The Best Hardcore / Metalcore / Deathcore Album - Metal Storm Awards 2024

Blind Girls - An Exit Exists

Blind Girls is one of those very emotionally intense punk bands that really love their screaming and fast paces. At just 22 minutes of runtime, An Exit Exists packs a lot of dynamism into a small package: the album has its fair share of the "controlled chaos" nature of mathcore and plenty of dissonant and angular riffing in its most intense moments, but also a focus on creating a depressing and distressing atmosphere, with a lot of moments that pull back on the intensity to push the dynamics. Plus, it's easy to be depressing and distressing when the vocal performance sounds this agonized.

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Boundaries - Death Is Little More

Death Is Little More, the fourth full-length album by Connecticut-based metalcore act Boundaries, is undoubtedly one of the most heavy-hitting and mature-sounding metalcore releases of the past year. If it's not already atop your radar, it should be right now. From start to finish, this record grabs you by the throat with its relentless, dark-themed brand of punishing metalcore, squeezing tighter and tighter with every crushing track. With aggressive yet captivating rhythms, varied vocals, sporadic moments of melodic contrast, and brutal breakdowns all over the place, it’s the kind of record that - and this is not said lightly - defines the genre. Boundaries are stalwarts of the new wave, pushing metalcore to new heights with powerful songwriting and an intense, compelling delivery.

Candy - It's Inside You

With Candy's early works having been more in the usual metallic hardcore style, previous record Heaven Is Here stood out for making one of the noisiest hardcore punk records ever heard by literally using power electronics as a backdrop for the entire record. It's Inside You is still quite a noisy album, but this time in a more conventional "dense with distortion" way rather than much in terms of actual noise injections, focusing more on the metallic hardcore. Those noise injections are also replaced by multiple other electronica injections, mostly of the electro-industrial and breakcore variety, and the blends are more seamless and engaging this time around while also making the core sound feel more impactful.

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Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet

There are two approaches at play on Artificial Bouquet. On one hand, there's a lot of atmospheric focus; touches of blackened post-rock and shoegaze mean that you can hear a little bit of Deafheaven likeness in it. But the viciousness also gets pretty close to emoviolence sounds akin to old Jeromes Dream or Love Lost But Not Forgotten, though without reaching that same intensity consistently. And they don't feel contradictory here. Clever sound combinations, plenty of bass in the mix, and a production that's both raw and warm definitely help, but what really makes Artificial Bouquet hit is the sheer intensity.

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Heriot - Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell

Following their 2022 breakthrough EP, Profound Morality, Heriot return with their debut studio album, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell, firmly claiming their spot within forward-thinking and genre-agnostic metal circles. Combining powerful elements from various subgenres such as metalcore, sludge metal, post-metal, and even industrial, the album is a remarkable fusion of styles. Fun fact: Sylosis frontman Josh Middleton and Fit For An Autopsy guitarist William Putney helped shape Heriot's sound with their talent for sonic experimentation and strong songwriting. Diverse and well-thought-out tracks shift between sludge-driven rhythm patterns, violent breakdowns, and more atmospheric, haunting moments. The varying vocal styles, from demonic screams to ethereal cleans, further amplify the bludgeoning intensity of the record. Come to think of it, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell is actually quite the fitting title for this bone-crushing, dense, and unsettling beast of an album.

Infant Island - Obsidian Wreath

A lot of music in this vein, whether it’s screamo or pure hardcore or just emo or even post-rock/post-metal, is about catharsis: an expulsion of frustration and despair in a messy, personal statement. Well, given the scale of the existential crises Infant Island grapple with, there may be no resolution at the end of the scream, but they certainly have a heavy burden of poisonous feelings to purge, and the experience of Obsidian Wreath will remind you that somewhere in the etymology of the “screamo” label is the suggestion of emotion. Infant Island have mastered both the intensity and the delicacy of the styles they combine, bringing out relentless fury and quiet caresses from black metal, post-rock, hardcore, and everything within that spectrum; Obsidian Wreath is just like its name, at once viciously sharp and viscerally sad.

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State Faults - Children Of The Moon

Children Of The Moon is post-hardcore’s pitch-black pearl of the year. It’s the kind of record that guides you through moments of fury and tenderness, striking a delicate balance between shimmering soundscapes and searing post-hardcore aggression, all deeply forged in the fire of the band’s screamo origins. Its raw, yet at times fragile, intensity is matched by mature and refined musicianship, crafting a cinematic and emotionally profound experience. The album’s charged storytelling delves into themes of love, despair, and self-destruction, resonating with subtle existential undertones. With its draining yet strangely uplifting sound, Children Of The Moon feels like taking a deep breath before plunging back into the storm.

Svdestada - Candela

The Spanish Svdestada are no strangers to our Metal Storm Awards. They already earned a nomination back in 2021 in this category thanks to their excellent sophomore work, Azabache, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that their latest album, Candela, is also one of the fiercest from last year. And how could it be any other way? Their potent mix of black metal, crust punk, and post-hardcore will set your soul ablaze. Tracks like “Cierzo” and “Efímero” need only a couple of seconds to shock your senses with their caustic riffs, vitriolic vocals, and aggressively punky drums. Released in the very first week of 2024, Candela is a testament to memorable songwriting that passed the test of time. With an arsenal of songs that build up to fiery crescendos, Svdestada use passion and pain to astounding effect.

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Tenue - Arcos, Bó​vedas, Pó​rticos

Tenue have come back from the frontier that was their single-track, 29-minute album Territorios, but they haven't fully abandoned the idea of hardcore/screamo as a long-form style - and not out of a mere compulsion to test your endurance, but spurred by a plethora of inventive melodies and structures that keep each song on this album ebbing and flowing through multiple stages. Whether slowing into somber, doomy dirges, pulling back for some post-rock atmosphere, blitzing through emotional black metal, or slamming down a discordant punk frenzy, Arcos, Bó​vedas, Pó​rticos is full of energy and momentum that its sheer variety cannot diminish. Tenue are driven by conviction, and they're as delicate with your attention span as they are indelicate with their feelings.

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Zbrucz - Riparia Riparia

Slovenian screamo newcomers Zbrucz stand out immediately with their debut work, Riparia Riparia. Not only is it our shortest entry with barely 20 minutes of material, it is also the rawest album by far in this category. Recorded in a shelter and a living room, Riparia Riparia breathes DIY attitude and manages to be extremely charismatic with its passionate, painful, yet addictive sense of melancholia. The catchy riffs, emotional guitar leads, and hardcore drumming will quickly draw you in but it is the deeply harrowing and emotional vocal delivery that will make you hit repeat so you can relive the pain once more. Zbrucz’s modest yet emotive approach is difficult to resist. Urban despair has rarely been this heart-wrenching.

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