Moonspell — Far from God
Stripped-back gothic return, Ribeiro revitalized: 73/100, the essence recovered without reaching the peaks.
7.5/10 July 6, 2026
MØL — DREAMCRUSH
Denmark's blackgaze spearhead delivers one of the year's highest-rated records (85/100) — but the gap with the public marks it as divisive.
8/10 September 5, 2026
Model/Actriz — Dogsbody
Noise rock weds the sensuality of post-punk: 84/100 for a debut of troubling intensity.
8.5/10 June 11, 2026
Militarie Gun — Life Under the Gun
Melodic hardcore reaches out to indie rock: 83/100 for a debut album of fine maturity.
8/10 June 11, 2026
METZ — Up on Gravity Hill
The Canadian noise merchants embrace a new atmospheric breadth: 81/100 for a record of maturity.
8/10 June 7, 2026
Megadeth — Megadeth
Mustaine's goodbye: 62/100 from critics, 48 from the public. Stumbling off the stage.
5.5/10 January 25, 2026
Mayhem — Liturgy of Death
77/100: the Norwegian black-metal legends deliver a solid if debated record.
7.5/10 August 29, 2026
Mastodon — Marrow Deep
Mastodon's first post-Hinds album is an acclaimed grief record (83/100 Metacritic), cathartic and often magnificent.
8/10 September 1, 2026
Marianas Rest — The Bereaved
83/100: Finnish melodic death/doom cultivates its deep-freeze melancholy.
8/10 August 7, 2026
Love Is Noise — To live in a different way
80/100: the rising Britons blend atmospheric post-hardcore and metalcore intensity.
8/10 August 13, 2026
Loathe — I Let It in and It Took Everything
The fusion of din and dream finds its masterpiece: 86/100 for a second album that haunts long after.
8.5/10 June 14, 2026
Loathe — A Stranger To You
Six years slow-cooking, 82/100: Loathe deliver 2026's great art-metalcore record, muddy production included.
8/10 July 21, 2026
Leprous — Melodies of Atonement
The Norwegians reconnect with weight and tension: 82/100 for a record that restores density to progressive metal.
8/10 June 16, 2026
Lamb Of God — Into Oblivion
Eleven reviews, 81/100: the best Lamb Of God since Wrath, and almost nobody argues otherwise.
8/10 March 15, 2026
Kreator — Hate Über Alles
The German thrash veterans have lost none of their bite: 78/100 for a record cut for the stage.
7.5/10 June 10, 2026
Knocked Loose — You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To
89/100 across fifteen reviews: the kings of modern hardcore/metalcore deliver a genre peak.
9/10 August 7, 2026
King Buffalo — Regenerator
The Rochester trio close their pandemic trilogy in weightlessness: 82/100 for a hovering, hypnotic record.
8/10 June 16, 2026
Khemmis — Khemmis
79/100 and no song that lets you down: Denver's epic doom restarts without reinventing its axe.
8/10 June 17, 2026
Khemmis — Deceiver
The Americans' luminous doom grows heavier: 83/100 for a fourth album shot through with grief.
8/10 June 18, 2026
Katatonia — Sky Void of Stars
Melancholy made record: 84/100 for an album where the Swedes elevate their art of elegant despair.
8.5/10 June 24, 2026
Karnivool — In Verses
Thirteen years of waiting, 78/100, press and public aligned: "the bar for progressive metal in 2026" per Metal Hammer.
8/10 February 10, 2026
Kamelot — Dark Asylum
Karevik masterful, formula unchanged: press splits (8/10 vs 2.5/5), consensus lands at 6.5.
6.5/10 August 31, 2026
Judas Priest — Invincible Shield
82/100 across fifteen reviews: the heavy-metal gods prove they've lost nothing.
8/10 August 6, 2026
Job for a Cowboy — Moon Healer
85/100: the Americans' return confirms their shift into a first-rate progressive-death band.
8.5/10 August 6, 2026
Invent Animate — Heavener
The Texans' atmospheric metalcore clears a hurdle: 81/100 for a record of rare elegance.
8/10 June 13, 2026
Insomnium — Anno 1696
The melancholy Finns turn a tale of witchcraft into a sonic fresco: 82/100 for a record of rare coherence.
8/10 June 10, 2026
Ingested — The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams
The Britons widen their brutality without betraying it: 80/100 for a finely crafted deathcore.
8/10 June 6, 2026
Incantation — Unholy Deification
The patriarchs of cavernous death metal do not falter: 85/100 for a record of absolute darkness.
8.5/10 June 23, 2026
In This Moment — Witch
Press applauds (77/100), listeners check out (49/100). The season's biggest gap.
6.5/10 August 31, 2026
Immortal — War Against All
Norwegian black metal pared back to its icy open sea: 80/100 for a convincing first record after Abbath.
8/10 June 7, 2026
Immolation — Descent
Thirty-five years, zero drop-off: 85/100 for a direct and devastating death metal statement.
8.5/10 April 12, 2026
Ihsahn — IHSAHN
85/100: the ex-Emperor mastermind unfurls an orchestral, black-metal album of wild ambition.
8.5/10 August 5, 2026
Igorrr — AMEN
83/100: the French mad scientist returns, between metal, baroque and breakcore.
8/10 August 28, 2026
IDLES — TANGK
The Britons trade rage for love and gain in depth: 83/100 for a daring turn.
8/10 June 8, 2026
I See Stars — THE WHEEL
83/100: the electronicore pioneers deliver an acclaimed return.
8/10 August 13, 2026
Hulder — Verbolgen
Hulder softens her black metal: "finest work to date" for one, missed venom for another. 76/100.
7.5/10 August 10, 2026