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. 1
   Fortitude

   Gojira's 2021 album that saw the French metal titans reach their widest audience yet with environmentally charged anthems.
2. 2
   Pain Remains

   Lorna Shore's 2022 album that pushed symphonic deathcore to new extremes of technical complexity and emotional scope.
3. 3
   Alphaville

   Imperial Triumphant's 2020 avant-garde black metal/jazz fusion album set in a nightmarish New York City hellscape.
4. 4
   Hushed and Grim

   Mastodon's 2021 double album dedicated to their late manager Nick John, blending progressive rock with metallic grief.
5. 5
   The Enduring Spirit

   Tomb Mold's 2023 death metal album praised for revitalizing the genre with melodic adventurousness and technical precision.
6. 6
   Human :II: Nature.

   Nightwish's 2020 ambitious double album exploring human nature contrasted against the natural world with cinematic orchestration.
7. 7
   Terrasite

   Cattle Decapitation's 2023 album pushing their brutal blend of death metal and clean vocals further into uncharted territory.
8. 8
   Absolute Elsewhere

   Blood Incantation's 2024 ambient and death metal double album that divided and fascinated the extreme metal world.
9. 9
   Innate Passage

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