The Best Metal Albums of October 2026

Carlos Saldanha’s '100 Days' turns an extraordinary Atlantic crossing into a portrait of a man who seems less troubled by solitude than by the human world waiting for him ashore. tinyurl.com/100Days26

While there is no doubt Fontaines D.C. will rightly go down as one of the era's greats, 'Dopamine Chamber' shows them struggling to close the gap between ambition and lasting impact. tinyurl.com/Fontaines26

Neil Young brings his characteristic looseness to 'Second Song', and while that ease can be appealing, it seldom leads to anything that sticks. tinyurl.com/NeilYoung26

Little on 'Dream House' matches the sheer brio of Empress Of's earlier music, and it lacks backbone and attention span. tinyurl.com/ExpressOf1

Reading Marcel Proust well requires a taste for contemplation, so much so that his masterpiece, ‘In Search of Lost Time’, is often called the longest novel ever written: it comprises seven volumes and 1,250,000 words. tinyurl.com/Proust2026

Cristian Mungiu’s hot-button legal drama FJORD wraps messy arguments about religion and secularism into a provocative but too-tidy package. tinyurl.com/Fjord2026

‘Nature’s Pill’ is end-to-end sticky hooks and earworm choruses. tinyurl.com/Wishy2026

‘Calling Antonín’ from James Brandon Lewis’ Red Lily band is another rollicking but meaningful statement from one of the most vital artists in creative music. tinyurl.com/JBLewis26

“Satirical humor has long been used as a way for citizens to show their opposition to undemocratic regimes. As early as the 6th century BC, comic poets helped steer Athenian democracy in the right direction, while carnivals not dissimilar to the ‘No Kings’ demonstrations ridiculed repressive medieval rulers millennia later.” popmatters.com/comedy-antido…

“Through changing lineups, major and independent labels, illness and recovery, the variables shifted, but the goal [for David S. Ware] stayed the same: preserve an unmistakably personal voice that walked the line between exploratory forms and heartfelt melody without ever becoming a formula.” popmatters.com/david-s-ware-…