From hosting our first ever festival way back in Spring to our live podcast at ArcTanGent, this year has been a pretty solid one for us at Noizze. But it’s the vitality of the national and global alternative scene that has made such achievements possible. There’s no denying that alternative music is in rude health at the current time, which in turn has made crafting this list an absolute pain. But behold, we got there in the end.
Now, before we delve into our top 50 records of the year, a little disclaimer is needed. The eagle eyed amongst you may notice a discrepancy between the ranking of this list and individual review scores. Throughout this list a number of records we gave perfect 10/10 scores may be placed lower than albums we gave scores of 9 and 8. The reason for this is that whilst reviews are the opinions of a single writer, this list was decided as a collective. As you can imagine it took a lot of discussion and maybe even some arguing, but we got there.
Now with that in mind, here is the top 50 records of the year.
50. Crossfaith – Ark
The first full length record from the Japanese electro-metal titans since 2018, Ark is a magnificent return to the fray from Crossfaith, a complete revival of the energy and ferociousness that the band have become known for over the years. A brilliant demonstration of all of the band’s distinct eras from before, coming together with a fresh energy without letting go of the journey that brought them here. – Elliot Grimmie
49. The LaFontaines – Business As Usual
The sound of the summer was brought by The LaFontaines latest release, Business As Usual. Soon to be calling time as a band in 2025, Business As Usual is a fantastically upbeat and uplifting end to an era of Scotland’s finest rap-rock band. – Zee Asher
48. Spaced – This Is All We Ever Get
One is for the two-steppers, the mosh pitters, the headbangers, anyone who likes to get down and move their bodies to the music. This Is All We Ever Get will have you diving off stages and opening up the pit, a true movin’ and groovin’ experience for anyone who likes their rhythms to hit a little harder. Infectiously catchy, rough and ready hardcore for all. – Elliot Grimmie
47. Shooting Daggers – Love & Rage
The debut LP from the queercore moshers brings with it a joyous vitriol, replete with two-stepping grooves and shout-alongs galore. Love & Rage will fill the listener with plenty of both. – Jake Longhurst
46. Cower – Celestial Devastation
An abrasive kick-back against the tech-bros soon to rule us and the omnipresent algorithm that dictates all, the new record from Cower is the sound of 80s goth enhanced with contemporary noise rock and post-punk in order to rally against our dystopian future. Celestial Devastation is a strange, creepy and occasionally violent record, but with it’s components contrasting in a way that’s organic, it’s impossible not be drawn in. – Dan Hillier
45. Foxing – Foxing
A severe turn away from the borderline synth pop of their last album, more abrasive & self produced, Foxing are always evolving, and this is lyrically and musically their heaviest album yet. – Mia Thunderska
44. Nailbreaker – Robert Knight Wine Cellar
The debut full length from Rushden harsh noise/punk rap artist Nailbreaker pushes every part of his sound further. It’s rough, raw and abrasive, but with enough hooks and melodies that won’t leave your head. – Mia Thunderska
43. Cherym – Take It Or Leave It
Whilst theoretically a pop punk record, Take It Or Leave It is anything but a dull and limp product of a saturated boys’ scene. Fierce, poignant and delivered with a real sense of bite that counteracts the record’s pop sensibilities, Cherym wonderfully articulate the challenges that non-binary people and young women face with both sweetness and fearlessness. – Dan Hillier
42. Casey – How To Disappear
Casey’s return is one of Welsh music’s great comebacks, and How to Disappear proves they lost none of their emotional delivery or knack for melancholic melody while they were away. Less abrasive, but no less devastating. – Will Marshall
41. Outlander – Acts Of Harm
A wonderful exercise in monochromatic slowcore and shoegaze, Outlander perfectly and painstakingly articulate the nature of sacrificing one’s dreams in order to live comfortably in a monotonous world that’s safe and predictable, but void of enrichment. It’s oppressive and truly depressing, but like its subject matter, strangely comforting in thanks to its immersive nature. – Dan Hillier
40. Lowen – Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran
London based doom metallers Lowen captivated the scene this year with their middle eastern infused offering of crushing doom. A passionately mystical and atmospheric cut, laced with Nina Saeidi’s beautifully enchanting voice. – Amy Bowles
39. Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished
Weird, pungent and caked in more filth than anyone attempting a nice New Year’s Day walk across the band’s native wetlands, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished see’s Yorkshire’s Slimelord viscerally animate their self-dubbed genre of swamp death. It’s as putrid as it is progressive, this record sees Slimelord essentially becoming the UK’s answer to Blood Incantation. – Dan Hillier
38. Whitelands – Night-Bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day
Layered with catharsis and bliss, the debut from the new shoegaze/dream pop icons doesn’t just rest on vibes. There’s influences from the more experimental side of the genre – like A.R. Kane & Slowdive’s Pygmalion – along with the big hitters of the genre. – Mia Thunderska
37. One Step Closer – All You Embrace
An album that captures the wistful, end of summer window gazing perfectly. Slightly more pop-punk than their last effort but still packed with moments reflecting their hardcore roots, this record puts them One Step Closer to massive stages. – Chris Earl
36. Touché Amore – Spiral in a Straight Line
Touché Amore continue to sweat cathartic post-hardcore from every pore. Painfully honest and devastating as always, guest appearances from Lou Barlow and Julien Baker make for top tier Touché. – Tim Dorning
35. RedHook – Mutation
Mutation sees Aussie shapeshifters RedHook delve into everything from nu metal to industrial and pop punk, evolving from their debut just 18 months ago and delivering potent, personal lyrics about trauma and growth. – Will Marshall
34. Undeath – More Insane
Gory and rammed so full of groove that it’s physically impossible to only listen to once, More Insane stood out as one of the best records in this year’s surge of OSDM. By once again leaning into the downright absurdity of death metal, Undeath once prove to be one of the most fun and skilled names in the game. – Amy Bowles
33. Fit For An Autopsy – The Nothing That Is
Deathcore legends Fit For An Autopsy move from strength to strength on this solid thriller of an album, laden with all the usual excitement one can expect from them. From the provocative ‘Hostage’ to the explosive ‘Lust For the Severed Head’, the band deliver another masterpiece for fans of deathcore, death metal and all in between. – Jude Bennett
32. As Living Arrows – Hope and Ruin
A record that truly manifests its title, Hope and Ruin is a body of work that’s wrought with emotion. Such a sentiment could be applied to a lot of the records on this list, but the way that As Living Arrows articulate such emotion and agony is excruciatingly intimate. By infusing the classic screamo sound with motifs reminiscent of acts far beyond the genre’s parameters, such as Russian Circles, Deafheaven and even The Jesus Lizard, Hope and Ruin is a record that assures its brilliance by looking beyond what’s expected of a screamo record. – Dan Hillier
31. Sans Froid – Hello, Boil Brain
Containing nods to the likes of Radiohead, Kate Bush, The Mars Volta and the generally left-field musical grounds of their native Bristol, Hello, Boil Brain is a record that’s unusual as it is genuinely wonderful. It may not be for anyone in thanks to its off-kilter rhythms, jagged piano leads and sense of avant-garde unease, but by rejecting genre norms in favour of the spoils that come with embracing the unexpected, Sans Froid have truly presented something special with their big art-rock debut. – Dan Hillier
30. i Häxa – i Häxa
i Häxa dropped a four-part opus of a debut album that sublimely shifts between utterly spellbinding and completely engulfing with brooding dark energy, ethereal vocals and a brilliantly executed clash of genres. Like a stylistic chameleon, the self-titled album is totally encapsulating. – Jac Holloway
29. Zeal & Ardor – Greif
Bubbling with charisma and bluesy charm, Zeal & Ardor took the handbook, tore it up and made their own. Greif is as hook-laden as it is unpredictable and gives further proof that Manuel Gagneux and his eclectic bandmates are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. – Jac Holloway
28. Giant Walker – Silhouettes
Walking a bold tightrope between intricate prog riffs and catchy, accessible pop hooks, Newcastle’s Giant Walker deliver a compelling sophomore album packed with mammoth grooves and irresistible melodies wrapped in razor sharp production. – Tim Dorning
27. Mastiff – Deprecipice
Claustrophobic, gnarly and genuinely soul crushing barely even begin to describe this beast of a record from Hull’s finest. Containing a collaboration with Primitive Man so deadly that it may cause your brain to leak and tortured lyrics that bite you so hard they leave marks, it cannot be understated how good this is. Not an easy listen but one that rewards the uncomfortable, harrowing journey you’ll undergo to hear it. – Chris Earl
26. Seven Spires – A Fortress Called Home
Symphonic power metal trio Seven Spires offered up a stunningly wrought, emotionally devastating journey on fourth album A Fortress Called Home. Vocalist and arranger Adrienne Cowan cements herself as one of the best around, with incredible melodic range as well as visceral screams. A stunning achievement that transcends the usual boundaries and audience of its genre. – Will Marshall
25. Job For A Cowboy – Moon Healer
A decade on from Sun Eater, Moon Healer follows it up in the best way possible. Odd, jazz-flecked bass lines and thunderous riffs, topped by cavernous vocals made for brilliantly off-kilter progressive death metal from one of, if not the most underrated US death metal band of recent times. – Will Marshall
24. Bicurious – Your Life Is Over Now…
New album, new sound – a band still confused as ever. Whilst building upon their post-rock foundations with newfound vocals and almost non-aligned sensibilities, Bicurious offer their most accomplished work to date with a record that’s forward thinking whilst still host to all the energy and technicality of their previous work. – Dan Hillier
23. Foreign Hands – What’s Left Unsaid
Sounding like a Trustkill Records release from 2003, Foreign Hands‘ debut full length is a slab of throwback riffs, breakdowns and bulging neck vein emotion. Catchy, soaring choruses blend with chunky mosh parts for a sound that will delight the old heads as much as the new, and may their first triumphant UK shows earlier this year be followed up in 2025. – Chris Earl
22. Julie Christmas – Ridiculous And Full Of Blood
Ridiculous And Full Of Blood isn’t just the title of this record – it’s also a tidy encapsulation of the album as a whole. A borderline avant-garde flurry of atonal excellence in the key of post metal, shoegaze and noise rock that’s sweetened by Julie Christmas’ surrealist persona and phenomenal vocal delivery, this album is a fantastic testament to Christmas’s undersung legacy in the genre she pretty much masters here. It may have taken 14 years to arrive, but this was more than worth the wait. – Dan Hillier
21. New Ghost – A Dagger In Every Tide
Like feeling the crisp autumn breeze in your hair or feeling the first gentle touches of warmth of spring, there’s something just fresh and invigorating about A Dagger In Every Tide. But unlike all those simple pleasures, the debut from New Ghost is anything but simple. A masterful and organic amalgamation of dream-pop, post-rock, shoegaze and all things immersive, this is a record that’s just radiant with chemistry and musical finesse, something that results in a new experience that can only be aptly titled as both novel and refreshing. – Dan Hillier
20. Dvne – Voidkind
Another lofty concept album from Scotland’s progressive post-metal darlings, but this time it’s delivered in a more concise and brutal fashion. The story is as sprawling and sci-fi as ever, but the way that the instrumentals match the epic narrative is glorious. The layering of vocal chants and harmonies coupled with beautifully intricate instrumentals sets the foundation for some euphoric moments of tension and release when things take a turn for the riffy. – Tim Dorning
19. Slash Fiction – We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over
There’s clearly no such thing as a sophomore slump for Slash Fiction. Containing all the heart and soul that bounded their amazing debut, the second LP from South Yorkshire’s finest emo export compounds and elaborates all the qualities that made them such a brilliant band from the offset. Sometimes sounding like a rallying cry against a heartless world and sometimes sounding like the musical equivalent of driving through the dales with your mates at sunset, We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over is one of those records that feels alive in thanks to its massive beating heart. Start a band, join a union, listen to Slash Fiction. – Dan Hillier
18. Sugar Horse – The Grand Scheme of Things
Bristol’s loudest band have their cake and eat it too by trimming their typically sprawling songs down to more accessible lengths while losing none of their glacial, indulgent pacing. Sonically dense and lyrically cutting, the band capture the aural assault of their live show and utilise their oft-overlooked talent for the delicate to treat us to what could be their definitive work. – Tim Dorning
17. Ocean Grove – Oddworld
Taking it back to the underground, Ocean Grove‘s Oddworld is a short and sweet burst of throwback 90s and 00s energy, wrapped neatly in oddball charm. Here, they’ve honed in on the heavier, nu-metal sounds that inspired their earlier music, and bent it to the shape of their own evolution. From the anthemic ‘Fly Away; to the grunge tinged ‘Raindrop’, this hyperfocused burst of distorted noise is packed with attitude, style and the love of the craft. Ocean Grove remain on top form, and Oddworld is one of their most fun and exiting ventures to date. – Elliot Grimmie
16. Slope – Freak Dreams
Smooshing together upbeat funk rock with ferocious hardcore punk, German collective Slope delivered one of 2024’s most joyous and unique releases with their sophomore LP Freak Dreams. Refining their sound with a balanced mix of Red Hot Chili Peppers inspired slap bass, Turnstile-esque chugs, Slope and bouncy Beastie Boys energy from their dual vocalists, Slope ooze an effortless slacker confidence. While not the most profound release of the year you’d be hard pressed to find an album that brings a smile to your face like Freak Dreams. – Tom Bruce
15. And So I Watch You From Afar – Megafauna
Northern Ireland’s finest instrumental export And So I Watch You From Afar breathe life into post rock with their joyous blend of abstract rhythms and unforgettable melodies on their latest album Megafauna for one of 2024’s most vibrant alternative releases. A homage of the people and places they call home, whilst completely void of vocals this is easily one of the most sentimental records of this year. – Tom Bruce
14. Still – A Theft
Encapsulating the epitome of unease and unnerving. A Theft is a distressing and heartbreaking adventure through the petrified forest of mourning and loss. Hull trio Still bring post-black metal misery with avant grade and sludge decoration as the atmosphere turns claustrophobic with chords of sheer panic and blast beats to send you trembling across its 35 minutes. Anyone who finds comfort amongst the bleak will find no other album rattles the spine and commands you embrace its feral and ferocious desolation quite like it. – Andy Calderbank
13. Lure In – We Are All Going To Hell
A genre-defying blast of DIY hardcore chaos-meets-pop that sounds like it’s fronted by a preacher with multiple personalities and hooks that defy their own existence. Lure In are a law unto themselves, and We Are All Going To Hell is an album that sonically is like nothing else you’ll hear in the heavy music scene. It’ll make you want to throw fists and spinkicks as much as it will make you stop and contemplate the brutal, awful existence that we all inhabit together, all while subjecting you to one of the most intriguingly chaotic pieces of art you’ll experience. – Chris Earl
12. Contention – Artillery From Heaven
Sporting what just be the best guitar tone of the year, Contention‘s Artillery From Heaven is a tremendous slab of 90s inspired straight edge metallic hardcore. Riff driven, it pulls no punches from the off and even the brief interlude keeps the tension and mood up. Few records sound this intense, this smouldering. The guest spot from fellow straight edge crew Inclination is up there with the best of the year and the line of ‘inflict my will on the world around me’ will surely be a mantra for many in the coming years. Lyrically bleak and yet hopeful in equal measure, the fact these riffs and monolithic breakdowns haven’t graced these shores yet is a travesty, yet hopefully one that will be rectified in 2025. – Chris Earl
11. Mountain Caller – Chronicle II: Hypergenesis
This sequel record from Mountain Caller continues the glorious soundscapes of the first, with more riffs, more melodies, more lore and more intrigue. Ever the masters of atmosphere, listening to Chronicle II makes you feel like the first time you read Lord of the Rings or even the Discworld novels, the further in you get the richer the tapestry, the vividness and colour of the world you perceive in your minds eye. It’s remarkable that such fantasies can be conjured through sound, from the the explorative wonder of ‘Into the Hazel Woods’ to the menacing imposition of ‘March Of the Göll’, you cannot help but hunger for more. A stunning, beautiful collection of interconnected songs, you must not ignore the songs of the Mountain Caller. – Elliot Grimmie
10. Thank – I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed
Has your favourite band gone woke (whatever that means)? Well THANK certainly has with their latest instalment of genre-defying noise that brings you in with its catchy hooks. Alongside vocalist Freddy’s cynical yet humorous lyrics, tracks like ‘Do It Badly’ and ‘Dead Dog In A Ditch’ make for a truly entertaining and interesting listen that pushes post-punk into wild and weird new territories. – Adam Vallely
9. Speed – ONLY ONE MODE
There’s a good argument to be made that ONLY ONE MODE is the biggest hardcore album of the 2020s so far. Furious, authentic and uplifting, the Australian’s debut full length is wall to wall bangers. Combined with a touring schedule that would put certain American popstars to shame, it blasted the band to the head of the current hardcore scene. ‘The First Test’ has a strong claim to be one of the best hardcore songs of the last decade and it’s somehow given even more life on the record than as a single by having ‘Only Foes’ precede it to function as one of the best moments of build up this year. Filled with as many life affirming lyrics as there are calls to arms, expect this band to get even bigger in 2025 as they continue to grind and put on shows of life changing quality. Oh, and the moments with the flute are good enough to make you ascend. – Chris Earl
8. Pijn – From Low Beams Of Hope
Reverently placed layers of tape loops, field recordings and spoken word tie together this exquisitely crafted slice of post-rock that moves between moods and movements as effortlessly and inevitably as the transition between day and night. Patiently and lovingly crafted, this is a true journey of an album that commands our attention for its entire duration and still keeps us coming back for more. From the patient and euphoric teases and crescendos of opening track ‘Our Endless Hours’ to the euphorically sludgy and dissonant closer ‘A Thousand Tired Lives’, Pijn deliver an absolute masterclass that transcends genre and sets a new line in the sand for artists to reach towards. – Tim Dorning
7. Chat Pile – Cool World
After their 2022 debut God’s Country earned seemingly unlimited critical acclaim Oklahoma City noise rockers Chat Pile were going to have to pull out all the stops to top themselves, with their sophomore LP Cool World the four-piece have not only raised the bar for their own follow up but for the entire noise rock genre. With bleak, poetic lyrics backed by a wall of distortion and tight, driving rhythms, Chat Pile cement themselves as titans towering above a sea of copycats. Other than their profound lyrical content, Chat Pile set themselves apart with a solid sense of direction and melody where other noise acts feel content to drown in waves of static. – Tom Bruce
6. Heriot – Devoured by the Mouth of Hell
Britain’s best young extreme metal band were given plenty of flowers for their debut EP and subsequent singles, but the train had only just started moving – Devoured by the Mouth of Hell has now really kicked things off, and displayed the ludicrous volume of potential that was sat just under the surface. The crushing atmosphere throughout will cause devastation and addiction in equal measure. Combining atrociously heavy sludge and death metal with abrasive metalcore and a sheen of black metal into one cohesive unit is no mean feat, yet Heriot accomplished it in style on the band’s first attempt, and will likely only go on to bigger and better things. – Jake Longhurst
5. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
Fresh from exploring the depths of space, Blood Incantation resurfaced with their third full-length, Absolute Elsewhere. Amalgamating the vicious elements from Starspawn and Hidden History of the Human Race with the spacey ambience from Timewave Zero, their latest cut is Blood Incantation in their absolute form. The outcome? A unique and invigorating masterpiece. A fluid, engaging journey through 2 distinctive sections and 6 tracks, or tablets, that effortlessly switch between delicate ambient sections to groovy synths and crushing death metal sections that are full-throttle assaults to the ears. But the beauty within this record is not only in these contrasts but also within the transitions between tracks. The transition into the final song, The Message [Tablet III] is a real “holy fuck” moment, making your hairs stand up on end and forcing you to rewind time and time again. – Amy Bowles
4. SeeYouSpaceCowboy – Coup De Grâce
A concept album in the year of our Lord 2024 not only being absolutely wonderful but featuring no filler whatsoever? Take a bow SeeYouSpaceCowboy. A stirring, alluring trip into film noir and burlesque, you’re taken on a musical journey that has the band go from crushing breakdowns and squeals to genuine hip shaking rock-club fillers, with ‘Lubricant Like Kerosene’ and ‘To the Dancefloor For Shelter’ being two peaks in a mountain range of highs. With a striking aesthetic, theatrical sensibilities that never stray too far into silly levels and songcraft that belies the genre and the bands chaotic-hardcore-with-silly-names roots, there are few bands that are as fun, heavy and exciting as Connie Sgarbossa and crew. There is nothing else out in 2024 that sounds anything like this. – Chris Earl
3. Hidden Mothers – Erosion/Avulsion
Erosion/Avulsion is a seal on a monumental year for Hidden Mothers. Coming off stages up and down the country and leaving an eternal impression. A glittering example of melodic and devastating alchemy to combine and weave the two into formulas which has led them to a critically acclaimed reception. The familiar hauntings of Thrice style post-hardcore and the nods to post-metal and blackgaze give it warm embrace and ominous presence which push and pull across its 42 minutes. The mesmerising Luke Scrivens balance between vocal comfort and distress is a wonderful phenomenon and the wounded howls of Liam Knowles provide perfect counterpart. The stage is set for an almighty celebration of one of the UK’s best debut albums in recent memory and with an album tour, Noizzefest, Strangeforms and 2000 Trees already announced for 2025 do yourself a favour and get involved. – Andy Calderbank
2. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Until You’re Supposed To
If one band were to represent the state of heavy music in 2024 it would have to be Kentucky based metallic hardcore five-piece Knocked Loose. Rising from humble beginnings over a decade ago to headlining huge rooms around the world, the band’s third album You Won’t Go Until You’re Supposed To rocketed them from hardcore mainstays to ambassadors for an entire scene. The jewel in Knocked Loose’s crown is undoubtedly their smash-hit single ‘Suffocate’, featuring genre-bending alternative metal star Poppy, which blends chugging metalcore with spin-kicking energy, giving an underground scene a space on a worldwide stage. While Knocked Loose have come far over the last few years You Won’t Go Until You’re Supposed To shows that the sky’s the limit for these hardcore heroes. – Tom Bruce
The Album Of The Year: El Moono – The Waking Sun
You probably saw this coming, but there’s no denying that this is the best record of the year. The follow up to Brighton alt-metal quartet El Moono‘s last EP Temple Corrupted, The Waking Sun is a difficult record to listen to. It’s an experience born from pain, a record stemming from dysmorphia, trauma and other plagues upon one’s psyche. It’s an album that strives for catharsis and release, even if it means the band destroying themselves in the process. But in the fashion in which such horrors are exercised here is simply arresting. The sound of The Waking Sun may bare motifs of acts such as Deftones, Raketkanon and Palm Reader, but to attempt to pigeonhole this record into a claustrophobic bracket is impossible. Rather, this is a record that authentically and vividly portrays the true unquantifiable nature of a mind wracked by torment in a way that’s concise, seamless and universally accessible.
Simply, regardless of such comparisons, what Zac Jackson, Jamie Haas, Harry Logan and Chris Cartwright here is in a league of its own. The Waking Sun is not an easy listen – nor should it be – but it is a wonderful, brilliant and crucial one. Urgent, genuine and creative in every way possible, The Waking Sun is without question the most authentic record of this year and will continue to be a much required source of solace for all those enduring the demons that the record both expunges and has led to its creation. – Dan Hillier