I know, we've got a lot of nerve showing our faces around here after all the stuff we didn't write about music this year. Hey, maybe this is who we are now. Just a site that posts mid-year and year-end lists. Is that so wrong? Anyway, this list is super exciting because it's the first post-resurrection contribution of O.G. Ometer, David Loyd. He never really left, but let's welcome him back anyway. Head's up, friends! Screamo and mall metal incoming…
The metal community often takes shots at their own, complaining that “this sounds like the last two albums they’ve done.” On their latest, Pallbearer have done something different and, as is also common in the community, it’s been divisive. The tone is much softer and relies more on emotional weight than just crushing doom riffs. It took some time, but it’s grown on me: time will tell where it lands in December. I’ve been with the band since Sorrow and Extinction, and I’ll put ‘Where the Light Fades’ up with their very best. - Brian Gmutza
If I can only scream you in the face about one Swedish rock/metal band, it’s Fireside. But if you’ll permit me a second face-screaming, might I suggest F.K.U.? Now, I can forgive you mistaking F.K.U. for a run-of-the-mill retro thrash act on a casual first listen. But dig deeper, and you're now contractually-obligated to appreciate this band's next level hooks, clever lyrics, and dedication to horror metal. If you still need convincing, ‘The Spawning’ is exhibit A, kicking off with a cheeky “Ohhhhh FISH!” and an absolutely stomping riff. Not sold? Well how about ‘They Are 237’, arguably the biggest thrash banger of 2024, and certainly the best metal song ever written about the movie Scanners. This one’s going to be hard to knock off the top of my year-end list. - Eric Gmutza
This album caught my attention over on the AngryMetalGuy review board. A mixture of sludge, metal, Americana and country. The album is expansive, beautiful and heavy all at once. It takes a while for the opener ‘This, our Gospel’ to find its feet but when it does it becomes a deathly, doomy, sludgy behemoth and the album never stops being anything but stunning from there. The best track ‘Lean Times’ starts out as an Americana ballad before evolving into a stunning and heavy emotional listening experience. I went into this album with zero knowledge or preconception of what The Dry Land may be and I left absolutely stunned. Do not let this one slip you by. - Chris Coleman-Peers
Much to Eric’s annoyance, I’ve never shied away from my love of pop punk. Neck Deep has been one of those bands I’ve loved from the beginning. Their first few records were exuberant blasts of pure pop punk joy. Somewhere staring with their last two releases, more pop, and less punk influences surfaced with darker lyrical content, I was still a fan but wondered what could have caused this? Thankfully, Neck Deep’s self-titled fifth album is a true return to form with an exuberant, old school feel that shines without sounding dated. Welcome back guys! - David Loyd
The Absence don’t do anything that will change the world, but their latest album is a consistently great set of melodic death metal that sounds more like a band from Gothenburg than Tampa. The riffs are straight out of At the Gates and punctuated with some tasty solos throughout. At 38 minutes, it’s a tight album that is well worth checking out for fans of the genre. - Brian Gmutza
2020’s Mortal Fools cracked my 2020 Year End List, and my enthusiasm for that album has only grown since then. Initial fears that the band have gone “mature” have given way to an appreciation of Disastroid’s commitment to crafting a complete listening experience. After kicking the door down on the title track, the band goes bluesy, introspective, and atmospheric in turns across the album, taking their time building to barnstormer choruses like the one on ‘Backwards Sleeping’. Singer/guitarist Enver Koneya's vocals are a soulful evolution for the band, solidifying Garden Creatures as an album you’ll want to spin from start to finish. - Eric Gmutza
Darkest Hour were one of the best bands from the NWOAHM era, even if they didn’t have the mainstream success of their contemporaries in Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall. Their last album Godless Prophets was an absolute masterclass in modern heavy metal with ‘Knives in the Safe Room’ one of the best metal songs of 2017. So for Perpetual Terminal to be the best Heavy Metal album of 2024 so far is something to behold. This is a genuine barnstormer. A modern, mature metal album. An album you can bang your head to, air guitar to and sing along to and most of all listen to at the mall and still be cool. - Chris Coleman-Peers
This album has puzzled me more than just about any other in the past five years. There are times it feels like the kind of Cynic-inspired, Allan Holdsworth-worshiping progressive death metal that Exist have excelled in previously. There are others where it feels like it should be introduced by Scooter & the Weasel on the River City Rocker, playing you ALL of the hits by Theory of a Disturbed Pool. If nothing else, it’s unique and, despite a few sections that make me question whether I should forfeit my trve kvlt metal cred card, I think I love this album. - Brian Gmutza (and - Eric Gmutza, who thinks there's no need to forfeit any metal cred for loving this kickass album)
Metal core is back in a big way. For some of us it never left. Arguably it can be a very derivative genre, but somehow Foreign hands escapes that formula. Comparisons to Poison the Well or a more melodic sounding Knocked Loose is not a bad thing. What’s left unsaid hooked me instantly with their mix of clean/death vocals and brutal guitar work that balances their heavy and melodic sides flawlessly. Whatever it is that producer Will Putney did to bring Foreign Hands to this point shines like a gleaming, razor sharpened blade. - David Loyd
I’m still digesting this album and this band–trying to decide if the songs are as exciting as the band’s unique, often silly combination of Queen, Judas Priest, and AC/DC. Imagine if someone inexplicably tasked Terry Gilliam with crafting a 7-piece, high-fantasy metal band, and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Their image is pretty bonkers, but the band takes their influences seriously, fusing them in surprising and often very satisfying ways. Time will tell if Battlesnake has staying power, but there’s no question they’re a mandatory listen right now. - Eric Gmutza
What at this point can be said about Judas Priest that hasn’t already been said? Iconic, legendary, but can a band that’s been in existence for over 50 years still bring anything new to the table? With Invincible Shield, that answer is a skull crushing YES. Rob Halford still sounds as intoxicating in 2024 as he did in 1974, and the dual guitar attack from Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner make Priest sound as fresh and exciting as ever. If you haven’t listened to Judas Priest since the 90s, do yourself a favor and give their last three records a listen and then tell me if I’m wrong. - David Loyd (though we all say this album rules)
Brutal electro-symphonic death metal. You’re either on board with that combination of words or you’re not, but if you think you’re in the “no fucking way” camp, I’d suggest at least giving the track ‘Kindertodeslied MMXXIV’ a chance. It’s a dizzying mixture of crushing riffs, roboto voices, samples, and death metal growling that sounds something like Ministry, Rammstein, and Cannibal Corpse getting together for a jam session. - Eric Gmutza
Knocked Loose is a band that I had always liked musically, but never truly loved due to lead singer Bryan Garris', let’s say unique, vocal style. That all changed with this, their third full length You won’t go before you’re supposed to. Knocked Loose has made one of the most chaotic, bone crushing records of their career, and I’ve finally embraced Bryan’s vocal style that perfectly fits in with the chaos. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the future. - David Loyd
I’m always down for anything Lars Nedland or ICS Vortex are singing on, so when a new Borknagar drops, you better believe it’s getting heavy play. So far, I’m a little less gaga over this than I was True North, but there’s plenty of year left for this one to climb up the charts. At this point, I can confidently say the album is full of breathtaking moments that deserve your attention. If you like high pitched, muppety vocals swirling in a blackened vortex of melody, you’ve come to the right place. - Eric Gmutza
I’ve been mercilessly pilloried by the Ometer staff for my unabashed praise for this record, but I refuse to be swayed: this record rules. Bruce is in fantastic form, and Roy Z brings some polish and a modern sensibility that melds into a great set of solid heavy metal. I will press on undaunted in the face of the haters with metal fist in the air and proclaiming to the dozens that this album rivals the past couple from Maiden proper! - Brian Gmutza
Webbed Wing formed off the back of the now defunct and much missed Superheaven. Webbed Wing continue the pop rock, shoegaze foundations laid down by that band but add more layered guitars and solo’s to the mix for that 90s alt rock sound. I’ve been waiting for this album for some time and Webbed Wing don't waste a second of its 26 minute run time. ‘Tortuga’ carries an insane riff, ‘Burn it Down’ carries a huge chorus and the band carry that 90s slacker vibe throughout, finishing on the fast and fizzy post-hardcore of ‘Close the Front Door’. If you're a fan of Teenage Fanclub, Weezer, Superbloom and anything remotely 90s sounding you will enjoy this album. - Chris Coleman-Peers
It’s hard to talk about Suffer without making comparisons to Carcass, so I’ll just go ahead and get that out of the way. Guitarist/vocalist C.R. Petit sounds an awful lot like Jeff Walker, and the band’s approach owes a lot to modern Carcass, even down to the track titles (tell me Carcass wouldn’t happily own track names like ‘Pernicious Precarious Mess’ or ‘Inhalent Caustic Foray’). But any points one might dock for originality are more than earned back with excellent songwriting, killer riffs, and just plain cool moments. In a year with some truly excellent death metal albums from the likes of Aborted, Skeletal Remains, and Master among others, Suffer’s Grand Canvas of the Aesthete has been the one I find myself reaching for the most. - Eric Gmutza
Released all the way back in January. Echoes of Light has been on my playlist ever since. COD used to be a death metal band but Echoes of Light is anything but. Spacey, emotional, heavy but pretty and similar to Huntsmen I had no knowledge of the band or what they were like previously. From spending 6 months with this record what I do know is, the guitar work on this album is some of the most emotional and beautiful playing I’ve ever heard on a heavy metal album. ‘Shallow Nights’ being peak guitar solo heart break. This is a guitar album for guitarists. - Chris Coleman-Peers
If there’s been a more divisive album released this year, I don’t know what it is. Some people love it, and some people absolutely HATE it: there really is no middle ground. I’m not sure I’m entirely in the “love it” crowd yet, but it has definitely grown on me in the month since its release and I find myself returning to it frequently. Rotting Christ aren’t really Black Metal anymore, but have settled into a slower and cinematic, but still evil feel: think recent Satyricon. Whether it’s all style and no substance is for you to decide, but Pro Xristou has managed to sink its claws in me. - Brian Gmutza
