With just a couple of weeks left to go, its fair to say 2024 has been another massive year for metal and heavy music. From Gojira putting on a firey performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics to Knocked Loose breaking through to the mainstream and appearing on late night TV - upsetting a load of Facebook parents in the process - all the way to some incredible cross-band team-ups from Machine Head, Babymetal and Halestorm, there's been plenty to keep us excited throughout the year.
But, with the year in its dying throes, now it comes time to crown the bands who have defined 2024 in the heavy music sphere. Whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool trad metaller whose delighted in new albums from Saxon and Judas Priest - and there's plenty to celebrate with their latest albums - or an unabashed lover of all things progressive who has expanded their consciousness with the likes of Opeth or Oceans Of Slumber, there's been a bounty for you to explore.
We've already shared that Blood Incantation's Absolute Elsewhere has been crowned Metal Hammer's album of the year in our critic's poll, but can it match the feat in the reader poll? Last year, we celebrated the goth-punk-Broadway pomp of Creeper's Sanguivore, but in perhaps a surprise to no-one it was actually Sleep Token's smash breakout release Take Me Back To Eden that took the crown in our reader poll.
So are we looking at another upset? Below you'll find an immense list of albums released over the last 12 months, with just about everything we've covered in the pages of Metal Hammer in that time. From Knocked Loose to Poppy, Judas Priest to Chelsea Wolfe, it's a massive and diverse selection, and we're taking up to 10 votes per person to let you really celebrate the albums that have shaped your musical taste in 2024.
Live albums and EPs don't count, and although we've tried to cover as much ground as possible inevitably there will be omissions, so we've focused on the albums that have been highly reviewed (or discussed) in 2024, with extra weighting to bands featured in the pages of Hammer.
Otherwise, don't forget to cast your vote below - and have an excellent Christmas and New Year's. See you again in 2025!
