The Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year is an annual award, presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to honour the year's best album by a Canadian artist in the genres of heavy metal. The album is open to all subgenres of heavy metal. Rock, punk, crossover and hardcore artists are not eligible for this category.
The award was introduced by the Juno Awards in September 2011,"Bang your head: Junos to add heavy metal category". CTV News, September 28, 2011. and was presented for the first time at the 2012 Juno Awards. The five nominees and winner in the category are chosen by a panel of judges selected from the Canadian music industry. The award was named "Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year" in 2012, though it was renamed for the 2016 ceremony "in order to more clearly define the category criteria" before changing back in 2017.
Recipients Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year (2012–2015)
Year Winner Album Nominees Ref.2012 KEN Mode VenerableJuggernaut of Justice – Anvil Burning Fortune – Cauldron Die Miserable – Fuck the Facts Deconstruction – Devin Townsend Project2013 Woods of Ypres Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric LightDead Set on Living – Cancer Bats Blacklands – Castle Epicloud – Devin Townsend Project Caligvla – Ex Deo2014 Protest the Hero VolitionHeart of Oak – Anciients Colored Sands – Gorguts Entrench – KEN Mode Dead Language – The Flatliners2015 Devin Townsend Project Z²Waiting for the End to Come – Kataklysm Brotherhood of the Ram – Shooting Guns Negative Qualities – Single Mothers Chasing the Dream – Skull Fist
Heavy Metal Album of the Year (2016) Year Winner Album Nominees Ref.2016 Kataklysm Of Ghosts and Gods Searching for Zero – Cancer Bats Never Wanna Die – Diemonds Desire Will Rot – Fuck the Facts Success – KEN Mode
Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year (2017–present) Year Winner Album Nominees Ref.2017 Mandroid Echostar Coral ThroneTranscendence – Devin Townsend Project Pacific Myth – Protest the Hero Beast – Despised Icon Suicide Society – Annihilator2018 Anciients Voice of the VoidRelentless Mutation – Archspire II: Vanishing – Longhouse Strange Peace - METZ Striker – Striker2019 Voivod The WakeAlgorythm – Beyond Creation The Spark That Moves – Cancer Bats Loved – KEN Mode Prevail II – Kobra and the Lotus2020 Striker Play to WinOrphans – The Agonist Evolution – Kobra and the Lotus Martyr – Lindsay Schoolcraft Through a Wall – Single MothersMelody Lau, "Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations". CBC Music, January 28, 2019.2021Unleash the Archers AbyssBallistic, Sadistic — Annihilator Unconquered — Kataklysm Palimpsest — Protest the Hero Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! — Vile CreatureHolly Gordon and Andrea Warner, "Here are the 2021 Juno Award winners". CBC Music, June 4, 2021.2022 Archspire Bleed the FutureDays Before the World Wept — The Agonist Eternal Blue — Spiritbox Lifeblood — Brand of Sacrifice Power Trio — Danko Jones"Gala des prix JUNO 2022 | Charlotte Cardin devance Justin Bieber et The Weeknd dans les nominations!". sorstu.ca, March 1, 2022.2023 Voivod Synchro AnarchyMerciless Destruction — Get the Shot Paid in Full — Skull Fist Psychic Jailbreak — Cancer Bats Thought Form Descent — Wake Jenna Benchetrit and Arti Patel, "The Weeknd picks up 4 wins on Junos 2023 opening night". CBC News, March 11, 2023.2024 Cryptopsy As Gomorrah BurnsDanko Jones, Electric Sounds Kataklysm, Goliath KEN Mode, Void Voivod, Morgöth Tales "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.2025 Anciients Beyond the Reach of the SunKittie, Fire Spiritbox, The Fear of Fear Striker, Ultrapower Devin Townsend, PowerNerd "Junos 2025: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 30, 2025.2026 Despised Icon Shadow Work Counterparts, Heaven Let Them Die Cryptopsy, An Insatiable Violence Silverstein, Antibloom Unreqvited, A Pathway to the Moon Natalie Harmsen, Melody Lau, Holly Gordon and Kelsey Adams, "Here are all the 2026 Juno nominees". CBC Music, March 28, 2026.
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