Last First playlist of the year is all metal. On Thursday Friday I released my Nine Circles Honorable Mentions Best Of List, and it’s a beast: 25 albums that moved and rocked me in some way. So similar to last week’s (Un)Focused Definition this is going to focus on those albums with the final, “official” best of metal list coming in the first year of January, and then my “all-in” playlist accompanying the year-end round up post here, sometime in mid-January. Okay, enough strikethroughs: even though we all know the tune by now about rankings as I listened back to this year’s playlist I was really, really happy. I love these albums. We’re already back to the 70s and prog/rock in the main albums reviews, but for one more week, let’s get heavy. Grab that denim vest, don those spikes, and let’s listen to some killer metal that came out in 2024.

• Opeth – “§5”
• Blood Incantation – “The Stargate [Tablet I]”
• Chat Pile – “I Am Dog Now”
• Bedsore – “Scars Of Light”
• Five The Hierophant – “Initiatory Sickness”
• Crypt Sermon – “Glimmers In The Underworld”
• Inconcessus Lux Lucis – “Temples Colliding In Fire”
• Darkthrone – “Black Dawn Affiliation”
• Lord Dying – “I Am Nothing I Am Everything”
• Chapel Of Disease – “Echoes Of Light”
• Ulcerate – “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts”
• Paysage d’Hiver – “Urgrund”
• Lascaille’s Shroud – “Wyrmfire and Starlight”
• Liminal Shroud – “Nucleonic Blight”
• Borknagar – “Summits”
• Oranssi Pazuzu – “Muuntautuja”
• Oceans Of Slumber – “Poem Of Ecstasy”
• 夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) – “Tongue Arc Orion)
• Gaerea – “Hope Shatters”
• Slimelord – “Tidal Slaughtermarsh”
• Schammasch – “Image Of The Infinite”
• Piah Mater – “Fallow Garden”
• Oxygen Destroyer – “Thy Name Is Legion”
• Marrow Of Man – “Blazing Trumpets Of Cessation”
• Sovereign – “Altered Reality”

Like last week, commentary on each band/album can be found over at Nine Circles. YouTube above, Spotify below. Bndcmpr in between because if you dig the music, support the band! A few caveats: The Opeth isn’t in the bndcmpr link. The Lascaille’s Shroud isn’t on Spotify (everything of course is on YouTube). Next week we take a break from lists to hit some of the holiday music acquisitions, then we’ll return with an “all-in” playlist of all my favorite music. Or not.

Who knows what 2025 will bring?

Be safe, be good to each other. Happy New Year! See you next week.