2024 is done! But, with the dust still settling and the world not yet fully awake and into 2025, we figured we'd offer some final look backs at the year that was to crown the best releases according to you - our fine readers.
In December we asked you to vote on the very best metal records of 2024, offering a wide selection from across the year covering just about metal subgenre from goth to metalcore, death metal to thrash. We already revealed that death metal cosmonauts Blood Incantation had taken the Hammer critics' poll crown, but who did you choose? Below you'll find the 20 best metal albums of 2024, as voted by the readers of Metal Hammer. Here's to 2025 - and another year of fantastic new music!
20. Orange Goblin - Science, Not Fiction (Peaceville)
With a six year gap between albums and some significant anniversaries celebrated in the time between, its perhaps unsurprising that OG were in a more reflective state lyrically on Science, Not Fiction than their usual horror and pulp sci-fi fare. Vocalist Ben Ward stating outright on opening track The Fire At The Centre Of The Earth Is Mine, "I will not apologise for the bastards I've been".
This newfound reflectiveness had no major impact on their wider sound however; Goblin still riff like a motherfucker and continue to produce some of the finest stoner metal on the British isles. Science... is testament to this, the likes of (Not) Rocket Science and Cemetery Rats among the finest tunes they've ever put out.
19. Zeal & Ardor - GREIF (Redacted)
It's testament to the creative genius of Manuel Gagneux that even after devising one of the most fascinating stylistic collisions in heavy music - delta blues and black metal, if you somehow missed the band's stellar early releases - the Swiss artist is still pushing out the boat with Zeal & Ardor.
After rediscovering his, erm, Zeal for the project on 2022 self-titled, GREIF found Manuel back at the drawing board, devising entirely new directions for the group to go. The blues elements are still there - albeit more finessed than on the group's first two records - and the black metal still hooks like barbs into flesh, but there's added industrial grime and even desert rock spaciness that opened up new possibilities for the project going forwards. Considering they're headlining London's Desertfest this year, it's safe to say those desert rock elements are here to stay - for now, at least.
18. Leprous - Melodies Of Atonement (InsideOutMusic)
Over the past 15 years, Leprous have risen to become a truly formidable force in prog metal. The sometime backing band for black metal icon - and fellow prog explorer - Ihsahn, Einar Solberg's group have only grown more confident and impressive on each new release, marrying a sense of technicality with undeniable hooks that throws back to prog's flirtation with pop sensibilities that turned the likes of Pink Floyd and Genesis into arena-filling bands.
Little surprise then that Melodies Of Atonement continues that trajectory, Leprous turning out some of the catchiest, most infectiously brilliant tunes of their career in a sleek, strutting package. That they've done this while also rediscovering their riffier, harder edges is nothing short of a marvel, the added bite to tracks like Atonment and Like A Sunken Ship reminding everyone that this is a band with serious range and the chops to seriously bother the mainstream.
17. Wheel - Charismatic Leaders (InsideOutMusic)
By frontman James Lascelles' own admission, Wheel could "release a hang-drum odyssey with seagull noises and somebody would still say it sounds like Tool”. Such is the Anglo-Finnish band's lot, but glib comparisons to one of prog metal's most maverick forces aside, there's an undeniable sense of innovative spirit and creativity that has made them rising stars of contemporary prog metal.
On their third album, Wheel kicked things up a gear, opening track Empire tapping into an urgency and forcefulness that had been seldom seen in their catalogue up to that point. Blended in with their usual meditative melodies and cosmic sonic leanings, it made for an impressively vital and energetic showing of what the band are capable of.
16. Alcest - Les Chants de l'Aurore (Nuclear Blast)
20 years ago, Alcest got the jump on just about everybody when they released Le Secret, their debut EP fusing the dream-like melodies of shoegaze with the frosty fury of black metal. 19 years and seven studio albums later, the French post-black metallers remain masters of the form, their latest outing continuing to refine the subgenre even as it becomes increasingly populated.
Les Chants de l'Aurore is a gorgeous showcase of the style Alcest helped create, seamlessly blending emotional, sublime tones with explosions of blackened fury and force that can still be felt in everyone from Svalbard to MØL.
15. Devin Townsend - PowerNerd (InsideOutMusic)
Mixing the profound with the absurd, Devin Townsend proved to be just as unhinged and brilliant as ever on PowerNerd. 22 (solo) studio albums in, his maximalist tendencies were on full display with forceful riffs and surprisingly catchy tunes in the likes of the title track, Knuckledragger and Gratitude.
There's characteristic weird and wacky tendencies from Hevy Devy too; from the cat miaow on PowerNerd to a song dedicated to coffee (Ruby Quaker) that goes from folky acoustic ditty to full country thumper with piano and even a blast-beat. Pure Devin, pure brilliance.
14. Saxon - Hell, Fire And Damnation (Silver Lining)
With 24 studio albums, its a safe bet Saxon know what they're doing. The NOWBHM heroes have stayed the path throughout their near-five-decade career, producing fist-pumping classic metal anthems on each new album to remind fans they're one of the bands that helped define the genre in the first place.
No surprise that Hell, Fire And Damnation is more of the same then, triumphant old school metal with lyrics touching on everything from the Norman invasion of England to Roswell conspiracy theories, the French Revolution and 60s pirate radio, all tackled with gleeful enthusiasm that'd make you forget they've been at this for 50 years, in one form or another.
13. Kerry King - From Hell I Rise (Reigning Phoenix)
It didn't take long after Slayer announced their planned retirement in 2018 for guitarist Kerry King to clarify that he was still very much planning to forge ahead. Although it took six years to materialise, Kerry king's solo debut proved well worth the wait.
From Hell I Rise saw King team back up with long-time drummer Paul Bostaph to produce some top-tier thrash metal. With Death Angel's Mark Osegueda on vocals, former Hellyeah player Kyle Sanders on bass and ex-Machine Head man Phil Demmel adding extra guitars, King had an all-star line-up to achieve his vision of continuing the journey he started over 40 years ago, producing some of his finest material this side of the millennium in the process.
12. Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (Pure Noise)
Knocked Loose may just be the breakout success story of 2024. Already a beloved rising force in metalcore, You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To firmly booted down the doors of the mainstream without sacrificing any of the heft and frenzied energy that made the band so beloved in the first place.
A caterwauling, careening whirlwind of destructive force, the album nonetheless managed to reach number 23 on the Billboard 200, while an incendiary performance of Suffocate with Poppy on Jimmy Kimmel live saw them breach late-night TV - and earn a few complaints from concerned parents.
11. Poppy - Negative Spaces (Sumerian)
From hyperpop maverick to ascendant metal star, 2024 was a big year for Poppy. With some production assistance from ex-Bring Me The Horizon keyboardist Jordan Fish, Poppy's sixth full-length embracing the metal flirtations she'd hinted at in the past, with spectacular results.
From the electro-infused metalcore thrum of opener Have You Had Enough? to the all-out hammering of They're All Around Us, Poppy showed off the sheer diversity of her craft across the album, mixing heaviness and radio-friendly sensibilities with a canniness that felt like a perfect throwback to the nu metal era where even the heaviest band could produce an all-conquering hit.
10. Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project (BMG)
Being the frontman of Iron Maiden is busy business. That goes some way to explain why there was an almost 20 year gap between Bruce Dickinson solo albums, but when The Mandrake Project arrived, it proved well worth the wait.
A sprawling heavy metal opera with tie-in comics to flesh out its story, Dickinson was firing on all cylinders as he returned to the darker sonic realms of his solo output. This being Bruce Dickinson, some of the Maiden-isms certainly persisted - not least in Eternity Has Failed which was written for this album and cribbed by Maiden into the excellent If Eternity Should Fail on 2015's Book Of Souls - with galloping riffs and huge, near-operatic vocals, but there was no denying Dickinson still had plenty of ambition to burn as he spread his wings away from Maiden once again.
9. Caligula's Horse - Charcoal Grace (InsideOutMusic)
Although not afforded the same chart success as its predecessor Rise Radiant, the sixth album from Caligula's Horse showed the Aussies were still a rising force to be reckoned with.
Gorgeous, intricate melodies were tightly woven into prog metal epics, a four-movement title-track just skimming the surface of their colossal ambition. Vocalist Jim Grey stands out as the MVP, his powerful pipes building on already emotionally-layered compositions to single him out as one of the best singers in contemporary prog metal.
8. Nightwish - Yesterwynde (Nuclear Blast)
Symphonic metal titans Nightwish certainly haven't lacked for ambition on their recent releases. But if the likes of Human. :II: Nature. perhaps sacrificed some of their immediacy and songwriting craft in favour of weighty concepts and ideas, Yesterwynde was a glorious reminder that this band have fought their way to become an apex force within their field.
While they might not beNiaghtwishthe album, Yesterwynde nonetheless soars with the enormity and all-consuming ubiquity of a band that can pack out arenas and headline festivals around the world. From the theatrical grandeur of An Ocean Of Strange Islands to the elegance of Perfume Of The Timeless and anthemic thunder of Spider Silk, Yesterwynde seemed to bring the very best out of the Finns.
7. Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: Nex Gen (Sony)
It's been a long road for the second installment in Bring Me The Horizon's Post Human series. After 2020's Survival Horror, the group maintained momentum with a steady stream of singles and festival headline appearances - including headlining Download Festival for the first time - but delays owed to self-admitted quality control issues meant it took four years for Nex Gen to emerge.
Consider this album the fruits of thier labours, then. Nex Gen is a release befitting one of the most impactful and trend-setting forces in the modern metalcore/alt-metal sphere, blending radio-friendly sensibilities and massive choruses with a genuine sense of experimentation and stylistic magpie-ing that sees them incorporate everything from electronica and hyperpop into a record that sounds truly ahead of just about everyone else in the game.
6. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere (Century Media)
If extreme metal at its very best is an excercise in boundary pushing and trangressive innovation, then Blood Incantation's fourth full-length was the genre's promise fulfilled.
The Colorado death metallers had already proven themselves as a rising force with their three previous releases - even up-ending their sound entirely on the synth-driven ambient stylings of 2022's Timewave Zero - but Absolute Elsewhere kicked things clean out into space, embracing everything from krautrock and psychedelia to 70s prog to craft something truly spectacular, even nabbing top spot on Hammer's Critics' Poll.
5. Amaranthe - The Catalyst (Nuclear Blast)
Amaranthe have never particularly cared for being boxed into any one subgenre. With each album offering new stylistic leaps, its little surprise that The Catalyst continued that adventurous spirit, the Swedes striking a balance between the technical mindset and hefty chugs of djent and impossibly catchy songcraft.
The result was somehow both one of their heaviest yet catchiest releases to date, each track crammed with massive floor-filler moments that lent a sense of infectious energy throughout. From the bouncing Insatiable to the almost symphonic grandeur of Damnation Flame all the way out to big ballad Stay A Little While, Amaranthe's seventh was a magnificent showcase of why Amaranthe are a fast rising force in European metal.
4. Linkin Park - From Zero (Warner)
2024 was a big year for surprise comebacks, from Oasis to Slayer. But in the metal world, nothing had a bigger impact - or was more widely debated - than the return of nu metal giants Linkin Park. With new vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, LP returned to their roots to recapture some of the magic of their 2000s output and while there were outspoken naysayers, there was an undeniable joy in seeing the band back at full force.
From Zero is the sound of a band reigniting the sparks that united them in the first place, the record packed with callbacks to their past whilst producing infectious new earworms that helped propel the record to the top of international charts including the UK, Australia, Canada and Germany, even nabbing the band a number 2 spot on the Billboard 200.
3. Blind Channel - Exit Emotions (Century Media)
Propelled to international fame - and top of the charts in their home nation of Finland - after their 2021 Eurovision entry Dark Side, Blind Channel found the pressure mounting when it came to writing a follow-up to 2022's Lifestyles Of The Sick & Dangerous.
Thankfully, that pressure seems to have manifested in a record even more immediate and propulsive. Exit Emotions is still very much rooted in thedel band's nu metal revivalist roots, but also honed their songwriting craft to include even more massive anthems that could get crowds roaring and bouncing along, honing their pop sensibilities to live up their self-affixed title as "the Backstreet Boys of metal". With the band now set to take a break to recharge, Exit Emotions feels like a perfect break point to delight old fans and usher in new listeners alike.
2. Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (Sony)
As one of the bands that helped define heavy metal culture and iconography in the first place, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Judas Priest are also a shining beacon for legacy acts still producing top-tier material. Half a century on from their debut, Invincible Shield arrived with a sense of indomitable triumph, even more so given the passing of former members and near-death experience of guitarist Richie Faulkner in 2022.
Invincible Shield wasn't just another brilliant Priest album - continuing the excellent form of 2018's Firepower - but a reminder that trad metal need not feel tired or cliche, the band producing world-class, fist-pumping anthems that feel every bit as powerful and hefty as the likes of Painkiller, Judas Rising or Hell Bent For Leather.
1. Opeth - The Last Will And Testament (Reigning Phoenix)
With lead single §1, Opeth set the internet ablaze as Mikael Åkerfeldt deployed his imperious death metal growls for the first time since 2008's Watershed. But while that excited fans who'd long clamoured for the return of extremity, it wasn't even close to the best thing about the Swedes' fourteenth studio album.
A decade-plus of headlining some of metal's biggest festivals - not to mention the world's most illustrious venues - has made Opeth feel like a genuine institution and The Last Will And Testament felt like the band proving they could still strive for new shores and take risks. The prog-heavy instrumentation of their most recent records is still front and centre, buoyed by some genuinely sublime production flourishes and symphonic underpinnings that added to their natural ambition and songcraft in truly phenomenal ways.
Guest appearances from Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and Europe's Joey Tempest added to the record's star quality, while Opeth flexed their lyrical craft across a narrative with more than a few twists and turns. If Blood Incantation are a barometer of how extreme metal continues to innovate, Opeth reminding everyone that they were the band that set the standard some 20 years ago and remain masters of the craft even as they largely departed the realms of extremity.
