With the decade’s end just on the horizon, we need to take a look back in this decade and see how many bands have rose to the occasion to take everything we all know and love from extreme music and push it even further. Rock and metal is far from dead, and these are some of the many bands that have proved this. We take a look back and see how these bands were able to deliver their own sound, message, craft and presence that pretty much contributed to being the heavy metal soundtrack to the last ten years.

Gatecreeper

In 2017, Gatecreeper really secured their mark in the world of Death Metal on their tour with Cannibal Corpse and Powertrip. With their new album Deserted out now, they are a death metal band that is here to stay. They remind us on why Death Metal is an extreme form of music that uses darkness to create an experience like no other.

Obscura

Between 2009 to now, German Progressive Death Metal masters deliver progressive  and tech-death bliss with their 4 concept album series on space, time, matter and the universe. With Cosmogenesis, Omnivium, Akróasis and Diluvium all delivering intensity and melody, Obscura is a band that uses both their sound an conceptual elements to expand the minds of many metal heads.

Whitechappel

It was over 10 years ago Whitechappel decimated the Hot Topic Stage at Mayhem Fest before Cannibal Corpse. Whitechappel is a band that took dethcore and enforced it tenfold, decimating every stage they have set foot on. With their latest album, The Valley unleashing their traditional chaos while showing progression, experimentation and having their signature brutality, Whitechappel is here to stay and they are far from finished

Chelsea Grin

Chelsea Grin takes everything we all know and love from Dethcore and multiplies it by 11. Even with many lineup changes, they are always able to deliver a sound and rage like no other. With the ultimate breakdowns and sonic chaos unleashed on crowds throughout the years, and pulverizing us with albums such as Ashes to Ashes and Self Inflicted, Chelsea Grin secured their name in the realm of dethcore and are going to keep it there.

Powertrip

In 2016, Opening for Lamb of God and Anthrax was a band called Powertrip. Instantly, they took that stage and made it their own. Just a year later, we get a gem called Nightmare Logic that delivers every brutal aspect of thrash and hardcore and before you know it, Power Trip are running the forefront of modern metal today. As we eagerly await for a follow-up to this amazing album, Power Trip is constantly touring and decimating through the weak in the process

Jinjer

All the way from Ukraine, Jinjer has a way of taking over every city in the USA and Europe and slaying everything from the beginning of their set to the end. From Cloud Factory in 2014, to the King of Everything in 2016 to Macro in 2019 and selling out almost every tour date on their headlining tours, the rise of Jinjer proves that there will always be band that brings their own intensity and therefor making this genre unstoppable.

Halestorm

In the realm of Hard Rock, Lzzy Hale seems to deliver a sound that is familiar, yet always fresh. They always tend to deliver soul and power behind their down and dirty rock, epic anthems and serenading ballads that can give the audience both power and chills at the same time. With the voice and the instrumentation, Halestorm proves that Rock is anything but dead.

In this Moment

It feels like only yesterday when In this Moment was opening for Korn, Disturbed and Sevendust at the Hammerstein Ballroom in 2011. They went from opening the stage, making every stage their own. Maria Brink has a voice that can rock you to sleep, only to scare you to death a second later. When you see In this Moment, you are not just at a show, you are in a realm of intensity, darkness and beauty all narrated by a signature voice that makes you a part of their show.

New Years Day

Cutting their teeth in the Warped Tour crowd and touring with bands such as Crown the Empire and Blessthefall, Ash and the boys of New Years day have been able to cross over into many other realms, making them a face you are going to see no matter where you turn. Whether they are touring with Crown the Empire or touring with Halestorm, you are not free from the clutches of Ashe’s voice and stage presence that will move you one way or another, and every audience has them singing along to their classic, Defame Me in the process.

Alien Weaponry

A new genre known as Māori metal was spawned when these three teens from New Zealand hit the ground running. Opening for Ministry in 2018, it was only a few months later that they headline the US again and rip through every city in the process. Bringing us brutality as well as culture with their sound and energy, Alien Weaponry brings a fresh new sound to the traditional heavy metal element we all know and love, and we definitely learn a thing or two or ten in the process

Zeal & Ardor

We have all heard more than once that everything in music as been done before, but in 2018 after an album called Stranger Fruit is released, that theory is once again proven wrong. Manuel and the rest of Zeal & Ardor bring their own flavor of music combing soul, post black metal and Avant-Garde and with that comes not one, but many new styles and flavors that cant be experienced else where. Their live shows are always something that will leave you fixated and mesmerized whether it is the small stage at St Vitus or the large stage at Terminal 5.

Code Orange

Hardcore has changed, but the brutality and nature of it has always been there, and Code Orange proved this. When they delivered Forever in 2017, the pits opened up and all hell broke loose. With songs as heavy as Spy or Forever, but being able to have a mesmerizing song such as Bleeding in the Blur, Code Orange flew the flag of modern day hardcore this year and instantly spawned a dedicated fanbase that will knock you down in the pit, only to help you back up.

Vein

With Forever being the hardcore album of 2017, Vein puts out a brutal composition in 2018 called Errorzone and instantly we get a form of brutality and rage like no other. From opening for Harms Way and Ringworm in the winter of 2018, to making the same stage their own at the end of the year, the riffs, the beats and the vocals fly as well as the bodies that jump off their stage into the pit. Opening for Ghostmane on one tour, but then opening for Killswitch Engage on another, Vein has a way of making any crowd go wild and unifying everyone in the process.

Gojira

While Gojira has been around for some time, there is no denying that this decade defined on why the flying whales from France will always be a band in our hearts and in our ears. In 2012 hitting us with L’Efant Sauvage, and then hitting us with Magma four years later, Gojira has everyone singing “Time to open your eyes to this genocide” loud and clear and hits us with riffs that can cut through metal itself.

Behemoth

In 2014, we get The Satanist, in 2018, we get I Loved you at your Darkest, is there anything more to say? Behemoth takes their signature sound of combining black metal and death metal and deliver a scream of Satan that will forever echo through humanity. The guitar solo in O Father O Satan O Sun still rings through the ears of many while we hear those haunting child chants in God=Dog of Jesus Christ, I forgive thee not. They are horrifying sounds that defined this decade at its darkest.

Periphery

From the Juggernaut series in 2015, to Select Difficulty a year later to Hail Stan to top the year off!!!! Periphery may have reinvented or even defined the term, Djent, but their experimental instrumental abilities to bring heaviness and catchiness with progressive and melodic elements really made Periphery define themselves in their own category. Making super long songs and keeping them engaging is never easy, but in the end, Periphery have mastered the art of creating what ever they want, riding it as long as they want and taking it in whatever direction they want.

Ice Nine Kills

From opening the Gramercy Theater for Atreyu and Memphis May Fire to selling out Webster Hall a year later, Ice Nine Kills have secured their name. With The Silver Scream brining a horror subject matter into the realm of metalcore, Ice Nine Kills has their own sound as well as their own vibe that many fans have gravitated and connected with.

Bring Me the Horizon

From Metalcore to hardrock, it seems like Bring me the Horizon can do no wrong at this point. From selling out Hammerstein Ballroom two nights in a row in 2019, to having an already dedicated fan base long before that, Bring Me the Horizon brings soul and intensity and a connection that is truly remarkable and with their latest album Amo, they prove that they still have an unlimited amount of gas in the tank.

Bad Wolves

Divine Hersey, God Forbid and more all combined into one project that delivers hardcore brutality. With intense moshpits one minute with songs like Better the Devil, only to have the same audience wave their lighters to their signature cover of Zombie. Disobey got many people on board in 2018 and in 2019, it seems like there is even more people on board. The voice of Tommy Vext and the riffs of Doc Coyle are a match made in hard rock heaven.

Five Finger Death Punch

While The Way of the Fist and War is the Answer were gems in ending the 2000s on a great note, Five Finger Death Punch continues to show progression and power as well as raw emotion and energy. With classic ballads such as Remember Everything or Battle Born, to their classic collaboration with Rob Halford, to powerful songs that remain in your face such as Jekyll and Hyde, Five Finger Death Punch constantly connect with many fans with their music and lyricism

Knocked Loose

Kentucky hardcore kids Knocked Loose seem to always bring violence and unity with their modern hardcore rage. Opening for bands such as Beartooth only to headline a near sold out show at Webster Hall, they deliver hardcore brutality but also deliver a connection. Their latest album, Different Shade of Blue is easily the hardcore album many people gravitated to in 2019 and for good reasons.

Archspire

If there is anything in death metal that is harder to keep up with more than Corpsegrinder’s windmills, it is the vocal style of Oliver, the riffs of Toby and Dean or the beats that Spencer delivers in Archspire. Archpsire delivered a half hours tech death killing spree in their 2017 release, Relentless Mutation and only continues to carry momentum with every passing listen. Archspire are easily the band that flew the flag for technical death metal this year

Fit for an Autopsy

Fit for an Autopsy are a band that developed a dedicated following from every different type of tour they have been on. Having elements of dethcore, death metal and hardcore, Fit for an Autopsy thrives on both brutality and experimentation with their sound. With that, they have been on tours with Arch Enemy, Trivium, Sepultura and Hatebreed and still seem to make the crowd they are playing in front of their own.

Thy Art is Murder

With many bands in the realm of dethcore carrying a great formula, Thy Art is Murder seem to be a band in that realm that break all the rules and still makes it work. From Holy War in 2015, to Dear Desolation in 2017 to Human Target in 2019, they seem to play by their own rules and with that, they earned respect and dignity in a genre that pulls no punches. Playing with Architects on one tour, Killswitch Engage on another and then Cannibal Corpse, they aren’t afraid of who is infront of the stage that they are destroying.

Deafheaven

A band that really defined the sound of Black Gaze. Deaf Heaven is a band that can easily write the soundtrack to either your greatest dreams or your worst nightmares. They turn any venue or club into a whole new atmosphere that can leave you sedated by their sound or terrified, instantly delivering a variety of emotions to go along with their very diverse sound.

A Day to Remember

A Day to Remember is a band to remember. At the end of the last decade, Have Faith in Me seemed to be an anthem that related and was there for many people in moments of victory and despair, now with their constant amazing sounds of metalcore, hard rock and alternative rock, A Day to Remember goes from the warped tour crowd to headlining arenas all over the place bringing every one on stage and off stage with them in the process.

Light the Torch

Howard’s vocals and lyricism on The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies is something that will forever echo through metal. With his new band Light the Torch, it takes everything we loved from those albums and carries things even further with Franceso from All Shall Perish on guitars and Ryan from Bleeding Through on bass. With super heavy songs such as Embracing the Torture or Seven Years Alone, or serenating anthems such as The Bitter End, or The Safety of Disbelief, this decade brought us back a vocalist that connected with us the last decade and now this one. This decade brought us 3 albums by this group that connect and deliver.

August Burns Red

Whether they are making you rage, or making you cry, in the end it is all an effect from August Burns Red. Their aggression and melodies have connect with many fans this past decade. They recently just did the 10 year anniversary tour for their classic album Constellations, which had many fans who have been following them since then, and many newer fans on board proving that their sound is timeless.

Ne Obliviscaris

Another band that easily brings some of the most beautiful aspects of darkness and delivers on sonic retrospective of it all. From the clean vocals to the growls, combined with the heavy riffs and the violin, Ne Obliviscaris seems to work on every tour they have been on whether it was with Cradle of Filth, or with Wintersun, Ne Obliviscaris is brutally beautiful and everything in between.

Architects

Holy Hell is the title of one of their albums and that is what you are going to be saying when you dive into their entire catalogue. Arichtects is a band that clearly uses music not only to channel their own demons, but seem to channel many others. Architects have easily been flying the flag of the modern day British metalcore movement along with bands such as While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow and others.

Baroness

From Yellow and Green in 2012, to Purple in 2015 to Gold & Grey in 2019, Baroness have always been able to maintain their own sound while quite literally, brining new colors to each and everyone of them. With beautiful shows that bring us all together and sing along with the vocals of John Baizley, Baroness constantly deliver what we all know and love but at the same time are not afraid to take amazing new chances that expand things even further

Parkway Drive

For a while, this band was chilling in the background, but now, they are easily running in the front. From Atlas in 2012, to Ire in 2015 to Reverence in 2018, Parkway Drive have evolved so much delivering heavy riffs and emotions with their sounds as well as evolving their stage shows easily making one of the most unforgettable live shows you will ever see. It is fair to say that Wishing Wells more than likely delivers the breakdown of the decade as well

Animals as Leaders

The guitar tone and soling of Tosin Abasi can easily be what is considered the sountrack of the decade. There is something so mysterious about this group and yet there music seems to be accessible to every fan of extreme music. A band that has been able to play Summer Slaughter in 2012 and 2013, yet also play along their instrumental peers such as Chon. Animals as Leaders easily brought prog and instrumental music to the forefront and brings sonic beauty, brutality and refinement behind music that cannot be experienced elsewhere.

Ghost

From opening up for Iron Maiden at Barclays Center in 2017, only to sell out the venue at their headlining show a year later. From Grammy Awards to sounds of hard rock, classic rock and heavy metal that have constantly echoed through this decade, and many more decades to come. Ghost have developed their our sound, imagery, message and legacy that have easily dominated the realm of rock and metal through the majority of the decade.

These are just a few of the many bands that have really brought us art that we have connected with and that has inspired us. There are hundreds of artists that are currently flying the flag, and it is fair to say with so many bands that have been pushing hard at this very moment, hard rock and heavy metal are in goods hands for the roaring 2020s