No. 1 Albums From 2014 To 2024

10 years fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

10 years that I’ve been doing this blog. 10 years that I’ve been review anime, metal albums, conventions, and whatever else caught my fancy. 10 years that I’ve claimed my little piece of the internet, and hopefully I will claim 10 more & beyond. It’s a strange thing if you ask me: time is fleeting, but somehow what we do online can stay for quite a while. It’s weird, but there’s something oddly comforting about it at the same time.

So to celebrate this decade of me being online, I wanted to go over what all of the number 1's I’ve had over these years. The number 1's among my albums, movies, and games that is. To challenge myself somewhat, any year that had a time or such will have one of them picked out instead of any of the others so as not to clutter these up. On top of that, these 3 lists will also preview something that’s come from 2024 so far, and it may or may not change by the time December rolls around. With that out of the way, here are my no. 1 albums from 2014 to 2024. Let’s begin!

2014) Septicflesh: Titan (Song)

Over a decade by the time this list is released, I still hold the first ever Death Metal album I got into close to my heart. Septicflesh have been producing albums for a little over 30 years here in 2024, and it’s albums like Titan that keep it’s fans invested. The record is a perfect balancing act: just the right amount of symphonics, and just the right amount of Death Metal. Neither aspect overpowers the other, and the two walk a tightrope together without even remotely falling off either side. I may have physically owned the album since 2016, but I’d like to think it’s been with me for longer than that. I believe I’d said it before, and I’ll say it again, but Titan is the album you’ll want to listen to first if you want to get into the slaughterhouse that is Death Metal. Guaranteed!

2015) Faith No More: Sol Invictus (Song)

I dropped my jaw when I found out that Faith No More got back together & released a new album. It had been over a decade since the band released anything, as they split up in 1997 to pursue other things, but when they came back in 2015 it felt as if they never left us. Taking everything they learned from their time in the late 80s to 90s, they brought that all into the middle of the 2010s, and the end result is a massive nostalgia blast! For a while I’ve fallen away from it somewhat, yet I still can’t deny how hard it hit me nearly a decade ago. If any of you weren’t a child of the 90s and would like a gateway into what that decade was like, then I highly suggest that you listen to this!

2016) David Bowie: Blackstar (Song)

The stars were dimming quite a bit since Ziggy Stardust left Earth nearly a decade ago. For over 8 years, the airwaves have been a little less special with David Bowie no longer being in the musical picture, but not long before he left he managed to crank out a beast of an album! While I do think it’s perhaps a little too artistic, and there’s some ego to be felt here & there, I wouldn’t say that Blackstar is bad. Far from it: the album is perhaps at Bowie’s creative zenith. Much like Freddy Mercury on Innuendo, he is pouring our his heart & soul, and spending what little energy he had left in crafting his Magnum Opus. Though the No Plan would come out a year later, and have some great songs in it’s own right, it’s Blackstar that has a lot of punch behind it’s music. If you’d like to see the stars twinkle for only a little bit, I think this is the album to make them shine.

2017) Kreator: Gods Of Violence (Song)

In a year of political upheaval in the United states thanks to a certain somebody becoming president, it was comforting to know that one of the cornerstones of German Thrash Metal would release Gods Of Violence right at the very beginning of 2017. The album is exactly what you expect from modern-day Kreator: hard-hitting & heavy riffs, raspy & brutal vocals, and political commentary that’s in your face. In the years since Gods Of Violence was released, it seems that time is reflecting upon the album a little too well, especially here in 2024. I can only imagine what things are gonna be like by the time we get to 2027.....if we all make it to then. Speaking of reflecting.....

2018) Ministry: Amerikkkant (Song)

I will continue to defend this album. Flaws and all, I will continue to stand by putting this at no. 1 in 2018. One of the few pieces of anti-Trump media that has aged surprisingly well, one of the biggest advantages of Amerikkkant is that it actually isn’t fully anti-Trump. If anything, the former president is barely on the record at all, as Uncle Al & the gang wanted to examine the circumstances that led to the cheeto-in-chief taking power here in the United States hopefully for the only time. With Hopium For The Masses being released earlier this year (A great release in it’s own right, btw), we still have Ministry cranking out damn good music with a potent political message, but if Trump gets back into the White House, then I think that Amerikkkant might have a resurgence of sorts.

2019) Rammstein: Untitled (Song)

You might recall me heaping a lot of praise on Rammstein’s 2022 emotional colossus Zeit, and I still say it’ll take a baseball bat to the feels, but for whatever reason I love their incredible return in 2019 a little bit more. Turning 5 years old a few months ago, this album comes out of the gate hitting hard & fast, and upon each listen since then is just harder and harder. Whether it’s on this CD or live, the songs on this release are perhaps the most potent that the band has ever created. If you a longtime fan that for some reason never listened to this, or you’re a new fan that’s curious about Rammstein’s return, then you gotta seek this album out.

2020) U.D.O. - We Are One (Song)

When I reviewed this album in 2021, one of the issues I had with We Are One was that the message that Udo Dirkschneider was trying to convey on the release was perhaps a bit too cheesy & hippy-ish.....but to be perfectly honest I’ve kind of repaired that dent in the armor. Perhaps now in 2024 more than 2020, we need the message of hope, togetherness, and working with one another to make this world a better place before it’s too late. Acquiring the services of the German Military’s own marching band, the end result is the modern equivalent of We Are The World......only more metal!

2021) Mastodon: Hushed & Grim (Song)

By the time Hushed & Grim came out, I was listening to the band for a little over 4 years. Emperor Of Sand and Cold Dark Place may have been the albums that got my ass in a seat, but it was the band’s most emotional colossus that has kept me glued to said seat. It may be a bit on the long side (Nearly an hour and a half), but their 2021 release was the culmination of everything that the band was feeling. From the aftershocks of EOS, to the isolation of 2020 & 2021, Mastodon were definitely in an emotional hotbed, and the end result is perhaps their strongest outing ever in their career. If you got over an hour to spare, Hushed & Grim is a great way to spend that time!

2022) Devin Townsend: Lightwork (Song)

A perfect counterbalance to the plague-ridden chaos that was 2020 & 2021, Devin Townsend’s mental balm that was Lightwork was a much needed breath of fresh air in 2022. Though I said in my review from last year that at times it’s too soothing, at the same time the soft energy from a majority of the album was needed as we were all leaving the diseased miasma from the prior years. Devin had already captured what we were already feeling somewhat in 2021 with the dual release of The Puzzle and Snuggles, but Lightwork amplified that to 10, and continues to do so in 2024. If there was a way that HevyDevy would barge into this new decade, and with plenty of that Mad Canadian style, it was definitely with this album.

(Also, we got Powernerd coming towards the end of October, and if the title track is anything to go by, he’ll have another hit release on his hands!)

2023) Host: IX (Song)

2023 was definitely a rough year. Wasn’t it?

With all of the social & political upheaval here in the United States, not to mention the horrors going on over in the Middle East (That are still going on, btw), it’s easy to see why a lot of people were really down & out. Hell, a lot of us are still feeling that year’s aftershocks, and I don’t think that’ll stop anytime soon. Because of that serious energy, I felt that more serious albums should end 2023, and this Paradise Lost side-project was at the top of the list. Nick Holmes & Greg Mackintosh really managed to bring back the Host era of the band, but without the record company interference, as well as vastly superior recording & production technology behind it. The end result is an album that’s nostalgic in every way, yet doesn’t feel like it’s old either. If you’re able to survive going through a little bit of the black, then you’ll like what IX provides!

2024) Judas Priest: Invincible Shield (Song)

Invincible Shield marks something of a significant milestone for one of the world’s most oldest Heavy Metal bands: Judas Priest has been releasing albums for half a century. In fact, it will be exactly 50 years this month on the 6th that they’ve been putting out releases. That alone is simply incredible. On top of that, Rob Halford just recently turned 73 years old! Sure, his body (Along with the oldest band members) shows off his age nowadays, but the one thing that hasn’t lost any vigor is his voice. He can still scream, screech, bellow, and other things with his voice, which is impressive if you ask me. As for Invincible Shield, Judas Priest knock it out of the park! There is a little bit of fluctuation when it comes to the quality of certain songs, but the overall experience was just wonderful. If the group was to bow out at any points during the rest of 2024 (and beyond) for any reason, Invincible Shield is not a bad way to say goodbye.

And those were the top 10 albums from 2014 to 2024. An interesting bunch of records from classic acts across the ages, it’s a safe bet to say that there will be something for everyone on this list. Now, we transition to the realm of video games, so see you all in the middle of September for the number one games of this past decade. Until then, take care!