The article lists and reviews the 15 best metal albums of 2025, highlighting diverse bands like Deftones, Ghost, Coroner, and Primitive Man, showcasing a range of styles from doom and black metal to progressive and grindcore, emphasizing the genre's innovation and intensity this year.
The article highlights the 11 best metal albums of 2023, featuring a range of subgenres and unique offerings. From Khanate's avant-garde downer-metal album "To Be Cruel" to Metallica's expansive and identity-retaining album "72 Seasons," these records push beyond listeners' expectations and question what "heavy" means. Other notable albums include Dethklok's brutal and twisted "Dethalbum IV," Code Orange's blend of hardcore riffs and intricate melodies in "The Above," and Wayfarer's atmospheric black metal and gothic Americana fusion in "American Gothic."