Metalcore 2000s Albums

Congregation of the Damned connects Atreyu’s shadowed atmosphere to rough, forceful metalcore.

An eighteen-song covers album working through the band’s hardcore and metal roots — Slayer, Metallica, Misfits, Black Flag and more.

The self-titled fifth album, fourteen songs, released by E1 Music in September 2009.

Killswitch Engage balances the band’s metalcore weight and melodic strength with confident consistency.

Wrath uses Lamb of God’s massive riffs and biting rhythms to unleash overwhelming aggression.

Retribution integrates the cutting edge of thrash metal with metalcore’s heaviness at high density.

Overcome tightly joins All That Remains’ urgent riffs, low heavy breakdowns and Philip Labonte’s clean vocal.

The second Bullet for My Valentine album. BMG Japan released the Japanese edition first, on 23 January 2008, with the UK following on 28 January and the US on 29 January. It entered the Billboard 200 at number four and topped Oricon's international album chart in Japan. Recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas and produced by Colin Richardson.

Protest the Hero's second album, out on 29 January 2008. Its ten songs are split into three movements by piano interludes, over about forty-one minutes.

Shogun takes Trivium into extended metal forms through complex structures, sharp guitars and Matt Heafy’s strong vocal.

Lead Sails Paper Anchor pushes aggressive rhythm and singable melody with equal force.

Avenged Sevenfold packs heavy riffs, dramatic choruses, and ideas that cross hard rock, metal, and progressive music into a self-titled statement.

Between the Buried and Me's fourth album, out on 18 September 2007. It is split into eight tracks but, with the transitions, plays as one continuous piece.

Threads of Life gathers rough riffs, fluid lead guitar, and Brian Fair’s roar into a forceful whole.

The Serpent combines electronic texture, hard guitar, and emotional vocals into a dark metalcore frame.

The Fall of Ideals packs All That Remains’ chugging guitars, breakdowns, and Phil Labonte’s harsh-to-clean vocal contrast into dense, sharply focused songs.

A Death-Grip on Yesterday compresses Atreyu’s sharp riffs, breakdowns, harsh vocals, and melodic singing into tighter songs.

The fourth album, released by Roadrunner Records: thirteen songs including "Destroy Everything".

As Daylight Dies connects Killswitch Engage’s hard riffs, tight breakdowns, and Howard Jones’s powerful voice.

Sacrament combines Lamb of God’s precise guitar chug, twisted rhythms, and Randy Blythe’s raw voice.

The Crusade pushes Trivium toward more classic thrash and heavy metal through rapid chugging, twin guitars, and hard rhythm.

City of Evil combines intricate twin-guitar lines, restless rhythm and expansive vocals.

Between the Buried and Me's third album, out on 6 September 2005. It is the first record by the band's longest-lasting line-up.

The debut album, released by Visible Noise on 3 October 2005 and widely credited with defining British metalcore. "Tears Don't Fall" is still the band's signature song. The Japanese edition followed on 26 October with two live recordings added, for fifteen tracks.

Of Love and Lunacy balances hard riffs and breakdowns with switching screams, clean vocals and subtle keyboard shade.

Ascendancy drives forward on cutting riffs, hard rhythm and vocals that move between screams and clean lines.

This Darkened Heart introduces All That Remains through cutting riffs, raw vocals and racing rhythm.

The Curse combines Atreyu’s sharp riffs, intense screams and highly singable choruses.

The End of Heartache tightly joins Killswitch Engage’s heavyweight guitars, urgent screams and soaring clean vocals.

Ashes of the Wake packs low, rolling riffs, sharply shifting rhythm and raw roars into overwhelming density.

The War Within uses slicing twin guitars, heavy breakdowns and fierce vocals while still pushing memorable melody to the front.

Waking the Fallen joins harsh roars, heavy breakdowns and twin-guitar melody into music that balances aggression with drama.

The third album, twelve songs including "Live for This" — the record that carried the band's name furthest.

As the Palaces Burn builds high-pressure metal from low-chugging riffs, sharply changing rhythm and raw roars.

Ember to Inferno uses fast guitar, rough vocals and shifting rhythm to make aggressive metal with obvious ambition.

Behind Silence and Solitude is All That Remains’ debut, connecting rough riffs, growls and lyrical guitar leads.

Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses is an early Atreyu record built from rough screams, hardcore-rooted rhythm and emotional guitar melody.

The second album and the first through major distribution: sixteen tracks including "I Will Be Heard".

Alive or Just Breathing fuses thrash-like riffs, melodic-death-metal guitar language and rough shouts into Killswitch Engage’s defining early statement.

The Art of Balance brings together thrash metal’s cutting riffs, melodic leads and hardcore-derived force with impressive control.

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is Avenged Sevenfold’s debut, mixing hardcore urgency, melodic-death-metal guitar and classic-metal ambition.

Converge's fourth album, issued by Equal Vision on 4 September 2001. It is the first record with bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller.

Killswitch Engage’s debut captures the raw collision of hardcore urgency and metal weight that would help define metalcore.

New American Gospel by LAMB OF GOD: track list, Spotify player and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.

Of One Blood connects melodic-death guitar language with hardcore force in an early Shadows Fall statement.