Year End Roundup 2024: Honorable Mentions

Dark Tranquility - Endtime Signals

Drawing from the same well of compositional ideas that made 2016's Atoma such an engaging listen (and a welcome return to form after a pair of middling releases in the early Tens), Gothenburg legends Dark Tranquillity can add another late career highlight to their already illustrious and Hall of Fame caliber discography. Their latest offering, Endtime Signals, serves not only as an homage to the band's storied past but also as a bold affirmation of their sonic evolution as they continue to push boundaries and explore new musical landscapes moving forward. Introspective, textured, and deeply thoughtful, Endtime Signals denotes a band still sitting at the peak of its creative and performative powers. Mikael Stanne's voice, in particular, has rarely sounded so powerful and resonant. Each note, chord, key and drum beat has been calculated for maximum hypothalamic penetration. Though it spends most of its time examining the complexities of human struggle, the depths of existential crisis, and the inevitable societal collapse that looms over us, Endtime Signals paradoxically burns bright with the flame of hope and optimism. Few albums warmed my heart like this one in 2024. In a time when the world feels increasingly chaotic and uncertain, Endtime Signals burns fiercely, reminding us of the strength we possess to endure and thrive in the face of challenges.

Standout Tracks: "Unforgivable", "Neuronal Fire", "Enforced Perspective"

Starving Wolves - The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang

I knew as soon as I heard the caustic voice of David Rodriguez (of The Casualties fame) accompanying the explosive 1:30 mark of album opener "Nothing More," that this album was going to fucking rule. An vitriolic blend of street punk and political hardcore, born from the members of fellow Austin TX street punks Krum Bums, The Fire, The Wolf, The Fang has a pretty simple missive: to light a spark, ignite a fire and inspire action in a world growing increasingly desperate for societal change. It’s a boots to the ground, molotov cocktail of a record, a rallying cry against injustice and oppression. "Burn the Stations" gives the police a big FUCK YOU, while "Mixed Blood" offers a sobering reflection on the insidious nature of colonial racism, challenging listeners to confront uncomfortable truths about history and its lingering effects in contemporary society. Perhaps the bands most personal offering, "Please Listen" addresses the alarming rise in suicide cases, putting a spotlight on mental health struggles that are often overlooked or stigmatized. At just 30 minutes in length, TFTWTF manages to deliver as lean and honest punk record that you're likely to hear this year. If nothing else, it proves that brevity does not equate to a lack of substance. This album had me gritting my teeth, clenching my fists, and lacing up my boots......alright fine, I wear Vessi's, but the sentiment is the same.

Standout Tracks: "Nothing More", "Please Listen", "Love is Fleeting"

Groza - Nadir

When constructing the skeleton of my year-end list for 2024, it became evident fairly early on that many of its bones were looking rather similar. There was simply too much black metal on it. (There likely still will be. Sorry, not sorry). This posed a creative challenge; if this list were to take the shape of the malformed Frankenstein's monster that I had envisioned, I was going to have to make some hard and potentially painful decisions. And so, though Nadir is more than deserving of a year-end appendage, in the spirit of diversity and to make room for other sub-genres, its bone(s) lay here, in the graveyard of honorable mentions. Frosty, melancholic, and suffused with a sense of overwhelming despair and tension, Groza manages to punctuate Nadir (which aptly translates to "low point") with sublime moments of melody and beauty (the black'n roll rhythms in mid album highlight Dysthymian Dreams are head swayingly good) It's a dog-eared page out of the Book of Black Metal, sure, but it's an emotionally stirring contrast nonetheless, emblazoning the bands ability to oscillate between brutality and introspection. Nadir is not a record designed for casual listening; it demands patience. Like the turning of a page in a good gothic horror novel, it unravels its layers slowly and deliberately. Hauntingly intense and uncomfortably brooding, Nadir is an emotionally charged atmospheric black metal album that deserves some recognition in a very crowded field this year.

FFO of Gaerea, Mgla, Agrypnie and Uada

Standout Tracks: "Asbest", "Dysthymian Dreams", "Daffodils"

Melt Banana - 3 * 5

Melt/Banana? More like Melt/Brain. The ribbon synapses of my temporal lobe are still trying to untangle themselves after a couple dozen playthroughs of Japanese noise-rock duo Melt/Banana's 3+5. What can only be described as the audible equivalent of sticking your tongue into a light socket, there's more lunacy packed into each second of 3+5's twenty eight minutes than most bands achieve throughout an entire discography. A whirlwind of disorienting experimentation that blends elements of noise, punk, grindcore and electronica, 3+5 is shockingly cohesive despite the extremities this madcap duo are peddling in. With vocals that defy categorization (they are sure to polarize listeners) and guitars/samples that often veer in multiple directions at once (just check out the album showstoppers "Stopgap" or "Hex"), Melt/Banana proudly plant a flag in defiance of convention.  Strangely, it's this very commitment to embracing the chaos and eschewing genre tropes that lie at the heart of 3+5's appeal (and success). Along side a pair of works from Italian synth-metal savant Victor Love (Master Boot Record, Keygen Church) this is one of the weirdest and wildest records of 2024. See em live if you can

Standout Tracks: "Stopgap", "Hex", "Flipside".

Fulci - Duck Face Killings

Crawling out of their grave(s) at the eleventh hour and shuffling into the final spot on the honorable mentions section are Italian horror/death-metallers, Fulci. Yes, they are named after iconic filmmaker Lucio Fulci. And yes they theme their albums after his works (2019's Tropical Sun taking it's cues from the classic 'Zombi 2' and 2021's Exhumed Information conceptualized after 'Voices From Beyond'). With Duck Face Killings, Fulci carve up some juicy cuts of inspiration from the 1979 Fulci offering, 'The New York Ripper'. Coming from record label 20 Buck Spin, you'll have an idea of what to expect here: thick and pustulent vocals, down tuned guitars, moments of breakneck velocity, and plenty of midtempo, almost hardcore stomp(s). If Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, and 200 Stab Wounds had a violent, blood soaked three-way, it might look (and sound) a little something like Fulci. There's nothing particularly challenging about Duck Face Killings, but with song titles like "Fucked With a Broken Bottle", how can it not rule?  Sorry, Mom. 

Standout Tracks: "Fucked With a Broken Bottle", "Maniac Unleashed", "Rotten Apple".