Written by: Merlin Alderslade, Jason Arnopp, Oliver Badin, Joe Daly, Malcolm Dome, Eleanor Goodman, Stephen Hill, Dom Lawson, Dave Ling, Edwin McFee, Morat, Luke Morton, Tom O’Boyle, Dayal Patterson, Adam Rees, Natasha Scharf, Jonathan Selzer, Holly Wright
50. Macabre Omen
GODS OF WAR – AT WAR
VÁN
Macabre Omen merged Bathory with Greek BM to offer a more complex but heartfelt sound.
49. Lucifer
LUCIFER I
RISE ABOVE
The Oath’s Johanna Sadonis and Gaz Jennings (ex-Cathedral) journeyed into Luciferian wonder.
48. Hate Eternal
INFERNUS
SEASON OF MIST
Erik Rutan, death metal’s best producer, helmed one of the most powerful albums of the genre’s history.
47. Goatsnake
BLACK AGE BLUES
SOUTHERN LORD
The resurrected stoner rockers’ first album in 15 years reaffirmed their status as legends of the scene.
46. Tremonti
CAUTERIZE
FRET12
This solo album from Alter Bridge’s guitar wizard was a treasure trove of soaring choruses and ace fretwork.
45. Svalbard
ONE DAY ALL THIS WILL END
HOLY ROAR
A remedy to knucklehead hardcore, Svalbard tempered their throat-ripping brawl with post-rock spirit.
44. Kylesa
EXHAUSTING FIRE
SEASON OF MIST
The experimentation and old-school thrills on Kylesa’s seventh album excited fans past and present.
43. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
BLOSSOM
INTERNATIONAL DEATH CULT
The former Gallows frontman created his rawest record to date.
42. Cancer Bats
SEARCHING FOR ZERO
BMG
The Canadian road dogs pushed through grief to produce this thrashy, life-affirming burst of energy.
41. Myrkur
M
RELAPSE
This Danish, one-woman project wove haunting strings and primal vox into stunning black metal hymns.
40. Thy Art Is Murder
HOLY WAR
NUCLEAR BLAST
Thy Art’s third album was a fire-spewing, breakdown-packing DM masterclass.
39. Royal Thunder
CROOKED DOORS
RELAPSE
Wistful balladry, dreamy psych-metal voyaging and bludgeoning hooks made for a soulful rock masterpiece.
38. Graveyard
INNOCENCE & DECADENCE
NUCLEAR BLAST
The retro-rocking Swedes trod their same, glorious path, as scuzzy garage rock collided with bluesy grooves.
37. Baroness
PURPLE
ABRAXAN HYMNS
After their near-death experience, the sludgesters laid on strokes of classic rock, melody and texture.
36. Satan
ATOM BY ATOM
LISTENABLE
A near-perfect injection of innovation and youthful élan into the pub-crawlers’ quirky take on NWOBHM.
35. Nightwish
ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL
NUCLEAR BLAST
ReVamp’s Floor Jansen was perfect for Nightwish’s heavier sound on this stunning prog metal opus.
34. Arcturus
ARCTURIAN
PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS
After a decade away, Arcturus came back with new ideas and invigorating, memorable songs.
33. Pentagram
CURIOUS VOLUME
PEACEVILLE
Virginia’s doom metal pioneers were in a reflective mood – a class act steeped in rock lore.
32. Danko Jones
FIRE MUSIC
BAD TASTE
A masterclass in balls-out rock’n’roll with a heavy metal heart, Fire Music had riffs, hooks and lyrical genius.
31. Failure
THE HEART IS A MONSTER
XTRA MILE
Failure’s comeback master-class in alt-rock dynamism was laced with melodic beauty and chilling suspense.
30. Ahab
THE BOATS OF THE GLEN CARRIG
NAPALM
Ahab perfected their formula of progressively minded, crushingly fathomless funereal doom.
29. Shape Of Despair
MONOTONY FIELDS
SEASON OF MIST
This ghostly masterpiece from the Finnish legends was a glacial voyage through the outer limits of sorrow.
28. Cattle Decapitation
THE ANTHROPOCENE EXTINCTION
METAL BLADE
Who knew wickedly brutal, putrid deathgrind could be this catchy?
27. Enslaved
IN TIMES
NUCLEAR BLAST
Moving even further from their BM roots, Enslaved brought us a cosmic platter of progressive ferocity.
26. Halestorm
INTO THE WILD LIFE
ATLANTIC
With skyscraper vocals and crisp production, Lzzy Hale’s crew delivered their slickest set to date.
25. Therapy?
DISQUIET
AMAZING RECORD CO
Therapy? released a batch of killer songs that sounded like an all-new Greatest Hits collection.
24. Soulfly
ARCHANGEL
NUCLEAR BLAST
An avalanche of mammoth riffs and a belligerent attitude, this was Max and co’s best effort in years.
23. Refused
FREEDOM
EPITAPH
Refused’s reinvigorated, socially charged display of post-hardcore made a fine addition to their legacy.
22. The Prodigy
THE DAY IS MY ENEMY
COOKING VINYL
Laced with big beats and menace, the Prodigy’s sixth album was another genre-defying knockout.
21. Between The Buried And Me
COMA ECLIPTIC
METAL BLADE
BTBAM streamlined their brilliant ideas into a sleek, beautiful prog metal journey.
20. Grave Pleasures
DREAMCRASH
SONY
Having pretty much kickstarted an underground resurgence of 80s post-punk and goth, Beastmilk returned in a new guise with a darker, more garage-y sound that lacked the immediacy of 2013’s Climax but deepened frontman Kvohst’s alluringly apocalyptic vision. Dreamcrash’s skeletal grooves seemed to amplify a cold shiver of the soul until they became exhilarating, edge-of-precipice rallying cries.
19. Fear Factory
GENEXUS
NUCLEAR BLAST
In the year that their classic Demanufacture celebrated its 20th anniversary, Fear Factory proved themselves far from obsolete, producing yet another mechanised assault of staccato riffing, relentless double bass and flesh-piercing hooks. Ever harbingers of mankind’s self-annihilation, each passing year makes their dark message ever more relevant, and in Genexus, they relayed it emphatically.
18. Bring Me The Horizon
THAT’S THE SPIRIT
SONY
The Wembley-conquering Brits returned with another arena-ready album, paying occasional homage to their metal roots but pushing further into electronic territories. The downbeat title and iconic rainy umbrella logo reflected the mood of a band growing up, exploring heavy themes of addiction, adversity and betrayal. A career-defining moment.
17. While She Sleeps
BRAINWASHED
SEARCH AND DESTROY
One of the most unique young bands in Britain, While She Sleeps built on the stunning template set down by 2012’s This Is The Six by going bigger, bolder and heavier. That riff on Brainwashed’s incendiary title track was as metal as it gets, while the chorus on Four Walls had us humming for weeks. What could have been a disappointing sophomore effort was further proof that this is a band doing great things.
16. Motörhead
BAD MAGIC
UDR
While health concerns have meant a difficult few years for legendary frontman/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead themselves appear to be unstoppable. Their 22nd studio album in a career spanning an incredible 40 years, Bad Magic saw the band on colossal form, easily rivalling their classic works, and effortlessly unnerving seismologists. Motörhead don’t just play rock’n’roll, they are rock’n’roll.
