Judicator – Concord Review

By Iceberg

Seven albums into their career, Utah’s Judicator are back with another platter of American power metal designed to raise both your horns and your calorie load. Originally the epitome of Blind Guardian worship, Judicator began moving away from their Hansi-centric style with the departure of founding guitarist Alicia Cordisco in 2022. This coincided with the release of The Majesty of Decay, an album that saw Judicator adding prog to their power core, a move that satisfied the Eye of Holden but didn’t sit so well with resident power metal maven Eldritch. Their latest LP, Concord, has Judicator tackling the American West, a mythos that’s rightfully earned its reputation as good, bad, and ugly. With this timely subject matter in tow, can Judicator and sole remaining founder John Yellend find their new voice in power metal, or will they leave us looking over our shoulders at better days and greener shores?

Judicator remain a reliable band for fans of quality, USDA Choice Power, while managing to streamline their songwriting approach. The orchestral grandiosity of Blind Guardians meets the rabid thrashing of Iced Earth, but this time around there’s a more straightforward, heavy metal sensibility not unlike genre titans Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Gone are the long, experimental windings of The Majesty of Decay, and in their place are truncated song structures, sharpened riffcraft, and a renewed focus on powerful, hooky choruses. Yellend’s bright tenor carries the brunt of the workload here, shining in the barreling, traditional power metal moments (“Call Us Out Of Slumber,” “Concord”) but sounding slightly out of place in the slower, quieter passages (“Johannah’s Song,” “Hold Your Smile”). Yellend’s lyrics seem genuine, though, relating tales of lost valor (“Call Us Out Of Slumber”), the call of the wilderness (“Sawtooth”), the massacre at Wounded Knee (“Imperial”), and Cormac McCarthy’s harrowing epic Blood Meridian, an apt epilogue for an album about the scarring legacy of Manifest Destiny.

For all their pushing and rearranging of the genre envelope, Judicator are still a power metal band at the end of the day, and they shall be judged on the memorability of their hooks. I’m happy to report that after shying away from the magic of the chorus on The Majesty of Decay, the earworms have made a triumphant return. Singalong anthems pepper the album, less cheesy than the Italian variety and more like the unabashed brawniness of Manowar or last year’s Nemedian Chronicles (“Sawtooth,” “Hold Your Smile,” “Concord”). The riffs on Concord eschew the lightning-fast runs one might expect from Dragonforce-core and opt for a grounded, foot-stomping aesthetic that fits neatly into the album’s concept (“Imperial,” “A Miracle of Life”). Replayability is also helped by the album’s editing, running 51 minutes across 9 tracks, with a closing epic whose structure is well executed, justifying its runtime (“Blood Meridian”).

Concord feels like a turn in the right direction for Judicator, but it hasn’t fully avoided the pitfalls of its core genre. While the album is stuffed with some real crowd-pleasers, some songs don’t quite make the same impression as their brethren. The relentless major key optimism of “Johannah’s Song” feels like a musical idea that hasn’t been fully formed, and the narrative-dependent “Weeping Willow” never seems to find its footing. Tracks set up in a storytelling format often have clunky lyrics, a little too on-the-nose, and fall prey to power metal’s reputation for cringe (“Johannah’s Song,” “Weeping Willow,” “Hold Your Smile”). But Judicator succeed in channeling a genuine love for their genre on the lion’s share of Concord, and its hard to be untouched by their infectious enthusiasm.

Concord represents a laudatory return to form for Judicator. Cuts like “Call Us Out Of Slumber,” “Sawtooth,” and the embedded title track have monster choruses that threaten to secure slots on my SOTY playlist, and the album as a whole has the gift of memorability. While not breaking any new ground, it feels as if Judicator have finally found the feet to stand on since losing Cordisco, and not a moment too soon. Some may find the closing scene of “Blood Meridian”–ripped straight from the epilogue of the book–a bit hokey, but I think it sums up Judicator’s current state nicely. As the din of fiddles and revelry thickens, Judge Holden whips the bar patrons into an inebriated frenzy and repeats, endlessly, with a menacing snarl, “I will never die.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 28th, 2024

#2024 #35 #BlindGuardian #Concord #HeavyMetal #IcedEarth #JudasPriest #Judicator #Manowar #Mar24 #NemedianChronicles #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #USMetal

AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2024

By El Cuervo

Here we are. The culmination of not just two weeks of hardcore listing,1 but twelve months of hardcore metalling. The AngryMetalGuy.com Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2024 represents the cream of the crop, or more accurately, the cream of a small corner of a field containing some crops. Using the unrestrained power of manual data entry and a mighty spreadsheet, our wonderful little website compiles our numerous year-end ranking articles and the dozens of metal albums therein into one final, dreadful ranking.2

What tidings of 2024? The clearest message is one of death. No fewer than nine of the top ten awards, and all of the top seven, constitute death metal or death metal adjacency. Whether tunneling through the trenches (Kanonenfieber), slicing through a human abattoir (Aborted), staggering through disquieted exhaustion (Pyyrhon), or indulging in a spot of deicide (Ulcerate), this article demonstrates the many faces that death metal wore in 2024. So tight was its cadaverous stranglehold that I considered limiting this list to just the top ten to emphasize the power of death metal over the last twelve months. However, I’m unashamed to admit that the presence of a few of my own top ten albums over the #11-20 slots influenced my decision to extend it. A byproduct of this selfish maneuver is that a few other subgenres get a nod in what should be something of a summary of all types of metal from the year.

Interestingly, 2024 saw significantly less consistency across the aggregated favorites, as our writers allocated many fewer voting points across the top ten. Paradoxically, and despite the ubiquity of one subgenre in this aggregation, this indicates a broader spread of taste across the many releases cited in the season’s rankings – at least compared with prior years.3 I prefer this outcome to one of bandwagon-hoppers and hat-tippers, where our staff is compelled to include records popular across our central bloc.

I want to grant one final call-out for those records picked by at least five people but that were suppressed through low rankings such that they failed to reach this aggregation. 2024’s highlights include The Vision Bleak, Spectral Wound, Madder Mortem, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.4

–El Cuervo

#20. Nemedian Chronicles // The Savage Sword – “There is also a distinctly epic, cinematic quality that hearkens back to Bal-Sagoth’s overwrought storytelling. Between the propulsive riffs and sweeping melodies, I’m immediately absorbed into the experience with every listen” (Eldritch Elitist).

#19. Opeth // The Last Will and Testament – “From the sophisticated compositions to the entertaining story, and the exemplary instrumentation to the immaculate production, its knotty harmonization of death metal with progressive rock has the aura of perfection” (El Cuervo).

#18. Replicant // Infinite Mortality – “Hardcore-tinged technical death metal for fans of the discordant and the unorthodox, Infinite Mortality is supremely memorable not just for its sound, but for its infallible, hook-laden construction” (Kenstrosity).

#17. Dissimulator // Lower Form Resistance – “The exemplary instrumentation, chaotic energy, and technological feel make Lower Form Resistance sound like Voivod reinvented for the 2020s. In a sub-genre so preoccupied with rehashing old ideas – I do not accept that thrash metal must sound like 1986 – Dissimulator thrives by looking forward” (El Cuervo).

#16. Selbst // Despondency Chord Progressions – “While it’s ‘merely’ black metal, its gorgeous melodies and shrilling tremolos showcase the genre at its finest… The most heart-rending record of 2024, Despondency Chord Progressions showcases the paralyzing power of music” (Maddog).

#15. Hell:on // Shaman – “Hell:on’s mix of death metal, throat-singing, ritualistic rhythms, and Eastern instrumentation makes me feel like I’m trapped within some infernal combination of a death metal concert and a Witcher III boss fight… No other album felt as spiritually dense to me in a year where I’ve fought to find my own personal peace” (Holdeneye).

#14. In Vain // Solemn – “The infinitely versatile vocal performances across the board are my favorite aspect, but Solemn ticks nearly every other box on my metal wishlist too. Catchy yet complex guitar lines, horn sections, a dreamy saxophone solo, string orchestrations… In Vain has perfected their sound” (Killjoy).

#13. Huntsmen // The Dry Land – “Every track is a journey in and of itself, and the diversity is immense. The Dry Land has become one of those albums where I can’t put it on without finishing it entirely; I’ll just keep going ‘Oh yes the next song has these awesome mournful vocals’ or ‘Ah here comes that mindblowing transition.’” (GardensTale).

#12. Hamferð // Men Guðs hond er sterk – “Men Guðs hond er sterk is tight, it’s heavy—though not as heavy as its predecessor—but more importantly it’s complete and brilliant and my Record o’ the Year for 2024’” (Angry Metal Guy).

#11. Meer // Wheels within Wheels – “Wheels within Wheels is my new go-to album when things are bad—it is melancholic and angry, but also optimistic and hopeful, a delicate yet gorgeous balance that speaks to me… It’s like a hand outstretched, a friend with an ear always ready to listen.” (Twelve).

#10. Defeated Sanity // Chronicles of Lunacy – [#3, #6, #6, #8, #9, #HM, #HM] – Only just nudging into the top ten by virtue of its seven list placements, Chronicles of Lunacy by Defeated Sanity is the standard-bearer for the death metal onslaught that follows. Forging a singular path that’s both punishingly technical and punishingly brutal, Ferox comments that “it takes extreme skill to weaponize the base and the stoopid this effectively. Defeated Sanity is more than up for the job.” Not only unique but uniquely consistent, Dolphin Whisperer likens the band to “an apex predator in the brutal death metal world. Defeated Sanity’s appearance arouses not questions of competency but rather calculations of the carnage wrought… Chronicles’ fangs glisten with an aged-imbrued tarnish, tearing at my flesh in every way I would expect.” Not all music can proclaim success through violence but Chronicles of Lunacy makes this its goal.

#9. Brodequin // Harbinger of Woe – [#1, #1, #3, #4, #HM] – 2024 was an exciting time for Knoxville’s Brodequin, just as it was for the latest class of AMG n00bs. No fewer than two of our most promising suckers graduates picked Harbinger of Woe as their album o’ the year.5 Alekhines Gun eloquently describes how it’s a “glorious return for one of the brutal death forerunners… an artistic triumph, a masterclass in riff-craft and song assembly with the sole purpose of flattening the listener into eardrum-flavored toothpaste.” Tyme likewise highlights the guitars, emphasizing that “each brutal riff after riff after riff sated my thirst for emotional release this year and so I hail them, Brodequin, and their riffs.” And though Holdeneye doesn’t focus on the riffs, he nonetheless acknowledges Brodequin’s energizing impact: “Harbinger of Woe’s 30-minute runtime is so bludgeoning that my watch sometimes registers my listening sessions as cardio.” It was never so easy to get fit.

#8. Fellowship // The Skies above Eternity – [#1, #3, #3, #7, #8, #9] – I absolutely love the colorful, cheery presence of Fellowship among the burly death metal otherwise crushing this top ten. I even went to the (low) effort of generating this image to best visualize this association. The Skies above Eternity continues to offer some of the most uplifting and heartfelt power metal ever conceived. Noting its “fantastic songs and endearingly honest positivity,” Sentynel concludes that “there was pretty much no chance The Skies above Eternity wasn’t going to land high up my list.” Clinching his top spot, Eldritch Elitist reckons that the record “excels through consistency and conciseness. The band’s trademark earnestness, vulnerability, and impeccable sense of melodic craft can be felt in every second of the experience. This album may be a 4.0 in my brain, but it’s a 4.5 in my heart and a 5.0 in my soul.” You like joy right?6

#7. Iotunn // Kinship – [#1, #3, #4, #4, #8, #ish, #HM] – Dissatisfied with just one Angry Metal aggregated listing, the stand-out Iotunn return three years after their debut with an offering of progressive, melodic death metal. Kenstrosity takes a wide view over the album’s assets, being “the gorgeous compositions, ascendant guitar work, ridiculous replay value, and stellar vocals.” Despite these qualities, GardensTale recognizes that not all of these tracks were created equal. He opines that the lengthy closer is disappointing, but “the songwriting on the best couple of tracks here is simply unparalleled. ‘Mistland,’ ‘The Coming End’ and especially ‘Earth to Sky’ are just massive in a way few bands ever achieve.” Awarding his album o’ the year, Doom et Al rejects the criticism that Kinship is too long; “the songs are exactly as long as they need to be… The result is ethereal, complex, spiritually satisfying prog-death.”

#6. Pyrrhon // Exhaust – [#1, #1, #4, #4, #7, #HM] – The mighty Kronos may be dormant but his legacy remains through reverence for Pyrrhon. Exhaust boasts an “off-the-deep-end brand of experimental death metal” that is “mellifluous and disgusting, rifftastic and immersive” (Maddog). It’s an arcane, impenetrable sort of music, with Dolphin Whisperer articulating this better than I ever could: “Exhaust demands attention from its initial irony-laced lift-off to its closing brutalist clock-out, swinging skronk-enabled splatters and ache-addled vituperation around every faded line and pothole in its death metal architecture.” Both he and Felagund awarded it their album o’ the year, though the latter focused on its potent theme: “on an album that thoroughly explores the universal theme of exhaustion, be it physical, mental, social, or economic, Pyrrhon’s brand of noise-tinged death metal feels like the ideal tool with which to scrawl their livid manifesto.” There are few acts as inspired as this one.

#5. Devenial Verdict // Blessing of Despair – [#3, #4, #4, #4, #4, #6] – Despite failing to win a list placement higher than #3, Devenial Verdict hit our aggregated list with their immense Blessing of Despair. What type of death metal does it brandish? Carcharodon writes “I enjoy the stomping thuggery of Devenial Verdict’s dissonant death well enough [but] it’s the sudden mood swings into what Thus Spoke described as ‘lethally graceful restraint’ that really hooked me.” Accordingly, Cherd admires the “thoughtful transitions and atmospherics… It’s just that Blessing of Despair HAZ THE RIFFS, including my favorite death metal riff of the year.” It’s this blend of heavy and light that best characterizes Blessing of Despair; “the slick mixture of mournful melody and menacing, barked growls; neck-snapping flicks of cymbal, and those resonant, aggressive chord progressions make for—almost—my favorite take on death metal” (Thus Spoke). You’ll struggle to hear more dynamic death metal this year.

#4. Aborted // Vault of Horrors – [#2, #2, #3, #4, #6, #6] – If the last couple of entries in this article experiment with death metal’s musical extremity, then Aborted have always taken a markedly simpler approach. “Blood-drenched, gore-soaked, and happily grindy, Aborted are in a league all their own… The music [builds] a menacing atmosphere that pervades only the stickiest of grindhouse theaters (Felagund). Endorsing the horror, Dear Hollow comments that “Vault of Horrors kicks serious ass. Ripping tempos, bludgeoning riffs, and an unhinged technicality align for an album deserving of the act’s reputation.” Relentless riffs and a hellish host of guest vocalists help each track to stand apart, and even the cantakerous Dr. A.N. Grier agrees that “with tracks like “Dreadbringer,” “The Golgothan,” and “Malevolent Haze,” this new release offers some incredible depth and relentless brutality.” If you like gory, grindy death metal you need look no further than Aborted.

#3. Noxis // Violence Inherent in the System – [#1, #2, #2, #5, #6, #6, #10, #HM] – Perhaps the greatest surprise of the year was the interminably brutal but interminably intriguing Violence Inherent in the System by debutants, Noxis. Maddog characterizes it as a “remarkable blend of old and new. The album’s stomping riffs and popping snare drum root it in 1990s brutal death metal. Conversely, its exuberantly grimy bass tone, its proggy rhythms, and its surprise woodwind extravaganza feel unabashedly modern.” This dichotomy of styles is developed further by Saunders: “raw and unclean, technical and brutal, thrashy and proggy, sharp and refined, Noxis blaze their way craftily through memorable, riff-infested wastelands with unbridled aggression, speed, and finesse.” Capping his list with this album, Ferox concludes that the varied tools result in songs that are all “a wild ride that alternately crushes, challenges, and tickles… and somehow they do with zero pretension and abundant commitment to brutality.”7

#2. Kanonenfieber // Die Urkatastrophe – [#1, #2, #3, #6, #6, #6, #7, #9, #9] – Kanonenfieber enjoys the great honor of being AMG.com’s only 5.0 rating in 2024 on the incomparable Die Urkatastrophe. Despite the fact that He “would not necessarily have chosen to listen to [it], Die Urkatastrophe is a powerful album that walks the line between black and death metal [and like] so many of the best albums is both thematically coherent and full of individual standout moments” (Angry Metal Guy). And while Sentynel is normally averse to particularly brutal metal, “the craft [of an incredible vocal performance, sharp melodic writing and a weighty story] drew me in anyway.” However, no one loved Die Urkatastrophe like Carcharodon, so I’ll let him finish this: “It has everything and is more than I dared hope for as a follow-up to my beloved Menschenmühle… It is brutal, vicious [and] anthemic [but] it is the storytelling that elevates this record to the next level.”

#1. Ulcerate // Cutting the Throat of God – [#1, #2, #2, #3, #4, #4, #5, #7, #8, #HM] — Collecting the most top five list selections, Cutting the Throat of God comfortably out-muscled its competition as AMG.com’s favorite album o’ the year. Both Dear Hollow and Cherd cite Ulcerate’s newfound humanity on this record as one of its key qualities. The former writes that it constitutes “the vicious and the ethereal blended into unspoken horror, with meditations ranging from the frantic to the morbid,” while the latter opines that “there [is] something warmer and more human to what I had previously considered a rather detached style… [it’s’] like dream-walking through a hedge maze.” But it’s our resident Ulcerate fangirl that best loved the record so she will conclude this piece: “Distilling the tension and the turmoil into tidal forces of incredible rhythm, and dark, brilliant melody with Cutting the Throat of God, Ulcerate reach transcendence… This is atmospheric death metal perfected” (Thus Spoke).

#2024 #Aborted #Brodequin #DefeatedSanity #DevenialVerdict #Dissimulator #Fellowship #Hamferð #HellOn #Huntsmen #InVain #Iotunn #Kanonenfieber #Meer #NemedianChronicles #Noxis #Opeth #Pyrrhon #Replicant #Selbst #Ulcerate

Aujourd'hui sur Blog à part –

Nemedian Chronicles: The Savage Sword

Encore du metal français, dans un genre différent. Nemedian Chronicles propose, avec The Savage Sword, du power-metal pour barbare en slip de fourrure.

#conceptAlbum #France #heavyMetal #NemedianChronicles #powerMetal

https://wp.me/ppneF-b4i

Heavy Moves Heavy 2024 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist

By Ferox

Before I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt.

The AMG Iron Movers Collective is a man down this year, as the crush of Listurnalia duties prevented Steel Druhm from forging a third consecutive contribution. The four remaining protein ponies on staff (myself, Kenstrosity, Thus Spoke, and Holdeneye) dug deeper into our Codices of Suffering to bring you a list of sufficient girth. Here are the songs released in 2024 that dominated our respective workouts. The resulting playlist is appended to this article. Play it straight through or set it to shuffle; HMH is designed to work either way. From our oubliette to yours, may these battle-hardened tracks fuel your gains in the new year.

There is also an intruder this time around, as Dolphin Whisperer drops by semi-invited to share his favorite tracks suitable for The Things That Dolph Does. That playlist, suitable for blood pressure-reducing pursuits off all kinds, is compiled separately.

Ferox Snorts His Pre-Workout Powder :

“Drill the Skull” // Necrot (Lifeless Birth) – Kicking things off with one of the year’s premiere bangers. The implied subject song title is a staple of my workout playlists, because it sounds like someone’s giving me orders. (You) “Drill the Skull”! I will! I will drill the skull.

“God Slayer” // Vredehammer (God Slayer) – Stand tall. Stand proud. Stand strong. Wage war. Lots of implied subject goodness in this one. Vredehammer’s latest may have been a mild disappointment, but it did throw off the Workout Song o’the Year.

“Numidian Knowledge” // Necrowretch (Swords of Daijal) – Numidian communities cultivated cereals such as wheat and barley, and legumes such as beans, peas, and lentils. There’s nothing inherently sinister about that body of knowledge, but this Necrowretch ripper will make you feel like you just consummated a black bargain in exchange for one final rep.

“Into the Court of Yanluowang” // Ripped to Shreds (Sanshi) – The opener to this killer slab beats you up with five minutes of punk-inflected death metal before rewarding you with the Guitar Solo o’the Year.

“The Way of Decay” // Sentient Horror (In Service of the Dead) – Dropping in some 3.0 Swedeath in honor of Absent Geezer Steel Druhm. I personally thought he underrated the new one from Jersey’s Sentient Horror, which kicks off with this scabby statement of purpose.

“Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal” // Spectral Wound (Songs of Blood and Mire) – Early Bathory remains a stalwart of the original Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. “A Fine Day to Die” is one of a dozen or so songs that have never rotated off the List in its twelve or so years of existence. Ferox Song o’the Year “Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal” succeeds bigly in carrying Quorthon’s torch into new battles.

“Hordes of the Horned God” // Hellbutcher (Hellbutcher) – The saliva-flecked excretions of Nifelheim and Impaled Nazarene have likewise graced the original Heavy Moves Heavy time and again. I wish there was a song called “Hellbutcher” on Hellbutcher’s Hellbutcher, but this supergroup led by Nifelheim’s front man answers the bell in every other way on their debut.

“Infernal Bust” // Demiser (Slave to the Scythe) – This song, near as I can tell, is about having it off with a demon. When you get swole, your opportunities to fuck demons, babadooks, and wendigos grow right along with your muscles–so this is included to goose you along.

“Wormridden Torso” // Stenched (Purulence Gushing from the Grave) – Adrian from Stenched has crafted a guitar tone most unpleasant and motivating. Finish your set so you’re closer to the end of the song and you can get it out of your earholes.

“Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain” // Undeath (More Insane) – Here’s a jolt of caffeine to get you through the muddy middle of your workout. This track gambols madly about, slapping you in the face to wake you from your Stenched-coma.

“Second Demon” // Void Witch (Horripilating Presence) – The Void Witch sound fires on all cylinders here, and so will you as you listen to this track. The grunge-descended guitar solo toward the end of track is one of 2024’s great moments.

“Mammoth’s Hand” // The Black Dahlia Murder (Servitude) – This cut from the The Black Dahlia Murder’s worthy new effort gives me those classic Deflorate-era vibes. I listened to that album while doing my strength training for a martial arts tournament, and “Mammoth’s Hand” feels like it could slide in between “Black Valor” and “Necropolis.”

Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:

“Pain Enduring” // Replicant (Infinite Mortality) – They say “no pain, no gain.” Or at least they used to. Some assert this to be a debunked myth, but regardless, I live to feel the gainz. This absolute blunderbuss of groove and riff mastery by Replicant ensures progressive overload and personal bests from every movement. 2

“Xetinal Artifice” // Karst (Eclipsed Beneath Umbral Divine) – You know your workout is going to leave you a trembling puddle on the ground when your trainer walks you into the crustiest, rustiest facility imaginable. Thusly, Karst’s “Xetinal Artifice” leaves me a trembling puddle on the ground after a brutal session of crusty death metal riffs.

“Pure Adrenaline Hard-On” // Scumbag (Homicide Cult) – Some people rely on preworkout and supplements to energize them before a hard workout. I don’t need that. I have the hyper-effective hype machine that is Scumbag’s “Pure Adrenaline Hard-On.” Everything you need is right in the name!

“Sturmtrupp” // Kanonenfieber (Die Urkatastrophe) – One day per week (sometimes two if I’m feeling frisky), I engage in high-intensity or high-endurance cardio training. That means speed. That means form. That means rhythm. That means something to keep me motivated and focused. Nothing beats Kanonenfieber’s “Sturptrupp” for that exact regimen.

“Leviathan” // Keres (Homo Homini Lupus) – Sometimes the only way to get me through my workout is to find my inner animal and let it rampage through the last few sets. The earth-shattering stomp of Keres’ “Leviathan” is the perfect elixir to entice that inner beast into meatspace.

“Paths of Visceral Fears” // Noxis (Violence Inherent in the System) – Fear is the enemy of gainz. However, the only way past fear is through fear. That’s where Noxis’ “Paths of Visceral Fears” and its multitudinous motivating riffs come into play. How can you be scared of that crazy heavy lift when you’ve got Noxis spotting you?

“Devil in the Basement” // Unhallowed Deliverance (Of Spectres and Strife) – The sheer heft of this track alone makes all of my personal bests look like warmups. That gives me something to strive for! Between immense grooves, crushing riffs, and a relentless pace, Unhallowed Deliverance’s “Devil in the Basement” urges me to my peak form.

“Lust for the Severed Head” // Fit for an Autopsy (The Nothing That Is) – Deathcore is always a great source of meatheaded riffs. Fit for an Autopsy pull a rare card, however, with “Lust for the Severed Head.” Seamlessly blending muscular grooves with a technical prowess rarefied, “Lust for the Severed Head” inspires me to push that final rep past failure every time.

“Of Pillars and Trees” // Brodequin (Harbinger of Woe) – You’d think material like this would be too dense to serve gym hours well. However, Brodequin’s “Of Pillars and Trees” swaggers so confidently into the land of steel and sweat that one can’t help but follow it directly to the bench.

“In Your Guts” // Glassbone (Deaf to Suffering) – Slam is probably the best vehicle for pacing and focus in the weight room. Nothing gives me a better metronome to maximize my breathing, and perfect my form. The insanely gritty, nasty, hardcore-twisted ways of Glassbone’s “In Your Guts” ensures that I don’t deviate from the ideal path to GAINZ.

“Mucus, Phlegm and Bile” // Stenched (Prurulence Gushing from the Coffin) – When you’re lifting heavy, the more viscous and vile the tunes, the greater the gainz. Enter Stenched’s “Mucus, Phlegm and Bile.” Boasting marvellously heavy tones and spans of d-beat expulsions perfect for high intensity training, Stenched will help you shatter your PRs every time.

“Plant-Based Anatomy” // Flaaghra (Plant-Based Anatomy) – In my lifelong journey towards tree-trunk legs, it pays to have tunes that embody the stalwart strength of the mighty sequoia to keep me motivated. And so, when leg day #2 comes around in my weekly routine, I jam “Plant-Based Anatomy,” Flaaghra’s brutal slam stomping set at a perfect pace for brutal leg routines.

Holdeneye Practices Radical Body Acceptance:

“Brotherhood of Sleep” // Aborted (Vault of Horrors) – Nothing, I repeat nothing, is more important to long-term gainz development than sleep. I don’t know what this universe-crushing song is actually about, but I like to imagine it promoting a fraternity of people who value getting to bed at a decent hour.

“We Slither” // Unhallowed Deliverance (Of Spectres and Strife) – The proper tunage is essential if you’re going to transform your garter snake arms into pythons, and this particular track never fails to engorge each and every one of my serpentine members.

“Berserkir” // Brothers of Metal (Fimbulvinter) – Ah, the obligatory inclusion of a song about Vikings going ape-shit. Songs about raging Norsepeople always add +1 to my Strength saving throws, and this one has had me on a roll lately.

“Fall of the Leaf” // Brodequin (Harbinger of Woe) – Don’t forget to grow those glutes! The cover model on Harbinger of Fate is demonstrating just how brutal the abductor machine can be (notice the ropes for added resistance!), but having a superior posterior is always worth the effort.

“Shadows of the Brightest Night” // Necrophobic (In the Twilight Grey) – Groove is the secret to just about every great gym song, and this might be Necrophobic’s grooviest tune yet. Its shadows have been brightening the darkest corners of my garage gym all year long.

“La Chiave Del Mio Amor” // Keygen Church (Nel Name Del Codice) – Organ music sets my organ juices to flowing, and lifting to this Bachian banger always leaves my body feeling Baroque-en in the best way possible.

“The Temple Fires” // Pneuma Hagion (From Beyond) – I’d like to think that I treat my body like a temple, but I routinely offer more calories unto my inner altar than its fires can consume. Perma-bulking isn’t a choice, it’s a lifestyle!

“Weaponized Loss” // Vitriol (Suffer & Become) – But, if I am ever going to end my perma-bulk, it will take an enormous amount of motivation, and this militant beatdown might be just what I need to brave the no man’s land that is caloric deficit.

“Monsterslayer” // Nemedian Chronicles (The Savage Sword) – There’s not a person on Earth who hasn’t imagined themselves to be Conan the Barbarian while attempting to build thick muscles and sinews in the gym, and this little tune recounts the Cimmerian’s physical attributes while laying down a magnificent, martial metal march. I can’t tell if this song makes me feel more like a monster or a monster slayer, but either way, I win.

“I Am the Path” // Hell:on (Shaman) – Fitness is a multi-faceted discipline, and we each have our own strengths and stumbling blocks. It might take help from a trainer, a medical doctor, a psychological professional, a training partner, or a support group, but remember that you are the path to your own health, and there is no shame in taking steps to get the help you need to be successful. You are worth it!

“Shadow of Evil” // Oxygen Destroyer (Guardian of the Universe) – As I walk around my garage gym between sets while nursing an enormous pump, I like to picture myself as a gigantic monster, laying waste to all that is in my path. Lord Kaiju and Co. lay down a performance here that makes me feel downright radioactive.

“Sword of a Thousand Truths” // Ironflame (Kingdom Torn Asunder) – This isn’t the first plodding Ironflame chugfest to grace one of my Heavy Moves Heavy playlists, and I sure hope it’s not the last. Bonus points for the #glutegoals on the cover.

Thus Spoke and the Smiting of the Half-Depth Heretics:

“Dragon” // Exocrine (Legend) – The lead melody in this just does something to me—the way it fades in at the beginning, the way it comes back, the way it plays off the speedy, techy goodness of the rest of the track. Yes.

“A Body for a Body” // To the Grave, Connor Dickson, Siantell Johns (Everyone’s A Murderer) – Forced to choose on a record I could have filled this list with, this one came out on top. Furious, groovy, face-meltingly heavy, irresistible; “A body for a body for a body, MOTHERFUCKKERRR!”

“Suffocate (feat. Poppy)” // Knocked Loose, Poppy (You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To) – Everything about this is just perfect in the gym. Disagree? “SHUT YOUR LYING MOUTH!” Thank you, Poppy.

“Solus” // Devenial Verdict (Blessing of Despair) – One of my favourite songs of the year in general, this one got me through many, many sets. Just, like, on repeat. Particularly the last part. Ugh.

“Beneath Ashen Skies” // Vale of Pnath (Between the World’s of Life and Death) – I discovered in the latter half of the year that I severely underrated this album, because I realised I’d been sticking it on again and again in the gym, automatically, and it was working brilliantly. The little dancy circular melodies in this are *chef’s kiss*.

“Der Maulwurf” // Kanonenfieber (Die Urkatastrophe) – Works equally well for voluntarily moving heavy shit as it does for digging trenches. With its steady rhythm and big anthemic chorus in your ears, nothing can stand in your way.

“Shiver” // Teeth (The Will of Hate) – Already having the ideal underlying tempo, sounding so insidiously mean and creepy takes this song beyond a stomp and into anabolic territory. Also, fantastic name.

“Voidwomb” // Glacial Tomb (Lightless Expanse) – Kind of slow and menacing (a good thing) for the majority, its slide into the best and agonisingly shortest guitar solo of the year is a pure jolt of adrenaline. Another one that gets put on repeat.

“Matricide 8.21” // Fleshgod Apocalypse (Opera) – Yeah, I know, ‘what the fuck(?!),’ I’m not even a fan of these guys, but seriously, this thing is motivating as hell. Just give it a chance.

“To See Death Just Once // Ulcerate (Cutting the Throat of God) – Not exactly what you’d traditionally expect to see on one of these, but I love it so much I don’t care. And the same applies while actually in the gym: if you lift to what you love, things will (usually) go well.

“Twelve Moons in Hell” // Spectral Wound (Songs of Blood and Mire) – Long and short: this is just a banger. The day I realised that new-second-wave black metal was great for lifting was a good day and I’d like to share this with you.

“Concrete Crypt” // Resin Tomb (Cerebral Purgatory) – A concrete crypt is now what I’m definitely going to call the thing where you totally bin yourself by going a bit too hard on one lift—”I’m in the concrete crypt now.” Ok obviously, I’m absolutely not going to do that, but it is some great alliteration, and a stomp to boot.

Dolph is… fucking meditating? Who let this piece in???

“Rose” // Kashiwa Daisuke (TITAN) – As the engorged fibers feel the tickle of contraction scamper in backflow,3 glitching, bass-loaded synth throbs arrive massage the ears and spread a parasympathetic wave up the spine. From root we rise, in pulse we are grounded. In our growing safety we inhale the chiming of dancing piano above it all. Allow Kashiwa Daisuke’s vibrancy help to shake away the growing lactic waste in your weary body.

“Floating” // Maria Chiara Argirò (Closer) – Moving from a place of rest to a place of gentle movement, a heartbeat steady kick thumps against an ethereal call to the flow of water. Though cool to the touch and electronic in construction, an analog warmth and hum bustles under the surface erupting in a solo trumpet’s cry. Sing with it, reach your arms high. Your voice has power.

“衍生 Capture and Elongate (Serenity)” // OU (蘇醒 II: Frailty) – Your power in calm grows—and with growth we seek order. But order is hard to find in the shifting rhythms of OU’s poly-play. Follow the voice, maybe with your own. Feel it resonate in your chest as you again find deeper inhales in the space of serenity, powerful exhales in its crashing volume swells.

“WHO KNOWS ?” // toe (NOW I SEE THE LIGHT) – The kindling of your gentleness catches fire—a brilliant light—as toe serves increasingly bright guitar patterns and fragile vocal harmonies to sweep your worries away. It can be uneasy standing proudly beside beauty like this. Embrace it. You are worthy. Spread your arms wide and expand alongside airy post rock crescendos.

“あなたのそばで (Beside You)” // Yunowa (Phantom) – Every light exists with a shadow. Yunowa has a shadow too, a dream like a sinking ship. But struggle, heartache—acceptance of and living through—these are all part of life. Rub your hands together. Place one hand over your heart, and the other over that hand. Close your eyes and rest your shoulders as a languished guitar solo screams catharsis.

“Raat Ki Rani” // Arooj Aftab (Night Reign) – A heart that has wanted and waited will bloom like raat ki rani, the jasmine of the night. Only in the hiding sun can you filled your lungs with its wonder. Breathe deeply as Arooj Aftab’s sultry, modulated croon carries you like a hidden fragrance with gentleness of a healing love.

“Eg Veit I Himmelrik Ei Borg” // Sylvaine (Eg Er Framand) The night remains ominous despite its treasures. But the dark cannot exist without the light. Let Sylvaine’s ode to the comfort of this duality, her siren salutation against plaintive guitar lines and horn-call synths, find the peace of the moment. Reach your chin high with relaxed shoulders to feel it’s spacious and resonant vibrations travel from ear to mind.

“Reflections of God” // Jaubi (A Sound Heart) – Stepping away from darkness requires travel still through more darkness, a journey which requires devotion. Jaubi expresses their devotion, an assurance that the now leads to a better place, through relentless piano harmonies, sighing sarangi calls, and a continual march toward resolution. Visualizing the destination will slowly reveal its path. You must walk it. Keep breathing.

“We Can’t See It, but It’s There” // Pat Metheny (Moondial) For as long as Pat Metheny has been questing in delicate guitar harmony, he has not yet either reached the end. I know it’s there. You know it’s there. He knows it’s there. One day, waiting for all of us, it’s there. But in these minutes we spend with Mr. Metheny, in these minutes you spend in repetitious quests for solace, the answer remains there. Somewhere. With practice, a trialed body and mind, we’ll find it. Keep searching.

“Hytta” // Kalandra (A Frame of Mind) – All roads lead us home. “Hytta” is not just a home but a state, a vision of comfort, of opening doors, of settling dishes, of chirping birds—a stream trickles in the distance. “Hytta” is the destination revealed through the honing of physical faculties and the unifying of your wandering thoughts. Today you are here. Your sculpted being, your gentle breath, you’ve unlocked the gates. Enjoy it in this moment because you may not be here tomorrow. And that’s ok.4

#2024 #Aborted #AroojAftab #Brodequin #BrothersOfMetal #ConnorDickson #Demiser #DevenialVerdict #Exocrine #FitForAnAutopsy #flaaghra #FleshgodApocalypse #GlacialTomb #Glassbone #HeavyMovesHeavy #HellOn #Hellbutcher #Ironflame #Jaubi #Kalandra #Kanonenfeiber #Karst #KASHIWADaisuke #Keres #KeygenChurch #KnockedLoose #MartaChiaraArgirò #Necrophobic #Necrot #Necrowretch #NemedianChronicles #Noxis #OU #OxygenDestroyer #PatMetheny #PneumaHagion #Replicant #ResinTomb #RippedToShreds #Scumbag #SentientHorror #SiantellJohns #SpectralWound #Stenched #Sylvaine #Teeth #TheBlackDahliaMurder #ToTheGrave #toe #Ulcerate #Undeath #UnhallowedDeliverance #ValeOfPnath #Vitriol #VoidWitch #Vredehammer #Yunowa

Holdeneye’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Holdeneye

This was a strange year for old Holdeneye, characterized by relative outer peace and significant inner turmoil. Peruse my last few lists, and you’ll see that I’ve been on a mental health journey for some time now, and this year has honestly been the toughest nut for me to crack. I’ve spent the last few years changing my external circumstances to set me up for interior success, and that has certainly helped. But I’m starting to come to grips with the fact that my choice to follow a career as a first responder, while it has benefitted my family and myself enormously, has come at a cost. Combine with that the absurdities of modern society, and the anxieties and pressures of parenting children, and I’ve been finding my fortitude to be mightily tested. I’m afraid I’m come down with a moderate-to-severe case of cynicism.

George Carlin once said, ‘Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist,’ and I strongly agree. I’m by nature a pretty soft-hearted, idealistic person, but with high ideals come high expectations—and high expectations are basically impossible to meet. I spent much of this year (years, really) embracing my newfound cynicism because it seemed easier and less painful than having my impossibly high expectations disappointed again and again. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a book called Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki, and it has been an amazing tool for recalibrating my perspective on life. The book proves—scientifically—that Samwise Gamgee was correct when he said, ‘There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.’ I highly recommend that anyone and everyone read it—it’s exactly what the world needs to hear right now.

Cynicism is not conducive to creative work, so my 2024 AMG output was abysmal. Instead of listening to new albums, I listened to my Manowar playlist over and over and over. At one point, I finally pulled the trigger and told Steel I needed to step away. I felt good about that decision, that is until my friend Kenstrosity had his home destroyed by a hurricane. The way the Angry Metal community banded together to support Ken broke through the hard crust that had been forming around my tender heart. The staff, and especially you, the readers, jumped at the chance to help, and it was incredibly inspiring—and it once again proved just how wholesome and unique this little internet community can be. I’m resolving to stay involved, producing whatever content I can make time for, but more importantly, to just be around. When times are hard, I tend to withdraw, but I’m finding that those are the times when I really need to fight to stay engaged.

Thanks for your patience and for your even-handed, if brutal, leadership, Steel. Thanks to everyone who makes this place so special; you are all agents in the war on cynicism. Special shoutouts to Dr. Wvrm, Ferox, and Doom_et_Al for hanging out with me in person—extra special to Doomy for letting me crash at his place—and to Crispy Hooligan (Rest In Retirement) for recognizing and chatting with me at a Judas Priest show. It was awesome to take my AMG community into three dimensions this year.

Well, you’ve heard enough from this gloomy goose! Rest assured that I’m looking to 2025 with hope and a healthy skepticism instead of my usual oscillation between idealism and cynicism. Onto the tunes!

#ish. Judas Priest // Invincible Shield – This one comes as a bit of a shock to me. When it first released, I was pretty indifferent. I really enjoyed the previous album Firepower, but I didn’t feel a strong need to hear or enjoy a new Judas Priest album in 2024. I have my ten-year-old son to thank for changing my mind. While I was driving him to school one day, he randomly said, ‘Dad, my favorite band is Imagine Dragons, but my favorite music is heavy metal.’ I knew I had to capitalize on this make-or-break moment, so as soon as I got home, I bought two pre-sale tickets to the Invincible Shield tour. Seeing these legends with my boy was a core memory that I will always treasure, and while I prepped for the show, I began to see Invincible Shield for what it really is: one more gift from the metal gods of old, one that is far more energetic and ruthless than it has any right to be. Sample: “Panic Attack”

#10. Necrophobic // In the Twilight Grey – As someone who gained their black metal fangs because of Necrophobic’s modern-day sound, I understand that I’m unfairly biased to enjoy everything they’re putting out these days. But biased or not, I absolutely dig what Necrophobic have done on In the Twilight Grey. They’ve taken just about every shade of black metal available and incorporated a bit of this one and a bit of that one to construct a varied collage of blackened brutality. The guitar work on this record is exemplary, and it speaks to my classic heavy metal heart with lead after lead that could fit on just about any Priest album. I didn’t listen to much black metal this year, and this album is partially to blame. In the Twilight Grey arrived early on and essentially sated my appetite for blackened platters. Sample: “Shadows of the Brightest Night”

#9. Ironflame // Kingdom Torn Asunder – Consistency is an underrated and often maligned trait when it comes to music, but it’s something I really value. I love when every day is just about the same as the last. I can eat the same meal three times per day, no problem. As I mentioned above, I can listen to the same Manowar playlist on repeat for months at a time. I like consistency because I like to know what I’m getting. Ironflame has become my poster child for consistency when it comes to modern traditional metal, and I while I may know exactly what an Ironflame record is going to sound like before I ever play it, I take an enormous amount of joy finding my preconceived notions to be 100% accurate. Andrew d’Cagna can write killer metal anthems in his sleep, and Kingdom Torn Asunder is full of them. Sample: “Sword of a Thousand Truths”

#8. Vitriol // Suffer & Become – This album definitely tested the limits of my musical taste. Vitriol’s brand of death metal is so punishing that it becomes overwhelming for me, but Suffer & Become includes just enough beauty to let the beast shine by contrast. Full disclosure: I have to be in the right mood for this album. It is so dense, so challenging, so heavy, that it makes me uncomfortable. Without relying on the overt groove or melody that usually anchors the music I enjoy, Suffer & Become manages to hook me through pure violence, leaving me just a few fleeting moments to pop my ahead above the surface to grab a quick breath before dragging me back below. Released back in January, my response to this record was the first indication that my taste (and my list) in 2024 would be trending in a brutal direction. Sample: “The Flowers of Sadism”

#7. Oxygen Destroyer // Guardian of the Universe – As I went to wheel my thrash can to the street, I wondered if it would even be worth the trip. While I didn’t listen to all that many albums in total this year, I had an especially noteworthy dearth of thrash albums that caught my attention. Fortunately, the one album that did end up in my thrash can filled it to the point of overflowing. Oxygen Destroyer has received honorable mention on my year-end list before, but this time around, the band has leveled up in so many ways that it was impossible for me not to put Guardian of the Universe on my list proper. Where previous albums were more of an even death/thrash mix, this one is an absolute thrashterpiece, and every single song has at least one earworm riff that refuses to leave my brain. Lord Kaiju’s utterly pissed-off vocals are the perfect match for what the rest of the band is doing musically, and with one forthcoming exception, there was no better half-hour set of music with which to torture myself this year. Sample: “Banishing the Iris of Sempiternal Tenebrosity”

#6. Aborted // Vault of Horrors – I’m a late-stage Aborted adopter. Vault of Horrors was my first exposure to the band, and the uniqueness of this album is probably responsible for why I’ve come to enjoy the band so much. I was at first put off by all the guest vocalists, but then I remembered that I love hardcore vocals. Aborted’s mixture of brutal death and deathcore is already potent, but when a host of talented hardcore and metal vocalists add their voices to the mix, the result is an adrenaline-pumping, testosterone-boosting beatdown. One of my favorite metal moments of the year goes to witnessing many of these cuts live in the mighty presence of my Angry Metal brothers Ferox and Doom_et_Al. Vault of Horrors has been one of my gym mainstays since its release, and that quality alone is nearly enough to boost an album onto my Top Ten(ish). Sample: “Death Cult”

#5. Unhallowed Deliverance // Of Spectres and Strife – I honestly can’t remember what review it was for, but one of our lovely readers suggested this album in the comments, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it. Unhallowed Deliverance is another band that mixes brutal death metal and deathcore, but where Aborted goes for the throat nearly 100% of the time, these guys throw in a pinch of atmosphere and a boatload of technicality to create an insanely strong, multifaceted sound. Frontman Arthur Haltrich complements his standard death/deathcore growls and shrieks with some of the gnarliest belches, gurgles, and verbal flatulence I’ve ever heard, giving Of Spectres and Strife’s sonic texture even more depth that its already intricate music provides. The record even includes a collaboration with Kenneth Copeland, the artist responsible for my 2020 Song o’ the Year. Sample: “Treatise on the Lowest Form of Man”

#4. Nemedian Chronicles // The Savage Sword – It’s been many months since Iceberg grossly underrated this absolute gem, and it is a gem that I’ve clutched as greedily as if I’d personally plucked it from a cursed dungeon’s treasure hoard ever since. When I first sampled The Savage Sword, I was intimidated by its 70-minute length, but it took little more than a single listen for me to realize that this album is incredibly well-executed from start to finish. Yes, Nemedian Chronicles made the bold choice to start the record with what are essentially two intro tracks, but they are so epic and genuine that they act as a pair of tentacles, forcefully drawing me into the concept’s Hyborian world and setting me up to enjoy of deep immersion. The rest of the album is a masterclass on how to properly deliver epic heavy and power metal goods, and it is frankly the best Blind Guardian album released since the 90s. Sample: “The Savage Sword”

#3. Brodequin // Harbinger of Woe – More like Harbinger of Whoa, amirite? I could probably sum this album up with just that single word ‘whoa,’ but Steel would most likely force me to sit on that old-timey chair on the cover art if I didn’t elaborate. This was another comment section find, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t grab me almost immediately—a rare occurrence for music of this level of intensity. The production on this album raises it so far above much of its comparable competition because it so perfectly balances the material’s speed and chaos with an overwhelmingly tangible heft. Harbinger of Woe’s 30-minute runtime is so bludgeoning that my watch sometimes registers my listening sessions as cardio, so I’d like to think that this album has made me a healthier person in 2024. Brodequin, or Brother Quinn as I like to refer to them, can take comfort in putting out one of the finest brutal death metal albums in a year filled with quality brutal death metal albums. Sample: “Of Pillars and Trees”

#2. Keygen Church // Nel Nome Del Codice – In what is perhaps my greatest musical surprise of the year, this album instantly bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love it, and wish from this day forth never to be parted from it. I’ve enjoyed some of Victor Love’s work in Master Boot Record, but as someone who is drawn to liturgical expressions of spirituality, Keygen Church’s inclusion of Baroque organs and choirs absolutely godsmacked me from moment one. If you asked me to name the greatest song of all time in any genre, I’d probably go with Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” so it should come as no surprise that Nel Nome Del Codice feels as if it were tailormade to tickle me right in the pipe organs. I have no idea how music like this is produced, but my hat is off to Love for creating such a powerful aural experience. Sample: “Sulla Via Della Gloria”

#1. Hell:on // Shaman – When I dropped a 4.5 on this back in May, I was pretty confident that nothing else would be able to top it, and since I’m almost always right, I was right, of course. Hell:on’s mix of death metal, throat-singing, ritualistic rhythms, and Eastern instrumentation makes me feel like I’m trapped within some infernal combination of a death metal concert and a Witcher III boss fight, and it’s a feeling that has yet to get old. The band went all-in on the inclusion of their Ukrainian cultural elements within their music this time around, and it was an incredible success. In a year where death metal made up the majority of my top records, Shaman had to fight to keep its place upon the top of the heap, but no other album felt as spiritually dense to me in a year where I’ve fought to find my own personal peace. The textures offered here both exhilarate me and help me into a meditative state, and the resulting empowerment has been a Godsend to me. Sample: “What Steppes Dream About”

Honorable Mentions

• Brothers of Metal // Fimbulvinter
• Pneuma Hagion // From Beyond

Olde Record (and Hot Take) o’ the Year

Manowar // Warriors of the World – When I wasn’t listening to new music in 2024—which was really, really often—I was probably listening to Manowar. I listened to them so much, in fact, that my streaming platform placed me within the band’s top 0.1% of listeners worldwide. Warriors of the World was the first true heavy metal album that I ever purchased, and so many of its songs remain personal favorites to this very day. As I ravaged the band’s discography this year, I came to the realization that Manowar circa 2002 is the absolute highwater mark for heavy music. This album has some weird inclusions that make it feel somewhat unbalanced and goofy at times, but I’m convinced that if the band had cut a bit of the fluff and added in the two cuts from the Dawn of Battle EP, Warriors of the World would have been a 5.0 and the greatest metal album of all time. Disagree? Then you’re not into metal, and you are not my friend. Just kidding. We can still be friends, poser!

Disappointment o’ the Year

In Aphelion // Reaperdawn – After In Aphelion’s debut Moribund pummeled its way into the top tier of my Top Ten(ish) of 2022, I had huge expectations for its follow-up, Reaperdawn. Whether it is because several of the band’s members released a similar-sounding and stronger album with their main project Necrophobic or because these songs just don’t match up to the debut, this one just didn’t do it for me. It has a nice blackened aesthetic and some quality moments and performances, but it lacks the edge that made Moribund feel so genuinely dangerous. I hope to hear something new from these guys in the not-so-distant future, because I know they’re capable of going for my throat.

Song o’ the Year

Hell:on // “I Am the Path” – This song resonated with me from the very first time I heard it. The way the song swings back and forth between brutal death metal and ritualistic groove strikes the perfect balance for me, and the folk instrumentation adds even more layers to the experience. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to “I Am the Path” this year, but just about every time I do, I feel my eyes wanting to roll into the back of my head so I can commune with the primal spirits of the earth. The track’s title and chorus have become something of a personal mantra for me as I’ve struggled to find inner harmony this year. It reminds me that I can make all the positive external changes in the world, but if I really seek health and joy, I must walk that most challenging of all paths: the path within.

#2024 #Aborted #BlogPosts #Brodequin #BrothersOfMetal #Fimbulvinter #FromBeyond #GuardianOfTheUniverse #HarbingerOfWoe #HellOn #HoldeneyeSTopTenIshOf2024 #InAphelion #InTheTwilightGrey #InvincibleShield #Ironflame #JudasPriest #KeygenChurch #KingdomTornAsunder #Lists #Manowar #Necrophobic #NelNomeDelCodice #NemedianChronicles #OfSpectresAndStrife #OxygenDestroyer #PneumaHagion #Reaperdawn #Shaman #SufferBecome #TheSavageSword #UnhallowedDeliverance #VaultOfHorrors #Vitriol #WarriorsOfTheWorld

El Cuervo’s, GardensTale’s, and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By El Cuervo

El Cuervo

After more than a decade in this job, the years start to blur. While there may be an almost imperceptible feeling that some years are musically stronger than others, I’ve started to reach the realization that they’re all basically the same. 99% of heavy metal spawned into the world is destined to be forgotten or disparaged.

That’s not to say I’m bored of this state of affairs. The metal community, and in particular its underground, remains in a robust position to peddle the best non-mainstream music in the world, boasting a wide array of sub-genres from all over the globe. Just look at my list below: nine of the selections are from the atypical regions of Northern Europe and North America, hitherto unknown for their metal output.

Nonetheless, it’s the year-to-year consistency that highlights the importance of gathering our thoughts at annual intervals to assemble a list of real quality. This process reminds me why I still spend hundreds of hours each year consuming and reviewing new music. These stand-outs justify my decision and I deeply enjoy commemorating them in this ranking extravaganza. Revel in the albums that most excited me in 2024.

#10. A Burial at Sea // Close to Home – As much as music may impress you with its technical chops or hook you with its bold melodies, it’s music that makes you feel something that endures. The idiosyncratic brand of post-rock heard on Close to Home, dipping into brassy jazz and techy math rock as much as it does shoegaze, always prioritizes its emotive impact above all else. I love the gentle lilt, the crashing apices, the shimmering walls of noise, the orchestral edges. A Burial at Sea ebbs with slow rhythms and delicate chords, but flows with heavy drums and tremolo-picked melodies. The natural cadence across tracks makes the album feel complete. Each year yields one or two ‘mood’ releases for me to savor in a dark room with my headphones and my thoughts; 2024’s is Close to Home.

#9. Kanonenfieber // Die Urkatastrophe – As much as I initially enjoyed Die Urkatastrophe as a studio album, it took the Kanonenfieber live experience to really get its hooks into me. This isn’t just blackened death metal. It’s theatrical, energetic, and catchy, without devolving into something as simple as ‘meloblack’. The shout-along choruses and grooving leads were accentuated in a live setting, and I was incentivized to dig back through the Kanonenfieber back catalog. But the gig wouldn’t have been as entertaining as it was without the underlying music being of high quality. I’ve been to plenty of shows which have encouraged me to revisit an artist – but where the studio release is far less potent. Die Urkatastrophe has the chops and power to excel in both formats.

#8. Aquilus// Bellum II – Lots of black metal adopts the adjective of ‘atmospheric’ but few come as close to this as Aquilus. Horace Rosenqvist forges music that harmonizes but transcends classical and black metal, beguiling and terrifying in equal measure. Bellum II may be marginally the lesser of Bellum I, but it’s still among the best music released this year. Its compositions are extraordinary, as they subtly and satisfyingly transition from delicate piano and strings to towering black metal blasts. This is the prime example of the album’s devastating dichotomies that I previously described (“elegance and savagery; serenity and chaos; airiness and crunch”). Rosenqvist is a singularly mesmerizing instrumentalist and composer, able to pull contrasting music into a brutal but beautiful whole.

#7. Hamferð // Men Guðs hond er sterk – It’s hard to conceive of a more metal homeland than the Faroe Islands. Cold? Dark? Remote? Check, check, check. This results in Hamferð’s frigid, towering block of death-inflected doom metal that owes as much to its isolated island roots as it does to any other metal band. Men Guðs hond er sterk is a crushingly heavy album, but one gilded with a hopeful edge derived from its concept wherein a survivor of a whaling accident emphasizes the miracle of his life. While prioritizing the sheer weight of mass and exquisitely despondent leads, the album also benefits from one of metal’s most talented vocalists in Jón Aldará, who runs the gamut from bellowing growls to melancholic croons. Though it runs out of steam by the gentle acoustic conclusion, the preceding thirty-nine minutes are monumental.

#6. Blood Incantation // Absolute Elsewhere – Blood Incantation is plainly an excellent band. But I’m struggling to explain why Absolute Elsewhere became the underground cross-over metal album of the year, favored by big and small publications alike. Perhaps it’s the savage but technical riffs that make you mosh and think simultaneously. Perhaps it’s the Floydian approach to song structures. Perhaps it’s the penchant for meandering, Tangerine Dreamy interludes. Perhaps it’s the sophisticated fusion of something heavy so listeners feel edgy, with something chill so listeners feel safe. Perhaps it’s the conspiratorial orientation around our alien overlords building the pyramids. Perhaps it’s all of these and more. Hmm. On reflection, I think I do understand why everyone loves Absolute Elsewhere as much as they do.

#5. Crypt Sermon // The Stygian Rose – We all know that doom is the worst core metal sub-genre. To my abject horror, 2024 saw not one but two excellent examples of it. Crypt Sermon stormed the top five of my list, folding excellent leads and engaging solos into some of the most captivating metal of the year. While the front half is good, it’s the back half where things hit another level. “Heavy Is the Crown of Bone” until the title track exemplifies the best of the sub-genre through their epic proportions, memorable melodies and fat, crunchy guitar tones. While the riffs have immediate impact, the detailed compositions give the songs real staying power. Layers of guitars, a tempo that eschews dirge speeds, varied vocals and progressive song constructions march the album to a conclusion that comes too quickly.

#4. Syst3m Glitch // The Brave Ones – The remainder of this list documents my love for heavy metal and all things progressive. But synthwave is the third pillar of my music library and the most joyous. The best of the year comes from Florida’s Syst3m Glitch. He’s not always been my first pick for synths, but The Brave Ones dramatically outperformed his prior output and muscled its way into my favorite albums from 2024. It’s stuffed full of catchy, memorable tunes that traverse the synthwave soundscape, from the pop-laced sweetness of “California,” to the pulsing rhythms of “Thrill Ride,” to the darksynth pastiche of “Tommy Danger,” and finally to the smooth retrowave of “Raining in Tokyo.” It’s rare for one release to cover this much territory, and rarer still that it’s so successful in doing so.

#3. Dissimulator // Lower Form Resistance – February is early in the year but I knew then that Lower Form Resistance would be high on my list. Dissimulator inherits death metal traits from the members’ other bands (including Beyond Creation and First Fragment) but builds these into uber-tight, technical thrash metal. The excellence of the riffs here is fucking relentlessness; no other 2024 release can boast such a fine repertoire. From the ridiculously good “Neural Hack” until the closer, the album generates such entertainment value that it feels half as long as it is. The exemplary instrumentation, chaotic energy and technological feel make Lower Form Resistance sound like Voivod reinvented for the 2020s. In a sub-genre so preoccupied with rehashing old ideas – I do not accept that thrash metal must sound like 1986 – Dissimulator thrives by looking forward.

#2. In Vain // Solemn – It’s no secret that I’m a prog nerd. While In Vain has always been plenty progressive through varied and unpredictable songwriting, what I envy most is the knack for incorporating myriad styles into one cohesive sound. Solemn follows two prior records demarcated by their fusions of melodic death metal, black metal, progressive rock, and Nordic folk music. This fusion has never been more seamless than it is in 2024. The expansive songs feel like they should be extremely long and complex but in reality, they hardly exceed seven minutes and utilize powerful melodic anchors. As if all this wasn’t enough, the quintessential In Vain guitar and vocal harmonies, and orchestral pomp, elevate the songs into metal magic. Solemn is pure Cuervo catnip.

#1. Opeth // The Last Will and Testament – It feels like I’ve spent much of the last few months describing just how much I admire Opeth. This year-end list is no exception as I properly rank The Last Will and Testament as 2024’s best release. With the Opeth ranking articles so recent, I think it would fall into the upper half of their work. In a discography littered with records revered by both metalheads and prog nerds, this demarcates a record of rare quality. Though – yes – Åkerfeldt returns to growled vocals here, this is just a small piece of what makes The Last Will and Testament so good. From the sophisticated compositions to the entertaining story, and the exemplary instrumentation to the immaculate production, its knotty harmonization of death metal with progressive rock has the aura of perfection. No other record from 2024 can make such a claim.

Honorable Mentions

• Beardfish // Songs for Beating Hearts – The unheralded return of these Swedes yields a shockingly vital slice of prog rock, boasting tidy riffs, folksy warmth, and engaging song-writing.
• At 1980 // Forget to Remember – While predictable, At 1980 remains an interminably satisfying retrowave artist through their smooth synths, melodic guitar solos, and easy vocals.
• Morgul Blade // Heavy Metal Wraiths – Morgul Blade forms a destructive harmony between three of my favorite things: razor-sharp classic metal leads, harsh vocal,s and Tolkien nerdery.
• Kalax // Lost – While bloated and meandering – lost, perhaps – the return of Liverpool’s premier retro synth act finds a delicate dichotomy between frigidity and comfort.

Songs o’ the Year

GardensTale

Fucking hell, what a year. Ordinarily, I’d try and wax poetically on the passing of time or some shit here. Looking back with melancholy and whatnot seems to be the intention for opening paragraphs to arbitrary lists of what music this one rando that I happen to be got the most enjoyment from this year. But I think this time, I’ll try some brutal honesty instead. It’s not been a great year overall. I won’t bore you with a tedious list, numbering my shades of the various common mental issues people my age and disposition face, but suffice it to say I’ve closed out most prior years in better spirits. But I’m getting help, I’m fighting it, and I’m learning. Learning to give myself grace, to step back when I need to. And if that sometimes means slowing down on a review, well, it’s a small price to pay.

One consequence is that I have spent less time listening to music I wasn’t reviewing. That shows below because this list will look like the most self-congratulatory thing I ever wrote. The vast majority of entries I penned myself, be it as a full article, a TYMHM or even a filter entry. But the funny part is, I thought it was a really strong year! I had quite a sizeable shortlist to whittle down. But then I was done whittling and discovered I’d almost exclusively cut albums I did not review, like APES, Crypt Sermon and Hamferð for instance. Additionally, I find I’ve added less to the list in the second half of the year, and my sullied brain has questioned myself many times: was autumn weaker than usual, or is my growing ennui obstructing my ability to like things as much as they deserve?

I don’t know, to tell the truth. And I’m unlikely to find out, because time marches on and new releases darken the horizon of January even now. There are only so many hours in the day, so much music hitting the virtual marketplaces and streaming colossi. To give each year its proper due would take 5 years, or having no job or other hobbies. So I can’t give you a fair, balanced and complete list of the best records of the year, because I do have a job and other hobbies, and no time machine. I can only give you the records that made me feel good. I hope they made or will make you feel good, too.

(ish). Dool // The Shape of Fluidity — I’ve been aware of Dool for a while now, even before vocalist Raven van Dorst became a national television personality. But it wasn’t until I caught “Venus in Flames” on the metal radio station in the car that I became interested in their music. The Shape of Fluidity crystallizes Van Dorst’s lifelong struggle with identity into a fierce, defiant, and intensely personal album. The androgynous vocals sizzle with raw emotion, and the instrumentation is likewise fluid in its presentation, swaying from almost post-punk energy to Anathema-adjacent prog and dipping into epic doom. An excellent album that really puts Dool on the map.

10. Alcest // Les Chants de l’Aurore — Here’s a fun fact: I always thought Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde wasn’t Alcest’s first album. It was the first album of theirs I heard, but since about 97 out of 100 bands that evolve their sound go softer rather than harder, I assumed there was something more extreme preceding it. Alcest tends to do things differently, though, changing things up rather radically from album to album. Les Chants de l’Aurore has elements from many of its older siblings, but the mood it sets is such a beautiful warm summer melancholy, it sets it apart in a very special way. And seeing it performed live a few weeks ago was a very special experience that seared the album in my mind.

9. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart — No, I’ll never stop proselytizing Madder Mortem, why do you ask? Old Eyes, New Heart wasn’t what I expected, yet in many ways was just what I needed, and was strangely prophetic at times. It’s the most intensely personal album from the Norwegians (which is saying something) and through the healing power of shared misery, sitting down with it is like a good session with a therapist.

8. 40 Watt Sun // Little Weight — Patrick Walker could sing me The Cat In The Hat and I’d still feel like weeping. I’m not sure the man could earn anything below a 4.0 from me if he tried. That being said, Little Weight still takes a spot by the sunny window that 40 Watt Sun hasn’t explored before. Where Perfect Light and Wider Than the Sky were steeped in sadness, Little Weight expels it. It might be the most hopeful album I’ve heard this year, a return to the light from the deepest darkest places. It’s been a comforting hug on bad days, a warm blanket to fight the cold.

7. Walg // IV — The second year in a row I get to feature this duo. Walg is quickly becoming one of my favorite black metal bands. IV fits any mood, really. It’s got anger, it’s got despair, but it also has enough catchy tunes and energy for when you’re in a good mood. You can play the whole thing start to finish, and you can pick out your favorites and stick ‘em in a playlist. As such, it’s been this year’s ol’ reliable, the album to return to when nothing else sparks joy.

6. Kanonenfieber // Die Urkatastrophe — If I had a nickel for every time an acclaimed blackened death metal band exclusively used historically accurate World War I accounts and even performed in uniform, I’d have two nickels. It’s kind of difficult for me to mentally separate Kanonenfieber and 1914 for obvious reasons. Luckily there is space for both in the trenches because Noise’s project has become a mean Menschen mühling machine. “Der Maulwurf” grabbed me by the throat from the first spin, and everything else followed over and over again. Epic, bludgeoning and harrowing.

5. Labyrinthus Stellarum // Vortex of the Worlds — I can’t stop playing this album. It is stuck in my algorithm. The bleeps and bloops that summon Hastur from the depths of space and time live in my head and they do not pay rent. How did two kids1 from a war-torn country manage this? Labyrinthus Stellarum is so goddamn good at composing addictive melodies in 4 dimensions it should be considered unfair. The only reason it’s not higher is because at this point the competition becomes even more unfair.

4. Iotunn // Kinship — A lot of people told me in the comments that the closing track on Kinship is a great song and shouldn’t have affected my rating of the album as a whole. They are wrong on both counts. This is a shame because up to that point, this is the album of the year. Earning what amounts to a 4.495 despite a disappointing closer is an incredible feat, but the songwriting on the best couple of tracks here is simply unparalleled. “Mistland,” “The Coming End” and especially “Earth to Sky” are just massive in a way few bands ever achieve, and Iotunn make it seem effortless.

3. Vredehammer // God Slayer — One improvement to my life is that I am returning semi-regularly to the gym these days. I’ve struggled with working out consistently, but I can usually get a session a week in these days. And my number one companion for these outings has been God Slayer. The bridge in the title track alone gives me enough energy to break whatever personal record I’ll be working on at the time. Just looking at the album art gives me an extra pound of gains for the week.

2. Meer // Wheels Within Wheels — Yeah, it’s not really metal, but it’s proggy and it’s fucking gorgeous so up yours, elitists! I’ve come to the opinion that Norway is simply the best country for prog in general, and Meer is just another notch in that belt. Whereas Playing House didn’t really grab me at the time, I couldn’t stop spinning Wheels Within Wheels. I had to start every day with “Come to Light” for a while, and the climax of that track is so uniquely empowering it’d help beat down whatever funk I found myself in at the time. The symphonic composition and multi-vocal approach are just beautiful and it truly does not get old. Meer has outdone itself.

1. Huntsmen // The Dry Land — I’ve had multiple comeback stories this year. Outside of metal, both Elbow and That Handsome Devil returned with fantastic albums after the last was simply disappointing. The biggest comeback and biggest surprise was, without a doubt, Huntsmen. Mandala of Fear was such a slog, I could never have expected the perfect tight flow of The Dry Land. Every track is a journey in and of itself, and the diversity is immense. The Dry Land has become one of those albums where I can’t put it on without finishing it entirely; I’ll just keep going ‘Oh yes the next song has these awesome mournful vocals’ or ‘Ah here comes that mindblowing transition.’ It’s been a great year for metal and music in general, but the way Huntsmen returned from the grave and far surpassed even their vaunted debut was the absolute peak for me, and it has not since been surpassed by any other release.

Honorable Mentions

• Sleepytime Gorilla Museum // of the Last Human Being — Considering how thrilled I was to get a new SGM album I expected this to wind up higher, but it’s still a great and unsettling resurrection for one of the true premier avant-garde collectives.
• Selbst // Despondency Chord Progressions — There’s been plenty of emotionally grabbing black metal of various sorts this year, but Selbst had the coolest take out of them all, with a melodic sense that felt almost trad metal without losing edge or impact.
• Monkey3 // Welcome to the Machine — Easily the best instrumental album of the year. Tasteful nods to Pink Floyd wrapped in a massive maelstrom of heavy psych that gets the balancing act of repetition and evolution precisely right.
• The Vision Bleak // Weird Tales — An even tighter and more cohesive album than its excellent predecessor. Weird Tales is like an amazing haunted house ride.
• Sidewinder // Talons — I really wanted to have this in the main list, because you don’t get stoner this great very often. Alas, the competition was too strong. But listen to it anyway if you haven’t!

Non-Metal Albums

This is a metal blog, despite our occasional forays into tangential material like Meer. But several of my favorite non-metal artists all released some excellent albums, and considering the year I’ve had and the state of the world, I’d rather end with some positivity for the open-minded among you, who are secure enough in their trveness to partake in some decidedly vntrve yet excellent releases.

• Man Man // Carrot on Strings — The quirky and rambunctious Zappa-in-the-Bayou outfit led by the enigmatic Honus Honus kills it with this eclectic and introspective release. Everything from pulsing club EDM to mellow country and various mixtures further off the musical maps, it’s a wild and engaging odyssey.
• That Handsome Devil // Exploitopia — After the disappointing Your Parents Are Sellouts, these weirdos blew off the barn doors with this comeback. Best described as alternative gypsy surf jazz rock hip-hop, Exploitopia gushes anti-consumerism and anti-capitalism with sardonic humor and biting sarcasm.
• Elbow // Audio Vertigo — The most commercially successful band on this list, but I still feel like many metalheads aren’t aware of how good these Brits are. And Audio Vertigo is one of their best albums to date: versatile, infectious, with a warm melancholy and wry camaraderie. Beautiful.
• Future Islands // People Who Aren’t There Anymore — A breakup album, filled with aching loneliness and longing, yet a strange sense of hope winds through the pulsing synth-pop. Frontman Samuel Herring is an absolute king of emotive, raspy crooning, and his performance brings a ton of personality to the album.

Songs o’ the Year

Eldritch Elitist

Huh. It’s apparently been four fucking years since I last penned a proper 2 Records o’ the Year list for Angry Metal Guy. This time last year, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be contributing such a list ever again. I still love this blog and the music we celebrate, but making regular contributions to AMG requires a not-insignificant time investment, and I’ve found myself spread ever-thinner over the years. And then January happened, in which a startling number of fantastic releases in that month alone resulted in the crystallization of a single goal: To make 2024 my most complete year of musical indulgence to date. If there was an album released that even slightly piqued my interest in a given week, I was going to find time to listen to it, ideally to completion. This resolve resulted in so many discoveries that I could have penned Top Ten Records o’ the Month articles for multiple months of 2024.

When I say “multiple months,” I really mean “January through March”, as my momentum dwindled when mid-April rolled around. Compounding factors between life and work suddenly left me with much less time in which to indulge in new music. Once I fell behind, I quickly realized that it would be virtually impossible to keep up the listening schedule I had set for myself, and subsequently gave up the ghost. As badly as I wanted to contribute the most confidently comprehensive year-end list possible, this list might as well be titled “Eldritch Elitist’s Top 10 Records o’ Q1 2024 & Friends”. Lopsided though it may be, that’s no excuse to not take a legitimate stab at a list at all, especially not when comments like this keep rolling in… Wait, why the hell has that guy been hanging around the AMG break room? Christ, I really need to work on staying in the loop around here. Anyway, here’s some albums I like; no -ishs, HMs, or butts about it.

#10. Cruce Signatus // Cruce Signatus – While Cruce Signatus sits at the bottom of my top 10, I have listened to it more than any other record this year outside of my number 1 pick. It’s become a go-to record to throw on thanks to its instrumental nature and soundtrack-like ebb and flow. More than that, Cruce Signatus’ unique blend of metal and synthwave is legitimately compelling, feeling distinct from similar acts as an actual soundtrack to an in-progress animation project. The downside is that this record feels partially complete because it literally is. The upside is that the experience of listening to this record will surely evolve retroactively as this project continues, and in the meantime, I’ll remain content to absorb one of the most ambitious cross-media offerings of 2024.

#9. Myrath // Karma – The release of Karma marked my first prolonged exposure to Myrath, and while I don’t adore it as heavily as some of my AMG colleagues, it remained in heavy rotation throughout 2024 all the same. Karma is an uncommonly proficient slab of pop metal, one that smartly leverages its latent progressive and folk metal leanings in sublimely bombastic fashion. It lacks variety, but Myrath navigates Karma’s narrow aesthetic with such precision as to maximize its scope, resulting in an album that compels through efficiency. Ultimately, the most important quality of any pop record is its ability to lodge its hooks into my brain, and I have had every single one of these songs stuck in my head many times throughout the year. If that kind of recurring impact isn’t worthy of a spot on this list, I don’t know what is.

#8. Soulmass // Principality of Mechanical Violence – Despite Soulmass’ previous LP basing its concept on my favorite video game, Principality of Mechanical Violence hit me way harder despite unfamiliarity with its source material. My knowledge of Gundam may only go so far as that handsome blonde fellow in red who apparently did nothing wrong, but I do know that this Gundam concept album rocks unlike any other Soulmass record. It largely culls the band’s moodier death/doom passages in favor of concise riffage, yet is also densely melodic, neatly slotting melancholic guitar leads alongside meaty riffs that echo Bolt Thrower and Cannibal Corpse. The resulting listening experience is equally absorbing and exhilarating, enticing me to get in the robot time and time again.

#7. Mega Colossus // Showdown – Mega Colossus just gets it. Not once in my years of listening to this band have I gotten a sense that they are trying to recapture the heyday of traditional metal, or otherwise be anything in the moment other than themselves. Showdown further cements my impression, as it sees Mega Colossus reaching ever further into their bottomless bag of nerd fixations. The resulting songs cover topical ground ranging from Porco Rosso to Mad Max: Fury Road, but more importantly, they masterfully weave inspirations as far-reaching as Kansas and Megadeth into their core aesthetic of Iron Maiden-inspired trad metal. Combine the playfully loose hold on genre convention with Mega Colossus’ ever-effusive lyrics, and you have one of the most purely entertaining records of the year from one of the best modern bands in the genre.

#6. Black Curse // Burning in Celestial Poison – Unlike other albums on this list, I have not returned to Burning in Celestial Poison to reconfirm its standing. Call me irresponsible, but I must emphasize that my memory and impression of this record – one formed after multiple days of consecutive spins – remains fully crystalized in my mind. Black Curse’s sophomore outing is one that continues to linger in the darker corners of my mind, a wholly unique vision of blackened death metal that, while not as traditionally thrilling as the band’s debut, is more than the sum of its parts. That “more” manifests as an incorporeal malefic entity seemingly possessing motives independent of the artists who spawned it. Burning in Celestial Poison feels like a living, breathing work, one which unsettles as much as it entices.

#5. Oak, Ash & Thorn // Our Grief is Thus – Our Grief is Thus is one of those albums that feels made specifically for me, with power metal vocals and melodeath riffage wrapped in an overarching aesthetic of black metal, folk metal, and crust punk. Beyond gifting me the forbidden knowledge that power metal with d-beats can and does work, it’s also a generally excellent example of effective genre splicing, feeling as though it belongs in both all and none of the styles from which it cleverly pulls inspiration. What Oak, Ash & Thorn has accomplished with this sophomore outing is an explosively energetic yet cohesive record, and one so melodically effervescent as to be compulsively replayable. Our Grief is Thus is the most surprising record of 2024, and I am firmly seated on the OAT boat for whatever comes next.

#4. Madder Mortem // Old Eyes, New Heart – Madder Mortem is a name I’ve heard tossed around since 2009, and who I never bothered to check out because I thought they were some sorta high falutin’, artsy fartsy doom metal band. That may have been the case once upon a time, but at some point they evolved into the accessible sort of dark progressive metal showcased on Old Eyes, New Heart. Immediately gripping and heavy yet disarmingly vulnerable, this record converted me to Madder Mortem fandom almost instantly. Its songs wormed their way under my skin with atomic precision and never left; as early as my third listen, they felt like old friends, albeit ones prone to trauma dumping. There may be records I liked more in 2024, but none moved or shook me quite like Old Eyes, New Heart.

#3. Galneryus // The Stars Will Light the Way – I’ve read dozens of comments all parroting a mildly irksome take: The Stars Will Light the Way feels like Galneryus on cruise control. While this has mostly been opined through a positive lens, it still feels unfairly reductive when considering the sheer quality and consistency of this album. Sure, Sho’s voice is notably strained at this point, but he excels at utilizing his current strengths in the strongest collection of Galneryus tracks since 2014’s Vetelgyus. It’s also the most straightforward record Galneryus has released since Vetelgyus, nixing much of the experimentation and darker leanings of recent offerings (“In Water’s Gaze” notwithstanding) in favor of unbridled jubilance. So yeah, sure, The Stars Will Light the Way is a “safe” record if you want to call it that. It’s still one of the best records from the best power metal band in the world.

#2. Nemedian Chronicles // The Savage Sword – I can hardly believe that Nemedian Chronicles is not a Greek band. They sound so in step with acts like Sacred Outcry that I can practically feel the lamb and tzatziki sauce falling out of an overloaded gyro and onto my lap. Yet the appeal of Nemedian Chronicles is singular. There is a lot of love for Blind Guardian and Sacred Outcry on The Savage Sword, but there is also a distinctly epic, cinematic quality that hearkens back to Bal-Sagoth’s overwrought storytelling. Between the propulsive riffs and sweeping melodies, I’m immediately absorbed into the experience with every listen, and that’s to say nothing of the engaging and often unpredictable songwriting. In most years, The Savage Sword would handily take the crown for best power metal release. However…

#1. Fellowship // The Skies Above Eternity – You know that little bit of text under my review of The Skies Above Eternity that says “Rating: 4.0/5.0?” That number is technically correct per the AMG style guide, but what that number can’t account for is the fact that The Skies Above Eternity is a record I’ll be listening to for the rest of my life. 2022’s The Saberlight Chronicles is a true 5.0/5.0 by any objective or subjective metric, and while The Skies Above Eternity is not as good from a technical standpoint, it fully recaptures the strengths that made its predecessor a modern power metal icon. Fellowship’s debut may have had higher and more frequent peaks, but The Skies Above Eternity excels through consistency and conciseness. The band’s trademark earnestness, vulnerability, and impeccable sense of melodic craft can be felt in every second of the experience. It doesn’t matter whether this record is the best material Fellowship is capable of producing because it warms me in the exact same way they’ve been doing since their first EP, making The Skies Above Eternity one of my most treasured records by default. This album may be a 4.0 in my brain, but it’s a 4.5 in my heart and a 5.0 in my soul.

Song o’ the Year

Fellowship’s “Hold Up Your Hearts (Again)” – I was present in the audience when Fellowship debuted this song live, and everyone was so on board with the silliness of its title that we enthusiastically welcomed it into the Fellowship canon with a communal sea of heart hands. It doesn’t top “Glint” as my favorite Fellowship song, but its concentrated formula of speedy Euro-power metal and the lyrics’ pitch-perfect shonen anime energy handily clear second place status.

Disappointment o’ the Year

Various “Artists” – The Continued Proliferation of Crappy AI Album “Art” – This blog has not adopted a formal stance on albums featuring generative AI artwork, nor do I feel it needs to. But this is my list, and I’m taking the opportunity to say that if I get so much as a whiff of AI coming off of an album going into 2025, I won’t be giving it the time of day, much less a review. It is unfathomable to think some musicians can devote so much time and creative energy into creating an album, only to hold zero value in the image that is supposed to be introducing that album to the world. In fact, if an album features an AI-generated cover, I automatically assume that the devaluation of art permeates the music itself in some form. Either pay a fucking artist to create an album cover for you, or go outside to take a picture of a cool tree or something and slap a Photoshop filter on it. If that proves too difficult, the public domain is your friend. If it’s good enough for Bolt Thrower, it’s sure as hell good enough for your shitty bedroom black metal project.

#2024 #40WattSun #ABurialAtSea #Alcest #andEldritchElitistSTopTenIshOf2024 #Aquilus #At1980 #Beardfish #BlackCurse #BloodIncantation #CruceSignatus #CryptSermon #Dissimulator #Dool #ElCuervoS #Fellowship #Galneryus #GardensTaleS #Hamferð #Huntsmen #InVain #Iotunn #Kalax #Kanonenfieber #LabyrinthusStellarum #Lists #Listurnalia #MadderMortem #Meer #MegaColossus #Monkey3 #MorgulBlade #Myrath #NemedianChronicles #OakAshThorn #Opeth #Selbst #Sidewinder #SleepytimeGorillaMuseum #Soulmass #Syst3mGlitch #TheVisionBleak #Vredehammer #Walg

Nemedian Chronicles – The Savage Sword Review

By Iceberg

Storytelling is intrinsic to the passage of knowledge from generation to generation. Within our steel-forged corner of the multiverse, a few subgenres tackle storytelling overtly: most often prog but also, as is the case today, power metal. Coming into this review, I was under the impression that the story of Conan the Barbarian was confined to the plot line of an old Arnold movie—I couldn’t have been more mistaken. The Hyborian Age is a sprawling prehistoric world designed by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s, set between the fall of Atlantis and the rise of traditional history. Enter French band Nemedian Chronicles and their 70-minute slab of sword and sorcery, ripped straight from the pages of Howard’s tales. Intrigued by the high fantasy concept—and baited by an Ennio Morricone namedrop—I dove headfirst into their debut album The Savage Sword.

Nemedian Chronicles play a brand of power metal in the vein of Hammerfall and Blind Guardian, with a bit of the barbarian stomp of Manowar and the epic sweep of Atlantean Codex. The band is organized in a classic Maiden twin-axe attack formation, supported by a gorgeously arranged orchestral backdrop. Alexandre Duffau puts on a vocal masterclass, with a reedy low register that transitions into powerful full-throated highs, especially when paired with another vocalist (“Born on a Battlefield,” “The Song of Red Sonja”). The rest of the band rarely misses a step in their performances, and their prowess is on full display in album highlight “Black Lotus/The Curse of Thog,” which takes me back to “Egypt” and “The Death of Balance/Lacrymosa” from Symphony X’s V; one of the highest bars in epic power metal as far as this writer is concerned.

Good performances are only one half of a successful concept album, and luckily for Nemedian Chronicles their strongest asset is their ability to sonically immerse the listener in their world. Opener “Nemedian Chronicles” nails the requisite concept album introduction with thunderous tribal drums and orchestrals bolstering a scene-setting monologue; I’m reminded of the beginning of Aeternam’s Heir of the Rising Sun, but even more cinematic in scope. A treasure horde of music follows, from anthemic choruses (“Born on the Battlefield,” “The Thing in the Crypt,” “The Song of Red Sonja”) to triple-time sea shanties (“Tigress of the Black Coast”) to an abyssal of terror in “Black Lotus/The Curse of Thog.” Credit to bassist Guillaume Lefebvre here with not only his stringed duties, but also writing all the music and lyrics, the latter of which frequently directly describe Conan’s exploits. Fans of the source material will find a lot to love here, and anyone who likes to follow clear stories in their music will experience the same.

For all the accolades I lay upon The Savage Sword, I see areas of improvement for the Frenchmen. The biggest, and perhaps most obvious one, pertains to bloat. Nemedian Chronicles’ issue isn’t so much the quality of material that needs to be jettisoned, but the repetition of it (“Monsterslayer,” “The Song of Red Sonja”). Another issue—and your mileage may vary here—is the setting of the lyrics. Alexandre Duffau is clearly an accomplished vocalist, but the sheer amount of words that need to be delivered often seems to overpower the rest of the music for the benefit of the plot; the 9-minute “Tower of the Elephant” is especially at fault here. There’s also a peculiar tendency for the band to suddenly shift the tempo or meter from verse to chorus, which makes some tracks a bumpier listen than I’d prefer (“Tower of the Elephant,” “Tigress of the Black Coast,” “Stygian Sons of Set”).

These most nit of picks aside, Nemedian Chronicles hit all the right notes for me when it comes to memorable power metal. When the closing tribal drums of “The Road of Kings” bring the album full circle, I’m left much more inspired than drained. Listening to this record led me to research the world Robert E. Howard built, which enriched subsequent spins. This is a mightily strong debut from a skilled outfit, and with some tightening in the lyrical and editing departments, Nemedian Chronicles could easily lay siege to our much-vaunted safety counter. I heartily recommend The Savage Sword for fans of the comics or power metal in general; keep an eye on these guys.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: No Remorse Records | facebook.com

Website: facebook.com
Releases Worldwide: February 23rd, 2024

#2024 #35 #Aeternam #AtlanteanKodex #BlindGuardian #EpicMetal #Feb24 #FrenchMetal #Hammerfall #Manowar #NemedianChronicles #NoRemorseRecords #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #SymphonicPowerMetal #SymphonyX #TheSavageSword