Metal’s doors were kicked off in 1997, and suddenly everyone was invited to the party. While Metallica towered above everyone else, at least commercially, with the Reload album, and the likes of Emperor and Electric Wizard flew the flag for the underground, elsewhere it was very much a case of ‘anything goes’, from the Foo Fighters’ polished arena-grunge to The Prodigy’s revolutionary rave-rock mash-up to the stentorian, German-language industrial blitzkrieg of Rammstein. There really wasn’t another year like it, as these killer albums prove.
The Top 20 best metal albums of 1997
From industrial to black metal, anything went in 1997. And here are 20 killer albums that prove it

Metal Hammer Newsletter
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.
Most Popular
By Matt Mills
By Paul Elliott
By Henry Yates
By Ben Myers