Now that 2024 is almost over, the time has arrived to reflect upon the accursed year that we are about to leave behind, marching onward toward new and ever-worsening obstacles. After all, in the words of one charming gentleman, whose work we will be celebrating today: “Varje dag, värre än dagen dessförinnan.” / “Every day, worse than the day before.”
The list of the year’s best albums below spans a range of musical styles, highlighting artists who have fearlessly forged their own paths. However, no, these picks are not all that diverse in the sense that many of the voices contained herein are connected in one way or another, proving that great minds are destined to unite. If you want to listen to those who truly make a lifestyle of their craft, there really are not that many options, in my view.
Although the 15 releases of honor are numbered, the order is random, as opposed to having anything to do with rank; most of these titles are of the very highest quality and therefore should not be compared. Without further ado, let’s revisit the offerings that gave this atrocious thing called life a semblance of meaning over the past twelve months.
15) Consider Suicide, Gudalik II (Unjoy — Art & Ritualia)
Consider Suicide — the banner alone stands as a glorious testament to free thought. I consider suicide around the clock, but thanks to, or, depending upon your perspective, maybe even as an unfortunate consequence of, artists like the legendary Kim Carlsson, I don’t have to pull the trigger, thereby creating abstract art on my walls. After retreating into the shadows for what seemed like an intolerably extended period, yet, in reality, wasn’t that prolonged, Kim Carlsson surprised us with Gudalik II, meaning “godlike,” “divine,” or “the corpse of God.” This effort was crafted with the support of Carlsson’s partner in crime, Belgium’s esteemed Déhà. Gudalik II, which is but one installment in a series of what will ultimately be four records, amounts to a highly reflective diamond, sparkling with multi-faceted splendor. If Gudalik II could soothe all of the intolerable Sturm und Drang welling up to alpine heights in an obnoxiously dramatic soul like mine, then it can work wonders for anyone; dare I suggest that Gudalik II actually boasts healing powers. Carlsson always rises above due to his authenticity and brilliance. Simply stated, Carlsson is one of my very favorite musicians, and indeed Gudalik II serves as confirmation of the fact that he consistently outshines. In fact, Carlsson almost tempts me to stop writing because his elevated art exposes the vast majority of his peers as pathetic jokes.
Remember to revisit Carlsson’s other projects: the immortal Lifelover, Hypothermia, Life Is Pain, A Symphony to the Void, Ritualmord, etc. Please regard Ritualmord’s Dit ruset tar oss, which premiered on the same day as Gudalik II and features 1853, also of Lifelover fame, as part of this list as well. Dit ruset tar oss, Gudalik II, and the next gem on our list were all brought to us courtesy of Carlsson’s label Unjoy — Art & Ritualia. We commend Carlsson for going his own way — being a label owner is obviously incredibly time-consuming, but it’s admirable that he has total control over a good portion of his content while also working with other revered labels.
14) Consider Suicide, Avstånd (Unjoy — Art & Ritualia)
Consider Suicide not only hit us with one intensely rewarding victory, they followed it with another less than a month later. While Gudalik II premiered on November 11 and was recorded in 2019, Avstånd, which means “Distance,” dropped on December 9, a pre-Christmas miracle. Avstånd was tracked this year, again with Déhà. If you think your music is extreme, but you haven’t been listening to Carlsson’s work, woe is you. Consider Suicide’s opuses epitomize extreme beauty, real blackness, and so forth — that which is too complicated to pigeonhole and from which most other creators shy away. In terms of the power that Avstånd holds over me and will hopefully wield over you, this release cannot be surpassed. Verily, it should leave receptive listeners calling for their Lord every time — it’s that perfect.
Avstånd will guide searching souls someplace new upon each play, forcing them to wander through the peaks and valleys of their psyches as well as what lies without. Meditative yet also fun as hell, unanticipatedly upbeat in part, the profound Avstånd is even better and more rewarding than a psychedelic trip. Avstånd is not only meaningful in itself, but it allows listeners to find answers and thus create new meaning like good little Nietzscheans. Take Avstånd out in the woods; bring it into a dark bedroom; just allow its alchemical properties to take hold, transport, and transfigure you. Better instrumental offerings than what Carlsson has brought to the table this year simply do not exist. We can’t wait to hear Carlsson’s next moves.
13) Xasthur, Disharmonic Variations (Prophecy Productions / Lupus Lounge)
Xasthur’s absurdly wise Scott Conner is one of the few intrepid sonic explorers today with the truly correct attitude. This prolific prophet is known as one of the most important black metal pioneers. However, his piercing gaze sees past all of the corpse-painted clowns and copycats engaging in heinous crimes of artistic dishonesty. Hence, Scott has distanced himself from the black metal scene, though he never shuts any doors completely, preferring absolute creative freedom. Scott has always followed his own inner calls, which have led him to fuse diverse genres and birth new styles.
Arriving on July 5, the acid-splashed Disharmonic Variations boasts a red, white, and blue cover painted by Scott, who, for those who are not yet enlightened, hails from California. Disharmonic Variations, the follow-up to Inevitably Dark, rightly earned a 5/5 from Rue Morgue. With eye-candy yet thought-provoking song titles welded to compositions that both enrapture and speak volumes, Disharmonic Variations doesn’t need words in order to flawlessly and all too effectively reflect Scott’s role as a present-day “messenger of truth.”
This 13-track album may be described as dark folk, but it is foremost an inventive product of the superior mind of Scott. The result is dangerously honest, painfully mesmerizing, delightfully unnerving, and forever haunting. Timeless, a time warp, and wholly relevant, Disharmonic Variations represents a refreshing and oddly entertaining kick in the face of the false, all those scrambling to collect their “Counterfeit Pennies.” No, “Your Existence Isn’t Enough,” and stop with your “Fairytale Ideologies,” you “Sheep in Wolves Clothing” and “Other Blind Believers.” Ultimately, Disharmonic Variations shatters our illusions by confronting us with mirrors, thus rousing us from our cognitive slumber.
What we need is for Xasthur to play more gigs so that Scott can spread the gospel of real music. Please, dearest booking agents: Open your ears, do the duty you have been neglecting, and get this man out on the road now!
12) The Combined Works of Terratur Possessions
Although it would be impossible to properly sing the praises of Terratur, we can say that the label’s founder, Ole A. Aune, is not only an upstanding citizen, but also a nearly infallible paradigm of taste and reason — a thing as impossible to encounter within the black metal community as stumbling upon a chimera in a sober state. Damn you, Herr Aune; you deserve cargo ships full of coal for all the black metal supremacy that you have unleashed upon the world in 2024 and throughout the years since 2007. Yes, the highest quantity of new extreme metal offerings of undeniable quality come from Terratur Possessions, which is both a testament to your greatness and proof of just how boring the cesspool known as modern music has become.
Over the past twelve months, Terratur was kind enough to share the following diseases with us: Bythos’ Chthonic Gates Unveiled, which climbed to number 4 on the Finnish physical album charts; Misotheist’s Vessels by Which the Devil Is Made Flesh; Death Like Mass’ Lord of the Flies; Whoredom Rife’s Den Vrede Makt; Enevelde’s Pandemonium; Kråbøl’s Never; and the re-release of Piołun’s Rzeki Goryczy. Syn’s Villfarelse may have premiered in 2023, but the cassette and vinyl versions came out this year, thus we can add it to our list as well.
In April, Terratur did the unthinkable by dropping yet another one of their infamous compilations, TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV. Most importantly, this 9-song work of black metallic art presented us with our first venomous sample of Diabolus, mecum semperterne!, a supergroup featuring Tor-Helge “Cernunnus” Skei from Manes — one of the greatest artists and geniuses ever to breathe. Accordingly, Skei’s Manii and Syning, also on the Terratur roster, are two of the greatest black metal bands in existence.
11) The Combined Masterpieces of Maxime Taccardi
Maxime Taccardi, the Priest of Terror, is, like Carlsson, a true Renaissance man and another close accomplice of Déhà. Not only is Taccardi an internationally beloved musician; he is a celebrated painter, sculptor, animator, photographer, filmmaker, author, and educator. Indeed, Taccardi provides a total experience, combining his music with his other gifts, overwhelming the senses for an effect similar to an overdose. Of course, his records, which could typically be defined as belonging to- while simultaneously transcending the genre of black metal, tend to be cinematic and drag listeners into the depths of anxiety, despair, sorrow, sickness, existential dilemmas, etc. This injector of lethal doses of truth never ceases to astound with his relentless assaults of unbounded creativity, exposing us to previously unheard and unseen types of achievements; Taccardi constantly finds new modes of expression for evil and more, transfiguring even the most gruesome aspects of being into pure art.
This year, Taccardi simply made too many breakthroughs, uniting the brutal and the beautiful, the intellectual with delightfully senseless aggression. More specifically, he blessed us with the wonderfully ruthless yet magical curses of Osculum Serpentis’Satanā, Miseria, Vampyre Lord, and Le Fardeau. Moreover, the industrial post-punk, avant-garde, synth experiment that is Contemplating the Void pierced our forearms with the chilling ecstasy of their self-titled debut, which melds spectral charm and the hellishness of utter abjection.
2024 also welcomed CDN Records’ cassette version of Blasphemia, the first full-length by Taccardi’s revolutionary death metal project, Putrid Omen. Similarly, Battlesk’rs Productions prepared cassette editions of Kyūketsuki’s unforgettable In Hell I Shall Be King and K.F.R’s magnum opus, Pain/Ter — both of these titles showcase special guests who appear elsewhere on this list. The Japanese-influenced Kyūketsuki is one of the most fascinating projects around, and K.F.R, Taccardi’s main band, is just as compelling. The vinyls and digipacks for Pain/Ter will be made available by Time to Kill Records in 2025.
Update: We were thrilled to learn that Taccardi just made the cover of Rock Hard France. This couldn’t be more well-deserved, and we look forward to seeing him on more covers soon. Any outlet that hasn’t reported on Taccardi yet either has journalists with very wrong things going on inside their heads or who are simply jealous of true talent.
