We hear everyone loud and clear — support more new bands! Well, welcome to our list of the Best Rock + Metal Debut Albums of 2022, where you can catch up on the most exciting up-and-comers of the last year and hopefully discover something new to fall in love with along the way.
There’s a certain electric feeling in rock and metal that has been a bit lacking over the past decade. It’s natural for styles of music to ebb and flow and there is always the promise of some kids pooling together increasingly dynamic influences to put new twists on music in ways the world had never previously conceived.
Quite lot of the genre-mashing happening lately has been less cut/paste with styles and we’re hearing reinventions of styles and the merging of some that are decades apart.
It’s all a very positive sign that heavy music is in a prime position with a new underground bubbling beneath a mainstream surge that rock and metal haven’t experienced in a long time.
Below, you’ll find only the best debut albums from true newcomers.
Need to catch up on even more from this year? Follow our 2022’s Best Metal Songs and 2022’s Best Rock Songs playlists.
Honorable Mentions
We see you, veteran artists forming new bands!
However, we really wanted to reserve this space just for true newcomers and help the support the next generation of heavy music. You released killer albums with the ventures too, so that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Check all of those out once you’re done flipping through all the new new bands!
Best Debut Rock + Metal Albums of 2022
Here’s to the newcomers!
Note: This list does not include veteran artists with new bands. We’re here to support the true newbies and show them all some love!
Honorable Mentions: Veteran Artists With Debut Albums From New Bands/Projects
Corpsegrinder, On Wings of Carnage
Solo album from Cannibal Corpse’s George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher)
Dream Widow, March of the Insane
Dave Grohl’s extreme metal album to coincide with the Foo Fighters’ horror movie, Studio 666)
Ibaraki, Rashomon
The long-promised black metal album from Trivium’s Matt Heafy, with some help from Emperor legend Ihsahn)
L.S. Dunes, Past Lives
Post-hardcore band featuring Circa Survive/Saosin vocalist Anthony Green, My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero, Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever and Thursday’s Tim Payne (bass) and Tucker Rule (drums)
Morbikon, Ov Mournful Twilight
Black metal band featuring Municipal Waste’s Landphil and Dave Witte, as well as Finntroll/…And Oceans vocalist Vreth)
The Halo Effect, Days of the Lost
Melodic death metal band featuring five former members of In Flames, though vocalist Mikael Stanne is most prominently known as Dark Tranquillity’s longtime frontman)
The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention
Post-punk trio featuring Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner)
50 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2022
In a year with thousands of new albums, here’s the very best, presented in chronological order of release.