10) Magnum - Here Comes the Rain
Kicking off this list is the first album of 2024 which I reviewed - as all the way back on 20th January I covered Magnum's Here Comes the Rain, which will likely be their final one. The album was released under a cloud, due to the band's guitarist and driving force Tony Clarkin dying a few days before it came out, but the band chose not to delay things - and the early part of the year very much became about Magnum for me. I spent a lot of time with this album and the wider Magnum catalogue during the spring - and Here Comes the Rain feels like a fitting closing note on the band's immense legacy. Perhaps a little more concise than many of the band's other recent albums, Here Comes the Rain is nevertheless classic sounding modern Magnum - with frontman Bob Catley in fine voice and the songwriting and arrangements of Clarkin on point. The band's melodic and majestic sound has been long-established at this point, and it is sad that January 2026 will not see a new Magnum album - as they, like clockwork, have tended to release a new album every other January. This is their first inclusion in such a list, too, and I have often included the band's albums on my shortlist before they are removed to make way for other things - so this inclusion is for all those missed opportunities and to showcase how much I have enjoyed their work over the years.
Listen to: Run into the Shadows, Here Comes the Rain & Blue Tango
9) Myrath - Karma
I do not listen to many bands from Africa, but Tunisia's Myrath is one of them - and their sixth album Karma, which dropped back in March, is easily their most fun release yet. The band started out as a Symphony X tribute band, and shades of that band can be heard throughout their early work, but the tough heaviness has receded over the years - with a more symphonic and power metal sound instead taking hold. Myrath have always been a progressive metal band, and this has continued throughout all of their albums, with 2019's Shehili being particularly knotty, but Karma is their most straight ahead release yet - and it is full of soaring power metal hooks with enough of that North African and Middle Eastern flavour which has always helped the band to stand out. I imagine that Karma will be a divisive albums for some. There will be people who see the album as too poppy, and one that lacks the band's trademark progressive flair, but there will be others, like me, who just get sucked in by the endless hooks. There are still progressive moments here, and guitarist Malek Ben Arbia is still clearly influenced by Michael Romeo, but this album really sees frontman Zaher Zorgati really shine. He has, of course, been great for the band since he joined following their debut album's release, but seems to really fly on this album - with the simpler arrangements (relatively) and the power metal-esque approach allowing for a lot of big choruses.
Listen to: To the Stars, Into the Light & Child of Prophecy
8) Dark Tranquillity - Endtime Signals
The closest thing to extreme metal in my list, Dark Tranquillity's thirteenth studio album Endtime Signals is one of the heaviest things to make the cut this year. Whilst I have been interested in Dark Tranquillity for many years, having picked up 2007's Fiction a long time ago - it was not until seeing the band at the 2022 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air that I properly started to take notice, and it was not until 2024 until I actually listened to a good chunk of their back catalogue. With Endtime Signals on the horizon I wanted to somewhat catch up, but this latest album is one of my favourite things from the band which I have heard so far. I feels like the natural successor to both 2016's Atoma and 2020's Moment in particularly, even down to the art style, but Endtime Signals feels stronger overall - with plenty of massive riffs from guitarist Johan Reinholdz on his second outing with the band. As is often the case, though, frontman (and only original member) Mikael Stanne is the star of the show. He is fast becoming one of my favourite singers in metal due to this powerful growls and his rich clean vocals - and each song here seems hellbent on showcasing his talents. Given how dark the album is overall, there are plenty of massive choruses here to latch onto - and the interplay between Reinholdz's guitar playing and the ever-present keyboard playing of long-time member Martin Brändström keeps the band's unique sound in play. It was also the band's first album without founding drummer and significant songwriting force Anders Jivarp - with Endtime Signals showing that the band can overcome such challenges.
Listen to: Shivers and Voids, Unforgivable & Not Nothing
7) The Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards
One of the year's biggest comebacks came from Atlanta's The Black Crowes, who released their first album of original material since 2009 back in March. Following a period of hiatus during much of the 2010s, the notoriously volatile band regrouped in 2019 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their legendary debut album Shake Your Money Maker - only for their plans to be delayed by the pandemic. The big comeback tour eventually happened, though, and its success clearly prompted the Robinson brothers to push forward with a new proper era for The Black Crowes by writing and releasing a ninth album of original material. Long-time bassist Sven Pipien re-joined the brothers in this latest venture, but the rest of the band is made up of new faces - with guitarist Nico Bereciartua forming a formidable and loose partnership with Rich Robinson to keep the band's jammy, bluesy, southern rock sound ticking. Unlike many of the band's later albums which featured somewhat more extended pieces, loose arrangements, and something of a laid back groove, Happiness Bastards seems to take more from the concise nature of Shake Your Money Maker and the southern rock heights of 1992's The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. The songs here are generally pretty short and Jay Joyce's production is raucous - which leads to the album being one of the band's hardest-hitting for a while. It helps that frontman Chris Robinson sounds really fired up here, his ragged voice perfect for the songs, whilst the rest of the band lock in nicely behind him to create a punchy album which does not outstay its welcome.
Listen to: Bedside Manners, Wanting and Waiting & Dirty Cold Sun
6) Quireboys - Wardour Street
It is fitting that The Quireboys and The Black Crowes sit side-by-side in this list, as the two bands were often compared when their respective debut albums dropped around the same time - but they went on to have rather different career trajectories. Wardour Street is the band's first album since 2019, and the first since the big split which happened in 2022 - which saw founding frontman Spike without a band and the rest of the former line-up attempting to carry on without him. Fast forward two years, though, and Spike has a new Quireboys, with old faces returning and new friends along for the ride, whilst his former bandmates have rebranded. As such, then, Wardour Street is very much business as usual for Spike. Founding bassist Nigel Mogg has become Spike's right-hand man, co-writing around half of the album, whilst Thunder's Luke Morley has stepped into the vacant guitar position, co-written the rest of the album, and produced it. With other old faces like Chris Johnstone and Rudy Richman also lending Spike their talents again, Wardour Street is a classic-sounding Quireboys album. The band's British take on barroom, boogie blues has always sounded great - and nothing has really changed here, with Morley perhaps bringing a little more class to the overall sound from a guitar playing and production standpoint. There is nothing here that really breaks the band's long-established mould, but then I did not really expect it to. The band's first two albums from the 1990s will forever be their standout releases, but the reunited line-ups released a number of strong albums in the 2000s and 2010s. Wardour Street is up there with the best of those albums in my opinion - and it picks up where 2019's Amazing Disgrace left off despite the huge line-up shift.
Listen to: I Think I Got It Wrong Again, Myrtle Beach & Happy
5) Caligula's Horse - Charcoal Grace
In some ways, 2024 turned out to be the year of Australia's Caligula's Horse. Whilst I had owned a copy of 2020's Rise Radiant for a little while, it was not until earlier this year that I finally decided to listen to it - and that listening happened to coincide with Charcoal Grace's release. As such, the band's sixth album was not one I was planning on buying and reviewing, but I picked it up shortly after it came out and it is one that I have gone back to a number of times throughout the year. I also saw the band live for the first time back in May - so I have gone from knowing very little about them to becoming a pretty big fan in the space of a year. Whilst the two albums which came before Charcoal Grace may have some stronger individual songs between them, this latest opus is easily the band's most complete work yet. It builds on the progressive grandeur of 2017's In Contact, but removes the slightly clunkier moments which were added to that concept album - instead creating a monolithic and melodic progressive metal masterpiece which, whilst not a concept album, has a real flow to it. The album is bookended by epics, and a few shorter tracks which build on the more melodic flair of Rise Radiant somewhat are included - but the real showpiece here is the four-part title track which takes up the whole of the album's middle. This suite of songs is the band's crowning achievement up to this point in terms of scope and songwriting - with a repeating vocal hook which returns during each of the four parts in a slightly different way each time. I am still discovering new things with each listen, and have started to really delve into the band's back catalogue, too, so the album more than deserves its spot in the top five.
Listen to: The World Breathes with Me, Golem & Charcoal Grace
4) Nightwish - Yesterwynde
I was not really sure what to expect from Nightwish's tenth album. Marko Hietala's departure from the band in 2021 still seems to somewhat loom over them, and Yesterwynde seems to have been put together by a band who do not all seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet. There will be no tour, and reading between the lines this seems to be due to tensions within the group, and frontwoman Floor Jansen was somewhat critical of the final product in an interview not long before it was released. As such, I very much kept my expectations in check, particularly as I was somewhat disappointed with 2020's Human. :II: Nature., but I have gone back to Yesterwynde a lot since it was released in September. It could have definitely been mixed better, and Hietala's vocal power is missed, but the diverse songwriting throughout and Jansen's performances help the album to soar. For me it does run out of steam a little towards the end, but the first two-thirds are truly excellent in my opinion. Whilst there are no genuine epics this time, there are a handful of longer pieces which carry plenty of guitar thunder and symphonic grandeur - whilst the folkier moments are full of genuine warmth and beauty. I do not mind the expansion of multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley's role on this album, and his plentiful vocal additions, generally during the quieter moments, are welcome - and I think his soft voice contrasts well with the titanic power of Jansen. Perhaps the best thing about the album overall, though, is the increased guitar presence throughout. There are more proper riffs and leads on this album than there has been on a Nightwish album for a while and this is welcome.
Listen to: An Ocean of Strange Islands, Perfume of the Timeless & Something Whispered Follow Me
3) South of Salem - Death of the Party
One of my favourite young bands at the moment is Bournemouth's South of Salem, who I discovered in 2023 when I saw them opening for W.A.S.P. in Wolverhampton. I listened to their debut album an awful lot that year so I was really looking forward to hearing the follow up - and Death of the Party did not disappoint when it dropped back in January. I had already heard some of the songs live on their headline tour towards the end of 2023, but the album still impressed and is full of melodic hard rock and metal goodness - which harks back to the British rock scene of the late 2000s which was packed with bands that never made it but were often brilliant. South of Salem are very much the successor to bands like Heaven's Basement and Glamour of the Kill, then, and stand out in a current rock scene is dominated by bluesy hard rock and post-grunge bands. There is a real melodic sheen to South of Salem's sound, certainly taken from the 1980s hair metal scene, but there is also a strong hint of both traditional hard rock and gothic rock. No young UK-based band is currently exciting me more than South of Salem and, as a result, I listened to Death of the Party a lot last year. The songwriting is tight and infectious, with each song boasting a massive chorus and plenty of other melodic hooks, whilst the riffing is just metallic enough to give the songs an edge without the band really crossing over into genuine metal. It is great to see a band like this starting to really make waves both here in the UK and overseas, then, and I am looking forward to seeing them later this year when they go back on tour.
Listen to: Static, Jet Black Eyes & Death of the Party
2) Opeth - The Last Will and Testament
Part of me thinks that this should be my Album of the Year, and it likely would have been had it come out earlier in 2024, but the album that comes ahead of it has just been a part of my life for longer and has been played a lot more than this one. Given that The Last Will and Testament has only been out for just over a month, though, a spot in second place shows just how good this dynamic and varied release is. In many ways, this feels like the album which Opeth have been threatening to make for many years. It builds on the organic progressive rock sound of the past few albums nicely whilst reintroducing some of the extreme metal elements with which the band made their name originally. Sounding like a real mix of 2005's Ghost Reveries and 2019's In Cauda Venenum, the eight-track concept album may be the most complete album of Opeth's career so far. Whilst the album is still extremely progressive and complex, it lacks the sprawling nature which has generally characterised Opeth's previous efforts, heavy or not, going instead for tight arrangements which are packed with memorable riffs, vocal passages, and solos. Despite the plentiful hooks, though, the overall arrangements are still full of classic progressive rock goodness, with knotty guitar riffing throughout and plenty of retro keyboards and synths to prop everything up. The star of the show here, though, is certainly frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt - who delivers possibly his most diverse vocal showing to date. He has always sung and growled well, but his growls sound as good as ever here following his hiatus from doing such in the studio - and his clean vocals are full of character and, interestingly at times, theatre. There is a real bombast to parts of this album, which is not something I generally expect from Opeth, but it fits the vaudeville story the album tells - and this will likely be looked back on as a career highlight.
Listen to: §1, §2 & A Story Never Told
1) Judas Priest - Invincible Shield
I really enjoyed 2018's Firepower when it dropped, and it sat proudly in that year's list, and I felt that it was Judas Priest's best album for a number of years - but the British metal legends may have gone one better with March's Invincible Shield. Moving away from the longer length of their last few albums, but sticking with producer (and live guitarist) Andy Sneap, Invincible Shield feels like all the best bits of Firepower but without the occasional bloat. This latest Judas Priest opus feels much sleeker and, arguably, more powerful as a result - and it helps that the performances throughout are so good. Given Glenn Tipton's worsening Parkinson's disease it is a unclear how much he contributed to the album, despite being credited with co-writing every song here, but Richie Faulkner has shown over the past decade-plus that he gets the Judas Priest style - and the guitar riffing here is razor sharp throughout. Given how old some of the band members now are, too, it is amazing how heavy this album is. Firepower was heavy, but some of the moments here are heavier I think - but there is also some variety this time which harks back to the band's 1970s output to showcase a few more classic rock-adjacent moments. When I reviewed Invincible Shield I said that I still felt that Firepower was the stronger album overall, but over the course of the past few months I think that view has changed - and that I now think that this latest effort is stronger. This is largely due to its brevity, as there are very few weak moments here, but I also think that, six years on, it is just more impressive than ever that Judas Priest can still put out albums of this quality - given the various health struggles which have impacted some of their key members in recent times. It deserves its top spot - and I have returned to it often.
Listen to: Panic Attack, Gates of Hell & Trial by Fire
With the above 10 albums making 2024's list, as always there were a number of others which were in strong contention for inclusion. I think that my original shortlist had 25 albums on it, so there were 15 which had to be cut out, so I generally like to highlight a few that just missed the cut as honourable mentions. One album that I thought for a long time throughout the year would make the cut was =1, the latest effort from Deep Purple and their first to feature current guitarist Simon McBride. Deep Purple have been on a real streak over the past decade or so, since they started working with producer Bob Ezrin, and McBride has brought lots of guitar firepower back to the band on =1. He is all over the album, despite Don Airey essentially leading the charge these days, and the songwriting is tight - but sadly it just misses out on this year's list. Another album I listened to a lot this year was From Hell I Rise, the debut solo album from Slayer's Kerry King. Despite the album essentially just sounding like Slayer with a different singer, it is probably King's strongest set of songs from a while. I enjoyed later Slayer, but From Hell I Rise just feels a bit more vital overall - with the duelling guitars of King and Phil Demmel the perfect backing for Death Angel's Mark Osegueda who does a great job vocally throughout. The final honourable mention for 2024 is Saxon's Hell, Fire and Damnation. New Saxon albums generally make my list, but I perhaps went back to this one fewer times than I generally would - despite still really enjoying it. They generally sit towards the bottom of each list, and perhaps they would have done so again this time - but I really wanted to squeeze in Magnum for the reasons discussed above. Making such a list is always hard, but I am pleased with the overall result and it is a good mix of styles highlighting 2024's variety. All that is left to do now is to highlight my five favourite gigs of the year. As with recent years, I just picked five rather than trying to categorise them. I went to many excellent shows this year which could have featured - but these five in particular stood out.
Bruce Springsteen's shows generally top these lists, and this one could have done in truth, but I wanted to give others a chance this time - whilst still acknowledging the power of The Boss. After seeing him in 2023 I was not expecting to see him again in truth, but May's Cardiff show was another spectacle - and I have tickets to see him yet again in Manchester later this year. He is surely winding down, but he clearly wants to go out with a bang - and this never-ending tour is bringing yet more fiery and lengthy performances from Springsteen and the best backing band in the business. The packed out stadium in Cardiff was treated to another masterful three hours of music, too, including deep cuts like So Young and in Love, Better Days, and If I Was the Priest - whilst there were still plenty of hits for the casual fans. This current tour is perhaps less random setlist-wise than his previous tours have been, clearly wanting structure and big hitters on his last massive go-round, but there was still plenty of variety between the 2023 and 2024 shows - and I expect 2025's outing to be no different.
Another that featured in last year's list, I had wondered if seeing The Almighty two years running would dampen the mood somewhat following 2023's masterful London show. Thankfully, though, the Wolverhampton show in November was just as good as the previous one - with a setlist that was different enough to keep things fresh whilst ensuring that all of the band's key anthems were still ready to be shouted by the large crowd. The atmosphere at the Wolverhampton show was a bit different overall, with less of a lairy crowd, but everyone was still out to have a great time - and the volume of the crowd's singing was some of the loudest I have heard in a while. Given how few shows The Almighty have played since their reunion, too, it is amazing how tight they were. Frontman Ricky Warwick always excels, but The Almighty feels like his true home, whilst I noticed more this time just how much of a commanding presence that bassist Floyd London is as I was stood on his side of the room. I will be seeing the band again later this year in Nottingham, and I am already looking forward to it, but it would be great to hear something new from the band give how well their shows have gone so far.
In some ways, I am surprised that Yes' Tavistock show did not make this equivalent list in 2022. It is always great to see a big band in a small venue, and those of us who live near Tavistock have now had two opportunities to see Yes kick off lengthy UK and European treks at The Wharf - following a week or so of rehearsals at the venue. The 2022 show was great, but I was a much bigger Yes fan when the 2024 show rolled around - so I was really into what the band were doing from the off. A great sound mix which generally allowed all of the nuances of the band's intricate sound to shine helped, plus the fact that frontman Jon Davison is the perfect person to carry the Yes vocal legacy going forward. Whilst many quibble over Yes' line-up, whilst guitarist Steve Howe is on board I am happy to accept this band as Yes - and his guitar playing was as fiery and off-kilter as ever. He was the real star of the show, and the setlist chosen really allowed him to shine - including a lengthy lap steel workout on Going for the One. Apart from the encore, too, all of the rest of the songs played were not repeats of those played in 2022. As such, Tavistock locals were treated to two vastly different sets as many years apart - and I am sure that many would be happy to pitch up for a third time.
I became quite a big fan of The Black Crowes over the past couple of years, and 2024 cemented my love for the band via their new album and this excellent show in Wolverhampton. I have gushed over their latest album above, and much of it featured at this Wolverhampton show, but there was still room for plenty of classics and some of the band's trademark jamming. The arrangements seemed tighter on this tour, though, without some of the really lengthy jams which characterised their shows in the past, but I did not mind the brevity - as it meant that a good number of classic tracks and newer anthems could be included. The band sounded powerful, too, helped by a clear sound mix - with frontman Chris Robinson really strutting around like the rock star he is - and the more sullen-looking Rich Robinson laying down a number of tasty guitar solos. Their stage set was impressive, too, as it was made to look like a big top with the drummer, keyboard player, and backing singers all stood on what looked like a pyramid made out of a whole host of vintage amps. I have also seen few shows that contained more guitar changes, throughout, and collection of vintage instruments that were showcased would have certainly made any gearhead envious.
This show in London had every chance of being my gig of the year - and from the opening moments of Metropolis - Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper it was. Dream Theater's first show since 2010 with founding drummer Mike Portnoy, the three-hour spectacle was marvellous from start to finish. With a clear and loud sound mix that I was not sure the O2 Arena could deliver, the band ran through a number of fan-favourites and deep cuts with ease. The first half of the show was largely made up for relatively shorter and heavier pieces, which flew by at pace, whilst the second half was much more progressive and lengthy - opening with a live debut of Night Terror. Everyone shone throughout. Frontman James LaBrie wobbled at times as he sometimes does, but he generally sounded great - whilst it was clear that the chemistry between Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci in particular had never faded. In some ways, it was as if Portnoy had never been away and, looking back at other recent Dream Theater shows, it was clear that something had been missing all this time. It was a show meant for the long-time fan, too, as a main set-closing one-two punch of Stream of Consciousness and Octavarium can attest to - and I just hope that this is the start of a fruitful new chapter for the band.
No comments:
Post a Comment