Deafheaven: Infinite Granite review – rock at its most majestically beautiful Fifth album by San Francisco band finds intense and yes, ethereal, shoegaze taking over from black metal
Download Pilot review – a joyful noise for fans and bands Exuberant scenes at the rock and metal festival test event find its 10,000 guinea pigs leaving Covid blues far behind
While She Sleeps: Sleeps Society review – magnificent metalcore for a fractious world The noisy Sheffield band fully realise their pop potential on their fifth album, as they vent thrillingly about society’s manifold ills
Venom Prison: Primeval review – potent disgust from Welsh death metallers Continuing to subvert the politics of a lot of hardcore metal, the band look back to early material, energising it with melodic invention and anger
Deftones: Ohms review – fighting time and tide with undimmed ferocity The Sacramento band’s ninth album streamlines their experimentalism and adds a hit of 90s nu-metal
Duma: Duma review – extreme Kenyan metalheads bring doom to the dancefloor From Nairobi’s metal scene, Martin Kanja and Sam Karugu add techno to doom-laden guitars and distorted vocals on this exciting album
Sightless Pit: Grave of a Dog review – witchy trio unleash hell The underground supergroup bin their guitars in favour of obscure sound-making – and conjure a gloriously hellish mood
Ozzy Osbourne: Ordinary Man review – his final statement? The elegiac lyrics on Osbourne’s 12th solo album stand in contrast with the off-the-cuff vibe of its music
Slipknot review – a haven of euphoric noise in a world gone mad Blending thrilling theatricality with skilled musicianship, the metal megastars unite their ‘maggot’ followers against the forces of darkness
Poppy: I Disagree review – online pop-bot embraces IRL nu-metal Breaking free of her rigidly controlled persona, the former YouTube sensation’s new album is repetitive but sincere
Alter Bridge review – holy mountain of noise from hard rock’s nice guys The band who rose from the ashes of Creed pack a bombastic, bludgeoning noise – but are best when they allow their songs space to breathe
Amon Amarth review – berserkers, sea serpents and catchy death metal Over heavy riffs and double kick drums, the folklore-obsessed Swedish band deliver a thundering theatrical spectacle
Ghost review – satanic Barry Manilow leads magnificent metal pantomime The flamboyant Swedish band fuse rock bombast with pop classicism on their most ambitious tour to date
Lightning Bolt review – noise-punk duo remain one of the great live acts Still triumphantly unhinged after 25 years, the US duo break all the rules of what punk and, indeed, live music should be
Sunn O))) review – gods of noise build a colossal drone henge Anyone can play loud, but the Seattle masters of slow metal turn noise into an overwhelming physical experience