Hesher Keenan’s Top Albums of 2024
(Editor’s note: This year, we’re bringing back the individual ‘Top Albums’ lists. In previous years, we all kinda just lumped everyone’s picks into one article, but we got enough comments from you guys about wanting the individual lists, so here we are. Enjoy and happy holidays!)
Looking back on the year that was, 2024 had a lot to get excited about. New bands, new music, new festivals… metal has been in an awesome place lately. Is it as big as it once was? No and that’s perfectly fine. Metal will continue cooking in the underground, developing new sounds, new artists, new bands to eventually take the world by storm. We’re already seeing new headliners get the nod (Sleep Token at Download ’25 comes to mind) and the future’s looking bright with bands scoring some major mainstream notoriety this year — looking at you, Knocked Loose, Spiritbox, Gojira, and the like.
It really feels like you can find exemplary releases from nearly every facet of metal this year. In my position, I get to listen to a lot of new metal releases, but I decided to make my list this year all about the albums I kept coming back to. Call them bops, or ear worms, or just good fuckin’ music — this is my top five metal albums of 2024 in no particular order.
Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Epic Records)
When you look at the ages of everyone in Judas Priest, it’s mind-boggling how some of these guys can still put out a killer record after all these years. With a sound that feels like a continuation of what they were doing on the ridiculously explosive 2018 album Firepower while also pulling from specific parts of their past at times, Invincible Shield feels both familiar and refreshingly new. From start to finish, this one’s a pure heavy metal banger through and through. But what else should you expect from Judas fucking Priest?!
Leather Lung – Graveside Grin (Magnetic Eye Records)
There’s really only one word needed to describe this pick — swagger. Each song has a sway and groove to it makes it hard to decide whether you should be banging your head or swingin’ your hips. From the moment you hit play and “Spit in the Casket” starts with that fuzzy guitar tone and building intro, Graveside Grin demands your attention not with face-meltingly fast shredding or ridiculous time signatures, but by handing you an ice cold Modelo or an immaculately rolled joint and welcoming you to the party. If you choose to listen to any of the albums on this list, definitely consider this one in the company of good friends and good times.
Better Lovers – Highly Irresponsible (SharpTone Records)
I wasn’t shocked that I enjoyed Highly Irresponsible as much as I did on its first play through. By the time this album had come out, Better Lovers already wowed me with their 2023 EP God Made Me An Animal and honestly, it wasn’t that much of a surprise then, either. That’s what happens when you basically take former members of Every Time I Die (minus Keith Buckley) and you plug ex-Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato into the mix — you expect something exciting to come out the other end. And boy did it. From the panic-chord-ridden intensity found in tracks like “Your Misplaced Self” and “Drowning In A Burning World” to the power ballad-esque delivery in “At All Times”, there are so many sides to Highly Irresponsible that I keep going back and finding more reasons to dig this record.
High on Fire – Cometh The Storm (MNRK Heavy)
What, you thought after winning a Grammy for 2018’s Electric Messiah that High on Fire’s latest release Cometh The Storm would be lacking? Come on now. This album’s got a stockpile of nuclear-grade riffs and a rhythmic foundation solid enough to withstand that sort of destructive power. Add in Matt Pike’s throat tearing rasp/growl/scream and you’ve got a concoction designed to make it impossible not to bang your head. And all that’s before we even talk about the record’s infusion of Turkish folk and Middle Eastern soundscapes that take the listener on a journey. From start to finish, Cometh The Storm is a wild ride.
Poppy – Negative Spaces (Sumerian Records)
This is a wild one for me. Poppy’s kind of been in my periphery for a while now, having known of her from her YouTube days. For a while there, I just figured her foray into music was a cheap attempt at co-opting the metal aesthetic for some reason. But it wasn’t until I actually sat down and gave Negative Spaces a chance that I realized I was being a gatekeeping prick to myself. The single “New Way Out” really opened my eyes to how heavy Poppy got, but I wasn’t prepared for everything Negative Spaces has in store. Sure, the metalcore sound that’s front and center likely benefited from having ex-Bring Me the Horizon keyboardist Jordan Fish as the album’s producer, but this album doesn’t shy away from flirting with electropop, synthwave, nu-metal, and other sounds that make this record uniquely Poppy through and through. Now I just gotta go check out I Disagree…
Honorable Mentions
Job for a Cowboy – Moon Healer
Chat Pile – Cool World
Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Jerry Cantrell – I Want Blood
The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude
