Pectora made a welcome return in 2024 and featured a line-up much changed since their debut outing. Their sophomore album, Twilight Nights, boasts the soaring vocals of new singer Philip Butler and this adds a new dimension to their sound. This is exemplified on tracks such as the fantastic title track and the crunchy thrash assault of “Cosmic Menace”. The hefty forty-nine-minute runtime across eight main songs and a short instrumental initially seemed excessive but ultimately their brand of bombastic heavy metal won me over.

Bandcamp: https://pectora.bandcamp.com/album/twilight-knights

NWOBHM legends Satan returned in 2024 with a record that continued their remarkable run of consistency. Songs in Crimson harnesses the band’s progressive rock influences to their proto-thrash roots and yields gems like “Era (The Day Will Come)” and the joyous headbanging mayhem of “Curse in Disguise”.

Bandcamp: https://satanuk.bandcamp.com/album/songs-in-crimson

7. Viperwitch Witch Hunt: Road to Vengeance

This act from Denver, Colorado, initially grabbed my attention with their postapocalyptic aesthetic. However, what ultimately made me include their debut album on this list was their ambition. Their determination to capture the vibe of 1980s ‘Mad Maxsploitation’ style B movies through a concept album that combines synthwave and metal was a lot of fun. The album also boasts not just one, but my two favourite music videos of 2024 – the superb “The Huntress” and “She Wolves of the Wasteland”.

Bandcamp: https://viperwitch.bandcamp.com/album/witch-hunt-road-to-vengeance

Earlier in the year I noted that Turbokill’s Champion was a shoo-in for my top ten list and time hasn’t changed that opinion. Pristine production and quality songwriting ensured that this was one of the best sounding records of the year. This is an unabashed celebration of trad Teutonic heavy metal that will delight fans of the likes of Helloween and Gamma Ray.

Bandcamp: https://turbokill.bandcamp.com/album/champion

5. IronFlame Kingdom Torn Asunder

If epic sword and sorcery themed metal is your thing then in 2024 you could look no further than IronFlame’s fifth long-player. Kingdom Torn Asunder was a majestic offering on so many levels. The album boasts a tonne of anthemic choruses, hooks and riffs that draw the listener in and keep them engaged throughout.

Bandcamp: https://ironflame.bandcamp.com/album/kingdom-torn-asunder

4. Iron Curtain Savage Dawn

Channelling the likes of Motörhead, Riot and Venom, Iron Curtain‘s Savage Dawn was the most enjoyable down ‘n’ dirty speed metal infused album of the year. No airs and graces here just a record that delivers loads of earworm inducing hooks and tunes to bang your to. Personal favourites include the super catchy “Gypsy Rocker” and the frenetic “Thy Wolf”.

Bandcamp: https://ironcurtainattack.bandcamp.com/album/savage-dawn

3. Scavenger Beyond The Bells

This Belgian outfit have their roots all the way back to the glory days of classic metal in 1984. Taking a listen to rousing tracks such as “Black Witchery” and “Watchout!” it is easy to understand why. Hooks abound in this superb sounding album that balances old school speed metal and hard rock. With Tine Lucifera’s vocal performance shining through in a way that would make the likes of Doro Pesch and Leather Leone proud, this album is a must for fans of classic Judas Priest and Warlock.

Bandcamp: https://scavenger1985.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-bells

2. Kryptos Decimator

India’s finest pure heavy metal band returned in 2024 with the searing Decimator. While many ingredients of what make this band special remained – the combination of thrash metal aggression and 80s metal riffing for one – this was allied to extra attention to the production of anthems on this release. Hence, the likes of “Turn Up The Heat” and “Electrify” are prominent singles. Yet, it was the scorching title track with its technical thrash riffing that was the standout here.

Bandcamp: https://kryptosindia.bandcamp.com/album/decimator

1. Haunt Dreamers

It is little surprise that the ever-prolific Trevor William Church delivered another Haunt album during 2024. What was surprising was its sheer quality and consistency. After being somewhat underwhelmed by 2023’s Golden Arm, I was thrilled to find that the band’s tenth full length record is a thing of beauty. From glorious opener “Serenade” to deeper cuts like “One Chance” and closing track “Visions”, this record is simply crammed with fantastic sounding prog-tinged trad metal. Aided by superior production, Church’s voice has never sounded better, while the entire band is tighter than ever.

Bandcamp: https://hauntthenation.bandcamp.com/album/dreamers