2024 was a phenomenal year for music of all types, but especially for metal. Linkin Park, The Sword, and Slayer returned, Rage Against the Machine disbanded (again), and the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considering Ozzy is one of the artists who helped define heavy metal, it's honestly long past time for that.
With a world suffering from an increasingly unstable geopolitical situation, it is at least comforting to know that heavy metal will always provide a loving cocoon of sickeningly sick guitar riffs to insulate us from that which would destroy us. Metal's phenomenal variety of genres means that there is always a sound that will please anyone, especially when it comes to these ten fantastic releases of 2024.
10
Bruce Dickinson – "Resurrection Men"
The Mandragora Project (BMG)
Iron Maiden's fourth (and current) singer has been one of heavy metal's most influential singers since he began tearing listeners apart with his phenomenal 1982 album. The Number of the Beast. Although he took a break from Maiden in the mid-90s, he returned to them in 1999, and has continued tirelessly with them ever since, as well as releasing two solo albums in the meantimeincluding this year The Mandrake Project.
The track begins with Dickinson proudly proclaiming “I am the wizard of your heart” – truly an 80s metal lyric if there ever was one.
MandrakeThe group's third and final single, “Resurrection Men”, could certainly be a classic Maiden track. Co-written by Dickinson and producer/guitarist/bassist Roy Z, the track opens with Dickinson proudly proclaiming “I am the wizard of your heart” – truly an 80s metal lyric if there ever was one – and continues to destroy more and more from there. It's amazing that Dickinson can still scream like she's 20, but this just goes to show true metal is unstoppable.
9
DOROTHY – "MUDD"
I Come Alive (Roc Nation Records)
Vocalist Dorothy Martin once described her band as "songs that [they] I think Beavis and Butthead would like", (through Rolling Stone), and since they burst onto the scene in 2014 with “After Midnight,” that has been absolutely true (in the most complimentary way). With a sound that has a little Black Sabbath, a little bar-rock and a little Patti Smith, DOROTHY remains an incomparable blues-metal goddess.
“MUD,” the first in a series of singles released this year that could be tied to a 2025 album release, carries heavy country-metal vibes in a way Pantera always wished it could. Martin's vocals shift effortlessly from a country twang to a soulful scream, and drummer Jake Hayden maintains a steady rhythm that makes you wonder if there is a way to combine line-dancing and moshing.
8
Linkin Park – “The Emptiness Machine”
From Zero (Warner Records/Oficina de Máquinas)
Linkin Park's return this year was met with reactions ranging from critical acclaim to outright condemnation, but it's clear that, whatever the haters, the band is back to stay – and that new singer Emily Armstrong, formerly of Dead Sara, has the skills to not only take on the mantle of the late Chester Bennington, but also put his own stamp on the band's new material. Linkin Park comeback album From scratch reached #2 on the billboard 200 and topped the charts around the world.
"The Emptiness Machine" was the surprise first single From scratchreleased on September 5th in a surprise live show that was broadcast globally, serving as both a debut for the new material and for Armstrong herself, who brought phenomenal energy to the entire set. With a driving beat that doesn't give the listener time to catch their breath, "The Emptiness Machine" is both a bold step forward and a fitting tribute to the legacy of Chester Bennington.
7
Serj Tankian – “AF Day”
Foundations (self-laid)
While System of a Down continues to tour without having released any new studio material since 2005, Mesmerize/Hypnotize double album, your vocalist Serj Tankian has released an impressive amount of solo material back then, including this year's self-released Foundations EP. Tankian's signature frenetic style oozes from every track Foundationsbut lead single "AF Day" is the clear highlight.
Originally written for System of a Down but never officially recorded, the origins of "AF Day" are clear in its frustrated critique of the monotony of modern dystopian existence. Much of the track was apparently created when it was written in the early days of SOAD, but the production quality is all modernwith a hypnotic drone in the bridge that reinforces the never-ending nature of the chorus – “another day, another day, another day”.
6
Gnome – Old Soul
Remains of the Verumex Viewpoint (Polderrecords)
Belgian stoner rock trio Gnome are now on their third studio album with Remains of the Verumex Visódromoand while the album as a whole doesn't stack up as well as its predecessor, 2022's phenomenal Kingit still has that phenomenal, slushy Gnome sound. The combination of doom metal riffs, goofy lyrics and infectious, danceable rhythms continues to come through that these Antwerp nerds understand that the best metal is metal that doesn't take itself seriously.
The music video draws heavily on public domain footage from the 1962 fantasy film The Magic Sword.
VVVThe group's first single, "Old Soul", is a worthy successor to the band's previous hits, i.e. Kingthe two best singles of "Wenceslas" and "Ambrosius". The relentless riffs in the verse and chorus are perfectly juxtaposed with a heavy blues bridge that almost evokes the Black Sabbath classic “Hand of Doom.” The music video, which draws heavily on public domain footage from the 1962 fantasy film The Magic Sword, continues Gnome's trend of putting incomprehensibly silly visuals on his dirtiest riffs.
5
Gojira with Marina Viotti – "Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)"
Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!) (International Olympic Committee)
Founded in 1996, French death metal band Gojira have always liked to infuse their sound with various strange influences, often straying away from death metal to the point of ending up somewhere close to progressive rock. However, "Mea Culpa" represents an entirely new direction for the band – revolutionary opera.
On July 26, 2024, Gojira became the first metal band to play at an Olympic opening ceremony.
On July 26, 2024, Gojira became the first metal band to play at an Olympic opening ceremony, and they did so with their version of "Ça ira", a song dating back to the French Revolution and which calls for the hanging of aristocrats on Paris lampposts. . Gojira's version, featuring vocals from opera star and mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti, doesn't delve as much into the anti-aristocratic rhetoric of the older versions of the song, but compensates for this with an intense, plodding and crunchy riff that is perfect for sharpening your guillotine for.
Bucchigiri Tokyo (Epic Records Japan)
Japanese high school best friends turned metalcore gods Hanabie. started out covering Japanese hardcore group Maximum the Hormone, but began working on original music in 2016. Since then, they've released two full-length studio albums, as well as two EPs, including this year's phenomenal Bucchigiri Tokyo. Combining their metalcore sound with the aesthetics of Japanese youth subcultures, including Harajuku and Gyaru fashion, Hanabie. they are exactly the band to listen to if you think Babymetal don't try hard enough.
"Metamorphose!" (メタ盛るフォーゼ!) is Bucchigiri Tokyothe most intense band of Beautiful cure anime series, childhood favorite of several band members. Combining anime-style electronic production with furious riffs and growls in the verses, "Metamorphose!" it's an incredible combination of hyper-feminine pop and dirty, crunchy guitar riffs. Sugoi ne!
3
Jinjer - "Someone's Daughter"
Green Serpent (Napalm Records)
Ukrainian metalcore quartet Jinjer have released four singles this year in anticipation of their upcoming February 2025 album Dueland if their previous releases are any indication, this album will probably melt any face within five meters of whatever speaker it's played on. High wire and Metal hammer both ranked Jinjer's previous releases as some of the best metal of the centuryand deservedly so, as their sound – especially thanks to vocalist Tati Shmayluk – manages to be both muddy and crisp, with production techniques masterfully crafted from a whirlwind of genres.
"Someone's Daughter", the first single released from what is now known as Green Snake PE, yeah a four-minute distillation of everything amazing about Jinjer. Shamyluk's vocals, shifting effortlessly from singing to metalcore's symbolic growl, rise above the nauseating thud of Eugene Abdukhanov's signature five-string bass as she sings about the pain that comes from society's double standards for women.
2
Dark Tranquility – “The Last Imagination”
Signs of the Endtime (Media Records of the Century)
One of the original melodic death metal bands to emerge from Sweden as the vanguard of the Scandinavian metal scene in the early 90s, Dark Tranquility have never slowed down in their tireless quest to find the ultimate expression of death metal. 2024 Signs of the End of Timethe band's thirteenth album, shows that even after major lineup changes in 2020 and 2021, Dark Tranquility are still masters at combining ethereal keyboards with unflinchingly heavy guitar riffs.
"The Last Imagination" is the first single from Signs of the End of Timeand while it's not the hardest song Dark Tranquility has ever released, it's absolutely up there. Vocalist Mikael Stanne's guttural rasp juxtaposes perfectly with Martin Brändström's airy tones; Meanwhile, guitarist Johan Reinholdz's riffs are impeccably heavy.
1
High on Fire - "Burning"
Cometh The Storm (MNRK Records)
Californian stoner metal wizards High on Fire have an incredible discography and finally received the kind of critical acclaim they deserved for years when they won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for 2019's "Electric Messiah." Now, after five years, 2024 Come the Storm arrived to show that slime masters only got better with age.
The track combines the grotesque and the sublime perfectly, with every drum beat and sludgy rumble of a guitar riff positioned to ravage your face.
"Burning Down" is a standout track, at the same time reminiscent of older High on Fire masterpieces such as "Cometh Down Hessian" (from the 2005 album). Blessed Black Wings) while demonstrating how far the band has come after a quarter century of destruction. Very similar Come the Storm As a whole, the track combines the grotesque and the sublime perfectly, with every drum beat and sludgy rumble of a guitar riff positioned to ravage your face.
Source: Rolling Stone