Three fantastic metal albums from the 2020s you should be listening to right now

There are so many heavy metal subgenres and new ones are being born each day. But all the music has one thing in common: It's loud. Also, metal can push away the struggles of the day.

Not all metal is angry young people screaming, though a lot of that is good too. There is shoegaze metal, for instance, that you can lie back and enjoy. That is if you need a bit of intensity as you relax.

Limiting this article to just three metal albums you need to be listening to does a disservice to about a thousand groups, of course. But I am sure over time, we here are AudioPhix will make many lists of great metal. But the three albums that follow are three you need to go out and buy this weekend.

Three heavy metal albums to buy this weekend

Code Orange - Underneath (2020)

Code Orange began as a pure punk band in Pittsburgh, PA in 2008 and have evolved over several records and a decade-plus to become one of the most consistently surprising groups in metal. Many bands might have tripped over themselves attempting to fuse as many different styles into records, but for the most part, Code Orange walks the tightrope extremely well.

As with every Code Orange record, multiple listens will give new insights to the listener. Underneath is violent and bloody and as hardcore as you'd want. Code Orange steals from Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, and others, but the record is all their own.

Trivium - What the Dead Men Say (2020)

Trivium went through a bit of a slump prior to 2017 as their sound got a bit too unhinged. While that word might normally go well with metal, the engineering of their albums was not very tight at times which undermined the songs themselves. The songwriting also seemed to go a bit astray and didn't really connect with an audience.

Thankfully, by the time What the Dead Men Say come along, the band had mostly switched lyricists to Paolo Gregoletto and the band sounded much more like a...well, band. There are riffs galore on this record and fantastic drum work. It's heavy, just as the genre desires.

King Woman - Celestial Blues (2021)

Haunting, somber, bombastic, emotional, enduring, and with lots of rage - that's what Celestial Blues is. At times, the music will lull you into a false sense of calm before unleashing like a snake its anger. It's beautiful and frightening all at once.

The lyrics are haunting, even the screams. But there is something quite cathartic about it all. This album has slow burns across many songs, and all the tracks are winners.

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