With another new year underway, we look forward to dozens of new metal and hard rock albums. Already, a number of notable releases are on the schedule for the first half of 2024, with many more expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
The early months of the year will bring us new efforts from veteran acts like Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, Ministry, Mick Mars, and Bruce Dickinson, as well as a wide range of music from the likes of Amigo the Devil, Chelsea Wolfe, and Job for a Cowboy.
Fans can also expect thrash legends Anthrax and Slayer’s Kerry King to release new albums in 2024, while others can hope for new LPs from such acts as Deftones, Alice in Chains, and maybe even Guns N’ Roses.
We can’t guarantee that every one of the albums listed below will be released in 2024, but if most them come to fruition it should be another big year in the world of heavy music.
See our list of the Most Anticipated Metal & Hard Rock Albums of 2024 below.
-Spencer Kaufman
Managing Editor, Heavy Consequence
Editor’s note: Check out our upcoming release calendar to see more albums arriving this year. Also look back at the best music of 2023 with our 30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Albums and 30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Songs, along with the rest of our Annual Report.
January:
Alkaline Trio – Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs (January 26th)
After a seven-year stint in Blink-182 (until Tom DeLonge’s return), Matt Skiba is back fronting his longtime band Alkaline Trio full-time. Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs will mark the band’s first full-length album in six years, and has been preceded by the infectious and melodic alt-rock singles “Bad Time,” “Versions of You,” and the title track. – Spencer Kaufman
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Dark Rainbow (January 26th)
Over the past decade, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have proven to be one of the most exciting live bands around, playing electrifying shows. The UK punk outfit is set to return with its fifth album, Dark Rainbow. The LP’s two early singles, “Brambles” and “Man of the Hour,” tone down the punk in favor of a mid-tempo, alt-rock vibe. Carter & company will be supporting the album with a 2024 tour that includes a run of North American shows. – S. Kaufman
Lucifer – Lucifer V (January 26th)
Lucifer have showcased an array of moods with the promotional singles for their fifth self-titled effort, from the churning stoner grooves of “At the Mortuary” to the subdued, ‘70s-style power ballad “Slow Dance in a Crypt.” The Swedish revivalists imbue each with an occult, technicolor aura — the thread of cohesion that runs throughout the band’s entire catalog. Lucifer V should be another delightfully riff-filled seance. — Jon Hadusek
Static-X – Project Regeneration: Vol 2 (January 26th)
Project Regeneration: Vol. 2, originally slated for November 2023, will be the second Static-X album to feature posthumous vocals from the late Wayne Static, culled from tapes that were left behind in his archives. The music, however, is all new, recorded by current Static-X members Tony Campos (bass), Koichi Fukuda (guitars) and Ken Jay (drums), as well as their new singer-guitarist, the mysterious Xer0, who also produced Vol. 2. Catch Static-X on tour with Sevendust in the first half of 2024. – J. Hadusek
February:
Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She (February 9th)
Chelsea Wolfe described her upcoming solo album as “a record about the past self reaching out to the present self reaching out to the future self to summon change, growth, and guidance,” hence the LP’s circular title. Wolfe teamed with journeyman producer David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio) for what promises to be one of her most aurally ambitious offerings to date — if we’re to take the excellent singles “Dusk” and “Whispers in the Echo Chamber” as an indicator.- J. Hadusek
Ihsahn – Ihsahn (February 16th)
Norwegian black metal pioneer Ihsahn has taken some inspiration from Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium for his upcoming self-titled record. But instead of melding black metal with symphonic instrumentation, like Celtic Frost and his own band Emperor have done, Ihsahn has decided to release his new album in separate “metal” and “symphonic” forms, illustrating the vast, genre-spanning creativity of the metal auteur. – J. Hadusek
The Obsessed – Gilded Sorrow (February 16th)
The announcement of Gilded Sorrow came after a long wait following The Obsessed’s 2017 comeback album, Sacred. That said, band leader Scott “Wino” Weinrich has kept busy in other bands and solo endeavors, including extensive touring and festival gigs — some with The Obsessed — so there shouldn’t be any drop-off due to a lack of activity. The new album will capture the band’s current live iteration featuring second axeman Jason Taylor. – J. Hadusek
Ace Frehley – 10,000 Volts (February 23rd)
KISS recently hung up their instruments after playing their final show, but the band’s founding guitarist Ace Frehley is still booking shows and churning out new music. Space Ace is set to release 10,000 Volts in February, and judging by the glam-fueled title track, the legendary rocker is still very much in the groove 50-plus years into his career. The LP was largely co-written with Steve Brown of Trixter. – S. Kaufman
Amigo the Devil – Yours Until the War Is Over (February 23rd)
The dark-folk troubadour Amigo the Devil (aka Danny Kiranos) is set to return with his third full-length, Yours Until the War Is Over. Judging by first single “Cannibal Within,” Amigo’s new collection will once again feature his haunting blend of macabre and poetic lyrics. Fans can catch the singer-guitarist opening for Flogging Molly on a Winter 2024 US tour. – S. Kaufman
Darkest Hour – Perpetual | Terminal (February 23rd)
Perpetual | Terminal will be Darkest Hour’s first record in nearly seven years and “centers around the duality of ‘survival while embracing rebirth,’” in the words of guitarist Mike Schleibaum, a concept that mirrors the metalcore band’s own re-emergence. The album was entirely independently funded via fan support on Patreon and was produced by Taylor Larson, who also helmed the sessions for the band’s 2014 self-titled LP. – J. Hadusek
Job for a Cowboy – Moon Healer (February 23rd)
Following a long hiatus, Job for a Cowboy returned in 2023 with the comeback single “The Agony Seeping Storm,” marking the group’s first new material since 2014’s Sun Eater. It was one of our favorite tracks of the year, so it only made sense to shoehorn the band’s impending full-length, Moon Healer, into this list. Based on “The Agony Weeping Storm,” it’s almost as if the band were harvesting energy for the duration of that hiatus, emerging with an even tighter and more honed metalcore attack. – J. Hadusek
Mick Mars – The Other Side of Mars (February 23rd)
Mick Mars’ exit from Mötley Crüe was a hot mess that included nasty barbs and legal action. But the legendary guitarist seems ready to move on with his debut solo album, The Other Side of Mars, featuring two solid singles (“Loyal to the Lie” and “Right Side of Wrong”) thus far. The album was co-written with keyboardist Paul Taylor (Alice Cooper, Winger), and recorded with drummer Ray Luzier (Korn), bassist Chris Collier, and singers Jacob Bunton and Brion Gamboa. – S. Kaufman
March:
Bruce Dickinson – The Mandrake Project (March 1st)
The Mandrake Project will mark Bruce Dickinson‘s first solo album since 2005 and features 10 songs, including a new version of “Eternity Has Failed” from Iron Maiden’s 2015 album The Book of Souls. The Maiden frontman describes the album’s conceptual arc as a “dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius.” If it’s half as entertaining as the album’s promotional photos of Bruce — depicting the singer like a sci-fi action movie hero — we’re in for a heavy-metal thrill ride. – J. Hadusek
Ministry – HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES (March 1st)
Forty-plus years into their career, industrial pioneers Ministry haven’t lost a step. Al Jourgensen and company are still unleashing explosive, thought-provoking, and politically-charged songs like “Goddamn White Trash” and “Just Stop Oil” from upcoming album HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES. The LP will feature appearances from Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello), Jello Biafra (Lard, Dead Kennedys), and Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity, Down). – S. Kaufman
Judas Priest – Invincible Shied (March 8th)
The Priest is back! After celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band and allowing guitarist Richie Faulkner to recover from a near-fatal aortic aneurysm, the Metal Gods are set to return with their 19th studio album, Invincible Shield. Frontman Rob Halford and company are still firing on all cylinders, as evidenced by early singles “Panic Attack” and “Trial by Fire,” and will support the album with a Spring 2024 US tour. – S. Kaufman
DragonForce – Warp Speed Warriors (March 15th)
DragonForce and video games have been synonymous with one another ever since “Through the Fire and Flames” was used as the “boss battle” track in Guitar Hero II. It just feels right that the group’s upcoming album Warp Speed Warriors has a loose gaming concept, driven home by the standout single “Power of the Triforce” — a tribute to the iconic Nintendo franchise The Legend of Zelda. – J. Hadusek
Scott Stapp – Higher Power (March 15th)
This year will be a big one for Creed, who are reuniting for a pair of cruises and an extensive North American tour. But before all that happens, singer Scott Stapp will release his new solo album, Higher Power. Preview singles “What I Deserve,” “Black Butterfly,” and the title track indicate that the LP will be a hard-rocking effort, with heavy guitars and anthemic choruses. – S. Kaufman
Sum 41 – Heaven :x: Hell (March 29th)
Canadian punk act Sum 41 are calling it a career with one final album and a final tour. And they’re going out in a big way with Heaven :x: Hell, a double album that features their infectious brand of pop-punk on the “Heaven” disc and heavy metal on the “Hell” disc. Frontman Deryck Whibley declared, “This is the record I’d like to go out on.” – S. Kaufman
April:
BIG|BRAVE – A Chaos of Flowers (April 19th)
After releasing one of the finest heavy album of last year in Nature Morte, BIG|BRAVE are back with another in 2024. The post-metal trio announced the follow-up, A Chaos of Flowers just in time to make this list, and the lead single “I Felt a Funeral” is a prime example of the group’s ability to explore massive improvisational soundscapes around the core structure of a song. – J. Hadusek
Expected:
Anthrax – TBA
Thrash legends Anthrax are set to finally release the follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings this year. While there’s no title or release date, we do know that the band has been working with producer Jay Ruston at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606. Drummer Charlie Benante has been keeping his drum chops warm as a member of the revamped Pantera, and as he hints to us, “There are some new songs on this record where people are going to go, ‘Whoa!, that’s f**king great, I wasn’t expecting that!'” – S. Kaufman
Body Count – Merciless
The upcoming Body Count effort, Merciless, made last year’s list of most anticipated albums, but never saw the light of day in 2023. Perhaps the writer and actor strikes pushed Ice-T’s Law & Order: SVU schedule around, forcing the band to delay the release, but hopefully we get some new music from Ice and company this year. – S. Kaufman
Bring Me the Horizon – POST HUMAN: NeX GEn
The ever-evolving Bring Me the Horizon were originally supposed to unleash POST HUMAN: NeX GEn in September of 2023, but delayed the release indefinitely. Fans have already gotten a good taste of the LP with the unveiling of several singles, including the hard-hitting new song “Kool-Aid,” on which singer Oli Sykes brings back some screams reminiscent of the UK act’s early years. – S. Kaufman
Deftones – TBA
It sure feels like a long time ago when Deftones released Ohms back in September 2020 during the dog days of the pandemic. As we previously reported, guitarist Stephen Carpenter revealed that the band has “momentum” and is eyeing a spring/summer 2024 release for the follow-up. We’ll gander that summer/fall is a more realistic window considering Deftones have yet to formally launch the album cycle and it’s already mid-January. Studio work with producer Nick Raskulinecz is currently ongoing. – J. Hadusek
Kerry King – TBA
More than four years after Slayer played their final show, guitarist Kerry King is ready to unveil his new project, having already booked a couple of 2024 festival dates under an eponymous band name. So far, we know that fellow Slayer member Paul Bostaph will be behind the drum kit, but the other members remain a mystery. However, King assures us the act’s debut album is “going to sound like Slayer,” and that “if you’ve ever liked anything I’ve done in the past, there’s going to be something you’re going to like on this one, if not the whole thing.” – S. Kaufman
Killswitch Engage – TBA
Killswitch Engage have a reputation for spending a few years on an album, but they always deliver in due time. “When I make a record I get so lost in it, it can drag me down and truly hold me prisoner,” wrote frontman Jesse Leach regarding the band’s forthcoming album in a social media post earlier in 2023. “I’ve got the songs to show for it and I’m proud of my work so far!” At the time, the band were demo-ing material for the LP, so we can assume significant progress has been made in the months since. A 2024 release seems very possible. – J. Hadusek
