home.social

#deafheaven — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #deafheaven, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] ·
    Only Echoes – Born Adrift Review By Creeping Ivy

    Metal is filled with reluctant vocalists. Whether it’s Dave Mustaine ultimately deciding to front Megadeth, or Mikael Åkerfeldt hesitantly filling the void in Opeth, or Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds eventually co-voicing Mastodon,1 vocals often exist in the genre as an afterthought. But what happens when there’s no after to the afterthought? You get something like Only Echoes, an instrumental post-metal quartet from Denver, CO. In their promo materials, Only Echoes explain that they formed expecting vocals to play a part in their music, but ‘when the time came to decide who would sing, no one raised a hand.’ This lack of vocals, however, became a staple of the band’s identity, fueling their self-titled EP (2018) and debut LP Sunsickness (2022), both of which were independently released. Arriving via Braeburn Records, sophomore album Born Adrift promises ‘an internal narrative without relying on lyrics to explain it.’ Said promo materials do, however, sketch the narrative: the album charts ‘a journey through survival, uncertainty, and the strange momentum that keeps a person moving through hostile waters.’

    Without a vocalist, Only Echoes rely on the versatile arsenals of their instrumentalists to convey Born Adrift’s arc. The band references several acts one would expect as influences on an (instrumental) post-metal album: Russian Circles, Pelican, Isis.2 On the guitar front, Austin Minney and Dustin Yourishin combine for a menagerie of flickering melodies, glimmering clean chords, and chunky chugs. Drummer Zach Sirotkin lays down a bevy of blast beats, d-beats, and double-bass thunder. Meanwhile, bassist Ben Rosenberg periodically pokes through the mix with some upper-fret flourishes. As some elements of this description of Only Echoes hint at, Born Adrift doesn’t quite channel the spirit of the bands cited above. Yes, there are some well-earned quiet-to-heavy, heavy-to-quiet transitions across the album. But by and large, Only Echoes play far less patiently than these groups, swiftly shuffling between blissed-out breathers, punk-rock paces, and core-ish chuggery. Despite their mostly 6–8 minute lengths, the songs tend to sound like bursts of metal grab bag.

    Because all but one song on Born Adrift briskly bounces between styles, any sense of album-spanning narrative is hard to detect. My criticism of the grab-bag songwriting notwithstanding, “Born Adrift” and “Tempest” do open the record with excitement, showcasing a band capable of moving melodies and infectious tempos. “So Tightly Bound” seems like it will be compositionally different; it develops an enchanting vibe across three minutes. But then the song quickly jumps into a d-beat-driven punk part, capped off with some obligatory chugging. It’s as if there’s a missing middle between the beginning and the punky outburst. After the aptly titled interlude (“Inter”), the album closes by showing some signs of patient development (“Steps Ahead of Drowning”). But then Only Echoes revert back to their familiar mode, jarringly contrasting serene buildups with breakneck speed (“Shimmering Death”). At 35 minutes, Born Adrift isn’t exactly a chore to get through, but it often feels longer than it is. I almost get the sense that Only Echoes tried to cram an album’s worth of material into nearly every song.

    Unfortunately, sonic missteps also become a barrier to enjoying Only Echoes’s sophomore outing. On the production end of things, Born Adrift does seem cognizant of intentional mixing: the drums and bass grow more present in sections where the guitars are textural and ambient. The guitars, however, unpleasantly dominate the mix when Minney and Yourishin turn towards chugging rhythms. The bass, when it sticks to lower registers, gets lost and feels inessential. The big issue, however, concerns the low bitrate of Born Adrift’s audio files (128 kbps). At lower volumes, the album sounds compressed and mushy; at higher volumes, it’s clippy and grating. As a metal album in want of blasting, this latter fact is quite unfortunate.

    Born Adrift ultimately disappoints, but not for its lack of vocals per se. As instrumentalists, Only Echoes clearly possess chops, and they show a knack for crafting and connecting affecting passages (“Born Adrift,” “Tempest”). Too often, however, these passages are disrupted by abrupt stylistic changes that come off as contrived. Additionally, the sonic flaws sadly hamper an album that does, at times, sound massive and powerful. In my view, Only Echoes don’t necessarily need someone to step up and command the microphone. They might, however, exercise the kind of restrained patience that, for me at least, tends to make for notable instrumental metal/rock.

    Rating: 2.0/5.0
    DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
    Label: Braeburn Records
    Websites: Official | Instagram | Facebook
    Releases Worldwide: August 14th, 2026

    Show 2 footnotes

    1. Yes, Brann Dailor also sings for Mastodon, but not at the outset. ↩
    2. The band also cite Deafheaven and God Is an Astronaut as influences. ↩
    #20 #2026 #Aug26 #BornAdrift #BraeburnRecords #Deafheaven #GodIsAnAstronaut #InstrumentalMetal #Isis #Mastodon #Megadeth #OnlyEchoes #Opeth #Pelican #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #RussianCircles #SludgeMetal #USMetal
    #aug26 #bornadrift #braeburnrecords #deafheaven #godisanastronaut #instrumentalmetal
  2. Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] ·
    Who Are These Clowns and Where Did They Put My Flesh Stapler? The AMG Staff Pick Their Top Ten(ish) of 2025 By Steel Druhm

    Listurnalia is now upon us once again! If you are not ready to be assailed by non-stop lists and bad opinions for the next week and change, I suggest you get fooking ready! Listurnalia cannot be stopped, nor contained. It can only be tolerated and endured!

    More than any year in recent history, 2025 saw more seasoned staffers step away from writing duties due to time constraints and life changes. To compensate for the loss of these slackwagoning quitters and shirkers, we added a gaggle of fresh new voices. This made for a bittersweet time around these parts as long-time friends departed and a bunch of untested, unknowns rose through the brutal n00b gauntlet to seize the means of promo production. These greenhorn neophytes have created great havoc at AMG HQ with their terrible taste, inability to follow directions, and steadfast refusal to ignore deathcore.

    We’ve been here before, though, and we always straighten out the newbie upstarts. The daily beatings, deprivations, and absence of positive reinforcement will wear them down, and if not, we have plenty of space in the rotpit out back. This is, and will ever be, the AMG modality.

    2026 will be an interesting year as the new crew members are shepherded by the olde while everyone is crushed beneath the iron heel of AMG management. Who will make it to 2027? Who will be sold off to Metal Wani for a box of bananas and Gorilla Glue? Place your bets in the official AMG Survival Pool!

    As you read the Top Ten(ish) lists below, remember, reading our content is free, but you get what you pay for.

    Grymm

    #10. Venomous Echoes // Dysmor
    #9. Blut Aus Nord // Ethereal Horizons
    #8. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #7. Structure // Heritage
    #6. Lorna Shore // I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me
    #5. Sigh // I Saw The World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV
    #4. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
    #3. Am I In Trouble? // Spectrum
    #2. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders
    #1. Paradise Lost // Ascension – I fully expected Paradise Lost to come out with quality music, which has been mostly par for the course in their storied almost-40-year career, and no one could blame them if they decided to coast along on their legendary sound. Instead, Ascension sees them giving a masterclass in songcraft and atmosphere, showing everyone, everywhere, how it’s done. 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.

    Personal Highlight o’ the Year: Seeing Acid Bath live. I may or may not have cried during “Venus Blue,” and no, I don’t fucking care. 19-Year-Old me was pleased as punch that 48-Year-Old me got to see a legendary band (and one of his personal favorites) come back from tragedy to pay tribute to their fallen bassist and friend, Audie Pitre, by giving it another long-awaited go.

    Disappointment(s) o’ the Year:

    • Losing so many influential heroes (RIP Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley, and Tomas Lindberg, among too many others)
    • My health: I was hoping to be a lot more active this year, but early on, I needed to, in the immortal words of David Lynch, “fix (my) heart or die.”1 Thankfully, after surgery, I feel a million times better, so you should see a lot more of me in 2026. You have been warned.

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Paradise Lost // “Salvation”

    El Cuervo

    #ish. Astronoid // Stargod
    #10. Ollie Wride // The Pressure Point
    #9. Kauan // Wayhome
    #8. Zéro Absolu // La Saignée
    #7. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine
    #6. Asira // As Ink in Water
    #5. Bruit // The Age of Ephemerality
    #4. Saor // Amidst the Ruins
    #3. The Midnight // Syndicate
    #2. Steven Wilson // The Overview
    #1. Messa // The Spin – In a year replete with comfort picks—progressive rock, synthwave, and death metal abound—how is that Italy’s enigmatic, inscrutable Messa forged my Album o’ the Year? The Spin doesn’t take the trouble to make itself easily approachable. Doom, prog, and post influences circle around velvety melodies that sometimes sound like deliberate songs, and sometimes like jazz improvisation. But it’s these very qualities that belie its subtle allure; only with repetition and attention does The Spin shine. Messa gradually reveals rhythmic motifs, instrumental nuances, and rich compositions that enhance my life on so many days. “The Dress,” especially, is stunning. And though the record’s loungey whimsy defies metal conventions, each track prizes genuine grit through its top-drawer guitar riffs. With the devotion it demands, no record from 2025 was more rewarding than The Spin.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Ambush – “Maskirovka”

    

    GardensTale

    #ish. Structure // Heritage
    #10. In Mourning //The Immortal
    #9. Flummox // Southern Progress
    #8. Der Weg Einer Freiheit // Innern
    #7. Nephylim // Circuition
    #6. Besna // Krásno
    #5. Messa // The Spin
    #4. Labyrinthus Stellarum // Rift in Reality
    #3. Gazpacho // Magic 8 Ball
    #2. Dormant Ordeal// Tooth & Nail
    #1. Moron Police // Pachinko — I was a little nervous when I first read about the length and ambition behind Pachinko, especially in the context of the incredible and very concise A Boat on the Sea. I’ve never been this happy to be this wrong. Nothing in the last decade has overtaken my life as much as Pachinko has, and I’m listening to it yet again as I write this, and will probably restart it once it finishes. Pachinko has a lot in common with Everything Everywhere All At Once, one of my all-time favorite films, as a treatise on the chaos of life and the importance of friends and family. It treats its philosophy of silliness very seriously, laughing in the face of darkness in such a beautiful and inspiring way; it brightens my life every time I hear it. And it does all that in tribute to a dear friend who was gone too soon and too suddenly, and no other eulogistic album has let me feel like its subject’s soul touched mine. An astounding monument to friendship on top of an incredibly accomplished hour of music. Pachinko is a miracle.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Moron Police – “Giving up the Ghost”

    

    Non-metal Albums of the Year:

    • Lorde // Virgin
    • Jonathan Hultén // Eyes of the Living Night
    • Shayfer James // Summoning

    Mark Z.

    #ish. Malefic Throne // The Conquering Darkness
    #10. Urn // Demon Steel
    #9. Teitanblood // From the Visceral Abyss
    #8. Shed the Skin // The Carnage Cast Shadows
    #7. Guts // Nightmare Fuel
    #6. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #5. Perdition Temple // Malign Apotheosis
    #4. Paradise Lost // Ascension
    #3. Revocation // New Gods, New Masters
    #2. Death Yell // Demons of Lust
    #1. Abominator // The Fire Brethren – It took me a few years after hearing this Australian duo’s last album, 2015’s Evil Proclaimed, to realize I was wrong about them. Their raw and relentless black-death metal wasn’t just good, it was fucking awesome. With their long-awaited sixth album, The Fire Brethren, Abominator has conjured flames that reach higher than ever. As always, the enraged rasps, scorching riffs, and endlessly pummeling rhythms are like plumes of hellfire shot directly into your ear canals. But amidst the bludgeoning is some genuinely great songwriting, with deep-cutting hooks (“The Templar’s Curse,” “Underworld Vociferations”), flashes of melody (“Progenitors of the Insurrection of Satan”), thrashy breaks (“Sulphur from the Heavens”), and just enough variety to keep everything hitting as hard as possible. It’s not for everyone, but for those into Angelcorpse and other music of that sort, The Fire Brethren is the type of album you just can’t get enough of.

    Honorable Mention:

    • Blasphamagoatachrist // Bestial Abominator

    Song (Title) o’ the Year:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Fugitive – “Spheres of Virulence”

    

    Carcharodon

    #ish. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders
    #10. Novarupta // Astral Sands
    #9. Atlantic // Timeworn
    #8. Structure // Heritage
    #7. Agriculture // The Spiritual Sound
    #6. Igorr // Amen
    #5. Messa // The Spin
    #4. Abigail Williams // A Void Within Existence
    #3. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings
    #2. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #1. Grima // Nightside – In each of 2019, 2021, and 2022, Grima released an album and, in each of those years, I listed said album (#5, HM, and #10). But this year, the year in which I have listened to the least metal and, of course, written the least since I started here in 2018, is also the year that Grima got everything dialled in to just what I want from a Grima album. On Nightside, the duo 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. Every time I come back to this record, and the title track in particular, it’s even better than I remember it being, and I always end up spinning three or more times back-to-back. An album that can keep playing that trick deserves its #1 spot in my book.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Songs o’ the Year:

    • Messa – “Fire on the Roof”

    

    • Novarupta – “Now Here We Are (At the Inevitable End)”

    Mysticus Hugebeard

    #10. Orbit Culture // Death Above Life
    #9. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City
    #8. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World
    #7. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #6. Panopticon // Laurentian Blue
    #5. Blackbraid // Blackbraid III
    #4. Arkhaaik // Uihtis
    #3. Kauan // Wayhome
    #2. Wardruna // Birna
    #1. Thumos // The Trial of Socrates – I recall groggily stumbling upon Thumos’ The Trial of Socrates at work one early morning, and I’m not sure if I’ve grown attached to it or it’s grown attached to me. It looms in my periphery, routinely interrupting my listening schedule for just one more spin. This gargantuan dive into ancient Greek philosophy and justice is melodically rich, laden with atmosphere, and fiercely intelligent. I love how this album stimulates my curiosity. I pore over The Trial of Socrates like a madman, piecing the puzzle together with feverish glee but never quite feeling finished, because every re-listen yields new shapes, new colors, new ideas. It eggs me on to research various topics on ancient Greek history or philosophy, and even made for an unlikely study partner during my long preparations for the German A1 exam. I always feel smarter by the end of it—hubris, I’m sure, but The Trial of Socrates genuinely sparks my imagination in ways few albums do. Time to go listen to “The Phædo” for the zillionth time.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Songs o’ the Year:

    • Disarmonia Mundi – “Outcast”

    The Dormant Stranger by Disarmonia Mundi

    • Jamie Page & Marcy Nabors – “Do No Harm (Ventricular Mix)”

    Do No Harm by Jamie Paige, Marcy Nabors, & Penny Parker

    • Thumos – “The Phædo”

    The Trial of Socrates by Thumos

    Disappointment(s) o’ the year:

    • The dissolution of Ante-Inferno: After Death’s Soliloquy topped my list last year, I was genuinely gutted to see Ante-Inferno’s post that they were no more. Still, I shall not weep but rather smile that they happened, because Ante-Inferno was a rare breed of genuinely moving black metal. Just that one album rooted itself so deeply within me, and I will be listening for a long time.
    • Arno Menses leaving Subsignal: Man, fuck. Fuck. Remember my nuclear-grade glaze of Subsignal, where I might as well have said Menses’ voice single-handedly justified the entire existence of music? How could I not break down in heaving sobs in the middle of this Denny’s when I heard that Menses and Subsignal have parted ways? It sucks, I tell ya. I will still listen to what Subsignal puts out in the future, because Markus Steffen is a talented musician, but it’s going to be a huge adjustment since Menses is nigh irreplaceable.

    Samguineous Maximus

    #ish. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
    #10. Primitive Man // Observance
    #9. Motherless // Do You Feel Safe?
    #8. Deafheaven // Lonely People with Power
    #7. Weeping Sores // The Convalescence Agonies
    #6. Between the Buried and Me // The Blue Nowhere
    #5. Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss
    #4. 1914 // Viribus Unitis
    #3. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl
    #2. Crippling Alcoholism // Bible Songs II
    #1. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – 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. Confusion Gate feels like communing with nature from the top of a wintry peak, embodying both impossible grandeur and awesome terror. This is a record that bypasses the analytical reviewer’s brain and just hits me right in the feeling. It offers a unique catharsis in a year where I truly needed it.

    Honorable Mentions

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Crippling Alcoholism – “Ladies Night”

    

    Spicie Forrest

    #ish. Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence
    #10. Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War
    #9. Oromet // The Sinking Isle
    #8. -ii- // Apostles of the Flesh
    #7. Suncraft // Welcome to the Coven
    #6. Suncraft // Profanation of the Adamic Covenant
    #5. Chestcrush // ΨΥΧΟΒΓΑΛΤΗΣ
    #4. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #3. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World
    #2. Primitive Man // Observance
    #1. Wytch Hazel // V: Lamentations – I know, I’m surprised too. But the bottom line is that I’ve been listening to V: Lamentations front to back at least once a week since it released on the most American of holidays, July 4th. For Steel, Wytch Hazel’s latest didn’t have the same staying power as previous efforts, but Lamentations is the first to truly resonate with me. Though musically consistent with their Wishbone Ash-meets-Eagles style, vocalist Colin Hendra brings a new sense of passion to the record, and the interplay between instruments, vocals, and lyrics hits me like a lightning bolt. Very possibly inspired by the core Christian tenet laid out in Romans 6:23-24,2 Lamentations is a masterful portrayal of what it means to perpetually fail, to know you’ll never be good enough, and in the face of a salvation that renders all efforts, deeds, and accomplishments worthless, to keep striving toward the impossible anyway. Even for godless sinners like me, Lamentations is a beautiful reminder that purpose is found in hardship, that the journey is the goal, and that falling down is merely an opportunity to stand up again.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Yellowcard – “honestly i”

    Grin Reaper

    (ish) Sallow Moth // Mossbane Lantern
    #10. Turian // Blood Quantum Blues
    #9. Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss
    #8. Lychgate // Precipice
    #7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City
    #6. Thron // Vurias
    #5. Structure // Heritage
    #4. Species // Changelings
    #3. Havukruunu // Tavastland
    #2. Aephanemer // Utopie
    #1. 1914 // Viribus Unitis – I didn’t know Viribus Unitis would be my top album of the year the first time I listened to it, but I knew it would list. 1914’s naked emotion and rousing story of a Ukrainian soldier’s survival through World War I, reconciliation with his family, and inescapable return to war remains as gripping and bittersweet now as it did the first time I heard it. Across adrenaline-fueled riffing, oppressive marches, and somber dirges, 1914 never relents on musical or lyrical weight. Though Viribus Unitis was released late in the year, it quickly became the standard I used to appraise albums while going through listing season. 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. Viribus Unitis is bleak, raw, and human, but for all that, I’m never deterred from listening. Ultimately, 1914 clutches the threads of hope and weaves an aural tapestry that brings tragedy and triumph to life, cementing Viribus Unitis as my undisputed top album of 2025.


    Honorable Mentions:

    Songs o’ the Year:

    • Aephanemer – “Le Cimetière Marin”

    • 1914 – “1918 Pt. III: ADE (A Duty to Escape)”

    Andy-War-Hall

    #ish: Dragon Skull // Chaos Fire Vengeance
    #10: Changeling // Changeling
    #9: Steel Arctus // Dreamruler
    #8: Abigail Williams //A Void Within Existence
    #7: Petrified Giant // Endless Ark
    #6: Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
    #5: Structure // Heritage
    #4: Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick
    #3: Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl
    #2: Hexrot // Formless Ruin of Oblivion
    #1: 1914 // Viribus Unitis – Immersion defines great music and art for me. It is almost unfortunate how good 1914 are in this facet of their music. Their ability to transport the listener to the battlefield in all its violence, both carnal and psychological, is stupefying. The utter dehumanizing hatred with “1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl),” the ravenous bloodlust of “1917 (The Isonzo Front),” the hellish wails haunting “1918 Pt. 1 (WIA – Wounded in Action):” all portrayed vividly through 1914’s brilliantly caustic and composed musicianship and deeply personal lyricism. When Dmytro Ternushchak bellows “For three days / The Russians attacked / And accomplished nothing but / 40,000 dead pigs” [“1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)”], it’s all you need to get into his character’s violent headspace. When 1914 mournfully sing in Ukrainian “Це моя земля”3 [1915 (Easter Battle for the Zwinin Ridge)], you grasp how someone could put their life on the line for kin and country. When our soldier sings “My little girl reached out to me / But duty calls” [1919 (The Home Where I Died)]… well, shit, your heart just has to break, right? 1914 don’t play “history metal.” Viribus Unitis is as present and relevant as you can get.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Fell Omen – “The Fire is Still Warm”

    

    Lavender Larcenist

    #ish Spiritbox // Tsunami Sea
    #10. Sold Soul // Just Like That, I Disappear Entirely
    #9. Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss
    #8. Dying Wish // Flesh Stays Together
    #7. Grima // Nightside
    #6. Aversed // Erasure of Color
    #5. Deafheaven // Lonely People With Power
    #4. Ghost Bath // Rose Thorn Necklace
    #3. Changeling // Changeling
    #2. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #1. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Sometimes you listen to music, and you feel like it gets you. Camgirl was exactly that type of album, and it probably doesn’t say anything good about me. Ever since Crippling Alcoholism’s latest graced my ears and I shared it with my partner, we have been singing “I fucking hate the way I look, yeah I look like a fat fucking scumbag” way too often and mumbling “Mr. Ran away, ran away from family” every chance we get. The album is 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. The self-destructive nihilism, drugged-out sex, and abrupt violence that is all too common in those on the margins of life is something I think more and more we can all relate to, and Camgirl is the art that mirrors society back to us. As a result, it is an album that is just as ugly as it is terrifying and beautiful.


    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Crippling Alcoholism – “bedrot”

    Creeping Ivy

    #ish. Nite // Cult of the Serpent Sun
    #10. Blackbraid // Blackbraid III
    #9. Flummox // Southern Progress
    #8. 1914 // Viribus Unitis
    #7. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings
    #6. Saor // Amidst the Ruins
    #5. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
    #4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth
    #3. Coroner // Dissonance Theory
    #2. Messa // The Spin
    #1. Havukruunu // Tavastland – On their Bandcamp page, Havukruunu explain the concept of their fourth LP: ‘Tavastland tells how in 1237 the Tavastians rose in rebellion against the church of Christ and drove the popes naked into the frost to die.’ Sounds like the metal album of 2025 to me! But I didn’t crown Tavastland for its lyrics that I can’t understand. As Dr. A.N. Grier has been exhorting for a decade, Havukruunu stands as a model of Viking black metal consistency, having dropped only very good-to-great albums since 2015. Tavastland isn’t a radical improvement over 2020’s Uinuous syömein sota, but it’s an (arguably excellent) improvement nonetheless, making it Havukruunu’s finest work yet. Yes, these fiery Finns forge sounds reminiscent of Bathory and Immortal, but Tavastland seized my attention for its adventurous prog sensibilities. Some of this can be attributed to the return of Hümo, whose bass rattles like the four strings of Geddy Lee. But the prog is deep in the album craft, from the overture-style modulations of opener “Kuolematon laulunhenki” to the extended guitar wankery of closer “De miseriis fennorum.” Now if only I can learn Finnish, I’ll be able to appreciate the killer anti-popery narrative while headbanging to my Record o’ 2025.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Phantom Spell – “The Autumn Citadel”

    

    Baguette of Bodom

    #ish. In the Woods… // Otra
    #10. Species // Changelings
    #9. Dragon Skull // Chaos Fire Vengeance
    #8. A-Z // A2Z²
    #7. Apocalypse Orchestra // A Plague upon Thee
    #6. Amorphis // Borderland
    #5. Dolmen Gate // Echoes of Ancient Tales
    #4. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
    #3. Amalekim // Shir Hashirim
    #2. Suotana // Ounas II
    #1. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – Melodic tech death? Symphonic power metal? Who knows! Much like my 2025 in general, The Dormant Darkness has a bit of everything in one gigantic clusterfuck. The great news is, neither I nor the album crumbled under all that weight. In a year full of odd twists and turns, my list became more varied and unusual than ever. Buried Realm took this variety and 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. I would also like to request several Christian Älvestam features on every album, please.

    Honorable Mentions:

    Song o’ the Year:

    • Dragon Skull – “Blood and Souls”

    Chaos Fire Vengeance by Dragon Skull

    #1914 #2025 #AZ #AbigailWilliams #Abominator #Aephanemer #Agriculture #AmIInTrouble #Amalekim #Ambush #Amorphis #AnAbstractIllusion #ApocalypseOrchestra #Arkhaaik #Asira #Astronoid #Atlantic #AvaMendozaGabbyFlukeMogalCarolinaPérez #Aversed #Besna #BetweenTheBuriedAndMe #Bianca #Blackbraid #Blasphamagoatachrist #Blindfolded #BlogLists #Bloodywood #BlutAusNord #Bruit #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #Changeling #Chestcrush #Coroner #CrimsonShadows #CripplingAlcoholism #DawnOfSolace #DaxRiggs #Deafheaven #DeathYell #Décryptal #Defigurement #DerWegEinerFreiheit #DolmenGate #DormantOrdeal #DragonSkull #DyingWish #Dynazty #Fange #FellOmen #Flummox #Gazpacho #GhostBath #Gorycz #Grima #Guts #HangoverInMinsk #Hasard #Havukruunu #Hexrot #HoodedMenace #Igorr #Igorrr #II #ImperialTriumphant #JonathanHultén #Kauan #LabyrinthusStellarum #Lipoma #Lists #Lorde #LornaShore #Lychgate #MaleficThrone #Messa #MoronPolice #Motherless #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #NightFlightOrchestra #Nite #Novarupta #OllieWride #Ophelion #OrbitCulture #Oromet #Panopticon #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #PerditionTemple #PetrifiedGiant #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Proscription #Psychonaut #PupilSlicer #Puteraeon #Qrixkuor #Revocation #SallowMoth #Saor #ShadowOfIntent #ShayferJames #ShedTheSkin #Sigh #SoldSoul #Species #Spiritbox #Starscourge #SteelArctus #StevenWilson #Strigiform #Structure #Suncraft #Suotana #Teitanblood #TheAMGStaffPickTheirTopTenIshOf2025 #TheMidnight #Thron #Thumos #Turian #ÜltraRaptör #Urn #VenomousEchoes #VictimOfFire #Walg #Wardruna #WeepingSores #WyattE #WytchHazel #YellowEyes #Yellowcard #ZéroAbsolu
    #az #abigailwilliams #abominator #aephanemer #agriculture #amiintrouble
  3. Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] ·

    Ba’al – The Fine Line between Heaven and Here Review

    By Angry Metal Guy

    By: Nameless_n00b_605

    Post-anything is a tough genre to pin down. Does the music eschew genre trappings, rightfully identifying as post in the way it challenges previous norms? Or does it draw from the well that identifies as post, infusing itself with spacey tremolo riffs, heavy atmosphere, and lengthy, non-traditional tracks? If the Sheffield UK post-metallers Ba’al have anything to say, it is the latter. Ba’al showcases some real talent and variety with epic song structures and quality attempts at sampling numerous genres throughout this LP. But, with The Fine Line between Heaven and Here, I ask myself after each track, if variety is the spice of life, why does this album end up sounding so predictable?

    Ba’al as a unit is impressive. Nick Gosling’s guitar work is superb, deftly switching genres on the fly, and there is skill to Ba’al’s ability to be a chameleon. Joe Stamp’s vocals are equally agile, as he seamlessly transitions from throat-searing black metal screeches to raspy death metal howls, all while infusing the more emotive elements of the album with heart. Each of these is served well by The Fine Line between Heaven and Here’s production, allowing the post-rock interludes to breathe while the massive riffs hit hard. My only real qualm is that the lovely bass that is present on their previous LP Ellipsism, is hiding away beside standout moments such as on “The Ocean That Fills a Wound.” While all the individual elements are strong and make for a cohesive track filled with variety, the band continuously returns to that same well across the album. Tracks begin to blend into one, amorphous serving of genre-blended pea soup. The first track feels the same as the last from an emotional perspective, leaving the album feeling one-note despite the variety on display.

    Ba’al consistently combines black metal, post-rock, and death metal infused with hardcore (think Fuming Mouth, Gatecreeper, and Creeping Death, etc.), and even some indie rock musings across their second LP. The previously mentioned opening track, “Mother’s Concrete Womb,” encapsulates what Ba’al is doing and sets expectations for the rest of the album. Emotional piano and post-rock musings lead into more typical black metal sections that bring to mind blackgaze stalwarts Deafheaven. Ba’al surprises and delights with the sudden introduction of the aforementioned hardcore death elements. These moments are a highlight, and massive, chunky riffs make frequent appearances across the album.

    The track “Well of Sorrows” is a perfect microcosm of how The Fine Line between Heaven and Here misses the mark. Eleven minutes long and sandwiched with interstitial post-rock that feels part Russian Circles and part God Is an Astronaut. No particular element hits as hard as its genre inspirations. The black metal sections are competent, the death metal riffs are groovy but lack memorable hooks, and to tie a neat bow on all of this, Ba’al consistently resorts to emotional clean singing and borderline spoken-word segments that made me think more of The National’s Alligator and Boxer era. The clean moments are effective in tracks like “Mother’s Concrete Womb,” “Wax Gorgon,” and “The Ocean That Fills a Wound,” but they can be grating and… very British (Joe Stamp’s accent comes through heavily here), for lack of a better word. This part of the album will be divisive, I imagine, and your mileage may vary.1

    Ba’al is not without talent or promise; The Fine Line between Heaven and Here is a hair’s breadth away from greatness, a fact that only highlights where it falters. The Tracks “Legasov,” and “Waxwork Gorgon” are examples of tighter song structures that get right into the good stuff with memorable opening riffs and a lot of the fat trimmed from the post-rock and black metal elements. The album could cut at least fifteen minutes to give it more impact. Even the cleans should stay, but I would love to see them lean more into melody and less into spoken word or downright wailing like on “Well of Sorrows.” The intro of “The Ocean That Fills a Wound” starts in the right place with lulling, rhythmic vocals leading into a brutal explosion of blasting black metal.

    The variety and talent end up being a double-edged sword for Ba’al, as what starts as impressive quickly grows predictable. If you like what Ba’al is serving up, you will have a nearly 63-minute slab of post-black metal to nourish you, but if the initial track isn’t for you, don’t expect the rest of the album to change your mind. Despite my negativity, it is from a place of love. Ba’al is an undoubtedly talented band on the cusp of true greatness. If they can edit their songs a little and lean into their best qualities, the next album may be a genre great.2

    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
    Label: Road to Masochist
    Websites: baalbanduk.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/baalbanduk | instagram.com/baalbanduk
    Releases Worldwide: July 18th, 2025

    #2025 #30 #BaAl #BlackMetal #BritishMetal #CreepingDeath #Deafheaven #FumingMouth #Gatecreeper #GodIsAnAstronaut #Hardcore #Jul25 #Metalcore #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #RoadToMasochist #RussianCircles #TheFineLineBetweenHeavenAndHere #TheNational

    #baal #blackmetal #britishmetal #creepingdeath #deafheaven #fumingmouth