Now that 2024 is coming to a close, we at Tuonela Magazine want to share what releases we enjoyed the most. Each of our staff members will share their own lists, here is the list of Jani Lehtinen.
Well, year after year, this whole endeavor proves harder and harder – y’know, this cherry-picking of only the 10 best albums released over the past 12 months. Okay, the Finnish metal market is pretty small, so no problems there, but talk about international affairs… whoa! I could easily round up over 40 albums that really slapped in 2024, so selecting only 10 from that music pool called for some executive decisions of the toughest order. While trying my best to keep everything under control, I also made a peculiar observation; if 2023 was a year rather prominently characterized by a cavalcade of class-A prog-metal releases, this year was markedly more atmospheric, bordering on the post-rock side of things. Moreover, perhaps slightly to my surprise, the absolutely most haunting releases were not provided by the big household names of the genre, such as MONO, which also dropped a new album this year, but novel acts (at least to me), such as the Polish post-rock squad, YENISEI, and the Scottish duo, MIDAS FALL. Then, even though I would rather not wish to imply that any of these lists were compiled into any order of significance, the number ones in both the international and Finnish album categories sure deserve the pole position. The Faroese singer-songwriter, Eivør, pulled such a haunting tear-jerker of a show at Tuska Festival 2024 that it is next to impossible to listen to her new album without feeling the shivers again. I also had the privilege to witness the Finnish prog-metal juggernaut, WHEEL, on stage a while back, playing songs from their new album “Charismatic Leaders,” which is by far one of the best prog-metal albums ever.
So, in the following lists, you can see some of the albums that I found the most enjoyable in 2024. When it comes to international albums, in particular, I had to leave out killer albums to squeeze the year into 10 seminal releases. That’s why the list is missing Jerry Cantrell‘s latest excursion into the heart of grunge, KINGCROW‘s triumphant return to their alt.rock-slanted riffathons after a 6-year hiatus, the haunting new efforts of both OCEANS OF SLUMBER and EVERGREY, and DEVIN TOWNSEND‘s latest offering. Then, some of my favorite acts in the realm of progressive heaviness, like LEPROUS and KLONE, dropped a new album that did not instantly strike me as their next big magnum opus – only time will tell whether I’m going to fall in love with these albums or not. I also chose not to include the new OPETH juggernaut, although it instantly proved a rather sublime blend of their old style and the mustache-prog era; these crazy Swedes have become pretty much like DREAM THEATER to me – I’m going to buy their new albums, no matter what, because I’m going to fall head over heels for them, eventually. Speaking of which… The biggest surprise of 2024 was probably the new solo album by Jordan Rudess – I have been notoriously outspoken about how I’m not exactly fond of some of his stuff in the DREAM THEATER framework but – lo’ and behold! – the lead single, “The Alchemist,” released from his new solo endeavor proved one of the absolute best prog tunes of this year! The album turned out to be rather good, overall, but I felt compelled to leave it out, nonetheless, if only to maintain my bad reputation of being a stone-cold critic of his work. Well, I also had to leave out the new albums by artists such as MYRATH, FROST*, BLEAKHEART, TIDES FROM NEBULA, MONO, SÓLSTAFIR, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, TURBULENCE, THE PINEAPPLE THIEF, DRIFTING SUN, WANHEDA, PURE REASON REVOLUTION, WEATHER SYSTEMS, EIDOLA, IHSAHN, ANCIIENTS, BLOOD INCANTATION, DISTANT DREAM, and the promising Ukrainian post-black metal squad, LABYRINTHUS STELLARUM. The new, Devin–Townsend-produced album by the Chinese prog mayhem, OU, was pretty impressive with all its over-indulgence. Then, representing the polar opposite of the emotional spectrum, the introspective solo offering, “Luck and Strange,” released by the grand old man of atmospheric prog, David Gilmour, proved a rather touching, deep dive into beautiful melancholy. Yeah, listing merely ten albums won’t do, I guess…
Top 10 International Albums
- Eivør: Enn
- Yenisei: Home
- Midas Fall: Cold Waves Divide Us
- God Is An Astronaut: Embers
- Chelsea Wolfe: She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She…
- Alcest: Les Chants De L’aurore
- Mother of Millions: Magna Mater
- Caligula’s Horse: Charcoal Grace
- VOLA: Friend of a Phantom
- Amiensus: Reclamation Pt. II
Read more: REVIEW: Yenisei – Home, REVIEW: God Is An Astronaut – Embers, REVIEW: Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, REVIEW: Mother of Millions – Magna Mater, REVIEW: Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace, REVIEW: Vola – Friend of a Phantom
Top 10 Finnish Albums
In the category of best Finnish albums of 2024, I didn’t have to struggle with such heart-wrenching executive decisions. However, I did make a funny observation here, too, as I went through my reviews of Finnish albums released this year. It seems to have become an ongoing streak that one of the absolutely most haunting Finnish releases of the year gets released after compiling these Albums of the Year lists. Last year, it was the album, “Amare,” released just a couple of days before Christmas Eve by the sublime Finnish doomgaze act, SHEDFROMTHEBODY. In 2021, it was the murder-balladeering, eponymous endeavor by the Finnish folktronica act, TUHKA, which had not popped onto my musical radar until it was too late to make it to these rankings. So, I’m curious to see whether some as-yet-unheard-of gem will come out of nowhere after Christmas this year, too…
- Wheel: Charismatic Leaders
- Cemetery Skyline: Nordic Gothic
- Octoploid: Beyond the Aeons
- Swallow the Sun: Shining
- Oranssi Pazuzu: Muuntautuja
- The Eternal: Skinwalker
- T. Jarva & The Dark Place: Post Festum
- Viima: Väistyy Mielen Yö
- Tyrantti: Ihmispyramidi
- Nightwish: Yesterwynde
Read more: REVIEW: Wheel – Charismatic Leaders, REVIEW: Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic, REVIEW: Octoploid – Beyond the Aeons, REVIEW: Swallow the Sun – Shining, REVIEW: Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja, REVIEW: The Eternal – Skinwalker, REVIEW: T. Jarva & The Dark Place – Post Festum, REVIEW: Tyrantti – Ihmispyramidi, REVIEW: Nightwish – Yesterwynde
Top 3 EPs
Unlike last year, when I struggled to come up with three EPs, thinking that this art form had gone out of fashion or something, this year proved easy like Sunday morning. I had to leave out a few banging EPs, even. In addition to these three listed below, 65DAYSOFSTATIC released a haunting EP entitled “Tomorrowd,” LAST CHANCE TO REASON put out “The Divide EP,” and ONI released a banging effort entitled “Realign.” So, I guess this noble art isn’t going out of vogue any time soon. I should also point out a couple of killer singles released on Bandcamp this year – “Sapiens” by the Finnish one-man black-metal maelstrom, OENOS, and “Väärä Profeetta” by the up-and-coming stoner eclectics, SUMEA.
- Sylvaine: Eg Er Framand
- Alase: Beyond Our Imagination EP
- Fixation: Speak in Tongues
Read more: REVIEW: Alase – EP: Beyond Our Imagination, REVIEW: Fixation – EP: Speak in Tongues
Most promising act
Maybe a little bit out of the ordinary, this year’s biggest and most pleasant surprise in the local band department was provided by the underground stoner act, MAGMA DIVER. I reckon the name has been lifted from the Japanese anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, but the music has very little to do with Japanese eccentrism – it revolves rather prominently around the Holy Trinity of vintage BLACK SABBATH (with the tempos turned up a notch), bell-bottom trousers, and the sepia-filtered nostalgia for the 1970s, the legendary Love Records label’s signature sonic aura, in particular. The band only has two songs on Spotify and, I believe, they are just now starting to play live shows in the Helsinki underground, so if you’re looking for something fresh and slapping, check their social media updates for live dates.
Top 5 music videos
- Cemetery Skyline: Violent Storm
- Wheel: Empire
- Midas Fall: Cold Waves Divide Us
- Chelsea Wolfe: Whispers in the Echo Chamber
- Alcest: Flamme Jumelle
Top 5 international songs
- Yenisei: Forgotten
- Chelsea Wolfe: Salt
- Gísli Gunnarsson & Alcest: Wings of Glass
- Mother of Millions: Inside
- Amiensus: Orb of Vanishing Light
Read more: REVIEW: Yenisei – Home, REVIEW: Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, REVIEW: Mother of Millions – Magna Mater
Top 5 Finnish songs
- Wheel: Disciple
- Cemetery Skyline: Violent Storm
- Octoploid: The Dawns of Nothingness
- Swallow the Sun: Innocence Was Long Forgotten
- Viima: Perhonen
Read more: REVIEW: Wheel – Charismatic Leaders, REVIEW: Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic, REVIEW: Octoploid – Beyond the Aeons, REVIEW: Swallow the Sun – Shining
Top 5 best last-minute songs
- Sara: Hyvästi Kapteeni
- Harakiri For the Sky: Street Spirit (Fade Out)
- Kryn: The Nerve
- Vile & Akira Yamaoka: Anam Cara (from the Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack)
- Bumblefoot: Simon in Space
Top 5 Album Cover
- Octoploid: Beyond the Aeons
2. Swallow the Sun: Shining
3. Viima: Väistyy Mielen Yö
4. Yenisei: Home
5. Mother of Millions: Magna Mater
Best Collaboration
It is next to impossible not to dub “The Alchemist,” the lead single off the latest solo endeavor, “Permission to Fly,” released by Jordan Rudess in September, as one of the best prog-metal songs of 2024. The song is basically an 8-minute gut-punch of progressive excess in the spirit of HAKEN and vintage YES. I’m not sure whether this song qualifies as a collaboration track, exactly, but as its dark magic relies heavily on Rudess‘s signature keyboard quirks and vocalist That Joe Payne‘s haunting performance – not to belittle any of the other musicians involved, mind you – I shall say this song was the peak collaboration track of 2024.
Best concert
Well, obviously, the Tuska Festival 2024 was the highlight of the year but, as it has had a habit of being such for a good number of years so far, I should probably single out a few other concerts as well. At the beginning of December, I had the privilege of witnessing the German prog monolith, THE OCEAN, pull a special treat at On the Rocks, Helsinki. The band played two sets – their latest studio album “Holocene” in full and, then, a set of selected cuts from their previous two albums – and the show was one of those “Dude, you shoulda been there!” events, for sure. Then, a month before that, I saw WHEEL perform at the same venue, celebrating their latest album – and it further cemented the fact that they are the crème de la créme of Finnish prog metal. Last, I cannot leave unmentioned how magical it was to witness OCTOPLOID‘s album release show, earlier this year. Not only did they share my undying love for the Finnish psych-rock legends, KINGSTON WALL, but also delivered a haunting set of sublime, 1990s-tinted death metal. Lastly, one of the most memorable evenings of 2024 was hanging out with a bunch of metalheads at the Käpygrilli venue to witness a banging double feature of electronica as PIHKA IS MY NAME and SAPPHIRE DREAM delivered on stage. So, yeah, this year was quite a treat in terms of quality concerts!
Top 5 most anticipated releases of 2025
- Harakiri For the Sky: Scorched Earth
- Spiritbox: Tsunami Sea
- Jinjer: Duél
- Dream Theater: Parasomnia
- Tremonti: The End Will Show Us How
Want to share your lists with us? Comment below with your lists.
The whole Tuonela Magazine team wishes you an inspirational 2024 filled with a lot of new music to discover. We hope to see you back next year!
