10. Bad Omens - V.A.N. (feat. Poppy)
Bad Omens really hit the ground running in 2024. Not only did they tour as support to Bring Me The Horizon in January, but they also put out the stunning V.A.N., a thumping, thrumming collab that saw Poppy taking over vocal duties in an electro-enhanced, industrial-tinged thumper that brought to mind the stylistic experimentation of Bring Me The Horizon themselves.
9. Ice Nine Kills - A Work Of Art
It's surprising it's taken this long for Ice Nine Kills to do a full horror movie collab. They've certainly had no shortage of success with the superb Silver Scream records, but even by their standards A Work Of Art was bloody good fun. Inspired by the Terrifier series and released on the soundtrack to the box office-topping third instalment, the video turned into a star-studded ode to the series with appearances from cast members (including series star Art The Clown - David Howard Thornton) and even Shavo Odadjian of System Of A Down/Seven Hours After Violet. Chuck in typically insidious choruses that you'll be humming for weeks, and Ice Nine Kills had a killer hit on their hands.
![Ice Nine Kills - A Work of Art (Official Music Video) [GRAPHIC CONTENT] - From Terrifier 3 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k9TzUxGPbI0/maxresdefault.jpg)
8. Kittie - Eyes Wide Open
After making their comeback to live stages in 2022, Kittie put out their comeback record Spit in 2024. But while the rest of the world indulges nu metal nostalgia, the Canadians showed they were fixing their eyes on the future, Eyes Wide Open taking on a more melodeath/groove metal inspired sound that showed they'd continue to evolve even when the band wasn't active.
7. Blackbriar - Floriography
In a year where most of symphonic metal's biggest names released new music, Blackbriar served a reminder that the scene remains in good health. Floriography captures the gothic, fairy-tale stylings the band evoke so well, a beautiful and elegant composition that let vocalist Zora Cock flourish in the spotlight.
6. Dogma - Like A Prayer
Taking the title of "metal's naughtiest nuns" is really something in a scene that also includes Ghost and their ever-expanding ministry. But Dogma's 2023 debut did plenty to establish their reputation and while they spent most of 2024 on the road, that didn't stop them releasing new music in the form of a gloriously sinful - and decidedly trad metal flavoured - cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer.
5. Gojira - Mea Culpa (Ah! Ca Ira!)
We'd put money that nobody had "Gojira play the Olympics" on their 2024 bingo card (unless they'd got Nostradamus levels of precognition, at least). Yet, when the opening ceremony of the 2024 Games was announced, sure enough France's mightiest metal export took pride of place with a thundering rendition of revolutinary song Mea Culpa (Ah! Ca Ira!). With beheaded nobles, blasts of flame, blood-red streamers and a guest appearance from an opera singer, their performance might be the single most metal thing that happened in 2024.
![Gojira - Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5hTMYk7orHw/maxresdefault.jpg)
4. Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine
Linkin Park practically sprinted back onto the metal scene in 2024. A mysterious LA fan event in September turned out to be an official comeback gig for the nu metal giants and if their return was a surprise, the release of new music that same evening was a twist few could have seen coming. The Emptiness Return was the perfect comeback anthem for the band, evoking the classic stylings that had made them internationally renowned in the first place whilst giving new vocalist Emily Armstrong a chance to showcase her own powerful and emotive vocals.
3. Lord Of The Lost x Feuerschwanz - Lords Of Fyre
Just when you thought Germany's colourful genre-straddlers Lord Of The Lost couldn't get any more theatrical and bombastic, they team up with their folk metal countrymen Feuerschwanz for a thumping classic metal anthem packed to the gills with pyro. It's about the most German thing we've ever seen, and a brilliant advertisement for both bands' co-headline tour in Germany later this year, promising to be the wildest night out you'll get in 2025.
2. Ghost - The Future Is A Foreign Land
By and large, Ghost's 2024 was spent celebrating the release of their massive, LA-shot concert movie Rite Here Rite Now. But while the movie had plenty of twists and turns [including hints at where the band's narrative might go next], the biggest 'revelation' was that there was another single to be 'unearthed' from the late-60s era of the band fronted by Papa Nihil. It's a gleeful bit of worldbuilding, but makes perfect sense considering the sheer scale of the success the band enjoyed with Kiss The Go Goat and Mary On A Cross, The Future Is A Foreign Land completing a thematic trilogy of retro-styled singles.
1. Babymetal x Electric Callboy - Ratatata
RATATATA... RATATATA... Admit it; once you've heard this song, it'll never leave you. Two of metal's most vibrant bands combining forces on a gleeful club metal anthem, Ratatata embraces everything brilliant about both bands in a stunning and impossibly addictive package, Electric Callboy's 90s eurotrash stylings working impossibly well with Babymetal's kawaii energy. Considering just how passionate both bands' fanbases are, we can't say we're surprised to see them take top spot - and it's well deserved, given just how fun this song is.
