Let’s face it: there’s a lot of music out there and so little time to truly enjoy it all. Even when you do enjoy it, how do you remember all the albums you’ve listened to throughout the year? And how do you make sure you bug your friends to listen to that new kickass album? Well, me and a friend decided to finally stop messaging album links to each other and instead made one big damn Google Spreadsheet to track albums throughout the year. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking concept, but it’s a lot of fun getting notifications when your buddy leaves a comment on a new album saying “STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND PUT THIS SHIT ON.” And thanks to the spreadsheet, keeping track of my favorite albums from 2024 was a breeze.
10) Devin Townsend, PowerNerd (HevyDevy)
Devin Townsend has a lot of albums with a lot of different sounds. And yet, on PowerNerd, he delivers his signature wall of sound in a package longtime fans will delight in but also makes a great starting point for newbies. The title track is a great example of his brand of heavy, silly, irreverent, infectious songwriting. The finale track, “Ruby Quacker” might be my favorite closer song of the year. Another jewel in Hevy Devy’s crown.
Key Track: “Knuckledragger”
09) Thy Catafalque, XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek
Tamás Kátai has quite the output, so much so I almost forgot there was a new album out this year. I first discovered Thy Catafalque in 2015, and while the genre tag of avant-garde might sound like you better gear up for some weird inaccessible shit (nothing wrong with that), I wouldn’t put it that way. Yes, XII has a wide array of sounds, but they all blend together wonderfully with some sick riffs to hold it all together. Check the sweet sax solo on “Nyárfa, nyírfa”.
Key Track: “Nyárfa, nyírfa”
08) Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze,The Fractal Ouroboros (Self-Released)
Technically, this was released in December 2023, but that’s so late in the year that I say, fuck it, this deserves to be included in a 2024 list. This album is, in a word, massive. The band put it best on their Bandcamp page: “Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze stands as a knife pointed to the throat of any who seek to maintain the oppressive systems of white supremacy and fascism that continue to fester in our societies.” That’s what this album is: a knife. Made of black metal and rage.
Key Track: “Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash”
07) Blood Incantation,Absolute Elsewhere (Dark Descent)
Every year there comes an album laden with hype, and every year I’m hesitant to listen to said album for fear of being let down. For context, I enjoyed Blood Incancation’s much lauded Hidden History of the Human Race, but it didn’t turn me into a super fan eagerly awaiting their next release and I missed out on Timewave Zero. But goddamn, Absolute Elsewhere really is that good. Death metal in space is how it was put to me and that about sums it up. I love the team up with Tangerine Dream and all that comes along with it, from big electronic soundscapes one minute and a killer death metal riff the next.
Key Track: “The Message [Tablet I]”
06) Cave Sermon, Divine Laughter (Self-Released)
This album is a strange one in a great way. I can’t describe it with an easy to sum up genre tag, but it’s got elements of black, death and doom wrapped
up in a post metal vibe. Suffice it to say there’s a lot going on, but it never feels unfocused or unwieldy. It’s heavy, dissonant, abrasive, yet somehow also meditative and atmospheric. Well, to me at least. In any case, it’s the first album I listened to this year that I truly fell in love with.
Key Track: “Beyond Recognition”
