Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 albums of the month! December is always a weird time in the music journalism business - it's much more manageable for new releases, but bands that do choose to put their music out tend to get buried in the Album of the Year list frenzy. But here at MetalBite, all albums are created equal. We stick to our steady monthly schedule, and as long as it's got riffs, we'll make sure it gets our glowing seal of approval. Nothing escapes our watchful eyes, and we pass our spoils on to you, the reader. Let's get to it.

-Nate

HONORABLE MENTIONS

A Dead Poem - Abstract Existence
Personal Records

Worship music can be overlooked and underrated - especially when the albums they're influenced by have a fertile well of musical ideas to explore. A Dead Poem doesn't keep its influences a secret - the band name alone is a dead giveaway, and the album promo makes it very clear that the sole purpose of this band was to recreate the sound of mid-90s melodic death/doom: the first two Katatonia albums, Paradise Lost and, of course, Rotting Christ. Fortunately, A Dead Poem is speaking my language: the album that they're named after is my favorite Rotting Christ album and Brave Murder Day was my gateway into Katatonia, who are a top-10 all-time favorite band.

The formula is well established, and it is so for a reason. The simplicity of the building blocks found on albums like Abstract Existence is a big factor in their effectiveness. Stripped-down rock beats with the occasional double-kick section, a strict adherence to a middling pace, and prominent, melodic guitar leads is the order of the day here. It's formulaic, sure, but tropes are tropes for a reason: they work, as long as the executor understands what makes them so effective. The underlying strength here is the effective songwriting. A Dead Poem holds onto an idea long enough to create a hypnotic loop in your head, but still have a wide enough sense of scope to be able to build momentum in the tempo shifts. You won't find a single blastbeat on this album, but the drumming is exactly what it needs to be - minimal fills and each beat a driving force for the somber, ethereal melodies. The production is dingey with an underlying warmth, which contributes to their ability to recreate the atmosphere of the 90s.

A Dead Poem breathes fresh life into a dormant style, and serves as a great reminder as to why this subsection of music was so good in the first place. It's a welcome addition to a walk on a cold, dreary winter day.
-Nate

Monte Penumbra - Austere Dawning
Norma Evangelium Diaboli

Eerie, off-kilter black metal that falls in the same general region as Deathspell Omega, although there is more overlap in the general vibe it gives off as opposed to the riffwork and chord shapes. There's hints of putrid doom that help to add dynamics and variety - there are lots of unexpected twists and it all serves to drag you further into their nightmarish abyss. I get some Impetuous Ritual vibes from this, but that might just be me. Regardless, I imagine fans of them will get some mileage out of this.
-Nate

Pandemic - Phantoms
Dying Victims Productions

Creative thrash, yes, in a genre that's been played a billion times, you can still come up with new ideas. Thrash is timeless and will remain an essential part of the scene. Also, Dying Victims Productions really know how to make an album sound organic and authentic but with a modern twist!
-Raphael

Nocte Obducta - Hammergeddon
Supreme Chaos Records

Nocte Obducta have a nice little present for their fans – a new EP called Hammergeddon. Like the box of chocolates Forrest Gump talked about, you never know what you're going to get with this band. This time, they go dep into their history and play dirty, rough black metal mixed with some rock n' roll elements. The vocals are super sick and the atmosphere is very cold and dark. With "Blut, Bier, Dunkelheit" ("Blood, Beer, Darkness") they have a song title which sums it all up very well and pays some tribute to Motörhead. The last track is very different from the rest, very creeping and sinister black metal with disturbing industrial samples that reminds me I have to make an appointment with my dentist.
-Michael

Svarttjern - Draw Blood
Soulseller Records

You have no idea how many black metal promos I get in my inbox - seriously, bands, unless you feel you have a really fresh take on the genre, stop making more generic ass black metal. The only exception to this rule is if you're Norwegian and have ties to some of the old guard like Carpathian Forest and Ragnarok, as this group does. Then you're allowed.

The underlying 80's thrash/speed metal contingent here is what most modern bands forget to include - remember that this was a genre born out of kids listening to Slayer and Venom and wanting to make something a little bit more savage and extreme. It adds a catchy edge that gives Draw Blood some reply value. This is a bit goofy in its stark uber-seriousness (see the chanting of "suicide" at the end of one of the tracks), but it's classic Norblack, that's probably what you're here for. It's hard to knock it too much when the band knows what they're going for and execute it effectively.
-Nate

Druparia - The River Above
Independent

Early 2000 melodic death and metalcore worship. It's fast, full of energy and the songwriting is creative so it's never boring. There are a ton of beautiful melodies that made me feel nostalgic of the "good ol days".
-Raphael

Atra Vetosus - Undying Splendour
Immortal Frost Productions

Atmospheric black metal that feels…warm. Perhaps it's the inspiration drawn from Australian landscapes, but the prominent synths, fantasy-esque sense of marvel and wonder, and uplifting melodies make this feel like an album that's much more suited to a summertime walk than a dreary winter, galavanting through the woods instead of trudging about an alienating concrete jungle. Falls of Rauros, Woods of Desolation and Gallowbraid are good reference points, or even Be'lakor through a blackened lens. If you like it bombastic and epic, look no further.
-Vlad

METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

10: Becerus - Troglodyte
Everlasting Spew

At first glance, this gives the impression of a knuckle-dragger with fewer IQ points than digits, but when you start to pick apart the album there's a certain intelligence in how simple and effective the riffing and structuring is - and there's a underlying intricacy that shows Becerus is dedicated to their craft. Resembling early Deicide (with Satanism replaced by blunt force trauma via guitar), Cannibal Corpse and Aeon, this is no-frills death metal of a high caliber. There's a reason this style has endured for over 30 years now. The vocals benefit from the absence of lyrics, as it leaves them untethered and free to explore all sorts of unique and memorable vocal patterns, and Mario Musumeci has an underrated range in terms of the different sounds (grunts?) that he can deliver out of his throat hole. Sometimes, you don't need atmospheric brilliance or stupefying technical mastery - you just want to get skull-fucked. Becerus understands this.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.2/10

9: Old Forest - Graveside
Soulseller Records

James Fogarty (ex-In The Woods…) has been one of the pillars of the UK black metal scene since the mid-1990s, and Old Forest is his vehicle to recapture the spirit of 1994. After the misdirection of the warped, Slayer-esque intro, the rest of Graveside, the band's eighth full-length, in addition to a plethora of EPs, does exactly that, with an excellent set of synth-assisted grim hymns. While the timbre of the keyboards mean that there is an inevitable passing resemblance to Cradle Of Filth, a band Old Forest have previously been much compared to, this is an over-simplification. Old Forest's songs are generally built from monolithic passages of tremolo riffing, which features none of the twin-guitar classic metalisms of Dani Filth's crew, and in general Old Forest offer a convincing take on the unpolished, but still majestic symphonics of early Satyricon, and For All Tid-era Dimmu Borgir, with the spine-tingling 'Witch Spawn' a perfect example of the band's ability to tap into the kind of otherworldly power of those classic records. In the wrong hands, there's a danger that this kind of homage to old-school black metal could come across as hokey, but Fogarty's innate understanding of the sub-genre ensures that the album expertly avoids such pitfalls, and instead ensures that the listener remembers just how exciting it felt to hear the second-wave masters for the first time.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10

8: Mavorim - In Ominia Paratus
Purity Through Fire

These Germans once again deliver some hateful and highly atmospheric traditional black metal. Baptist and Valfor present ten interesting anthems, each one totally different from the other, all songs kept in German language, which makes for a harsh and martial sound. The riffing is very smart and catchy, the drumming is powerful and thunderous and keyboards underline the epic atmosphere. There aren't any big surprises on the album but it is another solid entry in Mavorim's discography.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

7: Misanthropy - The Ever-Crushing Weight Of Stagnance
Transcending Obscurity

Riff salad tech death can turn into an incoherent mess very quickly, but this avoids those pitfalls with constant attention-grabbing motifs. This album never stays in one place for too long, but the transitions aren't jarring and senseless - there is a path that you can follow from riff to riff, but when you zoom out after a couple of minutes and reflect on the journey, you wonder how the hell you got where you are so fluidly. There's a healthy amount of Gorguts-styled dissonance but the way it's presented is surprisingly easy to get into. You won't remember any hooks, but you'll want to come back for the brain-scrambling madness and to challenge yourself to see if you can remember when the occasional off-kilter slam is going to kick in. I wouldn't say it was an especially strong year for tech-death, but nonetheless, this should be in any conversation about the best albums of 2024 in the style.
-Nate

Brutal, dissonant and sometimes groovy, technicality. This album sounds like what you would probably hear when you catch a glimpse of Cthulhu.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

6: Nogothula - Telluric Sepsis
Blood Harvest

Note: this originally came out in April 2024, but the vinyl release is in December, so we're still including it in this list. Get it in your ears if you missed it the first time around!

Since Blood Harvest brought Cryptic Shift and Snet to this listener's attention, their releases generate a little more anticipation than those of a lesser label. Cincinnati's Nogothula are relatively callow, with just a single EP to their name since their 2021 inception, but they've clearly been pouring all of their available time into the composition and recording of a debut album that is among the very best that 2024 has to offer in terms of death metal. While there is nothing regressive about the band's sound, their appealing mix of modern technicality and an old-school fondness for memorable riffs (of which there are approximately 25 in the magnificent 'Catacomb Cauldron' alone) means that the band perfectly synthesise the song-based approach of Morbid Angel, Suffocation and Deicide, with the precise and fleet-fingered fretwork of modern tech-death in a way that calls to mind Cattle Decapitation, Decapitated, or any other band whose name involves the separation of head from body. Telluric Sepsis (which sounds unpleasant, whatever it is), is a very solid first album indeed, the band's relentless brutality showing just enough personality and potential to ensure that one can be both excited about the force that they already are, and the monster that they may yet become.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

5: Aara - Eiger
Debemur Morti

It's haard to describe why Aara is aawesome, because they aaren't necessaarily aa unique baand in the aatmospheric blaack metaal reaalm - they just do it…better. Their aalbums aare caathaartic, graandiose aand irresistibly cold, with aa hypnotic sense of scaale aand pacing thaat taakes you on aa journey. Aaaaaaa this is aawesome.
-Nate

Beautiful and harsh, exactly like the mountain from which the album gets his name. You can feel the cold and harsh mountain winds while getting lost in the grandiose atmospheres and melodies.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

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4: An Axis Of Perdition - Apertures
Apocalyptic Witchcraft

December is an unusually strong month for British black metal, although both Old Forest and An Axis Of Perdition both seemed determined to bury excellent albums by scheduling releases during the worst part of the year for generating interest in new music. The return of An Axis Of Perdition, one of the sub-genre's most perennially forward-thinking bands, is especially welcome, with their fifth album coming well over a decade after the release of its predecessor. Not that the extended break seems to have done the band any harm, as Apertures takes on the challenge set by the band's previously high standards, and meets it head-on. Although not as immediately experimental and unsettling as the band's first two phenomenal records, An Axis Of Perdition remain avant-garde in their off-kilter approach to black metal, with unconventional melody lines snaking their way around the complex rhythms that assail the listener from unexpected angles, while ambient electronics underpin a sound somewhere between Ved Buens Ende and the psychological despair of the last couple of Oranssi Pazuzu albums. This is black metal driven by urban decay, rather than expansive mountains and valleys, and this uncomfortable soundscape oppresses one in much the same way as the quotidian grind of big cities oppresses society, creating a modern hell in much the same way as other black metal practitioners wish to evoke a more supernatural horror. It's great to see them back.
-Benjamin

Remember these fellas? This industrial/ambient/black metal group had a knack for creating some of the most eerie and unsettling atmospheres in a genre where everyone is trying to do that. The album Deleted Scenes From The Transition Hospital is one that conjures feelings of walking in an abandoned mental asylum, slowly building tension as you're constantly turning your back, thinking you've heard a tortured scream from the apparition of a patient from long ago.

After about a decade of inactivity, the group has emerged again, and while I would say they are past their peak, they haven't lost their innate ability to merge angular, discordant black metal riffs with hypnotic sample loops in a way that paints mental pictures. Even at 80% capacity, they're still creepier than 90% of bands this side of Portal.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10

3: Pillar Of Light - Caldera
Transcending Obscurity

Super crushing sludge/doom but with beautiful post metal atmospheres and buildups. It's disgustingly heavy and beautiful.
-Raphael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.8/10

2: Moondark - The Abysmal Wound
Pulverised Records

Moondark has existed for about 14 years now and finally released their debut album, but they are by no means newcomers to the scene - members have played in bands such as Interment or Dreadful Fate and were involved in former Dellamorte back in the day. Given this, it is no big surprise that The Abysmal Wound is a rousing death-doom monster with a lot of references to Winter or old Bolt Thrower. Blastbeat attacks and lots of frosty riffs make this album a good pairing with a winter walk and some fresh air. If you like death-doom, this should not be avoided as it is a standout album in the genre.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

1: Skagos - Chariot Sun Blazing
Independent

When I was forging my lifelong passion for extreme metal as a teenager, Cascadian black metal was kind of a hip new thing. Wolves in the Throne Room was and continues to be one of the most prominent acts, but Skagos came up with groups like Panopticon, Ash Borer, Alda and Falls of Rauros. They are one of the lesser-known bands of the scene, but their naturalistic image and sound heavily rooted in the "Cascadian ethos" makes them one of the most powerful and representative acts. Their debut album still remains on my wantlist 12 years later, as it's hard to find for a price below 100 dollars. Honestly, I'm considering shelling out the benjamins for it.

Their return shows an expansion of palette and a broadened scope, with horn arrangements and other garnishes added for atmosphere. The black metal influences are as they were before - warm, earthy, and with a certain radiating positivity. You can tell why crusty black metal diehards hated this style when it first started making waves, but I'll take this over a million Grausamkeit demos any day. It brings out emotions you forgot you even had, almost connecting you with a buried inner self - when I listen to this and get lost in it, I want to sell all my possessions and go live in the woods.

The fact that they've gone 12 years and a significant overhaul in sound without missing a beat and remaining connected to their roots is incredibly impressive. It's as if they embraced a hermetic lifestyle and are showing us the results and how powerful this can be. Chariot Sun Blazing is the rebirth of Cascadian black metal, and brings forth memories of a time when the genre was a fertile landscape with endless possibilities to offer.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

Thank you as always for stopping by. Check out all of our previous 2024 AOTM lists here and get your year-end list cleaned up:

November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

August 2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!

'Some men just wanna watch the world burn', an excerpt off 'Lust for Her End', the final track from LONESCAR's debut album Lust For the End. Considering the way the earth has been raped for centuries one could not defeat the message of this song with any argument.

This evokes a sense of apocalypse ever eminent, ever looming and given the frivolous times we live in, extinction has never appeared a stronger possibility. Passionately recorded, 'Lust for Her End' reminds me of the early 2000s and the fears of Y2K. Today however; the end is welcomed and LONESCA captures that rebellious feeling through heavy and ominous guitar riffs and leads on their single.

The vocals sound somewhat influenced by a Robb Flynn and carry a sincere feeling of hatred for the ways of humanity. The drums keep you banging to the foretold end and with the production so clean, you'll never miss a single misanthropic note or vocal. If you 'wanna watch the world burn' then pick up "Lust For the End".

The band comments: "'Lust for Her End' is the final track off our upcoming album, Lust for the End. The song maintains the energy delivered with 'Images from Mauthausen,' but with a spicy intro and a longer, tasty solo. Lyrically, the song alludes to mankind's ravaging of the planet, a blatant lust for the end."

LONESCAR is:

Michael Perez - Guitar
Mike Gonzalez - Bass
JC Hernandez - Drums
Brian Valdibia - Vocals

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:

https://www.facebook.com/Lonescarband/
https://lonescar.bandcamp.com/
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lonescar/lust-for-the-end

This is becoming a yearly tradition here at MetalBite - we had the top 22 of '22, top 23 of '23 and...well, you know. If we keep this going until 2099 it's going to be a nightmare.

I read somewhere that more albums are released in one day than the entire year of 1989. Music is easier to make and release than ever, and it's easy to get lost in the deluge of year-end lists. But as reviewers, we're compelled to join the craze nonetheless!

I do make a point of only posting these in January, because even though we get access to promos ahead of time, there are always last minute releases that fall through the cracks. When people post their lists in mid-December it confuses me a bit.

Anyhow, on to what you're here for. If you want a more detailed breakdown month-to-month, be sure to check out our Top 10 AOTM column! Hope you had a safe and happy new year, and may you discover some of your all-time favorite albums in 2025.

RAPHAEL'S TOP 24 OF 2024

24. Apogean - Cyberstrictive
Toronto tech death that is progressive and brutal but with some earworm melodies thrown in the brutality.

23. Lord Dying - Clandestine Transcendence
It's a refreshing take on sludge in a real progressive form, with a lot of variety and is without a doubt their best album to date!

22. Undeath - More Insane
It's at times fast, at times brutal but also groovy and melodic but always technically proficient, high quality pure death metal.

21. Vitriol - Suffer & Become
A dizzying vortex of brutality and technicality with that thick and menacing atmosphere. Pure designed chaos.

20. The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude
This record is very special, it's a testament of resiliency, the ultimate proof that humans can adapt and transform tragedy into something beautiful.

19. Necrophobic - In The Twilight Grey
Sinister and catchy melodies, pure and raw aggression, fast and precise drums, this perfectly homogeneous blend of black and death is more formidable than ever.

18. Gatecreeper - Dark Superstition
The best Swedish death metal album from Phoenix, Arizona. Clearly inspired by In Flames from the 90s, it gives an album where each song is a hit!

17. Dool - The Shape Of Fluidity
An album with multiple influences and sounds but that remains completely fluid (sorry), emotionally authentic and coherent. The album navigates between more accessible rock, heavier and more complex riffs with a dark atmosphere.

16. Ihsahn - Ihsahn
Ihsahn is a grandiose work of art! Cinematic, progressive, complex yet musical and emotional, and proudly avant-garde. The metal is in perfect symbiosis with the orchestration and if you're tired of sick riffs, you can listen to the orchestra alone on the second disk.

15. Immortal Bird - Sin Querencia
Immortal Bird are fully embracing their progressive side, with complex songwriting and musicianship with a wide array of styles and influence. For fans of dissonant style death and black with a big hardcore influence.

14. Dvne - Voidkind
Heavy, grandiose, aggressive yet melodic, with a sublime production. Everything sounds modern yet completely organic. Voidkind is an hour of music that goes by so quickly, with their progressive sludge mixed with post -metal, full of atmosphere and that gets better with each listen.

13. Chapel Of Disease - Echoes Of Light
Progressive rock with death growls? Yes please! But it's more than just prog rock, there's heavy metal, hard rock with a touch of death metal. This makes it super dynamic. Awesome discovery!

12. Borknagar - Fall
Epic is a word a bit weak to describe this album. I can say that ICS Vortex has never sounded so good! Musically, we are treated to a masterful performance, sometimes folkloric, sometimes black metal but always Viking!

11. Traveler - Prequel To Madness
Prequel to Madness is an awe-inspiring work of art, with lyrics that tell fascinating stories, masterful songwriting and a fantastic cover art. It has been on my playlist non-stop since February! For fans of REAL heavy metal.

10.5. Esodic - De Facto De Jure
The fact that this is only a 12 minutes, 4-song ep, is a crime against humanity! In the sense that it leaves me wanting SO much more and will be torture to wait for more material.

10. Alcest - Les Chants De L'Aurore
This album is all about warm atmospheres and melodies, that heals the soul, with a touch of extremity, provided by Neige's powerful, howling screams and the occasional blackened blast beats.

9. Kanonenfieber - Die Urkatastrophe
The melodies on Die Urkatastrophe will take you on a journey, through a wide range of emotions, all surrounding heartbreaking stories of war and its devastating effects. It's "accessible", blending black and death but in their more melodic forms.

8. De Mal En Pire - Sã Mo
Entirely written in French poetry, it not only sounds good when sung but the texts in themselves are beautiful. It has been such a joy to dive in the world of De Mal En Pire. A dark and gloomy world but still filled with beauty. If you like proggy post-metal and post-hardcore, you would be foolish not to give this band a listen.

7. Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God
Continuing where Stare Into Death And Be Still left off their signature dissonance and technicality, enveloped in mesmerizing atmospheres are still very much present, but this time, with a dash of melody, peeking out of this hypnotizing miasma of sounds.

6. Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer
What an incredible comeback! 10 years after the excellent Sun Eater, Job for a Cowboy are back with a masterpiece of progressive death metal! Complex but musical and catchy rhythms and melodies, a bass always present in the mix, a modern production that makes the album sound immense, Moon Healer is a mature album that is peak artistic expression.

5. Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak
Striking, cinematic, grandiose, powerful, sorrowful, moving, vulnerable, emotional. There aren't enough words to describe Cammie Gilbert's voice. It's a voice you can feel, deep in your soul. This album is a remarkable work, every single song is unique, all with their own twists and turns, making the 57 min runtime a journey full of surprises and beauty.

4. Lowen - Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran
I can't find the words to describe the effect Nina Saeidi's voice has on me, it brings an authenticity, a soul, a character, it's so refreshing! She pays a touching tribute to her Persian ancestors, using traditional Iranian singing techniques, called tahrir. Her powerful voice is accompanied by heavy, melodic and complex riffs that sound very modern, perfectly contrasted by the divine light that is her voice. A wonderful discovery, for fans of all things “oriental” and progressive metal.

3. ANCIIENTS - Beyond the Reach of the Sun
It's rare an album leaves you speechless after your first listen. It feels like entering a special place, beyond this plane of existence, looking at vast cosmic entities. Sonically, it's like Mastodon and Opeth had a child, who is completely high. Each song stands out, while still being an inseparable part of the whole, making you want to restart the journey again and again.

2. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
What to say about this new Pink Incantation record, or is it, Blood Floyd? The album is essentially two songs, each divided in three segments for a total runtime of 44 minutes and let me tell you, few things can make time pass this quickly! This is a trippy voyage, inside the darkest corners of space and the human mind, questioning the very bases of what life is. Musically, the darkness is embodied by crushing death metal with touches of dissonance, that shifts quite dramatically and abruptly to straight Pink Floyd-esque psychedelic prog rock or even spacy ambient. Blood Incantation managed to combine all of their eclectic influences into a single masterful album that still, at least for me, feels coherent.

AOTY: Opeth - The Last Will and Testament
This is not Opeth going back to an older sound, I don't think Mikael is physically capable to move backwards. Musically the band never sounded so good, they continue to expand their prog rock sound but do it with that metal sensibility and heaviness that was missing. Mikael's growls are the best in all of metal and he continues to explore his clean vocals that sound better than ever! experience Incredible from start to finish.

BENJAMIN'S TOP 24 OF 2024

24: Winterfylleth - The Imperious Horizon 

23: Primordial - How it Ends

22: Nails - Every Bridge Burning

21: Vitriol - Suffer & Become

20: Antichrist Siege Machine - Vengeance of Eternal Fire

19: Mayhemic - Toba 

18: Julie Christmas - Ridiculous and Full of Blood

17: Concrete Winds - Concrete Winds

16: Pyrrhon - Exhaust

15: Gjendod - Livskramper

14: Cistvaen - At Light's Demise

13: Slift - Ilion

12: Spectral Wound - Songs of Blood and Mire

11: Full of Hell - Coagulated Bliss

10: Inter Arma - New Heavem

9: Black Curse - Burning in Celestial Poison

8: Hemotoxin - When Time Becomes Loss

7: Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All

6: Ripped to Shreds - Sanshi

5: Demon Bitch - Master of the Games

4: Hamferd - Men Guds Hond Er Sterk

3: Thou - Umbilical

2: Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

AOTY: Vemod - The Deepening

ADAM'S TOP 24 OF 2024

24: Vltimas - EPIC

23: Evergrey - Theories of Emptiness

22: The Vision Bleak - Weird Tales

21: Gaerea - Coma

20: Iotunn - Kinship

19: Myrath - Karma

18: Turbulence - Binary Dream

17: Necrophobic - In the Twilight Grey

16: Attic - Return of the Witch

15: Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer

14: Vicinity- VIII

13: Darkest Hour - Perpetual Terminal

12: Judas Priest - Invinsible Shield

11: Ihsahn - Ihsahn

10: Eternal Storm - A Giant Bound to Fall

9: Aborted - Vault of Horrors

8: Hideous Divinity - Unextinct

7: Deception - Daenacteh

6: Blood Red Throne - Nonagon

5: Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

4. Bornakagar-Fall

3: Caligula's House - Charcoal Grace

2: Big Big Train - The Likes of Us

AOTY: Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart

MICHAEL'S TOP 24 ALBUMS OF 2024

24: Svarttjern - Draw Blood

23: Lucifer - V

22: Necrophobic - In The Twilight Grey

21: Witchtrap - Hungry As The Beast

20: Kvaen - The Formless Fire

19: Drowned - Procul His

18: The Vision Bleak - Weird Tales

17: Ungfell -De Ghörnt

16: Vorga - Beyond The Palest Star

15: Necrot - Lifeless Birth

14: Spectral Wound - Songs Of Blood And Mire

13: Chaos Invocation - Wherever We May Roam

12: Temple Of Dread - God Of The Godless

11: Mayhemic - Toba

10: Vircolac - Veneration

9: In Aphelion - Reaperdawn

8: Yoth Iria - Blazing Inferno

7: Flotsam And Jetsam - I Am The Weapon

6: Saxon - Hell, Fire And Damnation

5: Judas Priest - Invincible Shield

4: Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

3: Kerry King - From Hell I Rise

2: Hellbutcher - Hellbutcher

AOTY: Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

VLADIMIR'S TOP 24 ALBUMS OF 2024

24: Amethyst - Throw Down the Gauntlet

23: Apocalypse - Pandaemonium

22: Voha - Majestic Nightsky Symphonies

21: Coldborn - The Unwritten Pages of Death

20: Nadsvest - Slovo meseca i krvi

19: Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina

18: Early Moods - A Sinner's Past

17: Iron Curtain - Savage Dawn

16: Hexenbrett - Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter

15: Prognan - Sjene nad Balkanom

14: Morgul Blade - Heavy Metal Wraiths

13: Lord Goblin - Lord Goblin

12: Yoth Iria - Blazing Inferno

11: Oathbringer - Tales of Glory

10: Old Wainds - Stormheart

9: Borknagar - Fall

8: Necrowretch - Swords of Dajjal

7: Lucifer - Lucifer V

6: Vulture - Sentinels

5: Devastator - Conjurers of Cruelty

4: Hellbutcher - Hellbutcher

3: In Aphelion - Reaperdawn

2: Necrophobic - In Twilight Grey

1: Sear Bliss - Heavenly Down

NATE'S TOP 24 OF 2024

24: Uttertomb - Nebulas of Self-Desecration
Putrid old-school death metal vibes but feels fresh and novel. Dead Congregation fans will dig this one

23: Gatecreeper - Dark Superstition
I liked the shift to old In Flames / Edge of Sanity type melodeath, works really well with the "stadium death metal" thing they're going for

22: Exocrine - Legend
First time really diggin into this band, sounds like a mishmash of Archspire, Soreption and Beyond Creation

21: Misanthropy - The Ever-crushing Weight of Stagnance
There's like 87 riffs per song and they all bamboozle you

20: Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God<
Not their best album (that's a high bar to clear, tbf), but I don't hate that they're going down a more melodic path

19: Gaerea - Coma
Cathartic and powerful post-black, they just keep getting better

18: Devenial Verdict - Blessing of Despair
Nightmarish yet catchy dissodeath

17: Theurgy - Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence
All-star lineup and riffs for days. beat Malignancy at their own game (their new album just missed the cut)

16: Pillar of Light - Caldera
Like The Ocean's last gasp before they succumb to the elements. poignant and resonant

15: Bedsore - Dreaming the Strife for Love
Death metal meets 70s prog and the results are delicious. Blood Incantation who?

14: Engulfed - Unearthly Litanies of Despair
Mustafa is a RIFF KING, this is not up for debate

13: The Flight Of Sleipnir - Nature's Cadence
The "we have Agalloch at home" band does not miss. your soundtrack for dancing naked in the woods

12: Defeated Sanity - Chronicles of Lunacy
Lille Gruber is, and continues to be, the best drummer in extreme metal right now

11: Gigan - Anomalous Absractigate Infinitessimus
Like Hate Eternal in space. Seriously underrated band

10: Hemotoxin - When Time Becomes Loss
If an album with thrash elements is this high on my list, you know it's good

9: Vile Rites - Senescence
First full-length and they've already found their voice and know how to keep you coming back. proggy but still riffs hard

8: Hulder - Verses in Oath
Impeccable second wave vibes and earworm riffs

7: Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer
The album that Sun Eater should have been, although at the same time this made me appreciate it more. Their best album yet, sounds like they're finally making the music they always wanted to

6: Vitriol - Suffer & Become
Batshit crazy. In a time where it feels like extreme music has gone as far as it can go, it's inspiring to find bands that can still push the envelope

5: Givre - Le Cloitre
Catholic DSBM? It would be silly if it didn't work so well.

4: Skagos - Chariot Sun Blazing
Cascadian black metal band spontaneously emerges after 12 years and drops an AOTY contender with no promo whatsoever. Unreal

3: Wounds - Ruin
Gets stuck in my head when I think about it. shit. now i gotta listen to this again

2: Obsidian Tongue - The Stone Heart
Makes you feel the presence of something greater than yourself

1: Adversarial - Solitude With the Eternal
Their riff style has always given them unlimited potential, and now they're finally hitting it. A career-defining album for an inimitable band.