Doc Landles Top10 Albums of 2024!

Well, this is the first time I have done this publicly, so be gentle.  Some comments first about how my list works, and why.

1. I only vote for albums that I own physically, and that means mostly vinyl.  I am not a fan of the various streaming services and although I admit that they do help some bands, newer bands in particular, I feel that owning an actual physical copy helps bands far more financially.
2. I have decided to keep this list to a ten albums. I think it’s important simply to focus upon what makes these ten albums special, otherwise we are just listing all the albums we heard this year and I’m not sure that that is the point of these lists.  So yes, I’ve probably missed out albums that everyone else is going nuts over.
3. This is a list that is not ranked in order, but rather set out alphabetically, I don’t think ranking works – how can you rank which is better: Into the Nightside Eclipse or Filosofem?  Anyways …

1. Akhlys – House of the Black Geminus

We had to wait four years for this, their fourth album, but it was worth the wait.  I genuinely think that this is an important release and we will still be listening and debating it in years to come – how many AOTY releases can we say that about over the years?  The band has developed its sound, no debate about that, and the album is experimental, but by christ does it conjure up your worst nightmare.  Brilliant release and the packaging of the album is a work of art.

2. Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All

There was a time when a Darkthrone release would have been met with  hysteria (well, a BM hysteria, which is much more low-key, actually, no more than a raised eyebrow), but not this time, it seems.  This album seems to have gone under the radar for some reason.  Look, we never going to get another Transilvanian Hunger or A Blaze in the Northern Sky, but guys, this album is a cut above most of the extreme metal dross we have to plough through.  Mature, full of great riffs, and it’s Darkthrone.  ‘Nuff said.

3. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield

To me one of the greatest HM bands ever, and this album proves it.  They’ve been around in some form or another since 1969 – that’s 55 years!  Whilst I would favour Firepower this album has big HM balls.  The tracks on this album stand up well in concert and alongside the classic Priest hits.  Simply brilliant stuff from the Priest.

4. Kanonenfieber –  Urkatastrophe

I’m not sure why this band attracts both positive and negative comments in equal measure.  Some accuse them of being ‘posers’, ‘gimmicky’ ‘nerdy’, ‘over-hyped’.  Well, all I know is that this album is excellent throughout (the last song, Als die Waffen kamen, is sublime), so maybe we need more posers and gimmicks!  A truly wonderful album that is clearly their best effort to date.  They are pretty amazing in concert, too.  

5. KIR – L’appel du vide

It’s a wonderful thing to be exposed to a new band and to be in there right at the beginning.  I think this band is one to watch and this album (as short as it is) is a great listen.  I was lucky enough to review this album ahead of its release, and I loved it instantly.  One small niggle – no vinyl pressing, but hey, when it’s this good, why complain?  Here’s my review from 19th November: https://harshvocals.com/reviews/kir-lappel-du-vide-review/ 

6. Mutiilation – Black Metal Cult

Like Darkthrone’s It Beckons Us All, this album seems to have vanished from people’s thoughts.  Listen to this and you can pretty much ignore ten thousand wanna-be BM bands – this is the real deal.  Does it signify a new lease of life for Mutiilation?  I hope so, especially if the guy can produce great albums like this.  Just go out and buy it.

7. Nick Cave – Wild God

Dear old Nick has been through the wringer in the past few years after the death of his son in July 2015.  Cave fell into a depressive cycle of work (not surprisingly), and Skeleton Tree (2016), Ghosteen (2019), and Carnage (2021) are tough albums to listen to; a reviewer describing the mood of Carnage as being “infused with profound and almost inescapable grief.”  Wild God is Cave’s first album since his son died that attempts to seek a way out of the darkness; an album looking for a transcendence of sorts, one beyond death.  Not to say that this is a religious album, far from it, but Wild God is lunging for air, light, and the sun of summer’s day.  It is a pivotal album and one that will almost certainly kick-start a huge resurgence in his career – just look at his sold-out 2024 European tour as evidence.  There’s fun, cynicism, and joy in this album, and I can’t recommend it enough.

8. Paysage d’hivers – Die Berge

So, after 14 releases, we come to the end of the ‘wanderer’s’ journey, and what an end.  I could bang on about how ‘cold’ this album is, how raw, how dark, and it is, but really this is all about how simple song structures can draw us further and further into the world that Tobias has created.  As you’d expect, sensuous atmosphere, haunting melodies colliding with dissonance, tragedy and death, what more could you ask for?  The whole thing is mesmerising, emotive, and utterly fabulous.  What a journey that was.

9. Spectral Wound – Songs of Blood and Mire

Without doubt the strongest music the band has put out to date.  This is brutal and raw as hell, yet it has a multitude of catchy riffs and hooks.  Yes, it is a kind of ‘back-to-basics’ sound, by that I mean this band delivers BM that wouldn’t be out of place during the early 90s, and that may worry some fans who want a more expansive BM.  Well, sod that, I say.  Albums like this remind me why I started listening to BM in the first place.  Dare I say that this album is as good as modern BM gets, or will some gatekeeper destroy that statement with some gauche comment?  Fvck ‘em, this is outstanding.

10. Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon

I had the privilege of reviewing this album before it was released and I loved it – still do.  It’s Winterfylleth’s best album and it contains tracks that will be in their setlist forevermore.  I can’t speak too highly of this album, and I will say that this is the best ever UK BM album release!  So there!  If you’re interested, here is my review from 31st August: https://harshvocals.com/posts/winterfylleth-the-imperious-horizon-review/