Time is an elusive entity as the years slip by almost without notice. Before we know it, an entire decade or more has passed though it still vividly feels like it had just recently gone by. Heavy metal had truly started to pick up and regain its stranglehold in the early 2000s, despite acts like Pantera carrying the flag high in the previous decade.

By 2005, metalcore was still building on the breakout of the prior year and extreme metal was starting to make its way into the mainstream consciousness. Alternative rock radio was steadily playing heavier material in conjunction with the overwhelming success of Ozzfest who had showcased the face of metal acts in the new millennium.

As we count down the 10 Best Metal Albums of 2005, it will become more apparent that a new era was definitively underway as only one act from the '80s made its way onto the list. To this day, these albums still feel fresh and current, proving their staying power over the course of the last 10 plus years. Extreme vocals began to dominate the heavy metal palette, though they were now routinely being delivered with infectious hooks, sometimes in the good cop/bad cop style where they traded off with soaring cleans. It was a memorable year, so hop on the nostalgia train and revisit the powerful year of 2005!

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