Elyna 2024 Top 10

Fire From A Metal Heart: My Top 10 of The Best Albums in 2024

2024 is coming to an end.

However, it has been a wonderful year for me, because I have continued and even deepened my eternal love for metal music. According to my Wrapped, I listened to more than 1900 songs this year, and also many albums. From among them, I have chosen the 10 that impacted me the most, and to which I dedicated hours of pleasant listening. Each album listed here gave me exciting and enriching experiences that will carry in my heart forever.

To all the magic people who gave life to these ten albums, I offer my eternal gratitude. You all guys have my sincere support and admiration.

Stay Metal:

Lost in Grey – Odyssey into the Grey
Via El Puerto Records
Theatrical metal as a genre properly said, didn’t exist until 2016, no matter how much some may say otherwise. Its actual pioneers are the impressive Finnish guys from Lost in Grey, who launched their fourth album called Odyssey into the Grey in April. I didn’t know them yet this album came to my ears, and I got simply speechless and overwhelmed by such a display of magic, precision, technique and mastery in a striking musical and narrative development, along with jaw-dropping vocals and choruses. I highlight that, in spite of having listened to a lot of music during my life, I have never listened to anything similar to what these guys create in each of their songs. I always have something in my memory to link with yet this time I couldn’t; Lost in Grey is a new and unique fierce force in the metal realms, absolutely demolishing, moving and profound.

All in all, Odyssey into the Grey is the most complex, rich and amazing album I discovered, winning the top as the best album of 2024.

Galneryus – The Stars Will Light The Way
Via Warner Music Japan
Galneryus’ loved maestros have nailed it again with this latest work The Stars Will Light The Way, full of classic power metal sounds, a massive dose of neoclassical and progressive and the well-known talent and technique of the band as a whole.

With a captivating narrative along with the vocal mastery of Masatoshi Ono, The Stars Will Light The Way is coming out on top as one of the best albums in the discography of these giants from the land of the rising sun, and a delight for the ear and the spirit.

Solstice Rider – The Renewal Of Broken Blades
Via Independent
Solstice Rider’s The Renewal of Broken Blades is a plethora of talent, flawlessly fusing a diversity of genres intertwined by Melo Death Metal in the style of the great Alexi Lahio and his Children of Bodom in the 90s. The eclectic, powerful and timeless sound is likely to be appreciated by any metal fan who does not suffer from puritanism.The Renewal of Broken Blades is a chair that teaches how to make good music, taking the best of metal and taking it to legendary levels.

Ensiferum – Winter Storm
Via Metal Blade Records
“Winter Storm”, the long-awaited return of Ensiferum, masterfully combines the best of traditional folk with innovative melodies, achieving a sound that is both avant-garde and comfortably familiar. The album’s 12 tracks, including my absolute favorite Long Cold Winter of Sorrow and Strife, and the bold and brilliant cover of “Lambada” by Kaoma, make Winter Storm one of the must-listen albums of 2024 for any lover of good metal.

Adamantra – Pareidolia Of Depravity
Via Inverse Records
Act III: Pareidolia of Depravity by maestros Adamantra is a provocative dive into the most hidden places of the human mind. Each of its 8 songs represents a pareidolia, or distorted visions of reality, that invite us to deep reflection and to question our beliefs. All of this is framed with top-notch progressive metal.

Metal de Facto – Land Of The Rising Sun, Part I
Via Rockshot Records
“Land of The Rising Sun Part I” not only pays homage to Japanese culture, but also exalts the duality of tragedy and celebration through a perfect coherence between its music and lyrics. With a distinctive musicality since 2019 and the vocal replacement by Aitor Arrastia, that with his flamenco-Roma vocal style gives a unique identity and a refreshing aura to the overall, positioning the band as a powerful new driving force and a new reference within Power Metal genre.

After Infinity – After Infinity
Via Independent
After Infinity’s self-titled debut album is a well-rounded work, full of diverse textures and nuances. The display of talent by the guest musicians and singers, together with the impressive compositional and lyrical ability of Zsolt Szilagyi give life to a true masterpiece, on par with works of the likes of Avantasia and Ayreon.

Averlanche – The Dark Side Of Atlas
Via Independent
Averlanche’s EP, “The Dark Side of Atlas,” takes us on a captivating journey through love, loss, death, grief, and the search for redemption. Each of its four songs delve into the loss of innocence, the complexity of human bonds, and the power of love despite obstacles. Rebecca Spörl and Mikael Salo’s impeccable vocal duet blends fragility and intensity, creating a magical experience, full of sweetness and power.

Dragonspell – Phoenix
Via Shark Records
Dragonspell’s debut is a hidden gem of Symphonic Power Metal. The combination of masterful orchestrations, powerful riffs, killer rhythmic foundations and Agatha Trubitsyna’s wonderful voice create a bewitching and captivating experience. Phoenix is a beautiful journey back to the beginnings of honest, down-to-earth Symphonic Metal, where true talent and mastery were the calling card of the genre.

Within Silence – The Eclipse Of Worlds
Via Ulterium Records
AWithin Silence presents us with an endearing album melodically balanced and with a classically power metal sound. At the same time, it is a powerful introspective and evocative journey, in which several versions of myself converge in one moment, thanks to the familiar sounds that took me years ago, to special moments in my life that I treasure in my soul. “The Eclipse Of Worlds” is a powerful hug of the type that takes all your pieces and puts them back together.