THANK GOD IT’S ONLY THREE PARTS THIS YEAR: NEILL JAMESON’S BEST OF THE BEST 2024

photo by Alyssa Lorenzon

(Below is the third installment of Neill Jameson‘s year-end list for NCS, and we thank him again for sharing it with us and you.)

I could have spread this out a little more this year by posting a whole bunch of ambient I’ve been enjoying from various Youtube channels or maybe going into some of the great reissues that 2024 included, like the first three Blood records so nicely done through Nuclear War Now!. I could have even written about the “Schizophrenia” rerecording the Cavalera brothers released (which I did enjoy quite a bit). But, as I get older, I’m striving to figure out how to say more with less, to be more impactful. 

That made my head hurt just typing it. I’ve been having to lead a lot of corporate training and that kind of phrasing just sticks with you like some obscure STD you probably got sitting on a toilet at work, ironically enough. Everything connects, it’s fucking spiritual. 

So, what have I been up to recently? Glad you asked. I’ve undertaken a new project, Fuck Music, which is initially just going to be a Substack where I write about, you guessed it, music. What a fucking shocking reveal. I’ve considered podcasting but it’s a lot easier on the ears to just read my inane shit without listening to me trail off, searching for ghosts. Plus I’m shit with followthrough, so let’s just see if I stick with this one, ok?

So, this is the end. [Editor’s note: It actually isn’t… tune in again next Monday.] These are the truly special releases in a year that was shockingly packed full of them. I said before I had a really difficult time figuring out a top ten elsewhere and, especially from my second list, any of the releases I wrote about could have ended up here. For a year that felt like an unenthusiastic handjob, given with no love, it was a truly stellar year for music. Here’s my favorites:

 

Hadak Ura “At the Precipice of Arcane Wisdom” (Death Hymns)

Hadak Ura (US) – At the Precipice of Arcane Wisdom (Album 2024)

I talk about a lot of things that black metal can be or represent, but one that I rarely describe it as is “beautiful.” But that’s exactly how I would describe At the Precipice of Arcane Wisdom. From my understanding, the artist was going through a lot of very transformative life experiences during the creation of this record, both beautiful and horrible, and that raw emotion is transcribed into every second. It’s a very hypnotic and lush record, and shows a maturity in songcraft that I didn’t expect from the project. The cover art is a great representation of the music within, melancholic at times but with a greater understanding of life. I find it very difficult to adequately describe this album, just that it’s a perfect record, easily my favorite thing the label has released. 

 

Звёздный Храм “Звёздный Храм” (Obscurant Visions)

https://obscurantvisions.bandcamp.com/album/–6

At least one Horrible Room related project had to make it into my favorites for 2024. Звёздный Храм is a chilling experience of melodic, mournful and dark black metal in the style of the 1990s Eastern European scene. The production stays true to its roots while remaining clear enough to hear every nuance of the songs. A perfect record for the coldest days ahead, Звёздный Храм will dig its way into your bones and stay with you long after the needle has lifted off the record player. 

 

Ghoëst “In Eternal Sleep” (Out of Season)

Ghoëst – In Eternal Sleep (full demo, 2024)

A fairly busy year for Swedish master of dark dungeon music, In Eternal Sleep definitely stood out to me as his best work of the year. Ghoëst has an extensive catalog of excellent dungeon synth but In Eternal Sleep brings you to a dimly lit stone room in the middle of the night right before the candle burns out. 

Eerified Catacomb “Sordid Realm of Apparition” (Death Hymns)

Eerified Catacomb – Sordid Realm Of Apparition (2024)

Eerified Catacomb is an ever-shifting project, with decaying fingers clutching across genres, but the one thing that remains consistent through their ever-growing discography is a morbid authenticity and undeniable passion for creating malevolent music. Sordid Realm of Apparition is hatefully melancholic, like a spiteful ghost desperate to inflict their suffering upon others. Raw and hateful black metal done in the proper way with a mesmerizing use of synth work and the perfect use of samples to create a desolate atmosphere.  

 

Khold “Du d​ø​mmes til D​ø​d” (Soulseller Records)

https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/du-d-mmes-til-d-d

I hadn’t really given Khold much of a thought since the mid 2000s. No real reason, I think it’s just because I was shifting away from black metal so much that I just let a lot of records slip by. Then, earlier in the year, a few of their songs came through on a playlist I was listening to and it sparked the realization that I used to really dig their records, a lot. So I dug back in and spent a good amount of time in early ‘24 revisiting and checking out what I had missed, which fortuitously intersected with a new record.

Du d​ø​mmes til D​ø​d won’t surprise anyone familiar with their style of rock-infused dark black metal, but it will satisfy anyone who is a devotee. Punishing earworms abound, with their usual stoic delivery. It’s a fucking great album in a long line of great albums. 

 

Gorgon “For Those Who Stay” (Osmose Productions)

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/for-those-who-stay

It seemed like all was pretty quiet from Gorgon after the release of the incredible Traditio Satanae three years ago, so much so that I had (somewhat) given up on the idea of a new record. But, lo and fucking behold, France’s oldest black metal band surprises with a new record at the end of the year. And fuck, it’s stellar. Thunderous and arrogant black metal, delivered with absolute precision, Gorgon prove to be as deadly over thirty years in the game as when they first emerged. 

 

Ixtinako Atxak “Demo I” (Altare Productions)

Itxinako Atxak (Basque Country) – Demo I (Demo 2024)

While it hasn’t been released for very long I don’t think there’s been a demo this year that I’ve listened to more than the debut from Ixtinako Atxak. Melodic and triumphant black metal that brings me back to the later ’90s French and Finnish scenes, this is a remarkable first showing for the project and what I would consider to be the most mandatory demo of 2024.

 

Törnen “Under Korpens Visdom” (Medieval Prophecy)

Törnen – Under Korpens Visdom (Album 2024)

I’ve seen this one on a few other lists already and for good reason. This is atmospheric black metal in the old Emperor/Enslaved split style, with ferocious vocals. I love hearing synth in black metal that isn’t overly symphonic or synthetic (heh) sounding, but instead builds on everything going on around it. A record that feels pulled from time a few decades ago with a sincere approach to a style that built multiple genres. 

 

Ulk “The Carriers Blessing” (Gondolin)

https://ulkmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-carriers-blessing

Every Ulk recording is a gift. Dulcet dungeon synth that feels as though it is the green on their album covers. The Carriers Blessing creates a sonic world of splendor and melancholy, a beautiful longing. It’s easy to get carried away with hyperbole or overwritten statements that don’t seem to actually mean anything, so I’ll just end it by saying that this is a special record and easily the best dungeon synth release of 2024 for me.

 

Kommodus/Koreltsak “Meridians of Sacrifice”

https://kommodus.bandcamp.com/album/meridians-of-sacrifice

https://koreltsak.bandcamp.com/album/meridians-of-sacrifice

Kommodus/Celestial Sword “Constellations of Fatality and Metamorphosis”

https://kommodus.bandcamp.com/album/constellations-of-fatality-and-metamorphosis

https://celestialsword.bandcamp.com/album/constellations-of-fatality-and-metamorphosis

I’m pretty sure putting Kommodus at the top of these lists inspires the genuinely shocked response of “no shit” from anyone familiar with me. I’ve said it before, probably in every year-end list for the last few years, that Kommodus is the best band in black metal today and I’d repeat it again this year if I hadn’t already just fucking said that. 

Both of these splits show that the experimentation that came with last year’s Wreath of Bleeding Snowfall wasn’t just a fluke and that Lepidus Plague is not content with staying in one sound too long. There’s a lot of weird shit going on in these songs across both splits, with some of his best songwriting to date, especially with tracks like “Blue Meadow of the Dying Deer” on the Celestial Sword split. Intense, focused and maniacal black metal like I’ve come to expect, with a lot of creative turns that took me by surprise. So yes, again, Kommodus is the best band in modern black metal.

That isn’t to take away from the excellence of his split partners, either. Koreltsak is a project I’ve kept my eye on since The Moon in Our Hearts demo in 2020 and is a perfect pairing for Kommodus. For his side of the split Koreltsak presents a tense and somewhat off-the-rails style of black metal, psychotic but restrained just enough to feel like it could snap at any note; it’s probably time he releases a full-length.

Celestial Sword should be known to most of you, delivering (more) black (less) metal that reminds a bit of Octinomos or maybe early Xasthur before Scott started robbing trains. It’s difficult to say which of these splits I prefer so I’d rather just say they’re both fucking mandatory and all three projects have created monuments for others to worship. 

 

And so that’s it. Did I miss anything? Yeah, I’m positive I did. Did I miss what you think I missed? Probably not. Do I want to hear about it? Definitely not. Next year is going to be… different. We’re looking at a new administration, the start of multiple wars, tariffs causing massive price shifts, assholes telling you that’s not why shit is more expensive, and probably a greater emphasis on AI artists and musicians. It’s honestly a pretty frightening proposition, this shit show we’ve created.

But there are some things to look forward to, like new Naked Whipper(!!!) and Nyredolk in January alone, plus you can play fun games like “what band won’t be able to make it in the country for the fest I want to go?” or a myriad of other entertaining ways to march towards old age. As always, thanks for giving some of these records a chance, please support the artists directly and if I, or any other list, “missed” something, then create your own fucking list and stop pissing into ours. Until next time. 

Editor’s Note (again): What we know but you don’t know is that after turning in these three YE installments Neill did think of some additional releases that he wanted to recommend, and those will be collected in one more of his posts next week.