At least one processing device is configured to detect a failure event impacting at least a first storage node of a distributed storage system, and responsive to the detected failure event, to initiate a metadata recovery process for at least the first storage node. In conjunction with the metadata recovery process, destaging of a metadata update journal of the first storage node is performed, the destaging of the metadata update journal of the first storage node being performed in multiple phases, including at least a preload phase in which, for each of a plurality of pages required for the destaging of the metadata update journal, one or more address locks are obtained for the page, the page is preloaded into a memory of the first storage node from persistent storage accessible to the first storage node, and the one or more address locks are released, and an update and write phase.