the Top 10 Mainstream Metal Albums of 2025

Mainstream Metal is defined here as the middle of the road that does not lean too far in the direction of other genres sludge or black metal, which have their own lists. This year, I gave Thrash its own list, which has thinned the pack down to the more arena-packing strains of nu-metal and metal-core.   These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say. After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2025.

 The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, and you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 Mainstream Metal albums of 2025.

10-Slaughter to Prevail- "Grizzly."

This is the third album from the Russian band, who ironically fled to Orlando, due to the war, in which they seem to not support slaughtering to prevail. They find themselves sonically somewhere between metalcore and nu-metal with the sample-heavy production on this album. When they kick into a more nu-metal direction, they tap into a catchy Slipknot bounce

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/slaughter-to-prevail-grizzly.html

          

9-Dead Rabbits -"Redefined" 

This is a side project of Escape the Fate vocalist Craig Mabbitt. It leans into the twisted side of metal-core-influenced pop that bands like Pierce the Veil and Bad Omens dominate. You can throw Falling in Reverse in the pile of artists who share a similar style as the big-sounding glitch-driven pop rock, that is more aggressive in attitude than what the guitars are doing. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/dead-rabbits-redefined.html

 

8-Bleed -"s/t" 

This Texas band takes you back to the '90s in a weird, unexpected manner.  By unexpected, this does not mean I have not already seen the writing on the wall when it comes to nu-metal making a comeback. These guys just go about it differently. The flourishes of DJs spun, scratched ambiance at the edges of their throb point this band's sound in the direction of nu-metal. There is some darker tension to the grooves that the vocals coo over. The drummer is really slapping his kit as needed, and the electronic elements ebb and flow into their sound pretty seamlessly. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/bleed-st.html

7-Living Dead Girl-"Con$piracy" 

 Molly and company continue to perfect their ability to blend metalcore-edged riffs against bright pop-punk choruses to make almost every song on the album. Her screamed vocals dominate the verses as her more sugary pop voice comes to take the sting away on the chorus. Their down-tuned guitars contrast with the synth ambiance. Not one to repeat hooks, Molly creates a distinct difference in the choruses as they display more songwriting chops as a whole. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/living-dead-girl-conpiracy.html

 

6-Novelists- "CODA" 

The addition of vocalist Camille Contreras has elevated the band's profile, placing them in a higher tier of metalcore alongside artists like Spiritbox and Jinjer. Things get quirkier and help distance themselves from Spiritbox with a more frantic electronic chaos unfolding. It borders nu-metal and djent. Using the metal-core formula to build into screaming.  Predictable, but with shiny new pieces making the sounds for the puzzle. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/novelists-coda.html

 

5-ten56- "IO"

The sophomore full-length from ten56 finds them picking up where they left off.  They are still at the intersection where metal-core sprang from nu-metal in the days of Myspace. What I like about these guys is the dark undertones to their sound that hit no matter if they are bringing a more hammering stomp or going into the more Ghostemane-like rap dirges. There are interesting sounds wrapped around both modes of sonic attack. At times, sung vocals pop in, though they are bookended by experimental touches, and all of it is angry and in your face. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/ten56-io.html

4-Scars on Broadway- "Addicted to Violence." 

There is an almost punk feel at times, but it's punk in the same way that System of a Down was influenced by punk, which was most notably the influence of the Dead Kennedys. The grooves work well and lever lyrics that help seal the deal. It feels like he makes more social commentary than political statements like Serj. Most of these songs  would not be out of place on a System of a Down album, showing how much of the weight he was pulling when it came to songwriting in the band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/07/daron-malakian-and-scars-on-broadway.html

3-Dying Wish- "Flesh Stays Together." 

This is the third album from Portland's metalcore mavericks, Dying Wish, is more melodic than expected. The buzz that this was a darker album caught my ear, and I like what they are doing. They are more on the hard-core side of the metal-core equation, even with the way Emma Boster employs sung vocals. It is done in a less formulaic manner than what Killswitch Engage is known for. There is also more emphasis on dishing out beatdowns during the breakdowns. It albumst made the hard-core lsit instread but the anthemic feel finds it here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/dying-wish-flesh-stays-together.html

 

2-Soulfly-"Chama" 

There is a darker apocalyptic drive to this album, which I am also here for., along with a more industrial pound that is a mix of 'Roots' era Sepultura, though maybe less Korn in the grooves and more Code Orange. Defiant in-your-face bangers that include some melody and atmosphere that catches me by surprise, as  Gabriel Franco from Unto Others lends his voice in places, along with  Todd Jones from Nail, but at the end of the day, it is Ma who proves he was always hte most crucial songwriter in Sepultura. l

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/soulfly-chama.html

1--Spiritbox- "Tsunami Sea." 

It's the band's pop lean that helps separate them from their peers, as Courtney is better at vocal hooks than the singer for Jinger or Infected Rain, who work in similar sonic circles. She has continued to grow as a singer to further distance herself from her peers. Even with the pop hooks in play, the dynamics pack a heavy enough punch to have the metallic impact to take the top spot here. Their drummer has really stepped up on this album as he fills the spaces with interesting playing that they build off of. At the end of the day, it's the top-tier songwriting that wins out and places them at the top of not just a metal album but the overall musical landscape. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/spiritbox-tsunami-sea.html

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Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway : "Addicted to Violence"

There is an almost punk feel to the lead single that opens the album. But it's punk in the same way that System of a Down was influenced by punk, which was most notably the influence of the Dead Kennedys. The groove of  "Satan Hussein" works better for me and has clever lyrics that help seal the deal. It feels like he makes more social commentary than political statements like Serj. "Done Me Wrong" finds a gallop that would not be out of place on a System of a Down album, showing how much of the weight he was pulling when it came to songwriting in the band. 

"Shame Game" is darker and more melodic, which is a sonic shade I prefer to hear from him. His voice continues to sound strong on this album. "Destroy the Power" sounds like it could be a solo Ozzy song, until the manic vocals come in. "Your Lives Burn" is crazier with its weird punk energy, though he throws his voice around in the quirkiest manner yet. I prefer what he does with the vocals to "Imposter" that works of a more refined harmony. The melodies are hookier, and it is one of the album's better songs. 

"You Destroy You" feels like an Italian ballad with this strummed sway. "Watch That Girl" is darker before it gains momentum. It feels more like New Model Army when it approaches the chorus. Perhaps it needs to grow on me. There is also a slight touch of the Misfits in there as well. The title track that closes the album is not what I was expecting, but I like it. His voice sounds great in his lower mid register there. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. If you like System of a Down, this is the next best thing. While it's hard for them to touch the first Scars on Broadway album, there are strong songs here that are worth a listen. 

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The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums - 30 to 21

As we continue to delve deeper into our list of the Top 40 Nu-Metal albums, things begin to require a more objective view in order to shed the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, in fact there is only one band that made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

30-Nonpoint - "To the Pain" 2005

By the fourth album they had the formula dialed in airtight. Their songwriting managed to be pretty fucking working off syncopated guitars working off vocal repetition. Not fully as committed to the hip hop side of the equation that can be hear in the phrasing of Elias's verses, which in and of themselves work better than most band's choruses. By 2005 the transition into the era of Myspace had begun and these guys managed to be relevant in that context.

29-Papa Roach-"Infest' 2000

 Yeah ya know your life being cut into pieces , but there are also 11 other songs on this album. Which by the way is their second album. If you like this genre of music and have only heard the single then you need to do yourself a favor and give them whole thing a listen. It's infectious in the explosive energy it hits you with. Spitfire vocals are balanced with sung hooks, and has on of the most in your face mixes.

   

 28-Issues- "Beautiful Oblivion" 2019

 When you think about boy bands with guitars like Linkin Park that emerged from this scene, this band was much more honest in how they woven their pop leanings in with the metal side of their sound, into one sinewy beast that held deadly choruses which got stuck in your head. A prime example of a band that learned from those that came before them.

   

27-Sevendust-"Home" 1999

Many might be partial to their 1997 debut. The sophomore album is more polished where it counts , which is namely the songwriting. The vocals begin to explore more soulful places, along with both Chino and Skin contributing guest vocals .

   

 26 Bush -"The Art of Survival" 2022

Thanks to Chris Traynor the former guitarist of Orange 9 MM, a band who came close to making the list, this band gained a heavier edge that reached the point of near perfect songwriting with last year's release, not the grunge band you might remember from the 90s, but I guess divorce added the extra edge of anger Gavin needed.

   

25-In This Moment- "Blood" 2012

They started off in a much different place, trying to exceed their grasp in terms of heaviness. This album found them settling into a place that was a better fit. At times the album sounds like if Katy Perry was fronting KMFDM, but the blend of pop hooks and industrial strength metal made for effective grooves that pay homage to this era.

   

 

 24- Guano Apes - "Proud Like a God" 1997

 

This German band did not get the recognition they deserved back in the day. Front by the diminutive Sandra Nasic, who larger than life voice amped up the impact of the slapped bass groove and dynamic anthems. They might be the least metal band on this list, but they packed enough punch in the pit to belong on this list . 

   

 23-Scars on Broadway- "S/T" -2008

 the guitarist and drummer from System of a Down, created this side project that leans into System of a Down's more traditional metal influences. When this album came out it seemed like a more logical progression. It has held up well over the years, and rooted enough in System's sound to belong on this list. 

   

 22 Chevelle-"Wonder What's Next" 2002

It's like these guys could not decide if they wanted to be Helmet or Tool, so they just decided to split the difference and try to do both at the same time. Not the most original band on this list, but the are damn fine songwriters. That goes a long ways in my books. 

 

21- Coal Chamber - "S/T"1997

This album pretty much encompasses every aspect of nu-metal. The creepy window dressing, the down-tuned grooves, as the chanted chorus that build into pumped up bouncing. Slapped bass provided the back bone, and really the only reason this album did not rank higher is I feel like Dez's vocal prowess was somewhat limited, but his delivery is also a part of this album's charm , so it's a both a blessing and a curse. 

Scars On Broadway : "Dictator"

Despite the fact I refuse to call this Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway the new solo album from Daron Malakian is the closet things you are going to get to new System of a Down. Much like his first solo album, this is more rock n roll and less nu-metal than System of a Down. I have always like Malakian's vocals with System of a Down , perhaps more than Serj's. "Angry Guru" is less impressive than the more tightly written opener. The title track is more up tempo, but has a darker tension to that recalls some of System's best moment. It seems like this song was probably written for the next System of a Down album that never happened, as his takes on a lower croon that has more in common with Serj's vocal style. He also uses more of a stomping scream that really brings System back from the grave.

The dark and melodic nuances I prefer from his work continue to seep over the more bouncy rock of "Fuck and Kill". While I like the exotic touches when you compare it against the title track it's not the same caliber. Though it's not shabby either.  "Guns Are Loaded" is a little more of a power ballad in terms of dynamics. It's dark almost like something Marilyn Manson might do in one of his more organic moments. "Never Forget" is more of a straight forward rock song, that is energetic but doesn't capture everything I want from him as much as some of the other songs do. I'm not opposed to the more rock n roll side of what he does at it is done much better on "Talkin Shit". This album is somewhat hit or miss in this regard as the very next song fails to hit this very same sweet spot as effectively , maybe it's a case of going to the well too many times.

The guitar has a more frantic metal attack on "We Won't Obey". It's palm muted in an almost punk manner. More straight forward than your average System of a Down song, there are moment of quirky punch injected into it. "Sickening Wars" has a similar punk feel to it. It ends with two covers of these is an instrumental, the other is a Skinny Puppy song. It sounds nothing like the original Skinny Puppy song. I'll give this album a 9 as it's very solid and well done though not as hard hitting or gripping as the first one.