It’s the end of another calendar year, which is apparently significant enough to be sharing our favourite releases of the last 12 calendar months.
For those who haven’t been following our socials (also FYI we have quit the Musk Shitshow and are now on Bluesky, currently not signed in to Facebook, it’s on my to-do), The Cauteriser has taken a break due to the day job being a complete energy sap, which will continue until at least March it seems. All we can say on the matter is we hope to return to reviews at some point in the year, but keeping mental health in check and all that.
More importantly, Kevin, our editor, has been seriously ill since the beginning of December. Thank you for all of the kind words when we shared the news, I am happy to report he is improving, but the main focus is stopping him from charging into furniture when he is feeling up to a wander/senses food happening. He is obviously being spoilt and given all of the cuddles to aid his recovery!
On a final note before we get to the countdown, a huge R.I.fucking.P to Casey Chaos of Amen. He was a huge inspiration to me as a musician and 16 year old me thought he was the coolest fucker out there. Weirdly on the day he was found, I fired up the Amen discography for the car journey home and had just got to the end of Death Before Musick the day I found out. Thankfully Casey Chaos had completed the new Amen album, so hopefully he will make it onto the best of 2025 list…
Anyway, to crack on before I open the baileys and turn this list into complete shit, here is our best of 2024. I decided to combine literally everything in one list just to highlight how fucking incredible the submissions we receive are, especially considering some heavy hitters (of the bands I pay any attention to) like Melt-Banana, Terrorvision, Body Count and Combichrist didn’t make our top 10, and I had to draw he line at some number…
Honourable Mention
Bug – Lux Ultima
I was going to rank this at #8, but after double checking when everything was actually released Lux Ultima actually came out in December 2023. But as December releases are often shafted, Bug deserve acknowledgement here! Awkward, grim but still somehow rather pleasant, Lux Ultima is an incredibly powerful album that still deserves the attention over a year later.
#10
Electric Eel Shock – Heavy Metal Black Belt
After an 8 year wait, Electric Eel Shock dropped an album that still retains everything that has made them great since the very beginning. Still as energetic and riffy as ever, Heavy Metal Black Belt snatched the final spot on the list simply for being another solid entry from a band who really don’t need to mix up their formula.
Body Count did very nearly take this spot, but Merciless just sounded a little too similar to previous releases at times.
#9
Dolores Mondo Stash – From Fragments of Endeavour
The most diverse album on the list, Dolores Mondo Stash left a phenomenal impression purely from the amount of styles incorporated into a single album. Upon every listen different instrumentation jumped out, and From Fragments of Endeavour really shone for the natural flow of ideas. It’s an album that is tough to summarise briefly, so read our review, or let the music speak for itself…
#8
Cancer Christ – God Is Violence
To be fair, I think I ranked this so highly because Jesus Had a Big ‘Ol Cock got me through the dodgy December music being played in the office. God Is Violence is an interesting listen though, incredibly aggressive, some great hooks and the Hail Christ interludes really helped steady the pace retain impact. I was late to the party on this album (even though I heard the singles months ago, hence why I hate end of year summaries at the beginning of December, they’re fucking stupid!) but it came at the right time for something loud and obnoxious.
#7
Crapsons – Half-Time Executions
The punk in me loved this EP, purely for being so musically solid and lyrically stupid. What stands out the most is just the straight up honesty in the approach and sound; just some dudes making music and making a damn decent job of it. If you like punk rock, make sure you have Half-Time Executions in your collection
#6
Pound Land – Mugged
This is where the music becomes really difficult to rank, as Mugged is potentially the most important and, at the very least, relevant album of the year. Unapologetically honest lyrics/poetry set the tone for the album, reflecting on the state of the times we live in, with the jazzy/punky/gritty/chaotic music to perfectly compliment them. It is impossible to say anything negative about Mugged, please do give it a whirl if you haven’t already!
#5
Jesus Lizard – Rack
A surprise release, after ~25 years Jesus Lizard dropped this incredible new album almost out from nowhere. To add to the incredibly short list of good post-hiatus albums, Rack is packed with incredible hooks and their jarring delivery, truly capturing what made them such an endearing band since the beginning. Upon the first listen, I was genuinely shocked by the complete lack of disappointment that I always set myself up for these days, so please don’t let Rack pass you by
#4
Rip Space – Thank These People
This was supposed to be my next review, and I really wish it happened. Thank These People opens with the title track, which consists of a pure noise punk thrashing behind the repeatedly screamed “Thank These People” (and if you think it sounds like anything other than “thank”, you are just rude!). The EP is packed with so many ideas that you could easily mistake there to be 5 tracks as opposed to just 3. Rip Space are one of the many great artists out there who don’t take themselves too seriously and just have fun with the creation process, and it shines. A torrent of noise with some surprisingly enjoyable melodic sections, Thank These People is one of the most instantly lovable releases of the year by far. Everyone reading this should be making this a final/first purchase of the year!
#3
Venus Twins – /\/\/\/\/ (Pronounced Stitching)
Brief but so in your face it is impossible to ignore Venus Twins from the opening seconds of any of the tracks on this EP. Noise and broken structures take charge in the newly defined sound of Venus Twins, making them potentially the most obnoxious band of the year. If that sounds like your sort of thing at all, then /\/\/\/\/ should be at the top of your 2024 releases too
#2
Pissed Jeans – Half Divorced
The first single, Moving On, didn’t excite me and had me worried about the direction of Half Divorced, but upon release that instantly changed. The punkiest and most energetic Pissed Jeans album to date, Half Divorced is at least as good as the previously best albums in their back catalogue. Despite Lacking some of more absurd stylings that made previous albums 9/10s, Pissed Jeans proved that aging rockers can still step things up and release unique sounding albums without losing their bite. Junk Time is an absolute highlight, possibly my song of the year, but the album is so consistently solid that even Moving On becomes a delightful closer to the album.
#1
Shit Noise – I Cocked My Gun and Shot My Best Friend
I called this album of the year way back in August, almost tempting fate to bring the greatest album of all time. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but we did get Shit Noise smashing it out of the park with their latest release. Without completely repeating my review of this 10/10 pelter, Shit Noise have a perfect blend of taking influences and bastardising them in such a strangely enjoyable way. I Cocked My Gun… takes some of the best songwriting I have heard this year and trashes it in the most glorious way, while still retaining all of the quality. This album is a marvel and I would force every person on this planet to listen to it if I could. Unfortunately I don’t have that kind of power, but I can at least influence the 10 people that have read this far to (and let’s face it, half of you have listened to it already!)
There we go. I suppose 2024 wasn’t that bad after all? I don’t know how to close this so I’m off to get pissed. Cheerio!
The Cauteriser 
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