Let's face it, 2024 was a massive year for metal breaking through to the mainstream. Even without new releases from the likes of Metallica, Slipknot or Iron Maiden, there was a stunningly impressive and diverse selection of albums for fans to get their ears around.
And more importantly, the barrage of new singles was seemingly endless. Each week we hunted high and low to bring you the very best metal songs around from across the heavy music spectrum, and each week we asked you to vote for your favourites, crowning a top three. Then, as the year drew to a close, we asked you to vote one last time - and crown the very best metal song of 2024.
It was no easy task. In a year that brought back Kerry King, Kittie and Linkin Park, that saw new songs from the likes of Ghost, Judas Priest and Opeth and gave us massive team-ups and mainstream moments (including Gojira at the Olympics and Knocked Loose breaking through to late night TV on Jimmy Kimmel Live), there was a hell of a lot to pick from. But below, you'll find the results of the fan vote, with over 60,000 votes taken into account for the final tally. These are the results.
50. Gaerea - Hope Shatters
Masked Portuguese black metallers Gaerea had already built up a buzz in the underground with their first three records. But Coma, their fourth release, pushed the boat out as the band begin folding more death metal influence into their sound, lead single Hope Shatters combining some of the high-toned ferocity of BM with an earthy, explosive heft that showed the band weren't going to stay strictly in one lane.
49. Raging Speedhorn - Night Wolf
Back in the early 2000s, there was a point where it looked like Raging Speedhorn were seriously going to blow up. Single The Gush spent two weeks in the UK single charts - an astounding feat for a band so uncompromisingly heavy - and slipped into the top 50. While they never achieved the success they so clearly deserved, new single Night Wolf was a reminder that they were a band with the world in their sights, a veritable force of riffs and headbanging grooves that called back to the very best elements of Crowbar and Pantera.
48. Alcest - Flamme Jumelle
Almost 20 years since they set out the stall for blackgaze, Alcest remain masters of the form. But while they're still given to flights of extremity, Flamme Jumelle showed they weren't lax when it came to the more melodic side of the shoegaze/black metal balance, crafting a gorgeous and gentle tune with a few spikes of extremity to keep things spicy.
47. Dominum - One Of Us
Zombie Jesus. That's the two-word pitch for the gloriously daft video for Dominum's One Of Us, another slab of oh-so-catchy and irresistible power metal-adjacent fun to emerge from Germany, joining the likes of Powerwolf and Feuershwanz. Although a (relatively) new face on the scene, they've quickly established themselves as a rising force, the sheer catchiness of their tunes proving impossibly infectious, which given their undead fixation feels entirely appropriate.
46. Red Method - All For One, None For All (ft. Jayant Bhadula)
Red Method were ahead of the curve when it came to the nu metal revival, their chunky, thudding slabs of metal harkening back to the days when metal bands would regularly inhabit the charts and hobnob with celebrities. Rather than hobnobbing with James Corden or whoever else passes as a celeb these days though, they instead opted to team up with Bloodywood's Jayant Bhadula, producing a brilliant track that balances brutality with melody, drawing on the weightless melodies of Deftones whilst also delivering a serious death metal-inspired smackdown.
45. Kerry King - Idle Hands
Oh, how we waited for this. We'd known for years that Kerry King was locked away with Paul Bostaph working on a new project, but when it finally emerged with lead single Idle Hands King lived up to his name with a seriously premium slab of thrash metal. With perhaps a little more hardcore punk in its DNA and snarls'n'howls provided by Death Angel's Mark Osegueda, Idle Hands was the perfect primer for King's comeback. Hail to the King, baby.
44. Lamb Of God ft. Malevolence & Kublai Khan - Another Nail For Your Coffin
Bit of a cheat this one, but we can't argue too hard when the results are this good. First released as a bonus on the 15th anniversary reissue of the seminal Ashes Of The Wake, Lamb Of God's Another Nail For Your Coffin is closer to the metalcore stylings of Killswitch Engage than their usual groove oriented style. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, LOG invited tourmatres Malevolence and Kubhlai Khan to add extra vocals on the track, resulting in an all-star team-up that highlights just how brilliant the contemporary metal scene is.
43. Apocalyptica - The Four Horsemen
Returning to the format that introduced them to the world almost 30 years ago, Apocalyptica were back to their Metallica-covering antics on ...Plays Metallica Vol. 2. The highlight? An absolutely rampaging cover of The Four Horsemen, given a cello makeover and with guest contributions from Rob Trujillo to really lock in the grooves.
42. Bridear - Still Burning
Over a decade since their formation, Japan's Bridear remain an enthralling prospect. Still Burning found the band offering up a meatier, heavier vision for power metal, proving that while the likes of Babymetal and Hanabie might have the market cornered when it comes to cutesy metal, other corners of Japan's metal scene remain rooted in tradition and sheer fucking heft.
41. Machine Head x In Flames x Lacuna Coil x Unearth - These Scars Won't Define Us
Was 2024 the year of the team-up? From Poppy appearing with Knocked Loose to Babymetal and Bloodywood joining forces, there were plenty of huge collabs throughout the year (more than a few you'll find in this list, in fact). But there's no way it comes any bigger than the almighty package Machine Head pulled together for These Scars Won't Define Us, inviting tourmates In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Unearth to collaborate on a metal anthem that offers a glimpse at where Robb Flynn and co. are headed in 2025.
40. Simone Simons - R.E.D.
With Epica, Simone Simons has long been established as a leading light in symphonic metal. 2024 saw her spread her wings as a solo artist however, maintaining the elegant, powerful tones she's known for in her main group while adding entirely new flavours into the mix, as single R.E.D. incorporated electronic stylings to craft something unique in her canon.
39. Leyan Senay - Bluetiful
Predominantly known for her skills behind the kit, Turkey's Leyan Senay branched out into songwriting in 2024 with the release of her first solo music. Bluetiful offered an impressive and unique sound and vision, drawing elements of prog, alt-metal and much more into a cocktail which kicked like a mule whilst offering up some gorgeous melodies.
38. Bruce Dickinson - Rain On The Graves
Almost 20 years of waiting, but we finally got a new Bruce Dickinson solo album in 2024. The Maiden man's colossal ambitions were realised in another galloping heavy metal romp with a story so big it couldn't be contained on an album alone. Single Rain On The Graves harkened back to the moribidity and horror-adjacency of Maiden hits like Number Of The Beast and Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter, Dickinson still belting it out like no-one else in the metal world.
37. Ensiferum - Winter Storm Vigilantes
Finland's Ensiferum have dabbled in a few stylistic variances over the years, not least the realms of both folk metal and melodeath. But with Winter Storm Vigilantes, a flirtation with power metal elements blossomed into a full-blown love affair, the title track of their ninth studio album swept up amidst galloping beats, soaring lead guitars and theatrical vocals that could give Helloween a run for their money.
36. Mastodon x Lamb Of God - Floods Of Triton
Released to promote a co-headline tour that would see both bands playing their iconic 2004 records Leviathan and Ashes Of The Wake in full, Floods Of Triton is everything you'd hope it would be in a fusion of Mastodon and Lamb Of God. There's a decided whiff of both bands' 2000s output to the song's chunky riffs and tight pacing, echoes of both Blood & Thunder and Laid To Rest popping up in a seriously brilliant team-up for the ages.
35. Marko Hietala x Tarja Turunen - Left On Mars
Former Nightwish members Tarja Turunen and Marko Hietala reuniting after 18 years was big news when they sang Phantom Of The Opera on-stage together in 2023. In 2024, their rekindled partnership saw them head out on the road together, Tarja even popping up on Hietala's Left On Mars single. There's decidedly more prog metal to Mars... than symphonic metal fans might have hoped for, but the magic is still clearly there in a powerful and triumphant anthem that'll have you headbanging in no time.
34. Dream Theater - Night Terror
Speaking of former bandmates reuniting, Mike Portnoy officially rejoined Dream Theater in the studio in 2024. Although the fruits of their labours isn't due out until this year, that didn't mean fans couldn't get a sneak peek at what the prog metal giants had been working on. Night Terror was a typically labyrinthine epic propelled by masterful instrumentation and riffs that felt like a more technical extension of 80s Metallica. What's not to love?
33. Evergrey - Say
The swinging, pendulous riffs and soulful vocal melodies of Say helped reaffirm Evergrey's status as criminally overlooked heroes of the prog metal scene. 26 years on from their debut album, the band seemed to strive more than ever for serious anthemic quality, achieving it with a sense of zeal and power that made Theories Of Emptiness one of their finest releases.
32. Dark Tranquillity - The Last Imagination
A trailblazing - if oft-overlooked - force in melodeath, Dark Tranquillity continue to be the Gothenburg sound's unsung champions. Unlike their peers who have branched out into other stylistic ventures, DT remain Gothenburg melodeath at its purest, The Last Imagination capturing that blend of melodic songcraft and beautiful, fragile melody with an underpinned sense of weight and power that makes the genre so crowd-friendly.
31. Halestorm x I Prevail - Can U See Me In The Dark?
Halestorm and I Prevail don't make for an obvious pairing, but their massive co-headline tour of the US in Summer 2024 showed they had more in common that you'd think. To celebrate the fact, both bands collaborated on Can U See Me In The Dark?, a hard rock anthem with subtle underpinnings of electronica that soared on Lzzy Hale's powerful pipes and a delightfully thrumming breakdown.
30. P.O.D. - I Won't Bow Down
Champions of nu metal before the genre even had an official tag, P.O.D. have been at it for over 30 years now. I Won't Bow Down is a statement of intent, then, a buoyant track in the vein of the band's big hits like Alive and Youth Of The Nation and while elsewhere on new album Veritas they had guest singers like Tatiana Shmayluk and Randy Blythe, Bown Down... was pure P.O.D. at their very best.
29. Wind Rose - To Be A Dwarf
After winning over metalheads en masse with their cover of Diggy Diggy Hole in 2019, Italy's Wind Rose reaffirmed their loves for all things dwarf on To Be A Dwarf. Yes, it was a bit daft, but it was also undeniably brilliant, the band's cinematic sound folding in elements of both folk and power metal to create something truly massive, while vocalist Francesco Cavalieri's booming baritone showed he's a rising star in the metal scene. They might've supported Powerwolf in arenas across Europe, but the strength of this suggests their own ascension could follow.
28. Turmion Katilot - Pulssi
Industrial metal with a disco twist, Finland's Turmion Katilot know their way around a metal dancefloor filler. Pulssi was a prime example, taken from their latest record Reset, the track's insidiously catchy hooks and clap-along beats marked it as exactly the kind of tune that could win over even the stoniest metalhead.
27. Opeth - Paragraph 1
The death metal vocals are back! That was the big takeaway from §1, the lead single of Opeth's fourteenth studio album The Last Will And Testament. But while that grabbed the headlines, it also reaffirmed that the Swedish prog metal masters were never a band to mindlessly plod through familiar territory; while the growls were back at full force, their music continued its technical, progressive bent that had ruled the roost since 2011's Heritage, resulting in a track that was infernally complex and brilliant in equal measures.
26. Night Thieves - Through The Looking Glass
Newcomers Night Thieves certainly made a splash when they took top spot in our Jan 12th tracks of the week round-up. It's all testament to the enthralling melodies of Through The Looking Glass however, the London band combining droning, monolithic riffs with airy, floating melodies to superb effect. Taken from their 2024 EP Polarity, Night Thieves are definitely a band to watch out for.
25. Blind Channel - Everybody (Bloodbros Back)
Who says metalheads don't love a bit of pop nostalgia? Blind Channel doubled down on the more pop-tastic, hooky elements of their nu metal-inspired sound with 2024's EXIT EMOTIONS, but for all the thump and bump of tracks like XOXO and Deadzone, it was their cover of Backstreet Boys' Everybody (Backstreet's Back) that saw them trounce the competition in our weekly polls, landing one of the highest individual turnouts of any poll all year.
24. Hanabie - Girl's Talk
Hanabie had a stacked 2024, touring everywhere from their native Japan to Europe, the UK and North America. Somehow, they also found time to release more new music in that time, single Girl's Talk a perfect demonstration of their hyperactive take on metalcore with skittering electronica and snarling breakouts resulting in something completely unique and brilliant.
23. Judas Priest - The Serpent And The King
Hail to the Metal God! Judas Priest announced the impending release of Invincible Shield ahead of their set at Power Trip festival in 2023, but even with 2018's Firepower as a reference point it's astonishing just how vital the band sound over 50 years in. Take single The Serpent And The King; Halford still shrieks like a victorious banshee over fine, super-charged heavy metal riffs that harken to the hale energy of their late 70s output, the band still firing on all cylinders when it comes to crafting world-class metal anthems.
22. Arch Enemy - Dream Stealer
Arch Enemy might not have been part of the early 90s Gothenburg sound, but they're undoubtedly the band that has taken that scene's template to its logical conclusion, packing massive venues and festival fields the world around. For all the success the band have achieved though, Dream Stealer is a perfect example of how they remain a force to be reckoned with, not dialing back on their heaviest elements when crafting all-conquering anthems. From its thundering blast-beats to Alissa White-Gluz's imperious vocal, Dream Stealer is an affirmation of everything that makes Arch Enemy so great.
21. Within Temptation - A Fool's Parade
For the video to A Fool's Parade, Sharon den Adel flew out to Ukraine to witness some of the impact the on-going conflict had on the country. While Within Temptation have been outspoken about how the invasion of Ukraine has coloured their recent releases, A Fool's Parade doubles down on the fired-up, aggressive sound the band have plied in recent years, guest vocalist Alex Yarmak offering up a powerful vocal counterpoint that builds to a huge metalcore style breakdown.
20. Powerwolf - Sinners Of The Seven Seas
Considering there's a whole subgenre devoted to it, there's no surprise that metalheads love pirates. Even werewolf-obsessives Powerwolf have got in on the nautical antics, the single Sinners Of The Seven Seas finding the Germans out at sea and singing about missionaries in a typically brilliant and catchy tune that leaves no question as to how they've got up to arena level in Europe.
19. Ad Infinitum - My Halo
Ad Infinitum might've started out in the realms of symphonic metal, but by Abyss they were looking to spread their wings further. The result was an album which pushed their sound in a more contemporary direction, My Halo standing out as a bridge between the band's older, more grandiose compositions and the radio-friendly, ultra-hooky direction they were now taking. Absolute earworm.
18. Band-Maid - Protect You
There's an infectious joyousness inherent to Band-Maid's take on power metal. Even as the band embraced a darker aesthetic for the video to Protect You, they remain a force of infectious, triumphant energy, exemplar of Japan's burgeoning power and trad metal scene that continues to thrive.
17. Epica - The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre)
Even with Simone Simons releasing her solo debut in 2024, that didn't mean Epica were forgotten. Massive shows with a full orchestra and choir in their native Netherlands and Mexico saw their ambitious vision celebrated, while new single The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre) showed that where some of their symphonic peers have strayed to other ventures in recent years, they remain committed to the genre. The result was a wonderfully dramatic, theatrical track that adapts a 19th Century symphony. What's more, the track was a tie-in with theme park de Efteling. Epic indeed.
16. Nightwish - An Ocean Of Strange Islands
Speaking of epics, Nightwish know a thing or two about the art. Look no further than single An Ocean Of Strange Islands to see why people were hailing Yesterwynde as one of the band's finest releases, the track's swashbuckling sense of pace and gorgeously massive vocals from Floor Jansen giving way to near-Broadway levels of theatricality as the track builds out into a huge crescendo, instrumentals swooping and soaring while Floor's voice is put through its paces. It's a massive, nine-and-a-half minute masterclass.
15. Bloodywood - Nu Delhi
It's been a good few years since Bloodywood first became a viral sensation, but they continue to soar to new heights. Landing a song on a Hollywood soundtrack was a great achievement for the band in 2024, but for fans the most exciting thing was getting the first glimpse of new music since 2022's Rakshak in Nu Delhi. There's no drastic reinventions here, but there doesn't need to be; Bloodywood's fusion of traditional Indian folk, bhangra and nu metal remains a potent and utterly distinct entity, Nu Delhi giving us plenty to be excited about going into 2025 with an ode to their home town.
14. Lacuna Coil - Oxygen
If revisiting their 2002 breakthrough Comalies had any effect on Lacuna Coil's upcoming album, it doesn't show on Oxygen. An absolute rager that continued the heavier streak the band had embraced in recent years, the track is an explosive, hale demonstration of just how Lacuna Coil have matured over the past 20 years, still producing huge anthems but focusing their sound in more direct and hefty directions.
13. Knocked Loose - Suffocate (ft. Poppy)
A meeting of two of current heavy music's most vibrant and boundary-pushing forces, Knocked Loose's Suffocate is one of the surprise breakout successes of the year. Uncompromisingly heavy and brutal, the track's near-constant barrage and beatdown elements only make it more impressive that it made the leap to late night TV when the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, while Poppy added extra throat-shredding howls and snarls that made this the most feral mainstream metal track in forever.
12. Spiritbox - Soft Spine
It's safe to say, Spiritbox are a band that know how important first impressions - and singles - can be. Exploding in the wake of the gigantic Holy Roller, the Canadian band have gone from strength to strength with a brilliant debut album and follow-up EPs. But if the more radio-friendly melodicism they dabbled in at times had anyone worried, Soft Spine is a huge affirmation that Spiritbox still kick ass hard, the track bursting with vicious vitality yet still packed with hooks so big you could fish for great whites.
11. Charlotte Wessels - Dopamine (ft. Simone Simons)
When it comes to the tracks of the week vote, Charlotte Wessels was the undisputed queen. Winning every week she was included, Wessels showed off an impressively diverse sound on each new single from latest album The Obssession. In some ways, Dopamine was a callback to her past in Delain, drafting in Simone Simons for a beautifully melodic anthem that spoke to their status as symphonic metal icons.
10. Bad Omens - V.A.N. (feat. Poppy)
Bad Omens really hit the ground running in 2024. Not only did they tour as support to Bring Me The Horizon in January, but they also put out the stunning V.A.N., a thumping, thrumming collab that saw Poppy taking over vocal duties in an electro-enhanced, industrial-tinged thumper that brought to mind the stylistic experimentation of Bring Me The Horizon themselves.
9. Ice Nine Kills - A Work Of Art
It's surprising it's taken this long for Ice Nine Kills to do a full horror movie collab. They've certainly had no shortage of success with the superb Silver Scream records, but even by their standards A Work Of Art was bloody good fun. Inspired by the Terrifier series and released on the soundtrack to the box office-topping third instalment, the video turned into a star-studded ode to the series with appearances from cast members (including series star Art The Clown - David Howard Thornton) and even Shavo Odadjian of System Of A Down/Seven Hours After Violet. Chuck in typically insidious choruses that you'll be humming for weeks, and Ice Nine Kills had a killer hit on their hands.
8. Kittie - Eyes Wide Open
After making their comeback to live stages in 2022, Kittie put out their comeback record Spit in 2024. But while the rest of the world indulges nu metal nostalgia, the Canadians showed they were fixing their eyes on the future, Eyes Wide Open taking on a more melodeath/groove metal inspired sound that showed they'd continue to evolve even when the band wasn't active.
7. Blackbriar - Floriography
In a year where most of symphonic metal's biggest names released new music, Blackbriar served a reminder that the scene remains in good health. Floriography captures the gothic, fairy-tale stylings the band evoke so well, a beautiful and elegant composition that let vocalist Zora Cock flourish in the spotlight.
6. Dogma - Like A Prayer
Taking the title of "metal's naughtiest nuns" is really something in a scene that also includes Ghost and their ever-expanding ministry. But Dogma's 2023 debut did plenty to establish their reputation and while they spent most of 2024 on the road, that didn't stop them releasing new music in the form of a gloriously sinful - and decidedly trad metal flavoured - cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer.
5. Gojira - Mea Culpa (Ah! Ca Ira!)
We'd put money that nobody had "Gojira play the Olympics" on their 2024 bingo card (unless they'd got Nostradamus levels of precognition, at least). Yet, when the opening ceremony of the 2024 Games was announced, sure enough France's mightiest metal export took pride of place with a thundering rendition of revolutinary song Mea Culpa (Ah! Ca Ira!). With beheaded nobles, blasts of flame, blood-red streamers and a guest appearance from an opera singer, their performance might be the single most metal thing that happened in 2024.
4. Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine
Linkin Park practically sprinted back onto the metal scene in 2024. A mysterious LA fan event in September turned out to be an official comeback gig for the nu metal giants and if their return was a surprise, the release of new music that same evening was a twist few could have seen coming. The Emptiness Return was the perfect comeback anthem for the band, evoking the classic stylings that had made them internationally renowned in the first place whilst giving new vocalist Emily Armstrong a chance to showcase her own powerful and emotive vocals.
3. Lord Of The Lost x Feuerschwanz - Lords Of Fyre
Just when you thought Germany's colourful genre-straddlers Lord Of The Lost couldn't get any more theatrical and bombastic, they team up with their folk metal countrymen Feuerschwanz for a thumping classic metal anthem packed to the gills with pyro. It's about the most German thing we've ever seen, and a brilliant advertisement for both bands' co-headline tour in Germany later this year, promising to be the wildest night out you'll get in 2025.
2. Ghost - The Future Is A Foreign Land
By and large, Ghost's 2024 was spent celebrating the release of their massive, LA-shot concert movie Rite Here Rite Now. But while the movie had plenty of twists and turns [including hints at where the band's narrative might go next], the biggest 'revelation' was that there was another single to be 'unearthed' from the late-60s era of the band fronted by Papa Nihil. It's a gleeful bit of worldbuilding, but makes perfect sense considering the sheer scale of the success the band enjoyed with Kiss The Go Goat and Mary On A Cross, The Future Is A Foreign Land completing a thematic trilogy of retro-styled singles.
1. Babymetal x Electric Callboy - Ratatata
RATATATA... RATATATA... Admit it; once you've heard this song, it'll never leave you. Two of metal's most vibrant bands combining forces on a gleeful club metal anthem, Ratatata embraces everything brilliant about both bands in a stunning and impossibly addictive package, Electric Callboy's 90s eurotrash stylings working impossibly well with Babymetal's kawaii energy. Considering just how passionate both bands' fanbases are, we can't say we're surprised to see them take top spot - and it's well deserved, given just how fun this song is.
