Subject to change? No I never change my mind on this stuff ever...
1. Coffins - Sinister Oath
The veteran gods of death doom. I never expected to put this in the top spot but as the year went by I kept coming back to it, and it steamrolled over records that're objectively more interesting. Definitely their best album since
Buried Death and it peaks insanely high with "Everlasting Spiral" which is still my favourite track of the year. I hope they keep this shit up well into the retirement home!
2. Vendel - Out in the Fields
Amazing album, the closest I came to dishing out a 9/10 this year. Like the Wastelander album from last year, this benefits a lot from having re-recorded tracks from their old EP's ("Defender" and "Dirge") which I had on tape and played the fuck out of in the 2010's. Makes it feel nostalgic like I was already half-familiar with the album, and they actually managed to improve on those tracks instead of merely rehashing them. The riffs have so much weight to them, some of the best epic doom/heavy metal I've heard in ages. Hail Russo-metal.
3. Funereality - Through the Black Holes of the Dead
One-man Autopsy/Abscess-worship with real drums! Deep in my heart this is probably my actual AOTY. I'll be jamming Funereality long after the appeal of newer bands fade, because he's a close buddy of mine and I know this material like the back of my hand. I'm also a sucker for anything that seems personal to the artist, like there's in-jokes or references only they (and a select few others) get. For example his daughter screams in the album opener. No outsider would give a shit about this but I've known him so long she wasn't even born yet when we met! It's the definition of a passion project and he's been at it over a decade.
4. Metastasis - Fatal Morphosis
A win for the boomers! Fat old bastards making all other 2024 thrash sound low energy. Death, Possessed, Dark Angel, Sadus, Kreator, Pestilence, Massacra, all the best 80's shit is in here. Also the title track is one of the year's best songs. Might go higher when I've had more time with it. They're so out of touch they still link Myspace on their Bandcamp!
5. Hail Spirit Noir - Fossil Gardens
An amazing return-to-form event for these guys, after their last couple albums really disappointed me. Progressive black space metal with shimmering, crashing waves of synths forming the backdrop. Clearly their brief detour into doing a synthwave soundtrack levelled their craft up, and I'm glad they decided to make metal again.
6. Mayhemic - Toba
Just a total and complete landslide of riffs! Deadly triumphant metallic savagery! Although I had to leave Desolus off the list, this has actually been a very thrashy year for me. So many great bands keeping the spirit alive. Ignacio's vocals are unhinged on "Triumph Portrait" haha what a maniac!
7. Void Moon - Dreams Inside the Sun
Always surprised by how overlooked these guys are. I really love their vocal hooks and how they approach doom metal with a lighter touch. Vaguely reminds me of Revelation, with a faint influence of Solitude Aeturnus. Their songs at their best are insanely catchy and get stuck in my head for days, even more so with this album. Maybe their emphasis on the vocals and not enough on the riffs turns many off? Just check the album closer "The Wolf (At the End of the World)" because that riff fucking rules.
8. Boarhammer - II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms
This was one of the first albums I fell in love with this year, as it dropped in January, so I've jammed it many times. It was my highest rated album for a bit there and I'd assumed it would be my AOTY. It dropped down quite a bit I guess! The wild heavy metal energy of the opening track is so infectious, like croaky-voiced trickster gods interpreting black metal and not quite getting it correct. Off-kilter and weird like Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom often are. When I close my eyes I picture it's Radagast who is singing haha!
9. Acerus - The Caliginous Serenade
The only album on here that I would consider a grower. It took some spins for it to finally click with me, probably because it has a somewhat muted and flat production. But its charm is just so good that it overcomes it. Opening the album with one of the catchiest songs ever just completely sets the pace perfectly. So much amazing galloping epic metal here.
10. Grendel's Sÿster - Katabasis into the Abaton
"Creaking of thee OOOOAAAARRRRSSSS!"
Caro is one of my favourite vocalists right now, the way she delivers lines and annunciates certain words is just like no other in metal these days. Bilingual albums are insane too. Who can be arsed to record the same album twice in different tongues? Each version sounds just as good, too. This is one of those nerdy trad metal bands that're clearly just doing their own thing. The opening trio of tracks "Boar's Tusk Helmet," "The Plight of a Sorcerer" and "Rose Arbor" might be the best of the year, though I haven't looked deeply into it. Shout-out to The Flintstones theme song.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honourable mention to Dipygus who, although their S/T album didn't make my list, did drop my second favourite track of the year:
Also honourable mention to Diskord and Atvm for releasing the best split of the year:
Total and complete weirdo death metal insanity. Easily holds its own against most full lengths.
