(Editor’s note: Looking back on 2024, there were so many good albums released that we decided to reach out to some of today’s artists and get them to weigh in on their favorites. What follows is Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair’s ‘Top Albums of 2024’.)
Brian Fair from Shadows Fall here. Man, 2024 was a roller coaster of a year with some soaring highs as well as crushing lows. On the positive side, Shadows Fall played some absolutely amazing festivals and shows, celebrating 20 years of The War Within and the party continued this past weekend with our hometown throw down in Worcester, Massachusetts, where we played the album in its entirety. We also began working on our first new music in over a decade and the ideas and creativity have been flowing, something I very much needed in my life.
Unfortunately, this was also a year of tragic loss as I had to say goodbye to my father after he lost his battle with cancer and passed away in August. My dad was truly a one-of-a-kind person who lived his life by his own rules for better or for worse. He was always supportive of everything I did and it has reminded me to always be there for my wife and own children, nurturing them in the same way he did for me. I miss him terribly and the world is a little less colorful with him gone.
Music has always been a source of inspiration and solace for me and the albums below as well as the creation of my own music have helped to soothe my soul and find new inspiration to make the most out of life. Every day is a gift, so even in the darkest times remember to always keep moving forward and making the most of every second we have.
One love.
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
Just as a dark cloud began to cover the planet, The Cure came out of the studio with an album that captured the bleakness and hopelessness of a dark world. The production is very sparse and open giving it almost a goth take on doom metal. Robert Smith’s voice sounds as powerful and emotional as ever and his guitar hooks draw you deeper into the darkness. A perfect soundtrack to a world in decline, crawling towards it’s imminent demise.
Gatecreeper – Dark Superstition
Gatecreeper is a band that always gives me my death metal warm and fuzzy feelings. They have a timelessness and familiarity to their sound and songs without it feeling nostalgic or contrived. “Dark Superstition” shows them adding in some melodeath and Stockholm style death n roll elements to their sound as well as a focus on constructing concise and memorable songs. Riffs, grooves and hooks. What more could you want.
Phish – Evolve
I have been following and seeing Phish shows for over 30 years and they are still the most unpredictable and inspiring live bands of all time. Rarely is that magic captured in the studio. “Evolve” takes a much different approach, focusing on crafting great songs and minimalistic performances instead of the mind melting improv of their live shows. This record was a much needed breathe of fresh air and positivity in what has been a difficult and dark time in my own world. I can not wait to see how the band uses these songs as launching pads for live jams that soar into the cosmos.
NAILS – Every Bridge Burning
Not much else to say about this record than NAILS blew the fucking doors off with this one. Unrelenting, unforgiving, unstoppable. There is a viciousness to these songs that only NAILS can deliver and the recording and performance is tighter than Ken Susi’s jeans in the early 2000s. The sonic equivalent of a Molotov cocktail.
Alcest – Les Chants de l’Aurore
Majestic and triumphant music that creates soundscapes capable of transporting the listener to other worlds. Alcest has always take the power and heaviness of metal and riffs and combined it with the textures of shoe gaze in a way that doesn’t just paste it all together, these worlds meld together to create a sound that is unique and constantly evolving. These are songs that feel like they can help you escape the pull of gravity and drift off into the endless eternity of space and time. Personally, they sound as if someone took the best elements of my favorite bands across genres and created something just for me. Truly inspiring.