2021 is going to be an absolutely massive year in heavy music, with Gojira, Mastodon, Tomahawk, Megadeth and many more set to release highly anticipated new albums. Considering the slew of big releases from important artists that lies ahead of us, we asked you who you'd most like to see on the cover of an issue of Revolver this year. You hit social media to shout out the likes of Every Time I Die, Venom Prison and Deafheaven — who all fell just short of the top five. Below, see who rose to the fore.
5. Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon have been doing all they can to annihilate the walls between metal, electronic, pop and more — and yet, the U.K. outfit's latest offering, last year's POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR, was their heaviest in years. A dystopian cyber-metal soundtrack to our apocalyptic times — from lockdowns to viruses — it earned a spot on our best albums of 2020 list and represents the first installment of the group's planned POST HUMAN EP series. What part II (of IV) holds is, according to songwriter-keyboardist Jordan Fish, still unknown, but we're along for the ride.
4. Spiritbox
When their former group iwrestledabearonce broke up around 2016, singer Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Michael Stringer, who weren't founding members, were determined to recreate the success they enjoyed on their own terms. Regrouping as Spiritbox, the couple — joined by bassist Bill Crook — had a breakout year in 2020 with two smash singles that showcased their wide-screen sonic and emotional range: the punishingly aggro "Holy Roller" (also released in a remixed version featuring Crystal Lake's Ryo Kinoshita) and the soaring, melancholic "Constance." Backed by a cult legion of fans, they're bound to break even bigger in 2021.
3. Ghost
Ghost's 2018 opus Prequelle delivered delirious pop-metal steeped in decadence and decay — and was named Revolver's album of the year. Where will mastermind Tobias Forge go for LP5? Well, for one, Ghost's most recent frontman, the prancing, mustachioed Cardinal Copia, has finally ascended into the Papal ranks. Plus, Prequelle's follow-up is reportedly "heavier and riffier." All of which bodes well. Needless to say, we're very stoked, and you clearly are, too.
2. Evanescence
Evanescence releasing their first album of original music in over a decade is a huge-ass deal, and for many of you, the 12-track The Bitter Truth, due March 26th, can't came soon enough. Between the four singles — "Wasted on You", "The Game Is Over," "Use My Voice" and "Yeah Right" — released thus far and bandleader Amy Lee's recent features with Body Count and Bring Me the Horizon, excitement is reaching a fever pitch among diehards. Evanescence already ranked in the top five of our "Most Anticipated Albums of 2020" fan poll; now, they're back here.
1. 3TEETH
From the grind of "President X" to the gloom of "Affluenza," 2019's Metawar marked a major star turn for Tool- and Rammstein-approved industrial-metal revolutionaries 3TEETH. For their follow-up, ringleader Alexis Mincolla and Co. have been spending quarantine out in Joshua Tree, recording cave noises and semi-automatic gunfire, among other pursuits. "We've been out in the desert for months writing this record, getting a sort of like off-world perspective," he told us in October. "It sort of feels like you're on another planet." If you the voters have your way, 3TEETH will find themselves back on this planet and on a cover near you in 2021.
