There was so many heavy, extreme, and beautiful extreme metal albums created from every region of the world this past year, ranging from Poland and Czechia t0 Russian. To bring closure to 2024, our readers voted for their favorite extreme metal album.
While there was much back and forth between who would take the throne, our top three winners included some noteworthy bands from Turkey and New Zealand to Costa Rica.
Enjoy the most-voted for extreme metal albums of 2024…
Extreme Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Bronze Tier)
Dusk
Industrie
Self-released
Costa Rica
Earning accolades as our favorite experimental metal album of 2024, Dusk also succeeds in being genuinely extreme. As INDUSTRIE packs six dense blackened industrial tracks and a Mayhem cover, it’s difficult not to slip in to a darker headspace. Our future becomes more dim, so cause chaos, revolt, and listen to Costa Rican extreme experimental metal.
FFO: Quake soundtrack, Author & Punisher, Godflesh
Extreme Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Silver Tier)
Ulcerate
Cutting the Throat of God
Released via Debemur Morti
New Zealand
Constantly snagging the attention of the more left-field metal community, as well as a mention in our best death metal of 2024 awards, the Auckland-based trio is lathered with dissonant, life-threatening avant-garde tech-death on Cutting the Throat of God. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), Ulcerate sounds impeccably otherworldly and true heavy.
FFO: Gorguts, Blood Incantation, Neurosis
Extreme Metal Album of the Year – 2024 (Gold Tier)
Carnophage
Matter of a Darker Nature
Released via Transcending Obscurity
Turkey
Across the past year, Carnophage is easily the record that most shook me to my core. Matter of a Darker Nature gets under my skin, scratches my bones, and makes me question living. The strength of Turkish brutal death metal is overwhelming, breathe it in.
FFO: Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Ulcerate