Greetings, Decibel readers!
Ah, the joys of print media. I just had to turn in my 2024 albums of the year list to our editor-in-chief. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely knew my top five or six albums of the year off the top of my head. But it’s still jarring to have to come up with the list this early. But don’t expect any spoilers from me today, as Albert is hard at work with whatever special alchemy he uses to determine the rankings from all of our submissions. Besides, my own contributions should be easy to surmise if you’ve been following this column for long enough. There are certain bands I just don’t shut up about, so you know I’ll be submitting them for the almighty Decibel list.
Anyway, check out the albums below to see if any of them qualify for your own lists.
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Betwitcher – Spell Shock
The soundtrack to your evil weekend plans. Bewitcher is one of the best in the game of blackened-thrash, served up with a healthy dose of Motörhead hooks and Venom spikes. You know it’s good when a song like “Dystopic Demonolatry” makes you spontaneously give the horns up.
Stream: Apple Music
Spell Shock (24-bit HD audio) by Bewitcher
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The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude
There’s only a few situations that merit moving forward after the loss of a key band member, and the passing of Trevor Strnad remains a devastating blow to metal in so many ways. At the same time, however, Brian Eschbach was always a pillar of the band in terms of riffs and overall musical composition and direction. And as it turns out, he’s pretty nasty behind the microphone as well! His delivery is similar enough to Trevor’s to retain the band’s core sonic aesthetic, but different enough to allow him to carve out his own vocal legacy. Musically, the album is top-tier Black Dahlia Murder very much in the vein of Nocturnal in terms of feel and production. It’s the perfect step forward for the band, and I think we can all look forward to hearing what they do in this next chapter.
Stream: Apple Music
Servitude by The Black Dahlia Murder
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Bottomless/Witching Altar – Graveyard Thunder
Spooky classic heavy metal just in time for spooky season. In a just world, classic rock radio would be all over Bottomless for their worship of bands like Blue Öyster Cult. Likewise, whatever modern rock radio stations still exist should totally pick up Witching Altar. But who cares about what Clear Channel wants you to hear? We’ve got our own space here, and we’ve got an awesome split to rock out to with Graveyard Thunder.
Stream: Apple Music
Graveyard Thunder by Bottomless/Witching Altar
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Ripped to Shreds – Sanshi
Death metal is so oversaturated nowadays, it’s hard to pick out bands that still put a cool spin on things rather than just lazily recycle the same HM-2 riffs again and again and hope no one notices. Fear not, we still have Ripped to Shreds to bring all manner of heavy excellence to our ears. Although the band sits on a foundation of Entombed and Dismember, there’s so much more going on here with the mix of grinding blasts and melancholy melodic riffs that there’s always more to discover with each listen. Make sure to add this to that list of yours.
Stream: Apple Music
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Spite – The Third Temple
Speaking of spooky, here’s the latest emanation from Jesse Balgey’s excellent exploration of mystery and mysticism. Black metal for those who like their darkness delivered in that certain off-kilter manner characteristic of bands like Negative Plane, Funereal Presence and Mortuary Drape. It’s a sound that gives you all the goods in terms of riffs, reverbed vocals and righteous drums, but arranges it in a way that keeps you guessing.
Stream: Apple Music
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