Top 25 Heavy Underground Releases of 2024

 I can't believe we're here already! 2024 has come and gone, and it left a plethora of amazing heavy underground releases in its wake. 

2024 was my second year really participating in the underground music scene via social media and contributing to the Doom Charts. Furthermore, this little blog of mine is celebrating its first birthday! I feel a little more seasoned when it comes to writing about the music that I love, and I feel like I'm starting to find my niche in the scene. Above all, I'm mostly just continuing to have a massive amount of fun listening to some of the best music I've ever heard and getting to know all of you a little better. Moving forward, the plan is to continue doing just that. 

I won't bore you too much more with my ramblings, as I know you're here to see THE LIST (and I don't blame you), but first, I want to discuss how I compile my choices for the best of the year. First of all, any new release can make this list, be it an album or EP. Second, this list really doesn't have much to do with what I submitted to the Doom Charts over the year. These are the albums that not only resonated with me the first time I heard them, but they're the ones I continued to play over and over. There are some releases here that I fell in love with the moment I heard them, and others that really grew on me. Either way, if an album is in my top 25, it means that I not only enjoyed every single song on it, but it means a lot to me personally. While some of my choices might be a bit predictable, I think others will really surprise you (they certainly surprised me). The albums this year were much harder to rank than they were last year, and I think that's primarily because multiple genres are covered here. One album may have been my #1 doom album, another my #1 grunge album, etc., but I still managed (painfully) to put them all on one list. 

But, before I present my Top 25 Heavy Underground Releases of 2024, I have a few honorable mentions, each of which I've continued to listen to throughout the year and are more than deserving of recognition: 

Honorable Mentions

(in no particular order)

Daily Thompson - Chuparosa

Dortmund, Germany

Favorite Track: Diamond Waves (A Love Song For The Ocean)

You can read my full review here.

Scorched Oak - Perception

Dortmund, Germany

Favorite Track: Oracle

You can read my full review here.

Juke Cove - Tempest 

Leipzig, Germany

Favorite Track: Wait

You can read my full review here.

 

Eleanore - Full Throttle In All Directions

Emden, Germany

Favorite Track: One For The Road

You can read my full review here.

Drive By Wire - Time Horizon

Deventer, Netherlands

Favorite Track: Northern Lights

Boozewa - Bon Vivant

Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Favorite Track: Maybe I'm A Bird

You can read my full review here.

Spacedrifter - When the Colors Fade

Sweden

Favorite Track: Spellbound

Horseburner - Voice of Storms

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Favorite Track: Hidden Bridges

You can read a little interview with Horseburner about the album (and other random things) here.

Top 25 Heavy Underground Releases of 2024

(video version)

 

Top 25 Heavy Underground Releases of 2024

(in descending order) 

25.) The Weedbine - Temple of the Universe

Saint Petersburg, Russia 

Favorite Track: Lizardsong

24.) Spirit Mother - Trails

Long Beach, California

Favorite Track: Veins

23.) Magmakammer - Before I Burn

Oslo, Norway

Favorite Track: Doom Jive

22.) Black Capricorn - Sacrifice Darkness and ... Fire

Sardina, Italy

Favorite Track: Sacrifice 

21.) Kant - Paranoia Pilgrimage

Aschaffenburg, Germany

Favorite Track: Occult Worship

20.) Wizard Must Die - L'Or des Fous

Lyon, France 

Favorite Track: L'Or des Fous

19.) Peach Melba - Melting Face

Cologne, Germany

Favorite Track: Exit Dream

You can read my full review here.

18.) Hermano - when the moon was high...

California

Favorite Track: Breathe

You can read my full review here.

17.) Outer Head - Cosmic Vibrator

Leeds, UK

Favorite Track: Atrahashish

16.) Stonerhead - Running High

Bielefeld, Germany

Favorite Track: Super Mario

You can read my full review here.

15.) Desert Suns - Edge of the Sky

San Diego, California

Favorite Track: Real Eyes

You can read my full review here.

14.) FUSER - Aero Soul

Oldenburg, Germany

Favorite Track: Fresh Dead Warm

You can read my full review here.

13.) Supersonic Dragon Wagon - From the Deep

San Diego, California

Favorite Track: Riptide

You can read my full review here.

12.) Okolyt - Restless

Bremen, Germany

Favorite Track: They Ain't Got No Right 

You can read my full review here.

11.) Mammoth Volume - Raised Up By Witches

Lysekil, Sweden

Favorite Track: Serpent in the Deep

10.) Transonic Science - Psychobulb

Cologne, Germany

Favorite Track: Cherokee Smith 

You can read my full review here.

9.) Gnome - Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome

Antwerp, Belgium

Favorite Track: The Ogre

8.) Silverships - Kingdom of Decay

Hamburg, Germany

Favorite Track: Kingdom of Decay

You can read my full review here

7.) Mouth - Vortex Redux

Cologne, Germany

Favorite Track: Parade 

6.) Slomosa - Tundra Rock

Bergen, Norway

Favorite Track: Monomann

You can read my full review here.

5.) Sea of Snakes - Bow to No One

Los Angeles, California

Favorite Track: 1313

You can read my full review here.

4.) Baardvader - When the Stars Arrive

The Hague, Netherlands

Favorite Track: Let Go 

3.) SLÜGFÜT - III

Sheffield, UK

Favorite Track: I Am The Knife

You can read my full review here.

2.) Yeast Machine - SLEAZE

Tübingen, Germany

Favorite Track: Brittle Pillars

You can read my full review here.

1.) Fátima - Eerie 🏆

Paris, France

Favorite Track: Ceremonies

You can read my full review here.

That's it! The best of 2024 according to Doomcakes! 

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my choices; I hope you love each of these albums as much as I do! And of course, a massive thank you to all the followers, fellow music nerds, bands, PR teams, record labels, bloggers, DJs, podcasters, artists, and everyone here; you all have a vital role in the heavy underground scene that is much appreciated! 

Here's to a killer 2025! 

Keep it heavy,

Stephanie (Doomcakes) 🤘🖤