TOP ALBUMS OV 2025 W/ BROCK SAMSON & VOIDED GRIMACE!
I found out why – after a few dozens of amazing reviews, each one fabulous to read – the rest of the media stays silent about Toilet ov Hell … see, the richness of a musical blog can be easily determined: More posts = better. And then there’s the magic border: While everything above 600 words is a full musical review, everything below 150 words is a mini per se. In other words, if we had added a cheesy 3 article Sexiest Ladies ov Metal series; or added 3 Megadeth Is Finally Retiring features; or added 3 posts of whatever nonsense, the media would be interested to make stories about us, oder interview us, to write reviews, and so on. But that was one of the ideas in the first place: To strip off all MetalSucks and everything else that seemed to be just shiddy (to us at least), which results in writing being either shorter or having more content (the actual “content” you measure in “musical boaner”). LISTMANIA 2K25 DAY 1 draws out things that have never been done in metal blogging. Like the exploration of all kinds of blogonical possibilities (with contributions made by 9 different writers or more), or stacked layers of opinions: between our newbies, old heads, aggregate lists in the second half. But of course, all that doesn’t matter: it’s about the word count! So once again, I feel completely dumbfolded by these great lists from Brock Samson and Voided Grimace!
Brock Samson
Come one, come all to the year’s main event. Say what you will about my compatriots, but their tastes are objectively wrong while mine remain indisputably correct. This I shall prove over the next 10 courses of metal delicacies. Wait, this list is just a bunch of death and black metal, isn’t it? Oh no, what have I done?
10. Incinerated – The Epitome of Transgression
BlackSeed Productions
When pondering the regions of the world that regularly produce killer metal acts, one simply can no longer ignore the nation of Indonesia. In what is quickly blossoming into a hotbed, black metal outfit Incinerated have emerged as heavyweight contenders by implementing just enough dissonant flavorings, along with some impeccable atmospheric components, to craft their art into something formidable. Where much of dissonant-leaning black metal focuses on chaotic arrangements and impenetrable production, The Epitome of Transgression instead harnesses extended melodic and near-groovy sections that help your mind float in the dark auras while strangling you with constant dreary undertones. It’s by no means a perfect album and has some pacing and track length issues, but when a release can force me to return to it as often as occurred here, it simply cannot be ignored.
9. Frozen Winds – Keys to Eschaton
Visceral Promotions
Not to be outdone, the similarly overlooked country of Cyprus has its own scene that is continuing its growth at an impressive pace. Occult black metallers Frozen Winds return with their first release in 7 years to stake their claim as kings of underground melodic black metal. Despite the genre descriptor, this isn’t your generic meloblack album as each track is a full journey through that which still remains unknown to science and society. Ritualistic at times and headbanging at others, each track is packed full of varying ideas and topped off with a dual vocal attack from members Sophia Constantinou and Adonis Kilonis that compliment each other beautifully (or horrifically, depending on tastes). Each track is a lengthy exercise in engaging structure and ideas that flow into each other as Keys to Eschaton works its dark magic inside the deepest depths of your consciousness.
8. Exterior Palnet – Haragma II
Independent | Disso Article
Weird-ass album art? Check! Terrible logo? Fuck yeah! Stellar dissonant, yet sometimes funky black metal? You know it, baby girl! Hailing from Croatia, Exterior Palnet came out of nowhere to lay down the gauntlet in how to immediately make a lasting impression. Dense, yet never punishing is a difficult task to accomplish, but here we are. Funky and even fun at times, Haragma II (but I haven’t even seen the first Haragma) is a hectic experience with constant barrages of atonal riffs and pummeling blasts, but it also isn’t afraid to slow things down a little and add some time signature-warping arrangements too. The musical hooks worm their way into you and before you realize it, you are already under this release’s spell.
7. Heteropsy – Embalming
Caligari Records
Japanese death/doom—do I even have to state anything more? Well, if I must continue then how about adding some Gothenburg-style riffs with heavy HM-2 distortion? If that still isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, then how about some of the sickest guitar solos you have heard this year thrown on top? If any aspect of what I just stated intrigues you in the slightest, then the debut effort from Heteropsy is a must. There isn’t anything prevailing within Embalming that is necessarily ground-breaking or moving death metal into new and exciting frontiers, but when every aspect is executed with the precision and skill shown here, then just sit back and experience the most solid start to finish death metal release of 2025. Also, how could you not be intrigued at least slightly by that killer artwork?
6. Sleep Paralysis – S/T
I, Voidhanger Records | Review
Weird, schizophrenic, unsettling, and…whimsical? This is my best attempt at briefly describing what awaits listeners within the debut album by one-man black metal project Sleep Paralysis. Do you enjoy the feeling of falling in a dream? Where no matter how long you descend, you can never reach a solid, safe patch of earth? Then do I have an album for you as here is a genre-stretching piece of avant-garde black metal that incorporates heavily the influences of jazz and electronic chip-tune as well. This is very likely a love it or hate it kind of release, but with the ever-growing staleness that is trve black metal, here we see experimentation driving forward that which seems hellbent on remaining stagnant. Sleep Paralysis likely has my single favorite piece of album art from this entire year as well, throwing a cherry on top of this already delicious, horrid sundae of strange black metal.
5. Proscription – Desolate Divine
Dark Descent Records
If I were to attempt to describe the sophomore release by Finnish blackened death metal outfit Proscription, I would only need two words: impossibly heavy. Now, there are many, many bands that shoot for making their sound the heaviest or the most brutal, but more often than not, it comes from lame production choices that make everything incredibly loud and inorganic sounding. Clicky drums and altered guitar sounds make everything perfect, like a machine made everything and the sound levels are maxed out on everything. This leads to boring and sterile music in defiance of said heavy claims made by the bands and their labels. But with Desolate Divine, we are privy to what true heaviness entails: slithering guitar lines that cut through the mix, unrelenting yet nuanced drum performance, and an almost physically perceptible film of musk and bleakness. One of the years most punishing listens, but it is the song-craft and beautifully bleak ideas that made this one a must for repeat listens.
4. Gloombound – Dreaming Delusion
Independent | Doom Article
Funeral doom for those that hate funeral doom! OK, that may not be the best descriptor, but it likely isn’t untrue. What I mean is that the young guns behind this Norwegian group have crafted funeral doom that doesn’t require endless patience and isn’t bloated—a truly difficult task given the parameters of the subgenre. Only one track eclipses the 10-minute mark and each individual song contains an emotionality much needed to breathe life into the heavy atmosphere. Ear worm riffs are a tricky beast, especially when said riffs are played at such a slow tempo, but there have been entire days where one crawled its way into my brain and never ceased to be recognized. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel like the future of death/doom, particularly of the funeral type, is in safe hands in young and uprising projects such as Gloombound. A truly satisfying listening experience for those wishing to crawl through misery rather than bask in positivity (gross). [Live, Laugh,
Luminary Dissolution -Roldy]
3. Qrixkuor – The Womb of the World
Dark Descent Records/ Invictus Productions | Review
From underground darling to apex predators. Bombastic and crushing; haunting yet stimulating. The Womb of the World is the accumulation of ideas and skills that were sharpened over years of trial and experience. A truly genre-defining release where the only weakness is its release date. If it had dropped earlier in the release schedule this year, there would be a very real likelihood that this album could have risen to the singular top position. This is darkness incarnate, but not without the helpful guidance of main member S and his trailblazing into new and unexplored territory. It’s not that symphonic metal hasn’t been done before, but where Qrixkuor have taken the medium is akin to a discovery mission furthering the advancement of the artform. I feel more confident that this album, perhaps more than any other on this list, possesses the potential for longevity and lasting impact. Yeah, it really is that good.
2. Weeping Sores – The Convalescence Agonies
I, Voidhanger Records | Review
Death/doom, possibly more than any other sub-genre, had itself an absolutely phenomenal year. The number of amazing records that focus on the low and slow that had to be trimmed from this list is numerous and impressive in its own right. However, when all cards were laid bare, there simply could be no other choice for the top of the death/doom mountain. Doug Moore led the charge for 2025 with three impressive albums from three separate endeavors, but it was Weeping Sores that rose to the top and never faltered. What separated The Convalescence Agonies from all others in the style was simple: pain and pleasure. Pain from the deeply personal lyrics dealing with constant physical pain, as well as ever-growing mental miseries, and pleasure from the avant execution of its performances. Dark cello melodies haunt, powerful drumming continues the march, and guitars chug and whine to an introspective piece of dismal art that breaks the listener with its bleak tale. For an album so utterly devastating, it sure goes down smooth with each return.
1. Patristic – Catechesis
Willowtip Records | Disso Article
Sometimes upon listening to an album for the first time, the only emotion capable of being expressed is sadness. This is exactly what I felt for a prolonged period upon completing my first listen of Catechesis. Sadness not due to disappointment, but a profound grief that there would simply be nothing else to release this year that even has a chance to overtake it in the made-up hierarchy of end-of-year rankings. While there is always truth in stances such as “there is no such thing as a perfect album,” here I found myself questioning that sentiment. With their debut album, Patristic have laid bare all others around them in their feeble attempts with their crafting of utterly perfect dissonant black metal. Everything here works in unison to craft a soundscape capable of unveiling new little nuances in each track. The drumming performance alone here makes the listen a worthy one, but it only acts as a singular piece of a breathtaking musical achievement. Now they just need to release some merch with that stunning art.
Voided Grimace
When I became a father during the pandemic, the time I had to devote to listening to new metal releases each week decreased exponentially. As the kid has grown, I’ve been trying to reclaim my listening time and it wasn’t until this year that I’ve felt like I had enough bandwidth to keep pace with at least just the stuff that I was seeing the most chatter about online. The albums that made my list this year were a bit of a surprise to me since I usually gravitate more toward death metal and hardly any made it this time. This year I really was a sucker for melody, whether saccharine or triumphant, if it had a strong hook it was likely to hold my attention and earn repeated listens.
10. Castle Rat – The Bestiary
King Volume Records | Review | Concert (Show? Function?) Review
I’ve seen quite a bit of discourse about Castle Rat since last year’s debut garnered a lot of attention in the metal press. While Into The Realm never really clicked for me and sounded generic, The Bestiary boasts an even beefier production and an improvement to how The Rat Queen’s hypnotic vocal performance propels each song and makes them more unique. Where their debut felt like a rough concept sketch, this album presents as a finished work of art.
9. Slumbering Sun – Starmony
Independent
Slumbering Sun is one of the best-kept secrets from my hometown scene of Austin, Texas. Fans of Pallbearer would find plenty to love on Starmony. James Clarke’s vocals seem to drift in a sweet spot between the anguished wails of Layne Staley, the nasal tenor of early Mike Patton, and the classic caterwauling of Ozzy Osbourne. When paired with the chunky riffs and tragic melodies that Slumbering Sun abundantly lays down on Starmony, it’s absolutely addictive.
8. Drouth – The Teeth of Time
Eternal Warfare Records
The Teeth of Time is such a stellar follow-up to their amazing 2020 album, Excerpts From a Dread Liturgy. I luckily got to experience Drouth play this new record in full on their U.S. tour last summer and this is one that’s really meant to be digested front to back. While it’s hard to pick a favorite song on this release, I’m currently leaning toward the closing “Exult, Ye Flagellant.”
7. Evoken – Mendacium
Profound Lore Records | Review
My list this year is certainly less death-centric than previous years but Mendacium just had to make it on here. I fell in love with this album the first time it wrapped me in its cold, funereal atmosphere. It even sometimes sounds like Type O Negative played at half speed.
6. An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City
Willowtip Records
This is another album that I checked out on a whim after seeing a lot of positive chatter about it on Bluesky. An Abstract Illusion are doing prog metal right in 2025; we’re not talking about the polyrhythmic ear gauge djent variety that your coworker listens to (hi, Kyle). Listening to this for me was more like the first time I heard Opeth back in the late ’90s.
5. Paradise Lost – Ascension
Nuclear Blast Records
I’m a longtime Paradise Lost fanboy but even I’ll admit that I wasn’t a true believer that their new album would stack up against their best work until I finally heard Ascension. 2020’s Obsidian and 2023’s HOST side project had me a little concerned that their creative juices might be starting to dry up but Ascension is an almost heroic return to form for the band.
4. Yellow Eyes – Confusion Gate
Sibir Records
This one would have flown past my radar just as every other Yellow Eyes release but I saw someone on Bluesky singing its praises and felt compelled to check it out. Atmospheric black metal isn’t usually my thing but this album really struck a nerve in me and demands repeated listens.
3. Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin
Magnetic Eye Records | Review
Before I reviewed this album back in October I had never heard Howling Giant. While spinning it front to back multiple times during writing my review, I fell in love with the band and continued digging through their discography. This is such a well-executed and fun record that I’ll still be spinning well into 2026.
2. Messa – The Spin
Metal Blade Records
If it weren’t for Coroner’s triumphant return this year, Messa’s The Spin would easily top my list. Few records have stuck with me this year and begged for repeat listens the way this one has. “At Races” is my favorite song of 2025 and a perfect encapsulation of the spirit of The Spin. With the power of Metal Blade now behind them, I think we’ll be hearing a lot more Messa for years to come.
1. Coroner – Dissonance Theory
Century Media Records
It’s no surprise that this will show up in a high spot on several lists this year. It’s the first Coroner album in 32 years and it’s fucking incredible. There’s been a trend of long-creatively dormant thrash bands coming back to release disappointing new records but Coroner is showing us how to break a decades’ long silence. On Dissonance Theory, they do what they do best but tighter, heavier, and with no filler whatsoever.
