The following list was compiled from about 400 albums released in 2024. Each year, I keep an Excel spreadsheet that I call “INCOMING MUSIC.” I organize it all by Artist, Album Title, Release Date, Genre, and whether it’s a Promo, a Purchase, or just something I Download from somewhere. I also make notes on Coverage: whether I include it in my Stereogum jazz column, review it for The Wire, DownBeat, the New York City Jazz Record or We Jazz, or write about it for BA.

I didn’t get as much music sent to me this year as in previous years, or at least I didn’t download as many of the promos as I was sent, so my spreadsheet only lists about 400 albums (box sets count as a single entry) from 2024. Of those, the 100 that have given me the most pleasure are listed below, unranked, in alphabetical order. A lot of them are also part of my Bandcamp collection, so feel free to check that out, too.

[Ahmed], Giant Beauty (Fönstret): A 5CD set containing five full live performances by an avant-garde jazz quartet (Pat Thomas on piano, Seymour Wright on alto sax, Joel Grip on bass, Antonin Gerbal on drums).

Jessica Ackerley, All Of The Colours Are Singing (AKP Recordings): A wildly varied album of guitar/violin/bass/drums pieces; Ackerley can do Frisell, Halvorson, noise-rock or desert blues, but it all coheres. I reviewed this for The Wire.

Aluk Todolo, Lux (The Ajna Offensive): An unexpected but very welcome comeback by a French “occult rock” trio; I wrote about it here, saying, “If you love the cosmic stoner rock of Slift and the brain-scraping psychedelic improvisations of Fushitsusha, you’re ready for the next stage, which is Aluk Todolo.”

JD Allen, The Dark, The Light, The Grey And The Colorful (Savant): Tenor saxophonist Allen’s new album is a moody collection of ambient free blues tunes recorded with two bassists (one electric, one acoustic) and drums. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Yuko Araki, Zenjitsutan (Room40): A crunching, grinding, low-end-droning collection of electronic noise pieces that will make you feel like your mind is dissolving…then make you excited about the prospect.

Arashi With Takeo Moriyama, Tokuzo (Trost): Arashi is Japanese saxophonist Akira Sakata’s trio with bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, and here they’re joined by drummer Takeo Moriyama, with whom Sakata played in pianist Yosuke Yamashita’s trio in the ’70s. This is truly ferocious free jazz; I reviewed it for Stereogum, and The Wire.

Attic, Return of the Witchfinder (Ván): Third album by a band that sounds a lot like King Diamond/Mercyful Fate. If you enjoy that style, they do it very well.

Bedsore, Dreaming The Strife For Love (20 Buck Spin): These Italians describe their sound as “1970s death metal,” and they’re not lying. They combine death metal song structures (and harsh vocals) with the vintage organs and instrumental flourishes of dark prog rock. Like Opeth crossed with Van der Graaf Generator. Genuinely head-spinning, and a very welcome surprise — I had every intention of ignoring this album because Bedsore is such a terrible band name, but raves from friends piqued my curiosity and holy shit, this album rules.

Lakecia Benjamin, Phoenix Reimagined: Live (Ropeadope): Extremely high-energy jazz by a saxophonist who goes for excitement over virtuosity, though she can play the fuck out of the horn and her band is red-hot. I interviewed Benjamin for Stereogum.

Black Art Jazz Collective, Truth To Power (Savant): Fourth album by a group led by saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, featuring all its past and present members rotating in and out.

Black Artists Group, For Peace & Liberty — In Paris December 1972 (Wewantsounds): An archival recording by Oliver Lake, Baikida Carroll, Floyd LeFlore, Joseph Bowie, and Charles “Bobo” Shaw — dramatic, incantatory free jazz as ritual. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Blood Incantation, Absolute Elsewhere (Century Media): Progressive death metal that honors both of those styles equally, juxtaposing cosmic synth journeys (with guest keyboards by Thorsten Quaeschning of Tangerine Dream!) with roars and blast beats. I reviewed it for The Wire.

The Bug, Machine (Relapse): Deep, crushingly heavy electronic rhythm assaults by Kevin Martin; part dub, part hip-hop, part the sound of your skull caving in under the pressure. I reviewed it for The Wire.

Buñuel, Mansuetude (Skin Graft): Noise-rock that rocks, with highly theatrical vocals from my friend Eugene Robinson. I wrote about it here, saying, “The drums are huge, with an almost physical whomp; Franz Valente’s snare is like someone slapping you on the back of your brain, and the cymbals are mercifully low in the mix. The guitars, meanwhile, are some kind of miracle. The sheer variety of tones and frequencies Xabier Iriondo gets are on a par with a sonic wizard like Tom Morello, but all his ideas are mean-spirited ones; he wants to find ‘more tools to rape and castrate the audience,’ as Joe Perry once put it (Carducci, Rock and the Pop Narcotic, page 26).”

Daniel Casimir, Balance (Jazz Re:freshed): In which the bassist from saxophonist Nubya Garcia’s band (and other groups) reveals himself to be a stunningly accomplished composer by releasing an orchestral big band album. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Chapel of Disease, Echoes of Light (Ván): Adventurous death metal with some ’70s hard rock thrown in. Like Tribulation mixed with Blue Öyster Cult.

Coffins, Sinister Oath (20 Buck Spin): Ultra-heavy, primitive death metal by Japanese veterans. Every Coffins album is basically the same, and every Coffins album rules.

Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81): Spiritual jazz by an up-and-coming Chicago saxophonist — fellow Chicago titan Ari Brown guests on one track — who put out a bunch of music this year.

Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few, The World Is On Fire (Division 81): Furious, gospelized free jazz that interpolates news reports about police murder of Black citizens and other signs of social collapse into the music. This is the final Chosen Few album, and/but whatever Collier does next, I’ll be listening. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (Impulse): A previously unreleased performance from 1972 featuring Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and others.

The Crown, Crown Of Thorns (Metal Blade): This Swedish death/thrash band were actually called Crown Of Thorns on their first two albums, but an American band raised a stink, so they changed it. Anyway, using their original name as the album title, and wrapping it in a stark black-and-white sleeve, ought to give a hint about what you’re in for: face-ripping thrash riffs, squealing guitar solos, blasting drums, and absolutely no surprises. Those who like this kind of thing will find this to be the kind of thing they like.

Miles Davis, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Miles In France 1963/1964 (Sony): Three concerts from 1963 with George Coleman on sax, and two from 1964 with Wayne Shorter. The ones with Coleman are the ones to hear. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Defeated Sanity, Chronicles Of Lunacy (Season of Mist): Highly complex progressive slam metal (I know that sounds like a contradiction, but trust me) with jazzy bass, ringing snares, guttural vocal gurgles, and chainsaw guitars.

Deicide, Banished By Sin (Reigning Phoenix): One of the bands that invented death metal is still at it on album #13, writing shockingly catchy and crushingly heavy songs produced with more polish than usual.

Demiser, Slave To The Scythe (Metal Blade): I wrote about it here, saying, “Demiser make music for doing donuts in high school parking lots at two AM, screaming ‘Hail Satan’ out the window.”

Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music): Trumpeter Douglas is joined by saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang of post-rock band Son Lux to play his own originals and four tunes by Billy Strayhorn.

Wayne Escoffery, Alone (Smoke Sessions): The jazz equivalent of what in country or R&B would be a divorce album — a bunch of morose but beautiful ballads by an expert quartet including saxophonist Escoffery, pianist Gerald Clayton and bassist Ron Carter.

Final, What We Don’t See (Room40): A dark ambient release by one of Justin K. Broadrick’s longest-running projects (pre-Godflesh, even). Wear headphones.

Bill Frisell, Orchestras (Blue Note): Two different live recordings by guitarist Frisell’s excellent trio, one with a string-based ensemble, the other with a jazz orchestra.

Asher Gamedze & The Black Lungs, Constitution (International Anthem): A large ensemble including poet Fred Moten and multiple horns delivers an 80-minute manifesto composed by the drummer and leader, including a 40-minute title piece. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Ganavya, Daughter Of A Temple (LEITER): This singer released two albums this year; the centerpiece of this one is a hypnotic version of Alice Coltrane’s “Om Supreme” with Vijay Iyer on piano and Immanuel Wilkins on alto sax. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Nubya Garcia, Odyssey (Concord Jazz): Garcia’s core band is augmented by guest vocalists and a lush string section, playing orchestrations she wrote herself, on an expansive album that has a Kamasi Washington-esque feel. I interviewed Garcia for Stereogum.

Ghost Dubs, Damaged (Pressure): A veteran German producer adopts a new name for this insanely pressurized album of dub techno on Kevin Martin’s Pressure label. Makes you feel like you’re descending to the ocean floor.

Grand Magus, Sunraven (Nuclear Blast): Fist-in-the-air metal anthems from one of my favorite Swedish bands, who’ve been doing the whole Viking-biker thing for over 20 years and are in top form.

Milford Graves/William Parker/Charles Gayle, WEBO (Black Editions Archive): An incredible two-hour slab of newly unearthed ultra-high-energy free jazz from 1991.

Muriel Grossmann, The Light Of The Mind (RR Gems): The latest dispatch from the Ibiza-based spiritual jazz saxophonist is relatively short by her standards at just 46 minutes, but its six compositions will put you in a very pleasant trance indeed.

Rosanna Gunnarson/Karin Johansson, I grunda vikar är bottnarna mjuka (Outerdisk): Prepared piano and underwater field recordings; an immersive world of eerie and unsettling, yet oddly immersive (no pun intended) music. Again, headphones recommended.

Mary Halvorson, Cloudward (Nonesuch): One of the most interesting “jazz” guitarists around returns with a new ensemble featuring vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and trombonist Jacob Garchik; the music shimmers and soars.

High On Fire, Cometh The Storm (MNRK): New drummer Coady Willis, formerly of the Melvins, makes this the heaviest and most enjoyable album this band has released in 20 years.

High Rise, Disturbance Trip (Black Editions): An archival live album by a legendary crew of Japanese garage-rock blasters. RIYL riffs, RIYRRRL (recommended if you really, really, really like) feedback and distortion. I wrote about it here, calling it “64 minutes of previously unreleased live action from 1992…that’ll tear your face off and throw it in your lap.”

Marquis Hill, Composers Collective: Beyond The Jukebox (Black Unlimited Music Group): Chicago-based trumpeter Hill asked friends and peers for compositions for this new album, which blends jazz, funk, and R&B and adds contributions from a slew of big-name guests. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Ingurgitating Oblivion, Ontology Of Nought (Willowtip): I wrote about it here, calling it, “technical death metal that nods to Pink Floyd and Opeth, and feels symphonic but dissonant at the same time, like if Dimmu Borgir decided to become Ulcerate.”

Iron Curtain, Savage Dawn (Dying Victims Productions): Raging, primitive, thrashy traditional heavy metal from Spain. RIYL old Motörhead, Judas Priest circa 1980.

Ethan Iverson, Technically Acceptable (Blue Note): Solid piano trio compositions rooted in pre-bebop styles, plus a piano sonata that recalls Gershwin. Smart and intriguing, with foot-tapping grooves.

Vijay Iyer, Compassion (ECM): The second album by a brilliant trio featuring Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. Moody at times, joyous others, but cohesive and always compelling.

Atsushi Izumi, Schismogenesis (Ohm Resistance): Concussive electronic compositions that blend industrial, drum ’n’ bass and raw noise. Headache-inducing in the best way.

Jlin, Akoma (Planet Mu): Ignore the tracks with guests (Björk, Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass) and focus on the solo tracks by one of the most original and fascinating electronic composers of the 21st century.

Darius Jones, Legend Of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity): A heartfelt exploration of mental health and a collection of brawny, powerhouse tunes performed by alto saxophonist Jones, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Judas Priest, Invincible Shield (Sony): The strongest comeback album yet by these metal veterans, who’ve been in the field 50 years and still kick the ass of bands whose parents weren’t born when they started.

Cassie Kinoshi’s Seed, Gratitude (International Anthem): A short but beautiful release by a brilliant UK jazz ensemble, with help from the London Contemporary Orchestra and genius turntablist NikNak, who pops up again farther down this list.

Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Brink (Intakt): A set of subtle, communicative duos from a husband-and-wife sax-drums team; it sounds like it was recorded in their apartment, with the biggest challenge being to get through the session without a neighbor pounding on the wall for quiet. I reviewed it for the NYC Jazz Record.

LL Cool J, The FORCE (Def Jam): Another huge surprise. I wrote about it here, calling it “an album that could only have been made by two mature artists who genuinely love what they do, and are not dependent on or worried about hits or album sales… a work of pure sonic imagination.” The best hip-hop album I’ve heard in years (I admit I don’t listen to nearly as much hip-hop as I used to, but I’d compare this to Billy Woods’ Aethiopes.)

Jake Long, City Swamp (New Soil): Four long tracks by a crew of UK jazz all-stars (Tamar Osborn, Binker Golding, Shirley Tetteh and more) given psychedelic dub-funk production.

Lord Spikeheart, The Adept (HAEKALU): Solo debut by the former vocalist of Kenyan cyber-metal duo Duma; screaming electronic noise with jackhammer beats and a million guest appearances from stars of the global post-industrial noise-rap diaspora.

Nduduzo Makhathini, uNomkhubulwane (Blue Note): An emotionally resonant, spiritually questing piano trio album divided into three multi-part suites.

Malignancy, Discontinued (Willowtip): Head-spinningly complex death metal by a veteran New York crew. Squealing guitars, shift-on-a-dime rhythms, riffs that double back on themselves… unpredictable, but thrilling.

Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, Live At The Adler Planetarium (International Anthem): Mazurek’s long-running improv ensemble has aspects of Miles Davis’s 1970s septet/octet, the late Greg Tate’s Burnt Sugar, and the Sun Ra Arkestra, and this concert will make you lightheaded, in the best way. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Charles McPherson, Reverence (Smoke Sessions): An always swinging, bebop-rooted alto saxophonist pays tribute to an early mentor, pianist Barry Harris, with trumpeter Terell Stafford, drummer Billy Drummond, and others.

Mean Mistreater, Razor Wire (self-released): Fist-pumping, fight-starting metal meant to soundtrack chugging beers and doing donuts in the bar parking lot.

Ava Mendoza, The Circular Train (Palilalia): A solo guitar album showcasing Mendoza’s unique blend of country, blues, and blast-the-walls-down noise-rock. I reviewed it for The Wire. And here’s where I tell you that Ava, violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul, and drummer Carolina Pérez of Hypoxia have made an album for Burning Ambulance Music that’s gonna crush skulls next year.

Ron Miles, Old Main Chapel (Blue Note): An archival live set from 2011, documenting an amazing chamber-jazz group with coiled-spring energy featuring cornetist Miles, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Brian Blade; they’d work together, later bringing in pianist Jason Moran and bassist Thomas Morgan, until Miles’ death in 2022.

Moor Mother, The Great Bailout (Anti-): An extended indictment of the UK’s role in the transatlantic slave trade with a ton of guest vocalists; it plays like an opera. Spine-chilling and amazing.

Takeo Moriyama & Masahiko Sato feat. Leon Brichard & Idris Rahman, Live At Café Oto (BBE): Moriyama and Sato are legends of the 1960s/70s Japanese free jazz scene; here, they team up with two members of the UK dubby-jazz-funk crew Ill Considered for a killer live album. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Necrot, Lifeless Birth (Tankcrimes): Primitive, hard-charging death metal that’ll make you want to tear your own face off. (That’s a compliment.)

NikNak, Ireti (Accidental): Abstract turntable music, more beat-driven than her previous releases. If you wonder what ever happened to DJ Spooky, you should be listening to NikNak.

Opeth, The Last Will And Testament (Reigning Phoenix Music): Those who miss the Opeth of Blackwater Park, Deliverance and to a slightly lesser degree Ghost Reveries will be very, very pleased by this album, which is both their heaviest work in years and their proggiest (Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is all over it). Despite being a concept album, it has some of their tightest, hookiest songs in forever.

Jeff Parker, The Way Out Of Easy (International Anthem): Four side-long jams recorded live in L.A. at a club where Parker, saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Jay Bellerose had a weekly gig for six years. During that time, they developed a language that registers as a halfway point between In A Silent Way and Outside The Dream Syndicate. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Aaron Parks, Little Big III (Blue Note): Pianist Parks’ band makes music that’s jazz, but with a rock band’s sense of dynamics, and this third studio album, which introduces new drummer Jongkuk Kim, is maybe their hookiest and most potent. I wrote about it for Stereogum.

Phenocryst, Cremation Pyre (Blood Harvest): The full-length debut by a Portuguese death metal band whose main theme is volcanoes (phenocryst is a type of crystal found in volcanoes) and whose music sounds like Bolt Thrower or Hail Of Bullets, so if you wanna get your face punched in by riffs, this is your album.

Tomeka Reid Quartet, 3+3 (Cuneiform): Long-form, shape-shifting compositions by a cello-guitar-bass-drums group that makes abstract chamber music swing and groove.

Replicant, Infinite Mortality (Transcending Obscurity): A pounding, dissonant death metal release from a ferocious Jersey band. As polyrhythmic as Meshuggah, but more aggro than those dudes have been in a decade or more.

Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Next Step Band Live At Smalls 1996 (Heartcore): I’m not the world’s biggest Rosenwinkel fan, but in the late ’90s and early ’00s, he had a quartet with saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Jeff Ballard that was extremely influential on a whole generation of players. On one track from this smoking live gig, they’re joined by pianist Brad Mehldau. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Brandon Ross Phantom Station, Off The End (Sunnyside): A 65-minute live performance featuring cornet, electric guitar (not so’s you could tell), keyboards, drums, and electronics/sound design. You’ll think you’re dreaming it.

Marta Sánchez Trio, Perpetual Void (Intakt): A fiercely energetic piano trio disc with Chris Tordini on bass and Savannah Harris on drums; the music was inspired by grief and loss, but it sounds like someone powering through it, not wallowing in it.

Brandon Sanders, The Tables Will Turn (HighNote): The second album by drummer Sanders with saxophonist Keith Brown, pianist Chris Lewis, and vibraphonist Warren Wolf, who dominates the session to a very welcome degree.

Shabaka, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (Impulse): An album of flute-based tunes from the former saxophonist behind The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet. Subdued and introspective, but never boring.

Matthew Shipp, New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk): Shipp’s trio with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker delivers some of the most audacious free swing you’ll ever hear, and on this disc, they add elements of modern classical to create something that lives up to that brash title. Astonishing stuff.

Wayne Shorter, Celebration Vol. 1 (Blue Note): A valedictory live recording from 2014 with Shorter’s longtime quartet, released in the wake of his’s 2023 passing. Apparently there are more recordings coming. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Linda Sikhakhane, Iladi (Blue Note): Sikhakhane is an excellent saxophonist from South Africa; Nduduzo Makhathini is on piano on this introspective, spiritual but grounded quartet release. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Nala Sinephro, Endlessness (Warp): Synths, harp, saxophone, drums, all adding up to a genuinely blissful ambient/spiritual-jazz-adjacent album that could soundtrack your next acupuncture session without disrupting the vibe. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Tom Skinner, Voices Of Bishara Live At “Mu” (International Anthem): Drummer Skinner’s live band features saxophonists Robert Stillman and Chelsea Carmichael, cellist Kareem Dayes, and bassist Tom Herbert; they interpret compositions by cellist Abdul Wadud with an energy that’ll unscrew the top of your head like a jar.

Slift, Ilion (Sub Pop): The best French band since Gojira deliver 79 minutes of ecstatic post-Hawkwind stoner psych that feels like you’re strapped to a rocket and headed for the outer rim of the galaxy, throwing horns all the way.

Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers, Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook): Trumpet/piano duos that blend ultra-spacious improvisation with chamber music romanticism.

Walter Smith III, three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not (Blue Note): The three in question are saxophonist Smith, pianist Jason Moran, and drummer Eric Harland; bassist Reuben Rogers is the odd man out. Smart but grounded modern jazz, with high-level performances by all involved. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Sonic Youth, Walls Have Ears (reissue) (Goofin’): A legendary bootleg, now reissued by its subjects, this double LP documents Sonic Youth live in the UK in 1985, in a period of transition but about to hit peaks few bands have ever approached.

Tyshawn Sorey, The Susceptible Now (Pi Recordings): This album is very deceptive; it seems like “just” extended trio interpretations of four compositions Sorey likes, performed with pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan, but it’s much, much more than that. I wrote about it at length for Stereogum.

Sunbomb, Light Up The Sky (Frontiers): The second album by a highly improbable duo; Stryper singer Michael Sweet and L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns team up to make Sabbath-y, Trouble-d trad/doom metal, and it rules.

Mazz Swift, The 10000 Things: Praise Songs For The iRiligious (New Amsterdam): Solo work (and I mean that; she does almost everything) by an adventurous composer — electronics, drum programming, sound design, multi-tracked vocals, and layers of violin.

Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts): This trio — Orrin Evans on piano, Eric Revis on bass, Nasheet Waits on drums — usually invite horn players like Oliver Lake, Ambrose Akinmusire and JD Allen to the party, but this time they’re on their own. The results are as stark and challenging as ever.

Cecil Taylor, Cecil Taylor Unit, Live At Fat Tuesdays, February 9, 1980 First Visit (Hat Hut): A previously unreleased set from the same two-night stand that yielded the 1981 album It Is In The Brewing Luminous.

Theurgy, Emanations Of Unconscious Luminescence (New Standard Elite): A bunch of brutal death metal dudes (including the wizard behind Anal Stabwound) paying tribute to Cynic, Decrepit Birth and that whole school of cosmic/psychedelic death metal, while still keeping it broooootal. Plus, amid all the squiggly prog-fusion guitar solos and insane riff-storms, they throw in a cover of Devourment’s “Molesting the Decapitated” just for laughs. This album about took my head off when I first heard it.

Charles Tolliver/Music Inc., Live At The Captain’s Cabin (Cellar Music): Trumpeter Tolliver should be a legend just for co-founding the Strata-East label with the late pianist Stanley Cowell, but his music really deserves a wider audience. This live recording from 1973 features John Hicks on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Cliff Barbaro on drums, and it comes out of the speakers like a meteor. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson, Forces Of Nature: Live At Slugs’ (Blue Note): An absolute air strike of a live gig with Henry Grimes on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The sound quality is astonishing, and the music will blow your hair back till you’re bald. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Ulcerate, Cutting The Throat Of God (Debemur Morti Productions): The seventh album by a New Zealand trio whose music lays dissonant, intertwining guitars over precisely aimed avalanches of drums.

Lisa Ullén, Heirloom (Fönstret): Two versions of a three-part suite performed on prepared piano; the music is full of unsettling rumbles and booms, crackles and vibrations that sound like electronic noise or post-production tricks, but are neither. Listen on headphones.

Vitriol, Suffer & Become (Century Media): Bone-grinding, nerve-shredding death metal that feels genuinely on the brink of going out of control in a way I haven’t heard since the early work of Anaal Nathrakh.

Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement (Young): Washington is a good but not virtuosic saxophonist; his real talents are in production and arrangement, and his sonic choices are always fascinating — here, he’s exploring rhythm, amosphere, and synths. So many synths.

Warren Wolf, History Of The Vibraphone (Cellar Music): A collection of compositions by master mallet players (including Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers, and more) performed by a modern master who also plays piano and drums. I reviewed it for Stereogum.

Wolfbrigade, Life Knife Death (Metal Blade): Blazing d-beat hardcore crossed with metal and noise-rock; I wrote about it here, saying, “if you’re a fan of Entombed, latter-day Motörhead, or even Unsane, you’ll find yourself headbanging and fist-pumping with a grin.”

Wormed, Omegon (Season of Mist): Some of the most technically challenging death metal I’ve ever heard. I wrote about it here, saying, “These songs are always stopping and starting, suddenly lurching sideways, and it’s hard to know why; the drummer has a light, almost jazzy touch and an improvisatory flair; and the juxtaposition of their abstruse astrophysics-derived song titles and the barbaric vocals make me picture a panicked caveman running around an abandoned spaceship.”