What a long year it has been. When I first started 2024, I was damn sure that this would be a special one as it marked the 10th anniversary of Head-Banger Reviews, and I was adamant that I was going to celebrate appropriately. Unfortunately, this year offered a lot more personal struggle than what I had anticipated, and I now find myself getting ready to enter 2025 realizing that I had not achieved what I wished.
Yet, it is in this state that I find myself ever more grateful and appreciative for what this website, your music, and the community has been able to do on top of being one of the key factors that kept me anchored to this world as 2024 continuously brought me to my knees. A world that has kept me precisely where I need to be in times of doubt, frustration, despair, and sorrow, the simple existence of Head-Banger Reviews is something that I value extremely highly. From the sheer variety of excellence that the underground and above still have to offer even after so long of losing myself within it and the unbelievable hospitality from the community that continues to astound me. Truly, thank you all!
Finding myself in the closing days of 2024, I yet again find myself able to turn around and look upon all the glory that has come around to make the year yet another tremendous year for heaviness and beyond.
Overflowing with creations from bands long-established and newcomers alike, everyone seemed to have their time in the sun to ensure that the year would be a bombastic time that held nothing back. Looking back, I find myself looking upon a truly eclectic list that I had a hell of a time sifting through in order to come before you with my Top 30 Albums of 2024. If you haven’t already investigated my Honorable Mentions of 2024, I must recommend for many of those albums were considered for this final collection with each of them having more than enough to become lost within. From long-form instrumental psychedelic rock to unyielding death metal, Head-Banger Reviews is as eclectic as it has always been, and that’s not changing any time soon!
Every year has its own share of surprises when it comes to what material we’re going to find with damn near anything on the table, and I already know damn well that 2025 has more than a few interesting creations already in store. From the rising acts that many of us have come to love to those still writhing on the very floor of the underground, there will more far more than enough for us to become enamored with as names like Desert Collider, Acid Magus, and Unreqvited already demonstrating mastery in their own respective genres to ensure that 2025 is already off to a bombastic start, and that’s not even considering those bands who have works still unknown to us! Effortlessly, 2025 is guaranteed to have something for everybody.
But enough of my blathering! Please, go below and look upon my Top 30 Albums of 2024! As is the case with every year, to listen to the album in question, click the album and the band name, and should you want to review my review for the album, click the cover art.
Once more, thank you all so much for your patience and splendor that has made 2024 a year that I could get through! To another ten years of Head-Banger Reviews! To metal and beyond! To all of you!!
1. Black Pyramid – The Paths of Time Are Vast
The biggest surprise that I’ve come across all year. A name that I’ve seen floating around for years now, but it wasn’t until a fateful Bandcamp find that I realized the magnificence that has passed me by for years. This is mastery over all that heavy psychedelia can be. The intensity. The captivity. The intoxication! The riffs! The atmospheres! The craftsmanship!! The audacity!! All that Black Pyramid has accomplished here cannot be considered anything short of a masterpiece with all that’s gone into “The Paths of Time are Vast” the kind of glory truly classic albums are made of!
2. Big Scenic Nowhere – The Waydown
A name that has become cemented in the psych rock sound for all that it has been and can still be, Big Scenic Nowhere ensured that 2024 started off on the best foot possible. Tremendously building off of all that came before while making sure in every instance to progress what Big Scenic Nowhere can become, “The Waydown” is a worthy addition to a growing catalog carved out by genre legends whose own tales have only just begun to enchant and captivate those the world over.
3. Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill
As one of the absolute hottest names in what the modern rock scene has produced in quite some time, we knew that Sergeant Thunderhoof wasn’t going to disappoint with what they brought to the table for “The Ghost of Badon Hill”, yet few could have anticipated what they threw down here. A thunderous effort that holds nothing back and only further expands upon what the Sergeant has become truly known for, “The Ghost of Badon Hill” has spirit, talent, and excellence in every damn note that it has to offer.
4. Lord Buffalo – Holus Bolus
While the frayed borders of rock music is something that many try to understand, few are able to tap into that raw potential like what Lord Buffalo has been doing for years. Reaching into their more meditative tendencies and offering an approach that is nigh on captivating as the American Midwest unfolds before our very eyes, “Holus Bolus” puts us into a state of mind that allows us to be everywhere all at once. Intoxicating riffs that echo across the plains alongside simply hypnotic musicianship that never once holds back, Lord Buffalo only furthers their trend of grandeur that stands out from the tall grass of the plains.
5. Eremit – Rise of the Ruan~Angh
To be aware of the maximum potential of modern sludge-doom metal is to be intimately aware with Eremit. A rising name that has been a constant presence for years now, it’s with the surprising two-track, 40-minute work of “Rise of the Ruan~angh” that Eremit expands their lore as well as their aural repertoire in a truly massive way. Armies charging into battle as the desert sun beats down upon fresh blood on the dunes, Eremit’s brutality, ingenuity, and intensity has again made for another standout performance.
6. Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition IV: To Shadow Zion
The final entry in a tetralogy that has defined Panzerfaust as one of the absolute need-to-know acts in the whole of the underground, “The Suns of Perdition” could not have ended off on a more nihilistic or bombastic ending as “To Shadow Zion”. A truly cataclysmic conclusion that is anything but a happy ending when it’s all said and done, Panzerfaust delivers only the highest level of caustic mastery to make for an effort that’s as horrific as it is magnificent to gaze upon. In the ashes of a fallen world, only the shadows of the dead will reign as darkness overtakes existence and the pitiful flame of life is well and truly extinguished.
7. Inconcessus Lux Lucis – Temples Colliding in Fire
An entity that can be likened to extremely few others in the whole of the underground, Inconcessus Lux Lucis delivers occult black metal of a sort that is wholly their own. Time has only come to sharpen their devious blades, and every performance has been building up to the overwhelming grandeur of “Temples Colliding in Fire”. Singularly compelling and downright devilish in nature, Inconcessus Lux Lucis has never been an act to deny and they’re in top form throughout this vast opus of flame-wreathed darkness.
8. Crypt Sermon – The Stygian Rose
The third album from the rising stars of the epic doom world, “Stygian Rose” sees Crypt Sermon evolve into the simply stunning presence that we knew was always there from the beginning. Intricate songwriting, spellbinding rhythms, and a real knack for what has always made the genre something to behold in full, Crypt Sermon seizes their destiny with both hands in the singularly bombastic opus.
9. Tzompantli – Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force
Despite only being the band’s second album, it is here that Tzompantli has immediately transformed into a beast of undeniable fury and unyielding potential. Death-doom the likes of which people really salivate for, it’s throughout the whole of “Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force” that this Aztec-inspired act builds greatness, horror, and ancient rituals into a powerful creation that beckons you back into the halls of its centuries-old temple again and again.
10. Inter Arma – New Heaven
The band that is always exploring new territory. Where some bands find it easy to fall into some sort of rhythm with their sound, Inter Arma continues to be a name that holds nothing back and is always challenging the listener. “New Heaven” only furthers that trend. A true whirlwind of madness, frustration, and catharsis of the most primal kind, it’s in this writhing state that Inter Arma puts forth a wild performance that is hard to pin down even in its calmest moments. Creativity unbound and hostile craftsmanship damn near unmatched, Inter Arma’s legend only grows with this massive performance.
11. For the Storms – Losing What’s Left of Us
An act that I never could have seen coming, For the Storms is the tour de force of doom metal expertise that many strive to accomplish, yet it has been years since I’ve come across a band that achieves anywhere close to what’s accomplished within “Losing What’s Left of Us”. Captivating, dense, intensely layered, and intricate beyond belief with clear mastery over sludge, doom, and post metal to make for a wild concoction whose madness cannot be denied, For the Storms offers a masterclass in heaviness, suffering, and catharsis of the heaviest kind.
12. Invernoir – Aimin’ For Oblivion
More than just a callback to 90s gothic doom the likes of which many try to hearken back to, what Invernoir has accomplished cannot be seen as anything less than a monumental triumph of a sort that legends are made out of. A gripping experience that rends the darkness with riffs abound and more than enough personality to keep you coming back for more “Aimin’ for Oblivion” demonstrates mastery over a craft that rarely sees such attention to detail alongside feverish passion.
13. Cloud People – Simulacra
The years have seen many works of psychedelic rock come across my plate with more than a few hoping to achieve something different, and few have done so as well as what Cloud People brings forth in its instrumental debut, “Simulacra”. Dealing in conspiracies and secrets of what’s beyond the stars, it’s with a clear infusion of jazz that Cloud People immediately sets themselves apart from the competition to make for a standout performance that’s as captivating as it is enchanting and addicting. From the riffs to the saxophone, the secrets out there lie within “Simulacra”.
14. Veilburner – The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom
Celebrating their seventh album with a fixation on the number seven itself, Veilburner continues to be a writhing entity in the underground whose fiery madness cannot be denied nor ignored as their prowess in ways of insanity only grows with time. For all the intensity and chaos that goes on within the swirling darkness of “The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom”, Veilburner cements the fact that they are not to be underestimated in the slightest. To do so would be to subject yourself to a sinister inferno the likes of which not even Dante would dare bring into existence with such excruciating detail. Truly, Veilburner is at a devilish peak here.
15. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
Blood Incantation really took people by surprise with what they dared to bring to the table with “Absolute Elsewhere”. It’s the sort of creativity and against-the-grain ingenuity that death metal often needs. The talent of Blood Incantation has never been in question, yet it is in this expansive work that the universe itself seems to bend to the will of this act to make for a staggering effort that gleams into the next dimension.
16. Mork – Syv
The seventh album from one of the absolute hottest bands in all of black metal in the last ten years, “Syv” only furthers the dark magnificence that Mork has become truly synonymous with. A sinister effort that offers no reprieve or mercy for those that come before them. Pulling together all of their previous strengths to offer nothing short of blackness over the entire world, Mork’s power only continues to grow exponentially.
17. Hybrid Nightmares – Woeful Inertia
The cosmic onslaught force from Australia that has only been growing in fury as time has gone on, it’s with the overwhelming whole of “Woeful Inertia” that Hybrid Nightmares comes into their own in such a form that is nigh on compelling. Unrelenting in nature but devilishly intricate that demands multiple spins in order to understand all the codes and secrets held therein, this is the album Hybrid Nightmares was always destined to achieve.
18. Elephant Tree / Lowrider – The Long Forever
The union that people only dream of, both of these acts have been the cornerstones of their respective corners of rock music for years now with this split something that none would of have dared hoped for. Both delivering their A-game to throw down one of the most spectacular splits in recent years, “The Long Forever” is all but destined to be hailed as a masterclass example of what it means to witness two legends join forces.
19. Nekus – Death Apophenia
The kind of seething terror that can only be found on the very floor of the underground, the death-doom of Nekus is simply dripping with splendid terror. For everything that the summoned out of the darkest tombs to bring “Death Apophenia” into the light, ineptitude and mercy are certainly not among that repertoire as Nekus demonstrates over and over again how the knife cuts slow, but it cuts deep, burns greatly, and takes the sickest of pleasure in the torment it causes. Alongside a terrific understanding of the style as a whole, Nekus is the new menace in the underground that revels in its home in the darkest of shadows.
20. Ungfell – De Ghörnt
One of the most enchanting acts to have risen out of black metal in recent years, Ungfell is a name that is one a must-know status for anyone who considers themselves any sort of connoisseur of modern black metal with their latest effort of “De Ghörnt” raises the bar to new heights. Melodic, captivating, more than a little mystical, and more than enough to make waves in any year even as a late entry, “De Ghörnt” sees Ungfell seize its destiny in such a capacity that is nigh on fascinating to bear witness to.
21. High Desert Queen – Palm Reader
A rising star in the desert rock scene of late, High Desert Queen taps into what many can only hope to bring to the table with the talent, passion, and know-how for the sound all at an extreme high throughout the whole of “Palm Reader”. A captivating performance through riffs and intoxicating melodies, High Desert Queen is the sort of act that many of us are constantly salivating for.
22. Feral – To Usurp the Thrones
Few things can get in the way of properly done Swedish death metal. There are no shortage of names out there that are able to bring forth a demonstration of the style done with solid capacity, but few are able to master it to such a degree as Feral. Having honed their blades for years, it’s with all they slice up within “To Usurp the Thrones” that Feral comes into their own to take their rightful place at the forefront of what Swedish death metal can and should be.
23. Job for a Cowboy – Moon Healer
The comeback album many of us have been dreaming of for years now. There’s a reason that Job for a Cowboy has remained an essential name in the genre for several years now, and “Moon Healer” sees the now-legendary act come back to us in no less than top form. A singularly masterful demonstration of what the genre can still be in the hands of seasoned masters, this is a record that can help define the generation of the sound. No less than addictive, Job for a Cowboy is fucking back!
24. Baron – Beneath the Blazing Abyss
As a bastion for all kinds of metal, Finland has been a constant source of excellence with there always being a great deal of talent at the frontlines to constantly show us what the Finns can still accomplish. With death-doom that is massive in every possible way, the maw of Hell itself opens wide with flames abound at the very presence of Baron. For the absolute entirety of “Beneath the Blazing Abyss”, the listener is damned to seven tracks of simply powerful musicianship that never holds back in any regard. A riff machine that knows how to take its time and savor the very edge of the knife, Baron’s fire burns with true intensity along every inch of their enrapturing inferno.
25. Cosmic Putrefaction – Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell Mountains
Backed with the power of a true master of the underground, Cosmic Putrefaction has been on the rise for years now. A tour de force of what it means to bring darkness to a fresh frontier that’s as invigorating as it is terrifying, it’s within its fourth effort of “Emerald Fires Atop the Farewell Mountains” that this name reaches a new peak. Viciously dynamic and violently engaging, Cosmic Putrefaction reaches a new level that’s simply mesmerizing to behold.
26. Majak – Restless Wicked
Rarely do we see the combination of heavy metal and black metal brought into a singular form, and even rarer do we see the concept taken to such a length that capitalizes on that potential. For all that’s summoned within “Restless Wicked”, Majak establishes itself as a name that can do that and more. Hypnotic in its riffage and devious in every aspect, “Restless Wicked” is intoxicating of the darkest order.
27. Moonseeds – Moonseeds
A long-winded excursion into what psychedelic rock can be at its most transcendent, the debut work from Moonseeds offers a trip of high psychedelia that we simply don’t see go hand-in-hand with the immense quality offered throughout these three tracks. With more than enough to lose yourself within these forty-one minutes, Moonseeds delivers what few others can.
28. Clouds Taste Satanic – 79 A.E.
Having become a true staple in what it means to deliver instrumental doom excellence, Clouds Taste Satanic have yet to lose a single iota of their power as the years have piled on. In a post-apocalyptic hellscape where only the riff remains, “79 A.E.” sees this voiceless beast return with a pair of 20-minute monsters that offer nothing less than supreme excellence in a style that has long been the domain of Clouds Taste Satanic.
Head-Banger Reviews 