10 Biggest Metal Albums Still To Come In 2019

Sentences like this get trotted out every single year, but 2019 has brought an incredible array of rich, varied heavy metal releases thus far.

Big hitters like Devin Townsend, Soilwork, Periphery, and Baroness have all come through with huge, well-received records, with each one sure to future on many an 'Album of the Year' list when the time comes. On the underground, deathgrind stalwarts Full Of Hell came through with their most fully-formed release yet in "Weeping Choir," Saor's staggering "Forgotten Paths," well, soared, and Thank You Scientist have owned the prog lane with "Terraformer."

There are hundreds more. That's the thing about great music in 2019: it's essentially infinite, and a quick trawl through Bandcamp, Spotify, and the music blogs should yield many, many more.

The most encouraging thing is that this fruitful year is about to get even more exciting, with some of metal's biggest acts ready to unleash. For fairness' sake, only albums with confirmed release dates are included within, meaning there's no room for the likes of Lamb Of God, Arch Enemy, Obituary, and co. Note the adjective, too: "biggest," not "best."

Let's run through this all-star group...

The black metal pioneers' sixth studio album is still awaiting a title at the time of writing. Announced back in May, it will be followed by a European tour through October and November, including, depressingly, no stops in the United Kingdom. A shame, as your writer really needs some impaled pig heads on spikes in his life.

It'll be the band's first record since inking with Century Media, and they've referred to it as "a new chapter in [our] 35-year history." Their official statement adds: "we are excited to now have joined forces with Century Media and are eager to see what this partnership can do for us both in the future." Further details aren't yet forthcoming.

Not that it needed it, but Mayhem's terrifying mystique was taken to an even wider audience with the controversial Lords of Chaos film's global release earlier this year. Although they may never outdo their landmark "De Mysteriis dom Sathanas" album, they'll forever be one of the most important black metal bands in history and their new releases remain landmark events, and their grim chill should contrast nicely with the genre's other big release on 25 October. we'll get to that shortly.