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?

Fortitude

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

1/9

Pain Remains

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

2/9

Alphaville

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

3/9

Hushed and Grim

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

4/9

The Enduring Spirit

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

5/9

Human :II: Nature.

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

6/9

Terrasite

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

7/9

Absolute Elsewhere

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

8/9

Innate Passage

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

9/9