Top 15 Best Metal Albums Of 2026 So Far
The best metal albums of the year so far are here! Banger 2026 releases from across the metal spectrum, including black metal, death metal, metalcore, hardcore, progressive metal, atmospheric black metal, thrash, and more. #bestmetal #heavymetal #metalalbums2026
00:00 Hellripper – Coronach
01:01 Portrayal Of Guilt – …Beginning Of The End
01:47 Inferi – Heaven Wept
02:32 Crystal Lake – The Weight Of Sound
03:22 Chamber – This Is Goodbye
03:55 Møl – Dreamcrush
04:35 Converge – Love Is Not Enough / Hum Of Hurt
05:40 At The Gates – The Ghost Of A Future Dead
06:34 Poison The Well – Peace In Place
07:37 A Forest Of Stars – Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface
08:28 August Burns Red – Season Of Surrender
09:29 Vargrav – Dimension: Daemonium
10:00 Bewitched – Diabolical Death Mass
10:43 Static Dress – Injury Episode
11:33 Panopticon – Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet
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I do not own the rights to any of the featured song clips on this video. All credit to the artists and labels with specific permission granted. These fall under fair use based on sufficient transformation for the purpose of review, promotion, and commentary.
@dannyvaneijk
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Good list!
My list would be:
Walg – VI
Nedgravd – Ascension
Saidan – Fangdriller
Misotheist – De Pinte
Ellende – Zerfall
Worm – Necropalace
Silaera – An Abberition of the Void
Qasu – A Bleak King Cometh
Old Sorcery – The Outsider
@lucasterradostuff
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
I sat through this whole thing waiting for Neurosis' "An Undying Love for a Burning World." As we got down to the last few, I'm like "okay, I guess he's saving the best for last." But then, nah, it ain't here. WTF?! Clearly album of the year, but maybe it slipped your radar somehow?! At least Converge made your list.
@BeyondMetalRandersDK
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Some cool stuff here.
@mykedacook308
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Shout out to my boys in inferi
@imAtALoss
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Kaataira
Neurosis
Panopticon
Fake Dust
Immolation
Converge x 2
Miserere Luminis
Cryptic Shift
Effluence
Hellripper
Worm
IATT
Nedgravd
Aversio Humanitatis
Growth
Trichomoniasis
Gutvoid
Portrayal of Guilt
Elder
@Metalrya1
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Archspire for me.
@cowmark67
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Killer best list. Gotta give that Panopticon more listens as is hasn't clicked with me yet, unlike The Rime of Memory, which was immediate. Here are my favorites of the year so far.
1. MØL – Dreamcrush (blackgaze/post-metal)
2. Bizarrekult – Alt som finnes (progressive post-black metal)
3. Worm – Necropalace (symphonic black metal/blackened doom metal/gothic rock)
4. Static Dress – injury episode (post-hardcore/emo/metalcore)
5. Mossgiver – Renewer (atmospheric black metal)
6. Domhain – In Perfect Stillness (atmospheric post-black metal)
7. Pure Wrath – Bleak Days Ahead (atmospheric black metal/progressive black metal)
8. Woe – Legacies of Human Frailty (black metal)
9. Archvile King – Aux Heures Désespérées (melodic black metal/blackened thrash)
10. Poppy – Empty Hands (alternative metal/metalcore)
11. Genghis Tron – Signal Fire (cybergrind/mathcore/electronica/dream pop/emo)
12. Anna Pest – Dark Arms Reach Skyward With Bone White Fingers II: Be (Not) Afraid (technical death metal/deathcore/progressive death metal)
13. Enshine – Elevation (melodic death-doom)
14. Marianas Rest – The Bereaved (melodic death-doom)
15. Blackwater Holylight – Not Here Not Gone (doomgaze/indie rock/post-metal)
@erorufurakku6378
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
No Poppy? Still my #1.
@TheDraehl
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Top 5:
The Ruins of Beverast
Ordh
Yoth Iria
IATT
Temple of Void
HM:
Immolation
Fyrnask
Regolith (space rock)
Disappointments:
Worm
Stormkeep
@Nick_K1te
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
I'd like to recommend new Soulburn and Dark Millennium albums. Really good proggy doom/death.
@TheWelhaven
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
1. Immolation – Descent
2. Exxûl – Sealed into None
3. Corrosion of Conformity – Good God/Baad Man
4. Funebrarum – Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence
5. Worm – Necropalace
6. Lex Legion – s/t
@andrecastanho6833
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Listening to new at the gates it so depressive for me. Its very sad what happened to them.
Talking about the best albums, I dont listen the underground bands, so, for me, this is my list:
Megadeth
Hellripper
Immolation
At The Gates
Tailgunner
Kreator
Edu Falaschi
Dimmu Borgir
Evanescence
Nervosa
Vomitory
Gaerea
@CiotkaGothka
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Converge – both releases (from a non-core person); Ruins of Beverast; MØL; Spirit Adrift; Neurosis; Immolation
@capinchoconservador2454
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
MY TOP 09: 01 – KANYE WEST – BULLY, 02 – DARKTHRONE – PRE HISTORIC METAL, 03 – TORI AMOS – IN TIME OF DRAGONS, 04 – CONVERGE – HUM OF HURT, 05 – FOSSILIZATION – ADVENT OF WOUNDS, 06 – IMMOLATION – DESCENT, 07 – MONO – SNOWDROP, 08 – NEUROSIS – AN UNDYING LOVE FOR A BURNING WORLD, 09 – CONVERGE – LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH.
@matthewmach1515
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
My top 10 so far this year (unranked, I rank my top 25 at the end of the year)
-Restless Spirit
-Zerre
-Ordh
-Immolation
-Temple of Void
-Worm
-Archspire
-The Ruins of Beverast
-Spirit Adrift
-Cryptic Shift
@JustCody12
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Very good list, love that Static Dress album, some of my favourites:
Worm – Necropalace
Moodring – death fetish
Temple of Void – The Crawl
Mauled – When Your Eyes Are Shut
Guilt Trip – Armour of Angels
@MrLando0
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Yes, more Portrayal of Guilt love!
@PlagueInjected
July 5, 2026 at 5:34 pm
> top 15 metal albums
> 10 of them are metalcore garbage
@roguekantian5605
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Great list. Mirrors mine a lot, but I must shout out Poland's Kur•nu•gi•a with Carmina Inferorum, which is like Imperial Triumphant and Veilburner meets Emptiness in the vocals. Lots of trumpet! Came out in May and it's been in my rotation ever since. May be my favorite overall.
@calebbegley3833
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
My list would be as follows:
Gaerea-Loss
Evergrey-Architects of a New Weave
Green Carnation-A Dark Poem Pt. II
Mork-Monolitt
Sylosis-The New Flesh
Archspire-Too Fast To Die
Mayhem-Liturgy of Death
Exhumed-Red Asphalt
Crystal Lake-The Weight of Sound
Ov Sulfur-Endless
Blood Incantation-All Gates Open
But my favorite of the year thus far was Panopticon’s new one. It’s insane how creative Austin continues to be without completely blowing out the musical barrier. It’s just…excellent.
@shaikhfaridh4269
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Can u suggest a thrash, doom, prog n power metal of 2026, I'm not into extreme, black or death genre.
Thanks❤
@Dax11eleven
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Good list 😮
Inferi and MØL were up there for me. But my favourite album has been – The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelshlaf
@kurtassclear
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Poison the Well is still the top of my list this year, and is now my second fav from them just after You Come Before You. Keeping my fingers crossed that Shadows Fall and It Dies Today still drop albums this year~
@turnerfarrandart
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Unmentioned in comments so far :
Sight Welder – Reveries
Force of Darkness – Twilight of Dark Illumination
Cryptworm – Infectious Pathological Waste
Teratoma – Longing Voracity
Coffret De Bijou – Lose Myself in You
Mylingar – Út
@EmberMcLain87
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Little more than 15, but its been a solid year so far.
Jan
Upiór- Forefathers' Eve (Redemption) *
Kosuke Hashida- Moment of Silence
Shine- Wrathcult *
Banisher- Metamorphosis *
Feb
Lomor- Sabouk Rouge
Induction- love kills
Full House B.C.- Glasgow Grin *
Tailgunner- Midnight Blitz *
Winter Eternal- Unveiled Nightsky *
Archæic- Hades Gigas *
Darklore- The Great Elven War
Rob Zombie- The Great Satan
Mar
Acranius- Whiteout *
Ravenspell- Obsidian King
Türböwitch- Under Haunted Skies *
Nuctemeron- Demonic Sceptre *
Samurai Pizza Cats- Press Start
Power Paladin- Beyond the Reach of Enchantment
Chamber- this is goodbye… *
Apr
Mire- Pale Reflection *
Boisson Divine- Eretatge *
Sun Don't Shine- From Birth To Death
June
khemmis- khemmis *
Saidan- Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist *
* = my top 15 if i had to pick thus far
@Sancord
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Miserere Luminis also dropped a great atmospheric bm album this year !!
@troyannells4642
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Great list, here's my top 10 so far:
1. Worm – Necroplace
2. Hellripper – Coronach
3. The Magnus – Daemonosophia
4. Hällas – Panorama
5. Immolation – Decent
6. Fire magic – Memories of fire
7. Cryptic shift – Overspace & supertime
8. Fossilization – Advent of wounds
9. Wazzara – Arbor
10. Night of the vampire – The enchanting winds of the dreamweaving masquerade
@coilfan09
July 5, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Favorites so far
1. Converge- Love is not enough 5/5
2. LOG- Into Oblivion 4/5
3. BVB- Vindicate 4/5
4. Pretty Reckless- Dear God 4/5
5. Olivia Rodrigo- YLPSFSSIL 4/5
WORST
1. Neurosis- Burning love 💩/5
2. Forest full of stars- 0/5
3. Mol- Dreamcrush 0.5/5
4. Panopticon- DOT 1/5
5 Bassa de Noge 1/5
Biggest letdown
Hellripper- Conrach 3/5 good album just more of the same