Let's face it, 2024 was a massive year for metal breaking through to the mainstream. Even without new releases from the likes of Metallica, Slipknot or Iron Maiden, there was a stunningly impressive and diverse selection of albums for fans to get their ears around.
And more importantly, the barrage of new singles was seemingly endless. Each week we hunted high and low to bring you the very best metal songs around from across the heavy music spectrum, and each week we asked you to vote for your favourites, crowning a top three. Then, as the year drew to a close, we asked you to vote one last time - and crown the very best metal song of 2024.
It was no easy task. In a year that brought back Kerry King, Kittie and Linkin Park, that saw new songs from the likes of Ghost, Judas Priest and Opeth and gave us massive team-ups and mainstream moments (including Gojira at the Olympics and Knocked Loose breaking through to late night TV on Jimmy Kimmel Live), there was a hell of a lot to pick from. But below, you'll find the results of the fan vote, with over 60,000 votes taken into account for the final tally. These are the results.
50. Gaerea - Hope Shatters
Masked Portuguese black metallers Gaerea had already built up a buzz in the underground with their first three records. But Coma, their fourth release, pushed the boat out as the band begin folding more death metal influence into their sound, lead single Hope Shatters combining some of the high-toned ferocity of BM with an earthy, explosive heft that showed the band weren't going to stay strictly in one lane.
49. Raging Speedhorn - Night Wolf
Back in the early 2000s, there was a point where it looked like Raging Speedhorn were seriously going to blow up. Single The Gush spent two weeks in the UK single charts - an astounding feat for a band so uncompromisingly heavy - and slipped into the top 50. While they never achieved the success they so clearly deserved, new single Night Wolf was a reminder that they were a band with the world in their sights, a veritable force of riffs and headbanging grooves that called back to the very best elements of Crowbar and Pantera.
48. Alcest - Flamme Jumelle
Almost 20 years since they set out the stall for blackgaze, Alcest remain masters of the form. But while they're still given to flights of extremity, Flamme Jumelle showed they weren't lax when it came to the more melodic side of the shoegaze/black metal balance, crafting a gorgeous and gentle tune with a few spikes of extremity to keep things spicy.
47. Dominum - One Of Us
Zombie Jesus. That's the two-word pitch for the gloriously daft video for Dominum's One Of Us, another slab of oh-so-catchy and irresistible power metal-adjacent fun to emerge from Germany, joining the likes of Powerwolf and Feuershwanz. Although a (relatively) new face on the scene, they've quickly established themselves as a rising force, the sheer catchiness of their tunes proving impossibly infectious, which given their undead fixation feels entirely appropriate.
46. Red Method - All For One, None For All (ft. Jayant Bhadula)
Red Method were ahead of the curve when it came to the nu metal revival, their chunky, thudding slabs of metal harkening back to the days when metal bands would regularly inhabit the charts and hobnob with celebrities. Rather than hobnobbing with James Corden or whoever else passes as a celeb these days though, they instead opted to team up with Bloodywood's Jayant Bhadula, producing a brilliant track that balances brutality with melody, drawing on the weightless melodies of Deftones whilst also delivering a serious death metal-inspired smackdown.
![Red Method - All For One, None For All - [feat. Jayant Bhadula from Bloodywood] - [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lQqiIYYzqH8/maxresdefault.jpg)
45. Kerry King - Idle Hands
Oh, how we waited for this. We'd known for years that Kerry King was locked away with Paul Bostaph working on a new project, but when it finally emerged with lead single Idle Hands King lived up to his name with a seriously premium slab of thrash metal. With perhaps a little more hardcore punk in its DNA and snarls'n'howls provided by Death Angel's Mark Osegueda, Idle Hands was the perfect primer for King's comeback. Hail to the King, baby.
44. Lamb Of God ft. Malevolence & Kublai Khan - Another Nail For Your Coffin
Bit of a cheat this one, but we can't argue too hard when the results are this good. First released as a bonus on the 15th anniversary reissue of the seminal Ashes Of The Wake, Lamb Of God's Another Nail For Your Coffin is closer to the metalcore stylings of Killswitch Engage than their usual groove oriented style. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, LOG invited tourmatres Malevolence and Kubhlai Khan to add extra vocals on the track, resulting in an all-star team-up that highlights just how brilliant the contemporary metal scene is.
43. Apocalyptica - The Four Horsemen
Returning to the format that introduced them to the world almost 30 years ago, Apocalyptica were back to their Metallica-covering antics on ...Plays Metallica Vol. 2. The highlight? An absolutely rampaging cover of The Four Horsemen, given a cello makeover and with guest contributions from Rob Trujillo to really lock in the grooves.
42. Bridear - Still Burning
Over a decade since their formation, Japan's Bridear remain an enthralling prospect. Still Burning found the band offering up a meatier, heavier vision for power metal, proving that while the likes of Babymetal and Hanabie might have the market cornered when it comes to cutesy metal, other corners of Japan's metal scene remain rooted in tradition and sheer fucking heft.
![BRIDEAR - Still Burning [Official music video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v7UOTBAtJh0/maxresdefault.jpg)
41. Machine Head x In Flames x Lacuna Coil x Unearth - These Scars Won't Define Us
Was 2024 the year of the team-up? From Poppy appearing with Knocked Loose to Babymetal and Bloodywood joining forces, there were plenty of huge collabs throughout the year (more than a few you'll find in this list, in fact). But there's no way it comes any bigger than the almighty package Machine Head pulled together for These Scars Won't Define Us, inviting tourmates In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Unearth to collaborate on a metal anthem that offers a glimpse at where Robb Flynn and co. are headed in 2025.
