We've already rounded up Revolver's and our readers' picks for the most anticipated albums of 2024. But amid the flurry of new music, which heavy bands will become bona fide stars over the next 12 months?
In recent years, we've seen a range of metal and hardcore groups ascend from a bubbling corner of the underground and become so unavoidably popular that you can't talk about the state of heavy music without mentioning their name. In 2022, that band was Turnstile. In 2023, it was Sleep Token.
We asked our readers to pick who they think will claim the breakout title in 2024. See the top five vote-getters ranked accordingly below.
5. Escuela Grind
While it's unlikely that any grindcore band could scale to Sleep Token or Turnstile heights, Escuela Grind would be the ones to pull it off.
The Massachusetts band toured their asses off last year in support of 2022's Memory Theater LP, and they just dropped a new EP, the excellently titled DDEEAATHHMMEETTAALL, that features Napalm Death's Barney Greenway, earning them a crucial endorsement from a grindcore godfather.
All of this has made them the most-hyped band in the blisteringly fast subgenre, and it doesn't seem like their road schedule will be slowing any time soon. We're pulling for an Escuela Grind TikTok trend in 2024.
4. Better Lovers
In some ways, Better Lovers "broke out" the moment they revealed their existence.
The metalcore supergroup — featuring ex-Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato and three former members of Every Time I Die, plus Fit for an Autopsy guitarist Will Putney — had a big 2023 between their debut EP, a shit-ton of raucous live shows, a November stand-alone single and a sold-out headlining festival to cap off the year.
With a full-length album on the docket for 2024, it's almost a matter of fact that Better Lovers' star will continue rising. Who knows where they'll be by this time next year.
3. Imminence
Sweden's Imminence have been cranking for well over a decade now, but it feels like they're just beginning to catch on in the U.S.
Drawing comparisons to Bad Omens and Silent Planet, the group's gauzy, electro-infused metalcore sound has a grip on the heavy zeitgeist, and their spring U.S. tour includes high-profile stops at Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple Fest.
As long as the momentum continues to build, it seems like their breakthrough is, ahem, imminent.
2. Orbit Culture
Our readers already dubbed Orbit Culture one of the top breakout bands of 2021 and 2022, but they're still hoping for an even larger-scale takeover in '24.
Fresh off their monstrous 2023 album, Descent, and a killer tour supporting In Flames, Orbit Culture are certainly bigger than they've ever been. That said, their gargantuan songs demand the biggest rooms possible. Clearly, their fans want them to rise to arena levels of domination.
1. Loathe
We were stoked to see Loathe capture the No. 1 spot here because we at Revolver HQ couldn't agree more. The time just feels right for a Loathe takeover.
Hear us out. The U.K. alt-metal crew are pals and one-time collaborators with Sleep Token, so there's that. Their sound is basically a djenty metallic hardcore version of Deftones, whose gauzy sound is currently dominating the playlists of Gen-Z headbangers.
Last year, Loathe's shoegaze-y 2020 track "Is It Really You?" made a bit of a splash on TikTok, and now the anticipation is even greater than ever for their first album in four years, set to arrive sometime in 2024.
So yeah, the pump is primed for Loathe's ascension, and we'll be right there with our readers cheering them on throughout the next calendar year — and beyond.
