BABYMETAL currently leads in voting for Metal Band of the Year, securing 56.14% of the vote as of Tuesday, February 24, 2026, according to an update posted on the Metal Awards Facebook page.
The online poll, hosted at metalawards.org, shows Arch Enemy in second place with 17.89%, followed by Band-Maid at 8.55%. Sleep Token and Within Temptation are similarly in contention, receiving 5.24% and 3.33% of the votes respectively. Veteran bands Iron Maiden and Judas Priest trail with 2.76% and 1.87%, while Linkin Park and Falling in Reverse have garnered 0.88% and 0.45% respectively. Bad Omens currently holds 0.44% of the vote.
The results come as music publications begin to reflect on the year in metal. MSN recently prompted readers to vote for the best metal album of 2025, noting that Ghost’s Skeleta was named album of the year by Metal Hammer’s writers. Louder Sound is also conducting a poll for the best metal song of 2025, with nominations including tracks from Ghost, Sleep Token, Electric Callboy, Lorna Shore, and Babymetal.
A separate discussion on the r/MetalMemes subreddit is currently underway, focused on compiling a top ten list of power metal albums of all time, with stipulations that only full-length releases are considered and that each band is represented by only one album.
