Not gonna lie: I enjoyed the stroll through 2024’s big hitters. And I have my attention being torn in a myriad of directions, having to get the Nine Circles playlist ready, the next post in Cinema Dual’s ongoing Kurosawa retrospective, a concert to attend Friday (I’m seeing Dweezil Zappa), and an extended weekend in the mountains to celebrate the last days of Summer. All of which is just my roundabout way of saying it’s time for another abbreviated post celebrating the music of 2024. This time we’re focusing on the heavier side of the spectrum, so expect the playlist this week to be loud, fast, and ferocious. Except when it’s slow, low, and meditative. Or progressive. This is why I love metal so much, you know?

• Darkthrone – “Black Dawn Affiliation” (review)
• Ulcerate – “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts”
• Slimelord – “Gut-Brain Axis” (review)
• Borknagar – “Summits” (capsule review)
• Lucifer – “A Coffin Has No Silver Lining” (capsule review)
• Mean Mistreater – “Razor Wire” (capsule review)
• Piah Mater- “Fallow Garden” (mini review, podcast)
• Stygian Crown – “Bushido” (capsule review)
• Lord Dying – “Final Push Into the Sun” (capsule review, podcast)
• High On Fire – “Sol’s Golden Curse” (capsule review)
• Crypt Sermon – “The Stygian Rose” (review)
• Farsot – “Into Vertigo” (capsule review, podcast)
• Dvne – “Pl​ē​r​ō​ma” (review)
• Cognizance – “A Brain Dead Memoir”
• Early Moods – “A Sinner’s Past” (capsule review)
• Mammoth Volume – “Black Horse Beach” (capsule review)
• Demiser – “Slave To The Scythe”
• Oxygen Destroyer – “Guardian Of The Universe (Final Hope)” (review)
• Couch Slut – “Censored” (capsule review)

Where I’ve already done reviews for these (either here or on Nine Circles) I’ve placed a link. There may be one more of these that specifically focuses on progressive rock; we’ll see if that happens. Until then enjoy the massive dose of heavy, either via the embed above or below…this could have been much longer!

Be safe, and see you next week.