It may have been a shitty year for almost everything else: politics, business, the economy, and a lot of people’s personal lives as a result of those things, but it sure was a good year for music. Some years, I have trouble putting together a top 10 that actually came out within the year and found myself wracking my brain. This year, there are at least 20 picks I had to put by the wayside to make way for the top 10. Give all these artists a listening if you like your music aggressive and catchy—That’s basically the only thing all my favorite artists have in common.
This record got a lot of hype, but in my opinion, not quite enough. The band made no secret in their interviews about the record that they like dance music and pop and don’t see a reason why those things need to be segregated from metal and hardcore, and that’s basically my whole philosophy as well. And to boot, they do it really well. This is one of the heaviest albums of the year, but also one of the catchiest, and the electronic elements fit in so naturally. I hope this means Candy get even weirder and more experimental as the years go on.
Boundaries – Death is Little More
If you’re not familiar with Boundaries, this is a great time to get familiar. They keep it heavy and also a little sad, sappy, and old-school emo on this record, scratching all the right itches. Each song is unique, and they balance the sad, melodic interludes with the absolute beatdown madness in a way most bands couldn’t handle.
Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition
This record got some hate, presumably because it’s more melodic than a lot of their other stuff. I say, there’s a real lack of good melodic death metal in the modern age, and plenty of old-school death metal that, while a lot of it is phenomenal, isn’t always terribly original. This record is definitely original. All the riffs are super memorable, and if you think they put skill or heaviness by the wayside because they picked up more melody, you’d be entirely wrong. This record is great.
I’ve always been a fan of Nails, and I’ll be really honest–This isn’t a terribly original record. It’s not like the took a break for a while, came back, and suddenly are super experimental and sound like Full of Hell or something. It’s still just really straight-ahead, ripping, loud, aggressive, punky hardcore. But what else do you need when you do that this well?! There are plenty of folks getting weird with it. This just rips, and sometimes, that’s OK.
Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
After their recent stint on Jimmy Kimmel, they’re a band that need no introduction. But in addition to making hardcore palatable for the masses, or weird enough for the hipsters, or whatever they did, this is also just a really solid, memorable, amazingly constructed hardcore record. I’m starting to feel silly repeating over and over that these albums are heavy and catchy, but that really is my theme most of the time, and definitely for this year. This album will destroy your eardrums but you can also sing along. Love them or hate them, it’s hard to deny this is a really well-executed album.
TR/ST is one of the few artists I listen to who isn’t metal, hardcore, trap, or club kid music. My dad was a big goth rock fan, and ever since he passed away last year, gothy stuff has held a special, nostalgic place in my heart. And I truly believe that TR/ST is the modern age’s answer to Sisters of Mercy. His music is big, loud, catchy, cerebral, sad, and fun. He hits all the main goth touch points. I haven’t been disappointed by a record of his yet, and this one takes the cake.
Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
Even though this record came out at the beginning of the year, I knew right away it was destined for my best-of list. I love everything Chelsea Wolfe does, but she has some albums that do it for me more than others. I truly believe this is one of her best albums, and because Wolfe is such a vulnerable, personable artist, I believe that’s because she did a lot of self exploration and really in touch with herself on this record. As the name implies, she tapped into some part of herself she wasn’t in tune with before, and the music shows it. Somehow it’s even more honest and immediate than anything she’s done before, and I can’t get enough of this album.
I listen to a lot of trap, but I don’t always put it in my top 10 list. A lot of times, that’s because the artists in question are so big, like doing songs with Drake level big, that I feel they get enough mainstream love and want to support smaller artists. But Future deserves a special mention for this one. It’s great to hear him get back to his roots and make something more slimy and raw. I love R&B, and his sexier, croonier records are still fire, but I like louder, heavy music across the board, so I appreciate his heavy trap stuff a bit more. Every song on this album is a banger.
It was not on my 2024 bingo card to put a nu metal record from a band I idolized in middle school and high school at the top of my top 10 list, but here we are. In fact, when Kittie first dropped this, I kind of groaned and rolled my eyes. I didn’t want my high school musical icons to make fools out of themselves now with a cringy record that would land … well, the way the new Lincoln Park has landed for most people. But no. This record is great. It sounds like old Kittie. That theme for me of heavy and catchy definitely started with bands like Kittie, and they still write some, catchy, poppy hits, but damn is this record still heavy. Special shoutout to “One Foot in the Grave” to being, in my opinion, the best pop-metal song ever written.
Spectral Wound – Songs of Blood and Mire
Ask me to show you a perfect band, and I’ll show you Spectral Wound every time. They are black metal exactly as black metal should be: loud, heavy, snotty, punk, chaotic, a little mysterious, catchy, and spooky. This record takes the cake. Every song has a riff you’ll be humming for days but headbanging to while it plays. Yes, catchy and heavy yet again. I was already in love with this band, and this album just absolutely outdoes itself. A must-listen for all black metal fans.
