Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
The untitled seventh studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, titled Rammstein on digital platforms and on CD-Text enabled devices, was released on 17 May 2019 through Universal Music. Their first studio album in ten years, it is their first not to be produced by Jacob Hellner; it was instead produced by Emigrate guitarist Olsen Involtini, who also serves as Rammstein's live sound engineer.
Meliora is the third studio album by Swedish rock band Ghost. The album was produced by Klas Åhlund and released on August 21, 2015. The album was generally well received, placing on several music publications' lists of the best heavy metal albums of the year and winning Best Hard Rock/Metal Album at the 2015 Grammis Awards. Lead single "Cirice" won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. In September 2016, the band released a special edition of the album, called Meliora Redux.
The Book of Souls is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album, and also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 seconds. Its launch and supporting tour were delayed to allow vocalist Bruce Dickinson time to recover from the removal of a cancerous tumour in early 2015. It is also their first album to be released on Parlophone, since the end of their 30-year relationship with EMI Records.
Gods of Violence is the fourteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator, released on 27 January 2017. This is Kreator's final studio album with bassist Christian "Speesy" Giesler before his departure from the band in 2019.
Medusa is the fifteenth studio album by British gothic metal band Paradise Lost, released on 1 September 2017 via Nuclear Blast.
Prequelle is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 1 June 2018 and produced by Tom Dalgety. The album's first single, "Rats", was released ahead of the album on 13 April, and as of 28 July, had peaked at number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The second single, "Dance Macabre", later topped the same chart for two weeks as well. The album marked the band's strongest selling debut to date, landing at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week, with 61,000 of those being "traditional" album sales. The album's themes include medieval times and the Black Death, along with more contemporary subject matter.
Distance Over Time is the fourteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on February 22, 2019, and the band's first release on Inside Out Music. Distance over Time was announced alongside a tour of North America during which Dream Theater would support the new album and celebrate the 20th anniversary of its fifth studio album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999). On December 7, 2018, the lead single "Untethered Angel" and its music video were released. The second single, "Fall into the Light", was released on January 11, 2019. The third single, "Paralyzed", and its accompanying video were released on February 8, 2019. It is the band's most successful album chart-wise to date, taking top 10 positions in 19 countries.
I, the Mask is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released on 1 March 2019. It is the band's first release since Whoracle (1997) without longtime bassist Peter Iwers, and the last to feature Joe Rickard on drums. It is the debut album for bassist Bryce Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne. It is also the last album to feature guitarist Niclas Engelin.
Outstrider is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Abbath. It was released on 5 July 2019 through Season of Mist. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.
Berserker is the eleventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth. It was released on 3 May 2019 through Metal Blade Records and Sony Music. The album was produced by Jay Ruston and marks the first album by the band to feature drummer Jocke Wallgren, who joined the band in 2016.
The Great War is the ninth studio album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton. It was released on 19 July 2019. It is the first studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. Like many of Sabaton's albums, it is a concept album, this time about World War I, often known as the Great War. The songs cover multiple stories from the war, including those of Manfred von Richthofen, T.E. Lawrence, Alvin York, the Attack of the Dead Men, the Battle of Verdun, and others.
Rewind, Replay, Rebound is the seventh studio album by Danish rock band Volbeat. The album was released on 2 August 2019. This marks the first studio album with Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass.
In Cauda Venenum is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released on 27 September 2019 through Moderbolaget and Nuclear Blast. It was released in two versions: a Swedish-language version and an English-language version. The band toured in support of the album throughout 2019 and into 2020. At 67 minutes and 57 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album. It is also the band's last album to feature drummer Martin Axenrot before his departure in 2021.
Old Star is the 17th studio album by the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone, released on 31 May 2019, by Peaceville Records. The album represented another drastic musical shift for the band, now featuring a doom metal style in the vein of Candlemass, combined with the band's more recent "blackened heavy metal" sound.
Violence Unimagined is the fifteenth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on April 16, 2021. It is the band's first album in nearly four years since Red Before Black (2017), the longest gap between two records in Cannibal Corpse's career, and the first studio album to feature producer Erik Rutan on lead guitar, replacing Pat O'Brien in February 2021 after nearly two years of filling in for him on tour.
Helloween is the sixteenth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released on 18 June 2021. The album is the first released with the "Pumpkins United" line-up, which marked the return of original member Kai Hansen on guitars and vocals and Michael Kiske on vocals in 2016, in addition to the five-member line-up active since 2005.
The War to End All Wars is the tenth studio album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton, released on 4 March 2022. It is the last album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson.
Zeit is the eighth studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, released on 29 April 2022 through Universal Music. Produced by the band with Olsen Involtini, the album was unplanned and recorded as a result of the band's tour being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the band, the enforced lockdowns due to the pandemic spurred the band's creativity, resulting in spontaneous writing and recording sessions. Rammstein recorded the album in late 2020 and early 2021 at La Fabrique Studios in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, where they recorded their previous album. The album's title track was released as the lead single on 10 March 2022.
The End, So Far is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on September 30, 2022, through Roadrunner Records. This is the band's final album to be released through Roadrunner, whom the band signed with in 1998. It is the first studio album to feature percussionist Michael Pfaff, who joined the band in 2019 and is their final studio album to feature sampler and keyboardist Craig Jones and drummer Jay Weinberg before their respective departures in June and November 2023.
