Another year has passed us by and as always we've had some killer tunes, from various subgenres and styles of heavy music, to get us through it. This year gave a wide variety of classic bands (including some comebacks), as well as some younger ones and up and comers. As always, this list took a long time to take its final shape, though number one stayed at that top spot from the moment it came out. That being said I kept pushing this back from posting cuz I kept redoing the order, as I listened to albums more and more. Anyways, let's get to it already!
Honorable Mentions: Opeth- The Last Will and Testament Undeath- More Insane Boundaries- Death Is Little More New Years Day- Half Dark Heart Witch Vomit- Funeral Sanctum
20. Gatecreeper- Dark Superstition- Embracing a more melodic sound, Gatecreeper have achieved yet another winner of an album. Dark, heavy, and, at times quite catchy, this is one I listened to a lot. Especially the track "The Black Curtain", which was one of the best singles in extreme metal last year.
19. Amaranthe- The Catalyst- The reigning kings of symphonic metal return with another beautifully crafted, fun, and catchy work. Great to listen and sign along to it does everything you want a recording like this to do. This one features some of the most enjoyable and beautifully crafted songs of the year.
18. The Black Dahlia Murder- Servitude- After the loss of their front-man Trevor Strnad, I think didn't my all time favorite melodeath band would ever return. So imagine my pleasant surprise when not only did they do just that, but did it so successfully! Servitude is a great comeback, that sounds heavy, dark, and powerful. All the touches that make TBDM so awesome are here, with Brian Eschbach doing an amazing job taking over vocal duties. He gives you that feeling that Strnad did without sounding like a carbon copy or wanna-be, still managing to be his own man. As a matter of fact, every single time I put this one on, I am reminded of just fucking solid a record it is!
17. Necrot- Lifeless Birth- We've been champing death metallers Necrot since the beginning. here at Words from the Master. So. it kinda sucks that they are still so underrated. Especially when you hear how consistently good their output is. Case, in point, this overpoweringly heavy slab of death and gore. From the opening track to the end this one is filled with chainsaw guitars, pounding drums, unearthly growls, and a wonderfully evil feel and atmosphere to the sonic proceedings.
16. Aborted- Vault of Horrors- One of my favorite death metal acts, Aborted never fail to put out a killer release. And, even when I can say that I prefer the last couple ahead of this one, it's still light years ahead of much of the competition. Filled with guest stars galore (Shadow of Intent, Despised Icon, etc), this one revels in the all assault, groove, brutality, and love of gore and horror, that an Aborted album should.
15. Marilyn Manson- One Assassination Under God, Chapter 1- I honestly wasn't sure if Manson would ever return after all the controversary (which I am gonna avoid mentioning here). So, the fact he not only came back but came back with the best album since his classic heyday is one fuck of an achievement. This is honestly the first recording of his in ages where I can enjoy every single track, without skipping. Dark, haunting, evil, and catchy, with its mix if industrial and hook laden gothic metal, this is everything you want in a Manson album!
14. Nails- Every Bridge Burned- Powerviolence/ hardcore band Nails are back motherfucker! And, their return is filled with the most uncompromisingly heavy and brutal music imaginable. This sonic slab of piss and vinegar is one of the angriest fuckers committed to the soundscape of last year. It's mix of grindcore and hardcore punk infused metal shines on songs like incredible "Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy" which hit like a steel tipped kick to the fucking balls. In fact, this album is like 17 min plus ass kicking of the most brutal and vicious quality.
13. Fit For An Autopsy- The Nothing That Is- Fit For An Autopsy continue to prove that they are, with a shadow of a doubt. one of the absolute masters of deathcore. Featuring a heavy, crushing, melodic, and technically sound style, this is one adrenaline charged motherfucker. From the moment the opening track, "Hostage", starts this one will make you want to trash everything in fucking sight. A sure fire way to fuel the mosh pit this is hands down the best deathcore release of last year.
12. Knocked Loose- You Won't Go Before You're Supposed to- This feels like it was the year for groin kicking core music. And, perhaps none hit harder and more pissed off than this barnburner from Knocked Loose. They also had THE biggest and best moment for uncompromisingly heavy music of last year, when they performed their single "Suffocate", featuring the always awesome Poppy, on TheJimmy Kimmel Show. It was an awesome and absolutely ass kicking presentation that combined with the fact that it scared a bunch of housewives, grandmas, and whimps all the more better and legendary!
11. Nile- The Underworld Awaits for Us All- I have admit ably liked everything I have ever heard from Nile. But, I don't think I have really loved anything since Ithyphallic. That is until this fucking bone crushing release. Heavy and brutal, this audio assault is their best since then. Honestly, it really ranks among their best work, period. The single "Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes" gets my vote for not just the best (and certainly longest!) title in death metal (fuck that all of metal) last year but also as one of the best tracks in the extreme metal in 2024!
10. Fulci- Duck Face Killings- If you know me or follow me/ this website religiously you'll know of my love for both death metal and horror master Lucio Fulci. So, it comes as no surprise to anyone that I would love this Italian death metal band, who are inspired by the Italian master of hardcore splatter and horror. I actually only really got into them this year. But, fuck what an album to be introduced to them with! This fun, violent, and heavy as fuck recording is inspired by Fulci's gruesome. controversial, and sleazy giallo/ slasher The New York Ripper. Said flick tells the heartwarming tale of a crazed psycho who slices up women with a straight razor, razor blades, broken bottles and more, all while quacking like a duck! This fucker is every bit as wild and extreme as that flick, and the result is my favorite straight up death metal album of last year.
9. Escuela Grind- Dreams on Algorithms- The latest from Escuela Grind might just be their best. It's crushingly heavy, brutal, and yet, somehow, has some great hooks and grooves that makes kinda catchy. I say kinda cuz this is still an all out assault of driving and angry grindcore and hardcore. It also has what is my most listened to extreme metal song of 2024, in the fucking awesome "Turbulence". With vocalist, Katerina Economou, mixing clean vocals (for what is the first time ever in the band, I think) with her usual deep and menacing growls, really summing up that killer and unlikely mix of catchy and brutal that I mentioned before! Oh and, that guitar tone on it absolutely fucking kills!!
8. Poppy- Negative Spaces- Poppy continues to go further down the metal music hole, and the world is better for it! While there are still songs that fall under the electric pop sound of hers, there is a lot of metal here. Showing industrial, metalcore, and even some deathcore (she even does a blegh in the kick ass "They're All Around Us"!), gives it extra fucking kick to the teeth. She is a great signer, and her screams and growls continue to get more fucking awesome! The overall result is that the music is driving, fun, groove filled, melodic, and gets the blood going. In fact, between this album and her collabs with Knocked Loose and Bad Omens, Poppy was one of the most exciting and most attention worthy stars in all of metal from last year.
7. Body Count- Merciless- Body Count continues their continuous string of absolute fire albums. Merciless keeps that trend going with the added bonus that Ice T sounds pissed off as fuck! This makes for an album whose title fits it like a leather glove! Violent, badass, and a total ass kicking, adrenalized experience, I couldn't stop listening to it after it came out. There is even a fucking thunder and razor fast team-up with Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse, in The Purge, which is inspired by the action horror movies of the same name.
6. Linkin Park- From Zero- The return of Linkin Park was one of the most unexpected and heavily discussed occurrences in hard music this past year. And, while there was a good amount controversy surrounding their new signer Emily Armstrong, who had a monumental task ahead of her replacing the late, great Chester Bennington. But, in spite of it all, they did some shows (with a full tour to come this year) and put out this spectacular comeback album. It mixes elements from many of the band's eras, while leaning heavily on the more metallic sound of the beloved first two records. Some of my absolute fav tracks of the year like "Heavy Is the Crown" and "Two Faced" are included here. And, despite my initial questioning and complaining, I can say that this is on the level of those classic two records. And, let's not bullshit, Emily is a great singer with some nice melodic voice and great screams. Destined to be seen as one of the greatest comeback records ever (cuz it is!), it has definitely returned Linkin Park to their place as one of the biggest bands ever in metal and hard rock.
5. The Warning- Keep Me Fed- The Warning, one of my favorite acts to come down the pike in the last few years, put out their best record yet with Keep Me Fed. The album rocks hard and some amazing hooks. It's filled from top to bottom with great songs that are fun and catchy as hell. Tracks like "Six Feet Deep", "Que Mas Quieres", "MORE", and lots others will ear worm into your head. And, I fucking challenge you to not sign along to just about every freaking song in here! On a side note, I was suppose to see them for a second time last year (my first being two years ago) in Brooklyn, but I got sick. Cuz life loves to kick me in the balls.
4. Lucifer- Lucifer V- I have been a HUGE fan of this band since the beginning. And, it always boggles my mind just how under the radar they remain. Even though every album they put out is a fucking banger. This fifth one is no different. It's catchy, haunting, and filled with great hooks, melodies, and atmosphere. As soon as, I put this one on, I always get totally sucked in. And, with tracks like "At the Mortuary" and "Riding Reaper" how can I not be?
3. Job For A Cowboy- Moon Healer- Look another awesome return, this being the one I anticipated the most! Job For A Cowboy continue their progressive death metal sound that they started on their incredible last release Sun Eater way back in 2014! And, they actually manage to top that master work with this one, which is in my very humble opinion, the best extreme metal release of last year.
2. Chelsea Wolfe- She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She- The runner-up position goes to the latest from the amazing Chelsea Wolfe who continues to be one of the most exciting artists in all of of music. Haunting, dark, and beautiful tunes highlight this release that is yet another complex mix of influences and styles. Dripping in atmosphere and emotion, this is an album that sucks you in from the very second that it starts.
1. Judas Priest- Invincible Shield- And, the top spot goes to the latest from one of the godfathers of metal: Judas fucking Priest! I don't know ow they do it, but at over fifty years of making metal music, they still put out great albums. Not just great, but best of the year great, as is the case here! The songs are catchy, fun, and hard. They get you headbanging and signing along. Soaring riffs, driving drums, and Rob Halford still belting out like no one's goddamn business! Priest top both their contemporaries and the modern flock of metal bands. This is classic Priest at their best! Put it this way. Invincible Shield was my favorite album from the moment I first heard it. And, while many albums moved up and down this list, it always remained at the top spot of my list, with not even an inch of a doubt in my mind.
And, those are my picks for my list. What were your favorite metal and hard rock albums of last year? Let me know in the comments section below.
(Montreal, QC / December 17, 2024) – Codi Vore joins host Bree Mills and special guest co-host Siri Dahl for an eye-opening new episode of the Adult Time Podcast, where the fan favorites dive into their latest collaboration, Preggo World’s “Pumped to Pop!”
“It was such a pleasure co-hosting the latest episode of the Adult Time Podcast with Bree Mills and having the incredibly talented Codi Vore as our guest,” enthused Dahl, a proud Adult Time ambassador. “We had a truly entertaining and revelatory conversation that I can't wait for listeners to enjoy.”
Dahl shared her excitement about “Pumped to Pop!” as well, which follows a couple seeking prenatal stress relief with the help of a massage therapist (Robby Apples). The scene marks her second collaboration with Vore after their Oopsie! title, “My First Futa Experience”.
“I'm also over the moon to announce the delivery of my new scene for Preggo World, where I teamed up with Codi and Robby Apples. This scene was a labor of love, and I know our fans are going to be blown away by the result!”
Codi Vore echoed Dahl’s excitement, saying, “I’ve been really excited about the push into fetish porn that Bree and Adult Time have been making. I love doing work with practical effects, and I’m a real pervert, and I feel like I can truly be my freaky self with both Bree and Siri!”
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About Adult Time:
Launched in 2018, Adult Time is a streaming service exclusively for adults. Created by award-winning filmmaker Bree Mills, who also serves as Chief Creative Officer, Adult Time is a platform built by fans who believe in a future where mature audiences can safely, securely and proudly have a place in their lineup for premium adult content.
Dubbed the ‘Netflix of Porn’ by mainstream media outlets, Adult Time offers an extensive catalog of more than 475 channels, 65,000 episodes and 8 new releases per day from the industry’s most recognized studios, including Girlsway, Pure Taboo, Burning Angel, Fantasy Massage, 21 Sextury and Vivid Entertainment alongside exclusive original series, feature films and much more.
WHITECHAPEL will return to North American stages this Spring on a month-long headlining tour! The Hymns In Dissonance Tour runs from March 18th in Raleigh, North Carolina through April 19th in Atlanta, Georgia. Support will be provided by Brand Of Sacrifice, 200 Stab Wounds, and Alluvial. The journey follows WHITECHAPEL’s recent sold out run with Lorna Shore.
Comments WHITECHAPEL’s Alex Wade, "We are excited to announce the Hymns In Dissonance Tour taking place in Spring of 2025. This will be our first headlining tour on our new album cycle and we are looking forward to playing some new songs live for everyone. The lineup is diverse with upcoming modern deathcore band Brand Of Sacrifice, 200 Stab Wounds bringing the old school death metal flavor, and Alluvial contributing a heavy progressive sound to the tour. Grab your tickets now and witness as we embark on a new chapter for WHITECHAPEL."
Local presales begin on Thursday, December 19th at 10:00am local time. General on sale date is Friday, December 20th at 10:00am local time. See all confirmed dates below.
WHITECHAPEL w/ Brand Of Sacrifice, 200 Stab Wounds, Alluvial:
3/18/2025 The Ritz – Raleigh, NC
3/19/2025 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
3/20/2025 Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
3/21/2025 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
3/22/2025 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
3/24/2025 L'Olympia – Montreal, QC
3/25/2025 Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON
3/26/2025 Saint Andrew’s Hall – Detroit, MI
3/28/2025 House Of Blues – Chicago, IL
3/29/2025 Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
3/30/2025 Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE
4/01/2025 Summit – Denver, CO
4/02/2025 The Grand @ The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
4/04/2025 The Palace Theatre – Calgary, AB
4/05/2025 Union Hall – Edmonton, AB
4/07/2025 The Pearl – Vancouver, BC
4/08/2025 Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
4/09/2025 The Showbox – Seattle, WA
4/11/2025 Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA
4/12/2025 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
4/13/2025 Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
4/15/2025 The Studio @ The Factory – Dallas, TX
4/16/2025 Aztec Theatre – San Antonio, TX
4/18/2025 The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
4/19/2025 The Masquerade (Heaven) – Atlanta, GA
WHITECHAPEL released their standalone single, “A Visceral Retch,” in September. Relentlessly slamming, ominous, and punishing, the track delivers a dark, twisted theme about gluttonous overlords who test the lengths to which humans will go to survive and join their cult. Revolver noted, “...the speed-driven piece is full of detuned death riffs and mega-fast drum snaring. Vocalist Phil Bozeman indeed does some gut-rumbled retching throughout the tune, no doubt brought on by some truly nauseating in-song coprophagia… “ Idioteq concurred, lauding a track that, “reinforces their standing as stalwarts of the deathcore genre,” while Metal Injection gushed, “WHITECHAPEL is back with a new song called ‘A Visceral Retch’ and I am currently writing this from the grave, because this song killed me. If you're a fan of old-school WHITECHAPEL… you're gonna love this – it's heavy as shit, it's unrelenting, and it will destroy you.”
The second day of New York Comic Con 2024 (10/18/24) proved to be an even better and more fun day, than even the previous one was! There was definitely more cosplay on hand and here are some of my favorites I saw on that day:
I was originally going to do Colonel Rick Flag on this day, but people liked my Logan so much that I decided to bring him back for another day. I made the right choice cuz I had even more fun as him, on this Friday. And, I got even more compliments on the way I looked. Here are a few pics of me joining in on the cosplay fun on this Friday.
And, finally, here is the swag that I bought on this day: a G.I. Joe tee- I been wanting one with various characters on it for a while and finally found one at the Tower of Tees booth. And, I went back to that other booth that I mentioned on my last NYCC write-up to get more of their awesomely priced Masters of the Universe Origins figures. This time around, I ended upgetting: Evil-Lyn (2000x version), Mosquitor, and Hordak (my all time favorite MOTU character)
The next day was Saturday, the day known as the biggest, and I would be debuting a new cosplay. But, that is a story for another day.
For now, let me know if any of you were at NYCC 2024 on Friday and what your highlights for this day were in the comments section below.
We are long overdue in inducting a new member into this site's Horror Crushes. So, let's do just that before we reach the end of this year. This time we are inducting the gorgeous Russian actress Marina Zudina!
Born Marina Vyacheslavovna Zudina in Moscow, Russia on September 3, 1965, her father was journalist and mother a music teacher. When she was a kid she took dancing, ballet, and signing lessons. After graduation she was admitted into the Theater studio of Oleg Tabakov, where she began to perform. As a student, she went on to act, getting her first roles around 1985. Most of her work is in Russian movies and TV. But, one of her only American roles , if not in fact her only one, is the reason for this induction.
That movie is 1995's awesome and somewhat underrated horror/ thriller Mute Witness. In it, a slasher movie is being shot in Russia. Billy (Marina Zudina) is the make-up artist on the flick, which is directed by her the boyfriend of her older sister. One night, Billy, who is also mute, gets stuck on the set accidently after they had stop shooting for the day and closed up shop. That night, she unwittingly witnesses a snuff movie being shot where a woman has sex on camera then is brutally stabbed to death. She tries to let the authorities and her sister know what happened, but the baddies play it off as if it all had been done via special FX. Meanwhile, we learn that the Russian mob is behind it all, headed by a man known as the Reaper (the original Obi Wan Kenobi himself, Sir Alec Guinness). And, he wants her dead and the reel containing said murder found.
This stylish horror/ thriller has a mix of Hitchcock and Argento and is one of the most underrated genre flicks of the 90s. Wrier/ co-producer/ director Anthony Waller does superb job directing it. Further elevated by expert editing and shooting, this movie has a couple of scenes that are in and of themselves masterworks of suspense. This is particularly true of the snuff scene and the subsequent chase of our heroine. The first and second act are incredible, and when it seems to slightly dip on the third act, it pulls out some great twists. I've always loved this movie. But, after many years of not seeing it (I owned the laserdisc), I watched the superlative Arrow Video 4K release and love it even more now!
Marina Zudina is very likable as Billy. Her character is smart, brave, and tough. Being mute means that she has to say it all with her eyes and face, which she does so perfectly. She is one of the best and most thoroughly underrated final girls of the era. Zudina's Billy is also that rarest of final girls, one that gets nude! And, she doesn't just get naked once or even twice, she bares skin thrice in the movie, showing butt and boobs.
Needless to say she is absolutely, and naturally, gorgeous. Which is why I had a super crush on her back when I first saw this film. Rewatching it all these years later, I was reminded of just what a stunner she is.
It's a shame that this is her only horror flick, be it American or otherwise. But, to star in one as great as Mute Witness is, in of itself, and accomplishment, especially with this great of a performance and awesome of a character. And, so it is with great honor that we induct Marina Zudina into Horror Crushes!
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