OUR TOP ALBUMS OF 2024
1) Pøltergeist (Nacthmusik) A true celebration of underground music. The Canadian trio Pøltergeist has unleashed their debut album. An obscure collection of post-punk, dark wave, and death rock, framed by old-school metal guitar solos. Each of these songs is wrapped in stormy shoegaze clouds but at the same time reveals an infectious nostalgic melody. https://youtu.be/0VULBCJXm4I?si=p9NkejQR4yYQl-uw 2) Labyrinthus Stellarum (Vortex Of The Worlds) Ukrainian cosmic black metal band Labyrinthus Stellarum, who entered the scene with Tales of the Void, have recently released their second full length album Vortex Of The Worlds. Thanks to their blend of ambient synths and cold black metal, they've cemented their name in the cosmic black metal genre. https://youtu.be/x4awKZiv-A0?si=aDXgIqP9yA3_1sZO 3) Ductape (Echo Drama) A compelling post-punk album with a dark, hypnotic sound, featuring strong female vocals, intense instrumentation, and a blend of danceable elements, making it a standout release in the genre. https://youtu.be/cLCKy2upW84?si=aNOjueFm4cg0ygBV 4) Molchat Doma (Belaya Polosa) "Belaya Polosa" is the fourth album by Belarus post-punk trio Molchat Doma. This new release marks a clear turning point and a transitional moment they seem to have fully embraced. The compellingly original soundscapes of the band’s early records are still rooted to this work, but they have been upgraded to a more dynamic mash-up of Eastern folk and Spaghetti Western soundtracks. https://youtu.be/_y2TcdQtBwk?si=E7Aha6j7y_bMYF6p 5) Oranssi Pazuzu (Muuntautuja) Psychedelic, avant-garde black metal from Finland. Oranssi Pazuzu‘s Muuntautuja is a monolithic work that deserves the signifier ‘progressive’. A record that crushes how metal functions by embracing a vast array of esoteric influences, jazz, and prog-rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8loxCXm1Ww 6) Alcest (Les Chants De L'Aurore) Les Chants De L’Aurore, the seventh full length from Bagnols-sur-Cèze based French blackgaze maestros Alcest. One of the most ethereal and celestial works they have ever written, both sonically and spiritually. It's a return to old school techniques in creation. https://youtu.be/lBmCNzDblOs?si=WM0PiAHeR97mzR8U 7) State Faults (Children Of The Moon) The gripping journey through Children Of The Moon is an intense emotional and musical evolution that takes skramz as a genre to uncharted territory. Flirting with references to the occult, this album is draped in mystery, masterfully crafting a narrative that mirrors the human condition and how we can be unable to cope with our own existence. https://youtu.be/8nxqVw6qtX8?si=aqch5y3V8jRSh03y 8) Wintersun (Time II) Time II has finally been released! This is the culmination of surely one of the most absurd stories in music of all time. Over nearly twenty years, Wintersun mastermind Jari Maenpaa has continuously promised to create the most elaborate melodic black metal album of all time. As a continuation of its predecessor Time I (released 2012), do I think this is it? Absolutely. With a mix of Japanese traditional instruments, intricate guitar solos, insane drumming and the most baroque and layered progressions I have ever encountered in a metal album, Time II has proven to be worth the wait. https://youtu.be/OAEJ8_A6888?si=J6TGZmi1nUakzne0 9) The Cure (Songs Of A Lost World) This could be one of the darkest Cure albums since Disintegration, and it feels designed to recall that album's frosty pacing and introverted nature, without the band repeating their greatest hits. Songs of a Lost World may be going slow, but that doesn’t mean it’s going nowhere. “Alone,” the opening song, is an object lesson in the way rock music can age elegantly while still retaining its level of introspection. https://youtu.be/W6gFQfYSopQ?si=HpG3GlbsLEZKtyiZ 10) Blood Incantation (Absolute Elsewhere) Over the last 13 years, Denver, Colorado’s Blood Incantation has cemented itself as a worthy heir to the throne of modern progressive death metal. It’s essentially a 1970s prog album with death metal segments. If you merge Pink Floyd, an upgraded version of Morbid Angel, and Dream Theater, you would get a hybrid like this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRcLqkcE85Q 11) Fontaines D.C (Romance) - indie/post punk 12) Meldamor (My Ode To You) - dark wave 13) Foxing (Foxing) indie rock/post-rock 14) Hauntologist (Hollow) - atmospheric black metal 15) Sonhos Tomam Conta (Corpos De Agua) - shoegaze/ dream pop 16) Saint Avangeline (Inferno) ethereal metal/ indie 17) Xiu Xiu (13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips) - electronic/noise-pop/art-rock 18) VR SEX (Hard Copy) - acid punk/death rock 19) Sydney Valette (The Healer) - dark wave/trance/EBM 20) Mayflower Madame (Insight) - post-punk/shoegaze 21) The Smile (Cutouts) - prog rock 22) Xeno & Oaklander (Via Negativa In The Doorway Light) - minimal synth/cold wave 23) Twin Tribes (Pendulum) - dark wave/gothic rock 24) The Flower Cartel (Dark Portraits) - cold wave 25) Allie X (Girl With No Face) - synth pop 26) Sear Bliss (Heavenly Down) - symphonic black metal 27) Giirls (Time Of Glass) - synthwave/trance 28) Yard Act (Where's My Utopia) - alternative/indie 29) Trentmøller (Dreamweavers) - indietronica/alternative rock 30) Chat Pile (Cool World) - sludge metal/hardcore/noise rock 31) Joywave (Permanent Pleasure) - indie rock 32) Show Me The Body (CORPUS II) - indietronica 33) Night In Athens (Wasted Reflektions) - dark wave 34) Geordie Greep (The New Sound) - art rock/post-punk 35) Winterfylleth (The Imperious Horizon) - English heritage black metal 36) Judas Priest (Invincible Shield) - heavy metal 37) Filmmaker (Great Tribulations) - electronic 38) Analog Dance (Stranger Minds) - electronic 39) Abriction (Banshee) - blackgaze 40) Give My Remains To Broadway (This Party Sucks) - dark wave 41) TR/ST (Performance) - synth pop/dark wave 42) Les Longs Adieux (Vertigo) - gothic rock/ dark wave 43) Thou (Umbilical) - experimental doom/sludge metal 44) Mondaze (Dilute The Pain) - shoegaze 45) DIIV (Frog In Boiling Water) - indie rock/shoegaze/dream pop 46) Fabiana Palladino (Fabiana Palladino) - pop 47) Shellac (To All Trains) - post-hardcore/noise rock 48) Joey Valence & Brae (No Hands) - alternative hip-hop 49) Clan of Xymox (Exodus) - gothic rock/dark wave 50) Shooting Daggers (Love & Rage) - hardcore punk
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