Let’s take it back to the first decade of the new millennium and the best rock and metal song of each year of the 2000s.
While the ‘90s were a trying time for heavy metal in the commercial sense, as well as the general decline in quality from most of the ‘70s and ‘80s innovators (the ones who didn’t break up, anyway), the 2000s quickly restored confidence in aging artists and yielded a new crop of future headliners.
Evolution marched forward as metalcore has now proven to be the biggest thing since thrash and genre-mashing became more normalized, uniting what was once opposing factions of metalheads.
READ MORE: The Best Thrash Album of Each Year Since 1983
Of course, there was the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, which incorporated more than just metalcore, and, overseas, the still rather young Finns in Children of Bodom rampaged with brilliant melodic flair and adrenalized aggression.
As the years and decades continue to further remove us from this decade, these albums and songs are a continuous reminder that it indeed was one of the most exciting periods in metal’s 50-plus year history.
Below, we run through the best metal album of each year of the 2000s, followed by each year’s best metal song.
The Best Metal Album of Each Year of the 2000s
Going through metal’s first decade in the new millennium, these albums represent the best of each year from 2000 through 2009.
Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita
The Best Metal Song of Each Year of the 2000s
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff