Top 20 | Metal Insider

Metal Insider’s Combined Top 20 Albums of 2025

by Zenae Zukowski | Jan 3, 2026 | Lists, Top 20

This year’s combined list came together a bit differently. Not every list followed the top-ten format: some were longer, others shorter, and a few were left unranked. With that in mind, we compiled a unified list by recognizing albums that appeared more than...

Metal Insider’s Emily Schneider’s Top 20 Albums of 2025

by Emily Schneider | Jan 2, 2026 | Lists, Top 20

Top 20 Albums of 2025 (not ranked, just vibes) 2025 was a whirlwind of a year; discovering music is easier than ever thanks to the internet. Yet, I definitely didn’t get around to hearing as many new albums as in years past; the craving for familiarity was...

Metal Insider’s Top 20 best black metal drummers

by Jillian Drachman | Mar 27, 2024 | Lists, Top 20

There are countless incredible drummers in the black metal world. Thus, compiling a list of the greatest seemed to pose an especially daunting task. However, the musicians below are all so outstanding that our choices made themselves. Since this list...

Metal Insider’s Zenae Zukowski’s Top 23 albums of 2021

by Zenae Zukowski | Dec 29, 2021 | Lists, Top 20

2021 has been another challenging year, but we saw a return of live music. Artists have once again found more creative ways to virtually bring live music, such as Epica’s unique cinematic event with Omega Alive. Many have unveiled powerful new tunes via LP and...

Metal Insider’s Jeff Podoshen’s Top 20 Metal Albums of 2020

by Jeff Podoshen | Dec 1, 2020 | Best of 2020, Columns, Lists, News, Top 20

Well, thankfully 2020 is coming to a close. Good riddance. And while the year itself was awful, the music wasn’t. Lots of great records in 2020 and I listened to a lot of them while staring into the backyard. Here are my top 20 records for 2020....

Track Review: At The Gates deliver heartwrenching tribute to Tomas Lindberg with “The Fever Mask”

Writing about this is not easy. No one should feel comfortable confronting loss like this. At the Gates' video for their latest single, "The Fever Mask," goes far beyond the typical performance video format, cutting much deeper on an emotional level. Compiled by...

The Eternal share “Bleeding Into Light” lyric video

Australian-Finnish dark metal act The Eternal have unveiled a lyric video for the song, "Bleeding Into Light." The track is taken from their new EP, Celestial, which arrived last month via Reigning Phoenix Music. Vocalist and guitarist Mark Kelson comments: "The...

Bruce Dickinson releases Dolby Atmos editions of ‘Skunkworks’ and ‘Tattooed Millionaire’

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of his third solo album, Skunkworks, Bruce Dickinson has unveiled newly remixed Dolby Atmos versions of both Skunkworks and his 1990 debut Tattooed Millionaire, available now via BMG Rights Management. The releases follow last...

New & Noteworthy: Releases Is Not Enough – 2/13/2026

New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week sees new music from the likes of Converge, Gogol Bordello, Mariachi El Bronx and Story Of The Year amongst the many...

New & Noteworthy: Liturgy of Releases – 2/6/2026

New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. The first New Music Friday of February sees LPs from the likes of Puscifer, KMFDM, Mayhem and Tailgunner amongst the many outstanding...

New & Noteworthy: Eon Of Releases – 1/30/2026

New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. This week’s new albums include music from the likes of Blackwater Holylight, Buzzcocks, Kula Shaker and MØL amongst the many outstanding...