Top 20 Albums of 2024 - Part 4: 5 - 1

I'll start off by apologising for the tardiness of this post. When I resurrected the blog back in November, I thought that I had found my passion and spark for writing about music again. Sadly this was quickly derailed by life. Work got a bit on top of me, I had spent months struggling with a maths course and the along came Christmas and mew year. Of course, life continues to throw various trials and tribulations my way (as it does to us all), but I feel ready to get back to it. Not only that, but I will do my very best to update this blog at least a couple of times a week. Hopefully.

Anyway, here it is and of course, it definitely ISN'T going to be worth the wait.

5: Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1 (Goth / Industrial Metal)

I have genuinely struggled with my conscience about including this album on my list, but after much soul-searching I decided that I would for a couple of reasons. First, I always try my best to seperate the art from the artist and second, despite numerous allegations, Brian Warner has not been been charged with any crimes. For these reasons, I believe that this album deserves it's place here.

The reality is, that based on the music alone, this is the comeback that Marilyn Manson fans have been waiting two decades for. There have been hints of former greatness on recent albums, but this time arond, they / he really have delivered the goods. With, arguably, only one weak track on it, this is easily the best Marilyn Manson album since Holy Wood. When the last couple of years are taken into account, perhaps it's not surprising that Marilyn Manson (the man) is cearly angry and in attack mode. He clearly feels victimised and regardless of what has or has not happened, he has the right to his side of the story.

Stamdout track(s): Nod if you Undertand, Raise the Red Flag, As Sick as the Secrets Within

4: Wormwood - The Star (Progressive / Melodic Black Metal)

Since arriving on the scene back in 2017, with their relatively unremarkable debut, Ghostlands, few could have guessed at the heights that they would reach with subsequent releases. Rarely has a band improved so much from album to album in such a short time. Despite this, the band is still relatively unknown and desperately underrated. If you like your Black Metal overflowing with meoldies and with noticable, yet not overbearing progressive / folk elements, then look no further. The word folk when applied to Folk Metal can too easily conjour up an image of stereotypical, raucous, bearded Vikings raising a mead horn by a roaring fire while a twee melody plays on a violin. Where Wormwood are concerned, however, the folk elements are taken from the darker, melancholic side of traditional scandinvaian folk. Korpiklaani, this is not.

Standout track(s): Stjärnfall, Liminal

3: Kittie - Fire (Groove Metal)

When Kittie appeared on the (Nu-) Metal scene at the tail-end of the 1990s, they were relatively lacklustre, musically. What made them stand out from the Nu-Metal sausage-fest and got them a lot of media attention, was that they were an all-female group (of teenagers), which, L7 excluded, was pretty much unheard of in the heavy music scene at the time. In that respect, they were trailblazers and helped pave the way for women in Metal. Over the following two decades, the band has released a clutch of solid albums, but never a great one. That is until now. After a few years away, the reunited and reinvigorated Kittie are back. Fire is the album that Kittie always had the potential to make. Heavier than anything they have released previously, and with the much-improved clean singing of Morgan Lander and musical confidence of her bandmates, this is Kittie 2.0 and the future looks bright.

Standout track(s): I Still Wear This Crown, Fire, Eyes Wide Open

2: Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic (Gothic Rock / Metal)

Comprised of members of Amorphis, Dimmu Borgir, Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, Sentenced and Dark Tranquillity, you'd be forgiven for expecting a collection of Progressive Melodic Death Metal from Cemetery Skyline. What you get, however is more akin to the Goth Rock of 1980s Britain. Nordic Gothic chanels the spirit of the like of The Sisters of Mercy and The Cult, but with more than a sprinkling of modern Metal influrnces and Nordic darkess. Each and every track is an absolute banger and in any other year, this might well have made the top spot. Cemetery Skyline are a supergroup genuinely deserving of the label.

Standout track(s): Violent Storm, Torn Away

1: Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (Trad / Heavy Metal)

The absolute standout album of the year in 2024 was the masterful, Invincible Shield by Metal royalty, Judas Priest. Easily the band's best album since Painkiller and truth be told, it's a far more varied and interesting listen than that, admittedly classic, album. Effortlessly and seamlessly taking cues from every stage of their 50 plus year career (and adding a few modern twists), Invincible Shield had no realistic competition. No band has any right to sound this good and career-affirming an astonishing 55 years after they were formed. Invincible, indeed.

Standout track(s): Just listen to the whole thing - It's a banger from start to finish.