d already loved (as one of the most impressive debuts released all year) but that apprecation’d only intensified once I’d interviewed the band and gotten a better idea of their modus, what level of jamming and improvisation inspired their work and where the whole gig was borne from. Leeds, England-based surrealistic death/doom metal quintet SLIMELORD aren’t just a foamy death-trip but they’ve got riffs, a whole non-standard subset of instincts that are likewise reflected in their other main project (Cryptic Shift) and they’ve made a beyond space and spasming debut from those instincts. As a starting point for a side project they’d basically struck gold from the first song so, I can’t wait to see what they manage to bring to this band in the future since they were pretty clear this won’t be a one-off.

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Caustic, frayed at the edges, and having conquered and quested for years to reach their first pinnacle act we now arrive upon the wreckage and renewal of Ljubljana, Slovenia-based death metal quintet SIDEREAN who’re essentially the second life of prog-tech death/thrash group Teleport. Of course their debut LP made me a huge fan, easily one of the most unforgettable debuts of the last ten years for my own taste, and this follow-up appears to task itself with melding and better mesh those core elements together into what are essentially progressive death metal songs which are challenging but also practically in their creation. This one is a bit more raw and violent than their debut but also more avant-garde, freely formed and likely to catch the ear of those interested in the dissonant and dreary realities of extreme metal today. It took a bit longer for this one to click with me but it’d ultimately stuck in mind to some intense degree after giving it some due patience.

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Extra-sentient Vancouver, B.C.-borne quartet MITOCHONDRION return from an extended cycle of imbibe and outpour as this long-fashioned double LP could only manifest as an exacting representation of their travels. Though the whole of the experience appears to initially reconnect with their first-born work (‘Archaeaeon‘, 2009) the whole of the experience extends itself into the unknown, from brutality and chaos to an increasingly precision atmospheric delve as they reach their destination. ‘Vitriseptome‘ is an experience, a full-fledged challenge of a record which finds its pleasure point in statements which lurk beneath chaotic sheets of noise and violent action ’til they begin to surface. That act of surfacing is the main reason to repeat but that doesn’t mean there aren’t riffs or larger movements that are thrilling to experience on execution as there are no truly formless works on this record. Still daunting, still much to glean from the lyrics, and still a valuable addition to their discography and 2024 overall.

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After having loved Santa Rosa, California-based progressive death metal trio VILE RITES‘ debut EP and interviewing the band about it I’d set ‘Senescence‘ among my most anticipated releases of 2024. Despite high expectations they’d still surprised me by delivered something non-typical in shape and sweetly intricate in its design and all without losing the “balls” and aggression of death metal proper in the process. ‘The Ageless‘ did well to showcase the technical and expressive capabilities of the band but this LP showcases outside-the-box thinking need not be pretentious to take the listener on a trip, one which is thick with surreal atmosphere and expert-level bass guitar work via the talented Stephen Coon (Vektor). I suppose what’d shocked me so much about this record was that they’d taken that step from “promising idea” to a full on pro-level record with its own point of view in just a couple of years and in the process they’ve skipped the whole “band to watch” commentary. If nothing else make sure you don’t just quickly flip through the first half and move on, the second half of this album is vital to getting the whole picture of why this is a unique and impressive feat.

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To be blunt as possible all of the things that folks said ‘Absolute Elsewhere‘ did but didn’t actually do in terms of fusing progressive rock spiritus with classicist death metal this sophomore full-length from BEDSORE actually did. And I don’t say that from a petulant point of view but as a big fan of each band, though I was completely stunned to find ‘Dreaming the Strife for Love‘ used the auld ‘Sweven‘ vibe as the launching point for an indulgent, vision-questing album centered around a head swimmingly achieved theme and personage-rich compositions. Instead of being a post-death metal band with a surrealistic cinema-bound exaggerating to its step they’ve gone for what are essentially progressive rock structured and death metal accentuated pieces, an album that’d have stood out in the early 70’s for its quick fingered key/synth work and surreal pause-and-redirect strategy for extended pieces. Sure, fans of the weirder side of Sigh and perhaps a broad-minded Opeth lifer might have some special appreciation for these retro-toned and oft times joyous reprieves but as a big fan of the band’s early work I’d found this was particularly impressive and (again) entirely unexpected.

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Since I’d found Chilean death metal quartet ROTTEN TOMB found themselves at #1 on my best of 2022 with their ‘Visions of a Dismal Fate‘ LP I knew that it wasn’t likely they’d create the same album twice though it was hard to escape the expectations I’d placed on ‘The Relief of Death‘. Since I’d doubted the longevity of the album during the review process and felt the production values were darker, less vividly captured I was tentative on its ability to still hit throughout the year. Well, here we are at the very end of 2024 and as it turns out this record was different, sure, but still represents most all of my favorite aspects of death metal which centers its riff-heavy approach within a deeper atmospheric medium. Having both CDs/vinyls next to each other and appreciating how each experience has its own murky, volatile headstone to it I am even more of a fan than I was back in 2022.

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The insistent escalation of COSMIC PUTREFACTION as the core medium for technician and auteur G.G. finds a new level of immersive atmospheric layering, pestered together strata which extend into a brutal tapestry of celestial mutations and metaphysical sojourn… and once again the fellow outdoes his previous work with something even more considered, detailed and nuanced. ‘Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell Mountains‘ may be the bursting point, the maximum level of detail one can infused into a work before it becomes cacophonic, unable to tell a single story in linear fashion. There is a mastery at the particular point which I’d felt was unlike anything else released this year, a signature depicted amongst melting, portal-chasing surrealism.

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Since you’ll find the previous ULCERATE full-length landed as #1 on my 2020 list it’d be natural to assume that I might’ve not appreciated this one as much but this isn’t at all the case. This album is probably more ear-wormingly memorable than anything they’ve ever done as its icy-red tendrils speak through a wholly unique crystalline guitar-built melodic language, somber and striding in its movements with wild technical showmanship never degraded by the fluttering tension of each relatively long ~8-9 minute piece. ‘Cutting the Throat of God‘ is a wild step beyond an album I’d remarked as a potential vision for the future of death metal, particularly in terms of technique and composition, and I’ve been obsessed with it from the first listen. Oddly enough when I press play on this album anymore it is the vibe, the sullen furor and tragedian cull of its consistent tonality/atmosphere that still surprises. One full degree of removal at a time might seem like a lot but I’m left wondering where they go from this point and retain the highs created by this collective artistic voice.

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Without question there has always been some sort of magick thrashing esotericism to the work of Indonesian duo EXHUMATION but on ‘Master’s Personae‘ we get something which is one part stampeding new/old school death, another part swinging speed metallic daemon, and this heady psychedelic fume hanging over it all… the collective incense conjured is potent, a fidgeting cloud of blasting ancient black/death metal which somehow brings an anthemic stride to its possessed rhythms. From the first time I put this album and a hundred times more after that this album transported me, removed me from any other world but the one it’d depicted and I would never shake off its curse for the psychotropic effect it so consistently delivers. The finest death-meditation I’d found all year.

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Intending to reintroduce the imposing legacy of underrated Danish epic heavy/doom metal quintet ALTAR OF OBLIVION through a themed set of songs old-and-new ‘In the Cesspit of Divine Decay‘ is a new high for a band who’d found their peak, or, at least a particularly representative album in this dramatic opus. This is the sort of heavy metal band where the unique sort of sonic lustre and plenty of heavier riffs made most of their records an intense listen but bigger production values and some of their most memorable pieces to date made this one an ideal go-to for their particular sound. The whole chronological order of recording dates/release dates are hard to follow but I believe they’ve got another full-length’s worth (or more) of material finished already so I’m looking forward to where they went/will go beyond this point.

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If I had to put together the perfect thrash metal album suited exactly to my taste in “evil” thrashing violence under threat and influence of the late 80’s underground black and death metal uprising most of Peñaflor, Chile-based quartet MAYHEMIC‘s work on debut LP ‘Toba‘ checks all of those boxes, hits it out the park, kills all morbid thrash in mind. I was glued to this record for a few hours every weekend from the time I heard it, almost as much as the two records that’re slotted above it. If you liked this album you should also check out Abreaktion‘s debut EP and Desolus‘ debut LP both of which came out this year with similar intent with a shitload of riffs on each.

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This debut full-length album from Oslo, Norway-based death/thrash metal quartet SOVEREIGN has the advantage of having released in the second half of January this year, giving me over a full year’s time with it thanks to the review process. This’d basically allowed it to set a standard for how the year went in terms of only accepting music that was this well done, this specific in its intent and with every detail considered. Often compared with the first Nocturnus album thanks to their use of keyboards on a few songs we’ve a sort of Pestilence and even an Obliteration-esque step in the work of this band and an overall great success thanks to a barrage of riffs presented with a patient hand for rhythmic development. For my own taste this is the best release in this general realm in years thanks to its late 80’s death/thrash metal DNA and patience in developing each song and really leaning into each riff enough to ensure some manner of hypersurreal atmosphere is reflected in the result.

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This year I could’ve made a serious argument for at least the top ~fifteen items here being Album of the Year worthy on some level but as this order ramped up towards its final conclusion I was struggling to see the black pearl within the concrete. ‘The Apophatic Wilderness‘ is the remedy for this on all counts, an album that’d been surprising for the sake of it having been less than two years since the release of ‘Adumbration of the Veiled Logos‘ (2022) and in some sense part of the review process was catching up with the next-next paradigm shift, a ‘Drought‘-like motion toward insight and abandon, while in the process of remembering just how choice all of VERBERIS‘ output has been over the years.

Obsessively writ and oppressive in its downpour of ringing arpeggiated disso-craft these songs build walls of confrontation one after another, opening with gut-wrenched dread and dizzily trudging toward a climax of mayhem, apocalyptic frenzy; ‘The Apophatic Wilderness‘ allows itself to function as a lens peering into the darkness, a sensorial collapse into the underworld in search of untapped wisdom. The live electrically charged feeling of the space this recording inhabits is individual, crisp yet richly eruptive in its sound design and impressively bass guitar forward on certain pieces, easily one of the best overall suitable and brilliantly engineered productions of the year. My praise for the album runs as deep as the packaging, even, as the superior graphic design and artwork here makes a big difference for the sake of taste in evocative, intricate design. Overall this was the great work this year for my own taste, the one that stacked up best against all manner of nostalgic perfectionism and sub-genre sublimity that’d caught my attention otherwise.

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