What is the best metal album of the 2020s so far?

Still in progress, the 2020s have already produced some remarkable heavy music — from Gojira's Fortitude to Lorna Shore's extreme deathcore and beyond. Which metal album released since 2020 is the best so far?

1

Fortitude

Gojira's 2021 album that saw the French metal titans reach their widest audience yet with environmentally charged anthems.

2

Pain Remains

Lorna Shore's 2022 album that pushed symphonic deathcore to new extremes of technical complexity and emotional scope.

3

Alphaville

Imperial Triumphant's 2020 avant-garde black metal/jazz fusion album set in a nightmarish New York City hellscape.

4

Hushed and Grim

Mastodon's 2021 double album dedicated to their late manager Nick John, blending progressive rock with metallic grief.

5

The Enduring Spirit

Tomb Mold's 2023 death metal album praised for revitalizing the genre with melodic adventurousness and technical precision.

6

Human :II: Nature.

Nightwish's 2020 ambitious double album exploring human nature contrasted against the natural world with cinematic orchestration.

7

Terrasite

Cattle Decapitation's 2023 album pushing their brutal blend of death metal and clean vocals further into uncharted territory.

8

Absolute Elsewhere

Blood Incantation's 2024 ambient and death metal double album that divided and fascinated the extreme metal world.

9

Innate Passage

Elder's 2022 psychedelic progressive metal album blending krautrock, space rock, and metal into immersive landscapes.