Summer is burning and the Olympics had a surprise Gojira sighting, sparking a minor Satanic panic in some quarters. 2024 continues to fly by at a crazy pace but it’s been a fairly sleepy year for metal without a wealth of killer releases to distract us from life’s cruel grind. May did have a decent haul of good moments though and we’re finally getting around to classifying and ranking them. Better late than never right? You shut up.
Ukranian death metal act Hell:on come to kill on Shaman, and they spice up their brutal death attack with ritualistic and folk elements, veering into the realm of Behemoth but sounding different enough to be their own altered beast. The extraneous elements are used smartly to flesh out typically ugly, uncompromising death metal tracks, giving them a unique character without ever letting things get too soft or strange. The end result is a truly murderous album that delivers the violence in interesting ways that demand repeat spins and focused attention. Mystical and monstrous rarely sounded this oppressive. Holdeneye summed it up thusly, “I can’t find one single thing to complain about on Shaman. It’s nearly a perfect album in my book, and it only gets better the more I listen.” Big stuff.
Runner(s) Up:
Warlord // Free Spirit Soar – Long, long ago, Warlord had the metal world buzzing over their debut EP Deliver Us. With future Fates Warning member Mark Zonder manning drums, the sharp, memorable take on classic metal garnered praise and featured at least one enduring hit that still gets covered by bands today. After that their career had numerous missteps and they ended up falling well short of their potential. This struggle bus history makes it all the more shocking that they managed to drop a truly great album in 2024 after the death of founding guitarist Bill Tsamis (Lordian Guard). With a revamped lineup, Mark Zonder and friends bring classic 80s metal thunder to the world on Free Spirit Soar and it’s brilliant. With a sound spanning Wytch Hazel, Atlantean Kodex, and Savage Grace, no stone is left unturned if a tasty 80s riff is hidden beneath. You end up with a classy, polished, endlessly hooky platter of regal throwback metal, and the best thing Warlord ever did. Talk about a comeback!
Aquilus // Bellum II – Atmo-sympho black metal act Aquilus have a proven track record of fusing metal and symphonic elements in a way that just works. The soundscapes certainly can be pretentious, but gripping atmospheres and ornate, beautiful compositions are forged, taking the best parts of black metal and giving them a classical makeover. Oppressive blackened tropes are paired with somber string and piano lines to create something that isn’t quite black metal but reeks of it nonetheless. This is chamber music for the insane, but it’s beautifully conceived and executed. As a gobsmacked El Cuervo gushed, “it’s so fucking good that I really can’t criticize it for taking itself so seriously. It’s the work of a master craftsman, immaculately composed, performed, and arranged into an ornate and beautiful example of human creativity. ” Fancy music for fancy folks.
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