2024 in rock music

This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year 2024.

January

 * The British all-female indie rock band The Last Dinner Party is named the BBC Sound of 2024. Shortly after, they release their debut studio album, Prelude to Ecstasy. The album not only debuts at number one on the national all-format UK albums chart, but its sales is the highest debut album from a musician in almost a decade.
 * Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate announces that their US bassist Joey Vera is leaving, after several years as stand-in for the late Timi Hansen.
 * Green Day releases their 14th studio album, Saviors. It is the band's first in four years, and first in twelve years to be recorded with record producer Rob Cavallo, who previously produced Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004). Saviors tops the UK all-format albums chart, their fifth album to do so. In the US, the album debuts at number 4 on the US all-format Billboard 200 top albums chart, moving 49,000 album equivalent units.
 * In a run that starts in November 2023, and extends into January, Green Day's single "The American Dream Is Killing Me" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and stays atop of the chart for 8 weeks straight.
 * No Doubt announces they are reforming for the first time in almost a decade.

February

 * February 4 – 66th Annual Grammy Awards are held on February 4th. Indie supergroup Boygenius win two awards for their song "Not Strong Enough" - Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, and one award for The Record - Best Alternative Music Album. Pop punk band Paramore's album This Is Why wins Best Rock Album, which is the first time a female-fronted band has ever won the award.
 * Linkin Park releases "Friendly Fire", a previously unreleased song from One More Light (2017). The song features vocals recorded by Chester Bennington prior to his death in 2017, similar to 2023 single "Lost". Like "Lost" a year prior, "Friendly Fire" debuts atop the Billboard Rock Airplay chart. It stays there for two weeks, but falls well short of the performance of "Lost", which spent 20 weeks atop the chart, and fails to break into the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
 * Daughtry's single "Artificial" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart for the first time in their career. Despite 17 years of appearing on the chart, the band's music had historically performed stronger in pop music formats, during their massive popularity in the late 2000s.

March

 * Swedish rock singer Erik Grönwall leaves US band Skid Row to prioritise his recovery from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He is replaced on immediately proceeding tour dates by Lzzy Hale of the band Halestorm. The arrangement is temporarily, but well-received, to the point of Jon Bon Jovi leaving a statement that he hopes she will continue with the band.
 * English heavy metal band Judas Priest releases their 19th studio album, Invincible Shield, their first album in six years. It had been recorded over the course of the prior four years, in between issues arisen by the COVID-19 pandemic and touring. The album enters the UK all-format albums chart at number 2, the highest chart entry of their entire career.
 * Canadian rock band Sum 41 releases their eighth and final studio album, Heaven :x: Hell. It is a double album, with each disc following its own musical theme. Heaven explores the pop-punk sound of the band's mainstream popularity in the early 2000s, while Hell follows the heavy metal sound the band pursued in subsequent years. The band plans to breakup following the completion of the album's touring cycle in 2025. The album debuts at number five on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart; the band's career highest on a US all-format sales chart.
 * Rapper Machine Gun Kelly, after pivoting to pop punk and releasing two Billboard 200 chart-topping albums Tickets to My Downfall (2020) and Mainstream Sellout (2022), changes genre again and releases a collaborative emo rap release with Trippie Redd called Genre: Sadboy. The pivot to emo rap leads to a drastic decrease in performance; Tickets debuted with 126,000 units and 60,000 sales, Mainstream debuted with 93,000 units and 42,000 sales, and Genre: Sadboy debuted with only 17,000 units and 7,000 in sales.
 * Pearl Jam's first new song in 4 years, "Dark Matter", tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and stays there for 4 consecutive weeks.

April

 * Irish musician Hozier's single "Too Sweet" tops the Billboard Global 200 chart, making it the most popular song in the world for a week. It individually tops the all-format national song charts for Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, and Canada as well.
 * Welsh rock band Feeder releases their twelfth studio album, a double album titled Black/Red. The release was recorded as part of a trilogy between it and Torpedo (2022). The band, started in the 1990s, has seen a resurgence of commercial success in the UK with its prior two albums, Torpedo and Tallulah (2019). It debuts in the top 10 of the UK and Scottish all-format albums charts.
 * The Black Keys release their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players. The album is their most collaborative to date, with the duo working with many outside musicians and producers, including Dan the Automator, Greg Kurstin, Beck, and Noel Gallagher. It debuts in the top 10 of 5 separate national all-format albums charts, but only at number 26 on the US Billboard 200.
 * Linkin Park releases their first greatest hits album, titled Papercuts. It features a career-spanning collection of the band's singles. The album debuts in the top 10 of at least 13 national all-format albums charts, including number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, moving 44,000 album equivalent units.
 * Pearl Jam releases their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter. Work on the album began in mid-2022 with Andrew Watt, who has been heavily involved with music production with pop musicians and in the 2020s, Ozzy Osbourne. The goal in working with him was to make more spontaneous music rather than the lengthy recording times of prior albums. The album debuts in the top 10 of at least 11 national all-format albums charts, including number 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, moving 59,000 album equivalent units.
 * Mötley Crüe releases "Dogs of War", their first song in over five years. It is their first release since the band replaced longtime guitarist Mick Mars with John 5 due to his ongoing battle with ankylosing spondylitis. Prior to its release, the song drew controversy after bassist Nikki Sixx claimed that "people who have heard it say it's a powerful cross between country and hip hop". The comment confused and upset their fanbase, which Sixx later blamed on the media's reporting on the story, despite publications largely correctly quoting his own words.

May

 * Twenty One Pilots releases their seventh studio album, Clancy. The album is a concept album, and concludes the decade-spanning overarching story told by prior releases Blurryface (2015), Trench (2018), and Scaled and Icy (2021). Like the three albums that preceded, it debuts in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, at number 3, moving 143,000 album equivalent units. This made it the biggest week for a rock album in 2024 in the US upon its release.
 * English rock band Bring Me the Horizon surprise releases their seventh studio album, Post Human: Nex Gen, the second part of their four-part Post Human series that started with Post Human: Survival Horror (2020). It is also the first release following the departure of long-term member Jordan Fish. It accumulates over 70 million streams in its opening week, leading them to be the most streamed rock band in the world for the period. It also debuts at number 5 on the UK all-format albums chart, an impressive feat considering the album's digital-only release.
 * Slayer guitarist Kerry King releases his debut solo album, From Hell I Rise. It is his first album release in almost a decade, following the release of Slayer's last studio album Repentless (2015). It debuts in the top 10 of 5 separate national albums charts.
 * Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash releases another solo album, Orgy of the Damned. Unlike the four solo albums he released under the moniker of Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, the album is more like his self-titled 2010 solo album that featured a variety of different singers and collaborators across the album's tracks. The album also explores a more blues rock sound. The album debuts in the top 10 of 5 separate national albums charts.

June

 * Bon Jovi releases their 16th studio album, Forever. The album is the first since singer Jon Bon Jovi's major throat surgery that almost forced him to retire from singing and made him have to relearn how to talk completely prior to its recording.

July

 * English rock band Deep Purple releases their 23rd studio album, =1. It is their first album with new guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced the band's longtime guitarist Steve Morse in 2022.

Future releases

 * Falling in Reverse is set to release their fifth studio album, Popular Monster, on July 26, 2024.
 * X is set to release their ninth and final studio album, Smoke & Fiction, on August 2, 2024. They are planned to breakup after a farewell tour in support of the album.
 * Four Year Strong is set to release their eighth studio album, Analysis Paralysis, on August 9, 2024.
 * Destroy Boys is set to release their fourth studio album, Funeral Soundtrack #4, on August 9, 2024.
 * Australian pop-punk band Stand Atlantic is set to release their fourth studio album, Was Here, on 23 August 2024.
 * English band Coldplay is scheduled to release their tenth studio album, Moon Music, on 4 October 2024. Frontman Chris Martin said that the album was "almost done" in January 2023, though he said that the album would not be released right away after completion, as the band wanted to focus on touring first.
 * The Offspring is scheduled to release their eleventh studio album, Supercharged, on October 11, 2024. Work on the album began in March 2023, and like their previous three studio albums, it was produced by Bob Rock. The band concurrently plans to tour in support of the 30th anniversary of their album Smash (1994).   Their new album was finished in May 2024.
 * Slipknot band members are scheduled to release an album. The album, Look Outside Your Window, was recorded by four of the band's members in 2008 during the band's lengthy All Hope Is Gone sessions. The album will have a more experimental and melodic rock sound as opposed to their traditional metal sound. The band once aimed to release it in 2023 once band members were scheduled from their record label contract. It was delayed to 2024 due to Corey Taylor's commitment to his second solo album CMF2 in the second half of 2023.
 * Korn plans to release their fifteenth studio album. Members have stated that they aim to meld their "vintage" sound with a "modern twist", and that it's going into a heavier direction. The band concurrently plans on celebrating the 30th anniversary of their first album, Korn (1994).
 * Swedish band Ghost is scheduled to release their sixth studio album. Frontman Tobias Forge revealed that he had a few songs written for the album in late 2023.
 * Deftones are scheduled to release their tenth studio album in mid-2024. Work on the album began in early 2023, and will be their third album working with music producer Nick Raskulinecz.
 * Guns N' Roses are working on their seventh studio album. In 2022, guitarist Slash stated that the band's plans include releasing singles until there's an album's worth of material recorded, and then releasing it after 2023 touring. The album will be their first since Chinese Democracy (2008), and their first to feature original members Slash and bassist Duff McKagan since Use Your Illusion (1991).
 * Canadian heavy metal band Spiritbox is scheduled to release their second studio album. The band aims to show that the success and positive reception to Eternal Blue (2021) was not a fluke. They aim to strike a balance between moving into more progressive directions without getting too deep into showmanship.
 * Halestorm is scheduled to release their sixth studio album. The recording will emphasize recreating their live sound.
 * Australian progressive rock band Karnivool has recorded an album's worth of material, which would be its first release in over a decade. Work on material began as early as 2016, but has progressed slowly due to all band members growing older, starting families, and living in different areas now. The band hasn't decided if material will be released as a full album, or broken up across multiple EPs.
 * English rock band The Cure has recorded their fourteenth studio album - their first since 4:13 Dream (2008). Frontman Robert Smith has continued to tinker and revise the album in recent years though. Tentative album titles include Live from the Moon and Songs of a Lost World.
 * The Pretty Reckless are scheduled to release their fifth studio album. Recording for the album began in mid-2023.
 * Social Distortion is scheduled to release their eighth studio album. The band's follow-up to 2011's Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes was originally set for release in 2023, but vocalist and guitarist Mike Ness' diagnosis with stage one tonsil cancer delayed the album's release to early the next year.
 * Jane's Addiction announced plans in 2021 to release their first new material in a decade. Frontman Perry Farrell said that a full album is unlikely.
 * Limp Bizkit is working on their seventh studio album. The band plans to work on new material during sound checks because their 2024 touring schedule is so heavy.
 * Anthrax is working on their twelfth studio album. They began working on it in 2023. Bassist Frank Bello said their upcoming album will be "heavier than ever".
 * Former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is set to release his debut solo studio album. It's his first time making new music after the band abruptly disbanded in early January 2024.

Tours and festivals

 * January 17-20 – International rock musicians performing at Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, Netherlands, include Psyche (Canada/Germany), Aggrasoppar (Faeroes) and Meltheads (Belgium).
 * Irish band U2 conclude their Las Vegas concert residency U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
 * June 5-8 – Sweden Rock Festival takes place at Blekinge. The line-up includes Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Megadeth, Dimmu Borgir and Igorrr.
 * June 6-8 – NorthSide Festival takes place in Aarhus, Denmark. Performers include Amyl and the Sniffers, Daði Freyr, and Guldimund and Troye Sivan.
 * June 26-30 – Rock performers at the Glastonbury Festival 2024 in Somerset, UK, include Canada's Shania Twain, France's Justice, Niger's Mdou Moctar, Japan's Otoboke Beaver, England's Bombay Bicycle Club, Wales's Skindred and the US's Blondshell.
 * After Aerosmith started its farewell tour in September 2023, Steven Tyler's medical issues with his vocal cords delays some performances into 2024.
 * In celebration of Maynard James Keenan's 60th birthday, a tour where he fronts both A Perfect Circle and Puscifer will take place across April and May 2024. An accompanying EP release, Sessanta E.P.P.P. will be released in support of the tour. In particular, it marks the first live shows and new material ("Kindred") from A Perfect Circle since 2018's Eat the Elephant.
 * Scorpions European tour ends at Festhalle Frankfurt in September.
 * Slayer announces their reunion after initially breaking up in 2019. They are scheduled to play at the Riot Fest, and at the Louder Than Life festival in September 2024.
 * Lollapalooza South America's lineup in March features many rock bands, including Blink-182, Paramore, Limp Bizkit, and The Offspring.

Band breakups

 * Issues announced a breakup and three farewell shows that took place in January 2024.
 * Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk announced their third breakup on January 3, 2024.
 * Candlebox will break up following the conclusion of touring in support of their final album.
 * Porno for Pyros following their 2024 farewell tour.
 * Off! announced they are breaking up after three farewell shows from July to August 2024.
 * X announced they are breaking up after completion of their farewell tour in support of their ninth and final studio album, Smoke & Fiction.

Deaths

 * January 2 – Chris Karrer, 76, German progressive rock guitarist (Amon Düül II)
 * January 9 – James Kottak, 61, American rock drummer (Scorpions, Kingdom Come, Warrant)
 * January 29 – Yuri Ilchenko, 72, Russian singer and guitarist (Mify, Zemlyane)
 * February 8 – Yuri Borzov, 70, Russian blues rock drummer (Mashina Vremeni)
 * February 9 – Damo Suzuki, 74, Japanese Krautrock singer (Can)
 * February 12 – Juris Kulakovs, 65, Latvian musician (Pērkons)
 * February 16 – Greg "Fritz" Hinz, 68, Canadian rock drummer (Helix)
 * February 20 – Vitalij Kuprij, 48, Ukrainian keyboardist (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Artension, Ring of Fire)
 * March 3 – Félix Sabal Lecco, 64/5, Cameroonian drummer
 * March 8 – Ľubomír Stankovský, 72, Slovak singer and drummer (Modus)
 * March 10
 * Blake Harrison, 48, American rock bassist and sampler (Hatebeak, Pig Destroyer)
 * Marc Tobaly, 74, Moroccan-born French guitarist (Les Variations)
 * T. M. Stevens, 72, American rock bassist
 * March 11 – Eric Carmen, 74, American musician (Raspberries)
 * March 12 – Russ Wilson, 62, Canadian bass guitarist (Junkhouse)
 * March 17 – Steve Harley, 73, English musician (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
 * April 1 – Michael Ward, 57, American guitarist (The Wallflowers)
 * April 2
 * Jerry Abbott, 80, American record producer, father of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul (Pantera, Damageplan)
 * Notker Wolf, 83, German Benedictine priest-monk and rock musician
 * April 4 – Keith LeBlanc, 69, American drummer and music producer (collaborated with Nine Inch Nails, Peter Gabriel, Ministry, The Cure )
 * April 5 – C. J. Snare, 64, American rock singer (FireHouse)
 * April 9 – Max Werner, 70, Dutch progressive rock singer and drummer (Kayak)
 * April 16
 * Gavin Webb, 77, Australian rock bassist (The Masters Apprentices)
 * Reita, 42, Japanese rock bassist (The Gazette)
 * April 17 – Eddie Sutton, 59, American rock singer (Leeway)
 * April 18 – Dickey Betts, 80, American rock guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band)
 * April 20 – Jean-Marie Aerts, 72, Belgian guitarist (TC Matic)
 * May 4 – Miroslav Imrich, 71, Czech rock singer (Abraxas)
 * May 7 – Steve Albini, 61, American musician and music producer
 * May 18 – Jon Wysocki, 56, American rock drummer (Staind, Soil)
 * May 22 – Toni Montano, 62, Serbian rock musician
 * May 28 – Gustavo Mullem, 72, Brazilian punk rock guitarist (Camisa de Vênus)
 * June 5
 * Ranch Sironi, American rock bassist (Nebula)
 * Adam Lewis, 45, American rock bassist (Fenix TX)
 * 9 June – Alex Riel, 83, Danish jazz and rock drummer
 * 24 June – Shifty Shellshock, 49, American rock musician (Crazy Town)