30. Touché Amoré - Spiral In A Straight Line (Rise)
Touché Amoré’s Stage Four was beloved upon its 2016 release, inspired by the loss of vocalist Jeremy Bolm’s mother to cancer. Where 2020’s Lament felt like it was processing that contrast of tragedy and applause, Spiral In A Straight Line marked a new era, “grieving in a forward direction” to paraphrase Jeremy on opening track Nobody’s.
There was a sense of rejuvenation to their spirited post-hardcore, raw and playful in delivery, full of surprising twists and their biggest choruses to date.
29. High On Fire - Cometh The Storm (MNRK Heavy)
Solidifying High On Fire’s status as sonic pioneers, Cometh The Storm blended their brutality with probing psychedelic nuance. Fans revelled in Matt Pike’s timeless, riff-driven fury, while critics lauded the album’s rich textures and gutsy ambition.
From the primal aggression of Lambsbread to the sprawling, doom-laden Darker Fleece, their latest collection showcased a band at the peak of their creative powers, loudly reaffirming that HOF could be as audacious as they were relentless, marking it as a career-defining release.
28. Orange Goblin - Science, Not Fiction (Peaceville)
Continuing to fly the flag for heavy metal’s real, old-school deal, Orange Goblin went bolder and deeper for their 10th full-length, as proggy detours and huge melodic refrains elevated every song to potential new classic status.
Ben Ward had never sounded more powerful or authoritative, and the arrival of new bassist Harry Armstrong induced a renewed sense of urgency. Science, Not Fiction rocked like an absolute bastard, and may just be the band’s finest album to date. OFG, baby!
27. Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak (Season Of Mist)
With a point to prove and a new label following the muted reaction to the more dulcet Starlight & Ash, the Texans came out all guns blazing and hearts clearly tattooed on sleeves.
Combining all the elements that have made OOS such a cerebral, magical force over their previous five albums, Where Gods Fear To Speak was an unashamed emotional and visceral statement of intent, with the likes of The Impermanence Of Fate acting as cathartic, captivating calls to new fans.
26. Slift - Ilion (Sub Pop)
An intergalactic odyssey powered by unlimited fissile material, Slift’s third album proper maintained a whiteknuckle, synapse-frying intensity across 80 minutes and stretches of space vaster than the human mind can safely comprehend.
From the off, riffs dazzled like sparks flying from a Catherine wheel, grooves pumped as if pushing magma up from an alien planet’s core, and the Toulouse trio redefined stoner/ psych as Sleep in inverse: frazzled, but wide-eyed and staring directly into the blazing heart of the cosmos.
25. Nails - Every Bridge Burning (Nuclear Blast)
As the clock ticked towards eight years since cult powerviolence crew Nails’ last album, and with frontman Todd Jones the only remaining member, surely few people expected much, if anything, from the band ever again.
For Every Bridge Burning to exist at all felt like a win. For it to showcase Nails being as brutal, spiteful, viscous, manic and panic-inducing as they always were, in a mere 17 minutes over 10 tracks, was unquestionably one of 2024’s greatest comeback stories.
24. Solstafir - Hin Helga Kvöl (Century Media)
On their eighth album, snow-blasted postrockers Sólstafir split the difference between Sigur Rós and Slayer. Hin Helga Kvöl offered a series of deep contrasts: where the heads-down title track and Nú Mun Ljósið Deyja’s blizzard-roar called back to the Icelanders’ extreme metal past, the slow-burning Sálumessa and Kumi’s tribal-goth chants and ghostly sax offered something more evocative and enigmatic.
But its disorientating brilliance was embodied by the R’n’B style female backing vocals dropped in Vor Ás – proof that few bands today match Sólstafir for sheer inventiveness.
23. Devin Townsend - PowerNerd (InsideOut)
Intense Devin? Mad Devin? Devin With His Hand Up A Puppet’s Arse? It’s anyone’s guess which Devin Townsend we’ll get with any given album. But here we got Accessible But Epic Devin.
His 22nd solo album found this habitual over-thinker giving himself just two weeks to write it. The result was uncharacteristically direct; heavy on great, sweeping melodies and massive choruses. There was still some soul-searching, but tracks like Gratitude and Younger Lover sugared the pill brilliantly. And not a fucking puppet in sight.
22. Zeal & Ardor - Greif (Redacted)
Nearly a decade into the project, Zeal & Ardor mastermind Manuel Gagneux shows no signs of letting the restlessly creative spirit of his band diminish. Greif was another superbly unique and idiosyncratic release from the bluesy black metallers.
This time, though, there was far more in the mix than just those two unlikely genre bedfellows, as progressive song structures, tech rhythms and massive hard rock hooks all congealed together. It meant that Greif was paradoxically both Zeal & Ardor’s most challenging and complex record, yet also their most instantaneous.
21. Leprous - Melodies Of Atonement (InsideOut)
After years of tempering their guitars with symphonic textures, Leprous brought the riffs back. Melodies Of Atonement was a response to frontman Einar Solberg’s largely un-heavy 2023 solo album, with Silently Walking Alone and Like A Sunken Ship exploding from the speakers with blasts of metal.
Proggier entries, such as the vocal harmony-stacked Self-Satisfied Lullaby, showed the Norwegians were still forward-thinkers: not regressing, but reviving their earlier aggression as they push forward.
