There was so many heavy, extreme, and beautiful black metal albums created from every region of the world this past year, ranging from Poland and Saudi Arabia t0 China and Czechia. To bring closure to 2024, our readers voted for their favorite black metal album.
While there was much back and forth between who would take the throne, our top three winners included some noteworthy bands from Greece and Ukraine.
Enjoy the most-voted for black metal albums of 2024…
Black Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Bronze Tier)
Eldingar
Lysistrata
Self-released
Greece
Named after the ancient Greek comedy about a woman’s conquest to deny sex to men in order to bring peace, Lysistrata is a dynamic adventure of folksy, pagan black metal. From acoustic atmospheres to dissonant blackened death-thrash, Eldingar‘s shape-shifting powers are intoxicating. Get lost in the haunted forest with this Athens-based quartet alongside a stunning cast of Greek musicians including vocalist Iliana Tsakiraki (Enemy of Reality), saxophonist Thanos Zarkalis (Warhammer), and cellist Iliana Koretsi (Decemberance) as well as more performing flute, Cretan Lyra, etc.
FFO: Enslaved, Heilung, Moonsorrow
Black Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Silver Tier)
They Came From Visions
The Twilight Robes
Released via Eisenwald
Ukraine
Eerie alike the most suspenseful A24 film, the anonymous trio of Kyiv set quite the mood in this folk-horror inspired black metal sermon. Melodic, atmospheric, and suffocating, The Twilight Robes is an addictive nightmare of misery, gloom, and deep putrid misanthropy.
FFO: Drudkh, Mgła, Darkthrone
Black Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Gold Tier)
Rotting Christ
Pro Xristoy (ΠΡΟ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ)
Released via Season of Mist
Greece
Easily the most underrated extreme metal chameleons of this era, Rotting Christ have shifted from grindcore and black metal to gothic prog over decades. Now on their fourteenth full-length, the Tolis brothers Sakis and Themis bring their sound to the highest of grandiosity. Commanding chants and world-building soundscapes plague this tremendous effort; it’s genuinely breath-taking.
FFO: Septicflesh, Amorphis, Behemoth