With each passing year, hundreds and hundreds of metal albums are committed to the genre's ever-lasting legacy. While the legends who birthed the style are mostly still around offering up more additions to their catalog, it's the newer generation of metal acts who have really begun to run with this perennially-ignited torch, ensuring we'll have plenty to look forward to in the coming decades.

As always, it's a mix of old and new that keep metal's blood pumping. Enduring death metal acts like Immolation and Obituary have continued to demonstrate why they're regarded as the gold standard, while younger acts like Replacire appear poised to inherit the throne.

Over the last two years, each one of thrash's Big 4 dished out a new record and in 2017, Warbringer and Power Trip round out the best that the pit-friendly style has to offer. Elsewhere, there's Mastodon, who refuse to be pegged down by a never-ending sea of genre mash-ups as fans shake their fist, still unable to classify the proggy group.

There's that and a whole lot more to keep track of this year, so if you fall behind, don't worry because the gallery above is home to all of the Best Metal Albums of 2017 (So Far), and will be updated throughout the year. Also check out our Best Rock Albums of 2017 (So Far) by clicking the button below!

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