Top 10 2024 by Yannick

What a year it’s been! So many wonderful new releases of old bands, new bands, local bands, big bands, from across all genres…truly a plethora of great music across the board. Which naturally means that choosing a top ten this year was more difficult than ever before. However, it was made a little easier because I actually got to witness many of the bands in this list live this year, or I am about to see them in the course of the next year! So let’s dive right in and start with a band that I did not have on my radar!

#10 Four Year Strong – analysis paralysis

Four Year Strong is by no means a new band but they just completely went past me over the course of their existence. However, a friend recommended their latest release and I immediately fell in love with this banger of a record! If the cover art and name are not enough to lure you in, just put on the second song, bad habit and enjoy the ride!

#9 Kraton – Monolith

I’ve always really enjoyed Kraton’s music, but their newest release was not only such a massive step up, but also into a completely direction that just really grabbed me and didn’t let me go for quite a while. Coupled with the, hands down, best concert they ever played for the release of Monolith, this one just had to have a spot in my top ten!

#8 Bilmuri – AMERICAN MOTOR SPORTS

With this being the thirteenth (!) release in just six (!!) years by Bilmuri, you might think that the guy can’t come up with any more ideas, but this might just be the best record he’s put out. Chock full of massive anthems and catchy songs, this one is a must listen if you just want to smile! I also got to witness the band open for Sleep Token in a fairly large venue and they absolutely killed it!

#7 Better Lovers – Highly Irresponsible

I was very saddened when Every Time I Die called it quits 3 years ago, but most bad things have a silver lining: Better Lovers is one of two (technically three) bands that were born out of the ashes and together with Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato unleashed pure mayhem on Highly Irresponsible, as well as in the tiny two hundred people cap venue that I got to witness them at this year.

 #6 Linkin Park – From Zero

A sentence that I certainly didn’t have on my bingo card this year or anytime in the near future: Linkin Park are back with a record that has no skips. From Zero is a fantastic (re)tour de force and I am super excited for what Emily is going to bring to the table, and I am very much looking forward to finally seeing them live next year!

#5 Many Eyes – The Light Age

The second band that stems from the breakup of ETID, and is fronted by Keith Buckley is Many Eyes and for some reason I managed to completely miss the release of their debut album, however that same friend from #10 told me about it and I have been jamming it on repeat ever since.

#4 Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

I would argue that no other band that sounds as extreme as Knocked Loose has managed to catapult itself as far as them. Their third full-length is a never-ending barrage of punches into your face and it never felt so good! Add to that the, dare I say, viral performance on American national TV and the fact that I’ll see them live next year and you’ve got a reason for my excitement.

#3 Slomosa – Tundra Rock

Slomosa’s follow-up to their brilliant debut record does in no way have to hide behind its precedessor and it was a big part of my rotation this year, along with seeing them twice, however it didn’t quite reach the same peak, for me, so it only lands on third place.

#2 Bring Me The Horizon – POST HUMAN: NeX GEn

Bring Me The Horizon continue to be at the forefront of innovating a genre that tends to go stale every few years, and the second release in their planned trilogy is filled with instant classics. I mean, it’s almost impossible to listen to the opening riff of YOUtopia without banging your head!

EP-Special

Blame The Others – Guilt To Last

Pest Control – Year Of The Pest

Greyhaven – Stereo Grief

Synestia – The Poetic Edda

Quick intermission for the EP special!

Local nostalgia metalcore matadors Blame The Others released an EP that just tickles me in all the right spots, and deserves to be checked out by all fans of the early 2000s!

Fast-paced thrash metal from the UK that is just a pure blast to listen to from start to finish! If Pest Control are not on your list of bands to watch out for, put them on there asap!

Greyhaven has that chaotic yet cathartic sound that I look for in music and their newest EP Stereo Grief continues in that exact vein.

Technically, half of The Poetic Edda was already released last year but this year finally saw the unveiling of the msising two songs and they complete a beautiful deathcore masterpiece! Get on it!

#1 Eidola – Eviscerate

Ever since discovering Eidola eight years ago, they have been a big part of my musical journey and they’ve constantly evolved their sound and this year they announced the release of a double album, with Eviscerate being the first, heavier, one and even before finishing my first listening session, I knew that it would be my album of the year. So if you are into progressive post-hardcore, give this one a go!

2024 is going to be an absolutely crazy year with already sixteen planned concerts and so many probable album releases on the horizon! I am wishing you all as much fun as the end of the year allows and I hope you’ll have a great 2025! Read you soon.

Coldspine – Nullpunkt

I’d argue that some genres just feel more appropriate during specific seasons, and one of those is doom metal. It just fits these gloomy and cold days perfectly, and the weather just makes you appreciate the music even more. Which is why Coldspine‘s new album Nullpunkt is the ideal travel companion for December. Let me tell you why!

While the quartet can definitely be considered doom, I would actually call sludge metal the more fitting genre, since they put an emphasis on, and I mean this as a most positive aspect, dragging riffs and repetition to achieve a deeply unsettling atmosphere.

The nine songs are more or less equally split in two, one half being rather on the slower end of the tempo spectrum, while the other one is more fast-paced and groove-orientated. In both halves, the bass guitar adds a lot of the weight and the guitar accentuates the composition, creating a well-rounded riff fest.

The drums mostly stay in the mid-tempo lane and to me serve more as a backdrop to the guitars, steering away from any blast beats or similar techniques. Instead cutting away all the fluff and focusing on the most important part: the groove!

The vocals have minor effects on them and they are purposefully not too prominent in the mix, but rather serve as an additional instrument. Albeit, one that keeps punching you in the face repeatedly, with its relentless screams. While I feel like a bit wider variation in the cadence throughout the forty-six minutes would have enhanced the experience slightly, I still think that they achieve their goal of, and I know how this sounds, being heavy.

All in all, Coldspine’s first full length manages to captivate a very specific vibe that is underrepresented in the, extended, local scene and it is definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre or people who just want to feel a certain way during the winter months. Nullpunkt is going to be available this Friday the 13th and the band will play a show in Saarbrücken the day after. In order to keep up with what’s going on with them, head over to their Facebook and make sure to check out the song below.

Blame The Others – Guilt To Last

Today’s review is technically about a new band but most of its members have been, or still are, in bands before and it can be felt in every note. Blame The Others came onto the scene at the beginning of 2023 and, after releasing a few stand-alone singles, have decided to drop an EP, titled Guilt To Last, for their next cycle.

If you are familiar with that specific genre, you know that you can expect aggressive riffs to go hand in hand with highly melodic ones, before turning into an absolute feast for those that love to bang their heads.

In the rhythm department, I liked that the drummer likes to put in the occasional blast beat and nifty drum fill, but most of the time giving the guitars and vocals room to breathe, by serving the song. And, on another positive note: even with my bass-deaf ears, I managed to distinguish the bass lines most of the time!

At a playtime of fifteen minutes, the band manages to cram in a lot of different ideas, yet also make them feel absolutely fit each other perfectly. All this to say that the songwriting is very catchy and even on your first listen you are immediately involved.

To round off the metalcore package, all a band needs is a singer that can deliver screams as well as cleans, and BTO‘s frontman has his work cut out for him. Because his performance blends belting screams and really melodic parts seemlessly. I’d even argue that for these four tracks he has chosen a more melody-orientated approach than on his other projects.

Blame The Others recorded an EP that beautifully captures the charm of the old sound but also adding a touch of new ideas in there. Guilt To Last, kudos to whoever came up with that play on words by the way, is a must for fans of the genre and also a very solid introduction for people unfamiliar with it. For more information, head to the band’s Facebook page and be sure to check out the EP when it is released, this Friday.

Miles To Perdition – Of Gods And Parasites

Everything must come to an end, sooner or later. In the case of Miles To Perdition, the band chose to end their journey at the end of 2024, but not without giving their fans a musical goodbye in the form a final EP, called Of Gods And Parasites, which will be released this Friday, November 15th.

In terms of genre, the guys are more or less staying in the same lane as on the highly praised predecessor, 2084: melodic death metal with a Scandinavian touch. It does feel like they went down a slightly more technical route this time around though. Especially the guitar work is more technical and the back and forth between both lead and rhythm is much more, dare I say, playful.

Also, generally-speaking, I feel like the twenty minutes are much more melody-focussed than on previous releases. A very good example of this is a beautiful solo on the opening track around the five minute mark that goes on for a solid sixty seconds. However, all those intricacies made it hard for me to make out the bass guitar most of the time, except for those rare moments where it does get to shine on its own.

In the drum department, there is everything you’d expect from a MTP record: blast beats à gogo, double-bass barrages left and right, as well as loads of nasty little accents and drum fills.

The same can be said about the vocals, which cover the entire bandwidth, scream, growls and screeches, without breaking a sweat. I would even argue that this is the best performance across their discography, albeit it being the last one.

The only thing I do not understand at all, was the choice to put an electronic interlude on a four song EP, making it only three “real” songs. However, I cannot really hold it agains the quality of the music, because it does tie the two adjacent songs together nicely…but still.

All in all, Of Gods And Parasites is a fitting send-off from a band that has certainly had an effect on the local scene over the course of its existence. With that, I bid Miles To Perdition farewell and I hope that the individual members find the creative urge again at some point to release music in one way or another. To keep up with the present and future of them, head over to their Facebook page and make sure to watch the video below.

Kraton – Monolith

When an album’s opening lines are “My spirit is broken”, growled in the most gut-wrenching way imagineable, you know you’re in for a ride. Five years after Unto Arcadia, which I somehow completely forgot to review back then, Kratonare back with their first full-length album, titled Monolith, and are, metaphorically, wearing a different set of clothes. So let’s dive into this one, but be warned: it might get uncomfortable for you.

First off, the quintet has changed their sonic direction quite a bit, opting for a much more doom-orientated and atmospheric approach, and they also chose to go into a professional studio this time around, rather than following the DIY route as on previous releases. And, long story short: both decisions were the best ones they could have made. While there was nothing wrong with the way Kraton sounded before, this new genre sets them much further apart from the other bands in the local landscape, and therefore makes them stand out more. And the higher production value really makes this record hit that much harder.

I would say that the switch is most noticeable in the instrumental part of the music, since most songs are hovering in the mid-tempo range and blast-beats are practically no longer to be found. The songwriting of both the guitars and drums is centered more around building a soul-crushing atmosphere, that usually ends in a crescendo toward the end of the song.

Lyrically, these eight tracks pack some real gut punches, with the most depressing views on the human experience that I’ve read in a long time. Coupled with the most despair-filled screams and animalistic growls that Boerdi has delivered during his time in the music scene, making this by far my favorite performance of his…so far. To underline that, make sure to watch the video for Curse This Mortal Coil below, because it showcases the raw emotion perfectly, and it is a very good visual representation of it, as well.

There is absolutely no sign of happiness or hope in the entire thirty-nine minute runtime of Monolith, and the cheeriest thing about it are the three owls on the cover. However, it is also a very rewarding record, because it will make you feel things that you might not have felt in a long time, or even want to feel. This Saturday, at Rockhal, the band will host a release show for their new masterpiece, and in the meantime you can head over to their Facebook page to stay up to date with them.

UltraNothing – UltraNothing

Generally speaking, whenever life closes one door, it opens another one. While that is not always a good thing, because the new option might be worse than the initial one, such is not the case with today’s band. UltraNothing rose from the ashes of Office Of Weird and just like a phoenix, the result is brilliant and full of energy! So let’s dive into their self-titled debut EP which is set to be released this Saturday, October 26th.

The trio plays post-punk with hints of noise rock mixed in, along with a healthy dose of melancholy, resulting in a new genre, as the band calls it: melancho-punk! If you are skeptical while reading this, think again, because the mix works really well and there are enough intricate details during these thirteen minutes to make you come back to it again and again.

The drums create an absolute barrage of sound with the ceaseless fast-paced drumming and the several more groove-orientated parts, providing an excellent backdrop for the bass and the guitar to interlock completely. While the former trucks along quite steadily with its really thick sound, the latter surprises anew on each of the four tracks with its playfulness and melodic astuteness.

The vocals are very heavily reverbed and place themselves on the same sonic level as the guitar, by choice it seems, because they round off the aural spectrum perfectly. Lyrically, the EP deals with loss and self-doubt, as well as general anger toward the (current) state of the world in a, dare I say, poetic way.

All in all, I am happy to report that UltraNothing’s debut is a very solid first entry in a hopefully long and prosperous band catalogue! If you want to get an impression of their sound, check out the song below and head to their Facebook page for more information. They will have a release show at MK Bar in Esch-Belval this Saturday, so if you like what you hear, be sure to head over there!

Cat Piss Potion – Millenial Breakdown

A couple of weeks I mentioned that writing reviews about the same band can be repetitive, unless the band changes their style drastically. While I’ve never written about Cat Piss Potion, I have reviewed two other projects with the same singer: Godmorgon and Venlafvckscene. Despite those two projects being in different genres, they featured quite a few similarities, which cannot be said about this third one, however. So, get comfortable and let’s dive into Millenial Breakdown!

First off, the name alone made me interested in the band, before even hearing a single song. But when I did end up hearing the first single, I was immediately sold, because it was the polar opposite of what I had expected: clean vocals and way less aggressive guitars! The band refers to themselves as “riot grrrl grunge” and that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

The instrumentals are kept a bit more on the simple side, which makes some of the riffs stand out that much more because of their catchy nature, with the intro of Still Here being a very good example of this. The drums always serve the song and gel really well with the stringed instruments.

About half of the ten songs are more in the realm of Sprechgesang, while the other ones feature more melody-orientated singing, with Dandelion Girl being the standout track in that department, I would say. No matter which singing style: these twenty-eight minutes are filled with socially critical and tongue in cheek lyrics. While the themes are similar to the other two projects, I think that the absence of harsh vocals make them a bit more accessible to the average listener, which is a very positive aspect, since they are still as relevant.

All in all, Cat Piss Potion has a refreshing sound that managed to draw me back in with each listen and I would recommend giving the album a shot! Plus, the last song is a beautiful homage to an all-time classic, and might hit home for quite a few of us. The release is this Thursday and you can find more information on the band’s Facebook page! 

Asathor – Quenta Mir: Sangwa

It’s hard to believe that five years have gone by since the last, and first, Asathor record. A lot of things have changed, as has the band’s lineup, but that did not stop the quintet from releasing a new collection of songs, titled Quenta Mir: Sangwa a bit more than two weeks ago.

I reckon it’s safe to say that thematically and musically the band has returned to its roots, with the music being more in the realm of black metal and the concept of these five songs dealing with nerd shit again. I kid, I kid: it’s about Middle Earth, but more specically some of the earlier stories described in the Silmarillion, that happen long before the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books.

The bigger focus on the black metal aspect also leads to the songs being longer and more atmospheric, but therefore also more repetitive, which I don’t even mean in a negative way. It’s just a different experience than before. The riffs, however, are still filled with as much despair and hopelessness and they make diving into these twenty-four minutes very easy.

It has been a while since I listened to the predecessor but the drums feel a lot more technical and intricate this time around, with a lot of little fills left and right, and yet again they build a truly solid foundation for the stringed instruments to shine. Also turning out to be the secret star is the bass, with some of the bass lines standing out as more than just small accents.

The biggest change are the vocals though: at some point during these five years, Asathor split ways with their previous singer and recruited the singer from the remnants of a now defunct band. I made it clear last time that I absolutely adored the previous singer’s performance and I must admit that I was saddened when I heard about his departure, but the new vocals not only do him justice, but they bring a completely new aspect to the band’s sound: theatrics!

The agony-filled screams and moans during the closing track, Anfauglith, are enough to give me goosebumps. But of course the singer also masters regular screams and the typical black metal vocals, which create an overall very well rounded-off performance.

All in all, Quenta Mir: Sangwa, while quite different is a very worthy follow-up album and it’s almost good enough to make me pick up the Silmarillion again after abondoning it out of sheer boredom…but only almost. Either way, you should give the album a listen yourself and you can do so below. For more information about the band and to keep up to date, head over to their Facebook page.

Blanket Hill – The Ash That Shall Remain

You know, writing reviews can sometimes be difficult, especially when you write about a band you’ve already written about in the past. Because, unless they completely change their style, you run the risk of repeating yourself and the more I think about it, the less I think that it’s necessarily a bad thing. Since there are only so many words in the English language to describe a good thing, without using unnecessarily pompous words, I’d argue that it means that the band has found their comfort zone and sticks to it. A good example for this is today’s album: The Ash That Shall Remain by local hardcore heroes Blanket Hill.

The previous record had already improved on all the critique that I had towards the one before that and while the opening paragraph might make you think that the band stagnated, that is absolutely not the case. First off, the quintet has recruited a new full time drummer, who brings a slightly different approach to the table that I would call more hardcore-orientated than before; focussing less on complexity and speed, but therefore more on groove and good ole heaviness.

Secondly, the “new” (on the previous record) guitarist now also took up backup vocals that deliver a nice contrast to the main vocals by covering the spectrum of growls and higher pitched screams. A good example of this dynamic can be heard below in the, dare I say, instant classic Let The Hammer Swing.

Just as on The Courage Of Hopelesness, the guitar work is just this delicious riff soup that will satiate every type of lover of the six strings. There’s classic open note chugging to bang your head to; then you have your much more technical riffs that are bordering on feeling out of place at times, yet the band manages to tie them perfectly into the music; and last but not least there are some, for lack of a better word, melancholic riffs that would feel right at home in a black metal song.

The main vocals have remained mostly the same, with the go-to vocal style being the Sprechgesang, but also featuring a bit more melodic lines than previously. However, this time around the band has quite a few features in tow: the Luxembourgish rapper Marone, Mike Rodrigues of local heavy-hitters Deathlane, Matt Howson of UK-based Overpower and Masa of the Japanese View From The Soyuz. While they would not have been necessary to spruce up these thirty-nine minutes, they are a very nice addition. Oh, and the final track holds another surprise that I won’t spoil in this review.

It’s also worth noting that the band has yet again self-recorded these eleven songs and that the sound ticks all the boxes that I wish for in a heavy record: massive drums that don’t sound over-produced, biting guitars and vocals that are very present but not overwhelmingly in the foreground. More of this, please!

In closing, while Blanket Hill has not reinvented themselves on The Ash That Shall Remain, which was not necessary in the first place, the record is another very solid entry into their catalogue and whether you are into (classic) hardcore or not, I would absolutely recommend giving this one a listen because it covers a very broad spectrum. The album will be out this Friday, September 27th, accompanied by a release show at Rockhal and you can find more information on the band’s Facebook page.

Mindpatrol – Monster

It’s crazy, in a good way, to me that today’s band has been making music for over a decade now. I still remember getting early glimpses at their first record before it was even released and going to their first show and here we are, ten years later: their fifth release is on the horizon! While Mindpatrol has gone through a few line-up changes over the years, their musical approach has largely stayed the same, albeit become more refined since then. Their new EP Monster is going to be released this Friday, so let’s talk about it a bit!

Before we start: there are four tracks on it, but I will only be reviewing three of them, since the last one is a cover of System of a Down’s Aerials, which turned out quite nicely but it adds nothing to the record’s “soul”, in my opinion.

If you are not familiar with the band’s concept, let me briefely get you up to speed: all their records are concept albums that deal with a completely new story, and each one has an accompanying book, written by the singer, to go along with it. This allows the band to expand further on the story, that does not fit into the music and it’s worked quite well for them in the past. This time around, however, they chose to be inspired by someone else’s already existing work, in the form of the popular manga Monster by Naoki Urasawa.

Even though I am not, yet, familiar with the manga, the songs work really well for me on a lyrical level and the chosen topics round each other off quite nicely in the span of the nineteen minutes.

On a musical side, the band has pretty much stayed true to their roots of progressive metal but here they also enlisted a bit of extra help by Louis Viallet for orchestral arrangements, which really elevates the two songs he features on. Especially Magnificent Steiner might be my favorite Mindpatrol song so far, because every single aspects just works perfectly for me: the track is heavy where it needs to be, the chorus is super catchy and the orchestration gives it that extra majestic feel.

Vocally, the same can be repeated that I’ve said in every single one of my reviews of the band: evolution! The way every technique keeps improving between releases is alway a joy to me. Most of all, the clean vocals are peaking on these three tracks, especially on the above mentioned track’s chorus. But the band broke another tradition: there are guest vocals! The Hirsch Effekt’s singer makes a guest appearance on the final track, Nameless, and they make the track even more haunting than it already is. A great addition!

All in all, this EP definitely highlights all of the strengths of the band and if this is the direction Mindpatrol wants to go in the future, I am beyond excited! Do yourself a favor and check out the brilliant song below and head to the band’s Facebook page to stay updated about their plans.