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Infernal TV Album Reviews

Best Albums of the Year 2024

Another year, another awesome year for metal! I’m not sure about you all, but these new releases have been some of my favorite of all time. It was challenging to create a Best Of list and narrow it down to 10, but here are the best albums of the year 2024.

10. The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude

The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude

Even though it’s still so sad that Trevor Strnad passed away, I’m glad TBDM is continuing. But Trevor was one of my favorite vocalists of all time, and the band had serious shoes to fill.

I saw TBDM live in 2023 and wasn’t as thrilled with Brian Eschbach’s vocals. But when they started teasing new songs, I could tell he was practicing and trying to capture Trevor’s vocals as much as possible. And they were infinitely better when I saw them live this past October.

But what about the album? Besides Brian’s vocals, the album is filled with riffs and blast beats–precisely what you would imagine with TBDM. However, this album is on a different level with Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight. There are also a lot of black metal and Swedish death influences that take me back to old TBDM material.

Overall, Trevor would be so proud of this album.

9. Hulder – Verses in Oath

Hulder – Verses in Oath

I noticed Hulder had been getting a lot of hype lately, so when I saw them headlining the Decibel Magazine Tour, I was excited to see them live. And man, they blew me away.

I’ve been getting into black metal lately, specifically the atmospheric and melodic black metal, so Hulder is really what I needed. Every song goes from sinister and grim to relentlessly brutal. Hulder is also one of the most talented musicians in the genre, with bestial vocals.

Overall, Hulder is one of the best black metal bands around today. I can’t wait to see what else this band releases.

8. Wormed – Omegon

Omegon is the latest addition to the Krighsu trilogy and the newest album the band released in eight years. The sci-fi tech death titans never release a bad album, but Omegon has more of a dissonant atmosphere.

I interviewed vocalist Phlegeton for Outburn Magazine, and he agreed that this is their darkest album. He explained it’s because of their evolving influences and more input from guitarist V-Kazar. Because of the unfortunate death of former drummer G-Calero, drummer V-Cazar joined the band and made unique contributions to the new album.

But don’t think Wormed is going all atmospheric on us—Omegon is absolutely insane. All members put on their most dexterous performance. The album is experimental and mind-bending without sounding too spacey.

The production also sounds natural, which is something that this genre lacks. Overall, this is one of the most brutal releases of this year, and I appreciate it more with every listen.

7. Doomsilla – The Gift of Eternal Sleep

Doomsilla – The Gift of Eternal Sleep

I’ve been listening to Doomsilla since they formed in 2012. Tony Anderson is one of my favorite vocalists and has been a good friend of mine for years. Even after moving to Lithuania, I’m glad all his bands are still active, including Doomsilla, which I always felt was one of his most underrated projects.

The Gift of Eternal Sleep was still one of the most mind-blowing releases of the year. I wasn’t expecting a new Doomsilla album, so I was shocked and happy when Tony sent me the album.

One big reason this album went a huge step forward was drummer Derek Roddy’s addition. It’s no surprise that the drums are insane and are the most stand-out quality of this album, next to Tony’s vocals. But Jim Ross’s riffs are also killer, and the production is sharp.

With all the added sound clips, such as the best scene from Soylent Green in the first song, “Repulsed by the Existence of Humanity,” this album offers many twists and turns.

6. Entheos – “An End to Everything”

Entheos – “An End to Everything”

I usually don’t include EPs in my top albums list, but “The End of Everything” is one of the best releases I’ve heard from Entheos. No two Entheos releases are ever the same, but this EP has a raw element that I haven’t heard in past releases.

I interviewed vocalist Chaney Crabb for Outburn Magazine, and she explained that producer Mark Lewis brought a more primal and emotional element into this release. Since Chaney dedicated this EP to the death of her friend, you can hear the sorrow and mourning in her vocal performance.

Even though there are only five songs on this EP, all bring chills to my spine. They stand out in their way but blend well for the larger part of the EP. Overall, Chaney and Navene Koperweis are geniuses. This EP is a masterpiece, and I’m still blown away every time I listen.

5. Deicide – Banished by Sin

Deicide – Banished by Sin

Deicide is the band that introduced me to extreme metal, right next to Death and Cannibal Corpse. Whenever I see Deicide release a new album, I get my hands on it as quickly as possible. While I’ve loved the last several Deicide albums, no album has impressed me in a long time as Banished by Sin did.

While Deicide introduces the catchy yet blasphemous sound we heard in Once Upon the Cross, the songs are more modern and mature. I thank new guitarist Taylor Nordberg, who takes Deicide to a new level. Nordberg shouldn’t take all the credit; Kevin Quirion unleashes plenty of sick riffs, Glen Benton’s vocals sound as demonic as ever, and Steve Asheim’s drumming is just as monstrous.

With engineering from Jeramie Kling and mixing/mastering from Josh Wilbur, the album also has a crisp yet natural sound, and everyone sounds fantastic on this record.

4. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere

Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere

This is arguably the album where Blood Incantation pushes the boundaries of extreme metal. It’s progressive without ripping off any founding bands and dives into the unknown without being too spacey.

This album has ambient parts reminiscent of Pink Floyd, and some folky catchy parts meshed with Blood Incantation’s grotesque death metal style.

This album emerged out of nowhere and blew me away. Absolute Elsewhere is a unique and ground-breaking album that shows the best of Blood Incantation. I can’t wait to hear the next interdimensional odyssey that Blood Incantation will release.

3. Dissimulator – Lower Form Resistance

Dissimulator – Lower Form Resistance

Dissimulator is one of the most underrated bands around now. The thrashy and esoteric Voivod style is one that not many bands can replicate, and Dissimulator blends these insane elements in a modern tech death sound.

This band comprises some heavyweights in the Montreal scene: Philippe Boucher (Chthe’ilist, Beyond Creation, Incandescence), Antoine Daigneault (Chthe’ilist, Atramentus), and Claude Leduc (Sutrah, Chthe’ilist, Atramentus), and this is by far the most unique project that these guys have created. All the members sound amazing, and Leduc’s vocals are beastly.

These guys are busy with numerous bands, but I hope Dissimulator releases more material in the future.

2. Gigan – Anomalous Abstracatigate Infinitessimus

Gigan – Anomalous Abstracatigate Infinitessimus

Gigan’s new album is another one that appeared out of nowhere. There are many reasons why I love this band, and one of the main ones is how consistent they’ve always been. While they developed a more progressive sound over the years, I can only expect to hear monstrous riffs and bone-crunching vocals.

Even though this album is chaotic, the production is very organic. While the drums are quieter than I would prefer, they don’t sound fake. Of course, the riffs and vocals sound like an absolute Lovecraftian bacchanal, as they should.

I saw Gigan live at Swarmfest in Tampa, and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen all year, as if a kaiju was playing dissonant death metal. They played a decent number of songs off this record, and the new material sounded incredible.

1. Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe

Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe

I reviewed this new Kanonenfieber album a little before it was released, and I predicted this record would be my AOTY (or at least high up on my list). Kanonenfieber is one of my favorite extreme metal bands now and Noise’s best project (in my opinion). This band shines light on WWI and the more somber side of war; I suggest translating the lyrics if you don’t speak German because they are heartbreaking.

Compared to the first album, Menschenmüle, this album is a lot heavier. Kanonenfieber goes hard with the black metal riffing and rapid drumming, but the songs are way catchier, which makes this album memorable.

The production is also impressive. I know I’m repeating myself in this list, but it turns me off when the instruments sound fake, or something gets lost in the mix. This Kanonenfieber album has a lot of clarity while still sounding raw.

I hope Kanonenfieber tours the US soon. If not, I’ll have to go to Europe to see them. From the live videos I’ve seen, this band plays a killer set, and I bet these songs would sound amazing live!

Stephanie Jensen

My name is Stephanie Jensen. I started my career as a music journalist five years ago. I had the idea for Infernal TV when I realized I desired more creative direction. I enjoyed working with video, so I decided to create a video-based website for metal bands.