Lambgoat's Favorite Albums of 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, it's time to reflect on a year packed with unforgettable albums that kept our heads banging and our playlists on repeat. Here at Lambgoat, we're ready to crown our favorite releases of the year. From crushing metal and relentless hardcore to the genre-defying madness we live for, this list has something for everyone who loves it loud. No need for formalities—this is a celebration of the bands who turned 2024 into a sonic adventure. So, grab your headphones, crank the volume to 11, and let’s dive into the albums that made this year one for the ages.

Also see Lambgoat's top picks for Q1, Q2, and Q3.

Lurk

Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

Out of all the albums that dropped this year, Blood Incantation's Absolute Elsewhere has been in constant rotation since its October release. Standing tall among countless other records we've covered, it’s the one I keep coming back to almost daily. What makes it even more impressive is that I’ve never been a die-hard fan of the band or their sound for that matter.

This album grabbed my attention and hasn’t let go, spinning on repeat whether I’m driving, working, or even at the gym. The guitar work and sound scapes make this 44 minutes of no skips, no filler—just immersive, expansive death metal that borders on transcendent. I don’t want to throw around the word masterpiece, but this record comes damn close.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, do yourself a favor roll something up and get to it. Even if death metal isn’t your usual lane, Absolute Elsewhere will pull you into its massive 5+ minute journeys through space and time. 

This record is destined to become a classic in no time. 

Honorable Mentions:
WHORES. - War.
BIG|BRAVE - A Chaos Of Flowers
Chat Pile - Cool World
meth. - SHAME

Dylan

State Faults - Children Of The Moon

Nobody hit it home this year quite like State Faults on their fourth studio album. Children Of The Moon is special. Few records take listeners on such a considered path in this day and age. Collection of singles this is not, as the emotional pacing on this hour-long behemoth is nothing short of masterful from front to back. This record sounds great too, the production sounds layered and wide, while still coming across cozy and personal like you’re at a basement show with the band – everyone reading this knows the feeling. At the album’s midpoint, “No Gospel” brings you on a ten-minute epic that spends its first half writhing in turmoil before calming itself down later on with a meditation that feels like taking a deep breath before taking you to even darker places in the final tracks. With this record, State Faults has given us a masterwork on the frailty of existence and pursuit of connection that's more than memorable, it's fundamental.

Honorable Mentions:
Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet
Darkest Hour - Perpetual Terminal
156/Silence - People Watching
Turin - The Unforgiving Reality In Nothing

Justin

Immortal Disfigurement - King

The debut album from CJ McCreery's (ex-Lorna Shore) new project. Delivering guttural and symphonic heaviness for almost a solid hour. McCreery's vocals are disgustingly heavy and with the unrelenting riffs of Josh Freeman & Harry Tadayon, it truly shows how this project debuts with one hell of a punch, and a band to keep an eye on. 
 

Honorable Mentions:
Opeth - The Last Will and Testament
Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
BRAT - Social Grace
Vitriol - Suffer & Become

Natty Gray

Endon - Fall Of Spring

Endon, since their inception, have undoubtedly been one of the most unique and forward thinking acts in extreme music since their debut full length Mama in 2014. It is no surprise that innovative and avant-garde US based labels such as Hydra Head and Thrill Jockey have taken notice of this and helped push their mission of bringing “a decisive rally on contemporary extreme music”. Endon is symphonic in a nightmarish way. Hard to compare to a conventional band in any respect outside of having performing members on a stage, their music is oftentimes more comparable to a film soundtrack than a traditional metal album. Fall Of Spring is notable for several reasons. Firstly, its release is a return to their day-one Japanese label backer, Daymare Recordings, who have been involved with all of their major releases besides their last full length, Boy Meets Girl. Most notably, it is Endon’s return to music since the tragic, untimely passing of band member, 那倉悦生 (Nagura Etsuo). Thematically, this plays a huge, if not eclipsing, role in Fall Of Spring. The album is cathartic, ravaging, and deeply emotional. Cut-up harsh noise, eerie techno, haunting electronics, and visceral vocals make up what I would argue is Endon’s magnum opus and certainly my across-all-genres album of the year.
 

Honorable Mentions:
Klonns - Heaven
Chokingonblood - Addiction
Heavenly Blue - We Have The Answer
My Fictions - Touch Of Glass

Steve

Sgàile - Traverse the Bealach

This stellar diamond-in-the-rough came out exactly when it was most needed—the dead of winter—and I’ve spent the entire year raving about it to anyone who’d listen. Traverse the Bealach is the product of Tony Dunn, the Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist who wrote and played every note of this prog-metal masterpiece. As with its component songs, the expertly-paced album is precisely written and arranged so that it plays out like the story of the traveler’s journey contained within: it starts off, ascends towards the climax, and then descends to a satisfying conclusion. Speaking of the story, Dunn’s writing offers superb imagery like, “Ethereal fingers with a gentle shove / Shifting perspective in the rain / Raising my eyes to the sky above / Aurora and flame.” He often sings in soaring-to-the-clouds exhilaration, confirming his full commitment and belief in the material, as well he should. When I wrote about Traverse for Invisible Oranges in mid-January, I called it “the first important (metal) album of 2024,” and that’s held true. The only part I got wrong was not saying it was the most important, because it is.

Honorable Mentions:
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead
Chapel of Disease - Echoes of Light
Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Undeath - More Insane

Lindsay

Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon

Winterfylleth have been producing incredible atmospheric melodic black metal since 2008 and continue to destroy their own boundaries and capabilities with each release. The Imperious Horizon marks the pinnacle of their career so far, blending ferocious black metal with harsh melodies and dense atmosphere. Expertly balancing icy hostility with mysterious dark beauty combined with gritty, muscular guitars, haunting instrumentation, blistering blast-beats and an ominous presence. The rasping, snarling vocals command your attention whilst the powerful occasional cleans hook you in. Walking a fine line between vicious rage and bleak elegance, The Imperious Horizon is one of the finest records of 2024.

Honorable Mentions:
Dwarrowdelf – The Fallen Leaves
Borknagar – Fall
Hand of Kalliach - Corryvreckan
Sgàile – Traverse The Bealach

Steve Esparra

Foreign Hands - What’s Left Unsaid

There’s something to be said for a new dog doing old tricks, and that’s exactly what this young hardcore band from Delaware has done since their formation. The debut full length from Foreign Hands is an early 2000’s metalcore purist’s wet dream. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Poison the Well, From Autumn to Ashes, and the god-tier 7 Angels 7 Plagues (the band actually covered the 7A7P song "Silent Deaths, Crowded Lives" during their support on the Misery Signals farewell tour), fans of a certain age can’t help but smile and nod approvingly at the melodic guitars, screams mixed with cleans, and double-bass breakdowns galore that adorn What’s Left Unsaid all the way through. With all the new bands out there pushing the envelope of the genre, there is still room for the few that are leaning into its roots.

Honorable Mentions:
Giver - The Future Holds Nothing But Confrontation
One Step Closer - This Place You Know
The Hope Conspiracy - Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception
Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

Chris V.

Boundaries - Death Is Little More

Boundaries latest album Death Is Little More was my favorite album from Q1 2024 and was never dethroned. Sure, there have been dozens of albums released this year that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, but sometimes an album just connects with you on a visceral level. The album’s brutal sound and dark subject matter hit me at a time in my life where it’s very relatable, finding myself listening to the album over and over since it was released back in March. The band has elevated themselves with each release and I look forward to what they deliver next.

Honorable Mentions:
Mother of Graves - The Periapt of Absence
Drug Church - PRUDE
Kublai Khan TX - Exhibition of Prowess
Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God

Shaye

Foreign Hands - What’s Left Unsaid

What can I say? I really miss Poison the Well. Of course, Foreign Hands go further than just
wearing their Opposite of December slash Tear From The Red influences proudly. On What’s Left
Unsaid there’s elements of early Converge, 90s European metallic hardcore à la Kickback or
Arkangel, and even post-hardcore elements harkening back to unique acts like Hopesfall. That’s
all well and good, it’s nice to see a band reaching a higher level in our depressing modern scene
while staying true to the genre’s roots, but what about the album itself? If you strip it of its
decades of pedigree, there’s some really effective songwriting and performances found
throughout. Lead vocalist Tyler Norris’s higher register rasp perfectly contrasts with the
nostalgic clean vocals provided by guitarist Jack Beatson. The riffs are a great compromise
between mosh frenzy and pile-on singalongs. They’ve got some pummeling breakdowns right
into beautiful melodic passages in true Trustkill-era fashion. And not to mention the energetic
drums providing a solid backbone without falling victim to the overproduction trend. Their
recent Audiotree performance just confirms this all for me. I’ve seen them live a bunch of times,
and these songs make even more sense in that context. A great overall entry in the whole revival
scene we’ve been enjoying lately.
 

Honorable Mentions:
Vomit Forth - Terrified of God
Wristmeetrazor - Degeneration
State Faults - Children of the Moon
Missing Link - Watch Me Bleed

D. Rodriguez

Lowen - Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran

There was no fucking way I was closing out 2024 without shouting out the no-contest best album of the year. On paper, Lowen’s sound and approach seems unassuming; strong but nothing outrageous. In execution, it’s some of the fiercest, most catchy metal I’ve heard this decade so far. The riffs are riffing, the lyrics are profoundly poetic and touching, the vocals are some of the most captivating I’ve heard in years, and the overall sound is massive. For raw enjoyment, you cannot do better than Lowen’s transcendental take on folk-tinged progressive doom and I’m better for having heard it.

Honorable Mentions:
Daath - The Deceivers
Aseitas - Eden Trough
Melted Bodies - The Inevitable Fork
Replicant - Infinite Mortality
Convulsing - perdurance 

Mike

The Chisel - What A Fucking Nightmare

An unlikely pick for my AOTY, but I discovered the storytelling within this album forced me be into repeat listens. The “Cry Your Eyes Out” single encompasses an Oi! stylistic verse, which then belts into an anthemic chorus. The melodic guitar pairs with the vocal melodies in a way where it was stuck in my head for days upon the first listen. “Bloodsucker” is my personal favorite track, I’ve also recommended it to several people when they share grievances of certain people who offer “punishment just like no other…pick at me like a vulture.” Full transparency, I perhaps have been guilty of this in my past, due to an excitement of in-person socialization, but hey, we live and learn from our youthful mistakes. The closer “What I See” features Paul Bearer from Sheer Terror, and how could I forget, “what a fucking nightmare, what a fucking nightmare, what a fucking nightmare…” the opening mantra will punish the shit out of you, so treat it as an anthem for positivity & empowerment.

Full Of Hell - Coagulated Bliss 
The Hope Conspiracy - Tools Of Oppression/Rule By Deception 
Alcest - Les Chants De L'Aurore 
Speed - Only One Mode 
Zeal & Ardor - Greif 

Pete

The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude 

The world doesn’t often get a comeback story this satisfying, this glorious and bittersweet all at once. If you told me after Trevor Strnad’s tragic passing that The Black Dahlia Murder would not only return to live performances but release one of the best albums of 2024 AND an album that stands up to the rest of their discography…I’d have called you crazy. Servitude successfully shows the band incorporating parts of their previous releases, Brian’s vocals especially felt like they could’ve fit in on Unhallowed and Misama. And lest we forget the impressive, magnificent guitar maser class being taught by Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight, now the best tandem in modern metal guitar…fight me if you disagree. Alan Cassidy and Max Lavelle somehow hold the songs together and pummel your ears into a bloody, sweet oblivion and when you add that all up, Servitude is a masterpiece. 

Honorable Mentions:
Judas Priest – Invincible Shield
Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition
NAILS – Every Bridge Burning
Opeth – The Last Will & Testament
Vulture - Sentinels

Jake

Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

This album has been inescapable since it released. We who are fans of the band expected some sort of progressive turn for them at some point, especially one which would embrace their love of kosmische, prog, and ambient music. The album's trek through myriad genres is only enhanced by its brevity. It would be natural for many bands to make a record like this an expansive two-hour affair, but Blood Incantation smartly kept it at a cool 44 minutes and every one of those minutes is essential. This is a monolith which will be discussed for the rest of the decade, and beyond.

Honorable Mentions:
Mother of Graves - The Periapt of Absence
Fulci - Duck Face Killings
Ripped to Shreds - Sanshi
Cosmic Putrefaction - Emerald Fires Atop The Farewell Mountains
Ungfell - De Gh​ö​rnt