Judas Priest: Invincible Shield (March 8)

What else can testify 2024 as a thunderous year for metal music if not the announcement of another album by the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) veteran Judas Priest? Scheduled for release on Epic Records, Invincible Shield, the band’s 19th studio album, proves that age has not dampened the spirit of its members, now in their 70s. Two singles, Panic Attack and Trial by Fire, have been already unveiled for streaming across various platforms. Throbbing with the signature Priest sound, these tracks only make us look forward eagerly towards the approaching doomsday.

Bruce Dickinson: The Mandrake Project (March 1)

After releasing the 17th studio album, Senjutsu, in 2021, with his band Iron Maiden, another NWOBHM veteran, legendary vocalist Bruce Dickinson is once again set to hit the road, this time with his solo project. Recent announcement of a new album, The Mandrake Project, set to release via BMG Records, has sparked considerable discussions in the metal community. This is going to be Dickinson’s first album with his solo project in 19 years, after the 2005 album Tyranny of Souls. A music video for a single, titled Afterglow of Ragnarok, off the album, is out for streaming and showcases Dickinson’s soaring operatic vocals at its epitome.

Scanner: The Cosmic Race (January 12)

It seems 2024 has its arms wide open for greeting quite many of metal’s pioneering and legendary bands. Scanner, the German sci-fi heavy/power metal legends, are set to add another gem to their discography, after nine long years. The Cosmic Race will be the band’s seventh full-length album and is scheduled for release from Rock of Angels Records. Two singles are out for streaming as well, one even with a music video. While The Earth Song is strongly reminiscent of Scanner’s own standout brand of epic songwriting soaring in grandeur, Dance of the Dead builds upon these signature elements to delve into an experimentation of a kind, apparently also touching upon other metal subgenres here and there.

Bloodstone: Electrocution
(January 13)

Listeners looking to sink their claws and fangs into a slice of unadulterated “old-school” thrash metal can put their faith in a certain Singaporean band called Bloodstone, who are about to release their second album, Electrocution, from Awakening Records. Amongst Asian countries, Singapore has spawned some of metal’s finest groups and Bloodstone, although an underrated band, is another gemstone of a testament to this fact. A single titled Beyond Death is available for streaming and delivers with every intention to bombard, through unrelenting riffage and raspy vocals embedded with head-throbbing drumming characteristic of early thrash.

Job for a Cowboy: Moon Healer (February 23)

Progressive and technical death metal lovers are due for a treat this year, as Job for a Cowboy is set to make a comeback with their album, Moon Healer, after 10 years since their last album, Sun Eater, released in 2014. The band’s fifth full-length album, aside from two EPs, Moon Healer is scheduled for release from Metal Blade Records, however, two singles, The Forever Rot and The Agony Seeping Storm, with the latter also accompanying a music video, are available for streaming. For lovers of this style, it will be no less than a warm homecoming to be greeted by the band’s readily recognisable variety of fast and dissonant guitar work, brutal delivery of vocals and of course, those thumping basslines.

Boundless Chaos: Sinister Upheaval (January 19)

Anyone looking to get themselves aurally ravaged by a barrage of hammering guitar riffs, pounding drums and growled, low-end vocals’ domination, can have their wishes fulfilled by this German deathrash band, Boundless Chaos, formed as recently as in 2017. After an EP and two split albums with other bands, the band now has its debut full-length, Sinister Upheaval, scheduled for release from Dying Victims Productions. Two single tracks, Guillotine and Down, are available for streaming as well. Although a rather underrated band on this list, this is something to look out for.

Inquisition: Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence (January 26)

Seasoned listeners of Inquisition can perhaps never get enough of the hypnotic quality that this black metal duo induces. With the band’s ninth full-length album, Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence, set for release from Agonia records, its listeners can buckle themselves for yet another celestial journey. A single titled A Hidden Ceremony of Blood and Flesh has been made available for streaming, providing a glimpse of Inquisition’s another efficient merging of beauty with chaos.

Darkspace:Dark Space — II(February 16)

Darkspace possesses an unmatched talent for creating the strangest of sonic atmospheres through their minimalistic yet trance-inducing songwriting. They are certainly not often the average black metal listener’s choicest of bands, but those familiar with Darkspace know quite well what another offering from these sonic manipulators mean. Returning after 10 long years, this band is set to make another addition to their numerical discography, with an album titled Dark Space — II, to be released from Season of Mist records. A small part of what is supposedly a single song of about 47 minutes in length has been made available for streaming.

Knoll: As Spoken (January 26)

Those looking for remorseless and oppressive grindcore can keep an eye and both ears out for Knoll. With their inception as recently as in 2017, this American band is already geared to put out their third full-length album titled As Spoken. Being released independently, this album has its title track already out for streaming, with an accompanying music video reminiscent of early horror films. Intensely fast, harsh, raucous and dipped in dissonance, this song is bound to cast the uneasiness that many would seek in their new year’s playlist.