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Laura’s Top 10 Albums of 2024

Laura’s Top 10 Albums of 2024
By Laura Barnes

Howdy gang! I hope your chestnuts are roasting and your fire is open. The year is coming to an end, which means that it’s time for my favourite festive ceremony: Ranking Things. I am forever grateful that I actually have a platform to do this on, at least where music is concerned. Tomorrow, I am planning on taking an unwitting person hostage and subjecting them to a 40 minute rant about how I Saw The TV Glow is THE Horror movie of 2024, so count yourself lucky – you can opt out of this one whenever you want. 

While it sounds terribly cliche to say it, 2024 has been a great year for Metal. Wintersun finally emerged from their sauna to bring us “Time II”, Creed celebrated the 25th anniversary of “Human Clay”, and Babymetal continued to upset incels everywhere. It is truly tragic that I can’t list every great album released this year, so here’s to some honourable mentions: Powerwolf! Black Aeons! Woflhorde! Moral Putrefaction!

And now, onto the list!

10. Tim’s Favourite – amaConda

I already rambled about “amaConda” back in February, but I feel like enough time has passed that I can bring it up again. Combining the nostalgia of the 90s Seattle Grunge scene with twisted Psychedelia and post-capitalist fury, Tim’s Favourite unleashed an absolute whopper of an album. Like all good Grunge, “amaConda” directs its rage at all that is corporate and powerful, all the while serving sick riffs and choruses you can headbang along to. What’s not to love?

https://www.facebook.com/timsfavourite

9. Hawkwind – Stories From Time and Space

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s old fuddy duddies that cradle their ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ vinyl and cry, “You can’t make an album like this anymore!”. To them I say: look around you! There is beautiful, experimental, transcendent music all around you, if you just care to look for it. Hawkwind’s “Stories From Time and Space” is absolute proof of this, and is another addition to their legacy of brilliant Progressive Rock. Between the first notes of the somber ‘Our Lives Can’t Last Forever’ to the last alien beep boops of ‘Stargazers’, Hawkwind takes you on a journey akin to a Doctor Who episode on LSD. Infused with elements of Funk, Jazz, and Synthwave, “Stories From Time And Space” defies genre, instead creating vast soundscapes you can easily lose yourself in. Look towards the future – it’s looking bright.

(Dark Juan absolutely agrees with our esteemed Ma’am of War here because Hawkwind have been consistently brilliant for ever! – DJ)

https://www.facebook.com/HawkwindHQ

8. Crypt Sermon – The Stygian Rose 

Ever seen an Eldritch Horror up close? No? Well, now you can pretend you have with Crypt’s Sermon’s “The Stygian Rose”. Heavy Metal of the Doomiest flavour, this album fulfilled a craving I didn’t even know I was having. A special shout out must go out to guitarist Steve Jansson for absolutely shredding it throughout this album, but really, the whole band deserves props here. Their powers combined, they conjure up an atmosphere of sorcery and mist, of thunder and rituals. Now, er, does anyone know where I can buy a scrying orb?

https://www.facebook.com/CryptSermon

7. Zeal & Ardor – GREIF

Before I talk about this album, I wanna talk about one of my favourite Zeal & Ardor stories. At one of their earliest shows, frontman Manuel Gagneux brought out a branding iron and bunsen burner and declared, “If you get branded, you get merch for free”. This was supposed to be social commentary meets performance art – surely, he thought, nobody would actually go through with it. Gagneux was proven wrong: eight people happily queued up to get themselves branded.

The reason I bring this up to demonstrate just how much of a loyal cult following Zeal & Ardor have. Arguably less heavy and more experimental than their previous releases, “GREIF” nevertheless adds a new layer to Zeal & Ardors rich tapestry of music in an album that never, ever gets boring. Tracks like ‘Disease’ and ‘Thrill’ manage to be a super creepy Metal song that you can actually have a little dance to; ‘une ville vide’ hits you right in the gut with synth-fuelled nostalgia; ‘are you the only one?’ transforms itself into a beautiful Black Metal ballad (it sounds strange, I know, but trust me – it works). A strange but mesmerising journey, “GREIF” will remain in my rotation throughout 2025 and beyond. 

https://www.facebook.com/zealandardor

6. Blighted Eye – Agony’s Bespoke

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but c’mon! Look at this! This looks like a tragedy of biblical proportions! If you were expecting something vaguely horrifying and melodramatic, then you would be correct! And you know what? I fucking love it! An exercise in abject despair, Blighted Eye brings together the best of Death Metal, Black Metal and Progressive Metal on an album that makes me want to scream, howl, and growl at the moon. Take ‘Feast For Worms’ for instance, a track so heavy it damn well nearly broke my back, or ‘In Enmity’, a song that starts out with the lyrics, “DISORIENTATED, I AWOKE, MUTILATED!”. Metal is at its best when it doesn’t hold your hand; this album punched me in the face. And you know what I did? I thanked it!

https://www.facebook.com/BlightedEye

5. Fleshgod Apocalypse – Opera

Booming orchestras. Murderous Death Metal. A tragic accident.

Fleshgod Apocalypse’s “Opera” is a product of survival. After a life-changing mountain climbing accident, Fleshgod Apocalypse vocalist Francesco Paoli emarked on a gruelling journey of recovery and, as if that wasn’t enough, set to creating one of the most powerful Death Metal albums I have ever heard. What draws us to dangerous situations? What does it feel to stare death in the face? When the world hurts us, can we ever truly recover? Fleshgod Apocalypse answer these questions in the way that only Fleshgod Apocalypse can. Extreme and bombastic, “Opera” is Death Metal at its biggest and most life-affirming. 

https://www.facebook.com/fleshgodapocalypse

4. Unto Others – Never, Neverland

Back in 2021, Unto Others gave us all depression with their absolutely fantastic “Strength”. Many tears were shed, and many sorrows lamented. Possibly motivated by guilt, this year Unto Others returned with the most joyful Gothic Rock album to ever exist. “Never, Neverland” is like Misfits meets HIM, and will make you feel like a goth on a ferris wheel. Songs like ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Sunshine’ will give you plenty of fuel for your next Alt-Kareoke session, while ‘Momma Likes The Door Closed’ and ‘When The Kids Get Caught’ provided the perfect soundtrack for Halloween 2024. I’m so excited for their tour with Green Lung next year!

https://www.facebook.com/untootherspdx

3. Grand Magus – Sunraven

A friend of mine has a saying: “life is about sick riffs and making pretty girls laugh”. When I listen to Grand Magus, it becomes abundantly clear why Sick Riffs are so integral to the meaning of life. “Sunraven” has the kind of riffs that make you furrow your brows, break out the Florence Pugh frown, and headbang away. Is this album much different from Grand Magus’ previous work? Er, no, not exactly, but that isn’t the point. The point is that Janne Christoffersson channels his Viking ancestors every time he sings and you can feel Skinner’s bass thrumming through your bloodstream. “Sunraven” is a collection of songs that are, at their core, stories about survival and healing, but the music is so fucking kickass that you don’t even notice yourself being therapied. Now that, my friends, is an achievement. 

https://www.facebook.com/grandmagusofficial

2. Seven Spires – A Fortress Called Home

This one’s for all the girlies that never quite grew out of their vampire phase. For over a decade now, Seven Spires have been perfecting their brand of fang-themed Metal, and it is one of my life’s greatest regrets that I did not discover them sooner. Since their melodic masterpiece “Emerald Seas” back in 2020, Seven Spires have since sailed more Progressive waters, and “A Fortress Called Home” sees them at their most ambitious yet. Of course, there are still some absolute belters on here – ‘Almosttown’ and ‘Emerald Necklance’ spring to mind – but this album shine is largely due to its complex songwriting and storytelling that really set it apart. From the positively malevolent snarls of ‘Architect of Creation’ to the soulful crooning of ‘The Old Hurt Of Being Left Behind’, Adrienne Cowanne’s insane vocal range allows for a musical journey unlike any other. On a personal level, I loved this album so much that, according to Spotify Wrapped, I’m in the top 0.5% of Seven Spires listeners worldwide. The stats don’t lie, folks!

https://www.facebook.com/sevenspiresband

1. Oceans of Slumber – Where Gods Fear To Speak

For some, music is a beloved hobby. For others, music is a calling. When I listen to Oceans of Slumber, it is immediately clear that for Cammie Gilbert-Beverly and Dobber Beverly, music is their destiny. There is no other band quite like Oceans of Slumber, and no album quite like “Where Gods Fear To Speak”. Too often, people describe things as ‘Progressive Metal’ when they really just mean ‘a bit random and weird’. When I describe Oceans of Slumber as Progressive Metal, I mean it in the most literal of senses – they push the boundaries of Metal songwriting, never taking the easy way out and never relying on well worn cliches. It has an emotional depth that goes far beyond the well-trodden paths of Doom Metal misery.‘Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed’, describes the immense pressure of turning personal pain into art; ‘Poem of Ecstasy’ describes the agony of having to choose between saving a loved one and saving yourself. And then there’s ‘The Impermanence of Fate’, a seven minute epic about having pride in yourself in the face of impossible, insurmountable odds. In all honesty, I banned myself from writing full-length Oceans of Slumber reviews because the band is so important to me that I couldn’t possibly be objective enough. It’s clear, though, that the adoration for this album goes beyond just me – Rory was also blown away by this one, and he is a man of impeccable taste.

Some things transcend language. My ability to express how much I loved this album is one of them. All I can leave you with is this: trust me, bro. 

https://www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber

I hope that you have had a survivable, if not wonderful, 2024. If not, then I hope that these albums can bring you at least a little joy as the year winds to a close. As for me, I’m off to go watch Nosferatu and eat my body weight in Quality Street, just as Jesus and Santa intended. See you on the other side, folks!

Disclaimer: article is solely the property of Laura Barnes and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this article, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.