One month down, 11 to go! January 2024 might have felt like a death-trudge to the finish, but at least we had plenty of brilliant new bands to listen to, and some early contenders for 2024's album of the year in the form of all-star ensemble team-up Bright & Black.
But as we enter February, some of metal's big names are gearing up for new releases - there's a reason Bruce Dickinson is on the cover of this month's Hammer after all - and as ever, we've hunted high and low to find you the most exciting new sounds around. We've stayed largely in extreme territories this month with Middle Eastern blackened death metallers Trivax, crusty DM from Fuming Mouth and Canadian thrashers Hyperia, but there's also some immense emotional weight from Dundee's post-hardcore mob To Kill Achilles.
