Best Metal Albums of November 2024

There’s something beautifully bold about a band choosing to self-title an album deep into their career—it often signals reinvention, and Make Them Suffer’s latest certainly earns that distinction. The introduction of Alex Reade as co-lead vocalist and keyboardist isn’t just a lineup change; it’s a fundamental reimagining of their sonic architecture. The djent elements they’ve incorporated aren’t merely trendy flourishes but feel like a natural evolution of their metalcore foundation, with syncopated rhythms that hit like meteorite impacts while maintaining that essential melodic core that’s always set them apart.
The electronic elements here deserve special mention—rather than the usual synthetic window dressing that often plagues modern metalcore, they’re woven into the fabric of each song with genuine purpose. The interplay between Reade’s soaring cleans and Sean Harmanis’s guttural lows creates moments of genuine emotional depth, particularly in the album’s more introspective passages. What’s most impressive is how the band manages to sound simultaneously more accessible and more ambitious—no small feat in a genre often criticized for choosing one path at the expense of the other.

It’s rare to encounter a debut album that feels this fully formed, but French post-metal outfit Septaria have achieved something remarkable with Astar. This isn’t just promising – it’s already delivering on that promise. The way they balance crushing heaviness with ethereal beauty recalls early “Cult of Luna”, but there’s something distinctly French about their approach to atmosphere – perhaps it’s that same sense of cinematic grandeur that made Alcest so compelling in their early days.

The production deserves special praise – too often, post-metal debuts suffer from either muddy mix or excessive polish, but Astar finds that sweet spot where every element has room to breathe while maintaining its raw emotional impact. The rhythm section, in particular, provides a masterclass in dynamic control, knowing exactly when to hold back and when to unleash the full force of their sound. While the band may still be finding their voice in some aspects, there’s an undeniable vision here that makes me incredibly excited for their future.

Gojira fan? take a look at our Gojira Albums Ranked post.

Danish doom merchants Alkymist have crafted something truly special with UnnDerr, an album that crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. The way they channel Celtic Frost’s primordial heaviness through a modern sludge lens reminds me of the first time I heard Monotheist – that same sense of suffocating weight and architectural grandeur. “The Scent” is a masterclass in dynamic control, with guitars that shift between tectonic plate-moving riffs and moments of eerie, reverb-drenched clarity.
The addition of Per Silkjær behind the kit has brought a newfound rhythmic fluidity – his ability to navigate between d-beat explosions and doom-laden dirges gives the material a compelling sense of urgency even at its most glacial. The centerpiece title track “UnnDerr” is where all these elements coalesce into something truly transcendent. Over its 10-minute runtime, the band weaves together threads of traditional doom, blackened sludge, and even touches of post-metal atmosphere, creating a tapestry that rewards repeated deep listens. The production captures every nuance while maintaining that essential raw edge – you can practically feel the amp tubes cooking.

In an era where even the most underground black metal comes with pristine production, there’s something thrillingly defiant about Inverted Cross’s commitment to raw, uncompromising savagery. Eternal Flames of Hell sounds like it could have been recorded in 1985, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. The marriage of black metal’s atmospheric malevolence with speed metal’s relentless forward momentum creates something that feels genuinely dangerous—music that bares its teeth and means it.
The production might be deliberately primitive, but the musicianship is anything but—these riffs are crafted with diabolic precision, each track a masterclass in how to maintain intensity without sacrificing memorability. It’s a reminder that sometimes the old ways are the best ways, especially when executed with this level of conviction.

There’s something profoundly brave about a death metal band choosing to embrace their progressive inclinations so completely, and Bedsore’s evolution on Dreaming the Strife for Love is nothing short of transformative. As someone who’s followed their journey since their more straightforward death metal days, this album feels like watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis—beautiful, unexpected, and somehow both fragile and powerful at once.
The album’s production captures this metamorphosis perfectly—where their earlier work reveled in cavernous reverb and murky depths, here we find crystalline clarity that allows every experimental flourish to shine. The guitar work has evolved from death metal’s typical tremolo-picked assault into something more nuanced, with clean passages that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Steven Wilson record. The keyboards weave through tracks like gossamer threads, evoking an almost Opeth-like quality to the arrangements. Bedsore never feels derivative; instead, they’ve found their own voice in this progressive space, one that honors their extreme metal origins while refusing to be constrained by them.

Through Storms Ahead arrives as less of an album and more of a statement about identity in modern metalcore. With Tim Lambesis now standing as the sole original member, this record exists in a fascinating liminal space. The signature melodic leads and crushing breakdowns are all present and technically proficient—the session musicians Lambesis has assembled clearly know their craft. But there’s something essential missing, that ineffable chemistry that once made As I Lay Dying greater than the sum of its parts.
The production maintains the modern metalcore sheen, but there’s an inescapable sense of isolation that perhaps inadvertently mirrors Lambesis’s position—a voice calling out from within a reconstructed framework of what the band once was.

In an era where technical death metal often feels like a competition in complexity for complexity’s sake, Veilburner stands apart by making the technical serve the transcendent. The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom is exactly what its gloriously over-the-top title suggests – a marriage of visceral intensity and esoteric exploration. These seven tracks feel less like songs and more like rituals, each one a carefully constructed journey through realms both brutal and beautiful.
The psychedelic elements aren’t mere window dressing but fundamental to the band’s vision, creating moments where the familiar structures of death metal dissolve into something far stranger and more compelling. This is challenging music that rewards active engagement – headphone listening reveals layers of detail that might get lost in casual play. It’s a reminder that true innovation in metal doesn’t just mean adding more notes or stranger time signatures – it means finding new ways to make the extreme express the ineffable.

There’s something genuinely thrilling about watching a band evolve without losing their soul, and Tribulation’s latest opus is a perfect example. Sub Rosa in Æternum sees the Swedish veterans pushing deeper into gothic territory while keeping one foot firmly planted in their death metal roots. The integration of darkwave elements feels natural rather than forced – “Murder in Red” could have been a lost Sisters of Mercy track filtered through a Swedish death metal lens, complete with harmonic minor leads that would make Mercyful Fate proud.
The clean vocals have taken on a new confidence, working in beautiful counterpoint to the harsh elements rather than competing with them. “Reaping Song” stands as the album’s emotional core, its melancholic leads and dynamic structure showcasing a band that understands the power of restraint as much as aggression. While some might miss the more complex arrangements of their earlier work, this streamlined approach reveals a band more interested in serving the song than in technical showmanship.

Few bands capture the raw majesty of their homeland like Sólstafir, and Hin helga kvöl feels like Iceland itself carved into sound. This 50-minute journey shows a band unafraid to embrace their roots while pushing ever forward. The title track is particularly striking – a return to their black metal origins that feels less like nostalgia and more like reconciliation with their past selves. When those frost-bitten tremolo passages give way to their signature post-rock expansiveness, it’s like watching storm clouds part over volcanic plains.
The album’s true revelation comes in its closing movements – “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml” showcase the band at their most adventurous, with saxophone lines that weave through the mix like northern lights and monastic vocals that echo ancient sagas. While some mixing choices leave Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals occasionally fighting for space in the dense arrangements, there’s something appealingly honest about this rawness. It captures the band in full flight, imperfections and all, reaching for something profound and often achieving it.

There’s something deeply satisfying about hearing Mikael Åkerfeldt’s death growls return on Opeth’s fourteenth opus, The Last Will and Testament, like reuniting with an old friend who’s grown wiser with time. This isn’t just a return to form – it’s a synthesis of everything this band has learned over three decades of boundary-pushing. As their first proper concept album since Still Life, it tackles surprisingly mundane subject matter – estate administration and legacy – and transforms it into something profound through progressive compositions that recall Ghost Reveries while incorporating the sophisticated jazz-prog elements of their recent work.
The presence of Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson on flute feels less like a guest spot and more like a torch being passed between progressive generations. “A Story Never Told,” the album’s closing statement, might be one of the most beautiful things they’ve ever recorded – a moment where their death metal ferocity and prog rock sophistication achieve perfect balance. Every listen reveals new layers, new connections, new revelations.

As Opeth fans, in this blog we have made a post ranking Opeth´s discography which will we have to update soon.