We're back! If last week was about wiping away the sleep from our eyes and shaking off the cobwebs after a winter break, then this week we're well and truly back into the thick of it as metal bands aplenty release announce new albums, unveil deluxe editions and - most importantly for this feature - release new songs, so much in fact we've been forced to expand to 15 songs.
First, the results of last week's vote! Bring Me The Horizon might be the first major band to release new music in 2024, but they were usurped in the fan vote by emergent talent. Goth metallers October Noir took an admirable third place, narrowly beat out by fellow doom-inclined rockers Lucifer, but it was hardcore mob Desolated who took top spot, Victim offering a beatdown to leave us staggering forward into the New Year.
This week we've a diverse spread of names and faces to offer, covering everything from prog metal (with some black metal inclinations) to symphonic, metalcore, death metal and beyond with the likes of Enslaved, Fit For A King and Aborted. As ever, we need you to vote and tell us which songs excite you most, with the end-goal of assembling the ultimate playlist of 2024's finest metal offerings. Happy listening!
Enslaved - Gangandi
Amidst the shifting currents of Enslaved's sonic experiments lies a simple fact: this band are reliably brilliant. Last year's Heimdal proved that sure enough and now the album is getting a deluxe edition with a few mind-warping extras, including latest single Gangandi. The Norwegians have always balked at the idea of being tagged black metal, but there's no shortage of swirling, blast-beat driven vortexes at the heart of Gangandi, a track which also expertly weaves in cosmic guitars, venomous snarls and ethereal folk elements with a distinctive Middle Eastern flavour for a twisted, impressive epic that leaves the competition chewing dust.
Amaranthe - ReVision
Amaranthe are clearly going hog-wild with new album The Catalyst, dialing up their most excitable elements to produce electro-infused metal mayhem. Due February 23, the latest single from the record ReVision is a bouncy, semi-glitchy blast of buoyant riffs with a huge chorus begging for massive sing-alongs. Given the band will be touring the UK with Dragonforce next month, it's fair to say there's plenty of opportunities for it.
Fit For A King - Keeping Secrets
With the Metalcore Dropouts tour just around the corner - kicking off in Kanas City on January 16 - Texans Fit For A King have burst forth with new single Keeping Secrets. The first taste of new material since 2022's The Hell We Create, there's no word yet on if the band have a new record in the works or if this is just a stand-alone, but given the sheer enormity of the song we reckon this one will be a firm fan-favourite before long.
Leaves’ Eyes - Realm Of Dark Waves
With over 20 years' symphonic metal grandeur behind them, Leaves' Eyes are hardly about to completely reinvent themselves now. Which is just as well: new single Realm Of Dark Waves has the splendour and swashbuckling bombast that fans have fallen in love with over the past 20 years, folding in elements of power metal and Celtic-flutes which offer a sense of globe-trotting adventure. The first taste of new album Myths Of Fate, due March 22, Realm... is cinematic in scope and pure joy to behold, giving us plenty to be excited about when the band tour the UK in March.
Aborted - Death Cult (ft. Alex Erian of Despised Icon)
Looking for some brutal ugliness to carry forward in 2024? 25 years since Aborted set out their grizzly stall on 1999's The Purity Of Perversion, the Belgian death metallers have only grown more vicious over time. Announcing new album Vault Of Horrors for a March 15 release, new single Death Cult sees them team up with Despised Icon vocalist Alex Erian for a slab-dragging beatdown with lumbering breakdowns and frenzied rampages making for a deliciously visceral introduction to album #12.
Issues - Since I Lost You
Almost three years after ejecting their former vocalist amidst accusations of seuxal misconduct, Georgian metalcore group Issues announced plans to split after farewell shows due to take place later this month. This makes Since I Lost You the band's swansong, bassist Skyler Acord taking over vocal duties for the band's final offering. With a mix of R&B elements and metalcore, Since... is a showcase of Issues pre-emptive capabilities, their stylings evoking a mix of Sleep Token, Periphery and Bad Omens with its massive crowdbaiting energy.
Ryujin - Saigo No Hoshi (feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
Once again enlisting the skills of producer Matthew K. Heafy as a guest performer, Ryujin's latest single Saigo No Hoshi arrives the same day as their self-titled record. Where other singles like Raijin & Fujin have utilised traditional Japanese instruments alongside a brand of galloping heavy metal, Saigo... feels much more like an inversion of the form, a traditional-style Japanese folk composition with subtle underpinnings of heavy metal that make it feel gloriously massive.
Kill The Lights - From Ashes
With their debut album The Sinner arriving in 2020 - alongside all the frustration that entails - Kill The Lights are setting their sights on a second roll of the dice to introduce themselves to the world with Death Machines, due March 8. If you loved their brand of decidedly-2000s flavoured metalcore before, we assure you it's only gotten bigger and better since; new single From Ashes the kind of anthem that can fill dancefloors and turn massive venues into a seething, roaring mess. We love to see it - and can't wait to hear what Death Machines has to offer.
Exit Eden - Femme Fatale
There's certainly no shortage of grandiose, symphonic-inclined metal this week as Exit Eden unveil their second album Femmes Fatale. Not-quite title-track Femme Fatale captures some of the gorgeous symphonic elements at play in the album, set against a fist-pumping chorus that could as easily come from the likes of Powerwolf, such is its glorious cheese and instant-hook nature.
Whom Gods Destroy - In The Name Of War
With Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal in their ranks, it was always a fair shout that Whom Gods Destroy would feature a level of technical acrobatics that would leave most of us with snapped digits. But there's so much more to the prog metal newcomers, keyboardist Derek Sherinian delivering swirling cosmic sounds atop a thrusting, clattering brand of prog metal that deftly dances around almost djent-like time signatures, vocalist Dino Jelusick soaring over all with a David Draiman like power that is thrilling to behold. Debut album Insanium won't be with us until March 15, but we can barely contain ourselves until then.
Infected Rain - Vivarium
Moldovan prog metal with fangs, Infected Rain's latest single Vivarium makes use of guitar tones that sound like somebody taking an axe to massive power cables, with similarly electrifying results. All jutting angles and menacing synths, Vivarium is the latest single from the band's upcoming sixth album Time, dIue February 9. If the rest of the album is this vicious, we're all here for it.
meth. - SHAME
Spreading filth across the realms of post-metal, noise and death metal, Chicago's meth. just might be teasing the nastiest record you'll hear in 2024 with the title-track of their upcoming second album SHAME. And we love it. Opening with a riff that verges on terminal menace and built on leering noise rock vibes, the track explodes out into apoplectic frenzies and stabbing bass lines that'll have you wanting to scour your skin with barbed wire. Keep an eye out for SHAME on February 2.
Suldusk - Anthesis
With mournful strings and ethereal vocals, for a moment it seems like Suldusk's Emily Highfield has emerged as an early contender for high priestess of doom in 2024 on Anthesis, the title-track of her band's upcoming second album, due March 1. But Suldusk would never be so pedestrian; the song soon gives way to shrieking, cacophonous black metal with an air of despondent folk, a raging whirlwind of styles that is utterly captivating and devastating in equal measure.
Gradience - This Abyss
Black metal has evolved immeasurably since the term was coined by Venom over 40 years ago, yet it's always astounding when you find something utterly unique within the genre's confines. Gradience are exactly that, the Danish duo mixing hip hop and explosive black metal with both elements delivered to the highest quality. If the rest of the Ironsight EP is this good, this band will be ones you can't afford to miss.
Night Thieves - Through The Looking Glass
Ahead of the release of their new EP Polarity, UK alt-metal newcomers Night Thieves have released the thumping Through The Looking Glass. Striking a balance between roaring riffs and light, alt vocals, the band have a shade of Spiritbox's mixture of melody and menace, a striking sound which demands massive crowds. Worth keeping an eye out for these Londoners as 2024 progresses.
