The 16 Best Debut Rock + Metal Albums of 2021

The last 12 months have been great for the debut effort in rock and metal music. In fact, there's been a veritable army of significant first albums issued this year.

After all, they say you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. And throughout 2021, plenty of burgeoning bands have seemingly taken that notion to heart, releasing initial full-length collections full of entertaining, engaging rock and metal. (Who's claiming rock is dead now, Gene Simmons?)

Though that's not to say all of 2021's best rock debuts came from novices in the field. Several have been at it for a while — think Van Halen scion Wolf Van Halen (Mammoth WVH) or Lilith Czar avatar Juliet Simms — but chose this year to share their first complete statements of artistic rebirth, regardless.

Some were genuinely new to recorded music in the long-playing form. Canadian rock duo cleopatrick seemingly burst out of nowhere with their sizzling first LP, BUMMER. Texas death metal combo Frozen Soul showed debut power with their gripping Crypt of Ice.

Still, all of the above are mere examples of the wealth of rock and metal debut albums that emerged in 2021. We here at Loudwire came up with 16 that we think best signify the year, but they are by no means all of them. What was your favorite debut LP in 2021? Were you particularly impressed by any new band this year?

See our picks for best 2021 debut rock albums below.