Top 20 Best Albums of 2021 by Saxy S

So far the metal on this list has been filled with superlatives like "beautiful" and "gorgeous". Oxidized is filthy, disgusting and brutal...and all of those are good things! I've been waiting a while for someone to capture the apocalypse as effectively as Daughters did in 2018 and I was as surprised as anyone else when it came from this mathcore band. Hooks are limited, but given full control over where each track goes. The drums and down tuned guitars sound like you're getting hit it the face by a piece of meat. The electronics are disturbing, but not intrusive. And the vocals (as well as the compositions) are relentless. While my metalcore friends were losing their shit over Lorna Shore this year, my last three months of 2021 were getting destroyed by this.

Okay so this was much needed this year. Power/symphonic metal have had a rough few years since The Holographic Principle and Epica were more than willing to pick up the slack left by their contemporaries. Tthe melodies are consistent from top to bottom, the dual vocals are some of the best in this groups entire discography, songwriting is impeccable through all the different stylings, the breakdowns are the most well presented in almost all of metal this year...why have you not heard this yet?

When I look back at the 2010s in ten years and what it means to be progressive metal, Thy Catafalque will certainly be at the forefront of that conversation. And Vadak is no exception. Here is a band willing to step outside of their comfort zone and consistently moving the goalposts in their musical creativity. The folk and electronic elements are implemented remarkably well, the songwriting is tremendous, and the compositions feel complete. What more could I ask for?

Shocking does not begin to describe my reaction upon hearing metalcore legends Converge team up with Chelsea Wolfe. Perhaps it was a sound not surprising given recent output, but ditching the schizophrenic stylings of mathcore, and replacing them with lush atmospherics of doom and post-metal were glove's meant to be worn. It's still heavy, so don't get that mixed up! Wolfe's vocals provide a magnificent change of pace and the texture is warm and uplifting.

Not too much to say about this one, but if there was ever an album in the black metal framework that best portrayed its anger, while still maintaining a grounded sense of reality, it would be Beautiful Ghosts by Unreqvited. The mixing is gorgeous and while the songwriting seems simplistic, but is deceptively boastful.

One of the first great metal records I heard in 2021 that showed me how melodic death metal can be done, while still maintaining the raw firepower that the genre implies.

Slow, dreamy, intense doom metal that harkens back to Cult of Luna. Pacing is top notch and tunes build up momentum through a number of different avenues.

Of course I'm not going to leave Panopticon off my best of the year list! Americana inspired atmospheric black metal with environmentalist themes with top notch production and great instrumental balancing.

A grower for sure (pun intended) but Toby Driver's newest project shows how avant-garde music can be achieved without resorting to quirky songwriting techniques, all while maintaining a comforting array of texture and melody.

This is a huge atmo-black album with tons of soaring guitar leads, huge vocal performances, and a pummeling fundamental. This is how you write long songs. Everyone else take notes.

Helloween's return is so much fun. It isn't anything special if you're hoping for a dramatic change of pace in power metal, but the hooks are so good and memorable. Also Robot King is a banger and no I'm not sorry!

Finally, a bass line! Trivium took their time to get here, and they did it on one of their least core albums in over a decade. Trivium do know how to write a hook, and implementing this quasi-thrash groove is one of the best things I've heard in relation to the genre.

Evergrey might be one of the most consistent bands playing in this brand of progressive power metal and this record is proof of that. Great tunes, awesome production and an arc that is thoughtful, but not pretentious.

Progressive death metal with some strong melodic songwriting. I'm digging the production, the technical elements aren't overwhelming and tunes are very well composed.

I mean, it isn't as good as the original Colors, but Between the Buried and Me brought back some heavier elements of their past, plus the melodic songwriting of recent times. I wish that BtBaM would do this more.

Wanderers of the Nine may have been a tough album to digest, but Spectral Lore came around this year with stronger melodies and grooves. I enjoyed this one for its return to form and lyricism.

Atmo-black metal from a legendary member of the community. WitTR are consistent with their sound, production and songwriting quality. And using smaller song structures gives it that extra unique flare.

I've taken a growing liking to Imperial Triumphant and Papangu in much the same way. This is a solid piece of avant-garde sludge metal whose environmentalist themes make sense with the overall sound and texture.

Djent is still on the rise, and VOLA are taking it a giving a progressive flare. The songwriting is good, the melodies are crisp, and while the breakdowns are not my cup of tea, I feel the interconnectivity between themes.

Atmo-black metal that is heavily influenced in the blackgaze subgenre. It has some great grooves and hooks and the longer song structures have great texture.