If the primary six months of 2024 have confirmed something, it is that rock ‘n’ roll is not simply alive and properly — it is taken on loads of totally different kinds.

The first half of the 12 months has seen triumphant releases from stalwart headbangers like Judas Priest, Bruce Dickinson and Sebastian Bach, together with assured new albums from ’90s rock giants akin to Pearl Jam, Green Day and the Black Crowes. Billy Joel returned to common music after three many years away, and glam rock icon Ian Hunter confirmed he is nonetheless acquired fuel left within the tank. Meanwhile, Slash paid long-overdue tribute to the blues with a star-studded covers album, and Robert Plant put a fascinating spin on a traditional from his former band.

See all of these and extra in our listing of the 20 Best Rock Songs of 2024 (So Far).

20. Slash feat. Brian Johnson and Steven Tyler, “Killing Floor”

From: Orgy of the Damned

Twenty-five years after retiring Slash’s Blues Ball, the guitarist lastly dedicated his love of the style to file together with his all-star covers album Orgy of the Damned. He’s squarely in his consolation zone on this cowl of Howlin’ Wolf’s electrical blues staple, ripping fast-and-loose solos and locking into an easy groove together with his bandmates. Brian Johnson delights with a soulful vocal showcasing his husky low register, and a visitor harmonica efficiency from Steven Tyler provides additional grit and gravitas.

19. Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs feat. Graham Nash, “Dare to Dream”

From: Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits

After many years of serving as Tom Petty’s right-hand man, former Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has spent his previous three solo albums discovering his personal voice as a singer and bandleader. He sounds assured in his new function on “Dare to Dream,” a languid, quasi-psychedelic rocker full of droning guitar licks and Campbell’s nasally sneer, which sounds greater than a little bit bit like his late companion’s. A visitor vocal from Graham Nash additional solidifies the track’s ’60s pop-rock bonafides.

18. Melvins, “Working the Ditch”

From: Tarantula Heart

“Working the Ditch,” the lead single off Melvins’ twenty seventh studio album Tarantula Heart, finds the group working in a mode that is acquainted if not precisely accessible. The band’s sludge-metal cacophony reaches new long-form, experimental heights throughout the LP, and “Ditch” is anchored by grinding, hypnotic riffs and Buzz Osborne’s gruff, repetitive chants. The dual-drum assault of Dale Crover and Roy Mayorga concurrently provides density and looseness to their gurgling sonic stew.

17. Ian Hunter feat. Joe Elliott, Brian May and Taylor Hawkins, “Precious”

From: Defiance Part 2: Fiction

Ian Hunter has been a glam-rock kingpin for greater than half a century, and on “Precious,” the octogenarian proves he is nonetheless greater than succesful of commanding a rock ‘n’ roll band — and corralling top-shelf cameos within the kind of acolytes Joe Elliott, Brian May and Taylor Hawkins. Crunchy guitar riffs encase fizzy pop hooks as Hunter gleefully confesses, “If you’re looking for genius, there ain’t nothin’ there.” Hawkins’ cool, unhurried efficiency gives yet one more testomony to the late drummer’s expertise and skill to play properly with others.

16. Bruce Dickinson, “Rain on the Graves”

From: The Mandrake Project

Far be it from Bruce Dickinson to take the trail of least resistance. The Iron Maiden frontman’s first solo album in 19 years, The Mandrake Project, is one other high-concept epic about abuse, identification, energy struggles and the occult. Pre-release single “Rain on the Graves” combines Dickinson’s operatic vocals and tongue-in-cheek theatrics with muscular riffs and propulsive grooves. After all this time, he nonetheless sounds out for blood.

15. Sheryl Crow feat. Tom Morello, “Evolution”

From: Evolution

Sheryl Crow remains to be succesful of the identical easy cool that shot her to stardom within the ’90s, however she tackles headier material on “Evolution,” a moody rocker in regards to the risks of synthetic intelligence left unchecked. As a 30-year music business veteran, Crow’s confusion and dismay over listening to “a song that sounded like something I wrote” on the radio ring particularly poignant. A futuristic solo from Tom Morello drives house the purpose that some eccentricities cannot be manufactured.

14. Billy Joel, “Turn the Lights Back On”

Non-album single

Billy Joel deserted pop music after 1993’s River of Dreams, satisfied he had nothing left to say. Thirty-one years later, he returned with “Turn the Lights Back On,” a reflective piano ballad through which he overtly wonders if he is missed his window of alternative. The track captures Joel in traditional ’70s balladeering mode, his voice weathered however nonetheless strong. The rapturous reception to the track’s dwell debut on the 2024 Grammys squashed any doubts whether or not the general public would nonetheless embrace him.

13. Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Morrison and Steve Stevens, “Crack Cocaine”

From: The Morrison Project

Sure, you can take Billy Morrison at his phrase and skim the lyrics to “Crack Cocaine” as a metaphor for a poisonous love affair — however provided that you may divorce the observe from Ozzy Osbourne’s legendarily debauched historical past. However you interpret it, the track is a traditional Ozzman stomper, full of chugging, Zakk Wylde-approved riffs and a livid solo from Morrison’s Billy Idol bandmate Steve Stevens. Osbourne sounds fierce and lucid as he bellows a couple of pastime that usually made him behave in a less-than-dignified method.

12. David Gilmour, “The Piper’s Call”

From: Luck and Strange

“The Piper’s Call” is a cautionary story in regards to the perils of fame from anyone who’s spent greater than half a century maintaining the hounds at bay. The contemplative observe begins with delicate acoustic guitar strums and a hushed vocal from David Gilmour, who warns that you just “can’t undo the voodoo that you do” and implores listeners to “steer clear of snakes.” The track builds regularly and climaxes with a smoldering guitar solo — the proverbial North Star that is at all times righted Gilmour when the business threatened to guide him astray.

11. Mark Knopfler, “Ahead of the Game”

From: One Deep River

Mark Knopfler conquered the globe many years in the past with Dire Straits, however on “Ahead of the Game,” he makes taking part in within the noisy again room of the neighborhood pub sound like probably the most superb endeavor on this planet. The singer and guitarist delivers his tried-and-true strand of laidback pop-rock, slick however removed from sterile, as he sprinkles in blues and nation licks with easy panache. “We’re worn out and weary, all of us / But we know why we came,” Knopfler croons, sounding like a person who is aware of some cosmic secret the remaining of us are nonetheless making an attempt to determine.

10. Ace Frehley, “Walkin’ on the Moon”

From: 10,000 Volts

On 10,000 Volts, Ace Frehley sticks largely to what he is aware of finest: catchy, three-chord exhausting rock with a chewy pop heart. “Walkin’ on the Moon” exemplifies this method with its swaggering cowbell groove, gigantic energy chords and a assured vocal efficiency from the Spaceman. Is this half of Frehley’s private UFO testimony, or only a love letter to old style rock ‘n’ roll? Either means, it soars.

9. Kings of Leon, “Mustang”

From: Can We Please Have Fun

“If you’re free tomorrow, don’t make any plans / We can go to Sylvan Park and kick over trash cans,” Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill croons in the beginning of “Mustang,” the lead single off Can We Please Have Fun. The relaxation of the band matches his impish pleasure with stabbing guitar riffs and a propulsive beat. By the time Followill cuts free and unleashes his whiskey-and-honey growl on the refrain, Kings of Leon sound very very like they’re having enjoyable.

8. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “When the Levee Breaks”

Non-album single

Few traditional rock titans have discovered find out how to reinvent their outdated songs as successfully as Robert Plant. Together with Alison Krauss, the previous Led Zeppelin frontman gives one other tackle the Memphis Minnie blues tune, reimagining it as an unique, elemental dirge. Plant’s husky vocals lend an air of desperation to the efficiency, whereas Krauss’ evocative violin work nods briefly to Zeppelin’s “Friends” earlier than propelling the track to a climactic rootsy stomp.

7. Sebastian Bach, “Everybody Bleeds”

From: Child Within the Man

The titles of “Everybody Bleeds” and accompanying album Child Within the Man recommend that Sebastian Bach has gained some hard-earned knowledge and a recent perspective. But do not suppose for a second that the previous Skid Row frontman has softened with age. “Everybody Bleeds” is a bludgeoning metallic anthem, full of catchy riffs, titanic drums and Bach’s full-throttle screams. If all people bleeds, burns and drowns in the long run, Bach sounds decided to go down swinging.

6. Green Day, “1981”

From: Saviors

Ever since 2004’s American Idiot revitalized their profession, Green Day has fought (and sometimes succumbed to) the temptation to show each venture right into a massively bold enterprise. Even Saviors was touted as their long-awaited reunion with longtime producer Rob Cavallo, and the third installment in a religious trilogy additionally comprising Dookie and American Idiot. Thankfully, Green Day tamps down these outsize urges on the brash “1981,” a back-to-basics punk anthem full of blunt-force energy chords and singalong choruses. It’s Green Day identical to you bear in mind them — one model, not less than.

5. The Black Keys, (*20*)

From: Ohio Players

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney way back dropped the pretense of working as a duo, and (*20*) sounds like a big-budget alt-rock anthem befitting its seven credited co-writers, most notably Beck. That’s not essentially a foul factor: The “na na na” backing vocals and auxiliary brass and keyboard contributions elevate the track’s funky blues-rock strut. It will not be a literal arena-sized banger, however it’s the work of a band that proudly busted out of the storage a very long time in the past.

4. Pearl Jam, “Dark Matter”

From: Dark Matter

The title observe to Pearl Jam’s twelfth album goes straight for the jugular with martial percussion, fist-pumping riffs and savage call-and-response vocals from Eddie Vedder. It’s a sweaty, breathless efficiency that harks again to the band’s mid-’90s heyday. Producer Andrew Watt provides the track a contemporary, gut-punching sheen, and Mike McCready’s scorching guitar solo proves the alt-rock giants have misplaced none of their chew.

3. Judas Priest, “The Serpent and the King”

From: Invincible Shield

If you need progressive grandeur or epic balladry, there are loads of songs in Judas Priest’s catalog to satiate your urge for food. “The Serpent and the King” will not be one of them. The Metal Gods serve four-and-a-half minutes of unadulterated, ass-kicking heavy metallic, anchored by rapid-fire riffs, double-kick drum commotion and Rob Halford’s siren-like wail. It’s an epic story of good versus evil, delivered with the venom of the serpent and the authority of the king.

2. The Smile, “Friend of a Friend”

From: Wall of Eyes

Is it a copout to say “Friend of a Friend” sounds positively Beatlesque? The Radiohead offshoot did file its sophomore album at Abbey Road Studios, and the album’s third single is a twisting art-rock odyssey, anchored by Tom Skinner’s lithe drumming and Thom Yorke’s lilting vocals. The lyrics have been impressed by footage of Italian individuals singing on their balconies in the course of the COVID-19 lockdowns; the climactic string swells provide a cathartic rebuke to the concern and isolation wrought by the pandemic. Yet “Friend of a Friend” ends on a notice of uncertainty — a warning towards complacency and an interrogation of who advantages in occasions of world disaster.

1. The Black Crowes, “Wanting and Waiting”

From: Happiness Bastards

There’s one thing exhilarating a couple of couple of seasoned professionals selecting up proper the place they left off and sounding no worse for put on. That’s the case on “Wanting and Waiting,” the lead single off Happiness Bastards, the Black Crowes’ first studio album in 15 years. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson serve up their patented blues-rock boogie with soul and swagger, combining sassy vocals and scorching riffs with smoky keyboard prospers and poppy hand claps. Fellas, we beg you: Don’t go away us wanting and ready for an additional 15 years.