Despite what some aging musicians might tell you, heavy metal and rock’n’roll are not dead. In fact, this could not be further from the truth.
The metal scene is flourishing with tons of incredible music and live shows from artists across multiple generations. It’s honestly a great time to be a metal fan, considering there are a lot of acts who are really keeping the flame alive. And I want to share a few of them with you!
To clarify right from the start, I included a stipulation for the bands: they had to have released their first album in 2005 or later, so that the term “modern” would feel more valid. I really wanted to include Gojira and Lamb of God, because I genuinely believe that they are the torchbearers of mainstream metal bands who are not selling out in any sense of the word, but they’re also 30-year-old bands, and it just didn’t feel right.
Lorna Shore
Look, I get it, if I keep putting Lorna Shore on lists (like this one and this other one), I’m gonna get some ridiculous nickname like “Lorna Shore Guy.” Well, joke’s on you because I already call myself that.
Lorna Shore could not be more of a perfect embodiment of the “Brutal and Brilliant” title here. Like death metal blacksmiths, they hammer out some of the heaviest, most thoughtfully layered songs being played on main stages in this, the year of our Dark Lord, 2025.
Countless imitators, zero rivals… Lorna Shore is very much the future of extreme metal.
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders’ importance in and influence on modern metal cannot be understated. Born out of the ashes of guitarist Tobin Abasi’s early metalcore band Reflux (if you’ve never listened to The Illusion of Democracy then you absolutely have to rectify that asap), Animals as Leaders exploded onto the metal scene with a deeply original sound inspired by the likes of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and which has has since led to the emrgence of artists like Plini and Polyphia.
Since their debut album in 2009, Animals as Leaders have been crafting djenty metal jams with depth and beauty. The pretty parts are so pretty, and the heavy parts are so fucking heavy. Hell, most of the heavy parts are pretty too! It’s some of the most impressive and satisfying complexity that has ever been woven into heavy metal, and they’re still going strong.
Konvent
Konvent is just unfathomably good. I don’t even know how to say it. This all-woman four-piece death-doom band from Copenhagen is not “breaking new ground” in metal… they’re completely deterraforming it.
I swear to you, put their song “Puritan Masochism” on in a pair of headphones and you won’t be able to listen to it loud enough. Your ears will never forgive you, but your soul will be forever changed.
Sanguisugabogg
Quite literally the definition of “brutal” on this list, the Ohio gore-boys in Sanguisugabogg are keeping alive the most vile, profane, and repugnant aspects of heavy metal, and I can’t thank them enough for their service.
Frontman Devin Swank gutturally delivers lyrics like “Chopped off dick, Open wide you’re force fed it… Trophies made of dead pedophiles fill from every corner of my basement” (from “Dick Filet“) over the grimiest grindcore riffs and caveman rythms.
Their 2018 debut EP was Pornographic Seizures, which they followed up with their first record, Tortured Whole, in 2021. The band’s 2023 sophomore album is Homicidal Ecstacy, and later this year, Sanguisugabogg will be putting out their third full-length project, Hideous Aftermath.
Anciients
Hailing from Canada, Anciients is a progressive metal band with some deathy elements and touches of djent. They’ve been carving their path through the metal scene for about the past 15 years, and have more than proven they’re greater than the sum of their inspirations.
In fact, while U.S. audiences may still be getting to know these native Vancouverites, Anciients, the band is quite loved and respected in their homeland. Their second album, Voice of the Void, won the Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.
They’ve conquered the Great North, next up: The World.
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