TOP 5 ALBUM RELEASES OF 2024
Written by Jesse James Smith
I remember a time when I truly thought the scene was dead. Warped Tour called it quits, tours were feeling stale, bands were all sounding the same and trying to pivot to this divorced dad rock radio sound that literally everyone who were OG fans F*ckin’ hated (some songs were good. some). But in 2024 we felt that breath of fresh air back into the lungs of the scene and the fire was relit back in all of our hearts. While now looking back that time period felt like a necessary growing pain, the scene of heavy music and pop punk are collectively bigger than ever. With that being said, here are some of the best releases of the year! Unlike most of our lists… this one is in the order I put them for a reason. If you disagree with us, tell us in the comments, I promise I’ll try to remember to read.
#5: Real Friends: Blue Hour
Real Friends has been a staple in the sad hearts of every pop punk lover for at least a decade, but honestly when they switched vocalists it was a massive adjustment for fans. Real Friends has a very unique sound with lyrics filled with identifying tropes like ‘Boney Knees’, ‘Tired Eyes’, & ‘Skin and Bones’. Although the band carried on, as a fan it took some time to come to grips with what the new direction was going to be. But in October they released their album Blue Hour which resparked a new interest in the band that was different from the one I had previously. The band always had a twinge of heaviness in them (if you heard the Slipknot cover you’d know) but this record they seem to have tapped into that a little more. The low end of the album was boomy-er and the vocals were raw and emotion filled in more of a hurt way and less of a whiney way. This is a new era for the band and a step away from what they were and a look into what they will be from here on out. Songs like ‘Our Love Was Like A Sad Song’ & ‘Never Has Become Always’ are great representations of that new direction. But, if you’re longing for something a little more nostalgic sounding from the band, ‘This Year Is Out To Get Me’ should tickle that part of your brain.
#4: Thrown: EXCESSIVE GUILT
This band is everything I want Metalcore to be. In the intro of this list I said that a lot of bands went the radio route, this band did exactly the opposite and it reset the direction of heavy metalcore. Even though this band’s official first single release was in 2021, this is a new band to the scene as far as the masses are concerned. EXCESSIVE GUILT is the band’s debut album and it is a collection of the last 3 years of music put together and was like a statement of who this band is, and who they are is a band who wants violence in their pit…and I LOVE it. Thrown has songs like ‘nights’ and ‘bloodsucker’ that are 2 minutes of pure aggression and heaviness. But while they are heavy, they take risks and still make sure to be musical. There is an art to being heavy beyond boundaries, and Thrown is not afraid to make statements with genre blending. By far my favorite song is ‘on the verge’ which takes elements of the phonk genre and creates a metalcore masterpiece. This was an incredibly strong first album and I think this band is going to be a leader in the new wave of violently heavy metalcore.
#3: If Not For Me: Everything You Wanted
There are some bands who deserve every ounce of attention they get when they start to catch on, If Not For Me IS that band. I’ve known about these guys for what feels like an eternity and they have just been that band grinding and releasing amazing music for what seemed like no praise other than a select few of local fans. That all changed in 2023 and has made a 180 in 2024. If Not For Me are one of the hottest up and coming bands in the scene right now and for a damn good reason. Everything You Wanted features a slew of bangers that have blown up all around social media such as ‘Blameless’ and the mighty ‘Feel Me Now’. The vocals are powerful, the melodies are memorable, and the heavy parts bring some heat to remind you that they can. This album was released early in 2024 and people are still talking about it and they are still growing in numbers, that just shows how powerful it was.
#2: Bring Me The Horizon: POST HUMAN: NeX GEn
Bring Me The Horizon can not miss. Not only can’t they miss, they set the precedent for doing literally whatever they want and it being the coolest thing ever. NeX GEN I believe was one of their strongest releases since ‘That’s The Spirit’ in 2015. BMTH really stepped out of the box and decided to write music that pushed the boundaries of genres across the alternative spectrum, cater to the new wave of artistry that has been blowing up across social media (mostly tiktok) and have songs that just show everybody who the kings are. This whole album front to back in an experience that can’t be placed into a category, but songs like ‘Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd’ and ‘LosT’ mix hyperpop, pop punk, metalcore, and modern radio rock to make instant classics. The use of ‘Glitch’ music was a huge selling point in this album because no one used it like they did and it felt like they opened pandora’s box with it. But the song I immediately gravitated towards was ‘liMOsuine’ which was a nu metal banger that was in the style of Deftones. With the “Baddie-core” movement happening to bands that resemble horny metal like Sleep Token and Deftones, This was their hat in the ring saying “We can do it to and better”. If this was your #1, I get it.
#1: Knocked Loose: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
Knocked Loose has steadily grown to be one of the biggest and most influential bands in heavy music. They have done things that shouldn’t be possible for bands like them like play Coachella in 2023. It’s been a steady incline of this band’s popularity and influence to now they have all eyes on them. After their crazy rise in 2022 and ‘23, ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’ was a pivotal make or break album for them. Songs like ‘Blinding Faith’ and ‘Don’t Reach For Me’ made some waves when they were released, especially Blinding Faith. This was a band gaining mainstream audiences while not wavering from their sound an inch. The intensity Knocked Loose is known for was alive and well and sometimes even brought to new heights. The song that rocked the hardest from the album was ‘Suffocate’ which features Poppy. The Latin based rhythm of the breakdown was all people could talk about. It was so unique and different for the band that it was like a hard left hook when you expected a right hook. They ended 2024 by being on Kimmel Live, which again cemented their place at the top of the food chain in heavy music. There is no way that a band like them should be where they are, but in my point of view, they deserve every bit of it. This album was a banger and front to back was undeniably the heaviest album of the year. Knocked Loose Motherfucker Forever.