The moment has arrived! Join us as we count down the twenty five best rock and metal albums of the year – who will take out the crown and join previous victors?
25. Ace Frehley – 10,000 Volts (MNRK Heavy)
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart 10 Read our full review HERE
24. Jupiter Cyclops – Age of the UFOnaut (Rockshots Records)
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 9 Read our full review HERE
23. Nightrage – Remains of a Dead World (Despotz)
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 9 Read our full review HERE
22. Final Coil – The World We Inherited (Sliptrick Records)
Highest Chart Position: 15 Weeks on Chart: 6 Read our full review HERE
21. Sonata Arctica – Clear Cold Beyond (Atomic Fire)
Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart: 8 Read our full review HERE
20. Abramelin – Sins of The Father (Hammerheart Records)
Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart: 13 Read our full review HERE
19. Rage – Afterlifelines (SPV/Steamhammer)
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 10 Read our full review HERE
18. Tygers of Pan Tang – Live Blood (Mighty Music)
Highest Chart Position: 9 Weeks on Chart: 13 Read our full review HERE
17. Sebastian Bach – Child Within The Man (Reigning Phoenix Music)
Highest Chart Position: 6 Weeks on Chart: 16 Read our full review HERE
16. HammerFall – Avenge The Fallen (Nuclear Blast)
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 11 Read our full review HERE
15. Flotsam and Jetsam – I Am The Weapon (AFM Records)
“I Am The Weapon is, in summary, a triumph. It’s an album that balances the aggression and speed of thrash with a melodic sensibility that makes it accessible without sacrificing any of its edge. Flotsam and Jetsam are in their fourth decade, but there’s no sign of them slowing down” – Alf-Inge Ingesson, 15/08/24.
Highest Chart Position: 4 Weeks on Chart: 11 Read Alf’s full review HERE
14. Deicide – Banished By Sin (Reigning Phoenix Music)
“With this album, Deicide reaffirm their status as one of death metal’s most formidable entities, casting aside the trappings of conformity in favour of a path paved with brimstone and blasphemy. Prepare to be banished to the depths of depravity, for Deicide’s reign of terror shows no signs of abating” – Chris Arrowsmith, 25/03/24
Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart: 11 Read Chris’s full review HERE
13. Symphony of Sweden – Haunted (Own Label)
“Put simply, as modern AOR goes, Symphony of Sweden have hit the bullseye again. All the old Gods are referenced, for sure – Linus Wester’s resemblence to Mike Tramp, vocally, gives a timeless classicism to everything here, but especially on the fabulously over-the-top Just Let It Bleed – but the band attack the job at hand always with one eye on modernity, infusing the material with a freshness that’s often missing from material like this” – Gavin Strickmann, 29/01/24
Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart 8 Read Gavin’s full review HERE
12. Paragon – Metalation (Massacre Records)
“With Metalation, Paragon have delivered an album that is as versatile as it is powerful. It may be rooted in the well-worn tropes of German heavy metal, but Paragon infuse each track with a vitality and passion that few can match. From start to finish, Metalation is a triumphant celebration of everything we love about metal”. – A-I I, 15/10/24
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 8 Read Alfie’s full review HERE
11. The Dead Daisies – Light ‘Em Up (SPV/Steamhammer)
“John Corabi really is – vocally at least – the heart and soul of Dead Daisies overall… Best proof of this is perhaps most evident on the album’s Tour de Force, the quite superb Love That’ll Never Be, a superb slice of seventies-soaked radio rock replete with organs straight out of the Uriah Heap playbook and an Allman vibe that’s pure sunshine and good memories. Corabi sings the living daylights out of this, and it’s a track you’ll find yourself returning to again and again over the coming months”. – GS, 26/08/24
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 7 Read Gavin’s full review HERE:
10. Mogg’s Motel– Mogg’s Motel (SPV/Steamhammer)
“Standout cut Princess Bride and it’s companion piece Other People’s Lives could certainly have graced an early eighties UFO album, but for the most part this isn’t about revisiting past glories as it is dotting a few I’s and crossing Mogg’s last remaining career tees, and the great man is assisted in this task by committed performances from all those around him… If it is the last thing we hear from him, then it’s a truly fine sign off”. – GS, 20/08/24
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart 6 Read Gavin’s full review HERE
9. Kerry King – From Hell I Rise (Reigning Phoenix Music)
“Tension is a surprising mid-album bonus, lasting less than three minutes but perfectly formed in it’s own way, condensing the pure spirit of 1986-1990 in one hundred and sixty seven blackened seconds of pure metal majesty… given how bad many people were predicting this album was going to be, I for one am pretty pleased with the result…” Michael Stronge, 19/04/24
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 8 Read Mick’s full review HERE
8. Exhorder – Defectum Omnium (Nuclear Blast)
“Defectum Omnium is a tour de force that solidifies Exhorder’s status as one of the most important bands in modern metal. With this album, the band proves that they are not content to rest on their laurels but are instead committed to pushing the boundaries of their sound while staying true to their roots…” – A-I I 09/02/24.
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 10 Read Alf’s full review HERE
7. Bruce Dickinson – The Mandrake Project (BMG)
“Once again, Bruce’s solo output knocks the concurrent Iron Maiden album, song-wise, into a conveniently-placed Broooooce beanie… It’s a nice touch of magnanimity from Bruce that it’s not he who takes the spotlight in the album’s final act but his long time sparring partner Roy Z, who’s Gilmouresque solo brings the curtain down on The Mandrake Project in dignified style. But make no mistake – this album is Bruce’s in every other respect, and it’s a bloody fine one at that. Almost perfect, in fact…” Scott Adams, 23/02/24
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 7 Read Scott’s full review of the album HERE
6. Cats In Space – Time Machine (Esoteric Recordings)
“Seriously, though – how do they do it? How do Brit rockers Cats In Space keep coming back, year in, year out, and delivering the goods with barely a misstep along the way? At the end of this album the band take on covers of two of my favourite songs of all time – No Regrets by The Walker Brothers and Music by John Miles. Of course, this could go horribly wrong for all concerned when such long-held emotions are stirred, but if you’re not standing atop a piece of valuable furniture by the end of the latter, bellowing along with the band whilst your trousers flap haplessly around your ankles, you’re a better man (or Woman) than I – CIS, at their best, can do that to you. And there’s an awful lot of Cats in Space at their best on Time Machine“. – GS, 26/09/24
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 11 Read Gavin’s full review HERE
5. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Sony)
“Fight For Your Life might just be the best thing here (but only, sadly, if you snare the deluxe version of the album), a hammering, yammering shot at the solar plexus that’ll have you pressing play again as soon as it’s finished for hours, possibly days; Rob Halford’s vocals are superb, not because they leave you reeling at the fact he can still pull out a vengeance-filled scream at his age, but because of the sheer chutzpah with which the Metal God delivers. This is tour de force stuff, proof – not that any is really needed, I realise, but proof nonetheless – that nobody rams it down in the vocal booth quite like Rob Halford”. – SA, 08/03/24
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart 7 Read Scott’s full review HERE
4. Vain – Disintegrate Together (Jackie Rainbow Records)
“For longtime Vain fans, Disintegrate Together will strike a nostalgic chord, serving as a potent reminder of the band’s enduring appeal. Yet, beyond nostalgia, the album stands as a formidable hard rock record and well worth a listen. It’s easy to envision standout tracks like Cold Like Snow and Holding on for Love earning coveted spots on the live set list alongside the Vain classics”… Frank Tonkin, 23/04/24
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 23 Read Frank’s full review HERE
3. Hawkwind – Stories From Time and Space (Cherry Red)
“At the end of the day, if you’ve enjoyed the last couple of Hawkwind releases, you’ll love the way SFTAS takes the best of both of them and refines their ideas into something that manages to sound like the Hawkwind you love whilst adding new and fresh moods to the pot. At this stage in the game I really don’t think we could ask for anything more, but the fact that that’s just what we get is still a matter for some celebration. Thanks guys!” – MS, 11/03/24
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 12 Read Mick’s full review HERE
2. Magnum – Here Comes The Rain (SPV/Steamhammer)
“Old pals forever, Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley are the bulwark of British pomp rock, and here across all ten songs, they stand defiant, taunting time and all it’s allies to do their worst. If you aren’t moved and inspired by their performances – how can men with a combined age of over one hundred and fifty rock as hard as they do on Blue Tango? – then it’s quite possible you have no soul”. – SA, 27/12/23
Highest Chart Position: 1 Weeks on Chart: 8 Read Scott’s full review HERE
And so, finally, here we are: Sentinel Daily’s top album of 2024 is…
1. Opeth – Last Will & Testament (Reigning Phoenix Music)
“Whilst it’s undoubtedly a matter for celebration that Opeth‘s Mikael Åkerfeldt has got his death metal voice back, the fact that we can now hear him growling in juxtaposition to Europe Titan Joey Tempest and Jethro Tull‘s Ian Anderson is one of those pieces of happenstance that simply makes a man glad to be alive… Opeth reviews are always impossible to write because the band are operating at so many levels above whatever else is going on that they render mere words pointless. They’ve done that again on LW&T, but, into the bargain they’ve also created one of the most hands-down enjoyable and, more importantly, spectacularly listenable records I’ve had the pleasure of stumbling across in a long, long while. This is Opeth at their very, very best”. SA, 17/09/24
Highest Chart Position: 2 Weeks on Chart: 12 Read Scott’s full review HERE
2016 Kansas – The Prelude Implicit
2017 Paradise Lost – Medusa
2018 Judas Priest – Firepower
2019 Devin Townsend – Empath
2020 Raven – Metal City
2021 Iron Maiden – Senjutsu
2022 Dynazty – Final Advent
2023 KK’s Priest – The Sinner Rides Again
2024 Opeth – Last Will & Testament
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