Tag Archives: skybound

The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2024

Posted on by
Reply

“Fans still compare me to Bruce Dickinson. I have people coming up to me and saying, Don’t you know that could’ve been you? And I tell them, That was me! I just didn’t want it..” – Paul Di’Anno

It’s hard to put into words the loss of our beloved Paul Andrews (17 May 1958 – 21 October 2024), better known by his stage name Paul Di’Anno, one of the most iconic musicians in the history of heavy music, helping Iron Maiden be what they’re today by giving that edgier vibe to the albums Iron Maiden and Killers, therefore influencing all future generations of musicians not only in Heavy Metal, but also in Punk Rock and Rock N’ Roll. He was a legend and will be sorely missed by anyone who loves good music. There’s not much we can do at The Headbanging Moose to honor his life and work, but we’ll keep celebrating heavy music in his name for as long as we can. I wish he could have played one final show in Toronto so Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I could have registered such a unique moment in the city, but unfortunately time is not always in our favor. Anyway, it might be a very sad year to the metal community worldwide with an irreplaceable loss like that, but heavy music lives on, and that’s why here we have once again The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2024, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, to keep the spirit alive and keep raising our horns to countless metal musicians like our great Paul Di’Anno.

1. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (REVIEW)
Nothing can stand in the way of the Metal Gods as they raise the invincible shield of Heavy Metal.
Best song of the album: The Serpent and the King

2. Werewolves – Die For Us (REVIEW)
Australia’s most savage beast is back with their fifth studio opus, a lecture in Death Metal perfect for beating anyone back to life.
Best song of the album: Spittle-Flecked Rant

3. Aborted – Vault of Horrors (REVIEW)
These Death Metal and Deathcore beasts open their demonic vault of horrors to bring brutality, gore and evil to our damned souls.
Best song of the album: Death Cult

4. Necrowretch – Swords of Dajjal (REVIEW)
This French Blackened Death Metal horde returns blacker than ever with a magnificent opus dedicated to the Islamic Antichrist.
Best song of the album: Vae Victis

5. Gaerea – Coma (REVIEW)
The torchbearers of present-day Black Metal arise again, erupting with intensity, casting forth black ashes over the world.
Best song of the album: Coma

6. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere (REVIEW)
Blood Incantation offer us all two sensational compositions that are as confounding as they are engaging in their scope.
Best song of the album: The Stargate [Tablet I]

7. Benighted – Ekbom (REVIEW)
Let’s dive into the auditory abyss with this Brutal Death Metal and Grindcore entity armed with their newborn beast.
Best song of the album: Fame of the Grotesque

8. Fleshgod Apocalypse – Opera (REVIEW)
One of the torchbearers of Symphonic Death Metal worldwide returns with their strongest opus to date.
Best song of the album: I Can Never Die

9. Arhat – Secrets of Ancient Gods (REVIEW)
The newborn spawn by this Ukrainian horde will take you on a journey into the world of ancient gods and mysterious rituals.
Best song of the album: Abyss of Flame

10. Grand Magus – Sunraven (REVIEW)
Sweden’s own Heavy and Doom Metal institution is back with a new collection of battle hymns inspired by the tale of Beowulf and Grendel.
Best song of the album: Skybound

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Ecclesia – Ecclesia Militans (REVIEW)
12. The Last of Lucy – Godform (REVIEW)
13. Rotting Christ – Προ Χριστού (Pro Xristou) (REVIEW)
14. Rage – Afterlifelines (REVIEW)
15. Ingested – The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams (REVIEW)
16. Blaze Bayley – Circle of Stone (REVIEW)
17. Striker – Ultrapower (REVIEW)
18. Kerry King – From Hell I Rise (REVIEW)
19. Accept – Humanoid (REVIEW)
20. Hiraes – Dormant (REVIEW)

In addition, as I always like to say, sometimes a band doesn’t need to release a full album to kick some ass, and that’s why we also have our Top 10 EP’s of 2024 to show that sometimes less is more, or maybe I should say, less is heavier!

1. Rifftera – Coda (REVIEW)
2. Trollwar – Tales from the Frozen Wastes (REVIEW)
3. Atavistia – Inane Ducam (REVIEW)
4. Ways. – Are We Still Alive? (REVIEW)
5. Enforced – A Leap Into The Dark (REVIEW)
6. Gutvoid – Breathing Obelisk (REVIEW)
7. Onslaught Kommand – Visions of Blood and Gore (REVIEW)
8. Golgothan Remains – Bearer of Light, Matriarch of Death (REVIEW)
9. Infernalivm – Conquering the Most High (REVIEW)
10. Dragoncorpse – Fall of House Abbarath (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2024? Also, don’t forget to tune in every Tuesday at 10pm BRT on Rádio Coringão to enjoy the best of classic and underground metal with Jorge Diaz and his Timão Metal, and every Thursday at 8pm UTC+2 on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal with The Headbanging Moose Show!

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2025!

In the end, there’s no Christmas-inspired song this year, nor anything festive like that, but I’ll leave you with the official video for one of the most important songs ever recorded by Iron Maiden, one with a strong punk and thrash vibe, with the one and only Paul Di’Anno on vocals. Let’s raise our horns to him forever and ever, my fellow metalheads! RIP legend!

Album Review – Grand Magus / Sunraven (2024)

Posted on by
1

After a very long wait, Sweden’s own Heavy and Doom Metal institution is back with a new collection of battle hymns inspired by the tale of Beowulf and Grendel.

In their over 20 years of career, Stockholm, Sweden’s own Heavy/Doom Metal institution Grand Magus has been eternalized in the music history and looks back on a treasury full of all-time Heavy Metal anthems. Now in 2024 the band formed of Janne “JB” Christoffersson on vocals and guitars, Mats “Fox” Skinner on bass, and Ludwig “Ludde” Witt on drums is back with a new blast of memorable battle hymns entitled Sunraven, a concept album about Beowulf and Grendel, a worthy follow-up to their 2019 album Wolf God, and a lecture in heavy doom that will certainly feature among the best metal albums of the year on any list that worships the power of the mighty riff.

And the riffs by Janne sound beautifully heavy and doomed in Skybound, setting the tone in a lesson in Epic Doom Metal by the trio, with the deep, passionate vocals by Janne adding even more epicness to the overall result. Yes, I guess I’ll overuse the word “epic” on this review as you might have already notice. Then investing in a more direct Doom Metal sound we have The Wheel of Pain, with the pounding drums by Ludwig and the low-tuned bass by Mats bringing sheer heaviness to the music, followed by the title-track Sunraven, where the trio keeps delivering sonic awesomeness with their crisp, sharp riffs and blasting beats sounding majestic. It’s time to darken the skies with the melodic and heavy Winter Storms, as cold as it’s vibrant and grim, in line with their Swedish roots and loyal to their foundations; whereas The Black Lake is perhaps the most Black Sabbath-ish song of the entire album (and even of their entire career), to the point we can imagine the almighty Dio singing it. Needless to say, Janne is once again spot-on with his vocals and riffs.

The second half of the album begins with the utterly epic, electrifying Hour of the Wolf, with the guitars by Janne and the rumbling kitchen by Mats and Ludwig inviting us all to head into the battlefield together with Grand Magus, followed by Grendel, another blast of their classic fusion of Heavy, Epic and Doom Metal, offering more of their trademark riffs and beats as well as the low-tuned bass by Mats. To Heorot sounds utterly stunning form start to finish, inspiring us all to raise our fists in the air to the classic vocals by Janne while Ludwig hammers his drums in great fashion, sounding also perfect for some vigorous headbanging in the name of doom; and the power of the riff is also outstanding in the closing tune The End Belongs to You, putting a classy ending to the album and leaving us all more than eager for more (as the album has only 35 minutes of music in total).

I would have simply loved if the album had an extra 10 or 15 minutes of music, mainly because we’ve all been waiting for a new Grand Magus opus for quite some time, but let’s say the band kept Sunraven tight and sharp from start to finish  without sounding cheesy, tiresome or anything like that, which means it might have only 35 minutes in duration, but those are damn intense 35 minutes for our total delight. Hence, don’t forget to stream the album in full on YouTube and on Spotify, to follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and so on, and above all that, to grab a copy of the hammering Sunraven by clicking HERE. “The album is about Beowulf and Grendel. In essence, Sunraven is Beowulf, and that’s my own invention,” Janne explains. “But some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Beowulf, and some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Grendel, the monster he faces in Denmark. That kind of steered me and carried me through the lyrical process this time. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve always been fascinated by that tale. These myths and legends are about all the basic things that we sing about – life, death, glory, dishonour, love, hate, overcoming difficulties, facing impossible opposition and so on.” In other words, what can sound more Heavy Metal than such a strong tale, right? And of course, only Grand Magus could bring all that to life with so much passion, epicness and glory.

Best moments of the album: Skybound, Sunraven, Hour of the Wolf and To Heorot.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2024 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Skybound 3:28
2. The Wheel of Pain 3:23
3. Sunraven 3:37
4. Winter Storms 5:15
5. The Black Lake 5:34
6. Hour of the Wolf 4:03
7. Grendel 3:32
8. To Heorot 3:00
9. The End Belongs to You 3:21

Band members
Janne “JB” Christoffersson – lead vocals, guitars
Mats “Fox” Skinner – bass, backing vocals
Ludwig “Ludde” Witt – drums