Home / News / Reviews / Features / Subscribe

Louder is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an a liate commission.
Learn more

The 50 best metal albums of 2020

By Metal Hammer
First Published 11 hours ago

2020 might have been a write o on most fronts, but it least it had an epic soundtrack

Simulação baleia
animal figura...
R$40.66

Simulação de vida
marinha modelos...
R$24.79
R$38.17
 Nova simulação do
fundo do mar
animal...
R$27.05
R$28.50

AliExpress

2020: what the hell was that all about? If it was a music festival, it would be that one you
went to where it pissed down with rain all weekend, you dropped your phone down a
portaloo, then found that somebody had nicked your tent and shat in your wellies. We
were going to say we're glad to see the back of it, until we realised the absolute ball of
twatknackery that 2021 has gotten o to.

Still, while the world might have stopped in 2020, metal certainly didn’t. Once the initial
shock of the COVID pandemic wore o , bands swiftly realised that people needed music
more than ever. A trickle of great albums the spring became an absolute avalanche once
bands cottoned on to the fact that people were hungrier than ever for brand new noise.
The result was 12 months of music that proved the metal scene is stronger, bolder and
more exciting that it’s even been.

With many of metal’s old warriors sitting the year out - the notable exception being Ozzy
Osbourne, who released a knockout late-career zinger in Ordinary Man – 2020 belong
rmly to today’s bands. From 21st century titans such as Deftones, Trivium and Lamb Of
God to next-gen heroes like Code Orange, Oceans Of Slumber and Loathe, metal spread
its black wings far and wide.

We polled our entire team of critics, and spent hours totting up the results (listen, there
are no 'stolen' votes here, buddy). And here are the results: 50 albums that have gone
some way to shing 2020 out of the dumpster.
 01:25 / 03:48

50. Myrkur – Folkesange

Amalie Bruun’s early black metal proved bitterly divisive among the
genre’s elitist gatekeepers, but Folkesange instantly proved that her
instinct for a gorgeous Nordic folk ditty is unwaveringly sharp. Be it
jaunty camp re dances or hauntingly atmospheric mood pieces,
Myrkur breathed new life into ancient folk standards whilst also
beautifully nailing the art of writing songs that sounded 1,000 years
older than they were.

49. Hellripper – The A air Of The Poisons

This year, Hellripper’s sole Venom-ous Motörheadbanger, James

McBain, joined Midnight and Rebel Wizard at the forefront of modern
black-thrash. A rabid, raucous crossbreed of Kill ’Em All, Overkill,
Welcome To Hell, Bathory and Filth Hounds Of Hades, The A air Of
The Poisons, with the same force as a bucking kick from the gnarled
hooves of Lucifer, knocked out every backpatched and bullet belt-
sporting heathen who heard it.

48. Lik – Misanthropic Breed

With Misanthropic Breed, Lik o ered up a potent display of proper

Swedes playing proper Swedish death metal. The Stockholm band’s
third album oozed HM-powered ri ng, punk energy and the raging
brutality of their forefathers (when they were teenagers, mind).
Adding a ne-tuned nesse inspired by Maiden-esque melodies and
harmonies, these new-school purveyors delivered a high watermark
to the genre’s nation of origin.
 Simulação baleia
animal figura...
R$40.66

Nova simulação do
fundo do mar animal...
R$27.05 R$28.50

Simulação de vida
marinha modelos...
R$24.79 R$38.17

AliExpress

47. Triptykon – Requiem (Live At Roadburn 2019)

Completing an orchestral project more than three decades in the

making – begun by Thomas G Fischer’s legendary previous band,
Celtic Frost, in 1987 – this document of Triptykon’s one-o Roadburn
performance balanced its immense heft with moments of
tremendous grace and beauty. More than a live album, Requiem
demonstrated Fischer’s lifelong commitment to heavy
experimentation.

46. All Them Witches – Nothing As The Ideal

Listening to the sixth album from Nashville’s All Them Witches felt like
falling down a rabbit hole into a psychedelic backwoods America.
Nothing As The Ideal was a post-stoner fever dream populated by
homicidal twins and plants with teeth, set to a backdrop of lava lamp
ri s that billowed and ebbed rather than thumped and bludgeoned.
A monumentally surreal year’s monumentally surreal soundtrack.

45. Greg Puciato – Child Soldier: Creator Of God

No one would have expected anything standard from the former

Dillinger Escape Plan frontman’s rst solo e ort, but no one could
have imagined the breadth of Child Soldier. It encapsulated
everything from lo- singer/songwriting, to shimmering electro-pop,
to some of the most scabrous metallic material Greg Puciato has put
his name to. It might sound disjointed on paper, but he lovingly
stirred his sonic pot and it congealed into a work of eclectic brilliance.
44.  Ingested – Where Only Gods May Tread

The UK’s kings of brutal, slam-inclined death metal, Ingested

surpassed even the cudgelling majesty of 2018.’s The Level Above
Human on their fth full-length. From the opening seconds of Follow
The Deceiver onwards, Where Only Gods May Tread sounds
imperious and unstoppable: state-of-the-art death metal with big
hooks, colossal grooves and balls the size of Jupiter. When gigs
return, these tunes will level venues.

43. Crippled Black Phoenix – Ellengaest

An epic but intimate eruption of dark, post- everything melodrama,

Ellengaest was full of stunning moments. With vocal cameos from
Gaahl, Tribulation’s Jonathan Hultén and Anathema’s Vincent
Cavanagh amongst others, these spacious, sprawling and subtly
inventive songs were among the most fascinating and memorable
that Crippled Black Phoenix have released. A career highlight from
one of the UK’s most consistent but underrated bands.

42. Intronaut – Fluid Existential Inversions

Prog metallers Intronaut always had the potential to reach

Mastodon-ian heights but lacked the requisite songwriting
memorability to truly break out. Fluid Existential Inversions –
produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and with Alex Rudinger (The
Faceless/Whitechapel) on drums – distinguished itself from past LPs
by ramping up the vocal and instrumental melodicism. The
Baroness/Ghost-worthy hooks and dazzling, synth-laden prog
grandstanding entwined in prodigious ways to constitute a welcome, mainstream-baiting
evolution.

41. Cirith Ungol – Forever Black

For decades a byword for true cult epic metal madness, these
Tolkien-obsessed Californians resurfaced from the arcane depths
after nearly 30 years with a gloriously bonkers monster LP. As well as
honouring the band’s 80s legacy, Forever Black found this unique
band vigorously revitalised and hungry for fresh blood, with Tim
Baker’s rasping holler still sounding like Axl Rose being roasted by
dragon’s breath.

Next Page

RECENT NEWS

Have you seen this power metal guitarist?

The 50 best metal albums of 2020

Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor pays tribute to

David Bowie, ahead of star-studded Bowie
celebration gig
Motorhead: The story behind On Parole, the debut album that never was
"Lem and I were hanging out for a long time before Hawkwind," says Lucas Fox,
Motorhead's first drummer and the guy who was there for Lemmy Kilmister when h…

A maior loteria do mundo abre as portas para os brasileiros!

t heLot t er.c om | S ponsore d

Tênis Mizuno Wave de R$549,90 por R$179,90

Spor t t a | S ponsore d

Tênis mais vendido de 2020 agora com preço reduzido!

Tênis Ca t erpilla r | S ponsore d

Implant es dent ários: list a de preços

Impla nt es Dent á rios | Links Pa t roc ina dos | S ponsore d

Tênis Cat erpillar Azul 3x de 83,30 sem juros. Compre sem sair de casa
Tênis Ca t erpilla r | S ponsore d

Surpreenda-se com o que nós fizemos por você!

Doc t or Sma r t Fit PRO™ | S ponsore d

Rit chie Blackmore summoned Baal, t he pagan god of war, during a Rainbow st udio
session and it didn’t end well
session, and it didn t end well
Louder

Wat ch Slash and Chad Smit h jam an epic version of Black Sabbat h’s War Pigs wit h
Post Malone
Louder

Precisa de um emprést imo? Procure ofert as aqui

Emprést imo Pessoa l | Links Pa t roc ina dos | S ponsore d

Homem met e bola efervescent e gigant e na piscina, result ando nisto.

WorldRa z or | S ponsore d

Watch a TikTok R&B star school angry metal fans by shredding Metallica
songs
Rising R&B st ar Zaria put s mout hy met alheads in t heir place on TikTok
Louder

Os preços at uais para implant es dent ários podem t e surpreender.

Impla nt es Dent á rios | Links Pa t roc ina dos | S ponsore d

Médicos: método simples pode evit ar ronco (experiment e hoje à noit e)

SleepMa gic | S ponsore d

Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me) in t he st yle of Type O Negat ive is a
lost got h met al classic
Louder

Have you seen t his power met al guit arist ?

Louder

Promoção relâmpago t ênis café Cat erpillar R$ 139.90

T ib C l d |S d
Tribus Ca lç a dos | S ponsore d

Elle Macpherson Is Almost 60, Try Not To Smile When You See Her Now
Spor t Pira t e | S ponsore d

Watch one-handed guitar player play two Guns N' Roses solos
You'd t hink t hat being wit h only one hand would be a barrier t o becoming a guit arist , but t ry
t elling t hat t o YouTuber Gondorian_ t omat oes_ .Gondorian – as we'll abbreviat e him from now o…
Louder

Promoção relâmpago t ênis Cat erpillar em R$125,91

Tribus Ca lç a dos | S ponsore d

O custo dos aparelhos audit ivos pode surpreendê-lo

Apa relhos Audit ivos | Links Pa t roc ina dos | S ponsore d

John Carpent er shares music video for new single Alive Aft er Deat h
Louder

Elton John is playing piano on Miley Cyrus’ new cover of Met allica’s Not hing Else
Mat t ers
Louder

Se prepare para o verão agora com lent es verdes!

Show de Óc ulos | S ponsore d

Como alavancar seus negócios na era digit al?

Pequena s Empresa s pa ra T RAY | S ponsore d

The Hu, Heilung, Alien Weaponry and Twin Temple make their Metal
Hammer cover debuts
Hammer cover debuts
New Year, New Heavy: t he new issue of Met al Hammer feat ures four exclusive covers st arring
four of t he most excit ing young bands in t he met al scene t oday.For t he first Met al Hammer of…
Louder

Agora lent es verdes em alt a, confira!

Show de Óc ulos | S ponsore d

Veja as quarent a mulheres mais lindas do Brasil!

Gloriousa | S ponsore d

Wat ch t his Border Collie absolut ely smash a dance rout ine to Evanescence’s
Bring Me To Life
Louder

Wat ch Act s Of Resist ance, a new film showing how met al is inspiring genuine
change in Lat in America, exclusively via Met al Hammer
Louder

Novo cartão de crédito atinge marca de 1 milhão de pedidos. Peça o seu!

Meliuz | S ponsore d

Wat ch Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor play X-Japan’s Endless Rain wit h
Yoshiki and Babymet al on Japan‘s biggest TV show
Louder

AC/DC, Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Queen are among t he UK’s best -selling art ist s on
vinyl
Louder

Top 16 carros que custam menos que 5 mil, só anda a pé quem quer
TG Cent ro Aut omot ivo | S ponsore d
Children Of Bodom front man Alexi Laiho dies
Louder

Iced Eart h’s Jon Schaffer was among t he angry mob storming t he US Capitol
Louder

Arapongas :Os preços atuais para implantes dentários podem te

surpreender
Impla nt es Dent á rios | Links Pa t roc ina dos | S ponsore d

Axl Rose bought Dave Grohl a hugely expensive guit ar to say t hanks for borrowing
his ‘t hrone’
Louder

John Fogert y bids Farewell to t he Trump era wit h Weeping In The Promised Land
Louder

Substituto do fio dental chega para acabar com mau hálito!

Super Wa t er Floss | S ponsore d

List en to Syst em Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and RATM’s Tom Morello cover Gang
of Four classic
Louder

On t he anniversary of his deat h, list en to Phil Lynot t at his brilliant best at Thin
Lizzy’s last ever UK show
Louder

Veja o novo queridinho dos brasileiros entre os cartões de crédito

Meliuz | S ponsore d
AC/DC's Angus Young names his favourite track from Power Up
AC/DC guit arist Angus Young has revealed his favourit e song on newly-released album Power Up
Louder

Steve Hackett launches new music video for Sirocco

St eve Hacket t will release new solo acoust ic album Under A Medit erranean Sky in January
Louder

Listen to Guns N’ Roses play Sweet Child O’ Mine for the very first time
List en t o Guns N’ Roses play Sweet Child O’ Mine for t he first t ime, back in August 1986
Louder
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our
corporate site.

About Us

Terms and conditions

Privacy policy

Cookies policy

Accessibility Statement

Update Consent

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England
and Wales company registration number 2008885.