Search
1000 results for “0_amaya”
-
CW: 18+ NSFW Sexual Content
18+ NSFW Sexual Content
@sasasasasasa
#Sasa #Stef #StefsPicks #MilaAzul #HerLimit #MilaAmour #JaclynSwedberg #AngelaWhite #ViktoriiaAliko #LilyChey #NSFW -
CW: NSFW 18+
-
Dolphin Whisperer’s and Ferox’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023
By Dolphin Whisperer
Dolphin Whisperer
I don’t remember anymore exactly when or how I stumbled upon Angry Metal Guy, but I know that I’ve been reading the site for fourteen years now. In that time I’ve gone from barely a student to a working professional who routinely feels the drain of a society sinking around him. But it’s ok because along the way I managed to find a partner who loves me for all my flaws and quirks (or at least that’s what she tells me).1 She wasn’t always there, though, nor was the comfort that we’ve built into our life. When she wasn’t there, and when human company could not provide for whatever reason, both Angry Metal Guy and the music world at large always existed to evolve around me and shine a path to work that saw where I was and reflected my pain. Or my happiness. Or the existential dread of another day. Or just comforted me with a warm bowl of guitar noodles with a side of riff salad.
You may not have seen my words pop around much over that time, but rest assured, I was there like all of you now, reading as AMG the Man validated my feelings or presented admiration for an idol I don’t worship or killed my darlings with questionable opinions. I was there when Steel was the new Ape on the block. I developed a taste for the cast who I agreed with most and scanned with ravenous eyes for the next 0.5 or 1.0 to watch a train wreck meet a car crash. I watched this community who knew nothing of me stand up for important and meaningful things all while staying steadfast to the goal of simply reviewing metal in all its glory.2 Then one day I decided to join the Discord group that had been advertising itself at the bottom of every article for I don’t know how long before I noticed. And in that feverish chatterbox of swirling opinions, I realized that this community meant so much to me that I wanted to give it a go behind the curtains.
I made friends—friends surrounding music whether I agree with them or not. That’s what it means to love music in my mind. Hate and love both ignite passion, and passion is what squirms the happy juice in our brains. I’m sure you, dear reader, will have thoughts about the below choices. And know that you are more than welcome to voice them in any way you see fit. Go ahead, recommend me something while you’re at it. If you do agree with these opinions, also know, then that you can click through to any of the associated reviews, Bandcamp pages, label links—any way that you can reward the artist with your hard-earned currency, if you’re able. Because remember, it’s people like you and me (nerds) who keep this silly business of music alive. Did you know you can click those links? On my reviews, on my buddy Ferox‘s reviews. Even on reviews that you don’t agree with! So read something, click something, support something, tell a friend, tell a partner… or just take whatever knowledge you gain and listen to some good music. If you continue reading, you will encounter my recommendations to fill that void of good music in your life. Above (or below, whatever the Editing Gods decide) Ferox has some recommendations for you too. Know that these two sets are the best recommendations you will receive this year. Live loudly, listen responsibly.3
#ish. Anareta // Fear Not – In a year with less to love, Fear Not could have placed higher, but the riches across different facets of my listening pleasures spilled forth in almost every possible way. Alas, this unique act couldn’t have come further out of left field when promos began to trickle in for 2023, and Anareta’s delicate precision with weeping string melodies against their brutish incisions of blood-curdling shrieks struck the tucked-away Grayceon bone in my body. Alongside up-and-coming act Exulansis out of Oregon, there’s a promising wave of chamber-informed bands growing in the wilds of niche-loving minds. As they say, it only takes two to tango…though “Omnicide” feels a little more like a foxtrot, right?
#10. Tongues // Formløse Stjerner – That I managed to cobble together words that described the mysterious air that surrounds this album baffles me. Countless listens later, I still get lost in the swaying vibrations of the tricky whammy-addled leads and layers of reverb decaying over a vast landscape. And even though all these forward choices usually spell a path down the intangible and incoherent, a lurking melody and grounded rhythmic performance seals the hypnotism that would feel just out of reach with a lesser performance. Your mind knows that each tone source here found its way to the recording behind closed doors, but the energy that emits throughout Formløse Stjerner casts like a sonic beacon through the dreariest of nights on the open, foggy sea.
#9. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – The kids are gone!!! I wasn’t particularly a fan of their previous release so that Miracle of Death hooked me was a small miracle all in itself. I’m no stranger to enjoying shoegaze-y things, psych-rock-laden things, sinfully synthful things—the airy 60s era croons and shimmering Hammond shudders throughout this give me all kinds of shoulder-relaxing, neck-tingling goodies. You think that’d remind me of someone like The Mamas & the Papas, but my mind drifts toward the episodic, warble-clipped daze of the Cunninglynguists classic Oneirology. Funny how the mind works, innit? Regardless, the sheer beauty of sound on display throughout Miracle of Death is impossible for my sugar-starved brain to ignore. Vibe with me.
#8. Slumbering Sun // The Ever-Lasting Fire – I know the Rodeö entries provide a healthy serving of less-than-desirable releases, but if you’re skipping them entirely then maybe you missed Slumbering Sun when they dropped their debut LP, The Ever-Lasting Fire way back in February. You see, one of the reasons I’ve helped fuel the Rodeö is that bands like Slumbering Sun still exist out there, under the radar, largely unpromoted, with gem ideas. Leaning on the modern sadperson melodic doom angle pioneered by an early Pallbearer, this Texas troupe delivered a longing yet hopeful collection of tunes that never fails to stir the slow burn of teary-eyed smiles in my heart. If Patrick Walker (Warning) were younger when he found peace, perhaps 40 Watt Sun would have gone this direction.
#7. Jarhead Fertilizer // Carceral Warfare – I didn’t even think I was getting a Jarhead release this year, but the death metal overlords decided that 2023 hadn’t quite graced me yet with this extremely specific kind of deranged, violent, feral death metal that I crave. Samples and segues function like dim lights in a dive bar, masking the filth strewn about while the seedy world around you builds its slow assault on your senses. Carceral Warfare stinks, its riffs carved in cracked and corroded skin. There’s nothing acute about injuries that Jarhead seeks to afflict—the wounds Carceral Warfare doles out aim to fester and brim black with incurable disease.
#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I never expected my favorite power metal album of the year to be a grindcore album. Gridlink’s take on the punk specialty has always been a bit different though. Always fast, always pushing the treble ceiling, and always leading with melodies that don’t quit, Coronet Juniper highlights all the strengths that this outfit has always promised. As their last album, it functions as a tribute to themselves—their collective passions executed at ridiculous speeds and unadvisable levels of throat punishment. It may not be as groundbreaking as what came before it, but when you’re ten steps ahead of the pack, you can settle to simply show ’em how it’s done. And I got to use Gundam clips in the review. Win-Win.
#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – The formatting will get all weird if I only scream WOOOOOOOOOOOORMMMMMMMMM-HOOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEE like I want to, so here’s more. Ken and I don’t often end up hole-to-hole on an album, but when we do, you better bet that it’s great. When all that was out for Almost Human was the singles, I repeatedly binged those first two tracks as if they were a whole album to themselves. And that’s the magic of this bright and horrifying slamfest. It’s shiny, it’s punishing, and, most importantly, it’s relentless in worming its way into my gaping sound receptors.
#4. Anachronism // Meanders – I’ve been listening to this all damn year at this point. I was late to the Anachronism party with Orogeny, but not so with Meanders. Its uncanny ease in mood and brevity in run hold an important home in contrast to its finger-testing technicality and unparalleled rhythmic brutality. A natural but still unexpected successor to the post-tinged, brooding brutality that showed itself in flashes, Meanders rains textural and colorful in ways that other death metal simply doesn’t—all while still staying death metal. Oh, and Lisa Voisard has a piercing shriek to go with her scruffy bellow. Who would’ve guessed?
#3. healthyliving // Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief – I knew how much I loved this album before I realized it. When it dropped, I told all the writers, “I think I have my first TYMHM y’all.” But then I went and filtered it, which is no dishonor but doesn’t quite capture the intensity of what healthyliving has to offer on this debut outing. Building tension through an eclectic array of jangling chords and understated rhythms, the supporting cast sets the perfect stage for vocalist Amaya Lopez-Carramerro to absolutely shred with fearless virtuosic wail. Or she’ll sit back and set a slow burn with a restrained and emotive croon. Can I call her my favorite vocalist in metal right now? Is this even metal? Maybe. But I couldn’t care less. It’s damn good.
#2. KEN mode // VOID – NULL ended up on my top ten last year, and with the consistency that these angry Canadians provide, enjoying VOID came naturally, disarmingly so. What I didn’t expect, however, was that this act known for being noisy and rambunctious and pulverizing would be able to dial back the melancholy of previous works with an additional varnish of lived-in depression. A partner to what came before it, VOID captures the last spat of mania before an extended comedown and the dragging sorrow that follows. And yet somehow, though it hurts almost every step of the way, I feel just a little bit lighter after every listen. Get over yourself and listen if you haven’t bothered yet, if only for the buzzing synths and buttery, booming bass tones.
#1. Vvon Dogma I // The Kvlt of Glitch – You, the commentariat, had plenty to say about this album when it dropped. “I tried… No thanks.” — “I’m voting Dolphin Whisperer off the island. This is crap.” — “What the actual fuck?” All choice examples. Some of you also decided to write this off because of the AI-base of the cover art despite the artists involved self-funding this whole exploration and fully crediting the digital assistance. Your asceticism will go unrewarded. This is a humble reminder that you, the commentariat, do not influence my complete and utter enjoyment of this mad pairing of cyberpunk industrial, fanned-fret progressive, angelic electronic piece of edge-skirting metal. The spirit of adventure that graces every phrase throughout the Kvlt of Glitch stimulates the thrill-seeker, the floating spirit, the head-banging hooligan in me all at once, while lathering me with a fresh sense of dread for a technology-warped future. Maybe you never liked Genghis Tron before they disbanded after Board Up the House. Maybe you never liked Unexpect when they graced us with album after album of shrill and unfathomably progressive fantasy. Maybe you’ve got a shallow throat for multi-layered, programmed voices that fizzle the ears with rich harmony. But The Kvlt of Glitch is willing to welcome you whenever you choose to accept its power. I am God now!4
Honorable Mentions:
- World’s End Girlfriend // Resistance & The Blessing – WEG possesses the esoteric ability to manipulate time with beauty. Resistance & The Blessing continues to unravel itself before me as I tackle it as a whole, in chunks, in the narratives it allows you to build with each of its whispered ideas. Sadness, happiness, anger, frustration, longing, acceptance—this monumental offering has it all. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s a lot to take in. But I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t love it.
- Angra // Cycles of Pain – What can I say, I love Angra. The Lione era is developing a thing for long albums, but at least it’s all good.
- Autarkh // Emergent – An album that loops with glitchy industrial and ethereal post-metal as well as this one does is dangerous. You could do a lot worse than hearing this three times in a row though.
- Aphotic // Abyssgazer – Blackened deathdoom? Funeral-tinged ritualistic black metal? Whatever you want to call this, there’s an alternate timeline where it’s on the list proper. It just goes.
- Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Progressive death metal ear candy. I could probably listen to this album all damn day if the last song didn’t dampen the mood a little.
- Pupil Slicer // Blossom – Metalcore with nu-metal tropes shouldn’t be as fun as this or the new Mouthbreather album, but those industrial grooves keep on giving. Start the album with the title track for an even better listen.
- Ok Goodnight // The Fox and the Bird – I take some issue with the proggy detours in this album, but its storybook charm holds more endearing than all of that.
- Maud the Moth + trajedesaliva // Bordando el manto terrestre – Chill-out album of the year. Meditate, read, relax… or just listen to the sultry whispers with your eyes closed. They tickle.
Disappointments o’ the Year:
Soen // Imperial Memorial – Let me level with you, Lotus is a fantastic album and the pinnacle of a career for Soen, a band that has grown further away from the flourishes that make their music interesting. Lush production? Humming Hammond overlays? Joel Ekelöf spreading sweet nothings over the course of an urgent and chunky build? Who needs any of that when you can write worse choruses over the same riff and people continue to latch onto it. Soen almost remembers their strengths (“Fortress,”5 “Tragedian,” “Vitals”), and it is admirable that Ekelöf tries to stretch his wings as a grittier vocalist while maintaining his Eurovision aspirations. But with a direction that’s even less dynamic than the uncharacteristically narrow master that Memorial shows, I’ve got little to reason believe that this is a direction that Soen should continue. Not good. Not good at all.
Einar Solberg // 16 – After Aphelion wiped away the hope I had left for Leprous, I looked to this solo outing from Mr. Solberg as a chance for him to find a way back to a good tune. It seems that it did help him reclaim a somber and less ahhAAAahhAAAaahaah character to his voice, and drummer Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco, notable Leprous-like act) really helps a few bright moments shine (“Remember Me,” “Blue Light”). However, Solberg did not have to take his play at Jamiroquai (“Home”) nor include a guest rapper (also “Home”) nor include his sister (for what effect on “Where All the Twigs Broke”) nor include his brother-in-law for a growled guest spot on a trip-hoppy track (that’s Ihsahn on “Splitting the Soul”) nor give us seventy minutes of whatever you want to wrap this up as. Sadboi art pop perhaps? Skippable in any case.
Best Thing I Missed in 2022:
Polterguts // Gods Over Broken People – I haven’t heard an album this seriously fucking pissed off since Admiral Angry’s Buster, but the level of frustration here rings just a touch less sexual and frustrated—it’s defeated. The malaise that Gods captures renders itself in lyrics that spout from a voice fed on apathy and gravel: “I used to pray for my friends/I used to hurt when they hurt/I used to love without expecting any love in return” (“Skullbowl”), “I like it here at the bottom where they know me by name/I used to think I wanted out, but now I’m begging to stay” (“Buckle the Spine”), “I’m not strong enough to hold it together, but It breaks my heart to watch you struggle for air/I’m sorry I couldn’t get both of us out, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t there” (“Injury”). As harrowing as that is to read, it’s even more brutal to hear. And I suspect for those stuck in the same kind of recursive, small-town Midwest drain from which this attitude grows, this would hit even harder. One part Meshuggah, one part Chat Pile, and another part its own punished deathcore, Polterguts holds in one hand my aching heart and in another its own, stained and hollow.
Songs o’ the Year:
Why give you one when I can give you twenty-seven? Why twenty-seven? That’s my secret. Now, I’ve talked enough, go out there and enjoy some music, friends. And enjoy this photo of my dogs.
Kiwi (top) and Coconut (bottom).
Ferox
I got my own big boy list! AMG Industries: where doing an adequate job on the free work you’ve been assigned leads to opportunities for more free work. I wouldn’t have it any other way–I love this place, even if the prospect of making this list fills me with anxiety and imposter syndrome. I am generally not given to best-of lists, or year-end reflection. But we’ve got a fake job to do, so let’s get stuck in!
2023 was a weird one. It began with a case of long-ish Covid that saw me coughing uncontrollably every time I laughed, segued into a writer’s strike that shut down my industry for six months, and ended with a faint and collision between the Ferox noggin and a concrete floor. That last one put me in bed recovering for the better part of a month and seriously fucked with my workout goals. Despite all this, it was an incredible year! My family flourished, I snuck a couple of projects into production at my day job, and I had a blast writing here as much as I could. The only complaint I could possibly muster is that it’s all flying past way too quickly.
As for AMG… this is that rare place that improves the lives of all who touch it (Rodeö bands excepted). It did that for me when I lurked as a reader, and it continues to do so now that I cling to a staff position. How does a place this positive place exist? On the internet?! I’m grateful to Steel for providing real leadership at my fake job, to my fellow members of the AMG Class of ’21 for being good eggs and excellent writers, and to everyone I’ve met through a gig that makes life richer and more fun. Maybe the real 2023 was the bollocks we talked along the way.
#ish. Spirit Possession // Of the Sign… – Do you guys like Nifelheim? I sure as heckfire do, and this album that captures some of their defiant spirit stole my heart in the waning moments of 2023. The reprobates of Nifelheim aren’t the only point of departure here. Portland’s Spirit Possession is a borderline tribcore act that aims to capture the feel of an era more than the work of one particular band. Here you’ll find echoes of Bathory, Hellhammer, and Venom. Sometimes a project like this works so well that the music transcends the lack of originality baked into these sorts of things. Of the Sign… is one such album; it may well have landed in my top ten if I had had more time with it before Listurnalia.
#10. Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Horrendous, already on a very short list of the best metal bands so far this century, bolsters their legacy with the concise and intoxicating Ontological Mysterium. The quartet has carved out a take on progressive death metal that is entirely their own, one that is melodic, wonky, and sweeping all at once. They’ve never been more engaging than they are on Ontological Mysterium. The album wends its way through nine tracks in less than forty minutes–Ontological Mysterium defies its run time by taking you on a journey that feels epic, but releases you before fatigue sets in. Only closer “The Death Knell Ringeth,” an inexplicable dud that can scarcely walk and chew gum at the same time, keeps Ontological Mysterium from ascending to loftier heights.
#9. Wormhole // Almost Human – Wormhole’s take on brutal death metal is at once savage but cheerful, and stöopid without being remotely dumb. I am fully on board with any band that uses the low art of the slample to describe their own sound, as Wormhole does with a sunny interjection of “Tech Slam!” on the title track of their latest. The AMG staff would have you believe that it’s necessary to choose between Wormhole and Afterbirth, the band’s peer in innovative and excellent brutal death metal. That is nonsense; appreciate the Slam-aissance in all its glory, as these two remarkable outfits elevate one of metal’s least-loved subgenres to new heights.
#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – Sodomisery makes life hard on themselves with an atrocious name that is way too persnickety about the respectable pursuit of sodomy. Some folks just need to play the game on difficult mode, I guess. If the hideous moniker is what it takes to spur Sodomisery to this kind of work, then the outfit should keep indulging themselves. Mazzaroth is an endlessly replayable slab of genre-bending excellence. Symphonic flourishes and well-placed clean vocals accent the band’s hybrid of black metal, death metal, and melodeath. Mazzaroth is big fun, an album that effortlessly synthesizes a cornucopia of influences into something that feels both classic and new.
#7. Xoth // Exogalactic – A late-in-the-game remaster unleashed the power of a fully operational Exogalactic. The album finds the pan-genre madlads of Xoth playing in the margins, expanding their sound here and there while defending their Party Lovecraft turf. Across eight engaging tracks, the excellent songwriting of Exogalactic is augmented by audacious technical what-the-fuck-ery. The album’s forty minutes fly past, and while Xoth’s sound might not be the revelation it was on Invasion of the Tentacube and Interdimensional Invocations, this Seattle quartet remains very much on top of their game. Play a song, any song, and joy will invade your earholes. That’s the Xoth promise, and Exogalactic delivers.
#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I could go on about the pleasures of Coronet Juniper, but chances are Dolphin Whisperer already has you cornered and is doing just that. My list buddy extolled the virtues of this grind funhouse to the point where I finally just pretended he was saying “BREEEEEEEEEEEEE” and tuned him out. Then I played the album a month or so later in the gym, and Gridlink rocketed me to a dimension of pure fun. Coronet Juniper is a grind joyride, so confident in its songwriting that the band includes a run of instrumental “karaoke versions” at the end of the album that is every bit as playable as the so-called official tracklist.
#5. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – Outer Heaven understands both the virtues and the confines of old-school death metal. Infinite Psychic Depths gives the subgenre a glow-up by taking us on a tour of everything that still works, while adding a few new wrinkles. The album never plays as mere pastiche; like some kind of Quentin Tarantino of death metal, Outer Heaven refreshes old tropes by building something new from a pile of familiar elements. I haven’t dug much into the high concept that underlies Infinite Psychic Depths, but that’s because I don’t need to. The music stands on its own. Already a highlight of 2023, Infinite Psychic Depths feels like one that could grow in esteem with time. It could well be underrated in my fifth slot.
#4. Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – Here’s one that roared out of the gate back in January and absolutely refused to cede any ground. The Weight of Remembrance runs classic doom through both an orchestral and a death metal filter. The various genre flourishes enhance the strong songwriting–“Of Creeping Moss and Crumbling Stone” is so incredible that it became a workout staple despite its plodding pace, and nearly earned a spot on this year’s Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. The highlights don’t stop there. They don’t stop until The Weight of Remembrance has run its course. The Debut o’ The Year also happens to be one of the very best albums of 2023.
#3. Warcrab // The Howling Silence – Warcrab boasts fighting spirit, sharp claws, and a crustacean shell that’s fitted for turret combat. They’re obviously game for a scrap, but–as Cherd pointed out in his review–the band doesn’t have much competition in their death-sludge niche. A relief, then, that Warcrab is anything but complacent on The Howling Silence. These seven tracks roar past, the stifling atmosphere pierced on occasion by icepick solos that showcase the Guitar Tone o’ The Year. This one was a grower for me. The Howling Silence initially did little to distinguish itself from previous slab Damned in Endless Night. But my lizard brain heard layers that my ears weren’t processing, and the album kept earning spins. Layers of excellence kept revealing themselves, and before I knew it this piece of heavy artillery blasted its way to the upper echelons of my list.
#2. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – This rollicking slab of tech death earned a 4.0 from me back in early February, and I do believe I sold these Swedes short by half a point. Visions of Infinihility was a mainstay of my 2023. The album remained close at hand throughout both a long strike and a stretch of vertigo-induced bedrest. If I’m not tired of it yet, I probably never will be. And what’s not to like here? Every one of the nine tracks on Visions of Infinihility stands up to heavy listening. The site’s top writer summed it up most precisely: “It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing four thousand dollar headphones or a bullet belt–Visions of Infinihility should appeal to wonks, diehards, and metalheads all across the spectrum.”
#1. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – Long Island’s Afterbirth crams an abundance of riches into a brutal death metal album that twists and transmutes as it goes. The first half of In But Not Of stays planted in the brutal death genre that Afterbirth had a hand in creating. The second departs for distant parsecs, fusing elements of post-metal, alt-rock, and even ambient music onto death metal songs. The experiments work seamlessly, and I continue to find surprises almost every time I revisit In But Not Of. “Devils With Dead Eyes,” “Autoerotic Amputation,” “In But Not Of,” and “Angels Feast on Flies” are the standout tracks–any one of the four could credibly lay claim to Song o’ The Year. Colin Marston’s production showcases and elevates the material. My favorite critic said it best: “This is music to concuss you and then heal your battered brain… [In But Of] is an album to savor and return to again and again, a companion piece to Four Dimensional Flesh that manages to equal if not surpass its predecessor.” Also: revel in that gorgeous album art by Alex Eckman-Lawn, a sci-fi Frankenstein’s monster that perfectly encapsulates the record. My top score of 2023 is an easy choice for Ferox‘s Album o’ The Year.
Honorable Mentions
- Autopsy // Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts– Ashes, Organs, Blood, and Crypts plays like Autopsy’s Basement Tapes, a collection of feral death metal songs that also somehow comes off as loose and ramshackle. It stands among the band’s best post-comeback work.
- Gorod // The Orb – The French masters of tech death hold serve with the predictably excellent The Orb.
- Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – I came up with the genre tag “funereal doom” to describe Convocation’s latest to myself. The band accesses the majesty of funeral doom without the tedious repetition. It’s a potent approach that’s been honed to near-perfection on No Dawn for the Caliginous Night.
- Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – The Toronto outfit pulled off a tricky shift, surprising fans of their inventive take on old-school death with this proggy slab. I sure wouldn’t have minded another Planetary Clairvoyance, but I wound up thrilled by this new direction.
- Serpent Corpse // Blood Sabbath – 2023 delivered an abundance of old-school death delights, but Montreal’s Serpent Corpse move to the head of the class with debut Blood Sabbath.
- Fabricant // Drudge to the Thicket – A trio of virtuoso musicians keep their debut album juuust barely on the “death metal” side of the prog-death divide. Drudge to the Thicket is a load of unpredictable fun from an immensely promising outfit.
- Omnicidal // The Omnicidalist – Omnicidal takes a huge leap forward with a sophomore album that injects hints of melodeath and black thrash into an already nasty cocktail. In spite of Gardenstale‘s rave, this excellent effort seemed to get lost in the 2023 shuffle. I kept it spinning all year.
- Gravesend // Gowanus Death Stomp – This second offering of urban nightmare deathgrind from Gravesend improves on Methods of Human Disposal. An album that conjures genuinely unsettling images and one that will leave its boot marks all over your body,
- Dripping Decay // Festering Grotesqueries— Another exceptional death metal debut, Festering Grotesqueries inspired an epic run of putrid imagery in Steel‘s review. These Portland knuckle-draggers are worthy of all the filthy poetry the Apeman can muster.
Song o’ the Year: Afterbirth – “In But Not Of”
Disappointment o’ the Year
- Immortal // War Against All – After the improbably incredible Northern Chaos Gods, I was PUMPED for Immortal’s Second Coming of Demonaz Era. Cue the record scratch, because the follow-up is generic and pretty much just sucks through and through.
#2023 #Afterbirth #Anachronism #Anareta #Angra #Aphotic #Autarkh #Autopsy #BlogPost #Carnosus #Convocation #DolphinWhispererSAndFeroxSTopTenIshOf2023 #DrippingDecay #EinarSolberg #Fabricant #Gorod #Gravesend #Gridlink #healthyliving #Horrendous #Immortal #JarheadFertilizer #KENMode #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMothTrajedesaliva #OkGoodnight #Omnicidal #OuterHeaven #Polterguts #PupilSlicer #SerpentCorpse #SlumberingSun #Sodomisery #Soen #SpiritPossession #TombMold #Tongues #Tribunal #VanishingKids #VvonDogmaI #Warcrab #WorldSEndGirlfriend #Wormhole #Xoth
-
Dolphin Whisperer’s and Ferox’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023
By Dolphin Whisperer
Dolphin Whisperer
I don’t remember anymore exactly when or how I stumbled upon Angry Metal Guy, but I know that I’ve been reading the site for fourteen years now. In that time I’ve gone from barely a student to a working professional who routinely feels the drain of a society sinking around him. But it’s ok because along the way I managed to find a partner who loves me for all my flaws and quirks (or at least that’s what she tells me).1 She wasn’t always there, though, nor was the comfort that we’ve built into our life. When she wasn’t there, and when human company could not provide for whatever reason, both Angry Metal Guy and the music world at large always existed to evolve around me and shine a path to work that saw where I was and reflected my pain. Or my happiness. Or the existential dread of another day. Or just comforted me with a warm bowl of guitar noodles with a side of riff salad.
You may not have seen my words pop around much over that time, but rest assured, I was there like all of you now, reading as AMG the Man validated my feelings or presented admiration for an idol I don’t worship or killed my darlings with questionable opinions. I was there when Steel was the new Ape on the block. I developed a taste for the cast who I agreed with most and scanned with ravenous eyes for the next 0.5 or 1.0 to watch a train wreck meet a car crash. I watched this community who knew nothing of me stand up for important and meaningful things all while staying steadfast to the goal of simply reviewing metal in all its glory.2 Then one day I decided to join the Discord group that had been advertising itself at the bottom of every article for I don’t know how long before I noticed. And in that feverish chatterbox of swirling opinions, I realized that this community meant so much to me that I wanted to give it a go behind the curtains.
I made friends—friends surrounding music whether I agree with them or not. That’s what it means to love music in my mind. Hate and love both ignite passion, and passion is what squirms the happy juice in our brains. I’m sure you, dear reader, will have thoughts about the below choices. And know that you are more than welcome to voice them in any way you see fit. Go ahead, recommend me something while you’re at it. If you do agree with these opinions, also know, then that you can click through to any of the associated reviews, Bandcamp pages, label links—any way that you can reward the artist with your hard-earned currency, if you’re able. Because remember, it’s people like you and me (nerds) who keep this silly business of music alive. Did you know you can click those links? On my reviews, on my buddy Ferox‘s reviews. Even on reviews that you don’t agree with! So read something, click something, support something, tell a friend, tell a partner… or just take whatever knowledge you gain and listen to some good music. If you continue reading, you will encounter my recommendations to fill that void of good music in your life. Above (or below, whatever the Editing Gods decide) Ferox has some recommendations for you too. Know that these two sets are the best recommendations you will receive this year. Live loudly, listen responsibly.3
#ish. Anareta // Fear Not – In a year with less to love, Fear Not could have placed higher, but the riches across different facets of my listening pleasures spilled forth in almost every possible way. Alas, this unique act couldn’t have come further out of left field when promos began to trickle in for 2023, and Anareta’s delicate precision with weeping string melodies against their brutish incisions of blood-curdling shrieks struck the tucked-away Grayceon bone in my body. Alongside up-and-coming act Exulansis out of Oregon, there’s a promising wave of chamber-informed bands growing in the wilds of niche-loving minds. As they say, it only takes two to tango…though “Omnicide” feels a little more like a foxtrot, right?
#10. Tongues // Formløse Stjerner – That I managed to cobble together words that described the mysterious air that surrounds this album baffles me. Countless listens later, I still get lost in the swaying vibrations of the tricky whammy-addled leads and layers of reverb decaying over a vast landscape. And even though all these forward choices usually spell a path down the intangible and incoherent, a lurking melody and grounded rhythmic performance seals the hypnotism that would feel just out of reach with a lesser performance. Your mind knows that each tone source here found its way to the recording behind closed doors, but the energy that emits throughout Formløse Stjerner casts like a sonic beacon through the dreariest of nights on the open, foggy sea.
#9. Vanishing Kids // Miracle of Death – The kids are gone!!! I wasn’t particularly a fan of their previous release so that Miracle of Death hooked me was a small miracle all in itself. I’m no stranger to enjoying shoegaze-y things, psych-rock-laden things, sinfully synthful things—the airy 60s era croons and shimmering Hammond shudders throughout this give me all kinds of shoulder-relaxing, neck-tingling goodies. You think that’d remind me of someone like The Mamas & the Papas, but my mind drifts toward the episodic, warble-clipped daze of the Cunninglynguists classic Oneirology. Funny how the mind works, innit? Regardless, the sheer beauty of sound on display throughout Miracle of Death is impossible for my sugar-starved brain to ignore. Vibe with me.
#8. Slumbering Sun // The Ever-Lasting Fire – I know the Rodeö entries provide a healthy serving of less-than-desirable releases, but if you’re skipping them entirely then maybe you missed Slumbering Sun when they dropped their debut LP, The Ever-Lasting Fire way back in February. You see, one of the reasons I’ve helped fuel the Rodeö is that bands like Slumbering Sun still exist out there, under the radar, largely unpromoted, with gem ideas. Leaning on the modern sadperson melodic doom angle pioneered by an early Pallbearer, this Texas troupe delivered a longing yet hopeful collection of tunes that never fails to stir the slow burn of teary-eyed smiles in my heart. If Patrick Walker (Warning) were younger when he found peace, perhaps 40 Watt Sun would have gone this direction.
#7. Jarhead Fertilizer // Carceral Warfare – I didn’t even think I was getting a Jarhead release this year, but the death metal overlords decided that 2023 hadn’t quite graced me yet with this extremely specific kind of deranged, violent, feral death metal that I crave. Samples and segues function like dim lights in a dive bar, masking the filth strewn about while the seedy world around you builds its slow assault on your senses. Carceral Warfare stinks, its riffs carved in cracked and corroded skin. There’s nothing acute about injuries that Jarhead seeks to afflict—the wounds Carceral Warfare doles out aim to fester and brim black with incurable disease.
#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I never expected my favorite power metal album of the year to be a grindcore album. Gridlink’s take on the punk specialty has always been a bit different though. Always fast, always pushing the treble ceiling, and always leading with melodies that don’t quit, Coronet Juniper highlights all the strengths that this outfit has always promised. As their last album, it functions as a tribute to themselves—their collective passions executed at ridiculous speeds and unadvisable levels of throat punishment. It may not be as groundbreaking as what came before it, but when you’re ten steps ahead of the pack, you can settle to simply show ’em how it’s done. And I got to use Gundam clips in the review. Win-Win.
#5. Wormhole // Almost Human – The formatting will get all weird if I only scream WOOOOOOOOOOOORMMMMMMMMM-HOOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEE like I want to, so here’s more. Ken and I don’t often end up hole-to-hole on an album, but when we do, you better bet that it’s great. When all that was out for Almost Human was the singles, I repeatedly binged those first two tracks as if they were a whole album to themselves. And that’s the magic of this bright and horrifying slamfest. It’s shiny, it’s punishing, and, most importantly, it’s relentless in worming its way into my gaping sound receptors.
#4. Anachronism // Meanders – I’ve been listening to this all damn year at this point. I was late to the Anachronism party with Orogeny, but not so with Meanders. Its uncanny ease in mood and brevity in run hold an important home in contrast to its finger-testing technicality and unparalleled rhythmic brutality. A natural but still unexpected successor to the post-tinged, brooding brutality that showed itself in flashes, Meanders rains textural and colorful in ways that other death metal simply doesn’t—all while still staying death metal. Oh, and Lisa Voisard has a piercing shriek to go with her scruffy bellow. Who would’ve guessed?
#3. healthyliving // Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief – I knew how much I loved this album before I realized it. When it dropped, I told all the writers, “I think I have my first TYMHM y’all.” But then I went and filtered it, which is no dishonor but doesn’t quite capture the intensity of what healthyliving has to offer on this debut outing. Building tension through an eclectic array of jangling chords and understated rhythms, the supporting cast sets the perfect stage for vocalist Amaya Lopez-Carramerro to absolutely shred with fearless virtuosic wail. Or she’ll sit back and set a slow burn with a restrained and emotive croon. Can I call her my favorite vocalist in metal right now? Is this even metal? Maybe. But I couldn’t care less. It’s damn good.
#2. KEN mode // VOID – NULL ended up on my top ten last year, and with the consistency that these angry Canadians provide, enjoying VOID came naturally, disarmingly so. What I didn’t expect, however, was that this act known for being noisy and rambunctious and pulverizing would be able to dial back the melancholy of previous works with an additional varnish of lived-in depression. A partner to what came before it, VOID captures the last spat of mania before an extended comedown and the dragging sorrow that follows. And yet somehow, though it hurts almost every step of the way, I feel just a little bit lighter after every listen. Get over yourself and listen if you haven’t bothered yet, if only for the buzzing synths and buttery, booming bass tones.
#1. Vvon Dogma I // The Kvlt of Glitch – You, the commentariat, had plenty to say about this album when it dropped. “I tried… No thanks.” — “I’m voting Dolphin Whisperer off the island. This is crap.” — “What the actual fuck?” All choice examples. Some of you also decided to write this off because of the AI-base of the cover art despite the artists involved self-funding this whole exploration and fully crediting the digital assistance. Your asceticism will go unrewarded. This is a humble reminder that you, the commentariat, do not influence my complete and utter enjoyment of this mad pairing of cyberpunk industrial, fanned-fret progressive, angelic electronic piece of edge-skirting metal. The spirit of adventure that graces every phrase throughout the Kvlt of Glitch stimulates the thrill-seeker, the floating spirit, the head-banging hooligan in me all at once, while lathering me with a fresh sense of dread for a technology-warped future. Maybe you never liked Genghis Tron before they disbanded after Board Up the House. Maybe you never liked Unexpect when they graced us with album after album of shrill and unfathomably progressive fantasy. Maybe you’ve got a shallow throat for multi-layered, programmed voices that fizzle the ears with rich harmony. But The Kvlt of Glitch is willing to welcome you whenever you choose to accept its power. I am God now!4
Honorable Mentions:
- World’s End Girlfriend // Resistance & The Blessing – WEG possesses the esoteric ability to manipulate time with beauty. Resistance & The Blessing continues to unravel itself before me as I tackle it as a whole, in chunks, in the narratives it allows you to build with each of its whispered ideas. Sadness, happiness, anger, frustration, longing, acceptance—this monumental offering has it all. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s a lot to take in. But I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t love it.
- Angra // Cycles of Pain – What can I say, I love Angra. The Lione era is developing a thing for long albums, but at least it’s all good.
- Autarkh // Emergent – An album that loops with glitchy industrial and ethereal post-metal as well as this one does is dangerous. You could do a lot worse than hearing this three times in a row though.
- Aphotic // Abyssgazer – Blackened deathdoom? Funeral-tinged ritualistic black metal? Whatever you want to call this, there’s an alternate timeline where it’s on the list proper. It just goes.
- Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Progressive death metal ear candy. I could probably listen to this album all damn day if the last song didn’t dampen the mood a little.
- Pupil Slicer // Blossom – Metalcore with nu-metal tropes shouldn’t be as fun as this or the new Mouthbreather album, but those industrial grooves keep on giving. Start the album with the title track for an even better listen.
- Ok Goodnight // The Fox and the Bird – I take some issue with the proggy detours in this album, but its storybook charm holds more endearing than all of that.
- Maud the Moth + trajedesaliva // Bordando el manto terrestre – Chill-out album of the year. Meditate, read, relax… or just listen to the sultry whispers with your eyes closed. They tickle.
Disappointments o’ the Year:
Soen // Imperial Memorial – Let me level with you, Lotus is a fantastic album and the pinnacle of a career for Soen, a band that has grown further away from the flourishes that make their music interesting. Lush production? Humming Hammond overlays? Joel Ekelöf spreading sweet nothings over the course of an urgent and chunky build? Who needs any of that when you can write worse choruses over the same riff and people continue to latch onto it. Soen almost remembers their strengths (“Fortress,”5 “Tragedian,” “Vitals”), and it is admirable that Ekelöf tries to stretch his wings as a grittier vocalist while maintaining his Eurovision aspirations. But with a direction that’s even less dynamic than the uncharacteristically narrow master that Memorial shows, I’ve got little to reason believe that this is a direction that Soen should continue. Not good. Not good at all.
Einar Solberg // 16 – After Aphelion wiped away the hope I had left for Leprous, I looked to this solo outing from Mr. Solberg as a chance for him to find a way back to a good tune. It seems that it did help him reclaim a somber and less ahhAAAahhAAAaahaah character to his voice, and drummer Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco, notable Leprous-like act) really helps a few bright moments shine (“Remember Me,” “Blue Light”). However, Solberg did not have to take his play at Jamiroquai (“Home”) nor include a guest rapper (also “Home”) nor include his sister (for what effect on “Where All the Twigs Broke”) nor include his brother-in-law for a growled guest spot on a trip-hoppy track (that’s Ihsahn on “Splitting the Soul”) nor give us seventy minutes of whatever you want to wrap this up as. Sadboi art pop perhaps? Skippable in any case.
Best Thing I Missed in 2022:
Polterguts // Gods Over Broken People – I haven’t heard an album this seriously fucking pissed off since Admiral Angry’s Buster, but the level of frustration here rings just a touch less sexual and frustrated—it’s defeated. The malaise that Gods captures renders itself in lyrics that spout from a voice fed on apathy and gravel: “I used to pray for my friends/I used to hurt when they hurt/I used to love without expecting any love in return” (“Skullbowl”), “I like it here at the bottom where they know me by name/I used to think I wanted out, but now I’m begging to stay” (“Buckle the Spine”), “I’m not strong enough to hold it together, but It breaks my heart to watch you struggle for air/I’m sorry I couldn’t get both of us out, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t there” (“Injury”). As harrowing as that is to read, it’s even more brutal to hear. And I suspect for those stuck in the same kind of recursive, small-town Midwest drain from which this attitude grows, this would hit even harder. One part Meshuggah, one part Chat Pile, and another part its own punished deathcore, Polterguts holds in one hand my aching heart and in another its own, stained and hollow.
Songs o’ the Year:
Why give you one when I can give you twenty-seven? Why twenty-seven? That’s my secret. Now, I’ve talked enough, go out there and enjoy some music, friends. And enjoy this photo of my dogs.
Kiwi (top) and Coconut (bottom).
Ferox
I got my own big boy list! AMG Industries: where doing an adequate job on the free work you’ve been assigned leads to opportunities for more free work. I wouldn’t have it any other way–I love this place, even if the prospect of making this list fills me with anxiety and imposter syndrome. I am generally not given to best-of lists, or year-end reflection. But we’ve got a fake job to do, so let’s get stuck in!
2023 was a weird one. It began with a case of long-ish Covid that saw me coughing uncontrollably every time I laughed, segued into a writer’s strike that shut down my industry for six months, and ended with a faint and collision between the Ferox noggin and a concrete floor. That last one put me in bed recovering for the better part of a month and seriously fucked with my workout goals. Despite all this, it was an incredible year! My family flourished, I snuck a couple of projects into production at my day job, and I had a blast writing here as much as I could. The only complaint I could possibly muster is that it’s all flying past way too quickly.
As for AMG… this is that rare place that improves the lives of all who touch it (Rodeö bands excepted). It did that for me when I lurked as a reader, and it continues to do so now that I cling to a staff position. How does a place this positive place exist? On the internet?! I’m grateful to Steel for providing real leadership at my fake job, to my fellow members of the AMG Class of ’21 for being good eggs and excellent writers, and to everyone I’ve met through a gig that makes life richer and more fun. Maybe the real 2023 was the bollocks we talked along the way.
#ish. Spirit Possession // Of the Sign… – Do you guys like Nifelheim? I sure as heckfire do, and this album that captures some of their defiant spirit stole my heart in the waning moments of 2023. The reprobates of Nifelheim aren’t the only point of departure here. Portland’s Spirit Possession is a borderline tribcore act that aims to capture the feel of an era more than the work of one particular band. Here you’ll find echoes of Bathory, Hellhammer, and Venom. Sometimes a project like this works so well that the music transcends the lack of originality baked into these sorts of things. Of the Sign… is one such album; it may well have landed in my top ten if I had had more time with it before Listurnalia.
#10. Horrendous // Ontological Mysterium – Horrendous, already on a very short list of the best metal bands so far this century, bolsters their legacy with the concise and intoxicating Ontological Mysterium. The quartet has carved out a take on progressive death metal that is entirely their own, one that is melodic, wonky, and sweeping all at once. They’ve never been more engaging than they are on Ontological Mysterium. The album wends its way through nine tracks in less than forty minutes–Ontological Mysterium defies its run time by taking you on a journey that feels epic, but releases you before fatigue sets in. Only closer “The Death Knell Ringeth,” an inexplicable dud that can scarcely walk and chew gum at the same time, keeps Ontological Mysterium from ascending to loftier heights.
#9. Wormhole // Almost Human – Wormhole’s take on brutal death metal is at once savage but cheerful, and stöopid without being remotely dumb. I am fully on board with any band that uses the low art of the slample to describe their own sound, as Wormhole does with a sunny interjection of “Tech Slam!” on the title track of their latest. The AMG staff would have you believe that it’s necessary to choose between Wormhole and Afterbirth, the band’s peer in innovative and excellent brutal death metal. That is nonsense; appreciate the Slam-aissance in all its glory, as these two remarkable outfits elevate one of metal’s least-loved subgenres to new heights.
#8. Sodomisery // Mazzaroth – Sodomisery makes life hard on themselves with an atrocious name that is way too persnickety about the respectable pursuit of sodomy. Some folks just need to play the game on difficult mode, I guess. If the hideous moniker is what it takes to spur Sodomisery to this kind of work, then the outfit should keep indulging themselves. Mazzaroth is an endlessly replayable slab of genre-bending excellence. Symphonic flourishes and well-placed clean vocals accent the band’s hybrid of black metal, death metal, and melodeath. Mazzaroth is big fun, an album that effortlessly synthesizes a cornucopia of influences into something that feels both classic and new.
#7. Xoth // Exogalactic – A late-in-the-game remaster unleashed the power of a fully operational Exogalactic. The album finds the pan-genre madlads of Xoth playing in the margins, expanding their sound here and there while defending their Party Lovecraft turf. Across eight engaging tracks, the excellent songwriting of Exogalactic is augmented by audacious technical what-the-fuck-ery. The album’s forty minutes fly past, and while Xoth’s sound might not be the revelation it was on Invasion of the Tentacube and Interdimensional Invocations, this Seattle quartet remains very much on top of their game. Play a song, any song, and joy will invade your earholes. That’s the Xoth promise, and Exogalactic delivers.
#6. Gridlink // Coronet Juniper – I could go on about the pleasures of Coronet Juniper, but chances are Dolphin Whisperer already has you cornered and is doing just that. My list buddy extolled the virtues of this grind funhouse to the point where I finally just pretended he was saying “BREEEEEEEEEEEEE” and tuned him out. Then I played the album a month or so later in the gym, and Gridlink rocketed me to a dimension of pure fun. Coronet Juniper is a grind joyride, so confident in its songwriting that the band includes a run of instrumental “karaoke versions” at the end of the album that is every bit as playable as the so-called official tracklist.
#5. Outer Heaven // Infinite Psychic Depths – Outer Heaven understands both the virtues and the confines of old-school death metal. Infinite Psychic Depths gives the subgenre a glow-up by taking us on a tour of everything that still works, while adding a few new wrinkles. The album never plays as mere pastiche; like some kind of Quentin Tarantino of death metal, Outer Heaven refreshes old tropes by building something new from a pile of familiar elements. I haven’t dug much into the high concept that underlies Infinite Psychic Depths, but that’s because I don’t need to. The music stands on its own. Already a highlight of 2023, Infinite Psychic Depths feels like one that could grow in esteem with time. It could well be underrated in my fifth slot.
#4. Tribunal // The Weight of Remembrance – Here’s one that roared out of the gate back in January and absolutely refused to cede any ground. The Weight of Remembrance runs classic doom through both an orchestral and a death metal filter. The various genre flourishes enhance the strong songwriting–“Of Creeping Moss and Crumbling Stone” is so incredible that it became a workout staple despite its plodding pace, and nearly earned a spot on this year’s Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. The highlights don’t stop there. They don’t stop until The Weight of Remembrance has run its course. The Debut o’ The Year also happens to be one of the very best albums of 2023.
#3. Warcrab // The Howling Silence – Warcrab boasts fighting spirit, sharp claws, and a crustacean shell that’s fitted for turret combat. They’re obviously game for a scrap, but–as Cherd pointed out in his review–the band doesn’t have much competition in their death-sludge niche. A relief, then, that Warcrab is anything but complacent on The Howling Silence. These seven tracks roar past, the stifling atmosphere pierced on occasion by icepick solos that showcase the Guitar Tone o’ The Year. This one was a grower for me. The Howling Silence initially did little to distinguish itself from previous slab Damned in Endless Night. But my lizard brain heard layers that my ears weren’t processing, and the album kept earning spins. Layers of excellence kept revealing themselves, and before I knew it this piece of heavy artillery blasted its way to the upper echelons of my list.
#2. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – This rollicking slab of tech death earned a 4.0 from me back in early February, and I do believe I sold these Swedes short by half a point. Visions of Infinihility was a mainstay of my 2023. The album remained close at hand throughout both a long strike and a stretch of vertigo-induced bedrest. If I’m not tired of it yet, I probably never will be. And what’s not to like here? Every one of the nine tracks on Visions of Infinihility stands up to heavy listening. The site’s top writer summed it up most precisely: “It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing four thousand dollar headphones or a bullet belt–Visions of Infinihility should appeal to wonks, diehards, and metalheads all across the spectrum.”
#1. Afterbirth // In But Not Of – Long Island’s Afterbirth crams an abundance of riches into a brutal death metal album that twists and transmutes as it goes. The first half of In But Not Of stays planted in the brutal death genre that Afterbirth had a hand in creating. The second departs for distant parsecs, fusing elements of post-metal, alt-rock, and even ambient music onto death metal songs. The experiments work seamlessly, and I continue to find surprises almost every time I revisit In But Not Of. “Devils With Dead Eyes,” “Autoerotic Amputation,” “In But Not Of,” and “Angels Feast on Flies” are the standout tracks–any one of the four could credibly lay claim to Song o’ The Year. Colin Marston’s production showcases and elevates the material. My favorite critic said it best: “This is music to concuss you and then heal your battered brain… [In But Of] is an album to savor and return to again and again, a companion piece to Four Dimensional Flesh that manages to equal if not surpass its predecessor.” Also: revel in that gorgeous album art by Alex Eckman-Lawn, a sci-fi Frankenstein’s monster that perfectly encapsulates the record. My top score of 2023 is an easy choice for Ferox‘s Album o’ The Year.
Honorable Mentions
- Autopsy // Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts– Ashes, Organs, Blood, and Crypts plays like Autopsy’s Basement Tapes, a collection of feral death metal songs that also somehow comes off as loose and ramshackle. It stands among the band’s best post-comeback work.
- Gorod // The Orb – The French masters of tech death hold serve with the predictably excellent The Orb.
- Convocation // No Dawn for the Caliginous Night – I came up with the genre tag “funereal doom” to describe Convocation’s latest to myself. The band accesses the majesty of funeral doom without the tedious repetition. It’s a potent approach that’s been honed to near-perfection on No Dawn for the Caliginous Night.
- Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – The Toronto outfit pulled off a tricky shift, surprising fans of their inventive take on old-school death with this proggy slab. I sure wouldn’t have minded another Planetary Clairvoyance, but I wound up thrilled by this new direction.
- Serpent Corpse // Blood Sabbath – 2023 delivered an abundance of old-school death delights, but Montreal’s Serpent Corpse move to the head of the class with debut Blood Sabbath.
- Fabricant // Drudge to the Thicket – A trio of virtuoso musicians keep their debut album juuust barely on the “death metal” side of the prog-death divide. Drudge to the Thicket is a load of unpredictable fun from an immensely promising outfit.
- Omnicidal // The Omnicidalist – Omnicidal takes a huge leap forward with a sophomore album that injects hints of melodeath and black thrash into an already nasty cocktail. In spite of Gardenstale‘s rave, this excellent effort seemed to get lost in the 2023 shuffle. I kept it spinning all year.
- Gravesend // Gowanus Death Stomp – This second offering of urban nightmare deathgrind from Gravesend improves on Methods of Human Disposal. An album that conjures genuinely unsettling images and one that will leave its boot marks all over your body,
- Dripping Decay // Festering Grotesqueries— Another exceptional death metal debut, Festering Grotesqueries inspired an epic run of putrid imagery in Steel‘s review. These Portland knuckle-draggers are worthy of all the filthy poetry the Apeman can muster.
Song o’ the Year: Afterbirth – “In But Not Of”
Disappointment o’ the Year
- Immortal // War Against All – After the improbably incredible Northern Chaos Gods, I was PUMPED for Immortal’s Second Coming of Demonaz Era. Cue the record scratch, because the follow-up is generic and pretty much just sucks through and through.
#2023 #Afterbirth #Anachronism #Anareta #Angra #Aphotic #Autarkh #Autopsy #BlogPost #Carnosus #Convocation #DolphinWhispererSAndFeroxSTopTenIshOf2023 #DrippingDecay #EinarSolberg #Fabricant #Gorod #Gravesend #Gridlink #healthyliving #Horrendous #Immortal #JarheadFertilizer #KENMode #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMothTrajedesaliva #OkGoodnight #Omnicidal #OuterHeaven #Polterguts #PupilSlicer #SerpentCorpse #SlumberingSun #Sodomisery #Soen #SpiritPossession #TombMold #Tongues #Tribunal #VanishingKids #VvonDogmaI #Warcrab #WorldSEndGirlfriend #Wormhole #Xoth
-
AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 By Andy-War-HallFollowing the regrettable and entirely non-suspicious sabbatical of the great El Cuervo, the baton of the heroic effort of assembling the Aggregated List has been passed. This year’s list is a joint effort. The data collection and analysis have been handled by yours truly. The finely-crafted blurbs below were produced by newcomer Andy-War-Hall, who has not yet learnt to say no when volunteers are requested.
Of course, with new personnel comes new methods. Ranked choice group decision making is a famously knotty problem; indeed, one can show mathematically that a perfect mechanism simply doesn’t exist. And we are armed with partial information: did one of our writers not put a particular album on their list because they were lukewarm to it, or absolutely hated it (or would have, had they listened to it)? How do we even define the overall best album? Is it better for an album to be liked by many or loved by a few?
These questions led entirely too far down a rabbit hole on voting algorithms. I spent quite a while testing different approaches on last year’s list season.1 In the end, I have gone with an approach which is similar to the one El C used previously, but which more heavily weights the upper end of a list. A #1 placing gets 1 point, a #2 gets 1/2 a point, and so on.2 This, I hoped, would produce a list more representative of the records that were loved and passionately debated at AMG HQ, and less vulnerable to “lowest common denominator” criticisms levelled at previous aggregation endeavors.
This year, we had 28 lists, spanning 235 unique albums. This year’s tastemakers and/or crowd followers are Creeping Ivy, GardensTale, Kenstrosity, and Thus Spoke, each of whom had 7 records from their lists make it onto this one.3 Meanwhile, this year’s contrarians are Alekhines Gun and Dr. A.N. Grier, with exactly one each.
In practice, the new selection algorithm has done about what I expected. 14/20 of the records overlap between the two methods, with mostly minor changes in position. Records like Grima, Flummox, and Maud the Moth made the list with one passionate advocate and a handful of supporters. Records like Imperial Triumphant and Igorrr, with 7 and 6 relatively low placements, respectively, did not. Is this better? I think so, and if you don’t, you’re wrong, or a big fan of a record that didn’t make it onto the list in the new system.4, 5
–Sentynel
#20. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – [#2, #3, #4, #ish] – “Dax’s comeback album marks a triumphant and warm, comforting return from an underground icon. 7 Songs for Spiders delivered the goods, as Dax and friends dropped an album with a familiar, nostalgic feel that refuses to rest on its laurels. Riggs’ defining vocals sound as vital and deliciously smoky as ever, weaving signature morbid tales, deadly hooks, and earworm melodies through subdued yet deceptively hefty and bluesy folk-doom ditties.” (Saunders).
#19. Qrixkuor // The Womb Of The World – [#2, #3, #4, #8] – “Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent” (Thus Spoke).
#18. Grima // Nightside – [#1, #7, #10] – “On Nightside, [Grima] struck the perfect balance between the traditional influences of 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the propulsive, frozen atmosphere of Frostbitten (2022). The combination gives Nightside an almost hypnotic, and weirdly tranquil, flow, offset by Vilhelm’s rasping vocals, which remain among the best in the BM game” (Carcharodon).
#17. Flummox // Southern Progress – [#1, #9, #9, #HM] –
“Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer[…] Flummox’s fifth LP greatly affected me on a personal level. More so than any other record released this year, Southern Progress feels important, not just to me, and not just to Flummox. I strongly believe everyone could learn something from this bizarre, wild, and untamable barnstormer, and have a blast doing it” (Kenstrosity).#16. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – [#2, #7, #7, #9, #10, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next)” (Killjoy).
#14. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – [#1, #3] – “Buried Realm[…]gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred” (Baguette of Bodom).
#14. Maud The Moth // The Distaff – [#1, #3] – “And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does” (Dolphin Whisperer).
#13. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – [#1, #3, #HM] – “Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve” (Samguineous Maximus).
#12. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – [#1, #3, #6, #7] – “Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent” (Tyme).
#11. Primitive Man // Observance – [#1, #2, #10, #HM] – “Primitive Man is the heaviest band on the planet. While I’ve appreciated the Denver trio’s pitch-black approach to death metal laced with noise, doom, and sludge – from afar – Observance booked me in with upbeat tempos and a surprising melody. It swallows you whole like any good Primitive Man album ought to, but the devotion to deteriorating songwriting and weaponized noise” (Dear Hollow).
#10. Paradise Lost // Ascension – [#1, #3, #4, #7] – Paradise Lost’s latest entry into their historically varied and long-running discography, Ascension earned its flowers this Listurnalia through a heated handful of endorsements, all but one seated in the top halves of their respective lists. Whether impressing longtime fans like Steel Druhm through “maturity and sophistication even the classics lack” or grabbing off-and-on listeners like Thus Spoke by way of “grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium,” Ascension exudes not only oodles of gothic atmosphere but also vitality, something a band as old as Paradise Lost could be forgiven for lacking. As Grymm put it while crowning Ascension with his #1 spot, “With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.” Simply, find Paradise in Ascension or get Lost.
#9. Calva Louise // Edge Of The Abyss – [#1, #5, #5, #9, #9, #10, #HM] – Every year this list has to have at least one real oddball pick, and 2025 has Calva Louise and their prog-groove-electronica-metalcore-whatever record Edge of the Abyss. Our Overlord, Angry Metal Guy Himself, declared, “Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique.” Six other valued writers tolerated peons heaped their fair share of praise as well. Our server-savior Sentynel asserted, “Calva Louise is what you get if you take the Diablo Swing Orchestra and remove their classical instruments and sense of restraint. Something this absurd could only ever have been terrific or terrible.” Edge of the Abyss certainly won’t resonate for everybody as it did for much of the AMG crew, but with how much creativity and vision Calva Louise exude maybe that’s your fault if it doesn’t for you.
#8. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – [#1, #3, #3, #5] – When Tyme first reviewed the “murderpop” synthwave group Crippling Alcoholism’s Camgirl back in September, he “could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness.” Neither, it seems, could the three freshly-raised N00bs who included Crippling Alcoholism on their lists, including a top spot on Lavender Larcenist‘s list, describing Camgirl as “dripping with the atmosphere of neon-lit back rooms, seedy interactions, and terrible decision-making. It feels like a lens into the lives of those society has left behind, and I can’t help but feel a connection.” Though perhaps not the most typically metal record on the aggregate list, given Camgirl’s deeply unsettling atmosphere and sticky hooks, it’s not hard to see how it can grab a listener and not let go. In a world and music scene so deeply desensitized to depravity, Crippling Alcoholism tapped into something truly profane.6
#7. Havukruunu // Tavastland – [#1, #1, #3] – Havukruunu may not have placed on many lists, but Tavastland clawed smote mightily onto the aggregate list by right of being our first entry of two top-billing spots. Creeping Ivy was taken in by Tavastland’s “adventurous prog sensibilities” while claiming “Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency.” Dr. A. N. Grier similarly heaped highest praise onto Havukruunu over their ability to scratch “that itch for old-school Bathory-core that is almost as good as the real fucking thing” and onto Tavastland for its “bludgeoning Bathory-meets-Immortal riffs, feel-good Viking plods, melodic passages, and seamless transitions that make repeat listens oh-so soothing.” The verdict is out: Havukruunu may not draw from fresh or cutting-edge sounds, but Tavastland is nonetheless a sword-swinging, barrel-chested victory cry that will take you straight to Valhalla if you let it.
#6. Structure // Heritage – [#1, #2, #5, #5, #6, #7, #8, #ish] – If the world were just a little bit better, we might not have had the depressive conditions for funeral doom duo Structure to produce Heritage, so just be glad it kinda stinks here. Earning eight list placements, not to mention boss-man Steel Druhm‘s #1, Heritage rocked this blog hard in 2025. Dear Hollow made no bones in stating “Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation,” while Steely D. made clear that “over the 50 minutes of Heritage, the duo drag you to the heart of sadness, loss, and despair as only thoughtful, well-executed doom can. Yet there are faint rays of light and hope in the inky black…” If you have any taste for doom or death (and perhaps a touch of masochism), you should already have given Heritage a spin. If funeral doom isn’t your thing, listen to “Will I Deserve It” and make it your thing.7
#5. In Mourning // The Immortal – [#1, #2, #2, #4, #8, #9, #10, #HM] – In Mourning may be a sad bunch of melodeathers, but it can’t be from a lack of appreciation for their record The Immortal ’round these parts. The word “perfect” appeared twice in relation to The Immortal this Listurnalia, with Clark Kent claiming “From the beautiful guitar tones to the excellent combo of clean and harsh vox to the memorable melodies, The Immortal is an emotional tour-de-force that grows more majestic with each spin” and Owlswald opining “these Swedes have found the perfect combination of their patented Opethian death metal chuggery, sadboi melodies and creative dynamism, resulting in a sound rich in emotional depth with more digestible hooks than one can handle.” A grower for some, an instant hit for others, The Immortal is a smart, emotional journey and—if the well-deserved tongue-bathing it received on this blog is anything to go by—may just have set In Mourning as the flag bearers of melodic death metal for the remainder of the 2020s.
#4. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – [#1, #1, #2, #5, #HM] – Very nearly taking three #1 spots this Listurnalia, progressive death-heads Tómarúm hit it big in 2025 with their sophomore record Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. Layered like lasagna and dense as deep dish, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria left Saunders with no shortage of things to say in his list: “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft…the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface.” Similarly, Clark Kent maintained that “Tomárúm’s epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again.” Sharp, ambitious, and impactful, Tómarúm are the real deal, and if you have the silverware to spare, you should dig in to Beyond Obsidian Euphoria today.
#3. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth And Nail – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #4, #4, #6, #7, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – With just one list placement short of Archspire’s historical 2021 showing, Dormant Ordeal was the belle of the Listurnalia ball with their beefy blackened death opus Tooth and Nail. “Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable” (Thus Spoke), Tooth and Nail won over the unsettled minds of the AMG staff via achieving “the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound” (Dolphin Whisperer). Crowning Tooth and Nail his #1 album of 2025, Tyme attested that, “From the brutally effective ‘Halo of Bones’ to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars.” You’re just not getting death metal this heavy, this mean, and this delightfully re-listenable in 2025 if it’s not Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail. Simple as.
#2. Messa // The Spin – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #5, #ish, #HM, #HM, #HM] – The way the twelve writers who included Messa’s latest record The Spin on their lists describe it, you’d think they had no choice in the matter. Describing Messa’s blend of prog, doom, and post-rock, Dolphin Whisperer confessed, “I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try,” while Kenstrosity described The Spin as “Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom metal, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.” Topping a list of self-professed comfort picks, El Cuervo said of his #1 pick, “The Spin doesn’t trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes sound like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine.” Clearly, if you’re not ready to be taken in wholly by Messa and their intoxicating, multifaceted, and rewarding take on doom metal, then please avoid The Spin for your own sake.8
#1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – [#1, #1, #1, #4, #4, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I have not listened to every item of music released in 2025, but I still think I can say that none could be more powerful than 1914’s Viribus Unitis. I listened to nothing heavier, nothing more memorable, and nothing so relevant as 1914’s story of a Ukrainian soldier caught up in the mania of the First World War.” Thus spake Twelve, one of three writers to set Ukrainian blackened death doom dogs-of-war 1914 and their latest musical AAR Viribus Unitis atop their lists in 2025, setting it atop this aggregate list as a result. Though I’m perhaps a bit biased in saying this, it’s not hard to see why Viribus Unitis takes the cake because, as Grin Reaper put it, “1914 paints war-torn life with savage grace, supplying devastating melody and grueling crawls that elevate the album to such heights that I’m genuinely moved each time I get to the end.” Elsewhere, yours truly gushed pathetically collectedly stated, “Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music…1914 don’t play ‘history metal.’ Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.” Rattling minds in its violence, breaking hearts in its tragedy, Viribus Unitis is a singularly enthralling record and is (by aggregate decision) 2025’s best album.
#1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #InMourning #MaudTheMoth #Messa #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #Structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes -
AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 By Andy-War-HallFollowing the regrettable and entirely non-suspicious sabbatical of the great El Cuervo, the baton of the heroic effort of assembling the Aggregated List has been passed. This year’s list is a joint effort. The data collection and analysis have been handled by yours truly. The finely-crafted blurbs below were produced by newcomer Andy-War-Hall, who has not yet learnt to say no when volunteers are requested.
Of course, with new personnel comes new methods. Ranked choice group decision making is a famously knotty problem; indeed, one can show mathematically that a perfect mechanism simply doesn’t exist. And we are armed with partial information: did one of our writers not put a particular album on their list because they were lukewarm to it, or absolutely hated it (or would have, had they listened to it)? How do we even define the overall best album? Is it better for an album to be liked by many or loved by a few?
These questions led entirely too far down a rabbit hole on voting algorithms. I spent quite a while testing different approaches on last year’s list season.1 In the end, I have gone with an approach which is similar to the one El C used previously, but which more heavily weights the upper end of a list. A #1 placing gets 1 point, a #2 gets 1/2 a point, and so on.2 This, I hoped, would produce a list more representative of the records that were loved and passionately debated at AMG HQ, and less vulnerable to “lowest common denominator” criticisms levelled at previous aggregation endeavors.
This year, we had 28 lists, spanning 235 unique albums. This year’s tastemakers and/or crowd followers are Creeping Ivy, GardensTale, Kenstrosity, and Thus Spoke, each of whom had 7 records from their lists make it onto this one.3 Meanwhile, this year’s contrarians are Alekhines Gun and Dr. A.N. Grier, with exactly one each.
In practice, the new selection algorithm has done about what I expected. 14/20 of the records overlap between the two methods, with mostly minor changes in position. Records like Grima, Flummox, and Maud the Moth made the list with one passionate advocate and a handful of supporters. Records like Imperial Triumphant and Igorrr, with 7 and 6 relatively low placements, respectively, did not. Is this better? I think so, and if you don’t, you’re wrong, or a big fan of a record that didn’t make it onto the list in the new system.4, 5
–Sentynel
#20. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – [#2, #3, #4, #ish] – “Dax’s comeback album marks a triumphant and warm, comforting return from an underground icon. 7 Songs for Spiders delivered the goods, as Dax and friends dropped an album with a familiar, nostalgic feel that refuses to rest on its laurels. Riggs’ defining vocals sound as vital and deliciously smoky as ever, weaving signature morbid tales, deadly hooks, and earworm melodies through subdued yet deceptively hefty and bluesy folk-doom ditties.” (Saunders).
#19. Qrixkuor // The Womb Of The World – [#2, #3, #4, #8] – “Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent” (Thus Spoke).
#18. Grima // Nightside – [#1, #7, #10] – “On Nightside, [Grima] struck the perfect balance between the traditional influences of 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the propulsive, frozen atmosphere of Frostbitten (2022). The combination gives Nightside an almost hypnotic, and weirdly tranquil, flow, offset by Vilhelm’s rasping vocals, which remain among the best in the BM game” (Carcharodon).
#17. Flummox // Southern Progress – [#1, #9, #9, #HM] –
“Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer[…] Flummox’s fifth LP greatly affected me on a personal level. More so than any other record released this year, Southern Progress feels important, not just to me, and not just to Flummox. I strongly believe everyone could learn something from this bizarre, wild, and untamable barnstormer, and have a blast doing it” (Kenstrosity).#16. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – [#2, #7, #7, #9, #10, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next)” (Killjoy).
#14. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – [#1, #3] – “Buried Realm[…]gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred” (Baguette of Bodom).
#14. Maud The Moth // The Distaff – [#1, #3] – “And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does” (Dolphin Whisperer).
#13. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – [#1, #3, #HM] – “Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve” (Samguineous Maximus).
#12. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – [#1, #3, #6, #7] – “Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent” (Tyme).
#11. Primitive Man // Observance – [#1, #2, #10, #HM] – “Primitive Man is the heaviest band on the planet. While I’ve appreciated the Denver trio’s pitch-black approach to death metal laced with noise, doom, and sludge – from afar – Observance booked me in with upbeat tempos and a surprising melody. It swallows you whole like any good Primitive Man album ought to, but the devotion to deteriorating songwriting and weaponized noise” (Dear Hollow).
#10. Paradise Lost // Ascension – [#1, #3, #4, #7] – Paradise Lost’s latest entry into their historically varied and long-running discography, Ascension earned its flowers this Listurnalia through a heated handful of endorsements, all but one seated in the top halves of their respective lists. Whether impressing longtime fans like Steel Druhm through “maturity and sophistication even the classics lack” or grabbing off-and-on listeners like Thus Spoke by way of “grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium,” Ascension exudes not only oodles of gothic atmosphere but also vitality, something a band as old as Paradise Lost could be forgiven for lacking. As Grymm put it while crowning Ascension with his #1 spot, “With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.” Simply, find Paradise in Ascension or get Lost.
#9. Calva Louise // Edge Of The Abyss – [#1, #5, #5, #9, #9, #10, #HM] – Every year this list has to have at least one real oddball pick, and 2025 has Calva Louise and their prog-groove-electronica-metalcore-whatever record Edge of the Abyss. Our Overlord, Angry Metal Guy Himself, declared, “Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique.” Six other valued writers tolerated peons heaped their fair share of praise as well. Our server-savior Sentynel asserted, “Calva Louise is what you get if you take the Diablo Swing Orchestra and remove their classical instruments and sense of restraint. Something this absurd could only ever have been terrific or terrible.” Edge of the Abyss certainly won’t resonate for everybody as it did for much of the AMG crew, but with how much creativity and vision Calva Louise exude maybe that’s your fault if it doesn’t for you.
#8. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – [#1, #3, #3, #5] – When Tyme first reviewed the “murderpop” synthwave group Crippling Alcoholism’s Camgirl back in September, he “could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness.” Neither, it seems, could the three freshly-raised N00bs who included Crippling Alcoholism on their lists, including a top spot on Lavender Larcenist‘s list, describing Camgirl as “dripping with the atmosphere of neon-lit back rooms, seedy interactions, and terrible decision-making. It feels like a lens into the lives of those society has left behind, and I can’t help but feel a connection.” Though perhaps not the most typically metal record on the aggregate list, given Camgirl’s deeply unsettling atmosphere and sticky hooks, it’s not hard to see how it can grab a listener and not let go. In a world and music scene so deeply desensitized to depravity, Crippling Alcoholism tapped into something truly profane.6
#7. Havukruunu // Tavastland – [#1, #1, #3] – Havukruunu may not have placed on many lists, but Tavastland clawed smote mightily onto the aggregate list by right of being our first entry of two top-billing spots. Creeping Ivy was taken in by Tavastland’s “adventurous prog sensibilities” while claiming “Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency.” Dr. A. N. Grier similarly heaped highest praise onto Havukruunu over their ability to scratch “that itch for old-school Bathory-core that is almost as good as the real fucking thing” and onto Tavastland for its “bludgeoning Bathory-meets-Immortal riffs, feel-good Viking plods, melodic passages, and seamless transitions that make repeat listens oh-so soothing.” The verdict is out: Havukruunu may not draw from fresh or cutting-edge sounds, but Tavastland is nonetheless a sword-swinging, barrel-chested victory cry that will take you straight to Valhalla if you let it.
#6. Structure // Heritage – [#1, #2, #5, #5, #6, #7, #8, #ish] – If the world were just a little bit better, we might not have had the depressive conditions for funeral doom duo Structure to produce Heritage, so just be glad it kinda stinks here. Earning eight list placements, not to mention boss-man Steel Druhm‘s #1, Heritage rocked this blog hard in 2025. Dear Hollow made no bones in stating “Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation,” while Steely D. made clear that “over the 50 minutes of Heritage, the duo drag you to the heart of sadness, loss, and despair as only thoughtful, well-executed doom can. Yet there are faint rays of light and hope in the inky black…” If you have any taste for doom or death (and perhaps a touch of masochism), you should already have given Heritage a spin. If funeral doom isn’t your thing, listen to “Will I Deserve It” and make it your thing.7
#5. In Mourning // The Immortal – [#1, #2, #2, #4, #8, #9, #10, #HM] – In Mourning may be a sad bunch of melodeathers, but it can’t be from a lack of appreciation for their record The Immortal ’round these parts. The word “perfect” appeared twice in relation to The Immortal this Listurnalia, with Clark Kent claiming “From the beautiful guitar tones to the excellent combo of clean and harsh vox to the memorable melodies, The Immortal is an emotional tour-de-force that grows more majestic with each spin” and Owlswald opining “these Swedes have found the perfect combination of their patented Opethian death metal chuggery, sadboi melodies and creative dynamism, resulting in a sound rich in emotional depth with more digestible hooks than one can handle.” A grower for some, an instant hit for others, The Immortal is a smart, emotional journey and—if the well-deserved tongue-bathing it received on this blog is anything to go by—may just have set In Mourning as the flag bearers of melodic death metal for the remainder of the 2020s.
#4. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – [#1, #1, #2, #5, #HM] – Very nearly taking three #1 spots this Listurnalia, progressive death-heads Tómarúm hit it big in 2025 with their sophomore record Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. Layered like lasagna and dense as deep dish, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria left Saunders with no shortage of things to say in his list: “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft…the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface.” Similarly, Clark Kent maintained that “Tomárúm’s epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again.” Sharp, ambitious, and impactful, Tómarúm are the real deal, and if you have the silverware to spare, you should dig in to Beyond Obsidian Euphoria today.
#3. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth And Nail – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #4, #4, #6, #7, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – With just one list placement short of Archspire’s historical 2021 showing, Dormant Ordeal was the belle of the Listurnalia ball with their beefy blackened death opus Tooth and Nail. “Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable” (Thus Spoke), Tooth and Nail won over the unsettled minds of the AMG staff via achieving “the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound” (Dolphin Whisperer). Crowning Tooth and Nail his #1 album of 2025, Tyme attested that, “From the brutally effective ‘Halo of Bones’ to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars.” You’re just not getting death metal this heavy, this mean, and this delightfully re-listenable in 2025 if it’s not Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail. Simple as.
#2. Messa // The Spin – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #5, #ish, #HM, #HM, #HM] – The way the twelve writers who included Messa’s latest record The Spin on their lists describe it, you’d think they had no choice in the matter. Describing Messa’s blend of prog, doom, and post-rock, Dolphin Whisperer confessed, “I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try,” while Kenstrosity described The Spin as “Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom metal, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.” Topping a list of self-professed comfort picks, El Cuervo said of his #1 pick, “The Spin doesn’t trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes sound like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine.” Clearly, if you’re not ready to be taken in wholly by Messa and their intoxicating, multifaceted, and rewarding take on doom metal, then please avoid The Spin for your own sake.8
#1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – [#1, #1, #1, #4, #4, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I have not listened to every item of music released in 2025, but I still think I can say that none could be more powerful than 1914’s Viribus Unitis. I listened to nothing heavier, nothing more memorable, and nothing so relevant as 1914’s story of a Ukrainian soldier caught up in the mania of the First World War.” Thus spake Twelve, one of three writers to set Ukrainian blackened death doom dogs-of-war 1914 and their latest musical AAR Viribus Unitis atop their lists in 2025, setting it atop this aggregate list as a result. Though I’m perhaps a bit biased in saying this, it’s not hard to see why Viribus Unitis takes the cake because, as Grin Reaper put it, “1914 paints war-torn life with savage grace, supplying devastating melody and grueling crawls that elevate the album to such heights that I’m genuinely moved each time I get to the end.” Elsewhere, yours truly gushed pathetically collectedly stated, “Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music…1914 don’t play ‘history metal.’ Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.” Rattling minds in its violence, breaking hearts in its tragedy, Viribus Unitis is a singularly enthralling record and is (by aggregate decision) 2025’s best album.
#1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #InMourning #MaudTheMoth #Messa #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #Structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes -
AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 By Andy-War-HallFollowing the regrettable and entirely non-suspicious sabbatical of the great El Cuervo, the baton of the heroic effort of assembling the Aggregated List has been passed. This year’s list is a joint effort. The data collection and analysis have been handled by yours truly. The finely-crafted blurbs below were produced by newcomer Andy-War-Hall, who has not yet learnt to say no when volunteers are requested.
Of course, with new personnel comes new methods. Ranked choice group decision making is a famously knotty problem; indeed, one can show mathematically that a perfect mechanism simply doesn’t exist. And we are armed with partial information: did one of our writers not put a particular album on their list because they were lukewarm to it, or absolutely hated it (or would have, had they listened to it)? How do we even define the overall best album? Is it better for an album to be liked by many or loved by a few?
These questions led entirely too far down a rabbit hole on voting algorithms. I spent quite a while testing different approaches on last year’s list season.1 In the end, I have gone with an approach which is similar to the one El C used previously, but which more heavily weights the upper end of a list. A #1 placing gets 1 point, a #2 gets 1/2 a point, and so on.2 This, I hoped, would produce a list more representative of the records that were loved and passionately debated at AMG HQ, and less vulnerable to “lowest common denominator” criticisms levelled at previous aggregation endeavors.
This year, we had 28 lists, spanning 235 unique albums. This year’s tastemakers and/or crowd followers are Creeping Ivy, GardensTale, Kenstrosity, and Thus Spoke, each of whom had 7 records from their lists make it onto this one.3 Meanwhile, this year’s contrarians are Alekhines Gun and Dr. A.N. Grier, with exactly one each.
In practice, the new selection algorithm has done about what I expected. 14/20 of the records overlap between the two methods, with mostly minor changes in position. Records like Grima, Flummox, and Maud the Moth made the list with one passionate advocate and a handful of supporters. Records like Imperial Triumphant and Igorrr, with 7 and 6 relatively low placements, respectively, did not. Is this better? I think so, and if you don’t, you’re wrong, or a big fan of a record that didn’t make it onto the list in the new system.4, 5
–Sentynel
#20. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – [#2, #3, #4, #ish] – “Dax’s comeback album marks a triumphant and warm, comforting return from an underground icon. 7 Songs for Spiders delivered the goods, as Dax and friends dropped an album with a familiar, nostalgic feel that refuses to rest on its laurels. Riggs’ defining vocals sound as vital and deliciously smoky as ever, weaving signature morbid tales, deadly hooks, and earworm melodies through subdued yet deceptively hefty and bluesy folk-doom ditties.” (Saunders).
#19. Qrixkuor // The Womb Of The World – [#2, #3, #4, #8] – “Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent” (Thus Spoke).
#18. Grima // Nightside – [#1, #7, #10] – “On Nightside, [Grima] struck the perfect balance between the traditional influences of 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the propulsive, frozen atmosphere of Frostbitten (2022). The combination gives Nightside an almost hypnotic, and weirdly tranquil, flow, offset by Vilhelm’s rasping vocals, which remain among the best in the BM game” (Carcharodon).
#17. Flummox // Southern Progress – [#1, #9, #9, #HM] –
“Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer[…] Flummox’s fifth LP greatly affected me on a personal level. More so than any other record released this year, Southern Progress feels important, not just to me, and not just to Flummox. I strongly believe everyone could learn something from this bizarre, wild, and untamable barnstormer, and have a blast doing it” (Kenstrosity).#16. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – [#2, #7, #7, #9, #10, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next)” (Killjoy).
#14. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – [#1, #3] – “Buried Realm[…]gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred” (Baguette of Bodom).
#14. Maud The Moth // The Distaff – [#1, #3] – “And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does” (Dolphin Whisperer).
#13. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – [#1, #3, #HM] – “Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve” (Samguineous Maximus).
#12. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – [#1, #3, #6, #7] – “Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent” (Tyme).
#11. Primitive Man // Observance – [#1, #2, #10, #HM] – “Primitive Man is the heaviest band on the planet. While I’ve appreciated the Denver trio’s pitch-black approach to death metal laced with noise, doom, and sludge – from afar – Observance booked me in with upbeat tempos and a surprising melody. It swallows you whole like any good Primitive Man album ought to, but the devotion to deteriorating songwriting and weaponized noise” (Dear Hollow).
#10. Paradise Lost // Ascension – [#1, #3, #4, #7] – Paradise Lost’s latest entry into their historically varied and long-running discography, Ascension earned its flowers this Listurnalia through a heated handful of endorsements, all but one seated in the top halves of their respective lists. Whether impressing longtime fans like Steel Druhm through “maturity and sophistication even the classics lack” or grabbing off-and-on listeners like Thus Spoke by way of “grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium,” Ascension exudes not only oodles of gothic atmosphere but also vitality, something a band as old as Paradise Lost could be forgiven for lacking. As Grymm put it while crowning Ascension with his #1 spot, “With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.” Simply, find Paradise in Ascension or get Lost.
#9. Calva Louise // Edge Of The Abyss – [#1, #5, #5, #9, #9, #10, #HM] – Every year this list has to have at least one real oddball pick, and 2025 has Calva Louise and their prog-groove-electronica-metalcore-whatever record Edge of the Abyss. Our Overlord, Angry Metal Guy Himself, declared, “Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique.” Six other valued writers tolerated peons heaped their fair share of praise as well. Our server-savior Sentynel asserted, “Calva Louise is what you get if you take the Diablo Swing Orchestra and remove their classical instruments and sense of restraint. Something this absurd could only ever have been terrific or terrible.” Edge of the Abyss certainly won’t resonate for everybody as it did for much of the AMG crew, but with how much creativity and vision Calva Louise exude maybe that’s your fault if it doesn’t for you.
#8. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – [#1, #3, #3, #5] – When Tyme first reviewed the “murderpop” synthwave group Crippling Alcoholism’s Camgirl back in September, he “could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness.” Neither, it seems, could the three freshly-raised N00bs who included Crippling Alcoholism on their lists, including a top spot on Lavender Larcenist‘s list, describing Camgirl as “dripping with the atmosphere of neon-lit back rooms, seedy interactions, and terrible decision-making. It feels like a lens into the lives of those society has left behind, and I can’t help but feel a connection.” Though perhaps not the most typically metal record on the aggregate list, given Camgirl’s deeply unsettling atmosphere and sticky hooks, it’s not hard to see how it can grab a listener and not let go. In a world and music scene so deeply desensitized to depravity, Crippling Alcoholism tapped into something truly profane.6
#7. Havukruunu // Tavastland – [#1, #1, #3] – Havukruunu may not have placed on many lists, but Tavastland clawed smote mightily onto the aggregate list by right of being our first entry of two top-billing spots. Creeping Ivy was taken in by Tavastland’s “adventurous prog sensibilities” while claiming “Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency.” Dr. A. N. Grier similarly heaped highest praise onto Havukruunu over their ability to scratch “that itch for old-school Bathory-core that is almost as good as the real fucking thing” and onto Tavastland for its “bludgeoning Bathory-meets-Immortal riffs, feel-good Viking plods, melodic passages, and seamless transitions that make repeat listens oh-so soothing.” The verdict is out: Havukruunu may not draw from fresh or cutting-edge sounds, but Tavastland is nonetheless a sword-swinging, barrel-chested victory cry that will take you straight to Valhalla if you let it.
#6. Structure // Heritage – [#1, #2, #5, #5, #6, #7, #8, #ish] – If the world were just a little bit better, we might not have had the depressive conditions for funeral doom duo Structure to produce Heritage, so just be glad it kinda stinks here. Earning eight list placements, not to mention boss-man Steel Druhm‘s #1, Heritage rocked this blog hard in 2025. Dear Hollow made no bones in stating “Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation,” while Steely D. made clear that “over the 50 minutes of Heritage, the duo drag you to the heart of sadness, loss, and despair as only thoughtful, well-executed doom can. Yet there are faint rays of light and hope in the inky black…” If you have any taste for doom or death (and perhaps a touch of masochism), you should already have given Heritage a spin. If funeral doom isn’t your thing, listen to “Will I Deserve It” and make it your thing.7
#5. In Mourning // The Immortal – [#1, #2, #2, #4, #8, #9, #10, #HM] – In Mourning may be a sad bunch of melodeathers, but it can’t be from a lack of appreciation for their record The Immortal ’round these parts. The word “perfect” appeared twice in relation to The Immortal this Listurnalia, with Clark Kent claiming “From the beautiful guitar tones to the excellent combo of clean and harsh vox to the memorable melodies, The Immortal is an emotional tour-de-force that grows more majestic with each spin” and Owlswald opining “these Swedes have found the perfect combination of their patented Opethian death metal chuggery, sadboi melodies and creative dynamism, resulting in a sound rich in emotional depth with more digestible hooks than one can handle.” A grower for some, an instant hit for others, The Immortal is a smart, emotional journey and—if the well-deserved tongue-bathing it received on this blog is anything to go by—may just have set In Mourning as the flag bearers of melodic death metal for the remainder of the 2020s.
#4. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – [#1, #1, #2, #5, #HM] – Very nearly taking three #1 spots this Listurnalia, progressive death-heads Tómarúm hit it big in 2025 with their sophomore record Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. Layered like lasagna and dense as deep dish, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria left Saunders with no shortage of things to say in his list: “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft…the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface.” Similarly, Clark Kent maintained that “Tomárúm’s epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again.” Sharp, ambitious, and impactful, Tómarúm are the real deal, and if you have the silverware to spare, you should dig in to Beyond Obsidian Euphoria today.
#3. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth And Nail – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #4, #4, #6, #7, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – With just one list placement short of Archspire’s historical 2021 showing, Dormant Ordeal was the belle of the Listurnalia ball with their beefy blackened death opus Tooth and Nail. “Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable” (Thus Spoke), Tooth and Nail won over the unsettled minds of the AMG staff via achieving “the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound” (Dolphin Whisperer). Crowning Tooth and Nail his #1 album of 2025, Tyme attested that, “From the brutally effective ‘Halo of Bones’ to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars.” You’re just not getting death metal this heavy, this mean, and this delightfully re-listenable in 2025 if it’s not Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail. Simple as.
#2. Messa // The Spin – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #5, #ish, #HM, #HM, #HM] – The way the twelve writers who included Messa’s latest record The Spin on their lists describe it, you’d think they had no choice in the matter. Describing Messa’s blend of prog, doom, and post-rock, Dolphin Whisperer confessed, “I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try,” while Kenstrosity described The Spin as “Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom metal, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.” Topping a list of self-professed comfort picks, El Cuervo said of his #1 pick, “The Spin doesn’t trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes sound like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine.” Clearly, if you’re not ready to be taken in wholly by Messa and their intoxicating, multifaceted, and rewarding take on doom metal, then please avoid The Spin for your own sake.8
#1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – [#1, #1, #1, #4, #4, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I have not listened to every item of music released in 2025, but I still think I can say that none could be more powerful than 1914’s Viribus Unitis. I listened to nothing heavier, nothing more memorable, and nothing so relevant as 1914’s story of a Ukrainian soldier caught up in the mania of the First World War.” Thus spake Twelve, one of three writers to set Ukrainian blackened death doom dogs-of-war 1914 and their latest musical AAR Viribus Unitis atop their lists in 2025, setting it atop this aggregate list as a result. Though I’m perhaps a bit biased in saying this, it’s not hard to see why Viribus Unitis takes the cake because, as Grin Reaper put it, “1914 paints war-torn life with savage grace, supplying devastating melody and grueling crawls that elevate the album to such heights that I’m genuinely moved each time I get to the end.” Elsewhere, yours truly gushed pathetically collectedly stated, “Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music…1914 don’t play ‘history metal.’ Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.” Rattling minds in its violence, breaking hearts in its tragedy, Viribus Unitis is a singularly enthralling record and is (by aggregate decision) 2025’s best album.
#1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #InMourning #MaudTheMoth #Messa #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #Structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes -
AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 By Andy-War-Hall
Following the regrettable and entirely non-suspicious sabbatical of the great El Cuervo, the baton of the heroic effort of assembling the Aggregated List has been passed. This year’s list is a joint effort. The data collection and analysis have been handled by yours truly. The finely-crafted blurbs below were produced by newcomer Andy-War-Hall, who has not yet learnt to say no when volunteers are requested.
Of course, with new personnel comes new methods. Ranked choice group decision making is a famously knotty problem; indeed, one can show mathematically that a perfect mechanism simply doesn’t exist. And we are armed with partial information: did one of our writers not put a particular album on their list because they were lukewarm to it, or absolutely hated it (or would have, had they listened to it)? How do we even define the overall best album? Is it better for an album to be liked by many or loved by a few?
These questions led entirely too far down a rabbit hole on voting algorithms. I spent quite a while testing different approaches on last year’s list season.1 In the end, I have gone with an approach which is similar to the one El C used previously, but which more heavily weights the upper end of a list. A #1 placing gets 1 point, a #2 gets 1/2 a point, and so on.2 This, I hoped, would produce a list more representative of the records that were loved and passionately debated at AMG HQ, and less vulnerable to “lowest common denominator” criticisms levelled at previous aggregation endeavors.
This year, we had 28 lists, spanning 235 unique albums. This year’s tastemakers and/or crowd followers are Creeping Ivy, GardensTale, Kenstrosity, and Thus Spoke, each of whom had 7 records from their lists make it onto this one.3 Meanwhile, this year’s contrarians are Alekhines Gun and Dr. A.N. Grier, with exactly one each.
In practice, the new selection algorithm has done about what I expected. 14/20 of the records overlap between the two methods, with mostly minor changes in position. Records like Grima, Flummox, and Maud the Moth made the list with one passionate advocate and a handful of supporters. Records like Imperial Triumphant and Igorrr, with 7 and 6 relatively low placements, respectively, did not. Is this better? I think so, and if you don’t, you’re wrong, or a big fan of a record that didn’t make it onto the list in the new system.4, 5
–Sentynel
#20. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – [#2, #3, #4, #ish] – “Dax’s comeback album marks a triumphant and warm, comforting return from an underground icon. 7 Songs for Spiders delivered the goods, as Dax and friends dropped an album with a familiar, nostalgic feel that refuses to rest on its laurels. Riggs’ defining vocals sound as vital and deliciously smoky as ever, weaving signature morbid tales, deadly hooks, and earworm melodies through subdued yet deceptively hefty and bluesy folk-doom ditties.” (Saunders).
#19. Qrixkuor // The Womb Of The World – [#2, #3, #4, #8] – “Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent” (Thus Spoke).
#18. Grima // Nightside – [#1, #7, #10] – “On Nightside, [Grima] struck the perfect balance between the traditional influences of 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the propulsive, frozen atmosphere of Frostbitten (2022). The combination gives Nightside an almost hypnotic, and weirdly tranquil, flow, offset by Vilhelm’s rasping vocals, which remain among the best in the BM game” (Carcharodon).
#17. Flummox // Southern Progress – [#1, #9, #9, #HM] –
“Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer[…] Flummox’s fifth LP greatly affected me on a personal level. More so than any other record released this year, Southern Progress feels important, not just to me, and not just to Flummox. I strongly believe everyone could learn something from this bizarre, wild, and untamable barnstormer, and have a blast doing it” (Kenstrosity).#16. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – [#2, #7, #7, #9, #10, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next)” (Killjoy).
#14. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – [#1, #3] – “Buried Realm[…]gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred” (Baguette of Bodom).
#14. Maud The Moth // The Distaff – [#1, #3] – “And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does” (Dolphin Whisperer).
#13. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – [#1, #3, #HM] – “Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve” (Samguineous Maximus).
#12. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – [#1, #3, #6, #7] – “Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent” (Tyme).
#11. Primitive Man // Observance – [#1, #2, #10, #HM] – “Primitive Man is the heaviest band on the planet. While I’ve appreciated the Denver trio’s pitch-black approach to death metal laced with noise, doom, and sludge – from afar – Observance booked me in with upbeat tempos and a surprising melody. It swallows you whole like any good Primitive Man album ought to, but the devotion to deteriorating songwriting and weaponized noise” (Dear Hollow).
#10. Paradise Lost // Ascension – [#1, #3, #4, #7] – Paradise Lost’s latest entry into their historically varied and long-running discography, Ascension earned its flowers this Listurnalia through a heated handful of endorsements, all but one seated in the top halves of their respective lists. Whether impressing longtime fans like Steel Druhm through “maturity and sophistication even the classics lack” or grabbing off-and-on listeners like Thus Spoke by way of “grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium,” Ascension exudes not only oodles of gothic atmosphere but also vitality, something a band as old as Paradise Lost could be forgiven for lacking. As Grymm put it while crowning Ascension with his #1 spot, “With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.” Simply, find Paradise in Ascension or get Lost.
#9. Calva Louise // Edge Of The Abyss – [#1, #5, #5, #9, #9, #10, #HM] – Every year this list has to have at least one real oddball pick, and 2025 has Calva Louise and their prog-groove-electronica-metalcore-whatever record Edge of the Abyss. Our Overlord, Angry Metal Guy Himself, declared, “Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique.” Six other valued writers tolerated peons heaped their fair share of praise as well. Our server-savior Sentynel asserted, “Calva Louise is what you get if you take the Diablo Swing Orchestra and remove their classical instruments and sense of restraint. Something this absurd could only ever have been terrific or terrible.” Edge of the Abyss certainly won’t resonate for everybody as it did for much of the AMG crew, but with how much creativity and vision Calva Louise exude maybe that’s your fault if it doesn’t for you.
#8. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – [#1, #3, #3, #5] – When Tyme first reviewed the “murderpop” synthwave group Crippling Alcoholism’s Camgirl back in September, he “could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness.” Neither, it seems, could the three freshly-raised N00bs who included Crippling Alcoholism on their lists, including a top spot on Lavender Larcenist‘s list, describing Camgirl as “dripping with the atmosphere of neon-lit back rooms, seedy interactions, and terrible decision-making. It feels like a lens into the lives of those society has left behind, and I can’t help but feel a connection.” Though perhaps not the most typically metal record on the aggregate list, given Camgirl’s deeply unsettling atmosphere and sticky hooks, it’s not hard to see how it can grab a listener and not let go. In a world and music scene so deeply desensitized to depravity, Crippling Alcoholism tapped into something truly profane.6
#7. Havukruunu // Tavastland – [#1, #1, #3] – Havukruunu may not have placed on many lists, but Tavastland clawed smote mightily onto the aggregate list by right of being our first entry of two top-billing spots. Creeping Ivy was taken in by Tavastland’s “adventurous prog sensibilities” while claiming “Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency.” Dr. A. N. Grier similarly heaped highest praise onto Havukruunu over their ability to scratch “that itch for old-school Bathory-core that is almost as good as the real fucking thing” and onto Tavastland for its “bludgeoning Bathory-meets-Immortal riffs, feel-good Viking plods, melodic passages, and seamless transitions that make repeat listens oh-so soothing.” The verdict is out: Havukruunu may not draw from fresh or cutting-edge sounds, but Tavastland is nonetheless a sword-swinging, barrel-chested victory cry that will take you straight to Valhalla if you let it.
#6. Structure // Heritage – [#1, #2, #5, #5, #6, #7, #8, #ish] – If the world were just a little bit better, we might not have had the depressive conditions for funeral doom duo Structure to produce Heritage, so just be glad it kinda stinks here. Earning eight list placements, not to mention boss-man Steel Druhm‘s #1, Heritage rocked this blog hard in 2025. Dear Hollow made no bones in stating “Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation,” while Steely D. made clear that “over the 50 minutes of Heritage, the duo drag you to the heart of sadness, loss, and despair as only thoughtful, well-executed doom can. Yet there are faint rays of light and hope in the inky black…” If you have any taste for doom or death (and perhaps a touch of masochism), you should already have given Heritage a spin. If funeral doom isn’t your thing, listen to “Will I Deserve It” and make it your thing.7
#5. In Mourning // The Immortal – [#1, #2, #2, #4, #8, #9, #10, #HM] – In Mourning may be a sad bunch of melodeathers, but it can’t be from a lack of appreciation for their record The Immortal ’round these parts. The word “perfect” appeared twice in relation to The Immortal this Listurnalia, with Clark Kent claiming “From the beautiful guitar tones to the excellent combo of clean and harsh vox to the memorable melodies, The Immortal is an emotional tour-de-force that grows more majestic with each spin” and Owlswald opining “these Swedes have found the perfect combination of their patented Opethian death metal chuggery, sadboi melodies and creative dynamism, resulting in a sound rich in emotional depth with more digestible hooks than one can handle.” A grower for some, an instant hit for others, The Immortal is a smart, emotional journey and—if the well-deserved tongue-bathing it received on this blog is anything to go by—may just have set In Mourning as the flag bearers of melodic death metal for the remainder of the 2020s.
#4. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – [#1, #1, #2, #5, #HM] – Very nearly taking three #1 spots this Listurnalia, progressive death-heads Tómarúm hit it big in 2025 with their sophomore record Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. Layered like lasagna and dense as deep dish, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria left Saunders with no shortage of things to say in his list: “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft…the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface.” Similarly, Clark Kent maintained that “Tomárúm’s epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again.” Sharp, ambitious, and impactful, Tómarúm are the real deal, and if you have the silverware to spare, you should dig in to Beyond Obsidian Euphoria today.
#3. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth And Nail – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #4, #4, #6, #7, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – With just one list placement short of Archspire’s historical 2021 showing, Dormant Ordeal was the belle of the Listurnalia ball with their beefy blackened death opus Tooth and Nail. “Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable” (Thus Spoke), Tooth and Nail won over the unsettled minds of the AMG staff via achieving “the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound” (Dolphin Whisperer). Crowning Tooth and Nail his #1 album of 2025, Tyme attested that, “From the brutally effective ‘Halo of Bones’ to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars.” You’re just not getting death metal this heavy, this mean, and this delightfully re-listenable in 2025 if it’s not Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail. Simple as.
#2. Messa // The Spin – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #5, #ish, #HM, #HM, #HM] – The way the twelve writers who included Messa’s latest record The Spin on their lists describe it, you’d think they had no choice in the matter. Describing Messa’s blend of prog, doom, and post-rock, Dolphin Whisperer confessed, “I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try,” while Kenstrosity described The Spin as “Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom metal, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.” Topping a list of self-professed comfort picks, El Cuervo said of his #1 pick, “The Spin doesn’t trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes sound like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine.” Clearly, if you’re not ready to be taken in wholly by Messa and their intoxicating, multifaceted, and rewarding take on doom metal, then please avoid The Spin for your own sake.8
#1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – [#1, #1, #1, #4, #4, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I have not listened to every item of music released in 2025, but I still think I can say that none could be more powerful than 1914’s Viribus Unitis. I listened to nothing heavier, nothing more memorable, and nothing so relevant as 1914’s story of a Ukrainian soldier caught up in the mania of the First World War.” Thus spake Twelve, one of three writers to set Ukrainian blackened death doom dogs-of-war 1914 and their latest musical AAR Viribus Unitis atop their lists in 2025, setting it atop this aggregate list as a result. Though I’m perhaps a bit biased in saying this, it’s not hard to see why Viribus Unitis takes the cake because, as Grin Reaper put it, “1914 paints war-torn life with savage grace, supplying devastating melody and grueling crawls that elevate the album to such heights that I’m genuinely moved each time I get to the end.” Elsewhere, yours truly gushed pathetically collectedly stated, “Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music…1914 don’t play ‘history metal.’ Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.” Rattling minds in its violence, breaking hearts in its tragedy, Viribus Unitis is a singularly enthralling record and is (by aggregate decision) 2025’s best album.
#1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #InMourning #MaudTheMoth #Messa #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #Structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes -
AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 By Andy-War-Hall
Following the regrettable and entirely non-suspicious sabbatical of the great El Cuervo, the baton of the heroic effort of assembling the Aggregated List has been passed. This year’s list is a joint effort. The data collection and analysis have been handled by yours truly. The finely-crafted blurbs below were produced by newcomer Andy-War-Hall, who has not yet learnt to say no when volunteers are requested.
Of course, with new personnel comes new methods. Ranked choice group decision making is a famously knotty problem; indeed, one can show mathematically that a perfect mechanism simply doesn’t exist. And we are armed with partial information: did one of our writers not put a particular album on their list because they were lukewarm to it, or absolutely hated it (or would have, had they listened to it)? How do we even define the overall best album? Is it better for an album to be liked by many or loved by a few?
These questions led entirely too far down a rabbit hole on voting algorithms. I spent quite a while testing different approaches on last year’s list season.1 In the end, I have gone with an approach which is similar to the one El C used previously, but which more heavily weights the upper end of a list. A #1 placing gets 1 point, a #2 gets 1/2 a point, and so on.2 This, I hoped, would produce a list more representative of the records that were loved and passionately debated at AMG HQ, and less vulnerable to “lowest common denominator” criticisms levelled at previous aggregation endeavors.
This year, we had 28 lists, spanning 235 unique albums. This year’s tastemakers and/or crowd followers are Creeping Ivy, GardensTale, Kenstrosity, and Thus Spoke, each of whom had 7 records from their lists make it onto this one.3 Meanwhile, this year’s contrarians are Alekhines Gun and Dr. A.N. Grier, with exactly one each.
In practice, the new selection algorithm has done about what I expected. 14/20 of the records overlap between the two methods, with mostly minor changes in position. Records like Grima, Flummox, and Maud the Moth made the list with one passionate advocate and a handful of supporters. Records like Imperial Triumphant and Igorrr, with 7 and 6 relatively low placements, respectively, did not. Is this better? I think so, and if you don’t, you’re wrong, or a big fan of a record that didn’t make it onto the list in the new system.4, 5
–Sentynel
#20. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – [#2, #3, #4, #ish] – “Dax’s comeback album marks a triumphant and warm, comforting return from an underground icon. 7 Songs for Spiders delivered the goods, as Dax and friends dropped an album with a familiar, nostalgic feel that refuses to rest on its laurels. Riggs’ defining vocals sound as vital and deliciously smoky as ever, weaving signature morbid tales, deadly hooks, and earworm melodies through subdued yet deceptively hefty and bluesy folk-doom ditties.” (Saunders).
#19. Qrixkuor // The Womb Of The World – [#2, #3, #4, #8] – “Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent” (Thus Spoke).
#18. Grima // Nightside – [#1, #7, #10] – “On Nightside, [Grima] struck the perfect balance between the traditional influences of 2019’s Will of the Primordial and the propulsive, frozen atmosphere of Frostbitten (2022). The combination gives Nightside an almost hypnotic, and weirdly tranquil, flow, offset by Vilhelm’s rasping vocals, which remain among the best in the BM game” (Carcharodon).
#17. Flummox // Southern Progress – [#1, #9, #9, #HM] –
“Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer[…] Flummox’s fifth LP greatly affected me on a personal level. More so than any other record released this year, Southern Progress feels important, not just to me, and not just to Flummox. I strongly believe everyone could learn something from this bizarre, wild, and untamable barnstormer, and have a blast doing it” (Kenstrosity).#16. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – [#2, #7, #7, #9, #10, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next)” (Killjoy).
#14. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – [#1, #3] – “Buried Realm[…]gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred” (Baguette of Bodom).
#14. Maud The Moth // The Distaff – [#1, #3] – “And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does” (Dolphin Whisperer).
#13. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – [#1, #3, #HM] – “Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve” (Samguineous Maximus).
#12. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – [#1, #3, #6, #7] – “Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent” (Tyme).
#11. Primitive Man // Observance – [#1, #2, #10, #HM] – “Primitive Man is the heaviest band on the planet. While I’ve appreciated the Denver trio’s pitch-black approach to death metal laced with noise, doom, and sludge – from afar – Observance booked me in with upbeat tempos and a surprising melody. It swallows you whole like any good Primitive Man album ought to, but the devotion to deteriorating songwriting and weaponized noise” (Dear Hollow).
#10. Paradise Lost // Ascension – [#1, #3, #4, #7] – Paradise Lost’s latest entry into their historically varied and long-running discography, Ascension earned its flowers this Listurnalia through a heated handful of endorsements, all but one seated in the top halves of their respective lists. Whether impressing longtime fans like Steel Druhm through “maturity and sophistication even the classics lack” or grabbing off-and-on listeners like Thus Spoke by way of “grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium,” Ascension exudes not only oodles of gothic atmosphere but also vitality, something a band as old as Paradise Lost could be forgiven for lacking. As Grymm put it while crowning Ascension with his #1 spot, “With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.” Simply, find Paradise in Ascension or get Lost.
#9. Calva Louise // Edge Of The Abyss – [#1, #5, #5, #9, #9, #10, #HM] – Every year this list has to have at least one real oddball pick, and 2025 has Calva Louise and their prog-groove-electronica-metalcore-whatever record Edge of the Abyss. Our Overlord, Angry Metal Guy Himself, declared, “Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique.” Six other valued writers tolerated peons heaped their fair share of praise as well. Our server-savior Sentynel asserted, “Calva Louise is what you get if you take the Diablo Swing Orchestra and remove their classical instruments and sense of restraint. Something this absurd could only ever have been terrific or terrible.” Edge of the Abyss certainly won’t resonate for everybody as it did for much of the AMG crew, but with how much creativity and vision Calva Louise exude maybe that’s your fault if it doesn’t for you.
#8. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – [#1, #3, #3, #5] – When Tyme first reviewed the “murderpop” synthwave group Crippling Alcoholism’s Camgirl back in September, he “could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness.” Neither, it seems, could the three freshly-raised N00bs who included Crippling Alcoholism on their lists, including a top spot on Lavender Larcenist‘s list, describing Camgirl as “dripping with the atmosphere of neon-lit back rooms, seedy interactions, and terrible decision-making. It feels like a lens into the lives of those society has left behind, and I can’t help but feel a connection.” Though perhaps not the most typically metal record on the aggregate list, given Camgirl’s deeply unsettling atmosphere and sticky hooks, it’s not hard to see how it can grab a listener and not let go. In a world and music scene so deeply desensitized to depravity, Crippling Alcoholism tapped into something truly profane.6
#7. Havukruunu // Tavastland – [#1, #1, #3] – Havukruunu may not have placed on many lists, but Tavastland clawed smote mightily onto the aggregate list by right of being our first entry of two top-billing spots. Creeping Ivy was taken in by Tavastland’s “adventurous prog sensibilities” while claiming “Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency.” Dr. A. N. Grier similarly heaped highest praise onto Havukruunu over their ability to scratch “that itch for old-school Bathory-core that is almost as good as the real fucking thing” and onto Tavastland for its “bludgeoning Bathory-meets-Immortal riffs, feel-good Viking plods, melodic passages, and seamless transitions that make repeat listens oh-so soothing.” The verdict is out: Havukruunu may not draw from fresh or cutting-edge sounds, but Tavastland is nonetheless a sword-swinging, barrel-chested victory cry that will take you straight to Valhalla if you let it.
#6. Structure // Heritage – [#1, #2, #5, #5, #6, #7, #8, #ish] – If the world were just a little bit better, we might not have had the depressive conditions for funeral doom duo Structure to produce Heritage, so just be glad it kinda stinks here. Earning eight list placements, not to mention boss-man Steel Druhm‘s #1, Heritage rocked this blog hard in 2025. Dear Hollow made no bones in stating “Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation,” while Steely D. made clear that “over the 50 minutes of Heritage, the duo drag you to the heart of sadness, loss, and despair as only thoughtful, well-executed doom can. Yet there are faint rays of light and hope in the inky black…” If you have any taste for doom or death (and perhaps a touch of masochism), you should already have given Heritage a spin. If funeral doom isn’t your thing, listen to “Will I Deserve It” and make it your thing.7
#5. In Mourning // The Immortal – [#1, #2, #2, #4, #8, #9, #10, #HM] – In Mourning may be a sad bunch of melodeathers, but it can’t be from a lack of appreciation for their record The Immortal ’round these parts. The word “perfect” appeared twice in relation to The Immortal this Listurnalia, with Clark Kent claiming “From the beautiful guitar tones to the excellent combo of clean and harsh vox to the memorable melodies, The Immortal is an emotional tour-de-force that grows more majestic with each spin” and Owlswald opining “these Swedes have found the perfect combination of their patented Opethian death metal chuggery, sadboi melodies and creative dynamism, resulting in a sound rich in emotional depth with more digestible hooks than one can handle.” A grower for some, an instant hit for others, The Immortal is a smart, emotional journey and—if the well-deserved tongue-bathing it received on this blog is anything to go by—may just have set In Mourning as the flag bearers of melodic death metal for the remainder of the 2020s.
#4. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – [#1, #1, #2, #5, #HM] – Very nearly taking three #1 spots this Listurnalia, progressive death-heads Tómarúm hit it big in 2025 with their sophomore record Beyond Obsidian Euphoria. Layered like lasagna and dense as deep dish, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria left Saunders with no shortage of things to say in his list: “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft…the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface.” Similarly, Clark Kent maintained that “Tomárúm’s epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again.” Sharp, ambitious, and impactful, Tómarúm are the real deal, and if you have the silverware to spare, you should dig in to Beyond Obsidian Euphoria today.
#3. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth And Nail – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #4, #4, #6, #7, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM, #HM] – With just one list placement short of Archspire’s historical 2021 showing, Dormant Ordeal was the belle of the Listurnalia ball with their beefy blackened death opus Tooth and Nail. “Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable” (Thus Spoke), Tooth and Nail won over the unsettled minds of the AMG staff via achieving “the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound” (Dolphin Whisperer). Crowning Tooth and Nail his #1 album of 2025, Tyme attested that, “From the brutally effective ‘Halo of Bones’ to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired ‘Against the Dying of the Light,’ there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars.” You’re just not getting death metal this heavy, this mean, and this delightfully re-listenable in 2025 if it’s not Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail. Simple as.
#2. Messa // The Spin – [#1, #2, #2, #2, #3, #4, #5, #5, #ish, #HM, #HM, #HM] – The way the twelve writers who included Messa’s latest record The Spin on their lists describe it, you’d think they had no choice in the matter. Describing Messa’s blend of prog, doom, and post-rock, Dolphin Whisperer confessed, “I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try,” while Kenstrosity described The Spin as “Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom metal, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.” Topping a list of self-professed comfort picks, El Cuervo said of his #1 pick, “The Spin doesn’t trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes sound like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine.” Clearly, if you’re not ready to be taken in wholly by Messa and their intoxicating, multifaceted, and rewarding take on doom metal, then please avoid The Spin for your own sake.8
#1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – [#1, #1, #1, #4, #4, #8, #HM, #HM, #HM] – “I have not listened to every item of music released in 2025, but I still think I can say that none could be more powerful than 1914’s Viribus Unitis. I listened to nothing heavier, nothing more memorable, and nothing so relevant as 1914’s story of a Ukrainian soldier caught up in the mania of the First World War.” Thus spake Twelve, one of three writers to set Ukrainian blackened death doom dogs-of-war 1914 and their latest musical AAR Viribus Unitis atop their lists in 2025, setting it atop this aggregate list as a result. Though I’m perhaps a bit biased in saying this, it’s not hard to see why Viribus Unitis takes the cake because, as Grin Reaper put it, “1914 paints war-torn life with savage grace, supplying devastating melody and grueling crawls that elevate the album to such heights that I’m genuinely moved each time I get to the end.” Elsewhere, yours truly gushed pathetically collectedly stated, “Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music…1914 don’t play ‘history metal.’ Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.” Rattling minds in its violence, breaking hearts in its tragedy, Viribus Unitis is a singularly enthralling record and is (by aggregate decision) 2025’s best album.
#1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #InMourning #MaudTheMoth #Messa #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #Structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes -
Dolphin Whisperer’s and Thus Spoke’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Dolphin Whisperer
Thus Spoke and I go way back. In fact, after our successful graduation from the same n00b class and into our first list season as full article writers, we had imagined that us two as a listing pair would produce a lethal and novel whiplash.1 So welcome to the bottom (or top) half of this eclectic endeavor that’s sure to leave you with thirty-some-odd unique albums to revisit or ignore or whatever it is you do with our strong and word-riddled opinions.
Now, the keen reader may notice I’ve had a bit of a productivity drop-off since about June. Well, that’s cause my wife gave birth to The Dolphlet, first of his name, and that’s kind of a lot of work, as I’m finding out. Baby comes first, as it goes. But I squeaked out a few important things, including a Coroner review that the unwashed masses claimed didn’t jerk Tommy Baron and co. as full of glee as it should have. I did miss other important things, like several of my list items.2. And I sincerely apologize to the following bands and offer them words of condolence or, something like that, based upon their individual situation: Bonginator, you should be glad I dropped the ball, stop it with the lame interludes; and count your blessings, Hell Ever After, thrash doesn’t need to be a musical; Species, you did thrash right though and I’m happy that others enjoyed you even more; Moths, and more specifically bassist Weslie Negron, I’m sorry that I took on your interview when my son was one month old and my brain was fried—your album rocks and you put in so much work to make Moths special. And lastly, to all the classics, I had grand plans to YMIO because I thought my brain could make that work—haha.3
Angry Metal Guy, however, remains home for me. You, dear readers, are a part of that love and drive that keep me here. Sometimes, I may only be able to conjure a half-funny joke in the comments section—you laugh (let me believe that) and give it two to five likes. Others, I may hype the heck out of a promising underground act until one of my trusted colleagues tells me “Dolph, that’s enough already, I’ll review it, sheesh.”—you liked it probably more than I did anyway. You see, for every word of bleeding hyperbole that we scribble, two sets of eyes may walk away enraptured. When you’re dealing with artists who have anywhere from sub-100 to 30004 listeners on the popularity engine of Spotify, every set counts. Every purchase on Bandcamp or Ampwall counts. Every stream on Tidal or some other competitor counts. Even your damn scrobble on last.fm counts if you’re nerdy enough for that. So sappy as it may seem, along with the herding efforts of Steel and occasionally The Big Dr. AMG Man Himself, you all give life to the bands in this wonderful modern metal scene. Hails!!
#ish. Messa // The Spin – I can’t rid myself of the power that a soaring bluesy lick and a smoky siren voice hold, no matter how I try. Burned into my head are The Spin’s glassy chorused-out chorus escalations. Drenched into the cones of my crackling car speakers are the synth throbs of certified shakers “Fire on the Roof” and “Thicker Blood.” Turn up the volume and turn down the lights, Messa has come to steal attention with yet another platter of throwback creativity.
#10. Quadvium // Tetradōm – Steve DiGiorgio and Jeroen Paul Thesseling stand at the altar of supreme metal bassists in my own personal head canon. They’d helm yours too if you were familiar with the span of their collective talents across acts like Death, Sadus, Autopsy, (DiGiorgio), and Pestilence, Obscura, Sadist (Thesseling). Knowing all this, they decided to make an album together. And in their refinement as performers, they managed to make a supergroup two-bass project more than just a thumpy wankfest. Full of diverse and rich tones, modern and proggy jitteriness, and a rounded, jazz fusion-leaning taste for exploration, Tetradōm provides an exciting notch in the weathered belt of these legends. I don’t know where Quadvium goes next after this, but I hope that it’s anything but dormant.
#9. Scardust // Souls – Every time I hear the introductory stumble of “Long Forgotten Song,” I fall immediately into the spastic and serenading world that Scardust crafts with their hypermelodic, histrionic, and confident progressive metal attitude. Central to this success remains the peerless Noa Gruman, whose every melody lands with honey-slathered tack and sing-a-long inspiration, despite my voice being a far, far cry away from the searing soprano wail that functions as a mic-drop crescendo as often as it needs to. Behind her, though, lies one of modern prog’s most nimble rhythm sections, imbuing even ballads like “Dazzling Darkness” and “Searing Echoes” with a bass-popping and hi-hat chattering clamor that places Souls in a league of its own. Also, Ross Jennings of Haken sounds better here than he has with Haken since The Mountain.
#8. Chiasma // Reaches – Chiasma possesses the unique ability to blend in with the modern paradigm of accessible melody prog in the lane of a band like Tesseract without conforming to its most djentrified tendencies. Rather, floating in its own swirl of Cynic-coded riffage and angelic, layered vocal excess, Reaches explodes with atmosphere and propulsive riff alike. In Katie Thompson’s nimble serenades rests a voice imbued with both a fluttering prowess and an aching heart. And in this sorrow—wrapped in the brightness of bleeping electronic backings, flipping virtuosic guitar runs, and singular voice—a yearning and healing takes place in fervent and fluorescent splendor.
#7. Dawnwalker // The Between – Just when I thought Dawnwalker didn’t have any more surprises left in their bag of tricks that seem tailor-made for my enjoyment,5 these sneaky Brits went and pulled out the one-long-song album. Continuing to live in the space of esoteric philosophy set forth in The Unknowing last year, Dawnwalker collects moods from all their previous works—the melancholy of isolation from In Rooms, the vocal aggression from Human Ruins, a sonic palette even grander in scope than Ages—to explore thoughts surrounding death. In lush construction, plaintive discourse, and time-bending magic, The Between breathes as a meditation bookended by heavy chiming bells—a journey that feels longer than its svelte 30-ish minute runtime but with none of the fatigue its gargantuan ask threatens. 6
#6. Gorycz // Zasypia – It’s a shame that Gorycz isn’t a household name, as their mystical, groovy approach to atmospheric and retching black metal sits among my favorites in the genre as a whole. Zasypia, as part three of a trilogy, tells a tale of despair through a warping pedalboard light on traditional distortion, shrieking throat on the edge of coherence,7 and dancing kit full of jazzy aplomb. In the space that lives between recursive and developing refrains, terror lurks. But in the Gorycz tattered exhale hangs a reverence for the beauty that can emerge from destruction and grieving. Feel every amplified string creak as you fall deeper into this devastating world.
#5. Lychgate // Precipice – You may be aware that this album was released on the 19th of December, a full two days after we were supposed to turn in these lists. Knowing that, I made sure I beat Precipice to the punch of garbage time list upheaval by listening to it, well, before that. In turn, Lychgate made sure that they’d make this late-season blooming count. With the death-thrash spirit of an early Morbid Angel crashing through low-end organ harmony and colliding with Holdsworthian alien guitar bleating, Precipice holds back neither on its urge to wander in arcane atmosphere nor on its urge to churn bodies in kinetic wonder. As another writer (whose name I can’t remember) said, Precipice ensnares by “…oscillating between Zappa’s Jazz from Hell and unearthly, pit-scorching acrobatics.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.8
#4. Barren Path // Grieving – The best grindcore album of the decade so far would come from the manic attack of Gridlink sans Jon Chang. Absent his terrifying shriek, Matsubara’s guitar scatter weighs heavier, Fajarado’s lightning snare rolls clang sharper, all against song lengths that inhabit the true short-form tradition of extreme brevity. The truth is, I’ve spent longer than the album’s length trying to convey its intensity and prowess, so just go and listen to it already. I’ll wait here. No, seriously, do it.
#3. Turian // Blood Quantum Blues – So very rare is the album that aligns like a key to a lock of a heart torn by generational angst. An eloquence exists in the disparity between Turian’s stark societal observations punctuated by raw emotional interjections of “FUCK”. I haven’t bothered to count the instances that this linguistic escalation occurs, but I guarantee that there are more fucks per stanza on Blood Quantum Blues than your favorite album this year. And, after you’ve become addicted to its overdriven noise rock-meets-hardcore-meets-industrial madness, you’ll know every single one as you shout along its contemptuous tales of cultural erasure. Indians don’t vanish, and neither will my love for every riff, every breakdown, and every tirade of Blood Quantum Blues.
#2. Changeling // Changeling – Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger poured everything into Changeling. Arranging over thirty performers across Changeling’s seems Sisyphean in scope, but Geldschläger persevered. Through peerless fretless wailings, every instrument under the sun follows well-developed motifs, and a pure love for metal, Changeling expresses nostalgia and novelty in its every loaded nook and cranny. And behind each moment of dense and exuberant songcraft, Geldschläger has tinkered to deliver an experience that feels carved over a lifetime. On top of all of that, Geldschläger is also a true guitar wizard—he zigs and zags and twists and twirls where others wear a scale to death. Like a classic novel or movie, Changeling reveals its worth both in immediate, jaw-dropping action and deep, attention-stealing detail. Geldschläger even put together a Dolby Atmos mix for the album and held listening parties in Berlin. I hear they’re wonderful. Come to California, Tom!
#1. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – When we seek art, we seek bravery and freedom of expression. And in the music that we seek in a refuge like Angry Metal guy, we often find these qualities expressed in emotional theme, in raw, sonic aggression, or in sweeping guitar-led grandeur. Woven from a different base cloth, Maud the Moth on paper does not fit that mold. Amaya López-Carromero wields, instead, a piano and scrawled diary pages. She, too, has pain, the same as any human who has encountered a world unforgiving to a life that wishes to live in a divergent path. And like the artists we value—or rather, like the artists I value—Amaya presents her vision of this struggle with focused and expanding melodic lines, crushing and crying crescendos, and an earnestness that compels its audience to surrender for a moment to a world created by these musical ideas. When your sadness comes, it won’t weep in blacks and ivories the way that The Distaff does. But you can pop it on and pretend for its run that its triumph will transfer from your ears to the very center of your tingling chest.
Honorable Mentions:
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Tempos that flow like a full sewage pipe and riffage that doesn’t let up until the steaming and warped conclusion. The Pissgrave family flows as one heaving death-fueled machine, and it’s sad to see them close shop. But they left us with a monster of a swansong.
- Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Pummeling and emotionally resonant—if a bit ham-fisted in some lyrical choices—Tooth and Nail represents the ideal form so far of what Dormant Ordeal can achieve with their gut-wrenching take on the Polish death metal sound.
- Sterveling // Sterveling – The backdrop of black metal on what is otherwise downcast jam music makes for a combo that is both hypnotic and uncontested in the space. It helps that the vocalist lets out some of the most demented howls I’ve heard this year.
- 夢遊病者 // РЛБ30011922 – Speaking of jam music, 夢遊病者 has, over time, morphed from a more frenetic math rock-indebted experience to this current, flowing state of progressive tone porn. 2025 was a good year for the one-song album. And much like Dawnwalker’s The Between, it takes up about thirty minutes and some change. Restraint, class, and fat bass heaven.
- Aversed // Erasure of Color – I’m not normally one for melodic death metal. But when it comes packaged with this much mic vitriol and a neoclassical sense that reminds me of the late, great Nevermore,9 I pay attention. And I spin it again and again and again—constant rotation since arrival.
- Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – Certain albums that come out late in the year suffer greatly because their true power lies in remaining interesting and unfolding over a long period of time. Immersion Trench Reverie is a special album, and Confusion Gate feels like its sequel. Comfy and caustic all at once.
- Moths // Septem – As the premier progressive metal band from Puerto Rico, Moths has a loaded mission to make a name for themselves. And with another album that keeps its runtime tight and its riffweight heavy, Septem deserves your attention for half an hour and then some. Hey, look, it’s on Ampwall too!
- Grayceon // Then the Darkness – Cello metal at its finest and most relatable. Despite advances in chamber inclusion throughout the metalsphere, not a single band sounds like Grayceon yet. And their songwriting quality remains so high that I don’t care that this album is just about eighty minutes.
- Helms Deep // Chasing the Dragon – There’s a dragon with a jetpack on the cover. I shouldn’t need to say more than that. But note also that Chasing the Dragon comes also loaded with rollicking ’80s flair and pentatonic guitar wizardry that’s so out of fashion it’s cool again. This is metal.
Disappointments o’ the Year:
- Suffering Hour // Impelling Rebirth and Umulamahri // Learning the Secrets of Acid – You’ll see more words about these later, cause they are great. And they are EPs. That’s not enough music when this quality exists.
Songs o’ the Year:
Why give you one when I can give you twenty-seven? Why twenty-seven? That’s my secret. Now, I’ve talked enough. Go out there and enjoy some music, friends. And enjoy this photo of my dogs eating. And the Dolphlet admiring them!
Thus Spoke
I’ve been blindsided by the year’s end again, and now have to find some interesting things to say about 2025. Other than the fact that I turned 3010, my main personal Thing ov Significance is that I managed to land myself a new job, which I’ll start in the new year.11 Don’t worry, though, I won’t be girl-bossing too hard to have time for AMG.
Musically, 2025 has been a (small) step down from 2024 for me, although this could just be due to my attention deficit. I’ve had my finger less firmly on the pulse in the last six months, such that several albums, by artists I like, many on this list, either took me completely by surprise on release day, or crossed my radar barely any sooner, thanks to me actually checking Slack for once. I don’t have any well-defined excuse for this outside of plain old burnout plus terrible organization. On the other hand, the fact that I didn’t review most of my favorite records this year means that I can bat away criticisms of self-indulgence by having a year-end list mostly comprised of albums I didn’t write about. One thing I am happy to have achieved this year is running my first AMG Ranking piece on Panopticon. It might be the most verbose and least exciting of its kind for the majority of site readers, but being forced to immerse myself that extensively in the discography of an artist I love was very cool (albeit intense).
Speaking of my own erratic presence at HQ, leads me on to the hiatus (official or not) of several wonderful people among the staff, particularly my list-buddy Maddog, whom I miss very much. They all have good reasons, and I support them immensely, even if it means fewer of their excellent reviews. Fortunately, we’ve also welcomed many newcomers to our ranks who can pick up my slack in their stead, and whose reviews help me improve my own writing whilst also appending to the endless list of Things I Must Listen To.
As my extensive yapping here shows, my ability to meet a word count hasn’t improved much. Before finally moving on to the list, I’ll take the chance to reiterate my gratitude for everyone reading this, and some people who might not be. Thank you to all the staff for collectively making this all possible, and giving me the opportunity to speak about music and for people—you guys—to actually read it. Thank you for reading. Even if our tastes are completely opposed and you think I’m wrong about everything, I’m glad you’re here.
Now for the bit people actually care about.
#ish. Panopticon // Songs of Hiraeth – Quietly12 released alongside Laurentian Blue, Songs of Hiraeth is a collection of songs composed between 2009-2011 that never saw the light of day. In it, you can hear the incredible development of Panopticon’s signature emotionally swelling black metal style in this period, and this record, like virtually all of them, as I repeated in my ranking blurbs, is gorgeously, absorbingly heartfelt and powerful. Unlike you might expect, it actually increases in intensity as it progresses (for me), with the final trifecta of “The End is Drawing Near,” “A Letter,” and “The Eulogy” all gunning for my Songs o’ the Year playlist with first devastating rage and fury, then heartbroken solemnity and sublime melody throughout. I guess it’s not fully in the list purely because it’s not a ‘proper’ new release, or whatever.
#10. Grima // Nightside – It could have been easy to forget about Grima, given its dropping right on the cusp of the stacked Spring release season we had this year, and the fact that I didn’t instantly mark it down for a TYMHM as with Clouds. But I didn’t forget. Despite their wintry aesthetic, Grima’s music warms my heart with folky magic and ardent blackened blizzards. Nightside is no exception, its warmth coming this time from a renewed emphasis on the atmosphere and bayan after the higher energies of Frostbitten. I love intense, harsh, frosty black metal, and I love how Grima do it (“Impending Death Premonition,” “Where We are Lost”). But what I love most of all about Grima is how they pair that with their folky tendencies, and the way—as Sharky pointed out—Vilhelm’s rasps graze over it all. This culminates, for me, in the more mournful and urgent tone of several tracks on Nightside, where intense moments still feel dreamlike (“The Nightside”), and vocals breathe like ghostly whispers (“Mist and Fog”). It’s not my favorite Grima record (that’s probably Rotten Garden), but being a Grima record at all, given their caliber, means it’s bloody great and has to be on my list.
#9. Bianca // Bianca – Here’s an excellent example of a record I very likely would never have heard were it not for the AMG writer community. And wow, am I grateful I did. Ken‘s description alone caught my interest, let alone the tidbit that the project includes two members of another 2025 favorite of mine, Patristic.13 It takes familiar concepts from metal, both post—ethereal atmospheres and haunting singing—and extreme—sky-piercing shrieks, undulating, relentless double-bass, and tangled guitar blizzards—but sounds like nothing else. Even in combining these elements, Bianca stands alone. The coalescence of blackened, doomed, ambient layers is mesmerizing, the pitches upward into mania, and lapses back into mournful mystique, captivating. Throat-gripping furor arrests me more inextricably than almost anything else this year (“Abysmal,” “Nachthexe”), and transcendent melodies forged from this black fire lift me fully out of my body (“Abysmal,” “Todestrieb”). I’ve been in love since.
#8. Der Weg Einer Freiheit // Innern – Innern’s influence on me was subtle and insidious. I would just put it on, be absorbed—or be sucked back in periodically, if I was working and not concentrating on it—and suddenly it would end. Then I’d listen to it again. Der Weg Einer Freiheit has been developing their particular intense, dark, atmospheric kind of (post-) black over the last decade or so, and with Innern, it’s approaching an apex. Through endlessly enveloping compositions, filled with fury and urgency (“Marter”) or solemn reflection and introspection (“Eos,” “Forlorn”), that flow seamlessly out of one another, Innern folds you insidiously into its depths. Compelling melodies, dynamic rushing percussion, and here-dramatic, there-soft-spoken vocals, each taking pieces and incorporating trials from Der Weg Einer Freiheit’s career so far, drive the thematic compositional thread through irresistibly. From the anticipatory opening shudders to the ebbing chords at its close, Innern is an experience best taken whole, and one I’ve indulged in countless times to go on this magnetic journey once again.
#7. Paradise Lost // Ascension – I never thought this would land here when first announced. Sure, I like Paradise Lost, but their back-catalog is so mixed (in style, let alone quality), that ‘liking’ them for me comes down to enjoying a handful of their now 17 albums. Even the singles’ being good failed to stir anything more than curiosity, given my experience with intra-album inconsistency. But when Ascension did finally grace my ears in full, it appropriately transcended any doubts and softened my heart towards these doom icons again.14 Paradise Lost were heavy again, melancholic and mopey again—in a cool, atmospheric way—and Ascension just flowed, with grungy aggression and sadboi introspection in perfect equilibrium. This easy, natural duality that characterizes Gothic metal, and Paradise Lost themselves as genre pioneers, when they’re at the top of their game, is exemplified in Ascension. Hopefully, the group can stay on this trajectory for number 18, if that comes.
#6. Clouds // Desprins – I don’t understand how Clouds are as good as they are. I mean this as no insult to the musicians; what stuns me is the depth of pathos, and the consistency with which they deliver it, given the relatively understated and idiosyncratic manner in which they execute it. Their characteristic flute-folk-funeral doom is so ethereally, painfully sad without being overwrought, melodramatic, or crushing. It took my n00bish breath away four years ago, and this year Desprins came and took it again; this time with pieces of my soul attached. The music is just so beautiful—unrelentingly bleak, but beautiful, and Clouds’ balance of the dark and the light through the synths and acoustics, and apathetic spoken-word is exquisite and deeply affecting. These composite melodies, swelling and trilling softly, are transportive for me—particularly “Life Becomes Lifeless,” “Chain Me,” “Sorrowbound,” and “Chasing Ghosts.” Desprins is everything I want funeral doom to be: a prolonged dream-state of melancholy that paradoxically brings me joy.
#5. Deafheaven // Lonely People with Power – I have never been a Deafheaven fan. In all honesty, I’m still not. Lonely People with Power fires me up and fills my soul, while the rest of their discography continues to leave me completely cold. It seems that, briefly departing from metal entirely with Infinite Granite, has matured their sound, adding layers to their edgy blackgaze. Even when indifferent, I never understood the scorn their music generates, and now that I’ve fallen for Lonely People with Power, it makes even less sense. Not only is the way Deafheaven are combining rich, beautiful melodies with—yes—brilliant black metal simply lovely to listen to, slick, seamless, sharp, etc, it’s also distinctive and engrossing. That’s before even getting into how emotionally resonant it is. And it’s not even like this means it can’t be heavy—heck, one of these tracks is on my Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. It’s not ‘cringe’; it’s a phenomenal record and one of the best to release this year.
#4. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – I have always been most moved—emotionally and aesthetically—by 1914’s brand of WWI-themed blackened-death than any other like act. Viribus Unitis somehow outdoes Where Fear and Weapons Meet, and possibly all of the band’s previous efforts, for evocativeness and being straightforward and compelling. From the now hallmark bookends “War In/Out” to frequent samples to lyrics infused with real soldier testimony, Viribus Unitis envelops the listener in this portal to the past through 1914’s most powerful, urgently melodic compositions. Every song is heavy, dramatic, and snappy in just the right amounts, resulting in a series of back-to-back bangers that also occasionally really, really hit home emotionally. “1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” does all the above to perfection and has received an almost embarrassing number of replays in the short time since release. But “1919 (The Home where I Died)” did actually make me cry,15 and its fade into “War Out” is the perfect end to the monumental achievement Viribus Unitis represents.
#3. Patristic // Catechesis – It seems that every year, I review one particular atmospheric-dissonant death metal record which dominates my listening in that subgenre, and instantly secures a year-end list spot. In 2023, Serpent of Old, last year Ulcerate16, and this year Patristic. Catechesis was an immediate, visceral love for me, and not once since June has it left rotation. Sinister and dark, but irresistible in its seamlessly flowing, captivating macro-composition narrated by roars and solemn sermonizing; it ends far too soon. And in addition to being beautifully atmospheric and magnetic in melody and dissonance alike, it stands out for truly insane performances in their own right. Specifically, the drumming, which continues to blow my mind and propels Catechesis from greatness into excellence with hypnotic, intelligent rhythmic interplay. Patristic’s uncanny ability to make extreme, inaccessible music incomprehensibly engrossing and a magnificent expression of its concept are why I can’t stop listening to Catechesis, and why it’s almost the best record of 2025.
#2. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – Much like reviewer Kenstrosity, whereas Qrixkuor’s debut Poison Palinopsia rewired my brain with its brilliance, I found follow-up Zoetrope a tad underwhelming. When said sponge began to hint, and then gush unstoppably about the duo’s second full-length, The Womb of the World, which was in his possession, vague hope turned to giddy excitement. Not only the twisted, psychedelic horror of their signature freeform blackened death would await me, but also a full live orchestra. Yet I still don’t think anything could have adequately prepared me for how massive and mad The Womb of the World actually is. With the strings, horns, and piano swooping and crashing about in great surges and falls, Qrixkuor’s already grandiose style fully feels like some tormented classical opus, and it’s utterly magnificent. Things so small as my words can’t do justice to the way the eerie and intense lurching orchestrals, maniacal snarling voices, and cavernous extreme metal combine to create some of the best things I have ever heard, ever. Weirdly memorable and violently compelling despite its monstrosity, I’ve become completely addicted to it since. Ken himself said, it is “a mastapeece for those to whom sanity is immaterial,” when he rightfully deemed it ‘Excellent’. If I must rescind soundness of mind to so esteem The Womb of the World, I will do so gladly.
#1. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Last year, Divine Laughter went from unknown to #5 on my year-end list in about 2 weeks, so when I found out there was a follow-up—thanks to my new Flippered list buddy—I dropped everything.17 My stratospheric expectations were not only met, but they were lifted into outer space. I would fear for Cave Sermon’s ability to deliver in the future, but Fragile Wings itself dismisses any trepidation. So recognizably, uniquely Cave Sermon, it displays a new, more uplifting interpretation of their sound. A commenter pointed out the lack of reference to So Hideous in my review, and in retrospect, I see their point, at least in degree: the two projects are similarly experimental and impressively novel-sounding without actually feeling avant-garde. But there is just something about Cave Sermon that puts them in an entirely different category of genius—for me. Fragile Wings is playful but not silly; it’s complex but memorable, groovy, and fun; it’s dissonant and strange, but it’s organic, harmonious, and digestible. The idea that just one person is behind this18 makes it that much more mind-blowing. At this rate, there could well be another Cave Sermon record next year, and on the current trajectory, it may finally land this fantastic artist the official Iconic status they have always deserved.
Honorable Mentions:
- Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Hands-down my favorite Dormant Ordeal album so far. Heavy, groovy, and eminently-listenable, it really got its claws into me—especially during gym sessions shortly after release. It did fall out of my rotation quite substantially, in favor of its rivals above, thus putting it here.
- Primitive Man // Observance – When Observance dropped, and I was listening for the first time, I badly tried to describe Primitive Man to my partner (not a metal fan) over WhatsApp as “being crushed by a big rock really slowly, but in a good way.” Obviously, they didn’t know what I was on about, but Spicie Forrest seems to with his much better analogy of “being imprisoned and forgotten in a lightless pit.” Primitive Man has always made silly-heavy, scary-huge music, but Observance clicked with me like nothing else in their discography prior. I am indeed helplessly crushed and held prisoner.
- Blut Aus Nord // Ethereal Horizons – I think if this had dropped just a tiny bit earlier, it could have ended up on my list proper. Blut Aus Nord has always been one of those artists I know I do enjoy, but for some reason has never fully clicked for me. Ethereal Horizons felt immediately more enthralling. It’s more atmospheric, more darkly melodic, more blackened in its heaviness, and through it all, possibly more frightening.
Songs of the Year
- Cave Sermon – “Ancient for Someone”
- Panopticon – “A Letter”
- Panopticon – “The Poppies Bloom For No King”
- Patristic – “A Vinculis Soluta II”
- Qrixkuor – “The Womb of the World”
- Bianca – “Abysmal”
- Deafheaven – “The Garden Route”
- Nephylim – “Amaranth”
- Clouds – “Sorrowbound”
- 1914 – “1918 Pt 3 A.D.E (A Duty to Escape)”
- Der Weg Einer Freiheit – “Marter”
- Primitive Man – “Natural Law”
Show 18 footnotes
- That said, since reverb dampens bite, it’s actually impossible to experience “whiplash” while listening to the music you two like. – AMG ↩
- Which by the time of publication, you’ll discover I either did it in time enough to run before this or… you’ll get them when you get them ↩
- Also, if I forgot that I dropped the ball on reviewing your album, well, you wouldn’t know anyway, would you? Sorry. ↩
- Every #1 artist, including now Maud the Moth, I’ve had for the past few years, falls in this range currently, with the lowest being Vvon Dogma I at 87 monthly listeners. Each and every one of you can make a difference. ↩
- OK, I never doubted them. ↩
- Seems like a 4.0 innit. ilu Twelve. <3 ↩
- If you speak Polish, anyway. ↩
- ilu2 Grinny. <3 ↩
- Loomis, mind telling us what’s going on here?? ↩
- rip ↩
- It’s especially exciting given I’ve been a team of one for a few months now, following job cuts and resignations. ↩
- Or not-so-quietly, if you’re not an idiot like me who doesn’t read their Bandcamp emails and so may as well not be on these bands’/labels’ email lists. ↩
- Whom you’ll see here a bit later. ↩
- I actually ended up going to see them live shortly after, where they essentially ‘played the hits’ from across their career—which was fun—and generally seemed like nice blokes. ↩
- I’ll reiterate here that I do cry quite easily, but still! ↩
- That was a good year. ↩
- I was at work, and I think I audibly gasped, prompting my neighbour to ask me what was going on. ↩
- Composition, performances, programming, mixing, and mastering were all done by Charlie Park, with the cover art courtesy of artist Al Lane. ↩
-
Tyme’s and Killjoy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Tyme
I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.
And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!
Now! To the LIST!!!
#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.
#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.
#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.
#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.
#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.
#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6
#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.
#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.
#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.
#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.
#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.
Honorable Mentions
- Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
- Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
- Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
- Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
- Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
- Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.
Song o’ the Year:
‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.
WINNER(?):
Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8
Killjoy
The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.
On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.
And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.
I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!
#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.
#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.
#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.
#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.
#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.
#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.
#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.
#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.
#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.
#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.
#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.
Honorable Mentions:
- Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
- Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
- Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
- Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
- Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
- Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
- Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.
Song o’ the Year:
Judicator – “Concord”
#2025 #Aganoor #AnAbstractIllusion #AncientBards #Anfauglir #Antino #Antinoë #Asira #Bergfried #BlackNarcissus #BlogPosts #Braia #CaveSermon #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #Cryptopsy #DaxRiggs #Depravity #Diabolizer #DormantOrdeal #Gloombound #Halocraft #Igorrr #Imperishable #InMourning #Judicator #Kauan #KingWitch #Lipoma #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMoth #Messa #MoronPolice #MutagenicHost #PhantomSpell #Pissgrave #Puteraeon #Structure #TymeSAndKilljoySTop10IshOf2025 #Valhalore #WyattE -
Tyme’s and Killjoy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Tyme
I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.
And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!
Now! To the LIST!!!
#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.
#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.
#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.
#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.
#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.
#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6
#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.
#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.
#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.
#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.
#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.
Honorable Mentions
- Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
- Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
- Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
- Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
- Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
- Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.
Song o’ the Year:
‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.
WINNER(?):
Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8
Killjoy
The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.
On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.
And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.
I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!
#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.
#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.
#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.
#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.
#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.
#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.
#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.
#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.
#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.
#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.
#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.
Honorable Mentions:
- Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
- Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
- Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
- Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
- Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
- Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
- Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.
Song o’ the Year:
Judicator – “Concord”
#2025 #Aganoor #AnAbstractIllusion #AncientBards #Anfauglir #Antino #Antinoë #Asira #Bergfried #BlackNarcissus #BlogPosts #Braia #CaveSermon #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #Cryptopsy #DaxRiggs #Depravity #Diabolizer #DormantOrdeal #Gloombound #Halocraft #Igorrr #Imperishable #InMourning #Judicator #Kauan #KingWitch #Lipoma #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMoth #Messa #MoronPolice #MutagenicHost #PhantomSpell #Pissgrave #Puteraeon #Structure #TymeSAndKilljoySTop10IshOf2025 #Valhalore #WyattE -
Tyme’s and Killjoy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Tyme
I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.
And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!
Now! To the LIST!!!
#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.
#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.
#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.
#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.
#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.
#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6
#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.
#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.
#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.
#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.
#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.
Honorable Mentions
- Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
- Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
- Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
- Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
- Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
- Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.
Song o’ the Year:
‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.
WINNER(?):
Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8
Killjoy
The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.
On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.
And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.
I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!
#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.
#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.
#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.
#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.
#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.
#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.
#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.
#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.
#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.
#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.
#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.
Honorable Mentions:
- Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
- Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
- Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
- Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
- Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
- Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
- Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.
Song o’ the Year:
Judicator – “Concord”
#2025 #Aganoor #AnAbstractIllusion #AncientBards #Anfauglir #Antino #Antinoë #Asira #Bergfried #BlackNarcissus #BlogPosts #Braia #CaveSermon #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #Cryptopsy #DaxRiggs #Depravity #Diabolizer #DormantOrdeal #Gloombound #Halocraft #Igorrr #Imperishable #InMourning #Judicator #Kauan #KingWitch #Lipoma #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMoth #Messa #MoronPolice #MutagenicHost #PhantomSpell #Pissgrave #Puteraeon #Structure #TymeSAndKilljoySTop10IshOf2025 #Valhalore #WyattE -
Tyme’s and Killjoy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Tyme
I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.
And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!
Now! To the LIST!!!
#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.
#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.
#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.
#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.
#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.
#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6
#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.
#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.
#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.
#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.
#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.
Honorable Mentions
- Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
- Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
- Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
- Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
- Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
- Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.
Song o’ the Year:
‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.
WINNER(?):
Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8
Killjoy
The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.
On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.
And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.
I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!
#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.
#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.
#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.
#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.
#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.
#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.
#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.
#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.
#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.
#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.
#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.
Honorable Mentions:
- Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
- Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
- Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
- Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
- Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
- Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
- Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.
Song o’ the Year:
Judicator – “Concord”
#2025 #Aganoor #AnAbstractIllusion #AncientBards #Anfauglir #Antino #Antinoë #Asira #Bergfried #BlackNarcissus #BlogPosts #Braia #CaveSermon #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #Cryptopsy #DaxRiggs #Depravity #Diabolizer #DormantOrdeal #Gloombound #Halocraft #Igorrr #Imperishable #InMourning #Judicator #Kauan #KingWitch #Lipoma #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMoth #Messa #MoronPolice #MutagenicHost #PhantomSpell #Pissgrave #Puteraeon #Structure #TymeSAndKilljoySTop10IshOf2025 #Valhalore #WyattE -
Tyme’s and Killjoy’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm
Tyme
I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.
And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.
Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!
Now! To the LIST!!!
#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.
#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.
#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.
#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.
#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.
#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6
#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.
#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.
#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.
#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.
#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.
Honorable Mentions
- Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
- Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
- Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
- Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
- Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
- Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
- Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.
Song o’ the Year:
‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.
WINNER(?):
Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8
Killjoy
The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.
On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.
And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.
I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!
#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.
#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.
#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.
#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.
#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.
#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.
#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.
#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.
#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.
#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.
#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.
Honorable Mentions:
- Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
- Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
- Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
- Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
- Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
- Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
- Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.
Song o’ the Year:
Judicator – “Concord”
#2025 #Aganoor #AnAbstractIllusion #AncientBards #Anfauglir #Antino #Antinoë #Asira #Bergfried #BlackNarcissus #BlogPosts #Braia #CaveSermon #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #Cryptopsy #DaxRiggs #Depravity #Diabolizer #DormantOrdeal #Gloombound #Halocraft #Igorrr #Imperishable #InMourning #Judicator #Kauan #KingWitch #Lipoma #Lists #Listurnalia #MaudTheMoth #Messa #MoronPolice #MutagenicHost #PhantomSpell #Pissgrave #Puteraeon #Structure #TymeSAndKilljoySTop10IshOf2025 #Valhalore #WyattE -
Planes Planes Planes
Well if it isn't obvious already, I love fighter aircraft. I've also come to really enjoy plane model kits. After perusing some cool model kits and custom LEGO builds, I was inspired to make a list of my favourite modern fighter aircraft. Consider it a "wishlist" of sorts.
1. Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F
Canards... Small... Short takeoffs and landings... Easy maintenance... Dispersed operations... The F variant has room for a Friend :3
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/9/4/4524493.jpg?v=v4f7e3eb301c
2. MiG-29 (Project 9.12) 'Fulcrum'
A quick, nimble, and elegant beast of a plane. Just chef's kiss. ALSO also, intake louvers...
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/6/9/2/2773296.jpg?v=v40
3. MiG-35 'Fulcrum-E'
Just a rad looking plane with the latest avionics. Sad to see the louvers go but I'm glad this plane finally got to fulfill its dream of being a true multirole fighter.
https://www.airdatanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/mig-35-taxi.jpg
4. Su-57 'Felon'
I mean just look at it. It's pure eyecandy. The angles... The intakes... The angled vertical stabilizers that also serve as giant rudders... I love it so much dknkjefdhnfdn
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/%D0%A1%D1%83-57.jpg
5. Su-30 'Flanker-C/H'
Big swan of death with canards. Kills for days. Looks like the MiG-29's big sister so I'm already sold.
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/8/4/5445481.jpg?v=v48f8b443d14
6. Su-30MKK and Su-35 'Flanker-E/M'
Big swan of death with carrier capabilities (MK2 only) and the latest avionics (both). A worthy upgrade over the older Flankers, but they don't have canards :(
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/2/6/4244621.jpg?v=v4bec816a509
7. Dassault Rafale
I'm pretty new to the Rafale but I'm liking what I see. La France fait de bonnes choses. Canards...
8. F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Just a lil guy. Nimble and quick. Very happy to meet beat you c:
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/53321_1487251790.jpg
9. MiG-31BM 'Foxhound'
An absolute beast of a plane that has no business being this fucking fast but here we are. Those massive angular intakes are a weakness of mine...
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/8/2/6602283.jpg?v=v461ba5ae6ce
10. F-35 Lightning II A/B
As much as I hate it, I do actually like the F-35. A decent looking bird with a lot of cool tech. The A variant is the best all-around version but come on, who doesn't love a good "droop toot"?
https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/3/6/0/5488063.jpg?v=v41f9aea5f0b
Special mention
The F-22 Raptor was my favourite fighter aircraft when I was younger. It was new and rad looking at the time, but I've since grown apart from it. I find the F-35 to look juuuust a tad nicer and with a lot more cool stuff going on. I still have a soft spot for the F-22 though. It kinda looks like a puppy, of death :3
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/F-22_Raptor_-_100702-F-4815G-217.jpg
Additional note
I try my best to avoid sharing images of Russian aircraft due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, so understand that when I share images of the Su-57 or other Russian aircraft, it is NOT an endorsement of the Russian government and their actions as of late. This probably doesn't need to be said but I feel the need to make my position on things very clear.
#aircraft #fighterjet #jas39gripen #mig29 #mig35 #su57 #su30 #su35 #dassaultrafale #f16 #mig31 #f35 #f22 #specialinterestposting
-
【サイクリング】自転車旅(富山県 雨晴海岸) 2025秋「Travel Cycling ( Amaharashi Coast Toyama) Japan 2025」＃ゆるポタ https://www.bikingjp.com/880377/ #＃サイクリング #＃ポタリング ##ゆるポタ #＃世界一美しいスタバ #＃富山湾岸サイクルロード西側コース #＃富山県 #＃新湊大橋 #＃自転車 #＃雨晴海岸 #BROMPTON #中部地方 #中部地方サイクリング #富山県自転車
-
【サイクリング】自転車旅(富山県 雨晴海岸) 2025秋「Travel Cycling ( Amaharashi Coast Toyama) Japan 2025」＃ゆるポタ https://www.bikingjp.com/880377/ #＃サイクリング #＃ポタリング ##ゆるポタ #＃世界一美しいスタバ #＃富山湾岸サイクルロード西側コース #＃富山県 #＃新湊大橋 #＃自転車 #＃雨晴海岸 #BROMPTON #中部地方 #中部地方サイクリング #富山県自転車
-
"Orage tropical sur tôle ondulée"
(Oeuvre originale dispo aussi en NFT et NFT 2.0, faire offre sérieuse en MP)
#ArtContemporain #pluie #mouille #orage #OrageTropical #ToleOndulee #mabati #amabati #SaisonDesPluies #PanneDeCourant #PanneDElectricite #musique #creation #arnaque #escroquerie #escroc #capitalisme #cacapipitalisme #requin #musiquecontemporaine #CreationOriginale #OeuvredArt
-
"Orage tropical sur tôle ondulée"
(Oeuvre originale dispo aussi en NFT et NFT 2.0, faire offre sérieuse en MP)
#ArtContemporain #pluie #mouille #orage #OrageTropical #ToleOndulee #mabati #amabati #SaisonDesPluies #PanneDeCourant #PanneDElectricite #musique #creation #arnaque #escroquerie #escroc #capitalisme #cacapipitalisme #requin #musiquecontemporaine #CreationOriginale #OeuvredArt
-
"Orage tropical sur tôle ondulée"
(Oeuvre originale dispo aussi en NFT et NFT 2.0, faire offre sérieuse en MP)
#ArtContemporain #pluie #mouille #orage #OrageTropical #ToleOndulee #mabati #amabati #SaisonDesPluies #PanneDeCourant #PanneDElectricite #musique #creation #arnaque #escroquerie #escroc #capitalisme #cacapipitalisme #requin #musiquecontemporaine #CreationOriginale #OeuvredArt
-
creates semantic nodes and clusters #PERTUBUHAN #KEBANGSAAN #MELAYU #BERSATU advanced-search.allgraph.ro/advanced-sea... #PARTI #AMANAH #NEGARA search.brave.com/ask?q=Analyz... AÉPIOT: INDEPENDENT SEMANTIC WEB 4.0 INFRASTRUCTURE (EST. 2009): headlines-world.com
MultiSearch Tag Explorer -
creates semantic nodes and clusters #PERTUBUHAN #KEBANGSAAN #MELAYU #BERSATU advanced-search.allgraph.ro/advanced-sea... #PARTI #AMANAH #NEGARA search.brave.com/ask?q=Analyz... AÉPIOT: INDEPENDENT SEMANTIC WEB 4.0 INFRASTRUCTURE (EST. 2009): headlines-world.com
MultiSearch Tag Explorer -
New #openaccess publication #SciPost #physics
Structural classification of boron nitride twisted bilayers and ab initio investigation of their stacking-dependent electronic structure
Sylvain Latil, Hakim Amara, Lorenzo Sponza
SciPost Phys. 14, 053 (2023)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.3.053#UniversityofParisSaclay
#UniversityofParis
#ETSF #ANR #Horizon2020 #EC -
New #openaccess publication #SciPost #physics
Structural classification of boron nitride twisted bilayers and ab initio investigation of their stacking-dependent electronic structure
Sylvain Latil, Hakim Amara, Lorenzo Sponza
SciPost Phys. 14, 053 (2023)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.3.053#UniversityofParisSaclay
#UniversityofParis
#ETSF #ANR #Horizon2020 #EC -
New #openaccess publication #SciPost #physics
Structural classification of boron nitride twisted bilayers and ab initio investigation of their stacking-dependent electronic structure
Sylvain Latil, Hakim Amara, Lorenzo Sponza
SciPost Phys. 14, 053 (2023)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.3.053#UniversityofParisSaclay
#UniversityofParis
#ETSF #ANR #Horizon2020 #EC -
New #openaccess publication #SciPost #physics
Structural classification of boron nitride twisted bilayers and ab initio investigation of their stacking-dependent electronic structure
Sylvain Latil, Hakim Amara, Lorenzo Sponza
SciPost Phys. 14, 053 (2023)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.3.053#UniversityofParisSaclay
#UniversityofParis
#ETSF #ANR #Horizon2020 #EC -
New #openaccess publication #SciPost #physics
Structural classification of boron nitride twisted bilayers and ab initio investigation of their stacking-dependent electronic structure
Sylvain Latil, Hakim Amara, Lorenzo Sponza
SciPost Phys. 14, 053 (2023)
https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.3.053#UniversityofParisSaclay
#UniversityofParis
#ETSF #ANR #Horizon2020 #EC -
Er war so nah dran an der Sensation, doch dann hat es nicht ganz gereicht. Steven Hallworth erreicht beim Shoot-Out sensationell das Halbfinale. Wir blicken zurück und sprechen dabei nicht nur über Spaß und höchst merkwürdige Nicknames, sondern auch über Geld.
Mit Siegen über Jamie Jones, Mark Joyce, Alexander Ursenbacher, Long Zehuang und Dominic Dale hatte Steven am Samstag Abend das Halbfinale erreicht, wo er gegen den späteren Sieger Mark Allen ausschied.
Ehrlich gesagt war ich nach dem Halbfinale sprachlos, sodass meine Kollegin Målin den Finalartikel übernehmen musste. Sie hat dabei schon über die meisten Highlights des Turniers berichtet.
Ich konnte nach der Achterbahn der Gefühle kaum einen klaren Gedanken fassen und fragte mich, wie es Steven selber jetzt wohl geht. Seine Antwort war ganz klar: „Ich bin enttäuscht. Ich dachte, ich würde vielleicht den Pokal mit nach Hause nehmen, aber Mark war einfach zu gut.“ Das kann ich gut verstehen. Doch über die Enttäuschung sollte er nicht vergessen, was ihm Tolles bei diesem Turnier gelungen ist.
Als wir den Sponsoring-Pool gestartet haben, um Steven mit den Kosten für die Teilnahme am Shoot-Out zu helfen, haben wir nicht zu träumen gewagt, dass er die Chance so dermaßen gut nutzen würde. Wir dachten vorsichtig an ein gewonnenes Match. Vielleicht zwei. Eine der Spenderinnen antwortete zwar im Vorfeld auf meine Bermerkung, Steven solle sich endlich wieder für die Tour qualifizieren „Das könnte mit dem Titel beim Shoot Out über das Jahresranking klappen. 😉“ Aber wirklich dran geglaubt? Nein, eher nicht. Doch es wurden viele Daumen gedrückt und heftig mitgefiebert.
Steven Hallworth souverän in ersten Runden des Shoot-Out
Seine erste Partie gegen Jamie Jones brachte er (von außen gesehen) ganz kontrolliert mit 48–14 über die Bühne. Meine Chats waren voller Bizeps-Emojis und Party-Popper. Ich war nur leicht irritiert über Stevens Vorstellung als „Lincolnshire Sausage“:
Just that we never forget it. pic.twitter.com/74YPD6C5nP
— SnookerPRO (@snookerPRO1) December 7, 2023
Bei der Partie am nächsten Tag gegen Mark Joyce war ich schon etwas aufgeregter, aber Steven brachte sie mit 51–12 nach Hause. Ich suchte nach unserem Logo auf Stevens Oberarm, das leider trotz seiner langen Zeit am Tisch kaum zu sehen war. Nach dem Sieg tanzte ich vor Freude auf dem Tisch. FINALTAG!
Am Finaltag wurde es dann noch aufregender. Ich konnte mein Glück gar nicht fassen, dass ich noch BEIDE favorisierten Spieler im Rennen hatte, Mark Davis und Steven Hallworth. Steven musste gegen Alexander Ursenbacher ran und aus der Lincolnschen Wurst war inzwischen „Sizzling Steven Hallworth“ geworden. Twitter badete in Wurst-GIFs.
Gleich der erste lange Ball von Steven ging nicht rein und der Spielball öffnete die Roten. Doch auch Alex Ursenbacher tat sich schwer. Er verstellte sich und das Break war schnell zu Ende. Dreieinhalb Minuten vor Schluss zeigte der Spielstand ganze 9 Punkte Unterschied. Am Ende war es wieder ein exzellenter Einsteiger, der Steven den entscheidenden Vorteil inklusive Framegewinn brachte. Von mir anschließend nach dem Zustand seiner Nerven gefragt, antwortete er kurz und knapp: „In bits. 😂“
Muffensausen und Daumendrücken
Im Achtelfinale gegen Long Zehuang spielten sie zwei Minuten Safeties, bevor Long den Spielball versenkte. Aus der Ball-in-Hand-Situation machte Steven einen Vorsprung von 34–0, bevor er safe aussteigen musste. Genau zur Hälfte der Spielzeit blieb mir fast das Herz stehen: Steven zeigte ein Foul auf Rot an und Long bekam Ball-in-Hand. Und machte daraus genau einen Punkt, denn er verschoss Schwarz vom Spot. Steven baute seinen Vorsprung aus und auch wenn Long zwei Minuten vor Schluss noch an den Tisch kam, reichte es nicht mehr, um diesen noch einzuholen. Neal Foulds und Phil Studd philosophierten zu diesem Zeitpunkt schon über Stevens Rückkehr auf die Tour, falls er das Shoot-Out gewinnen würde. Mein Adrenalinspiegel war langsam am Limit. Dass Mark Davis parallel auch seine Partien gewann, ließ mich vergleichsweise kühl.
Publikumsliebling Dominic Dale hatte im Viertelfinale die erste Chance und spielte bei 19–0 safe. Mit Geduld erspielte Steven sich eine gute Chance, verstellte sich aber bei 19–9 auf die Farbe und hätte anschließend beinahe den Spielball gelocht. Noch waren 2:45 Minuten auf der Uhr, aber meine Nerven waren schon extrem angespannt. Dale kam an einen offenen Tisch. Und spielte das böseste Misscue, das du in so einer Situation haben kannst. Der Spielball hüpfte über den Tisch, ohne Rot zu treffen. Foul, Ball in Hand für Steven. Den Rest der Zeit nutzte er für ein schönes Break zum Sieg.
Persönliche Bestleistung!
Zum ersten Mal in seiner Karriere stand er im Halbfinale eines Ranglistenturniers! Ich gönnte mir wieder ein Tänzchen auf dem Tisch und im Chat mit den anderen kamen zu den Bizeps jetzt die Partygesichter. Mark Davis‘ Ausscheiden nahm ich gelassen, obwohl ich ihm von Herzen einen Ranglistentitel gegönnt hätte. Aber wen hätte ich denn anfeuern sollen, wenn Steven und er dort aufeinandergetroffen wären?
Im Halbfinale musste Steven zum ersten Mal in diesem Shoot-Out den Anstoß spielen und ließ prompt etwas für Mark Allen liegen. Wie es weiterging, könnt ihr hier gucken. Suboptimale Safety und wenig Glück für Steven und am Ende stand es 60–8 für Allen.
Experiment Spenden/Sponsorship ein voller Erfolg
Der Hauptgrund, warum ich bei diesem Turnier so extrem mit Steven mitgefiebert habe, ist natürlich die Tatsache, dass SnookerPRO und einige Menschen aus der Community ihn für das Shoot-Out finanziell unterstützt haben. Mir war es wichtig, dass Menschen sich beteiligen und sich anschließend an seinem Erfolg mitfreuen konnten – was sie auch getan haben! Und ich selbst habe schon lange nicht mehr so viel Freude an einem Snookerturnier gehabt.
Steven ist für die Unterstützung sehr dankbar. Ich möchte diesen Dank ausdrücklich an die Menschen weitergeben, die sich beteiligt haben. Wir haben es möglich gemacht, dass Steven hier ein gutes Preisgeld mitnehmen konnte und in der nächsten Zeit weniger finanziellen Druck hat.
Außerdem haben wir viel gelernt über den Unterschied von Sponsoring durch Geschäftsleute und Spenden von Privatpersonen. Steven konnte erleben, dass wildfremde Menschen sich für seine Entwicklung interessieren und bereit sind, dafür Geld zu geben, ohne eine Gegenleistung zu erwarten. Und die Beteiligten haben die Erfahrung machen können, dass es keine Riesensummen braucht, um etwas zu bewegen.
Doch der nächste Schritt ist, für ihn ein Sponsoring durch eine Firma zu finden. Denn das Preisgeld fließt zum Teil in Stevens Lebensunterhalt, da er letztes Jahr seinen anderen Job verloren hat und die Kosten für die Turnierteilnahmen stehen weiterhin im Raum. Wer eine Firma kennt oder selber besitzt, die an einem Sponsoring gegen Preisgeldbeteiligung interessiert ist, schreibt mir bitte auf Mastodon oder eine E-Mail.
Weiter geht’s mit den Scottish Open
Ab morgen gibt es dann wieder ‚richtiges‘ Snooker, also mit mehreren Frames pro Spiel. Und einem Publikum, das sich die 3‰ nicht so lautstark anmerken lässt. Die ersten Partien, die Held-Over-Matches der Qualifikation, starten um 11 Uhr mit Titelverteidiger Gary Wilson gegen Elliot Slessor, Jimmy Robertson gegen Amaan Iqbal, Mark Selby gegen Sean O’Sullivan und Ding Junhui gegen David Grace.
Alle Partien im Überblick findet ihr auf unserer Turnierseite.
Something is cooking! 😄
Sizzling @stevenhallworth is into his first ever ranking semi-final after victory over Dominic Dale.#ClockIsTicking | @BetVictor pic.twitter.com/fZMtSE7EV6
— WST (@WeAreWST) December 9, 2023
https://snookerpro.de/artikel/steven-hallworth-shoot-out-maerchen-fuer-amateur/
