Green Day re-released two albums this year. Nimrod celebrated its 25th birthday in 2022 and the re-release happened early 2023. Dookie would celebrate its 30th birthday in 2024, but got a re-release near the end of 2023. Nimrod includes the original album, demos and a live performance at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, November 14, 1997. Dookie also includes the original album, demos, outtakes, and live recordings. The live tracks come from the band’s Woodstock ’94 set and a show in Barcelona from June 1994. They also announced their new album Saviours that’s going to be released on January 12, 2024. So far they’ve already released 3 tracks called The American Dream is killing me, Look Ma, I Ain’t Got No Brains and Dilemma. The first two being more simple sounding, pure punk rock tracks. The third one being a more serious one about lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s addiction history.

Enter Shikari brings a mixture of electronicore and hard rock with their new album ‘A Kiss for the Whole world‘. Their previous album, ‘Nothing is True and Everything is Possible‘, didn’t receive as much love, but this one got received with open arms. Enter Shikari is a band that I only recently got to know. They are not your typical metal band, they definitely give the genre a new definition by combining the electronic genre with metal and rock music. Some of the tracks even sound more electronic than metal, but throughout the album, Enter Shikari uses a nice mix of both genres, creating their own sound. If you’re in for something different, definitely check them out! There are also a lot of references in this album to their previous work. They are touring Europe pretty soon, and coming to the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on February 19, 2024 if you want to see them live.

Belgian melodic death metal band Hexa Mera says it’s time for a new chapter to start. They start this chapter with their new album Methuselarity part 1. Methuselarity is a combination of the name of King Methuselah from the Old Testament and the word “singularity”. It is the point at which we can surpass the biological limits of human lifespan and extend human life to eternity. This means that we no longer have an expiration date and do not have to die of old age or illness, and can therefore become immortal through scientific, technological, and medical innovations. Beside the meaning of the words, the music is solid and strong, carried on a bed of melodies. It’s honestly beautiful to listen to. The album is about 25 minutes long, but those minutes fly by like it’s nothing.

You can read the full review here.

In the past, I have done other single reviews and an EP review from Chris Maragoth. This time, he released his first full length album called Gatherer of Souls. Chris states the album title also has another meaning to him. It has a self-referential component: as Chris collaborated on this record with several musicians (Souls) who joined him on the majority of the tracks, such as Estelia, a Jewish mezzo-soprano with Georgian and Ukrainian roots, German female vocalist Cherry Summerfield of the Melodic Death Metal band July 15th and Per Lümbersson of German Melodic Death Metal band Aeon of Awareness. The cello parts in all songs were contributed by a Ukrainian cellist. Some of the songs on this album have been released before already, and have been remastered for this album. Some songs are brand new. Time just flies by while listening to the album. I always love how Chris manages to tell such beautiful stories with instrumental tracks. It feels as if the instruments have their own life, their own soul. It’s truly beautiful, how a song can feel alive. This makes me feel like ‘Gatherer of Souls‘ is a fitting tile for this album.

You can read the full review here.

On this album, we find 6 new tracks and 4 rare tracks that were previously released, but only on certain limited edition versions or only in certain regions. Now those are all together on this album. Interludium has the classic Powerwolf sound: fast strumming riffs followed by the melody of the lead guitar, which is then followed by the loud and clear voice of lead singer Attila Dorn. Powerwolf continues to explore new ways within their own signature sound. It contains catchy and powerful songs, yet the album is not surprising. If you know the band, you know what this album will sound like. You will not know, however, what story the songs will tell and what details will be hidden in there, which is what makes me come back to Powerwolf every time.

You can read the full review here.

Nanowar of Steel always brings a smile to your face. This album contains a pirate metal song about being sober, a song about the history of a football match in the style of Sabaton, together with Joakim Brodén, the lead singer of that said band, and also, of course, disco metal! If this sounds weird, which it probably does, just pick up the album and listen to it. It will all make sense.

You can read the full review here.

Yes, you read that right; former singer of Gloryhammer, Thomas Winkler aka Angus McFife, has now reincarnated as Angus McSix! He rides dinosaurs, fights goblins and traded his hammer for a mighty sword. From the beginning, the album had a high demand, even causing the release date of the album to be a bit delayed. And I have to say, this release will not disappoint you. It has humor, it has power, and it has a story to follow throughout the album. Sometimes Thomas’ voice gets a bit overwhelmed by the music on top of it. Which is a shame since he is a very good singer. Let Thomas Winkler (Angus McSix), Seeb Levermann (Archdemon Seebulon), Thalia Bellazecca (Queen of the Lazer-Amazons Thalestris) and Manu Lotter (Buff Berserker Skaw from the North) take you on their journey throughout their brand-new universe.

You can read the full review here.

Probably one of the most emotional releases of this year. Bass player and singer Mark Hoppus survived cancer, drummer Travis Barker survived a plane crash and guitarist Tom DeLonge saw all this happen and got reunited with the two and form the original line up of Blink-182 once more. If you want to hear the story, listen to their title track ‘One More Time‘. If you want to watch the story unfold, they made a beautiful video with it that I’ll link below. ‘One More Time’ is emotional, but also fun. It takes you back in time, but also makes you appreciate what you have here and now. This album brings you straightforward power chords, clean vocals and pure punk rock. Varying between different paces and different energies. It gives you songs to cry to, songs to dance to, and anything in between. It is an emotional roller coaster, but one worth riding.

You can read the full review here.

Gloryhammer‘s first album with new singer Sozos Michael. On their previous album, Angus McFife died in the Terrorvortex. Now, he is reclaiming the lost kingdom in a war with evil wizard Zargothrax once again. This album contains holy flaming hammers, nuclear motorbikes and fighting goblins. This album has so many sides, but above all, the whole album connects through the story and the journey that it takes the listener on. If you know Gloryhammer, you will definitely recognize their sound. This album does have a bit more synths and more Zargothrax vocals, which creates more interaction and tension than previous albums. If you don’t know Gloryhammer, think fantasy, goblins, power metal, a great vocalist that can sing high notes and put those together for some action.

You can read the full review here.

Bury Tomorrow‘s The Seventh Sun is loud and heavy. Heavy meaning that the music is heavy, but also the topics, the way it is brought to you. It is like therapy on a disc. Truly beautiful and honest, straight from the heart melodic metal core music that hits hard. I do have to sit and think a bit after this album, but I’m also ready to conquer the day. And the best thing is, if it’s already this good on a CD, you will definitely be blown away live. I’ve seen the band multiple times this year, and I can definitely say that Bury Tomorrow sounds amazing live. You forget about the time and let the music carry you away. Meanwhile, lead singer Dani Winter-bates will keep your spirits up with his ‘motivational speeches’ during the shows. Get ready for some hard hitting metal core songs!

You can read the full review here.