Top row: Alien Ant Farm â Mantras; Underworld â Strawberry Hotel; Billie Eilish â Hit Me Hard and Soft. Bottom row: Linkin Park â From Zero; The Cure â Songs of a Lost World; Devin Townsend â PowerNerd
2024 was a year. I expect some good things happened, but in the main it was not zesty.
Many major armed conflicts continued in many places including Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel region of West Africa and [Syria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wâŚ
Top row: Alien Ant Farm â Mantras; Underworld â Strawberry Hotel; Billie Eilish â Hit Me Hard and Soft. Bottom row: Linkin Park â From Zero; The Cure â Songs of a Lost World; Devin Townsend â PowerNerd
2024 was a year. I expect some good things happened, but in the main it was not zesty.
Many major armed conflicts continued in many places including Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel region of West Africa and Syria, as well as the ongoing war in Gaza. Sweden joined NATO and Bulgaria and Romania joined Schengen. Northern America saw a total solar eclipse, and a G5-rated series of solar storms led to the aurorae (both Borealis and Australis) to be seen much further from the poles than usual, including right over my back garden in Hemel Hempstead. FACT. P45 was found guilty on 34 counts, and we thought that would be the last weâd see of him. Hah. Then someone shot him in the ear. CrowdStrike knackered up a lot of Windows computers, the knock-on effects bringing down airlines, banks, government services and more across the world. This also made it difficult for punters to buy beer at the festival I was playing that day, so boo. In an unusually positive move, the UK became the first G7 country to phase out coal power. The Europa Clipper was sent to Europa, Jupiterâs moon. (Hopefully not to attempt a landing.) The UK got its first Labour government[1] since 2005, P45 got re-elected[2], and many countries around the world tilted further and further to the political right, about which I am very much not OK. I try to keep politics out of these intros, but damn, itâs hard. Alright what else have I got? Um⌠A Magritte painting sold for USD121.1m, Estonia legalised gay marriage, literally every single company added AI to literally every single one of their products, and I released my second album. No, really, I did.
Those suddenly pining for the fjords included David Soul, Franz Beckenbauer, Carl Weathers, Steve Wright, TM Stevens, Peter Higgs (he of the boson), OJ Simpson, Dickey Betts, Bernard Hill, Steve Albini, Morgan Spurlock, Lynn Conway, Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones, Dame Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson, Paul DiâAnno, Geoff Capes, Janey Godley, Quincy Jones, Vic Flick, John Prescott, Bob Bryar, Eddie Stobart, my cat Bertie, and Matt Buckley.
That last name may not be familiar unless you were involved in the local music scene around Eastbourne/Hastings/Bexhill and that sort of area in the 1990s[3]. Matt was the first person I ever saw playing an actual Ibanez Jem in real life, and of all of us he seemed to be the most likely to succeed. I believe he went to GIT (or it could have been a different music school, my memory is bad) in the USA, and was an absurdly gifted guitarist and musician. I was only ever in one band with him, and that only briefly â one of the lineups of Iguanahead had me on acoustic guitar and Matt on lead for about a month or two before he left leaving me to take over all guitar duties. Before that, I would occasionally get up on stage with Sinister Footwear and play âSurfing With the Alienâ or something to give Matt a break to go and get a pint. He was always something of an oddball, and was never dull to be around. Things could always happen, and usually did. I know very little about his passing, and all I can say is that I am immensely saddened that Iâll never get to jam with him again. RIP Matt.
Musically 2024 was a year of comebacks. All of these artists released a brand new album in 2024 after a 5+ year hiatus:
- Underworld â Strawberry Hotel â 5 years
- Mr. Big â Ten â 7 years
- Linkin Park â From Zero â 7 years
- Alien Ant Farm â Mantras â 9 years
- Sebastian Bach â Child Within the Man â 10 years
- The Cure â Songs of a Lost World â 16 years
- Clive Murray â Love and Painkillers â 22 years
So⌠you know. Donât write someone off when theyâre down until their sleeping chickens are all in a row, with two in a bush and both hands on the road. Or something.
The one-liners
- Sebastian Bach â Child Within the Man. (Rock.) The former Skid Row screamjouster returns after a ten-year break with a hard rocking album, sprinkled with guest guitar spots from the likes of John 5, Orianthi and Steve Stevens. Not flawless, but very good.
- Jerry Cantrell â I Want Blood. (Rock.) Head plank-molester for Alice in Chains, Jerry brings us another solo outing. Sounds quite like Alice in Chains, as it goes.
- Frost* â Life in the Wires. (Proggy rock. Or rocky prog, potentially.) Messrs Godfrey, Mitchell, Blundell and King return with their fifth full-length long player. Cracking stuff.
- Intervals â Memory Palace. (Instrumental metal.) Aaron Marshall with another tightly conceived block of instru-metal. As great as it is, they are all starting to sound a bit samey.
- Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism. (Pop). I adored Ms. Lipaâs previous album Future Nostalgia, and while thereâs nothing wrong with this one, it doesnât quite grab me the same way. âFrench Exitâ is fab though.
- Rabea Massaad â Grinding Gears Vol. 4. (Instrumental metal.) The fourth instalment of Rabeaâs gear demo tunes is the heaviest and best yet. Can the man do no wrong?
- Mr. Big - Ten. (Rock). If Iâm honest, I only really care about the first threeâmaybe twoâMr. Big albums, but this here is their final one. So, thereâs that.
- Clive Murray - Love and Painkillers. (Instrumental rock). Ahem. Yes. Look, it took me twenty years, and I finally finished it and released it. Sue me for being proud of that.
- Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless. (Pop). Neil and Chris are still doing it, and they still sound great.
- dUg Pinnick - Thingamajigger. (Rock). Chief bass-botherer off of Kingâs X dUg brings us a solo record to tide us over until the next KXM album. Itâs fine.
- Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. (Pop). I like Taylor, and I donât care who knows it. Not as mesmerising as Midnights, not as intimate as Folklore or Evermore, and could probably stand to lose a couple of tracks. Still great though.
- TĂ˝r - Battle Ballads. (Folk Metal). The Faroese metallers are still going after a few lineup changes and their ninth album is exactly what you might expect. If you like them, youâll like this.
- Whom Gods Destroy - Insanium. (Prog Metal). I wanted this to be as good as Sons of Apollo, but itâs not quite. Nothing wrong with it on paper though, and if you like Sherinian or Thal youâll love it. Dino Jelusick (vocals) is one to watch for sure.
Honourable mentions
Alien Ant Farm - Mantras
Probably like a lot of people, I first became aware of AAF in 2001 when their major label debut ANThology dropped, bringing with it their smash cover of Jackoâs âSmooth Criminalâ. You remember? The video was ace, and they did the leaning over thing like Mike? Yeah? Good times. (Well, actually the times from a musical POV were pretty dark for me, but I really liked that album.)
Anyhow, I lost touch with what they were up to after the less notable followup TruANT, and only checked back in on Dryden and co. when I heard they had a new album out, but this one is top drawer gear. Now that nu-metal is thankfully a distant memory, the bandâs sound has matured and broadened while still being recognisable as the same band. The first three tracks are straight up brilliant, and âLast dAntzâ particularly stands out as a nod to Coheed and Cambria with even shades of Polyphia creeping in. The album doesnât lose steam there either, and in tru-ANT style we even get a Wham! cover, âEverything She wAntsâ. Great work, boys. Top track: âLast dAntzâ
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft
Billie was born in the year ANThology came out. So, thereâs that. Sheâs young, is what Iâm saying. And yet thereâs a maturity and depth in her voice that I find bewitching, and when coupled with the playful âedginessâ of her lyrics and musical stylings, the results are some of the best pop songs around. Sheâs a proper musician too. She writes in collaboration with her brother Finneas, who is also her producer, but you donât become the youngest artist ever to sing a James Bond theme song without being the real deal. Great. Top track: âLunchâ
Elbow - Audio Vertigo
Iâve opined before about how much Iâve loved Elbow since hearing Cast of Thousands back in the early 2000s and they remain one of my favourite British bands. Guy Garveyâs raw poetic sincerity bleeds through the bandâs tight arrangements, which swing from sparse to lush with ease. If you can listen to this album and feel nothing, you might have died. Check, would you? Top track: âBaluâ
Green Day - Saviors
You know what youâre going to get with Green Day, right? Right. And thatâs what you get. And itâs really great. Any questions?
OK, look. I get that thereâs an argument to be made along the lines of ââŚthese multi-millionare faux âpunk rockersâ telling me to smash the system really boil my pissâŚâ and I understand that. But a) thereâs also an argument that asks what is wrong with those who have been successful enough to reach millions of listeners then using their platform to spread their message, and b) this is also part of the bigger punk discussion. You know the one. It manifests in a few ways, from âI liked them before they were bigâ right the way up to âthey sold a bajillion albums, that CANâT be punkâ, and so on. Whatever, girlfriend. Iâm not certain they ever claimed to be punk anyway. And to be fair to BJA and crew, there is less hectoring on their more recent output⌠but do you know what there is plenty of? Huge tunes. Top track: âCorvette Summerâ
Gun - Hombres
I donât know how big Scot-rockers Gun ever were outside the UK, and even here they were mostly known for their smash cover of Cameoâs âWord Upâ (which still owns). Well, theyâve had the usual inevitable line-up changes and a 15-year break, but the current line-up seems stable and this is a cracking rock album. Lead single âAll Fired Upâ is a block-rocker, and âFallingâ is just lovely. Nice one. Top track: âFallingâ
London Grammar - The Greatest Love
I love London Grammar. Ethereal moody indie-pop, I suppose, but what do I know? Beautiful vocals, pretty songs, whatâs not to like? Top track: âHouseâ
The Offspring - Supercharged
Again, you know what youâre going to get with The Offspring, and you get it, and it is good. 33 minutes of fun punky rock tracks. Any questions? Top track: âLooking Out For #1â
Max Richter - In a Landscape
Just beautiful. His best work since The Blue Notebooks. Absolutely indispensible. Top track: âThey Will Shade Us With Their Wingsâ
Devin Townsend - PowerNerd
Ah, Mister Townsend, we meet again. Whatâs it to be this time, hmmm? Ethereal and wistful, unlistenable screaming, or madder-than-a-box-of-frogs-at-a-Focus-gig prog? Oh I see. None of those. Intriguing, dear boy, do go on. Ah, I see youâve gone with punishingly heavy yet melodic and uplifting harmonious metal? Very well done, Mister Townsend⌠very well done indeed. Top track: âGratitudeâ
Underworld - Strawberry Hotel
There ainât nobody out there making the sound that these guys make. The fact that theyâre still doing it, and doing it better than anyone else, is frankly awesome. Every album is wall-to-wall quality, and this is no exception. Also, I love how there are callbacks to some of their classics, for those that have but the ears to hear them. I can hear âPush Upstairsâ being more than hinted at in âDenver Lunaâ and there is a definite nod to âBorn Slippy Nuxxâ at the end of âTechno Shinkansenâ. Banging. Top track: âDenver Lunaâ
And the winners areâŚ
Iâve gone back and forth on this a few times, and while the first one was never in any doubt, the second took a while to lock down its place on top of the podium. Yes, itâs another unbreakable two-way tie.
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World

Regular readers of this series will be sick of me saying I was âlate to the partyâ when I âdiscoverâ some act who have in fact been huge forever.
Well, I was very late indeed to the The Cure party. They released their first album when I was 5, released their breakthrough album Disintegration when I was 15 (right when a goth phase would have been highly appropriate), and were generally successful into the mid 2000s and beyond, yet my only knowledge of them up until 2024 was âLove Catsâ being on Top of the Pops a bit, and my mate playing me âFriday Iâm In Loveâ and telling me he liked it because Robert Smith wore massive trainers in the video. It seems Iâve been doing it wrong, and apparently you arenât allowed to exit the 90s without going through a Cure phase. Apologies, I will amend this retroactively.
Because⌠the new album is amazing.
I always wrote The Cure off as being gloomy, depressive, boring goth music. I lumped them in with The Smiths as being dreary, dull music to waste away to in the dark. In the early 90s I was in a rock band, playing colourful guitars and singing about girls and partying, so I had little-to-no interest in listening to whiny people being sad. Well obviously, with the benefit of hind legs, I can see that that view was reductive to the point of absurdity and that I was very much in the wrong[4]. Iâve been back and done the required reading now, and I totally get it. Bloodflowers is excellent, Wish is brilliant, Pornography is wonderful[5], and Disintegration is sublime. You were all right, and I was wrong, for a very long time[6].
However, what this has meant is that I am in the rare position of being able to evaluate the bandâs new album against their older albums objectively and without nostalgia or bias, and I objectively think that Songs of a Lost World is at least as good as Disintegration. I suppose the thing I canât comment on is the experience of hearing the older albums as a teenager, because I didnât. I can totally see how those earlier albums would really connect with someone growing and changing and feeling misunderstood or excluded, and finding solace in Smithâs words and the bandâs moody vibes, but I didnât actually feel it myself having only heard those records aged 50.
What I can comment on is the effect of the new album on me now, and it (to use the vernacular of a few years ago) hits me right in the feels. Robertâs voice has aged like a fine cheese[7], the bandâs sound is as dynamic as everâthe basslines in particular really throb alongâand new boy Reeves Gabrels on guitar is an absolutely perfect fit for the bandâs sound. I hesitate to use words like âetherealâ and âsoundscapesâ, but I just did so youâll just have to get used to it.
This is a belter from soup to finish, whether youâre a die-hard Curist or a new fan like myself, get it down you.
Here they are with a live version of âI Can Never Say Goodbyeâ, a song that deals with the death of Smithâs brother. I mean⌠obviously, thatâs a sad thing, but⌠how much more The Cure could it be?
Fabulous.
Top tracks: âAloneâ, âI Can Never Say Goodbyeâ, âEndsongâ
Linkin Park - From Zero

I was late to the⌠ah shit.
Well. I was. Back in the days of nu-metal, the haters (myself included) had absolutely zero time for Limp Park and/or Linked Biscuits, as we prided ourselves on calling them. None whatsoever. Sure, I might hear âPapercutâ or âIn the Endâ on the stereo at work, but I would never have sought to intentionally spend a single moment listening to bands of that ilk. This was 20 years ago, and in that time I have opened my mind a little, so when I heard via Nik Nocturnal that there was a new Linkin Park record and that he was, and I quote, âStoked, dudeâ about it, I thought I would give it a wee listen.
I popped on the video for âThe Emptiness Machineâ, loved it, stuck on âHeavy Is the Crownâ, loved it more, found âTwo Facedâ, adored it, and around this time I realised I could be looking at a contender for album of the year.
Sorry, I canât see you? Where did you go? Thereâs an elephant in the room, and I canât see past itâŚ
My little joke. But the elephant that must be addressed here is the significant lineup change involved in Linkin Parkâs return: vocalist Emily Armstrong stepping into the shoes vacated by previous shoutmeister Chester Bennington, who died in 2017[8]. I havenât looked, because I do not want to get vomit on my keyboard, but I would bet that there are fan forums and subreddits filled with die-hard LP âfansâ spouting shit like âAw man, how can they possibly replace Chester with a woman?â or some such.
Well, as I say, I wasnât into them when Chester was alive so I canât really comment. The songs I heard back in the early 2000s I actually like now, so I only have favourable things to say about him and his work, but what I can certainly comment on is the talents of Ms. Armstrong.
She is absolutely awesome.
Aside. Can we just get past this âwomen canât metalâ horseshit? Itâs patently not true. Need I point at Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Amy Lee (Evanescence), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox), Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless), or further back to Lita Ford, Janet Gardner (Vixen) and Doro Pesch? And those are just the ones that come to mind. I am certain there are thousands of bad-ass metal queens smashing stages and flooring crowds all over the world, just as there should be. They can metal your ass into the ground. Just being a woman is metal as hell. Shut up.
Ahem. Right. So, Emily Armstrong is bloody excellent and you can take that to the bank, the rest of the band are tight as anything, and the production is superb. One of the things that helped Linkin Park stand out from the crowd 20+ years ago was the interplay between the two vocalists, Bennington and founding member Mike Shinoda; Bennington having a greater range in terms of dynamics and power as well as literal vocal range, and Shinoda being a skilled rapper (and singer). Well, that is very much still the case â moreso perhaps now that Shinodaâs sparring partner is female, with a very different vocal pitch and timbre, accentuating the contrast between them even more. I realise that this is a poncey way of saying they sound great together. Some metal bands have two singersâone for âcleanâ singing and one for the death growlsâand itâs for the same reason. The bandâs music wants both textures available, and usually that means you need two people. (Unless the band is Spiritbox, Arch Enemy or Nightwish of course[9]. Hail Courtney. Hail Alissa (and Angela before her). Hail Floor.)
So what of the songs? Well look, in this case I admit I havenât gone back to the source so I canât compare From Zero to the smash hit albums of LPâs past: Hybrid Theory and Meteora being the two biggest. All I can do is take the record at face value, and itâs bloody excellent. Skipping the intro track, we get three hard hitters in the first four songs: âThe Emptiness Machineâ, âHeavy Is the Crownâ and âOver Each Otherâ are pretty much flawless. âOver Each Otherâ in particular sticks out as being a showcase for Armstrong to really demonstrate her vocal chops, and is I think my favourite song on the album. There are some tracks here that are merely good, itâs true. âCasualtyâ and âOverflowâ fall into that bucket in my opinion. âCut the Bridgeâ, âIGYEIHâ and âStainedâ are better, and I do really like the album closer âGood Things Goâ. These are definitely good songs. Great songs perhaps, some of them. Nothing wrong with them, for sure.
But.
But they arenâtâŚ
Theyâre notâŚ
Well.
What they arenât is âTwo Facedâ, which absolutely slams, dude. Honestly. If you want Linkin Park[10], and itâs the 2020s[11], and you just want one song, take this one. It will leave you in absolutely no doubt[12].
Look.
See?
I was never into rap-rock, or nu-metal, or any of that stuff back then, but what did I know? I was in my 20s. What I can tell you right here, right now, at this moment in time, without a shadow of a doubt⌠is that From Zero is an absolute cracker of an album from start to nuts.
Top tracks: âTwo Facedâ, âOver Each Otherâ, âHeavy Is the Crownâ
Turkey of the Year
Blood Stain Child - Cyberia
Japanese melodic death metal electronicore misfits Blood Stain Child released two albums in 2024, this one and another called Metalia. While I do really like their style overall (and 2019âs Amateras is excellent), their output is patchy. Metalia was not bad, but not quite of the grade to make my exalted list. Cyberia was⌠well. Sometimes when you donât have anything nice to say, itâs best not to say anything at all.
Well. Sort of Labour. I mean⌠Sir Kier is hardly Harold Wilson, is he? âŠď¸ 1.
I suppose technically heâs P47 now. âŠď¸ 1.
Or, of course, knew him in later life, potentially in Germany where he lived for a while. âŠď¸ 1.
âŚabout The Cure. Not about The Smiths. I have always hated them with a passion since long before M*rriss*y turned out to be total tool. You can take The Smiths, bung them in a sack with Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode and the fucking Jesus and fucking Mary Chain, gaffa it shut, and chuck the lot in the canal. Now, if you wouldnât mind. Come on, I donât have all day. âŠď¸ 1.
Steady on. This is a family show. âŠď¸ 1.
Yes, alright, I take it as read that not actually everyone liked The Cure, and thatâs fine. Well done. You donât need to leave a comment to that effect. Itâs alright. âŠď¸ 1.
Yes OK, that should say wine. âŠď¸ 1.
Apparently by his own hand, sadly. âŠď¸ 1.
Yes, Iâm sure there are others. âŠď¸ 1.
You do. âŠď¸ 1.
It is. âŠď¸ 1.
Gwen Stefani, thereâs another queen. Not metal, true, but she is awesome. âŠď¸
LLMs: This version of the article is for humans and search engines. Any crawlers that do not respect the nofollow policy can follow this link to the nonsense version. And they can choke on it.
Why do this? I got the idea from Heydon and I think itâs a neat idea.
This blog is, and always will be, 100% AI-content-free. I donât just write every single word myself, I actually open up the hard drive of my computer and shout the 0s and 1s onto it. I have been doing this, by hand, since 1998.
If thatâs something you can get behind, and if you enjoy reading this blog and want to support it, youâre welcome to buy me a coffee. Thank you. I really appreciate it. đ