Top Ten Of 2024: David J McLaren
So, how’s your 2024 been? Mine has been deliberately and consciously happy. Not very fashionable or interesting to be happy is it?… I’m trying to break new ground. ‘What’s your secret Mr McLaren?’ I hear you say…
Well, massively limiting my exposure to the cancer that is social media was a good start (with the obvious exception of Facebook posts from The Shaman himself!), along with physically running away when anyone starts to discuss the US election, transgender rights or the war in the Middle East!
Otherwise, I’ve found that focusing on me and my own has brought me peace of mind; after all, my kids are only gonna grow up once, so I might as well try to get it right the first time around. Amongst all this riotous good cheer there have also been some rather marvellous records as well, which is nice.
And here are some of them…
10. Giant Walker ‘Silhouette’
This is an album that has quite rightly garnered great reviews far and wide. Giant Walker leans heavily towards the sprawling stylings of Karnivool, but in far more bite-sized and accessible chunks. Silhouette is packed full of great riffs and catchy vocal melodies. Annoyingly they played in Liverpool recently but on 5-a-side footy night – and anyone who plays 5-a-side knows that if you miss a week then you lose first dibs so…
Label: Church Road Records
9. Guiltless ‘Thorns’ EP
A nihilistic blast of sound that is just short enough to enable me to return to it over and over without it damaging my emotional wellbeing. Usually, I think of heavy and dirty records as being cathartic – but somehow Guiltless managed to produce something that isn’t. Brilliant for all the right/wrong reasons. Looking forward to their follow-up sometime in the near future.
Label: Neurot Recordings
8. High On Fire ‘Cometh The Storm’
I don’t really like High On Fire. There – I said it out loud. I always loved Sleep, but then for some reason Matt Pike turned into Lemmy and everything went really weird. For some reason I decided to give this latest album a listen, and to my surprise and delight I found myself really liking it. For once my response to three tracks of High On Fire wasn’t simply ‘I now just want to listen to Sleep and/or Motörhead’ but instead made it through the whole album, multiple times. Result!
Label: MNRK Heavy
7. Huntsmen ‘The Dry Land’
Doomy, sludgy, folksy good(y)ness. I’d seen coverage of Huntsmen before, but to be honest it had never struck me as being my cup of tea. I can’t even remember why I started listening to this particular album either – but I did – and I’m very happy that I did. Some of the guitar work on Cruelly Dawns is up there with anything I’ve heard all year. An intriguing and rewarding album.
Label: Prosthetic Records
6. Metz ‘Up On Gravity Hill’
Mixed emotions for this one. It was already on my list, and then a tour was announced which included a date at my favourite local venue – good news so far. Sadly, Metz then announced that the tour would be their final activity as a band before going on indefinite hiatus. That, my friends, is sad news. Happily, the gig was awesome, and they’ve left us with the best album of their career as a parting gift.
Label: Sub Pop Records
5. Heriot ‘Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell’
Bristol’s finest Heriot have delivered possibly the most punishing thirty-three minutes of the year. Although to be fair to them, the tracks contain a fair amount of variety between the blunt blows to the face. I probably would have put this further up my list if it weren’t for the fact that the production gives me a headache if I listen to it at even child-friendly levels.
Label: Century Media
4. Slomosa ‘Tundra Rock’
I was always gonna love this record – it’s a natural extension of their debut and it simply leaves me with a face-achingly large grin. Heavy doesn’t always mean nasty and angry, and Slomosa do happy-heavy as good as anyone else out there at the moment. Their UK tour early next year sees them visit Manchester on a Monday night… FFS… do I break my ‘no Manc gigs on a school night’ rule for some Tundra Rock?!
Label: Stickman Records | MNRK Heavy
3. Thou ‘Umbilical’
Not sure I’ll need to really tell you anything about Thou’s latest album – certainly I can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said. Legendary band – heaviest yet most accessible album for years – winner. It may even be beginning to challenge the Heathen album in my personal affections… maybe them playing it in full at Roadburn next year could be the clincher?
Label: Sacred Bones Records
2. High Vis ‘Guided Tour’
Another very fine album by probably my favourite band of the last few years. Guided Tour maybe doesn’t have the stand-out instant classics like 0151 and Trauma Bonds from their previous record, but it makes up for it by being a more consistent and cohesive whole. High Vis are creating a really broad and strong fanbase with what they’re doing, and I’m very much anticipating their tour with Narrow Head in tow early next year.
Label: Dais Records
1. Pallbearer ‘Mind Burns Alive’
Sometimes my album of the year isn’t the album I’ve listened to the most. It might be because an album demands so much of me that a casual listen isn’t really appropriate, or it may be that it’s too heavy to listen to within twenty yards of children. This year however, my album of the year is definitely also my most listened to. I loved Mind Burns Alive as soon as I heard it. I said in my review at the time that this is the sound of Pallbearer casting away any expectations and being comfortable doing exactly what they want to do. Performances on their recent UK tour seem to confirm that. We now just need them to come back and give us the headline set that is so long overdue!
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Honourable Mentions
I have to say that the timing was against Sergeant Thunderhoof. I’m pretty sure that if I’d had more time to digest it then their latest album, The Ghost Of Badon Hill, would have made a significant dent in my list.
The announcement of Acid Bath gigs next year is huge, especially if you’re in a part of the world where they’ll be visiting. For the rest of us, there is the significant consolation prize of new music from Mr Dax Riggs. The album, 7 Songs For Spiders, isn’t out yet, but the advanced release tracks are great!
My final random shout goes to a single from a band that I know next to nothing about. Even if weakener fail to put out anything else, ever, I will still blast out White Wolf every chance I get. It’s a near perfect introduction. There must and will be more!
Scribed by: David J McLaren
