The Best Metal Albums of December 2024

Every December we launch our "Best of the Year" videos. Unfortunately, this doesn't give us any time to cover albums that come out in December. Well, this year, we want to change that by introducing the new Forgemaster Metal Review Blog.

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The Old Dead Tree - Second Thoughts (December, 2024)

Man, this album is a journey. The Old Dead Tree have always been hard to classify. They do their own thing and do it very well. If I'd compare them to anyone, it'd be bands like Green Carnation or In The Woods... just kinda doing their own "Avantgarde" thing. But when I think of Avantgarde, I don't think of musical theater, layered melodies, and choruses that will have you singing from the roof tops. 

The Old Dead Tree has nailed this formula of weaving between "extreme metal" and U2 or fucking, Muse. You owe yourself to spin this at least once. You're gonna find at least a few songs that will speak to you - guaranteed.

Grundeis - Every Second An Ocean (Dec, 2024)

A fairly new band coming out of Hamburg. Difficult to categorize; obvious influences of dark wave, punk, doom, and a touch of that post-metal/blackgaze. The female vocals are dynamic. The mix knows when to push and pull, letting the heavy parts get in your face while the atmospheric sections seem distant. 

Song writing carries this sense of dread, unleashing tension in choruses that catapult the track to new heights. A long listen, worth hearing a handful of times at least. FFO: Cranberries, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative

An Axis Of Perdition - Apertures (Dec, 2024)

I love when a band returns from a hiatus with a powerful release. Maybe it means the break was warranted? This band's release genuinely surprised me. The music is wonderful. While I don't mind the e-drum kit tones, my ears take offense at some of the wretched usage of metal on metal sounds. I love the use of sound effects, but when you're playing with certain frequencies, like METAL ON METAL... I can only take that shit so much dude my tinnitus is going fucking bonkers just thinking about it. (ahem: Track 4 -Chant of the Worshipful Prey ...) 

The interludes are amazing, building a palpable tension, with the songs being a major pay off. If you wanna hear something haunting, disturbing, and at times; genuinely hard to bear... you know what to do.