The 200 Best Metal Songs of the 21st Century, so far – – part 1

21st Century Metal Man*

It’s been a hell of a 21st century, so far. 

The internet is soon going to be carpet-bombed with articles trying to explain the first twenty-five years with analysis, observations, and listicles. 

So let’s start the shelling here and now. 

Bombers can open bomb bays.** 

Amidst all the cultural Fear and Wonder, the first quarter of the 21st Century has given us some incredible Heavy music. Yes, those of us who grew up in bygone eras will always hold the music of the olden days as the most sacred. I’m no different; I can’t imagine anything eclipsing the greatness of “Powerslave,”*** “Master of Puppets,” “Taking Over,” “Paranoid,” etc. . . But I’m telling ya. . . If you’re not paying attention to the stuff coming out today, then you’re seriously missing out.  

What follows is a 2-part list of the 200 Heavy songs of this century that have resonated most deeply with me.**** Part 2 of the list is available here. Lots of different subgenres are represented here; many of these tracks are culturally relevant, but many are also somewhat unknown. I’m presenting them in no particular order with a few bytes of commentary to help you A) discover some new great music, and B) maybe understand that plenty of great Metal has released since 1999. Or 1988. Or 1975. Or whenever you think the music died. 

You’ll find stuff in this list from newer artists as well as latter-day releases from aging giants of yesteryear. I recommend every last one of these songs. Try some out. Follow and support the artists you like.  

We have not fallen on black days, my friends. Great music is still being made. Realize you’re living in the golden years. 

Disclaimers: 

This list is also not the official word of the Metal Hall of Fame; this is yours truly naming 200 modern songs that gripped my attention. Feel free to tell me the 21st Century tunes you loved that aren’t included. 

I’ve broken this list into 2 parts, because after processing 100 songs, your eyes will be glazed donuts. Another article will follow with 100 more songs. 

OK, enough preamble, for fuck’s sake. Here’s part 1 of the list: 

• Overkill – Ironbound, Wicked Place. Ironbound was a solid record, but the title track felt like a revolution. “Wicked Place” from 2023’s “Scorched” is just punishing in all the ways Thrash was meant to be, leading up to the badass cello outro. 
• Draconian – The Death of Hours, Stellar Tombs, Pale Tortured Blue, Lustrous Heart. Beauty and the beast vocals across dark, haunting, melodic Doom. “Sovran” is possibly the greatest album of the century. 
• Shumaun – Dream of the Sleeper. With all due respect to Dream Theater, Symphony X, Liquid Tension Experiment, and many other noteworthies in the field, this is the best Prog Metal epic of the 21st century. 
• Helloween – Skyfall, Pumpkins United, Battles Won. Helloween are still able to rule Power Metal at the highest level. 
• Oceans of Slumber – The Banished Heart, To the Sea. The most enchanting voice of the century (Cammie Beverly) paired with one of the most brilliant, emotive, versatile songwriters (Dobber Beverly). 
• Anneke van Giersbergen – Zo Lief. This is a decidedly unMetal ballad, but I included it because Anneke van Giersbergen has her Metal bona fides, and also because, even in an unknown language, its beauty is sublime and heart-thawing. Deeply, deeply moving. 
• Sleep – Dopesmoker. https://www.metalhalloffame.org/post/sleep-study-doom-for-the-21st-century 
• Anthrax – Breathing Lightning. Not a prototypical Anthrax song, but it’s catchy and hooky without losing one iota of integrity. 
• Metallica – The Day That Never Comes, My Apocalypse. These two songs from Death Magnetic hold up to Metallica’s highest standards. 
• Turbowolf – Invisible Hand. Obnoxious, brash, youthful, snarky, Punky, awesome. 
• Possessed – Graven, Shadowcult. These founding fathers of Black Metal returned in 2019 with arguably the best Thrash release of the century. Jeff Becerra’s voice elevates the sick, powerful riffage. 
• Iron Maiden – Empire of the Clouds, Paschendale, The Wicker Man. Three very different songs that reflect different aspects of Maiden’s enduring brilliance. 
• Type O Negative – Hail and Farewell to Britain. The final track on Type O Negative’s final studio album is one of their best. Everything that made Peter Steele a genius is on full display in this epic tune. He went down cackling like a madman.  
• Scar Symmetry – Reborn. Killer Melodeath with a perfect melodic chorus. 
• Queensryche – Behind the Walls. One of Queensryche’s best all-time songs – – of any era. 
• Vanden Plas – Godmaker’s Temptation. Start listening to Vanden Plas. Begin with “Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld, part II.”   
• Testament – The Formation of Damnation. Mosh! 
• Opeth – Blackwater Park, Ghost of Perdition, Windowpane, Eternal Rains Will Come, Coil, Heir Apparent. Mikael Akerfeldt’s dark genius is on full display in these selections, which run the gamut from world-crushing heaviness to soul-rending beauty – – sometimes in the same song. 

• Ghost – Cirice, Square Hammer, He Is. I’m not going to have the “Metal/Not Metal” debate – – these songs are each triumphant masterpieces in their own ways. And that riff in “Cirice” is undeniable. 
• Helstar – Awaken Unto Darkness. This is what Thrash is all about – – from the down-tempo part to the speedup. Get that circle pit going! 
• Pretty Maids – To Fool a Nation. Brilliant and prophetic. Proof that Ronnie Atkins and Pretty Maids have always been way more than just “Future World.” 
• Between the Buried and Me – Node, Coma Ecliptic. Hardcore fans seem to prefer their more brutal stuff, but this is the BTBAM that I revere. Goddamn, this 1-2 song combination is just amazing to experience. 
• Diamond Head – Coffin Train. Brian Tatler and crew can still create incredible music. I can’t wait for Metallica to cover this one! 
• Gojira – The Heaviest Matter of the Universe, Stranded, Pray. You have to admire the tight cohesion of the drumming, vocals, and guitars, but mostly, you just have to nod your head in appreciation. They rocked the entire world at the 2024 Olympics. 
• Manticora – Katana – The Moths and the Dragonflies /Katana – Mud. Every second of its 14:39 duration is incredible. 
• Sabaton – 1916. I always loved the Motorhead original, but in Sabaton’s hands, this song becomes larger than life. 
• Dead Kosmonaut – Dead Kosmonaut – Part I/Part II. A deeply mesmerizing epic processional. “You don’t know me.” 
• Iommi – Goodbye Lament. The best song from Iommi’s criminally underappreciated 2000-solo album with a trademark Tony riff. Yes. . . that’s Dave Grohl on vocals. Get over it.  
• Symphony X – Iconoclast, Nevermore. Two songs that make the case for Symphony X as the very best in their field.
• Soulfly – Son Song, Prophecy, Kingdom. Max Cavalera is one of the most gifted musical writers and innovators of the past 40 years. “Son Song,” featuring a spot-on guest appearance by Sean Lennon, is a heart-rending lament for his lost stepson, Dana, who was killed in a car accident. Makes me want to scream at the sky. 
• Dimmu Borgir – Perfection or Vanity, Fear and Wonder. If I ever walk away from an explosion in slow-motion, “Perfection or Vanity” is the song I want playing in the background. I clearly love Dimmu Borgir’s symphonic stuff, but I also like their different variations on Death and Melodic Metal. 
• Zeal & Ardor – Blood in the River, Gravedigger’s Chant. “Blood in the River” should have swept the world and led to Tobias Forge levels of fame and success. Blending blast-beats, death metal, chants, and soulful vocals with brilliant, hooky songwriting. 
• W.A.S.P. – Shadow Man. A traditional 80s Metal banger released in the early aughts. Holds its own against any W.AS.P. classic.
• Kreator – Midnight Sun. This isn’t the Kreator that blew my mind back in 1988, but it’s the Kreator that’s blowing my mind in the 2020s. I love the contrasting vocal dynamics on this song. 
• Katatonia – Shifts, Decima, Soil’s Song. Katatonia continue to make achingly lovely musical melancholy. 
• The Sword – Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyper-Zephyrians, How Heavy This Axe. Not to be confused with the great Canadian Metalers: Sword. . . The Sword from the U.S. showed they were capable of catchy, Heavy, deeply nerdy, D&D-inspired Doomy Stoner Metal.   
• Astrosoniq – Faustian Bargain. Stoner doom at its finest, with studio-twisted female vocals on the chorus. 
• Crown Lands – Starlifter: Fearless, Part II, White Buffalo. Yes, they sound like Rush, but they’re absolutely their own band. Crown Lands gives me hope for the future of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. 
• Vintage Caravan – Whispers. Vintage Caravan gives me hope for the future of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. 
• Cellar Darling – The Spell, Insomnia. Wow, did Anna Murphy leap out as a masterful storyteller and songwriter on their 2019 album “The Spell.” 
• Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor. In two intertwined careers of incredible Warrell Dane vocal performances and Jeff Loomis guitar work, this song features both of them at their absolute peaks. 

• With the Dead – Anemia. This has got to be the most gloomy, doomy, hopelessly fatalistic song of all time. 
• Eleine – All Shall Burn. The gold standard for 21st Century Symphonic Metal. Skull-pounding Heaviness weaved with angelic loveliness. The full Symphonic version is also divine.  
• Sepultura – We’ve Lost You, Ludwig Van. I’m not diving into or taking sides in the controversies and disagreements about the history of the band. “We’ve Lost You” is a killer song in the Sepultura template. 
• Insomnium – Nocturne, The Day It All Came Down. These two songs come as a set, starting with the gorgeous piano instrumental, “Nocturne.” 
• Slayer – Disciple. Refined Slayer brutality. 
• White Swan – In Love and Ritual. I don’t want to upset the Kittie faithful, but Morgan Lander’s White Swan side project definitely clicks more with me. 
• Rush – BU2B, Far Cry. Go ahead and complain that Rush aren’t Metal; these songs – – and many others from their final two albums – – will rock your face off. 
• Jeff Loomis – Miles of Machines, Requiem for the Living. The tops among many fine examples why Jeff Loomis’s name should be mentioned among the greatest guitarists of all time. 
• Korn – Here to Stay, Did my Time, Falling Away From Me. Cue the haters. . . These three songs have such fierce energy, such dynamic fusions of melody, hooks, and harshness. 
• System of a Down – Ariels, Toxicity, Chop Suey. Cue the same haters. Kinetic melodies and Sabbathy touches on all three of these songs. 
• Amon Amarth – As Loke Falls. By the end of this song, you’re in a shield wall on the battlefield. 
• Joe Satriani – Searching, Up in Flames, Is There Love in Space? Satch has a number of wonderful albums in the 21st century, but he was on a whole other level for these three from “Is There Love in Space?” 
• Igorrr – Downgrade Desert. I have no idea WTF is happening when I listen to Igorrr, but this song just delivers the crunch, the drums, the wailing vocals. 
• Haken – Prosthetic, Messiah Complex. Haken’s 2020 “Virus” didn’t shut down the world, but people needed to stop and listen. We’re gonna count Messiah Complex I through V as one song. 
• Arch Enemy – Instinct, My Apocalypse, Sunset Over the Empire. Harsh vocals over accessible chunky guitar parts – – no one does it better than Arch Enemy, whether it’s Angela or Alissa at the mic. 
• Tesla – Forevermore. A hidden gem from Tesla’s deep catalogue that sounds heavy AF – – both live and on record.

Check out the Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AeiX8e4PQrFF0k3AXLNiv?si=5f0b5ba5f3e64c8a

Click here to see 101 through 200 in Part 2!

———–

 

Jack Mangan is best known in the Metal world as lead author/project runner for the “Am I Evil?” graphic novel, as a journalist with MetalAsylum.net and the official Metal Hall of Fame. and also as co-host of the popular (sporadic these days) Metal Hall of Fame and MetalAsylum.net livestreams with Rich Catino. He’s made a few guest appearances as a panelist on The Metal Voice. In an adjacent life, he was a podcast pioneer, with numerous appearances on Technorama, Dragon Page, Escape Pod/Pseudopod, and many others, including his own productions: Jack Mangan’s Deadpan, and the Podcast novel, “Spherical Tomi.” Friend him on Facebook if you can find him, but be warned: he’s not great about checking Facebook Messenger.

* The original article title.

** This Bill Ward solo classic released last Century. I know.

*** https://www.metalhalloffame.org/post/rime-of-the-ancient-firebird

**** We’re going to include releases from the year 2000, even though that was technically in the previous century. If this bothers you, then repeat to yourself, “It’s just an article, I should really just relax.”

Disclaimer: These articles are meant to document and comment on important aspects of Heavy Metal’s broad and diverse history. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the official Metal Hall of Fame. No mention of any artist should be misconstrued as an indication of intent to induct or deny admittance to the Metal Hall of Fame. We’re not dropping hints here, folks. There will be official press releases whe

n new inductees are ready to be announced.