30 years after its invention and 20 after the likes of Killswitch Engage polished it for the mainstream, ‘metalcore’ is still a dirty word to the purists. However, that reputation is massively unfair – and rarely more so than in 2023.
This year, metalcore has been a diverse landscape rammed with excellence. While Bury Tomorrow and Code Orange have pushed its melodic tendencies to arena-pleasing proportions, other bands, from Blood Command to Graphic Nature, have kept their genre in touch with its rabid hardcore origins. To write the scene off is to blind yourself to so much talent, as the below list will prove. These are Metal Hammer’s 10 best metalcore albums of 2023.
