Goddamn, this was by far the hardest end-of-year piece we’ve had to put together in ages, as this year’s quantity and quality of releases frankly got us overwhelmed. How can you rank albums when each one keeps impressing the hell out of you and makes you reassess the whole meaning of life upon each listen? How can you even narrow down your most listened-to records when greatness strikes each and every corner of all existing subgenres? But it’s here and we’re very proud of it. From stoner to doom, from noise to psych and everything in between: dig into the team’s favorite records of 2024.
The winners
Slift – Ilion (SubPop)
Slomosa – Tundra Rock (Stickman Records)
Elephant Tree & Lowrider – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Beeho’s Top 10 Albums
In 2023, I ended my piece with “looking forward to what 2024 has in store for us”. Little did I know that this year would be not just a wave, but a goddamn tsunami of releases: between veterans, established acts and newcomers, absolutely EVERYONE presented a new album. And while ethics prevent me from putting Lowrider and Elephant Tree’s album on a pedestal, it has undeniably blown minds worldwide. From the get-go, the Award for the Ultimate Heavy Trip goes to REZN, with their classy post/psych soundscapes from another dimension. In the “GOAT” category, intergalactic aerospace kings SLIFT brought us to our knees, while Slomosa delivered the new stoner rock masterpiece in all simplicity. But an AOTY list would make no sense without a good sonic beating, and Black Tusk and Knocked Loose were defo up to the task. Ripping the establishment and dB’s apart, they too know how to do it in abrasive apocalyptic noise (Human Impact), outrageous indus sludge (Chat Pile) and lyrical post-hardcore (Coilguns) fashion. Someone said “shivers”? Sergeant Thunderhoof landed with a sumptuous doom piece in the vein of Green Lung, while their Irish neighbors Fontaines D.C. laid down the Rock Album of the Year. 2025, we’re ready.
- REZN – Burden (Sargent House Records)
- Slomosa – Tundra Rock (Stickman Records)
- Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost Of Badon Hill (Pale Wizard Records)
- Chat Pile – Cool World (The Flenser)
- Slift – Ilion (SubPop Records)
- Fontaines D.C. – Romance (XL Records)
- Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To (Pure Noise Records)
- Black Tusk – The Way Forward (Season of Mist)
- Human Impact – gone Dark (Ipecac Recordings)
- Coilguns – Odd Love (Hummus Records)
Best collab: Lowrider & Elephant Tree “The Long Forever” (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Special mentions: Grava, Chelsea Wolfe, Psychlona, Abrams, Hippotraktor, Generation of Vipers, Drug Church, Greenleaf, Better Lovers, Doodseskader
Gaël Mathieu’s Top 10 Albums
In a world where 11,837 albums are released each day and streaming platforms just throw them all at us simultaneously (not to mention Beeho, the human algorithm par excellence), putting together a top list becomes a harrowing but necessary ordeal. 2024 was an exceptional vintage, and we managed to pick some gems well beyond the stoner, doom and psychedelic realms. The holy five in order: Pallbearer finally emancipated itself from “Sorrow and Extinction” with an airy but spleenful album while keeping their doom roots intact. Delving and Weite (whom I both rank second to hide my near-religious fanaticism for the Elder/Delving/Weite triplet) enrich the scene with two complementary gems, to be listened to in one go. New scene darlings Slomosa warm all hearts with their festive unifying energy, while Coilguns blast forth with “Odd World”, the perfect soundtrack for discharging all our negative energy. The surprise came from Ihsahn, a masterpiece even for those like me who listen to as much black metal as they write for THC (i.e. never). The rest of the pack? They could all have made this top.
- Pallbearer – Mind Burns Alive (Nuclear Blast)
- Delving – All Paths Diverge // Weite – Oase (Stickman Records)
- Slomosa – Tundra Rock (Stickman Records)
- Coilguns – Odd Love (Hummus Records)
- Ihsahn – Ihsahn (Candlelight Records)
- Lowrider & Elephant Tree – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)
- Drug Church – Prude (Pure Noise Records)
- High Vis – Guided Tour (Modulor Records)
- Zeal and Ardor – Greif (Redacted Gmbh Records)
- Whores – WAR (The Ghost Is Clear)
Lord Pierro’s Top 10 Albums
The music released in 2024 reflects my year: complex, rich in encounters and full of contradictory feelings that took me through very different states, with the end result being a multitude of excellent albums that were very difficult to single out. From the offbeat punk humor of Pissed Jeans to the disillusioned noise revolt of Human Impact, the grunge nostalgia of Disastroid or the crushing violence of Norna and Bongripper, not to mention mental health issues raised in stoner rock fashion by Greenleaf and the hardcore emotions of Brain Cave, the utter fun of Young Acid, the melodic beauty of Abrams and the plenitude offered by Lowrider/Elephant Tree… This emotional rollercoaster touched (almost) every possible corner of the musical spectrum. Apart from my most listened-to album “Half Divorced”, there’s no actual ranking in this list, as it evolves depending on my mood. I can say it loud and clear: in 2024, music saved my life.
- Pissed Jeans – Half Divorced (SubPop Records)
- Human Impact – Gone Dark (Ipecac Recordings)
- Disastroid – Garden Creatures (Heavy Psych Sounds)
- Greenleaf – The Head and The Habit (Magnetic Eye Records)
- Brain Cave – Foot Off The Gas (The Ghost Is Clear Records)
- Young Acid – Murder at Maple Mountains (Majestic Mountain Records)
- Elephant Tree & Lowrider – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)
- Abrams – Blue City (Blues Funeral Recordings)
- Norna – Norna (Pelagic Records)
- Bongripper – Empty (The Great Barrier Records)
“Without these, my mental health wouldn’t be the same” mention: Drug Church, Whores., Black Tusk, Ils, Sons of Alpha Centauri, DÖ, The Jesus Lizard, ODA (doom album of the year), Earth Ship, Luna Sol, Vitskar Süden, Daevar, Blue Heron, We Hate You Please Die (end-of-year crush)
Matt’s Top 10 Albums
2024 got off to a roaring start with the release of my Album of the Year: Slift’s immense “Ilion”, the darker, crazier and more ferocious followup to “Ummon”. My favorite bands also delivered throughout the year: High On Fire returned to business with their oriental-style steamroller while the Melvins’ post-industrial detours truly delighted our ears. Acid Mammoth were also back with a bang, as they continue their ascent as Europe’s classic doom stalwarts. What can we say about the new Gnome, Coilguns and Sunnata, except to reconfirm how highly I think of them? Fortunately, there’s still room for less expected entries in my list, such as the end-of-year and overpowering “You, The King” by France’s Wormsand, the killer doom party of Gurt’s “Satan etc.” and last but not least, an uncanny but successful comeback: the ultimate supergroup Sun & Sail Club and their jubilant “Shipwrecked”.
1. Slift – Ilion (SubPop Records)
2. High On Fire – Cometh the Storm (MNRK Heavy)
3. Sun & Sail Club – Shipwrecked (Heavy Psych Sounds)
4. Acid Mammoth – Supersonic Megafauna Collision (Heavy Psych Sounds)
5. Wormsand – You, The King (MRS Red Sound)
6. Gnome – Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome (Polder Records)
7. Gurt – Satan, etc (S/R)
8. Sunnata – Chasing Shadows (S/R)
9. Coilguns – Odd Love (Hummus Records)
10. Melvins – Tarantula Heart (Ipecac Recordings)
Special mention: Lowrider & Elephant Tree, Witchpit, Ufomammut, Witchorious, Bongripper
Sylvain Golvet’s Top 10 Albums
2024 is a year of continuity for REZN, who returned to my top 10 and proved their mastery with the sequel to 2023’s “Solace”. We also find stoner faves Slomosa, who managed to keep all the freshness of their debut while refining their sound. Even fresher, Finland’s Oranssi Pazuzu drifted towards a horrific trip-hop soundtrack, to be enjoyed with the night light on. An unexpected wind of freshness also blew in from the other side of the Atlantic, with Jack White who wisely rediscovered the joy of plain simple riffs and killer hooks. It’s been a great year for US music with Thou, High On Fire, Bongripper, Chat Pile and Metz (okay, Canadians). So many angry, depressed, resigned, even downright sinister tracks, in keeping with the political situation in this sick country (a causal link?). But cocorico! France had the honour of taking first place: Slift are indeed kings of the world and beyond, so much so that their space epics took us to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
- Slift – Ilion (SubPop Records)
- REZN – Burden (Sargent House)
- Chat Pile – Cool World (The Flenser)
- Metz – Up On Gravity Hill (SubPop Records)
- Bongripper – Empty (The Great Barrier Records)
- Jack White – No Name (Third Man Records)
- Slomosa – Tundra Rock (Stickman Records)
- Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja (Nuclear Blast)
- Thou – Umbilical (Sacred Bones Records)
- High On Fire – Cometh the Storm (MNRK Heavy)
Special mention (French quality only): Lysistrata, W!zard, Witchorious, Clavicule, Pelegrin, Karkara, Sorcerer, Wormsand, Qilin, Dirty Shades
Yannick K.’s Top 10 Albums
The beginning of 2024 was marked by the triumph of Slift and an irrepressible desire to escape. With “Ilion”, the Toulouse trio have redefined the word C-O-L-O-S-S-A-L. Quite simply, we’ve never read or heard this word so much this year. To quench your psychedelic thirst, The Cosmic Dead rose as a wild and furious manifesto to the gods of noise and chaos. Angry and heavy, the sludgy slap in the face delivered by High On Fire and Black Tusk made our cheeks sore. In the darkness department, we welcomed the return of Sunnata, who offered the very quintessence of their style between shamanic trance and doom. Then there was Glassing, constantly balancing out chaos and fragility — Cathartic Album of the Year hands down. Let’s not forget French band Sorcerer, who proved that HxC can be more than just the sum of its (mosh) parts. The year wouldn’t be complete without tidal waves of emotion courtesy of Big|Brave and Spirit Mother. Speaking of emotions, exploration and catharsis, it would be a shame to miss THE collab of 2024: “The Long Forever” by the Elephant Tree/Lowrider team!
- SLIFT – Ilion (SubPop)
- Sunnata – Chasing Shadows
- Glassing – From The Other Side Of The Mirror (Pelagic Records)
- BIG|BRAVE – A Chaos Of Flowers (Southern Lord Recordings)
- Spirit Mother – Trails (Heavy Psych Sounds)
- The Cosmic Dead – Infinite Peaks (Heavy Psych Sounds)
- Lowrider & Elephant Tree – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)
- High On Fire – Cometh The Storm (MNRK Music)
- Black Tusk – The Way Forward (Season Of Mist)
- Sorcerer – Devotion (Frozen Records)
Special mention: Slomosa, Bügeln, Greenleaf, Lord Buffalo, Qilin, Drug Church, 1000mods
Pete Green’s Top 10 Albums
2024 was a year of enjoying fantastic established bands excelling at what they do best. From Judas Priest’s “Invincible Shield” (their finest since “Painkiller”) to Midlands mainstays Alunah delivering a masterful dose of soaring doom rock, and High On Fire storming back and adding another jaw-dropping crusher to their heavy metal legacy. Slomosa followed their debut with a new album packed with even catchier earworms, cementing their status among festival headliners. There were fresh sounds too, with Lowrider and Elephant Tree surpassing expectations on their split “The Long Forever”. Its melodic mastery, harmonic beauty, and killer riffs made it a standout. Saltpig emerged with an edgy vibe and a killer self-titled debut, while Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol sharpened their crunchier edge, expanding their weird yet glorious catalogue. Even amidst their legendary lineup, few expected the brilliance of Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers’ debut live record — a unique blend of warmth, vitality, and experimentation. Black Pyramid, despite a contentious past, returned triumphantly with “The Paths of Time are Vast” showcasing a mesmerizing return to form.
- Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Sony)
- High On Fire – Cometh The Storm (MNRK Heavy)
- Slomosa – Tundra Rock (Stickman Records)
- Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Big Dumb Riffs (Permanent Teeth)
- Black Pyramid – The Paths of Time Are Vast (Totem Cat Records)
- Early Moods – A Sinner’s Past (RidingEasy Records)
- Saltpig – Saltpig (Heavy Psych Sounds)
- Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers – Folklore From the Other Desert Cities (Heavy Psych Sounds)
- Lowrider & Elephant Tree – The Long Forever (Blues Funeral Recordings)
- Alunah – Fever Dream (Heavy Psych Sounds)
So yes. 2024 was another year with a ton of great moments in rock. Some things changed, some things stayed the same and some things twisted, evolved, diverged and converged. Times, at times, may be tough for us all, but one thing’s for sure, you can’t stop Awesome, and that’s down to everyone in this killer scene for doing what they do best. Happy holidays. See you in 2025 for yet more Awesome.
Last modified: 21 December 2024
