#messa — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/it/482662/ Parolin: interessi disumani alimentano tratta e guerre che devastano le società #Cronaca #haiti #Headlines #IT #Italia #Italy #messa #News #Notizie #NotizieDiCronaca #NotiziePrincipali #NotizieDiCronaca #NotiziePrincipali #pace #PietroParolin #SantaMariaMaggiore #Titoli #UltimeNotizie #UltimeNotizieDiCronaca #UltimeNotizieENewsDiOggi #UltimeNotizie #UltimeNotizieDiCronaca #UltimeNotizieEnewsDiOggi

https://www.europesays.com/it/393964/ Mare Fuori continua: l’annuncio delle stagioni 7 e 8 #addio #aprile #conferma #ConfermaMare #ConfermaMareMare #data #date #DateMessa #DateMessaOnda #disponibile #DisponibileRaiplay #Entertainment #episodi #EpisodiSesta #Intrattenimento #IT #Italia #Italy #maggio #mare #messa #MessaOnda #onda #produttore #programmazione #serie #sesta #stagione #stagioni #tv #vedremo

https://www.europesays.com/it/347098/ Frammenti di Ferruccio de Bortoli | Christine Lagarde e la sfida dell’euro digitale #Affari #banca #BancaCentrale #BancaCentraleEuropea #Business #centrale #CentraleEuropea #centralità #CentralitàDollaro #christine #ChristineLagarde #digitale #dollaro #dubbio #DubbioCentralità #DubbioCentralitàDollaro #euro #EuroDigitale #europea #IT #Italia #Italy #lagarde #messa #MessaDubbio #MessaDubbioCentralità #presidente

https://www.europesays.com/it/334587/ La fiction («La Preside», «A testa alta», «Don Matteo») resta il genere più forte in tv (e in streaming) #alta #appuntamento #ascolto #corso #don #DonMatteo #Entertainment #episodio #fiction #forte #gennaio #Intrattenimento #IT #Italia #Italy #lineare #matteo #medi #mese #messa #MessaOnda #onda #Palinsesto #preside #Pubblico #resta #risultato #serie #share #spettatori #stagione #streaming #tv

The best things in life often happen organically. Temptress1 began in 2019 in Dallas, Texas, as three friends casually jamming together, and they had enough natural chemistry to decide to take their alluring stoner doom to the studio. Like someone who is well-versed in the art of seduction, they appear to be working their way through each of the five senses. Their debut full-length, see, was born in 2023, but now the time has come to close your eyes and hear what Temptress has conjured up for their sophomore record.

hear is both more immediate and less straightforward than its predecessor. Temptress has livened up the laid-back stoner rock of see with copious amounts of grunge. Kelsey Wilson’s guitar lines are equally likely to slip into a hypnotic, looping groove as they are to burst into peppy riffs. The passages occasionally slow to a doomy plod or bear a passing resemblance to the psychedelic side of Messa. Regardless of style, much of the repetitive songwriting has been tightened across the board, making hear’s average track length and total runtime noticeably shorter.

hear by Temptress

hear is a concerted group effort that respects each member’s individuality. All three members share mic duty, which affords variety rather than synergy because most songs have only one vocalist (with the exception of some backing vocals during the chorus of “Narrows”). The ethereal female croons2 in “Edge” and “Downfall” tend to fit the music best; however, the singing elsewhere can sound a bit flat (“Now or Never,” “Narrows”), not quite matching the passion with which they play their respective instruments. Andi Cuba’s drumming has an endearing, quirky character—I like that intro track “Into” uses only tom and bass drums, although there are small annoyances such as the overuse of syncopation (“Edge”) or snare drum fills (“Downfall”). Christian Wright takes the lead with bass guitar in outro track “Out of,” which I hope to hear more of in the future.

Temptress is becoming adept at writing a cohesive record that keeps a live setting in mind. The first half is much more energetic, giving hear the initial impression of being front-loaded, but the back half contains additional nuance upon closer listening. “Be Still” and “Downfall” experiment with tempo shifts to overall success, save for the 30 seconds or so of dead time at the end of each track. The bookends tie hear together well as a package, with a crisp transition from “Into” to “Narrows” and “Out of” complementing the introduction neatly. The one song that I struggle with as a whole is “Now or Never” due to the deadpan vocals and repetitive lyrics, but the instruments are spirited enough that I can imagine that this would work better when performed live.

Temptress comes across as a tight-knit group that retains a refreshing “no expectations” attitude from their early jamming days. The stoner doom and grunge work very well together to produce plenty of enjoyable licks and riffs, although the vocals are something of a mixed bag. Temptress’ growth between see and hear is impressive. I’d like to see them continue to refine their more subtle, contemplative songwriting approach in addition to their more straightforward, bouncy side. All in all, what I’ve heard so far makes me eager to touch Temptress’ next album.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 3 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Websites: temptressofficial.bandcamp.com | temptressofficial.com | facebook.com/temptressdfw
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

https://www.europesays.com/ie/293907/ AngryMetalGuy.com’s Aggregated Top 20 Albums o’ 2025 #1914 #AnAbstractIllusion #BuriedRealm #CalvaLouise #CaveSermon #CripplingAlcoholism #DormantOrdeal #Éire #Entertainment #Flummox #Grima #Havukruunu #IE #InMourning #Ireland #MaudTheMoth #Messa #Music #ParadiseLost #PhantomSpell #PrimitiveMan #Qrixkuor #structure #Tómarúm #YellowEyes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Albums the Fediverse Loved in 2025

And here we have it: a list of 151 albums (plus a few artists/labels in general) that kept 64 of us going in 2025, nearly 75% of those 2025 releases and the rest earlier gems! Given our collective eclectic tastes, voting/ranking was not attempted, but bolded titles and post tags indicate albums that were submitted by multiple Fedizens. Genre tags are included as tasting notes (apologies if I got any wrong), each title is linked to its Bandcamp/Songlink when possible, and footnotes list who submitted each album along with extra comments they included (warning: comments may include MOAR ALBUMS). So, click and listen away – perhaps you’ll find a new-to-you album that gets you through 2026!

Thanks so much to the Fedizens who joined in, it’s so nice to see familiar faces from the 1001 Other Albums project as well as some new ones! And, as always, it’s lovely to get a glimpse of how diverse our tastes in music are, and to see people trying something new solely based on a random Fedi recommendation. The Fedi music community truly is a bright spot, and I personally am immensely grateful for it. 🙏🏻

Band – Title (year released, place of origin; genre)footnote

Action/Adventure – Ever After (2025, US; pop-punk)1

AFI – Silver Bleeds the Black Sun… (2025, US; post-punk, gothic rock)2

Against Me! – White Crosses (2010, US; punk rock)3

Alkaline Trio – Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs (2024, US; punk rock)4

Am I in Trouble? – Spectrum (2025, US; avant-garde black metal)5

Ami Taf Ra – The Prophet and the Madman (2025, US/Morocco; Moroccan gnawa, gospel, jazz)6

An Abstract Illusion – Woe (2022, Sweden; atmospheric black/death/prog metal)7

Analog Africa (label, in general) (1960s-80s, Africa; reissues)8

Anna Tivel – Animal Poem (2025, US; indie folk)9

Archon Satani – The Righteous Way to Completion (1997, Sweden; death ambient/black industrial)10

Ashbreather – La Grande Bouffe (2025, Canada; progressive sludge/death metal)11

Au4 – …And Down Goes The Sky (2013, Canada; prog rock)12

aya – hexed! (2025, UK; electronic, noise)13

Bad Cop/Bad Cop – Lighten Up (2025, US; punk rock)14

Baghed – Smear Campaign (2025, US; punk rock)15

Bank Myna – Eimuria (2025, France; post-rock/metal, doom gaze, slow core)16

Belle and Sebastian – Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (2005, Scotland; indie pop)17

Benedicte Maurseth – Mirra (2025, Norway; folk, jazz)18

Bill Frisell – Harmony (2019, US; folk-jazz)19

Black Flower – Kinetic (2025, Belgium; Ethio-jazz, Afrobeat, dub)20

Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE (2025, US; indie folk/pop)21

Brittany Davis – Black Thunder (2025, US; cosmic jazz, r&b/soul, singer-songwriter)22

CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso – Papota (2025, Argentina; experimental trap, hip-hop, EDM, jazz, Latin pop)23

Caroline Shaw / Attacca Quartet – Orange (2019, US; classical, ambient, folk)24

Castle Rat – The Bestiary (2025, US; fantasy heavy metal)25

Causa Sui – Pewt’r Sessions 1 (2011, Denmark; psych/stoner rock)26

Celeste – Woman of Faces (2025, UK; neo-soul, jazz, singer-songwriter)27

Charlie Hunter, Carter McLean featuring Silvana Estrada – s/t (2018, US/Mexico; jazz)28

Circuit des Yeux – Halo on the Inside (2025, US; singer-songwriter, experimental)29

Civic – Chrome Dipped (2025, Australia; punk)30

clipping – Dead Channel Sky (2025, US; hip-hop)31

Dan Mangan – Natural Light (2025, Canada; indie rock/folk)32

Daniela Pas – Spira (2023, Italy; singer-songwriter, electronic, experimental)33

Data Rebel – Single Cell (2025, UK; electronic, IDM, ambient)34

Dax Riggs – 7 Songs for Spiders (2025, US; blues metal/shoegaze blues)35

Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power (2025, US; blackgaze, metal)36

Degraved – Spectral Realm of Ruin (2025, US; death metal)37

Delobos – Cabal (2025, Spain; post-alt rock, post-rock, psychedelia)38

Devil ANTHEM. – Profound Rebuild (2025, Japan; J-pop)39

Die Spitz – Something to Consume (2025, US; punk, alt rock)40

Divide and Dissolve – Insatiable (2025, Australia; doom, drone, neo classical)41

Dödsrit – Mortal Coil (2021, Sweden; atmospheric/melodic black metal, blackened crust)42

Dool – The Shape of Fluidity (2024, Netherlands; rock, alternative)43

downy – 8th Album/Untitled (2025, Japan; math rock/post-rock)44

Drab Majesty – Completely Careless (2012-2015) (2016, US; darkwave, shoegaze, dream pop)45

Dropkick Murphy – For The People (2025, US; Celtic punk)46

Eikichi Yazawa – I believe (2025, Japan; rock)47

El Pino & The Volunteers – The Long-lost Art of Becoming Invisible (2009, Netherlands; alt country/folk)48

Elli De Mon – Raìse (2025, Italy; blues, dialect, garage, psychedelic)49

Eric Church – Evangeline vs. The Machine (2025, US; country)50

Ethmebb – Allo Babar et les Caramboleurs (2025, France; progressive melodic blackened death power metal)51

Ex-Vöid – In Love Again (2025, UK; indie pop/rock)52

EYES – Spinner(2025, Denmark; hardcore, noise rock)53

FACS – Wish Defense (2025, US; noise rock, neo-post-punk)54

Faetooth – Labrynthine (2025, US; fairy doom/stoner metal)55

False Aralia (label) – ALL the new 12-inch singles (2025, US; abstract electronic)56

Fever Ray – The Year of the Radical Romantics (2025, Sweden; experimental, electronic, pop)57

FOKALITE – Fokas, Lite & Four Shooting Riddles (2025, Japan; J-pop)58

Françoise Hardy – La question (1971, France; French pop, Brazilian saudade/bossa nova)59

Fust – Big Ugly (2025, US; rock)60

Geese – Getting Killed (2025, US; art/experimental rock)61

Gnome – King (2022, Belgium; stoner/prog/hard rock)62

Habak – Mil orquídeas en medio del desierto (2025, Mexico; melodic crust)63

Hallelujah the Hills – DECK (2025, US; indie rock)64

HANABIE – Bucchigiri Tokyo (2024, Japan; metalcore)65

Hatchie – Liquorice (2025, Australia; indie/dream pop)66

Hole – Live Through This (1994, US; alt rock)67

IAN – Come On Everybody, Let’s Do Nothing! (2025, UK; experimental, post-rock/metal)68

Igorrr – Amen (2025, France; experimental/avant-garde metal)69

Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar (2025, US; experimental metal)70

In the Womb of the Universe – Searching for Sunrise (2024, US; electronic, synthpop)71

In the Woods… – Otra (2025, Norway; avant-garde metal)72

Insomnium – Shadows of the Dying Sun (2014, Finland; melodic death metal)73

Jade Bird – Who Wants to Talk About Love (2025, UK; folk rock, singer-songwriter)74

JER – Death of the Heart (2025, US; ska punk)75

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick (1972, UK; prog rock)76

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (2024, UK; heavy metal)77

Just Mustard – We Were Just Here (2025, Ireland; post-punk, noise, shoegaze, trip hop)78

Kaku P-Model – unZIP (2025, Japan; experimental, electronic)79

Kieran Hebden and William Tyler – 41 Longfield Street Late ‘80s (2025, UK; electronic)80

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013, Australia; psychedelic pop)81

Kostnatění – Přílišnost (2025, US; avant-garde black metal)82

Küenring – In Search of Paradise (2025, Austria; heavy metal/hard rock)83

L.A. Salami (artist, in general) (UK; folk, post-modern blues, acoustic, rock)84

Labyrinthus Stellarum – Rift in Reality (2025, Ukraine; atmospheric/cosmic black metal)85

Lorien Testard – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Original Soundtrack) (2025, France; soundtrack)86

Lorna Shore – I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me (2025, US; death metal/deathcore)87

Lucy Dacus – Forever is a Feeling (2025, US; indie rock, folk-pop, singer-songwriter)88

Maeror Tri – Multiple Personality Disorder (1993, Germany; ambient, noise, drone)89

Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force – Khadim (2025, Germany/Senegal; mbalax, experimental, dub techno)90

Marshall Allen – New Dawn (2025, US; avant-garde jazz)91

Max Cooper – On Being (2025, UK; electronic, ambient, avant-garde)92

Messa – The Spin (2025, Italy; doom metal)93

Michel Legrand – The Essential Michel Legrand Film Music Collection (2005, France; soundtrack, compilation)94

MIKE – Showbiz! (2025, US; hip-hop/rap)95

Miynt – Rain Money Dogs (2025, Sweden; indie/bedroom rock)96

Modern English – Mesh & Lace (1981, UK; post-punk)97

Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky (2025, US; alt/indie rock)98

more eaze & claire rousay – no floor (2025, US; experimental, ambient, avant-pop, sound collage)99

Moron Police – Pachinko (2025, Norway; concept album)100

Morris Kolontyrsky – Origination (2025, US; ambient, drone, experimental)101

Nærværet – Når Man Ser Inn I En Annens Hjerte (2024, Sweden/Norway; experimental, field recording, tape manipulation/loops)102

Nailed to Obscurity – Generation of The Void (2025, Germany; melodic/prog death/doom metal)103

Nicolas Gombert & James Weeks / Apartment House – G O M B E R T (2025, Flanders/UK; contemporary classical)104

Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman – Lady of the Lake (2023, US; folk)105

Nout – Live Album (2024, France; alternative, punk, rock, jazz, noise)106

Olga Anna Markowska – Iskra (2025, Poland; modern classical, ambient)107

Ozzy Osbourne – Ozzmosis (1995, UK; heavy metal)108

Pino Palladino & Blake Mills – That Wasn’t a Dream (2025, Wales/US; experimental jazz)109

Point Mort – Le Point de Non-retour (2025, France; blackened crust postcore)110

Plague of Carcosa – In The Dreamless Deep (2025, US; doomnoise, experimental metal)111

Population II – Maintenant Jamais (2025, Canada; art/prog/psychedelic rock)112

Primal Scream – XTRMNTR (2000, Scotland; experimental electro-rock)113

Priscilla Block – Things You Didn’t See (2025, US; country, singer-songwriter)114

Psychonaut – World Maker (2025, Belgium; post-metal)115

Queens of the Stone Age – Alive in the Catacombs (2025, US; rock)116

Radiopuhelimet – Kosminen Tiedottomuus (2020, Finland; alt rock)117

Rebecca Foon & Aliayta Foon-Dancoes – Reverie (2025, Canada; modern classical)118

Rivers of Nihil – s/t (2025, US; death/prog metal)119

Rogue Jones – Dos Bebés (2023, Wales; folk, indie pop)120

Shayfer James – Summoning (2025, US; noir-pop, dark cabaret)121

Shedfromthebody – Whisper and Wane (2025, Finland; doomgaze, [post-]metal)122

Shepherds of Cassini – In Thrall to Heresy (2025, New Zealand; prog metal)123

Silvana Estrada – Vendrán Suaves Lluvias (2025, Mexico; singer-songwriter)124

Silvana Estrada (with Charlie Hunter) – Lo Sagrado (2017, Mexico/US; singer-songwriter)125

Širom – In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper (2025, Slovenia; instrumental avant-garde imaginary folk)126

SKC & The Poem – s/t (2025, Belgium; alt/folk rock)127

SKLOSS – The Pattern Speaks (2025, US/Scotland; space gaze, post-metal)128

Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying (2025, Belgium; electronic alt rock)129

Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea (2025, Canada; metalcore)130

State Azure – The Light That Remains (2025, UK; electronica, ambient, downtempo)131

Stereolab – Switched On Volumes 1-5 (2024, UK/France; avant-pop)132

Steve Tibbetts – Close (2025, US; jazz fusion)133

Stick To Your Guns – Keep Planting Flowers (2025, US; hardcore)134

Suede – Antidepressants (2025, UK; post-punk, gothic rock)135

Summer Walker – Finally Over It (2025, US; R&B, singer-songwriter)136

Susan Bear – Algorithmic Mood Music (2024, Scotland; electronic, alt-pop)137

Swansea Sound – Twentieth Century (2023, Wales; indie pop)138

TDJ (artist, in general) (Canada; electronic)139

Terveet Kädet – Lapin Helvetti (2015, Finland; hardcore punk)140

Tool – Lateralus (2001, US; prog rock/metal, art rock)141

The Bug Club – “Have U Ever Been 2 Wales” (2025, Wales; indie rock)142

The New Eves – The New Eve Is Rising (2025, UK; avant-garde/art rock)143

Trio del Mango – Cómelo (2025, US/Puerto Rico; experimental, noise)144

Turnstile – Never Enough (2025, US; alt rock)145

UNIVERSITY – McCartney, It’ll Be OK (2025, UK; punk, noise rock)146

Water Damage – Instruments (2025, US; experimental psych/drone-rock)147

Weakened Friends – Feels Like Hell (2025, US; indie rock)148

Weirs – Diamond Grove (2025, US; trad folk, experimental noise)149

Wet Leg – moisturizer (2025, UK; indie rock)150

White Lies – Five V2 (2019, UK; post-punk)151

X-Cetra – Summer 2000 (Y2K 25th Anniversary Edition) (2025, US; sleepover core, dance-pop)152

Yara Asmar – everyone I love is sleeping and I love them so so much (2025, Lebanon; modern classical/ambient)153

Yugen Blakrok – Anima Mysterium (2019, South Africa; hip-hop)154

Yws Gwynedd – Codi/ \Cysgu (2014, Wales; indie rock)155

Footnote Number. Fediverse username(s): Comments

1. poisonous ↩︎
2. buffyleigh: My emotional support album of the year. I’ve been a fan of AFI since 2000 but haven’t liked an album since 2006. The second I heard the first single “Behind The Clock”, my expectations for this album skyrocketed, and they were absolutely exceeded. It sounds nothing like anything they’ve ever done, and yet it feels like this was the album they’ve always been moving towards. Song of the year goes to the entirety of side A, and Davey Havok’s unexpectedly different sound on this album is my overall favourite vocal performance of year. ↩︎
3. Braininabowl ↩︎
4. umrk: top album requested by my kids in the car this year ↩︎
5. brh ↩︎
6. RolloTreadway: The most gloriously unhinged album I’ve heard this year. Twists together ideas from everywhere without the slightest consideration of whether doing so might be normal or accepted. The kind of album where a classic French chanson or some deep filthy funk just appears out of nowhere and then is never referred to again. It shouldn’t work but it absolutely does. ↩︎
7. gavin57: That last one is an all-timer. It’s astonishing. ↩︎
8. platenworm ↩︎
9. rachelcholst ↩︎
10. 3rik: This has been a year for nighttime music and music for trying to sleep. ↩︎
11. swampgas: definitely my most played this year. A sludgy, deathdoom concept album about greed and gluttony and corruption thats riffy and groovy af. These are driving rhythms that chug hard! ↩︎
12. MichaelMcWilliams: The one album that tops my list this year also appears in the 1001 Other Albums list. Band website offering free download of the album: https://au4.ca ↩︎
13. brh ↩︎
14. poisonous ↩︎
15. jake4480 ↩︎
16. mbr ↩︎
17. riff: Most “Wait why did i never listen to this band before ?” of the year. ↩︎
18. keefeglise ↩︎
19. eamonn ↩︎
20. _slotek_ ↩︎
21. onuryasar: My kind of, very balanced Indie Pop: just the right amount of Indie but not too much and just the right amount of Pop but not too much :) ↩︎
22. icastico ↩︎
23. santialone ↩︎
24. eamonn ↩︎
25. burnitdown || MetalheadDana ↩︎
26. cloudtripper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_e5kKzlFqU&list=RD8_e5kKzlFqU&start_radio=1 ↩︎
27. nevar23 ↩︎
28. debonaire: Recency bias is pushing me to three Silvana Estrada albums. I love her voice, I love the music, I love her with Charlie Hunter. ↩︎
29. otherdog ↩︎
30. fistfulofdave: Aussie punk in the vein of The Saints and Radio Birdman. ↩︎
31. rothko ↩︎
32. Chigaze: what happens when four guys to go a cottage in Ontario, find a flow state, and record an album over a few days. I got to see them play the album through at the Winspear in Edmonton and it’s way up there on my concert experience list. ↩︎
33. evilchili: The Italian singer and composer’s debut is a hypnotic journey of loops, bloops, and dramatic and impassioned vocalizations. ↩︎
34. nellie_m ↩︎
35. fistfulofdave: Blues metal? Shoegaze blues? I don’t know or care, I like it. ↩︎
36. tym || niels ↩︎
37. jake4480 ↩︎
38. santialone ↩︎
39. Kingu ↩︎
40. tym || demon6 ↩︎
41. otherdog ↩︎
42. MetalheadDana: I listened to this album when it first came out in 2021 but for some reason it didn’t click with me. But apparently 2021 Dana had horrible taste in music, because in early 2025 I randomly tried Dodsrit – Mortal Coil again and fell in love and have been obsessed with it all year, it’s the perfect blend of crust punk and black metal and I love it. ↩︎
43. TG_Esq ↩︎
44. rustynail ↩︎
45. alicemcalicepants ↩︎
46. Chigaze: nails it just as a solid Dropkick’s album but goes farther with songs made for the times. “Who’ll Stand With Us” and “School Days Over” are amazing workers songs while “Chesterfields and Aftershave” takes me back to my own grandfather. ↩︎
47. thesinkingbelle ↩︎
48. Braininabowl ↩︎
49. riff: Most listened this year. ↩︎
50. Mark52 ↩︎
51. Moss ↩︎
52. e (eva) ↩︎
53. steveroyle: Leaving out Never Enough by Turnstile as I’m sure that’ll get plenty of votes. ↩︎
54. fistfulofdave: Angular, noise rock, neo-post punk. Unsettling, laid-back, yet aggressive. And yes it was the last album Steve Albini recorded. ↩︎
55. MetalheadDana || demon6 ↩︎
56. soundclamp: Runner-ups – https://lineimprint.bandcamp.com/album/muzak-for-the-encouragement-of-unproductivity; https://myheartaninvertedflame.bandcamp.com/album/my-heart-an-inverted-flame-apparitions-split; https://timbarnes.bandcamp.com/album/lost-words-1 ↩︎
57. buffyleigh: I’ve known of Fever Ray since first seeing the TV show Vikings, but I for some reason didn’t check them out further until this year, when their s/t album came up for a blog post. I was floored. As it happens, their kinda sorta live album was set to come out soon after my first listen of the s/t, so I got caught up on the full Karin Dreijer discography, got super duper obsessed with their spectacular ARTE concert (which is essentially the same versions performed on the new album), and proceeded to be immensely inspired – nay, awakened – by this artist. ↩︎
58. Kingu ↩︎
59. onuryasar: I’ve first discovered the song Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex (I know, late comer), which brought me to Greg Gonzalez’s Wikipedia page, that says “Gonzalez was heavily inspired by French singer Françoise Hardy and her album La question”. I remember this album being mentioned in my Fedi timeline recently, so I gave it a spin and it turned on and on for the remainder of the year. [Editor’s note: Also see the 1001 OA spotlight on this album from earlier this year!] ↩︎
60. rachelcholst ↩︎
61. mynameistillian ↩︎
62. burnitdown ↩︎
63. demon6 ↩︎
64. donutage: I was a bit skeptical of this, and sure, in a 52-song project there’s some unevenness, but between the sheer audacity of the attempt & the frequent successes it scores, definitely one of the more remarkable records of the year. ↩︎
65. Tak ↩︎
66. e (eva) ↩︎
67. Lizahadiz ↩︎
68. mbr ↩︎
69. brh ↩︎
70. umrk: my fav album released in 2025 ↩︎
71. superflippy ↩︎
72. raisedfist ↩︎
73. gavin57 ↩︎
74. Mark52: Jade Bird has been by far my most listened to album this year. ↩︎
75. poisonous ↩︎
76. derthomas: I kept coming back to this album because it just fits every mood. It’s peak Jethro Tull if you ask me, it’s perfect in any way. Also the Steven Wilson Remaster sounds incredible. ↩︎
77. burnitdown ↩︎
78. jebeyer: a longer list is here – https://www.buymusic.club/list/whistlingkitty-some-of-my-favorite-2025-releases ↩︎
79. thesinkingbelle: honorable mentions – Scare – In The End, Was It Worth It; Creatvre – Toujours Humain
; Guck – Gucked Up
; AVTT/PTTN – AVTT/PTTN; Saor – Amidst the Ruins
; Jessica93 – 666 tours de periph’
; Deadguy – Near-Death Travel Services; 
LS Dunes – Violet; 
Aesop Rock – I Heard It’s A Mess There Too
; Fishbone – Stockholm Syndrome
; Dead Pioneers – Po$t American
; Ethereal Wound – Defile | Demise; 
Sci Fi Industries – Initial States ↩︎
80. soundclamp ↩︎
81. cloudtripper ↩︎
82. rustynail ↩︎
83. derthomas: My AOTY from a very underground Heavy Metal band from Austria. ↩︎
84. platenworm ↩︎
85. raisedfist ↩︎
86. thesinkingbelle ↩︎
87. t4s: Honorable mentions – The Halo Effect, Machine Head, Heaven Shall Burn, Spiritbox, Jinjer, Allegaeon ↩︎
88. rachelcholst ↩︎
89. 3rik ↩︎
90. Wintergr33n: Percussion-driven music from Senegal on a self-released album: https://ra.co/news/82509. ↩︎
91. platenworm: 5 things that ruled my world musically this year:
    – The Analog Africa Label
    – The Artist L.A. Salami
    – The knowledge that you can have too much music
    – The knowledge that you can make your solo debut album when you are 100 years old……Hail Hail Marshall Allen 
    – And that everybody loved Ozzy ↩︎
92. nellie_m: The music project that somehow touched me most deeply was the result of two years of work by Max Cooper. „Powerful works of art have traditionally sprung from some source deep within an artist and, if they strike the right tone, resonate with an audience to leave a lasting mark. But what if that equation were reversed: what if an artist were to draw their inspiration from deep within their audience, and use that to reflect those ideas, emotions, hopes, fears, pains and aspirations back to us?…“ ↩︎
93. niels || TG_Esq || sentynel || otherdog || umrk ↩︎
94. eamonn ↩︎
95. jake4480 ↩︎
96. steveroyle ↩︎
97. alicemcalicepants ↩︎
98. BramMeehan ↩︎
99. avi_miller: All three fall into the more ambient realm, and they all are absolutely phenomenal. I love music that is based more around textures and creating a mood than creating a melody, and this year had some really good ones. ↩︎
100. niels ↩︎
101. TG_Esq ↩︎
102. 3rik ↩︎
103. raisedfist ↩︎
104. keefeglise: Compositions by Nicholas Gombert and James Weeks. Performed by Apartment House. Flanders/UK. Contemporary Classical (Debatable! Gombert died in 1560.) ↩︎
105. evilchili: Two hipster kids from Brooklyn play 100 year old Appalachian folk tunes and make them come alive. Honest, reverential, and true. ↩︎
106. riff: “Instantly burned in my brain” this year (well, it was actually their KEXP session from april that blew my mind, but since i have to submit an album, it’ll do nicely :) ). ↩︎
107. avi_miller ↩︎
108. derthomas: I discovered this album this year on a metal journey (yeah, late to the party) and I loved it. It’s my favourite Ozzy album. ↩︎
109. _slotek_ ↩︎
110. mbr ↩︎
111. tym: Oh and not a brand new release, but the remaster and new tracks for the 20th anniversary reissue of ‘Takk…’ by Sigur Rós are pretty great. That and ( ) are still what I listen to the most, this year and apparently every year. ↩︎
112. Kingu ↩︎
113. epu: I had all but forgotten party drug enthusiasm tracks like ‘higher than the sun’ from 1991, and it turns out they made so many albums since I last tuned in. This one really resonates with my reaction to USpol this year. It rekindled my love for this band; I bought Evil Heat import on CD, my first physical purchase since last year. ↩︎
114. Mark52 ↩︎
115. sentynel ↩︎
116. Braininabowl ↩︎
117. jiiruu ↩︎
118. avi_miller ↩︎
119. jiiruu || t4s || gavin57 ↩︎
120. Steffi ↩︎
121. superflippy ↩︎
122. rustynail: most played ↩︎
123. sentynel ↩︎
124. debonaire ↩︎
125. debonaire ↩︎
126. TwoClownsEating: I discovered this band in 2025. Absolutely incredible, I’ve bought their entire catalogue and had the privilege to see them live a few months ago. Unbelievably good musicians. Magical music. ↩︎
127. jomel: 2025 was a great year for Belgian music. Stef Kamil Carlens, co-founder of dEUS has released a gem with his new band The Poem. I have seen SKC twice this year, once in a solo gig, and the second time (in less then 2 weeks) for the “worst Case scenario” rewind from (and so with) dEUS, those two concerts were fabulous, and at the time, I wasn’t expecting this release.
     Bonus Albums: The live album from Depeche Mode – Memento Mori: Mexico City; Arvo Pârt – Credo (released Alpha Classics label) which includes his “hits”
 – Credo
, Fratres
, Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten (my favourite one)
 https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/arvo-part-credo; 2025 Bryan Ferry release, with Amelia Barrat as female lead singer/speaker. Some of his material came from the 70’s and were updated, it’s a timeless album, and elegant as always https://soundcloud.com/bryanferry/sets/loose-talk-4 ↩︎
128. jebeyer ↩︎
129. jomel: (AKA 2manydj’s) Yep, those guys will make you dance, and rock, I guess they’ve listened to Kraftwerk & Front242. ↩︎
130. Tak ↩︎
131. nellie_m ↩︎
132. cloudtripper ↩︎
133. _slotek_ ↩︎
134. t4s ↩︎
135. Lizahadiz ↩︎
136. slamma ↩︎
137. e (eva): algorithmic mood music was my fav last year! but i’m still listening to it and i didn’t submit anything then. ↩︎
138. Steffi ↩︎
139. BramMeehan: I’ve listened to so much TDJ, though no one release in particular. ↩︎
140. jiiruu ↩︎
141. buffyleigh: There’s so many other albums I’d love to list here for exposure, but it feels more honest to list this masterpiece, my first obsession of the year, courtesy of catching their amazing set at the big Black Sabbath/Ozzy send-off concert. I mean, I even titled my AOTY list “Forty Six & 2”, since that was the first song Tool played there and got my attention. Said list is here. ↩︎
142. epu: Ok, this one’s kind of a cheat, it’s an EP.
     2024, my friend turned me on to Bug Club for its lo-fi production aesthetic, humor and infectious fun/dark undertones. Marriage from 2023 album ‘Rare Birds: Hour of Song’ was the hook.
     You can get this band straight into your heart and mind with this EP. And it takes me back to that one time I did go to Wales. ↩︎
143. jomel: This newcomer British female band has written the ultimate feminist anthem as opening track. || RolloTreadway: I don’t tend to be very much of a rock person, so for a big brash rock record to have such an impact on me must say something. It’s noisy and it’s loud and it has guitars and drums and punkiness. And, er, flutes. Harmonicas. Cellos. Weird interpretations of bible stories. All chaos and absurdity and celebration and being absolutely done with the patriarchy and above all else fun. So much fun. ↩︎
144. soundclamp ↩︎
145. santialone ↩︎
146. steveroyle ↩︎
147. jebeyer ↩︎
148. donutage: far & away my number 1; an angry & desperate neo-grunge banger. Sonia Sturino is a force of nature. ↩︎
149. RolloTreadway: In parts weird and experimental, in others traditional. Here there’s strange droney noise, and then there’s some light, old-fashioned fiddle playing. Electronic distortion, a choir recorded live outdoors singing a simple hymn. It’s an astonishingly creative and unique folk record. ↩︎
150. donutage: not as jaw-dropping as their debut (my runaway 2022 fave), but with a lot of the same qualities. It’s dancy, smart, & sexy, without ever once being submissive. || slamma ↩︎
151. alicemcalicepants ↩︎
152. slamma ↩︎
153. keefeglise ↩︎
154. evilchili: Afro-futurist South African Hip-Hop Mysticism. Blakrok instantly became my favourite female MC. ↩︎
155. Steffi ↩︎

#AOTY #AOTY2025 #CastleRat #Deafheaven #DieSpitz #Faetooth #ListenToThis #Messa #music #musicDiscovery #RiversOfNihil #TheNewEves #WetLeg

I'm loving the number of gothypostpunk bands out there at the mo. Everything's a bit 1983 4AD. Then you've got ultra-poppy janglers rambling about too.

#AlternativeMusic #Jangle #Indiepop #Goth #PostPunk #Messa #Bloodworm #DrugBug #ExVoid

https://www.europesays.com/ie/258300/ Kenstrosity’s Top Ten(ish) of 2025 #2025 #AnAbstractIllusion #BarrenPath #Bianca #BlogPosts #ByoNoiseGenerator #CalvaLouise #CamGirl #citadel #Dagdrøm #DawnOfOuroboros #Depravity #Éire #Entertainment #Epica #Flummox #IE #Igorrr #ImperialTriumphant #InMourning #Ireland #Kenstrosity'sTopTen(ish)Of2025 #LadyGaga #lists #Messa #Music #PedestalForLeviathan #Psychonaut #Qrixkuor #Tómarúm

Well, here we are again! One of the longest, most eventful years in recent memory comes to a close. After all of the hardships my family, friends, and I endured at the end of last year, it was difficult to imagine what life would be like. For quite some time, it took everything in us just to continue our day-to-day existences, to reestablish or refresh our routines, and to build our lives back up. But we had tons of support, and we got through it. In fact, I’d say that we came out of everything with a better understanding of who we are, what we want out of life, and a greater drive to live more fully, more intentionally, and without regrets. Personally, I learned the value of asking more questions, making fewer assumptions, and embracing the mess of being human in today’s world. With practice in these areas, in time, I’ll grow into a better person, a better friend, and a better partner to my loved ones.

Musically, I experienced a bit of a shift. I don’t know exactly when this shift happened, but I could feel my desire for unfamiliar or less-traveled territory build. I desired weird, long, or messy records that called to me on a more personal level above all else. I craved pieces that showcased artists who wrote what they wanted (or needed) to, regardless of what others might think or say. Authenticity, creativity, memorability, imperfection, and artistic integrity became my core values when approaching new music this year.

Aside from all of that, the thing I want to do most is offer my deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stuck by me and been my support system this year. To Alex, a wonderful and gorgeous man who continually shows me more love, patience, and attention than I ever dared to ask for—and who challenges me to grow with every passing day. To Ally, Thea, Kaja, Ashe, Sophie, Chris (both of them), Sean, Malachi, Brandon, Michelle, and Jeff for being the best meatspace friends a guy could ask for, and who also show me more love than I ever dared to ask for. To new meatspace friends (Jhierry, Adrien, Forest, Logan, Nick, Zach, Brett, Blue, Brian, and Shawn) who further enrich my life with each interaction, I am excited to see how our relationships develop! To my therapist, Clint, who has helped pull me from the brink more times than I can count. To my family, Mom, Dad, and Kathy, I don’t know what I would do if they were not here with me. To Lise and Victoria, who have been and continue to be the best supervisors—and all-around cool, brilliant, creative, and inspiring people—I’ve ever known. To AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Dr. A. N. Grier, and Sentynel for running the greatest blog on the planet and being an invaluable resource for my continued growth as a writer and contributor. To all of my fellow writers and editors, both active and inactive, who make this blog the wonderland it is and whose contributions and company continually uplift and motivate me. To the readers, our Discord members, and the metal community writ large, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout to all the bands who released awesome records this year that fought valiantly for a spot on my list/HMs, in alphabetical order: 1914, Ancient Death, …and Oceans, Astronoid, Aversed, Blind Equation, Bodybox, Buried Realm, Cave Sermon, Changeling, Death Whore, Gloombound, The Halo Effect, Havukruunu, Helms Deep, Inoculation, Maud the Moth, Mutagenic Host, Nephylim, Pedestal for Leviathan, Proscription, Rothadás, Sarastus, Serenity in Murder, Structure, Tower, Tribunal, Vittra, Yellow Eyes. Despite these gems losing a place on my list proper for any number of reasons, I know I’ll return to them with great relish.

With all of that said, I invite all of you to bear witness to my absolutely unhinged Top Ten(ish) selections for 2025. May the rabble commence!

#ish. Epica // Aspiral – Epica is my favorite symphonic metal band. It’s no secret. They’ve been at the grindstone churning out quality records for almost 25 years with a remarkably stable lineup, and there’s every reason to expect Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ to catch up with them someday. Today is not that day. Aspiral is easily my favorite record since The Quantum Enigma, full of memorable songs and standout performances. It may be hookier and poppier than anything they’ve put out in the past, but accessibility looks great on Epica.

#10. Citadel // Descension – Every time I thought I knew how I felt about this record, I’d go back to it and discover more reasons to love it. Descension follows the same school of melodic death metal with long-form constructions that bands like An Abstract Illusion practice, but there’s a smoky, gothic twist to it that embodies darkness and light as a merged entity. It’s a delicate balance that Citadel treads with grace and athleticism. That feat is what ultimately elevated Descension to my Top 10 proper.

#9. Depravity // Bestial Possession – Depravity really fucked around with my cutoff for list consideration, coming in clutch one week before Turkey Day. But I am the one who found out. Riffs made to break bones and minds alike, Bestial Possession is lean, mean, and bloodthirsty. And yet, it’s smooth, refined, and streamlined. This is the work of a band that understands exactly what they want to write, and knows how to execute that vision with devastating precision. It’s death metal as we know and love it, weaponized for mass destruction.

#8. In Mourning // The Immortal –The Immortal surprised me. I fully expected it to be good. After all, In Mourning haven’t released a bad album to date. But against all odds, they managed to capture lightning in a bottle here, with songs that are impossible to resist and even harder to forget. It represents everything I love about the sadboi side of melodic death without skimping on hooks or on teeth. The Immortal might just be the pinnacle of In Mourning’s career. Who would’ve expected that after 25 years?

#7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – In recent years, I often found myself gravitating towards concise, to-the-point records. I wanted hooks. I wanted brevity. I wanted unrelenting intensity. In 2025, that shifted. The long form became my home away from home. Epic yarns and gentle movements brought comfort and warmth to my listening schedule. With The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion managed to capture both the intensity I craved before and the sweeping arcs that I look for now. That it is beautiful without compromising either of those traits is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And so, here we are.

#6. Igorrr // Amen – When I look at my Top 10ish, I notice two things. Firstly, a fair number of these selections are, in some shape or form, weird or niche. Secondly, the gaps that separate one album from the other at this point are paper-thin, aside from my AotY. For French wild cards, Igorrr, accessibility ultimately put Amen here with my faves of 2025. Whimsically weird, savagely smart, and wholly unpredictable, Igorrr achieved a buttery smoothness and an unflinching confidence with these 12 absolute bangers that they’ve never shown before. A high-water mark for an act with an established reputation for excellence.

#5. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – My relationship with Beyond Obsidian Euphoria followed much the same trajectory as my relationship with its predecessor, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons. I felt confident in my score, then I started doubting its accuracy, then I’d revisit the record and feel vindicated in my original evaluation—rinse and repeat. It’s a vicious cycle, but at the end of the day, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was always destined for my Top 5. Its epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again. It’s one helluva journey, but that’s what makes it excellent!

#4. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – In the world of symphonic death metal, Qrixkuor is singular. Nobody else sounds like them, and I’m convinced nobody else could. Dramatic, violent, and grotesque, but at the same time possessing a disturbing beauty, The Womb of the World sets a new standard for lushly orchestrated death metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, nor for those looking for a quick fix. But once it’s infected your mind, you belong to it. An album to be feared as much as it is to be adored.

#3. Cam Girl // Flesh & Chrome – Deciding where to slot this was a difficult process for me. The people-pleaser that lives in my brain—who is jacked, devastatingly handsome, and incredibly charismatic—tried to move Cam Girl’s sophomore LP down a couple of notches, purely to protect me from those who would (and likely will) tell me this kind of record is undeserving of such high placement here. But the reality is I don’t fucking want to. Flesh & Chrome is a staggering improvement on Cam Girl’s already winning formula, with an invincible selection of super-sticky and subversive tunes that haven’t left my brain since the first half of 2025. It’s among the most fun records I’ve had the pleasure of covering on this site. Above all, Flesh & Chrome earned its rightful place in my Top 3. So it is, so it shall be.

#2. ByoNoiseGenerator // Subnormal Dives – This was not on my bingo card for 2025. I used to despise everything about ByoNoiseGenerator’s brand of brutal jazzgrind. After spinning Subnormal Dives roughly 10^230049 times in the span of a few short months, with a mind-broken grin plastered permanently on my face, something snapped. It wasn’t a gradual affinity borne of a studious and painstaking process. It was a total, implosive disintegration of everything I held true. The result? BYONG is now one of my favorite bands, and I’ve come to love their previous work, too. Not many albums wield that much power. Subnormal Dives does.

#1. Flummox // Southern Progress – This is easily my biggest surprise of 2025. I never heard of Flummox before seeing this cover art on my Bandcamp feed, and I was thoroughly bamboozled by my first spin. The mix was bizarre, the songwriting highly unorthodox compared to anything I’ve heard this side of Devin Townsend, and Flummox’s refusal to settle into any one style was confounding. Yet, I simply could not stop spinning it. All year long, Southern Progress was my go-to, even on days when I just felt so numb that I didn’t want to listen to anything at all. With that commitment came understanding. Southern Progress is, simply put, a fully realized and inspired work of art, complete with relevant societal commentary. Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer, and particularly the trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid, community (especially in the American South)—and deftly integrating branched subplots that exhibit the wide-reaching complications that neurodivergence, late-stage capitalism, and religion-based upbringings contribute to that experience—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. For these reasons, and so much more, I gratefully award Southern Progress my 2025 Album o’ the Year. Thank you, Flummox, for this wonderful gift!

Honorable Mentions

• Barren Path // Grieving – Deathgrind never sounded this good, or felt this vicious.
• Bianca // Bianca – The beauty and the beast returns, reimagined and rekindled.
• Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss – Fiercely creative and vividly memorable, this is what happens when artists use neurodivergence and cultural diversity as assets.
• Dagdrøm // Schauder – Passionate melodic black metal for those who are looking for something a bit outside convention.
• Dawn of Ouroboros // Bioluminescence – The best vocal performance of the year meets some of the coolest progressive death songwriting I’ve heard in a minute.
• Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – The gritty, twisted, sprawling city-dweller with a shady story to tell, and yet it glitters like the purest gold.
• Messa // The Spin – Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.
• Psychonaut // World Maker – Thoughtful and deeply personal, but still crushingly heavy, post-metal from one of the best acts in the scene.

Songs o’ the Year

• Cam Girl – “Flesh & Chrome” – Simplicity and a curated collection of razor-sharp hooks will win my heart faster than anything else, and few songs this year upheld that virtue better than “Flesh & Chrome.” I haven’t been able to stop singing it to myself literally every single day since I first got my hands on this promo half a year ago, and yet the serotonin production it generates in my burned-out brain almost overwhelms me still. From the white-hot brightness of its lead melodies to the soaring brass of its addictive1 chorus and tight writing, “Flesh & Chrome” just makes me happy. Simple as.

• Citadel – “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” – I didn’t expect to include this song on my list, but something happened once I started revisiting Descension more often. I found myself completely blown back by the artistry, the expressiveness, and the fluidity exhibited by Citadel’s epic “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death.” This unexpected emotional response completely shifted my perspective on what I was looking for in my Song o’ the Year candidates. Once I contemplated those requirements more deeply, it became clear in short order that “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” was worthy and then some. Incredible.

• In Mourning – “As Long as the Twilight Stays” – While songs like “Flesh & Chrome” make me happy beyond all reason, others like “As Long as the Twilight Stays” break my bleeding heart. Every time the lyrics “Breathe and open your eyes / When darkness falls, a new dawn will rise / Reveal the secrets you keep / There is still hope as long as twilight stays” pierce through my eardrums, something deep from within my soul surges. That pull, strong enough to rip my heart from its bony cage, and further strengthened by weeping, layered tremolo harmonies, melts me. This is power; it is magic. I am helpless to resist.

• Flummox – “Long Pork” – Southern Progress is swimming in great songs, all of which make a strong claim for inclusion here. Ultimately, “Long Pork” won the blue ribbon for its unhinged songwriting, bizarre vocal acrobatics, harrowing instrumentation, and metamorphic storytelling. The cutting and clever lyrics may seem whimsical at first blush, but the critique they level at humanity’s gross exploitation, not only for the vast overproduction and dysfunctional distribution of food—and the systematic abuse of animals to meet that unsustainable demand—but also to the gluttony of late-stage capitalism and the chasmic wealth divide it perpetuates, sends chills through my nervous system. Sensational!



• Messa – “The Dress” – Of all the great songs 2025 had to offer, “The Dress” was the first one I felt earned a nod here. It is classy beyond all comprehension, sultry and sophisticated without being busy or especially complex. Moreover, it captivates my attention completely. An unqualified success of songwriting prowess, excellence in execution and performance, and spirited delivery, “The Dress” flows between melodies, moods, and modes as mana from otherworldly realms. I would not be surprised if, ten years from now, I still feel its magic as strongly as I do today, immune to the eroding force of time.



Non-Metal Album o’ the Year:

• Lady Gaga // Mayhem – I am absolutely obsessed with this album. I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, but never before did I feel so wholly ensnared by one of her records. This absolute triumph of modern pop explodes with energy, killer hooks, and an unfuckwithable vocal display that makes not singing along to each and every track entirely impossible. Mainstream though it is, Mayhem is a force, and I’ll be listening to it with glee for years to come.

Shakes Fist at Cloud Album of 2025

• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation – There will never be a day when I don’t rue how late I encountered this record, and how lame it felt to realize it had been self-released months before I picked up a December promo for it. It is listworthy, and that I treated it as if it missed my yearly cutoff because of a simple lack of awareness makes me want to shake my fists at the clouds!

Well, here we are again! One of the longest, most eventful years in recent memory comes to a close. After all of the hardships my family, friends, and I endured at the end of last year, it was difficult to imagine what life would be like. For quite some time, it took everything in us just to continue our day-to-day existences, to reestablish or refresh our routines, and to build our lives back up. But we had tons of support, and we got through it. In fact, I’d say that we came out of everything with a better understanding of who we are, what we want out of life, and a greater drive to live more fully, more intentionally, and without regrets. Personally, I learned the value of asking more questions, making fewer assumptions, and embracing the mess of being human in today’s world. With practice in these areas, in time, I’ll grow into a better person, a better friend, and a better partner to my loved ones.

Musically, I experienced a bit of a shift. I don’t know exactly when this shift happened, but I could feel my desire for unfamiliar or less-traveled territory build. I desired weird, long, or messy records that called to me on a more personal level above all else. I craved pieces that showcased artists who wrote what they wanted (or needed) to, regardless of what others might think or say. Authenticity, creativity, memorability, imperfection, and artistic integrity became my core values when approaching new music this year.

Aside from all of that, the thing I want to do most is offer my deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stuck by me and been my support system this year. To Alex, a wonderful and gorgeous man who continually shows me more love, patience, and attention than I ever dared to ask for—and who challenges me to grow with every passing day. To Ally, Thea, Kaja, Ashe, Sophie, Chris (both of them), Sean, Malachi, Brandon, Michelle, and Jeff for being the best meatspace friends a guy could ask for, and who also show me more love than I ever dared to ask for. To new meatspace friends (Jhierry, Adrien, Forest, Logan, Nick, Zach, Brett, Blue, Brian, and Shawn) who further enrich my life with each interaction, I am excited to see how our relationships develop! To my therapist, Clint, who has helped pull me from the brink more times than I can count. To my family, Mom, Dad, and Kathy, I don’t know what I would do if they were not here with me. To Lise and Victoria, who have been and continue to be the best supervisors—and all-around cool, brilliant, creative, and inspiring people—I’ve ever known. To AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Dr. A. N. Grier, and Sentynel for running the greatest blog on the planet and being an invaluable resource for my continued growth as a writer and contributor. To all of my fellow writers and editors, both active and inactive, who make this blog the wonderland it is and whose contributions and company continually uplift and motivate me. To the readers, our Discord members, and the metal community writ large, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout to all the bands who released awesome records this year that fought valiantly for a spot on my list/HMs, in alphabetical order: 1914, Ancient Death, …and Oceans, Astronoid, Aversed, Blind Equation, Bodybox, Buried Realm, Cave Sermon, Changeling, Death Whore, Gloombound, The Halo Effect, Havukruunu, Helms Deep, Inoculation, Maud the Moth, Mutagenic Host, Nephylim, Pedestal for Leviathan, Proscription, Rothadás, Sarastus, Serenity in Murder, Structure, Tower, Tribunal, Vittra, Yellow Eyes. Despite these gems losing a place on my list proper for any number of reasons, I know I’ll return to them with great relish.

With all of that said, I invite all of you to bear witness to my absolutely unhinged Top Ten(ish) selections for 2025. May the rabble commence!

#ish. Epica // Aspiral – Epica is my favorite symphonic metal band. It’s no secret. They’ve been at the grindstone churning out quality records for almost 25 years with a remarkably stable lineup, and there’s every reason to expect Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ to catch up with them someday. Today is not that day. Aspiral is easily my favorite record since The Quantum Enigma, full of memorable songs and standout performances. It may be hookier and poppier than anything they’ve put out in the past, but accessibility looks great on Epica.

#10. Citadel // Descension – Every time I thought I knew how I felt about this record, I’d go back to it and discover more reasons to love it. Descension follows the same school of melodic death metal with long-form constructions that bands like An Abstract Illusion practice, but there’s a smoky, gothic twist to it that embodies darkness and light as a merged entity. It’s a delicate balance that Citadel treads with grace and athleticism. That feat is what ultimately elevated Descension to my Top 10 proper.

#9. Depravity // Bestial Possession – Depravity really fucked around with my cutoff for list consideration, coming in clutch one week before Turkey Day. But I am the one who found out. Riffs made to break bones and minds alike, Bestial Possession is lean, mean, and bloodthirsty. And yet, it’s smooth, refined, and streamlined. This is the work of a band that understands exactly what they want to write, and knows how to execute that vision with devastating precision. It’s death metal as we know and love it, weaponized for mass destruction.

#8. In Mourning // The Immortal –The Immortal surprised me. I fully expected it to be good. After all, In Mourning haven’t released a bad album to date. But against all odds, they managed to capture lightning in a bottle here, with songs that are impossible to resist and even harder to forget. It represents everything I love about the sadboi side of melodic death without skimping on hooks or on teeth. The Immortal might just be the pinnacle of In Mourning’s career. Who would’ve expected that after 25 years?

#7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – In recent years, I often found myself gravitating towards concise, to-the-point records. I wanted hooks. I wanted brevity. I wanted unrelenting intensity. In 2025, that shifted. The long form became my home away from home. Epic yarns and gentle movements brought comfort and warmth to my listening schedule. With The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion managed to capture both the intensity I craved before and the sweeping arcs that I look for now. That it is beautiful without compromising either of those traits is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And so, here we are.

#6. Igorrr // Amen – When I look at my Top 10ish, I notice two things. Firstly, a fair number of these selections are, in some shape or form, weird or niche. Secondly, the gaps that separate one album from the other at this point are paper-thin, aside from my AotY. For French wild cards, Igorrr, accessibility ultimately put Amen here with my faves of 2025. Whimsically weird, savagely smart, and wholly unpredictable, Igorrr achieved a buttery smoothness and an unflinching confidence with these 12 absolute bangers that they’ve never shown before. A high-water mark for an act with an established reputation for excellence.

#5. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – My relationship with Beyond Obsidian Euphoria followed much the same trajectory as my relationship with its predecessor, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons. I felt confident in my score, then I started doubting its accuracy, then I’d revisit the record and feel vindicated in my original evaluation—rinse and repeat. It’s a vicious cycle, but at the end of the day, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was always destined for my Top 5. Its epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again. It’s one helluva journey, but that’s what makes it excellent!

#4. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – In the world of symphonic death metal, Qrixkuor is singular. Nobody else sounds like them, and I’m convinced nobody else could. Dramatic, violent, and grotesque, but at the same time possessing a disturbing beauty, The Womb of the World sets a new standard for lushly orchestrated death metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, nor for those looking for a quick fix. But once it’s infected your mind, you belong to it. An album to be feared as much as it is to be adored.

#3. Cam Girl // Flesh & Chrome – Deciding where to slot this was a difficult process for me. The people-pleaser that lives in my brain—who is jacked, devastatingly handsome, and incredibly charismatic—tried to move Cam Girl’s sophomore LP down a couple of notches, purely to protect me from those who would (and likely will) tell me this kind of record is undeserving of such high placement here. But the reality is I don’t fucking want to. Flesh & Chrome is a staggering improvement on Cam Girl’s already winning formula, with an invincible selection of super-sticky and subversive tunes that haven’t left my brain since the first half of 2025. It’s among the most fun records I’ve had the pleasure of covering on this site. Above all, Flesh & Chrome earned its rightful place in my Top 3. So it is, so it shall be.

#2. ByoNoiseGenerator // Subnormal Dives – This was not on my bingo card for 2025. I used to despise everything about ByoNoiseGenerator’s brand of brutal jazzgrind. After spinning Subnormal Dives roughly 10^230049 times in the span of a few short months, with a mind-broken grin plastered permanently on my face, something snapped. It wasn’t a gradual affinity borne of a studious and painstaking process. It was a total, implosive disintegration of everything I held true. The result? BYONG is now one of my favorite bands, and I’ve come to love their previous work, too. Not many albums wield that much power. Subnormal Dives does.

#1. Flummox // Southern Progress – This is easily my biggest surprise of 2025. I never heard of Flummox before seeing this cover art on my Bandcamp feed, and I was thoroughly bamboozled by my first spin. The mix was bizarre, the songwriting highly unorthodox compared to anything I’ve heard this side of Devin Townsend, and Flummox’s refusal to settle into any one style was confounding. Yet, I simply could not stop spinning it. All year long, Southern Progress was my go-to, even on days when I just felt so numb that I didn’t want to listen to anything at all. With that commitment came understanding. Southern Progress is, simply put, a fully realized and inspired work of art, complete with relevant societal commentary. Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer, and particularly the trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid, community (especially in the American South)—and deftly integrating branched subplots that exhibit the wide-reaching complications that neurodivergence, late-stage capitalism, and religion-based upbringings contribute to that experience—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. For these reasons, and so much more, I gratefully award Southern Progress my 2025 Album o’ the Year. Thank you, Flummox, for this wonderful gift!

Honorable Mentions

• Barren Path // Grieving – Deathgrind never sounded this good, or felt this vicious.
• Bianca // Bianca – The beauty and the beast returns, reimagined and rekindled.
• Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss – Fiercely creative and vividly memorable, this is what happens when artists use neurodivergence and cultural diversity as assets.
• Dagdrøm // Schauder – Passionate melodic black metal for those who are looking for something a bit outside convention.
• Dawn of Ouroboros // Bioluminescence – The best vocal performance of the year meets some of the coolest progressive death songwriting I’ve heard in a minute.
• Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – The gritty, twisted, sprawling city-dweller with a shady story to tell, and yet it glitters like the purest gold.
• Messa // The Spin – Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.
• Psychonaut // World Maker – Thoughtful and deeply personal, but still crushingly heavy, post-metal from one of the best acts in the scene.

Songs o’ the Year

• Cam Girl – “Flesh & Chrome” – Simplicity and a curated collection of razor-sharp hooks will win my heart faster than anything else, and few songs this year upheld that virtue better than “Flesh & Chrome.” I haven’t been able to stop singing it to myself literally every single day since I first got my hands on this promo half a year ago, and yet the serotonin production it generates in my burned-out brain almost overwhelms me still. From the white-hot brightness of its lead melodies to the soaring brass of its addictive1 chorus and tight writing, “Flesh & Chrome” just makes me happy. Simple as.

• Citadel – “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” – I didn’t expect to include this song on my list, but something happened once I started revisiting Descension more often. I found myself completely blown back by the artistry, the expressiveness, and the fluidity exhibited by Citadel’s epic “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death.” This unexpected emotional response completely shifted my perspective on what I was looking for in my Song o’ the Year candidates. Once I contemplated those requirements more deeply, it became clear in short order that “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” was worthy and then some. Incredible.

• In Mourning – “As Long as the Twilight Stays” – While songs like “Flesh & Chrome” make me happy beyond all reason, others like “As Long as the Twilight Stays” break my bleeding heart. Every time the lyrics “Breathe and open your eyes / When darkness falls, a new dawn will rise / Reveal the secrets you keep / There is still hope as long as twilight stays” pierce through my eardrums, something deep from within my soul surges. That pull, strong enough to rip my heart from its bony cage, and further strengthened by weeping, layered tremolo harmonies, melts me. This is power; it is magic. I am helpless to resist.

• Flummox – “Long Pork” – Southern Progress is swimming in great songs, all of which make a strong claim for inclusion here. Ultimately, “Long Pork” won the blue ribbon for its unhinged songwriting, bizarre vocal acrobatics, harrowing instrumentation, and metamorphic storytelling. The cutting and clever lyrics may seem whimsical at first blush, but the critique they level at humanity’s gross exploitation, not only for the vast overproduction and dysfunctional distribution of food—and the systematic abuse of animals to meet that unsustainable demand—but also to the gluttony of late-stage capitalism and the chasmic wealth divide it perpetuates, sends chills through my nervous system. Sensational!



• Messa – “The Dress” – Of all the great songs 2025 had to offer, “The Dress” was the first one I felt earned a nod here. It is classy beyond all comprehension, sultry and sophisticated without being busy or especially complex. Moreover, it captivates my attention completely. An unqualified success of songwriting prowess, excellence in execution and performance, and spirited delivery, “The Dress” flows between melodies, moods, and modes as mana from otherworldly realms. I would not be surprised if, ten years from now, I still feel its magic as strongly as I do today, immune to the eroding force of time.



Non-Metal Album o’ the Year:

• Lady Gaga // Mayhem – I am absolutely obsessed with this album. I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, but never before did I feel so wholly ensnared by one of her records. This absolute triumph of modern pop explodes with energy, killer hooks, and an unfuckwithable vocal display that makes not singing along to each and every track entirely impossible. Mainstream though it is, Mayhem is a force, and I’ll be listening to it with glee for years to come.

Shakes Fist at Cloud Album of 2025

• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation – There will never be a day when I don’t rue how late I encountered this record, and how lame it felt to realize it had been self-released months before I picked up a December promo for it. It is listworthy, and that I treated it as if it missed my yearly cutoff because of a simple lack of awareness makes me want to shake my fists at the clouds!

Well, here we are again! One of the longest, most eventful years in recent memory comes to a close. After all of the hardships my family, friends, and I endured at the end of last year, it was difficult to imagine what life would be like. For quite some time, it took everything in us just to continue our day-to-day existences, to reestablish or refresh our routines, and to build our lives back up. But we had tons of support, and we got through it. In fact, I’d say that we came out of everything with a better understanding of who we are, what we want out of life, and a greater drive to live more fully, more intentionally, and without regrets. Personally, I learned the value of asking more questions, making fewer assumptions, and embracing the mess of being human in today’s world. With practice in these areas, in time, I’ll grow into a better person, a better friend, and a better partner to my loved ones.

Musically, I experienced a bit of a shift. I don’t know exactly when this shift happened, but I could feel my desire for unfamiliar or less-traveled territory build. I desired weird, long, or messy records that called to me on a more personal level above all else. I craved pieces that showcased artists who wrote what they wanted (or needed) to, regardless of what others might think or say. Authenticity, creativity, memorability, imperfection, and artistic integrity became my core values when approaching new music this year.

Aside from all of that, the thing I want to do most is offer my deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stuck by me and been my support system this year. To Alex, a wonderful and gorgeous man who continually shows me more love, patience, and attention than I ever dared to ask for—and who challenges me to grow with every passing day. To Ally, Thea, Kaja, Ashe, Sophie, Chris (both of them), Sean, Malachi, Brandon, Michelle, and Jeff for being the best meatspace friends a guy could ask for, and who also show me more love than I ever dared to ask for. To new meatspace friends (Jhierry, Adrien, Forest, Logan, Nick, Zach, Brett, Blue, Brian, and Shawn) who further enrich my life with each interaction, I am excited to see how our relationships develop! To my therapist, Clint, who has helped pull me from the brink more times than I can count. To my family, Mom, Dad, and Kathy, I don’t know what I would do if they were not here with me. To Lise and Victoria, who have been and continue to be the best supervisors—and all-around cool, brilliant, creative, and inspiring people—I’ve ever known. To AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Dr. A. N. Grier, and Sentynel for running the greatest blog on the planet and being an invaluable resource for my continued growth as a writer and contributor. To all of my fellow writers and editors, both active and inactive, who make this blog the wonderland it is and whose contributions and company continually uplift and motivate me. To the readers, our Discord members, and the metal community writ large, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout to all the bands who released awesome records this year that fought valiantly for a spot on my list/HMs, in alphabetical order: 1914, Ancient Death, …and Oceans, Astronoid, Aversed, Blind Equation, Bodybox, Buried Realm, Cave Sermon, Changeling, Death Whore, Gloombound, The Halo Effect, Havukruunu, Helms Deep, Inoculation, Maud the Moth, Mutagenic Host, Nephylim, Pedestal for Leviathan, Proscription, Rothadás, Sarastus, Serenity in Murder, Structure, Tower, Tribunal, Vittra, Yellow Eyes. Despite these gems losing a place on my list proper for any number of reasons, I know I’ll return to them with great relish.

With all of that said, I invite all of you to bear witness to my absolutely unhinged Top Ten(ish) selections for 2025. May the rabble commence!

#ish. Epica // Aspiral – Epica is my favorite symphonic metal band. It’s no secret. They’ve been at the grindstone churning out quality records for almost 25 years with a remarkably stable lineup, and there’s every reason to expect Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ to catch up with them someday. Today is not that day. Aspiral is easily my favorite record since The Quantum Enigma, full of memorable songs and standout performances. It may be hookier and poppier than anything they’ve put out in the past, but accessibility looks great on Epica.

#10. Citadel // Descension – Every time I thought I knew how I felt about this record, I’d go back to it and discover more reasons to love it. Descension follows the same school of melodic death metal with long-form constructions that bands like An Abstract Illusion practice, but there’s a smoky, gothic twist to it that embodies darkness and light as a merged entity. It’s a delicate balance that Citadel treads with grace and athleticism. That feat is what ultimately elevated Descension to my Top 10 proper.

#9. Depravity // Bestial Possession – Depravity really fucked around with my cutoff for list consideration, coming in clutch one week before Turkey Day. But I am the one who found out. Riffs made to break bones and minds alike, Bestial Possession is lean, mean, and bloodthirsty. And yet, it’s smooth, refined, and streamlined. This is the work of a band that understands exactly what they want to write, and knows how to execute that vision with devastating precision. It’s death metal as we know and love it, weaponized for mass destruction.

#8. In Mourning // The Immortal –The Immortal surprised me. I fully expected it to be good. After all, In Mourning haven’t released a bad album to date. But against all odds, they managed to capture lightning in a bottle here, with songs that are impossible to resist and even harder to forget. It represents everything I love about the sadboi side of melodic death without skimping on hooks or on teeth. The Immortal might just be the pinnacle of In Mourning’s career. Who would’ve expected that after 25 years?

#7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – In recent years, I often found myself gravitating towards concise, to-the-point records. I wanted hooks. I wanted brevity. I wanted unrelenting intensity. In 2025, that shifted. The long form became my home away from home. Epic yarns and gentle movements brought comfort and warmth to my listening schedule. With The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion managed to capture both the intensity I craved before and the sweeping arcs that I look for now. That it is beautiful without compromising either of those traits is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And so, here we are.

#6. Igorrr // Amen – When I look at my Top 10ish, I notice two things. Firstly, a fair number of these selections are, in some shape or form, weird or niche. Secondly, the gaps that separate one album from the other at this point are paper-thin, aside from my AotY. For French wild cards, Igorrr, accessibility ultimately put Amen here with my faves of 2025. Whimsically weird, savagely smart, and wholly unpredictable, Igorrr achieved a buttery smoothness and an unflinching confidence with these 12 absolute bangers that they’ve never shown before. A high-water mark for an act with an established reputation for excellence.

#5. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – My relationship with Beyond Obsidian Euphoria followed much the same trajectory as my relationship with its predecessor, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons. I felt confident in my score, then I started doubting its accuracy, then I’d revisit the record and feel vindicated in my original evaluation—rinse and repeat. It’s a vicious cycle, but at the end of the day, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was always destined for my Top 5. Its epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again. It’s one helluva journey, but that’s what makes it excellent!

#4. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – In the world of symphonic death metal, Qrixkuor is singular. Nobody else sounds like them, and I’m convinced nobody else could. Dramatic, violent, and grotesque, but at the same time possessing a disturbing beauty, The Womb of the World sets a new standard for lushly orchestrated death metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, nor for those looking for a quick fix. But once it’s infected your mind, you belong to it. An album to be feared as much as it is to be adored.

#3. Cam Girl // Flesh & Chrome – Deciding where to slot this was a difficult process for me. The people-pleaser that lives in my brain—who is jacked, devastatingly handsome, and incredibly charismatic—tried to move Cam Girl’s sophomore LP down a couple of notches, purely to protect me from those who would (and likely will) tell me this kind of record is undeserving of such high placement here. But the reality is I don’t fucking want to. Flesh & Chrome is a staggering improvement on Cam Girl’s already winning formula, with an invincible selection of super-sticky and subversive tunes that haven’t left my brain since the first half of 2025. It’s among the most fun records I’ve had the pleasure of covering on this site. Above all, Flesh & Chrome earned its rightful place in my Top 3. So it is, so it shall be.

#2. ByoNoiseGenerator // Subnormal Dives – This was not on my bingo card for 2025. I used to despise everything about ByoNoiseGenerator’s brand of brutal jazzgrind. After spinning Subnormal Dives roughly 10^230049 times in the span of a few short months, with a mind-broken grin plastered permanently on my face, something snapped. It wasn’t a gradual affinity borne of a studious and painstaking process. It was a total, implosive disintegration of everything I held true. The result? BYONG is now one of my favorite bands, and I’ve come to love their previous work, too. Not many albums wield that much power. Subnormal Dives does.

#1. Flummox // Southern Progress – This is easily my biggest surprise of 2025. I never heard of Flummox before seeing this cover art on my Bandcamp feed, and I was thoroughly bamboozled by my first spin. The mix was bizarre, the songwriting highly unorthodox compared to anything I’ve heard this side of Devin Townsend, and Flummox’s refusal to settle into any one style was confounding. Yet, I simply could not stop spinning it. All year long, Southern Progress was my go-to, even on days when I just felt so numb that I didn’t want to listen to anything at all. With that commitment came understanding. Southern Progress is, simply put, a fully realized and inspired work of art, complete with relevant societal commentary. Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer, and particularly the trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid, community (especially in the American South)—and deftly integrating branched subplots that exhibit the wide-reaching complications that neurodivergence, late-stage capitalism, and religion-based upbringings contribute to that experience—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. For these reasons, and so much more, I gratefully award Southern Progress my 2025 Album o’ the Year. Thank you, Flummox, for this wonderful gift!

Honorable Mentions

• Barren Path // Grieving – Deathgrind never sounded this good, or felt this vicious.
• Bianca // Bianca – The beauty and the beast returns, reimagined and rekindled.
• Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss – Fiercely creative and vividly memorable, this is what happens when artists use neurodivergence and cultural diversity as assets.
• Dagdrøm // Schauder – Passionate melodic black metal for those who are looking for something a bit outside convention.
• Dawn of Ouroboros // Bioluminescence – The best vocal performance of the year meets some of the coolest progressive death songwriting I’ve heard in a minute.
• Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – The gritty, twisted, sprawling city-dweller with a shady story to tell, and yet it glitters like the purest gold.
• Messa // The Spin – Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.
• Psychonaut // World Maker – Thoughtful and deeply personal, but still crushingly heavy, post-metal from one of the best acts in the scene.

Songs o’ the Year

• Cam Girl – “Flesh & Chrome” – Simplicity and a curated collection of razor-sharp hooks will win my heart faster than anything else, and few songs this year upheld that virtue better than “Flesh & Chrome.” I haven’t been able to stop singing it to myself literally every single day since I first got my hands on this promo half a year ago, and yet the serotonin production it generates in my burned-out brain almost overwhelms me still. From the white-hot brightness of its lead melodies to the soaring brass of its addictive1 chorus and tight writing, “Flesh & Chrome” just makes me happy. Simple as.

• Citadel – “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” – I didn’t expect to include this song on my list, but something happened once I started revisiting Descension more often. I found myself completely blown back by the artistry, the expressiveness, and the fluidity exhibited by Citadel’s epic “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death.” This unexpected emotional response completely shifted my perspective on what I was looking for in my Song o’ the Year candidates. Once I contemplated those requirements more deeply, it became clear in short order that “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” was worthy and then some. Incredible.

• In Mourning – “As Long as the Twilight Stays” – While songs like “Flesh & Chrome” make me happy beyond all reason, others like “As Long as the Twilight Stays” break my bleeding heart. Every time the lyrics “Breathe and open your eyes / When darkness falls, a new dawn will rise / Reveal the secrets you keep / There is still hope as long as twilight stays” pierce through my eardrums, something deep from within my soul surges. That pull, strong enough to rip my heart from its bony cage, and further strengthened by weeping, layered tremolo harmonies, melts me. This is power; it is magic. I am helpless to resist.

• Flummox – “Long Pork” – Southern Progress is swimming in great songs, all of which make a strong claim for inclusion here. Ultimately, “Long Pork” won the blue ribbon for its unhinged songwriting, bizarre vocal acrobatics, harrowing instrumentation, and metamorphic storytelling. The cutting and clever lyrics may seem whimsical at first blush, but the critique they level at humanity’s gross exploitation, not only for the vast overproduction and dysfunctional distribution of food—and the systematic abuse of animals to meet that unsustainable demand—but also to the gluttony of late-stage capitalism and the chasmic wealth divide it perpetuates, sends chills through my nervous system. Sensational!



• Messa – “The Dress” – Of all the great songs 2025 had to offer, “The Dress” was the first one I felt earned a nod here. It is classy beyond all comprehension, sultry and sophisticated without being busy or especially complex. Moreover, it captivates my attention completely. An unqualified success of songwriting prowess, excellence in execution and performance, and spirited delivery, “The Dress” flows between melodies, moods, and modes as mana from otherworldly realms. I would not be surprised if, ten years from now, I still feel its magic as strongly as I do today, immune to the eroding force of time.



Non-Metal Album o’ the Year:

• Lady Gaga // Mayhem – I am absolutely obsessed with this album. I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, but never before did I feel so wholly ensnared by one of her records. This absolute triumph of modern pop explodes with energy, killer hooks, and an unfuckwithable vocal display that makes not singing along to each and every track entirely impossible. Mainstream though it is, Mayhem is a force, and I’ll be listening to it with glee for years to come.

Shakes Fist at Cloud Album of 2025

• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation – There will never be a day when I don’t rue how late I encountered this record, and how lame it felt to realize it had been self-released months before I picked up a December promo for it. It is listworthy, and that I treated it as if it missed my yearly cutoff because of a simple lack of awareness makes me want to shake my fists at the clouds!

Well, here we are again! One of the longest, most eventful years in recent memory comes to a close. After all of the hardships my family, friends, and I endured at the end of last year, it was difficult to imagine what life would be like. For quite some time, it took everything in us just to continue our day-to-day existences, to reestablish or refresh our routines, and to build our lives back up. But we had tons of support, and we got through it. In fact, I’d say that we came out of everything with a better understanding of who we are, what we want out of life, and a greater drive to live more fully, more intentionally, and without regrets. Personally, I learned the value of asking more questions, making fewer assumptions, and embracing the mess of being human in today’s world. With practice in these areas, in time, I’ll grow into a better person, a better friend, and a better partner to my loved ones.

Musically, I experienced a bit of a shift. I don’t know exactly when this shift happened, but I could feel my desire for unfamiliar or less-traveled territory build. I desired weird, long, or messy records that called to me on a more personal level above all else. I craved pieces that showcased artists who wrote what they wanted (or needed) to, regardless of what others might think or say. Authenticity, creativity, memorability, imperfection, and artistic integrity became my core values when approaching new music this year.

Aside from all of that, the thing I want to do most is offer my deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stuck by me and been my support system this year. To Alex, a wonderful and gorgeous man who continually shows me more love, patience, and attention than I ever dared to ask for—and who challenges me to grow with every passing day. To Ally, Thea, Kaja, Ashe, Sophie, Chris (both of them), Sean, Malachi, Brandon, Michelle, and Jeff for being the best meatspace friends a guy could ask for, and who also show me more love than I ever dared to ask for. To new meatspace friends (Jhierry, Adrien, Forest, Logan, Nick, Zach, Brett, Blue, Brian, and Shawn) who further enrich my life with each interaction, I am excited to see how our relationships develop! To my therapist, Clint, who has helped pull me from the brink more times than I can count. To my family, Mom, Dad, and Kathy, I don’t know what I would do if they were not here with me. To Lise and Victoria, who have been and continue to be the best supervisors—and all-around cool, brilliant, creative, and inspiring people—I’ve ever known. To AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Dr. A. N. Grier, and Sentynel for running the greatest blog on the planet and being an invaluable resource for my continued growth as a writer and contributor. To all of my fellow writers and editors, both active and inactive, who make this blog the wonderland it is and whose contributions and company continually uplift and motivate me. To the readers, our Discord members, and the metal community writ large, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout to all the bands who released awesome records this year that fought valiantly for a spot on my list/HMs, in alphabetical order: 1914, Ancient Death, …and Oceans, Astronoid, Aversed, Blind Equation, Bodybox, Buried Realm, Cave Sermon, Changeling, Death Whore, Gloombound, The Halo Effect, Havukruunu, Helms Deep, Inoculation, Maud the Moth, Mutagenic Host, Nephylim, Pedestal for Leviathan, Proscription, Rothadás, Sarastus, Serenity in Murder, Structure, Tower, Tribunal, Vittra, Yellow Eyes. Despite these gems losing a place on my list proper for any number of reasons, I know I’ll return to them with great relish.

With all of that said, I invite all of you to bear witness to my absolutely unhinged Top Ten(ish) selections for 2025. May the rabble commence!

#ish. Epica // Aspiral – Epica is my favorite symphonic metal band. It’s no secret. They’ve been at the grindstone churning out quality records for almost 25 years with a remarkably stable lineup, and there’s every reason to expect Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ to catch up with them someday. Today is not that day. Aspiral is easily my favorite record since The Quantum Enigma, full of memorable songs and standout performances. It may be hookier and poppier than anything they’ve put out in the past, but accessibility looks great on Epica.

#10. Citadel // Descension – Every time I thought I knew how I felt about this record, I’d go back to it and discover more reasons to love it. Descension follows the same school of melodic death metal with long-form constructions that bands like An Abstract Illusion practice, but there’s a smoky, gothic twist to it that embodies darkness and light as a merged entity. It’s a delicate balance that Citadel treads with grace and athleticism. That feat is what ultimately elevated Descension to my Top 10 proper.

#9. Depravity // Bestial Possession – Depravity really fucked around with my cutoff for list consideration, coming in clutch one week before Turkey Day. But I am the one who found out. Riffs made to break bones and minds alike, Bestial Possession is lean, mean, and bloodthirsty. And yet, it’s smooth, refined, and streamlined. This is the work of a band that understands exactly what they want to write, and knows how to execute that vision with devastating precision. It’s death metal as we know and love it, weaponized for mass destruction.

#8. In Mourning // The Immortal –The Immortal surprised me. I fully expected it to be good. After all, In Mourning haven’t released a bad album to date. But against all odds, they managed to capture lightning in a bottle here, with songs that are impossible to resist and even harder to forget. It represents everything I love about the sadboi side of melodic death without skimping on hooks or on teeth. The Immortal might just be the pinnacle of In Mourning’s career. Who would’ve expected that after 25 years?

#7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – In recent years, I often found myself gravitating towards concise, to-the-point records. I wanted hooks. I wanted brevity. I wanted unrelenting intensity. In 2025, that shifted. The long form became my home away from home. Epic yarns and gentle movements brought comfort and warmth to my listening schedule. With The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion managed to capture both the intensity I craved before and the sweeping arcs that I look for now. That it is beautiful without compromising either of those traits is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And so, here we are.

#6. Igorrr // Amen – When I look at my Top 10ish, I notice two things. Firstly, a fair number of these selections are, in some shape or form, weird or niche. Secondly, the gaps that separate one album from the other at this point are paper-thin, aside from my AotY. For French wild cards, Igorrr, accessibility ultimately put Amen here with my faves of 2025. Whimsically weird, savagely smart, and wholly unpredictable, Igorrr achieved a buttery smoothness and an unflinching confidence with these 12 absolute bangers that they’ve never shown before. A high-water mark for an act with an established reputation for excellence.

#5. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – My relationship with Beyond Obsidian Euphoria followed much the same trajectory as my relationship with its predecessor, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons. I felt confident in my score, then I started doubting its accuracy, then I’d revisit the record and feel vindicated in my original evaluation—rinse and repeat. It’s a vicious cycle, but at the end of the day, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was always destined for my Top 5. Its epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again. It’s one helluva journey, but that’s what makes it excellent!

#4. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – In the world of symphonic death metal, Qrixkuor is singular. Nobody else sounds like them, and I’m convinced nobody else could. Dramatic, violent, and grotesque, but at the same time possessing a disturbing beauty, The Womb of the World sets a new standard for lushly orchestrated death metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, nor for those looking for a quick fix. But once it’s infected your mind, you belong to it. An album to be feared as much as it is to be adored.

#3. Cam Girl // Flesh & Chrome – Deciding where to slot this was a difficult process for me. The people-pleaser that lives in my brain—who is jacked, devastatingly handsome, and incredibly charismatic—tried to move Cam Girl’s sophomore LP down a couple of notches, purely to protect me from those who would (and likely will) tell me this kind of record is undeserving of such high placement here. But the reality is I don’t fucking want to. Flesh & Chrome is a staggering improvement on Cam Girl’s already winning formula, with an invincible selection of super-sticky and subversive tunes that haven’t left my brain since the first half of 2025. It’s among the most fun records I’ve had the pleasure of covering on this site. Above all, Flesh & Chrome earned its rightful place in my Top 3. So it is, so it shall be.

#2. ByoNoiseGenerator // Subnormal Dives – This was not on my bingo card for 2025. I used to despise everything about ByoNoiseGenerator’s brand of brutal jazzgrind. After spinning Subnormal Dives roughly 10^230049 times in the span of a few short months, with a mind-broken grin plastered permanently on my face, something snapped. It wasn’t a gradual affinity borne of a studious and painstaking process. It was a total, implosive disintegration of everything I held true. The result? BYONG is now one of my favorite bands, and I’ve come to love their previous work, too. Not many albums wield that much power. Subnormal Dives does.

#1. Flummox // Southern Progress – This is easily my biggest surprise of 2025. I never heard of Flummox before seeing this cover art on my Bandcamp feed, and I was thoroughly bamboozled by my first spin. The mix was bizarre, the songwriting highly unorthodox compared to anything I’ve heard this side of Devin Townsend, and Flummox’s refusal to settle into any one style was confounding. Yet, I simply could not stop spinning it. All year long, Southern Progress was my go-to, even on days when I just felt so numb that I didn’t want to listen to anything at all. With that commitment came understanding. Southern Progress is, simply put, a fully realized and inspired work of art, complete with relevant societal commentary. Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer, and particularly the trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid, community (especially in the American South)—and deftly integrating branched subplots that exhibit the wide-reaching complications that neurodivergence, late-stage capitalism, and religion-based upbringings contribute to that experience—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. For these reasons, and so much more, I gratefully award Southern Progress my 2025 Album o’ the Year. Thank you, Flummox, for this wonderful gift!

Honorable Mentions

• Barren Path // Grieving – Deathgrind never sounded this good, or felt this vicious.
• Bianca // Bianca – The beauty and the beast returns, reimagined and rekindled.
• Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss – Fiercely creative and vividly memorable, this is what happens when artists use neurodivergence and cultural diversity as assets.
• Dagdrøm // Schauder – Passionate melodic black metal for those who are looking for something a bit outside convention.
• Dawn of Ouroboros // Bioluminescence – The best vocal performance of the year meets some of the coolest progressive death songwriting I’ve heard in a minute.
• Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – The gritty, twisted, sprawling city-dweller with a shady story to tell, and yet it glitters like the purest gold.
• Messa // The Spin – Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.
• Psychonaut // World Maker – Thoughtful and deeply personal, but still crushingly heavy, post-metal from one of the best acts in the scene.

Songs o’ the Year

• Cam Girl – “Flesh & Chrome” – Simplicity and a curated collection of razor-sharp hooks will win my heart faster than anything else, and few songs this year upheld that virtue better than “Flesh & Chrome.” I haven’t been able to stop singing it to myself literally every single day since I first got my hands on this promo half a year ago, and yet the serotonin production it generates in my burned-out brain almost overwhelms me still. From the white-hot brightness of its lead melodies to the soaring brass of its addictive1 chorus and tight writing, “Flesh & Chrome” just makes me happy. Simple as.

• Citadel – “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” – I didn’t expect to include this song on my list, but something happened once I started revisiting Descension more often. I found myself completely blown back by the artistry, the expressiveness, and the fluidity exhibited by Citadel’s epic “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death.” This unexpected emotional response completely shifted my perspective on what I was looking for in my Song o’ the Year candidates. Once I contemplated those requirements more deeply, it became clear in short order that “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” was worthy and then some. Incredible.

• In Mourning – “As Long as the Twilight Stays” – While songs like “Flesh & Chrome” make me happy beyond all reason, others like “As Long as the Twilight Stays” break my bleeding heart. Every time the lyrics “Breathe and open your eyes / When darkness falls, a new dawn will rise / Reveal the secrets you keep / There is still hope as long as twilight stays” pierce through my eardrums, something deep from within my soul surges. That pull, strong enough to rip my heart from its bony cage, and further strengthened by weeping, layered tremolo harmonies, melts me. This is power; it is magic. I am helpless to resist.

• Flummox – “Long Pork” – Southern Progress is swimming in great songs, all of which make a strong claim for inclusion here. Ultimately, “Long Pork” won the blue ribbon for its unhinged songwriting, bizarre vocal acrobatics, harrowing instrumentation, and metamorphic storytelling. The cutting and clever lyrics may seem whimsical at first blush, but the critique they level at humanity’s gross exploitation, not only for the vast overproduction and dysfunctional distribution of food—and the systematic abuse of animals to meet that unsustainable demand—but also to the gluttony of late-stage capitalism and the chasmic wealth divide it perpetuates, sends chills through my nervous system. Sensational!



• Messa – “The Dress” – Of all the great songs 2025 had to offer, “The Dress” was the first one I felt earned a nod here. It is classy beyond all comprehension, sultry and sophisticated without being busy or especially complex. Moreover, it captivates my attention completely. An unqualified success of songwriting prowess, excellence in execution and performance, and spirited delivery, “The Dress” flows between melodies, moods, and modes as mana from otherworldly realms. I would not be surprised if, ten years from now, I still feel its magic as strongly as I do today, immune to the eroding force of time.



Non-Metal Album o’ the Year:

• Lady Gaga // Mayhem – I am absolutely obsessed with this album. I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, but never before did I feel so wholly ensnared by one of her records. This absolute triumph of modern pop explodes with energy, killer hooks, and an unfuckwithable vocal display that makes not singing along to each and every track entirely impossible. Mainstream though it is, Mayhem is a force, and I’ll be listening to it with glee for years to come.

Shakes Fist at Cloud Album of 2025

• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation – There will never be a day when I don’t rue how late I encountered this record, and how lame it felt to realize it had been self-released months before I picked up a December promo for it. It is listworthy, and that I treated it as if it missed my yearly cutoff because of a simple lack of awareness makes me want to shake my fists at the clouds!

Well, here we are again! One of the longest, most eventful years in recent memory comes to a close. After all of the hardships my family, friends, and I endured at the end of last year, it was difficult to imagine what life would be like. For quite some time, it took everything in us just to continue our day-to-day existences, to reestablish or refresh our routines, and to build our lives back up. But we had tons of support, and we got through it. In fact, I’d say that we came out of everything with a better understanding of who we are, what we want out of life, and a greater drive to live more fully, more intentionally, and without regrets. Personally, I learned the value of asking more questions, making fewer assumptions, and embracing the mess of being human in today’s world. With practice in these areas, in time, I’ll grow into a better person, a better friend, and a better partner to my loved ones.

Musically, I experienced a bit of a shift. I don’t know exactly when this shift happened, but I could feel my desire for unfamiliar or less-traveled territory build. I desired weird, long, or messy records that called to me on a more personal level above all else. I craved pieces that showcased artists who wrote what they wanted (or needed) to, regardless of what others might think or say. Authenticity, creativity, memorability, imperfection, and artistic integrity became my core values when approaching new music this year.

Aside from all of that, the thing I want to do most is offer my deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stuck by me and been my support system this year. To Alex, a wonderful and gorgeous man who continually shows me more love, patience, and attention than I ever dared to ask for—and who challenges me to grow with every passing day. To Ally, Thea, Kaja, Ashe, Sophie, Chris (both of them), Sean, Malachi, Brandon, Michelle, and Jeff for being the best meatspace friends a guy could ask for, and who also show me more love than I ever dared to ask for. To new meatspace friends (Jhierry, Adrien, Forest, Logan, Nick, Zach, Brett, Blue, Brian, and Shawn) who further enrich my life with each interaction, I am excited to see how our relationships develop! To my therapist, Clint, who has helped pull me from the brink more times than I can count. To my family, Mom, Dad, and Kathy, I don’t know what I would do if they were not here with me. To Lise and Victoria, who have been and continue to be the best supervisors—and all-around cool, brilliant, creative, and inspiring people—I’ve ever known. To AMG Himself, Steel Druhm, Dr. A. N. Grier, and Sentynel for running the greatest blog on the planet and being an invaluable resource for my continued growth as a writer and contributor. To all of my fellow writers and editors, both active and inactive, who make this blog the wonderland it is and whose contributions and company continually uplift and motivate me. To the readers, our Discord members, and the metal community writ large, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout to all the bands who released awesome records this year that fought valiantly for a spot on my list/HMs, in alphabetical order: 1914, Ancient Death, …and Oceans, Astronoid, Aversed, Blind Equation, Bodybox, Buried Realm, Cave Sermon, Changeling, Death Whore, Gloombound, The Halo Effect, Havukruunu, Helms Deep, Inoculation, Maud the Moth, Mutagenic Host, Nephylim, Pedestal for Leviathan, Proscription, Rothadás, Sarastus, Serenity in Murder, Structure, Tower, Tribunal, Vittra, Yellow Eyes. Despite these gems losing a place on my list proper for any number of reasons, I know I’ll return to them with great relish.

With all of that said, I invite all of you to bear witness to my absolutely unhinged Top Ten(ish) selections for 2025. May the rabble commence!

#ish. Epica // Aspiral – Epica is my favorite symphonic metal band. It’s no secret. They’ve been at the grindstone churning out quality records for almost 25 years with a remarkably stable lineup, and there’s every reason to expect Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ to catch up with them someday. Today is not that day. Aspiral is easily my favorite record since The Quantum Enigma, full of memorable songs and standout performances. It may be hookier and poppier than anything they’ve put out in the past, but accessibility looks great on Epica.

#10. Citadel // Descension – Every time I thought I knew how I felt about this record, I’d go back to it and discover more reasons to love it. Descension follows the same school of melodic death metal with long-form constructions that bands like An Abstract Illusion practice, but there’s a smoky, gothic twist to it that embodies darkness and light as a merged entity. It’s a delicate balance that Citadel treads with grace and athleticism. That feat is what ultimately elevated Descension to my Top 10 proper.

#9. Depravity // Bestial Possession – Depravity really fucked around with my cutoff for list consideration, coming in clutch one week before Turkey Day. But I am the one who found out. Riffs made to break bones and minds alike, Bestial Possession is lean, mean, and bloodthirsty. And yet, it’s smooth, refined, and streamlined. This is the work of a band that understands exactly what they want to write, and knows how to execute that vision with devastating precision. It’s death metal as we know and love it, weaponized for mass destruction.

#8. In Mourning // The Immortal –The Immortal surprised me. I fully expected it to be good. After all, In Mourning haven’t released a bad album to date. But against all odds, they managed to capture lightning in a bottle here, with songs that are impossible to resist and even harder to forget. It represents everything I love about the sadboi side of melodic death without skimping on hooks or on teeth. The Immortal might just be the pinnacle of In Mourning’s career. Who would’ve expected that after 25 years?

#7. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – In recent years, I often found myself gravitating towards concise, to-the-point records. I wanted hooks. I wanted brevity. I wanted unrelenting intensity. In 2025, that shifted. The long form became my home away from home. Epic yarns and gentle movements brought comfort and warmth to my listening schedule. With The Sleeping City, An Abstract Illusion managed to capture both the intensity I craved before and the sweeping arcs that I look for now. That it is beautiful without compromising either of those traits is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And so, here we are.

#6. Igorrr // Amen – When I look at my Top 10ish, I notice two things. Firstly, a fair number of these selections are, in some shape or form, weird or niche. Secondly, the gaps that separate one album from the other at this point are paper-thin, aside from my AotY. For French wild cards, Igorrr, accessibility ultimately put Amen here with my faves of 2025. Whimsically weird, savagely smart, and wholly unpredictable, Igorrr achieved a buttery smoothness and an unflinching confidence with these 12 absolute bangers that they’ve never shown before. A high-water mark for an act with an established reputation for excellence.

#5. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – My relationship with Beyond Obsidian Euphoria followed much the same trajectory as my relationship with its predecessor, Ash in Realms of Stone Icons. I felt confident in my score, then I started doubting its accuracy, then I’d revisit the record and feel vindicated in my original evaluation—rinse and repeat. It’s a vicious cycle, but at the end of the day, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was always destined for my Top 5. Its epic, sprawling constructs demand so many of my spoons; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But it gives just as many back, plus just enough extra to compel me to spin it again. It’s one helluva journey, but that’s what makes it excellent!

#4. Qrixkuor // The Womb of the World – In the world of symphonic death metal, Qrixkuor is singular. Nobody else sounds like them, and I’m convinced nobody else could. Dramatic, violent, and grotesque, but at the same time possessing a disturbing beauty, The Womb of the World sets a new standard for lushly orchestrated death metal. It’s not for the faint of heart, nor for those looking for a quick fix. But once it’s infected your mind, you belong to it. An album to be feared as much as it is to be adored.

#3. Cam Girl // Flesh & Chrome – Deciding where to slot this was a difficult process for me. The people-pleaser that lives in my brain—who is jacked, devastatingly handsome, and incredibly charismatic—tried to move Cam Girl’s sophomore LP down a couple of notches, purely to protect me from those who would (and likely will) tell me this kind of record is undeserving of such high placement here. But the reality is I don’t fucking want to. Flesh & Chrome is a staggering improvement on Cam Girl’s already winning formula, with an invincible selection of super-sticky and subversive tunes that haven’t left my brain since the first half of 2025. It’s among the most fun records I’ve had the pleasure of covering on this site. Above all, Flesh & Chrome earned its rightful place in my Top 3. So it is, so it shall be.

#2. ByoNoiseGenerator // Subnormal Dives – This was not on my bingo card for 2025. I used to despise everything about ByoNoiseGenerator’s brand of brutal jazzgrind. After spinning Subnormal Dives roughly 10^230049 times in the span of a few short months, with a mind-broken grin plastered permanently on my face, something snapped. It wasn’t a gradual affinity borne of a studious and painstaking process. It was a total, implosive disintegration of everything I held true. The result? BYONG is now one of my favorite bands, and I’ve come to love their previous work, too. Not many albums wield that much power. Subnormal Dives does.

#1. Flummox // Southern Progress – This is easily my biggest surprise of 2025. I never heard of Flummox before seeing this cover art on my Bandcamp feed, and I was thoroughly bamboozled by my first spin. The mix was bizarre, the songwriting highly unorthodox compared to anything I’ve heard this side of Devin Townsend, and Flummox’s refusal to settle into any one style was confounding. Yet, I simply could not stop spinning it. All year long, Southern Progress was my go-to, even on days when I just felt so numb that I didn’t want to listen to anything at all. With that commitment came understanding. Southern Progress is, simply put, a fully realized and inspired work of art, complete with relevant societal commentary. Steeped in messaging that spotlights systematic and social prejudices that plague the queer, and particularly the trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid, community (especially in the American South)—and deftly integrating branched subplots that exhibit the wide-reaching complications that neurodivergence, late-stage capitalism, and religion-based upbringings contribute to that experience—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. For these reasons, and so much more, I gratefully award Southern Progress my 2025 Album o’ the Year. Thank you, Flummox, for this wonderful gift!

Honorable Mentions

• Barren Path // Grieving – Deathgrind never sounded this good, or felt this vicious.
• Bianca // Bianca – The beauty and the beast returns, reimagined and rekindled.
• Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss – Fiercely creative and vividly memorable, this is what happens when artists use neurodivergence and cultural diversity as assets.
• Dagdrøm // Schauder – Passionate melodic black metal for those who are looking for something a bit outside convention.
• Dawn of Ouroboros // Bioluminescence – The best vocal performance of the year meets some of the coolest progressive death songwriting I’ve heard in a minute.
• Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – The gritty, twisted, sprawling city-dweller with a shady story to tell, and yet it glitters like the purest gold.
• Messa // The Spin – Emotive, sultry, and nuanced doom, compelling enough to seduce even the coldest heart.
• Psychonaut // World Maker – Thoughtful and deeply personal, but still crushingly heavy, post-metal from one of the best acts in the scene.

Songs o’ the Year

• Cam Girl – “Flesh & Chrome” – Simplicity and a curated collection of razor-sharp hooks will win my heart faster than anything else, and few songs this year upheld that virtue better than “Flesh & Chrome.” I haven’t been able to stop singing it to myself literally every single day since I first got my hands on this promo half a year ago, and yet the serotonin production it generates in my burned-out brain almost overwhelms me still. From the white-hot brightness of its lead melodies to the soaring brass of its addictive1 chorus and tight writing, “Flesh & Chrome” just makes me happy. Simple as.

• Citadel – “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” – I didn’t expect to include this song on my list, but something happened once I started revisiting Descension more often. I found myself completely blown back by the artistry, the expressiveness, and the fluidity exhibited by Citadel’s epic “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death.” This unexpected emotional response completely shifted my perspective on what I was looking for in my Song o’ the Year candidates. Once I contemplated those requirements more deeply, it became clear in short order that “Sorrow of the Thousandth Death” was worthy and then some. Incredible.

• In Mourning – “As Long as the Twilight Stays” – While songs like “Flesh & Chrome” make me happy beyond all reason, others like “As Long as the Twilight Stays” break my bleeding heart. Every time the lyrics “Breathe and open your eyes / When darkness falls, a new dawn will rise / Reveal the secrets you keep / There is still hope as long as twilight stays” pierce through my eardrums, something deep from within my soul surges. That pull, strong enough to rip my heart from its bony cage, and further strengthened by weeping, layered tremolo harmonies, melts me. This is power; it is magic. I am helpless to resist.

• Flummox – “Long Pork” – Southern Progress is swimming in great songs, all of which make a strong claim for inclusion here. Ultimately, “Long Pork” won the blue ribbon for its unhinged songwriting, bizarre vocal acrobatics, harrowing instrumentation, and metamorphic storytelling. The cutting and clever lyrics may seem whimsical at first blush, but the critique they level at humanity’s gross exploitation, not only for the vast overproduction and dysfunctional distribution of food—and the systematic abuse of animals to meet that unsustainable demand—but also to the gluttony of late-stage capitalism and the chasmic wealth divide it perpetuates, sends chills through my nervous system. Sensational!



• Messa – “The Dress” – Of all the great songs 2025 had to offer, “The Dress” was the first one I felt earned a nod here. It is classy beyond all comprehension, sultry and sophisticated without being busy or especially complex. Moreover, it captivates my attention completely. An unqualified success of songwriting prowess, excellence in execution and performance, and spirited delivery, “The Dress” flows between melodies, moods, and modes as mana from otherworldly realms. I would not be surprised if, ten years from now, I still feel its magic as strongly as I do today, immune to the eroding force of time.



Non-Metal Album o’ the Year:

• Lady Gaga // Mayhem – I am absolutely obsessed with this album. I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, but never before did I feel so wholly ensnared by one of her records. This absolute triumph of modern pop explodes with energy, killer hooks, and an unfuckwithable vocal display that makes not singing along to each and every track entirely impossible. Mainstream though it is, Mayhem is a force, and I’ll be listening to it with glee for years to come.

Shakes Fist at Cloud Album of 2025

• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation – There will never be a day when I don’t rue how late I encountered this record, and how lame it felt to realize it had been self-released months before I picked up a December promo for it. It is listworthy, and that I treated it as if it missed my yearly cutoff because of a simple lack of awareness makes me want to shake my fists at the clouds!

Saunders

Yes, folks and loyal AMG readers and devotees, another year is nearly done and dusted. As per tradition, the time has come to share reflections and recommendations from another eventful year. Personally, 2025 threw down some rough moments and life challenges, navigating a spike in anxiety-driven mental and physical health concerns. Previously, I have mentioned how much AMG has grounded me over the years, keeping my focus and motivation on track when other parts of life navigate turbulence, stress, or uncertainty. This has proven especially pivotal this year and highlights the importance of contributing in some small way to this amazing blog and how much it means to me.

Highlights… After a few lean years post-pandemic on the gig front, as an avid concertgoer, 2025 proved productive for getting my mojo back for live music. I caught Karnivool in action for the first time in over a decade, ripping through infectious prog metal anthems and impressive new jams from their highly anticipated album set to drop in early 2026. An unexpected gig was a solo show in my hometown from none other than former Fear Factory legend Burton C Bell, performing in a local dive venue. Ploughing through career classics and some solo material, the setlist offered up gems like “Drive Boy Shooting,” “Scapegoat,” “Scumgrief,” and “Replica.” It was a nostalgic joy.

Meanwhile, after years of stubbornly jaded neglect, I finally bit the bullet and witnessed Metallica live. Probably a couple of decades too late, however, as an impressionable young’un raised on early Metallica, it was a cool experience to finally see the aging juggernaut in a stadium setting that will remain in the memory bank for years to come. A couple of days later, I once again caught the mighty Opeth at the iconic Sydney Opera House with quality support from Caligula’s Horse, before rounding out the year by finally seeing Dying Fetus live in an extra beefy triple bill including Ashen and 200 Stab Wounds. Good times indeed….

Big thanks to everyone for keeping this mighty blog running and cogs turning. From the ever-growing readership and awesome AMG community, through the entire, recently beefed-up writing crew, inspiring colleagues and all-around awesome people, to the higher powers (Steel Druhm, Angry Metal Guy, Sentynel, Doc Grier, and all the other editors) for their extra behind-the-scenes work whipping us into line. Cheers all to a safe, happy, and healthy 2026.

#ish: Green Carnation // A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia – After being mesmerized by Green Carnation’s timeless opus Light of Day, Day of Darkness many years ago, I never really expanded my listening beyond that widely regarded masterpiece. Then comeback album Leaves of Yesteryear dropped in 2020 and turned me from a casual listener into an avid fan of their work. A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia signals a long-awaited return and the first part of a planned trilogy from the seasoned Norwegian veterans of classy, mood-driven progressive metal. Admittedly, this album didn’t reach the dizzying heights or quite gain the traction of its predecessor. Nor does it disappoint, adding another finely crafted chapter in Green Carnation’s enduring career, while building excitement for the two albums to complete the trilogy. Meticulously crafted and chock full of emotive, silky, and delightfully catchy gems, A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia is another top-shelf prog metal jam.

#10. Caustic Wound // Grinding Mechanism of Torment – Back in 2020, Seattle’s Caustic Wound emerged from the muck and unleashed a gnarly ball of unvarnished deathgrind rage courtesy of debut, Death Posture. Due to the endearing old school charms and brawling, stomping attack, Death Posture left a lasting impression, amping anticipation for their long-awaited return on sophomore slab, Grinding Mechanism of Torment. Though a little less refined and losing a smidgen of the debut’s grimy charm, Caustic Wound otherwise pounded out wickedly crunchy, buzzsawing deathgrind with violent glee, infectiousness, and subtle variety to keep you coming back for more. The album’s tight construction and propulsive performances deftly harness the controlled chaos and blasty, groove-laced fun, as the likes of “Drone Terror,” “Advanced Killing Methods,” and “Blood Battery” attest.

#9. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – One of the purest and nostalgia-driven prog releases of 2025, the sophomore album from Seven Sisters singer/guitarist Kyle McNeill was a progtastic delight, wielding old-timey, ’70s prog feels with a transportive, fantastical flair. Phantom Spell crafted a timeless, epic yet remarkably fresh experience, despite the obvious devotion to progressive rock legends and eras of the past. Dueling guitar leads, rollicking organ, and tight, expressive rhythms shine across a superbly performed and produced opus. For all the musical smarts, clever progressive arrangements, and technical showmanship, McNeill’s songwriting and powerful vocals are spot on, resulting in a nuanced though hugely hooky and focused collection, infused with folk and classic heavy metal elements, complementing the classic progressive rock core. Bookended by two spectacular epics (‘The Autumn Citadel” and stunning, heart-wrenching melodies of the closing title track), Heather & Hearth is equally compelling in its more compact, punchy forms (“‘Evil Hand,” “Siren Song”).

#8. Barren Path // Grieving – Grind delivered big time in 2025, with numerous high-quality releases to absorb. None quite delivered the hammer blow impact of the debut LP from Barren Path, featuring Gridlink alumni, including grind shredding extraordinaire Takafumi Matsubara. It’s amazing what can be achieved in a manic thirteen minutes of calculated mayhem and precision deathgrind madness. Barren Path shares traits with Gridlink’s razor-sharp precision and abrasive intensity; however, it refuses to be pigeonholed or cast into the shadows of the Gridlink legacy. Beefy production, coupled with a prominent death metal influence, riffs to burn, gripping performances, and techy edge, Grieving loudly announced Barren Path as the next innovative heavy hitter to take the grind scene by storm. All too brief if utterly compelling, I’m excited to see what this elite line-up can cook up next as they set about creating their own unmatched legacy.

#7. Changeling // Changeling – For the second time in my 2025 top ten, an album surpasses the hour-length mark, often questionable territory as far as optimal album length. The prolific Tom Geldschläger (aka Fountainhead) hired an army of high-profile musicians and contributors to bring his elaborate progressive death metal vision to vibrant life with an overstuffed and incredibly entertaining, wildly ambitious debut opus. Amongst the core lineup, Morean (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress) lends his unique vocals, Virvum’s Arran McSporran features on fretless bass, and powerhouse Mike Keller (ex-Fear Factory, Raven, Malignancy) mans the kit, while a stack of instruments, choirs, and guest musicians add further dimensions and intricacies to the color palette. Changeling is guilty of overreaching on occasions, and the whole thing is an overstimulating example of excess. And though far from perfect, Changeling is nevertheless an astonishingly complex, progressive, and technical marvel. Its bombastic, adventurous gallop, slick songcraft, earwormy hook,s and otherworldly melodies conjure up a hugely inventive and endlessly fun platter.

#6. Turian // Blood Quantum Blues – Generally, I tread carefully from anything core-related in the realms of hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore. I am not opposed to each style, but usually it takes a certain something to win me over. Another winning recommendation from the flippered one, Blood Quantum Blues, the third LP from Seattle metallic hardcore merchants Turian, found the band toying and upending their sound in wonderfully creative and ambitious fashion. Like other genre-busting albums, such as The Shape of Punk to Come and Miss Machine, Turian fuck with the conventions of their metallic hardcore. Shattering boundaries by lacing their signature sound with sharply integrated elements of rock, electronics, sludge, and grind, whipped into a grooving, raw smackdown and addictive delight, Turian pulls no punches and pushes their songwriting creativity to the limit. The line-up nails the newfound songwriting versatility through tight, explosive performances, topped by the raw intensity and charismatic vocals of Vern Metztli-Moon, who channels deeply personal, trauma-informed reflections of her Native American heritage, with vigor and rage.

#5. Retromorphosis // Psalmus Mortis – Carrying on the timeless legacy of legendary Swedish tech death wrecking crew Spawn of Possession, Retromorphosis emerged featuring the bulk of the SoP line-up and a rejuvenated sound, both familiar and energized enough to craft a new chapter of tech death excellence. Herein lies the key to the album’s success. SoP was such a special and unique entity in the tech death field. Retromorphosis pulls the signature songwriting components and twists and contorts them into their own slick interpretation, without simply rehashing past glories. Psalmus Mortis proved to have significant staying power since dropping early in the year, even amidst a pretty stacked year for quality death and tech death albums. Retromorphosis decorate their knotty, fluid and aggressive compositions with tasteful synth work, symphonic flourishes and bedazzling solos, whether charting smartly progressive, labyrinthine terrain (“The Tree,” “Machine”), and thrashy, warped tech death (“Aunt Christie’s Will,” “Vanished,” “Retromorphosis”).

#4. Terror Corpse // Ash Eclipses Flesh – After already delivering a killer grind opus earlier in the year, Terror Corpse got the creative juices flowing again in dropping a full-length debut of immense power and old school grit. Featuring a power-packed lineup featuring past and present members of acts including Malignant Altar, Oceans of Slumber, Necrofier, and Insect Warfare, Terror Corpse comes seasoned with death metal wisdom and experience. Despite a lack of innovation, Terror Corpse winds back the clock and transcends the typical old school death metal hordes. Injecting venomous strains of grind, death-doom, sinister atmospheres, and gut-churning brutality into beefy, riff-driven songs that fondly recall death metal’s glory days, Terror Corpse forge ahead into the here and now with their own character and inspired songwriting. Topped by a bevy of instantly gratifying, oozing riffs and Dobber Beverly’s elite drumming, Ash Eclipses Flesh is a gripping old school death experience.

#3. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs For Spiders – The return of Dax Riggs, and by extension the most unexpected re-emergence of the legendary Acid Bath, were surely two of the most heartwarming music moments of 2025. As a longtime devotee of both Dax and Acid Bath, I had begun worrying that Dax’s music-making days had passed as he slunk into the background and essentially dropped off the radar for the best part of fifteen years. While holding out slim hope Acid Bath will decide to cross our shores, I am stoked Dax and crew are getting the long-overdue credit and exposure they deserve. Though not strictly metal, Dax’s comeback album, and first since 2010’s Say Goodnight to the World, 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.

#2. Messa // The Spin – It would be an oversimplification to describe Messa’s fourth LP as a streamlined version of the enigmatic Italian band’s doom-centric formula. Each album has impressed in its own unique way, adding intoxicating twists and charm to continually evolve and refresh their sound. The Spin carries over elements of their past works and character-defining idiosyncrasies, yet feels like Messa’s most laser-focused, accessible, and direct album to date, and also one of their best. While I’ve enjoyed each of the band’s prior works, The Spin is the band’s most efficient and instantly gratifying, and addictive album. Easily Messa’s shortest opus, The Spin, uncorks killer tune after tune. Sumptuous melodies and rich textures color blockbuster doom bangers (“At Races,” “Fire on the Roof”), residing alongside atmospheric, jazz-dappled charmers (“The Dress”), bluesy, emotive slow burners (“Immolation”), and brooding, psych-tinged doom (“Thicker Blood”).

#1. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – Weirdly enough, my number one picks often don’t materialize as obviously as one might expect. This has largely been a trend throughout my tenure here at Angry Metal Guy. In all honesty, any of the top three could have been interchangeable in the top spot, but I reserved top honors for the spectacular second LP from Atlanta band Tómarúm. All the more surprising due to sleeping on their well-received debut, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft, encompassing elements of progressive black, melodic death, and tech death bombast. It’s an overly ambitious, sometimes slightly messy masterwork. Yet the eye-watering 68 minutes largely warrant its exhaustive length. Sure, shrewd editing here and there may have tightened things up. However, the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface. This fully loaded, immersive masterwork sparkles and scorches through tremendously crafted, multi-faceted compositions, including standout epics, “Shallow Ecstasy,” “Shed This Erroneous Skin,” and “Silver, Ashen Tears,” nestled harmoniously against the blunt force discordance of ‘Blood Mirage,” and compact progressive fireworks of closer “Becoming the Stone Icon (Obsidian Reprise).”

Honorable Mentions:

• Sigh // I Saw the World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV – Skepticism of the dangerous game of the re-record was swept aside in a stunning reimagining of their 2007 classic.
• Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell – The album title says it all. Delightfully scabby, grooving old school death, seasoned with quirky Voivodisms.
• Igorrr // Amen – When seeking that taste of batshit crazy experimentation and avant-garde lunacy, Amen proved a reliable tonic. A challenging, though freakishly creative and addicting listen.
• Blood Vulture // Die Close – A grungy, Gothy slab of doom designed by talented Two Minutes to Late Night host Jordan Olds (aka Gwarsenio Hall). The future appears bright, judging by this highly addictive debut, which garnered lots of rotation throughout the year.
• Vittra // Intense Indifference – Hugely impressive melodic death platter from Swedish up-and-comers Vittra. Drawing inspiration from their homeland’s classic melodeath past, Vittra injects oodles of thrashy energy, inspired axework, and hooky songcraft, bringing a fresh edge to a retro sound.
• Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Perhaps a little late on this one, however, after spending considerable time with Dormant Ordeal’s latest opus, the hype and critical praise are indeed justified—a fine example of brutal, crushing Polish blackened death.
• Species // Changelings – Admittedly, like various other overlooked gems, I didn’t spend as much time as I’d like with Changelings. But catching up has been a blast. Species brought the weird on this wacky, proggy technical thrash thrill ride, not to be missed.

Disappointment o’ the Year:

Sadly, we lost a number of metal legends in 2025, headlined by three individual legends that had a profound impact on me over the years. There will never be a larger-than-life frontman/metal icon like Ozzy Osbourne. While his demise was not unexpected, it left a huge void and an incredible legacy never to be matched. At the Gates and all-around iconic Swedish vocalist Tomas Lindberg sadly passed away following a horrible illness, while former Mastodon guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds tragically passed in a motor vehicle accident. Rest in Peace legends….

Non-Heavy Picks (snapshot):

• Aesop Rock (Black Hole Superette & I Heard It’s a Mess There Too), clipping., Bon Iver, Miguel.

Song o’ the Year:

Messa – “Fire on the Roof” – Narrowing down a definitive song o’ the year candidate is often a futile task. Twenty-twenty-five was no exception. Rather than overthink or analyze the situation, I locked in one of the year’s most addictive, replayable gems from Messa’s stunning fourth LP, The Spin.



Dear Hollow

Welcome to the end of 2025! We at AMG hope the year has been kind to you—that your lives are filled with love, your hearts with joy, and our world with peace. I hope that you have found your people and have those you can lean on. If we have ever given you a voice, a platform, or just love and support when you need it, then we have done our jobs.

It feels redundant to say that this year has been a roller coaster, but 2025 pulled no punches. In May, the Hollow household welcomed a second kiddo, a boy, into the fold. He is a supremely easy, endlessly happy little guy, but the stresses of parenthood—and especially of two kids—are a daily lesson of “bend, don’t break.” Our daughter is now four, and learns new things and says sassy things day in and day out, enjoying gymnastics and dancing, and singing around the house for fun.

My reviewing has remained steady this year, if not a little less than the usual. Between parenting two kids, working as a high school English teacher to increasingly apathetic kids, working on a noir crime novel that has paid dividends in complexity (and all the noir jazz my ears can handle),1 continuing to unpack my upbringing and trauma and how they all have affected my views on family, relationships, and self-love, you can imagine how wild each day has been. But I’ve somehow managed it, and the end of the year is here to celebrate it.

Special shout-outs to those who have been instrumental in my journey this year: the ineffable and tireless dream team of Steel Druhm and Angry Metal Guy, the genre-confusing Dolphin Whisperer, my fellow Whitechapel apologists Iceberg and Alekhines Gun, and those who have been supportive all year (Thus Spoke, Killjoy, and Mystikus Hugebeard). Couldn’t have done it without y’all.

To the metal!

#ish. Kalaveraztekah // Nikan Axkan – Subject of a rollicking Rodeö, Mexico’s Kalaveraztekah’s balance of cosmic Aztec atmosphere and cutthroat death metal is sublime. Riffs for days balanced by an experimental madness that conjures cosmic destruction and rebirth, Nikan Axkan recalls the antics of Hell:on, folk influence only sharpens its attack and injects an atmosphere of foreboding. Refusing both gimmick and total immersion, Nikan Axkan is riffy, fun, and evocative, made for a mosh-pit and a soundtrack for the destruction of the Five Suns.

#10. La Torture des Ténèbres // Episode VIII – Revenge of Unfailing Valor – If you’re like MalteBrigge, you’ll probably end up with tinnitus and a sprained shoulder once Episode VIII kicks in, but Ottawa one-woman raw black metal/noise outfit La Torture des Ténèbres returns to the bleak space-faring atompunk of its 2016 debuts alongsdie the dystopic rage that pervades more recent efforts – moments of peace adding dimension and texture. La Torture des Ténèbres is about as ambitious as raw black metal can get.

#9. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar – Goldstar is Imperial Triumphant’s most accessible album, the NYC trio’s signature brand of death/black and jazz funneled into a straightforward art-deco-themed brutalizing. It’s no less adventurous, always punishing, and will stay with you long after your ears stop ringing from the sound of New York City taxis and decadent skyscrapers displayed in extreme metal format: more straightforward, more melodic. While its recent predecessors are an affluent nightlife, Goldstar offers a sunbathed New York City.

#8. Howling Giant // Crucible & Ruin – Nashville’s stoner outfit Howling Giant reconciles the melodies and riffs, exploratory songwriting, and mammoth hooks gathering in each movement of Crucible & Ruin. Featuring hints of knuckleheaded sludge and proggy chord progressions, it’s an album that keeps your attention for forty-eight minutes. New member Adrian Zambrano offers more atmosphere and layers of guitar riffs and melodies to go with the surefire dichotomy of instrumental heft and vocal ethereality. Crucible & Ruin is an experience of fun, subtlety, and above all, riffs.

#7. Geese // Getting Killed – Perhaps the vocals of NYC’s Geese don’t bother me because of Cameron Winters’ similarity to singer/songwriter John Mark McMillan,2 so the album’s sonic anxiety of noise rock, post-punk, country, and blues that creep in and out like lovers who never stay does not bother me. Getting Killed feels viciously aggressive, venomously satirical, and fluid and elastic in its humble movements. Geese are overrated Pitchfork-bait, sure, but an overrated hill to get killed upon regardless.

#6. Structure // Heritage – Steel Druhm’s the real masochist for low and slow, but the balance of sad death/doom and devastating funeral doom in Netherland’s Structure is special. The guitar work in the mammoth riffs, melodic leads, and climactic solos has just a much of a voice to contribute as Pim Blankenstein’s formidable roars—as if griever and grieved converse in both melancholy and rage. Heritage is Structure paying homage to doom metal’s contemplation while paying its dues in death metal’s viciousness – pure devastation.

#5. Patristic // Catechesis – Catechesis is born out of the “impending shadow of the cross.” As tumultuous as the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the church and pagan rebellion, the black/death of Rome’s Patristic assaults the ears with tension, fury, and reverence. The first act is the holy war, a rationalization of steel and zealotry, while the second is the way the soldier tells it to his children, the lessons and cautions borne of blind faith and its devastation. Cathechesis is not only fiery sermons and unending blasphemy, but regret and meditation.

#4. In Mourning // The Immortal – I’ve loved Sweden’s In Mourning since their 2010 album Monolith: balancing chuggy guitars, progressive songwriting, and the slightest hints of doom (such as in 2008’s Shrouded Divine). The Immortal is an album that balances The Bleeding Veil’s darker elements, Garden of Storms’ signature melody, and The Weight of Oceans’ iconic patience. The Immortal offers yearning melodies and chords alongside vicious riffs, and melodeath has never sounded so good.

#3. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – New York’s Yellow Eyes’ Confusion Gate conveys a black metal place better than most, an environment teeming with life. Like the Romantic Sublime, it maintains a crystalline beauty, like a light scattering through broken glass, and a madness born of terror—at the source of the light. Here is the crux of it, from poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s “The First Elegy”;

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the Angels’
Orders? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly to his heart: I’d be consumed
in his more potent being. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we can still barely endure,
and while we stand in wonder it coolly disdains
to destroy us. Every Angel is terrifying.

#2. Igorrr // Amen – Gautier Serre’s work with Igorrr has rarely felt bad, but Amen evolves it from his typical standard. You get the typical apeshit antics in the midsection, but a full band fleshes out the jewel-encrusted skeleton for a fully, nearly spiritual experience. Minimalist compositions build upon a breakbeat before cracking into a full choir and death metal experience, while an overwhelming onslaught of insanity reminds us who exactly we’re listening to. Amen is hella fun, as expected, but also something we can take seriously.

#1. Primitive Man // Observance – 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. The atmospheric death/sludge counterpart to the riffs of Warcrab, for instance, Primitive Man offers a sound like no other—and it’s the best of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

• The Acacia Strain // You Are Safe From God Here – While incorporating the same ol’ hardcore beatdown you expect from the Massachusetts deathcore OGs,3 denser tones make for higher blasphemy. Simple math, trust me.
• Ethel Cain // Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You – Leaving behind the more experimental and darker tones in noise/drone counterpart Perverts, a more atmospheric and contemplative direction showcases the singer-songwriter’s nostalgic and gentle storytelling that does not shy away from darkness.
• Changeling // Changeling – While lacking the darkness and weight of Ingurgitating Oblivion, guitarist Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger is granted fretless freedom in a tech-death album whose lightness and amorphousness guide ethereal constructions of proggy sensibilities. More Dolphin Whisperer fare but still dope as hell.
• Author & Punisher // Nocturnal Birding – Tristan Shone releases an industrial sludge album that hits like an anvil, casting aside the more atmospheric tendencies for a headbanging good time, amplified by the crunch of new guitarist Doug Sabolick. Melodic motifs based on the birdcalls of migratory birds as a metaphor for immigrants, Shone and Sabolick offer the short and sweet despite a heavy-handed subject.
• Bad Angels // Until Silence – A late-year find, Polish composer Adrian Anioł concocts dense dark ambient sprawls with moody jazz, haunting saxophone glitches, ominous upright bass, and pitch-black meandering. Perfect for walks on spooky rainy nights.

Songs o’ the Year:

• Ethel Cain – “Dust Bowl”4



Surprises o’ the Year

• KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack – Mainly, how much time I devoted to it. What can I say? I’m gonna be, gonna be golden.
• SpiritWorld // Helldorado – Knuckleheaded riffs for days.5

Disappointments o’ the Year

• Messa // The Spin – Maybe it’s because I saturated my year with sultry noir jazz, but Messa shorts its doom metal with some goofy jazz—all novelty, no substance.
• Orbit Culture // Death Above Life – Once again, the melodeath/thrash riff reigns supreme, but until they can get out from behind the wall of compression, the Swedes continue to tread water.
• Vildhjarta // Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar – The undersung princes of atmodjent show up with the swampy djunz and forsake everything that makes them legendary. It’s djent—disappointingly nothing more.

Saunders

Yes, folks and loyal AMG readers and devotees, another year is nearly done and dusted. As per tradition, the time has come to share reflections and recommendations from another eventful year. Personally, 2025 threw down some rough moments and life challenges, navigating a spike in anxiety-driven mental and physical health concerns. Previously, I have mentioned how much AMG has grounded me over the years, keeping my focus and motivation on track when other parts of life navigate turbulence, stress, or uncertainty. This has proven especially pivotal this year and highlights the importance of contributing in some small way to this amazing blog and how much it means to me.

Highlights… After a few lean years post-pandemic on the gig front, as an avid concertgoer, 2025 proved productive for getting my mojo back for live music. I caught Karnivool in action for the first time in over a decade, ripping through infectious prog metal anthems and impressive new jams from their highly anticipated album set to drop in early 2026. An unexpected gig was a solo show in my hometown from none other than former Fear Factory legend Burton C Bell, performing in a local dive venue. Ploughing through career classics and some solo material, the setlist offered up gems like “Drive Boy Shooting,” “Scapegoat,” “Scumgrief,” and “Replica.” It was a nostalgic joy.

Meanwhile, after years of stubbornly jaded neglect, I finally bit the bullet and witnessed Metallica live. Probably a couple of decades too late, however, as an impressionable young’un raised on early Metallica, it was a cool experience to finally see the aging juggernaut in a stadium setting that will remain in the memory bank for years to come. A couple of days later, I once again caught the mighty Opeth at the iconic Sydney Opera House with quality support from Caligula’s Horse, before rounding out the year by finally seeing Dying Fetus live in an extra beefy triple bill including Ashen and 200 Stab Wounds. Good times indeed….

Big thanks to everyone for keeping this mighty blog running and cogs turning. From the ever-growing readership and awesome AMG community, through the entire, recently beefed-up writing crew, inspiring colleagues and all-around awesome people, to the higher powers (Steel Druhm, Angry Metal Guy, Sentynel, Doc Grier, and all the other editors) for their extra behind-the-scenes work whipping us into line. Cheers all to a safe, happy, and healthy 2026.

#ish: Green Carnation // A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia – After being mesmerized by Green Carnation’s timeless opus Light of Day, Day of Darkness many years ago, I never really expanded my listening beyond that widely regarded masterpiece. Then comeback album Leaves of Yesteryear dropped in 2020 and turned me from a casual listener into an avid fan of their work. A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia signals a long-awaited return and the first part of a planned trilogy from the seasoned Norwegian veterans of classy, mood-driven progressive metal. Admittedly, this album didn’t reach the dizzying heights or quite gain the traction of its predecessor. Nor does it disappoint, adding another finely crafted chapter in Green Carnation’s enduring career, while building excitement for the two albums to complete the trilogy. Meticulously crafted and chock full of emotive, silky, and delightfully catchy gems, A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia is another top-shelf prog metal jam.

#10. Caustic Wound // Grinding Mechanism of Torment – Back in 2020, Seattle’s Caustic Wound emerged from the muck and unleashed a gnarly ball of unvarnished deathgrind rage courtesy of debut, Death Posture. Due to the endearing old school charms and brawling, stomping attack, Death Posture left a lasting impression, amping anticipation for their long-awaited return on sophomore slab, Grinding Mechanism of Torment. Though a little less refined and losing a smidgen of the debut’s grimy charm, Caustic Wound otherwise pounded out wickedly crunchy, buzzsawing deathgrind with violent glee, infectiousness, and subtle variety to keep you coming back for more. The album’s tight construction and propulsive performances deftly harness the controlled chaos and blasty, groove-laced fun, as the likes of “Drone Terror,” “Advanced Killing Methods,” and “Blood Battery” attest.

#9. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – One of the purest and nostalgia-driven prog releases of 2025, the sophomore album from Seven Sisters singer/guitarist Kyle McNeill was a progtastic delight, wielding old-timey, ’70s prog feels with a transportive, fantastical flair. Phantom Spell crafted a timeless, epic yet remarkably fresh experience, despite the obvious devotion to progressive rock legends and eras of the past. Dueling guitar leads, rollicking organ, and tight, expressive rhythms shine across a superbly performed and produced opus. For all the musical smarts, clever progressive arrangements, and technical showmanship, McNeill’s songwriting and powerful vocals are spot on, resulting in a nuanced though hugely hooky and focused collection, infused with folk and classic heavy metal elements, complementing the classic progressive rock core. Bookended by two spectacular epics (‘The Autumn Citadel” and stunning, heart-wrenching melodies of the closing title track), Heather & Hearth is equally compelling in its more compact, punchy forms (“‘Evil Hand,” “Siren Song”).

#8. Barren Path // Grieving – Grind delivered big time in 2025, with numerous high-quality releases to absorb. None quite delivered the hammer blow impact of the debut LP from Barren Path, featuring Gridlink alumni, including grind shredding extraordinaire Takafumi Matsubara. It’s amazing what can be achieved in a manic thirteen minutes of calculated mayhem and precision deathgrind madness. Barren Path shares traits with Gridlink’s razor-sharp precision and abrasive intensity; however, it refuses to be pigeonholed or cast into the shadows of the Gridlink legacy. Beefy production, coupled with a prominent death metal influence, riffs to burn, gripping performances, and techy edge, Grieving loudly announced Barren Path as the next innovative heavy hitter to take the grind scene by storm. All too brief if utterly compelling, I’m excited to see what this elite line-up can cook up next as they set about creating their own unmatched legacy.

#7. Changeling // Changeling – For the second time in my 2025 top ten, an album surpasses the hour-length mark, often questionable territory as far as optimal album length. The prolific Tom Geldschläger (aka Fountainhead) hired an army of high-profile musicians and contributors to bring his elaborate progressive death metal vision to vibrant life with an overstuffed and incredibly entertaining, wildly ambitious debut opus. Amongst the core lineup, Morean (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress) lends his unique vocals, Virvum’s Arran McSporran features on fretless bass, and powerhouse Mike Keller (ex-Fear Factory, Raven, Malignancy) mans the kit, while a stack of instruments, choirs, and guest musicians add further dimensions and intricacies to the color palette. Changeling is guilty of overreaching on occasions, and the whole thing is an overstimulating example of excess. And though far from perfect, Changeling is nevertheless an astonishingly complex, progressive, and technical marvel. Its bombastic, adventurous gallop, slick songcraft, earwormy hook,s and otherworldly melodies conjure up a hugely inventive and endlessly fun platter.

#6. Turian // Blood Quantum Blues – Generally, I tread carefully from anything core-related in the realms of hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore. I am not opposed to each style, but usually it takes a certain something to win me over. Another winning recommendation from the flippered one, Blood Quantum Blues, the third LP from Seattle metallic hardcore merchants Turian, found the band toying and upending their sound in wonderfully creative and ambitious fashion. Like other genre-busting albums, such as The Shape of Punk to Come and Miss Machine, Turian fuck with the conventions of their metallic hardcore. Shattering boundaries by lacing their signature sound with sharply integrated elements of rock, electronics, sludge, and grind, whipped into a grooving, raw smackdown and addictive delight, Turian pulls no punches and pushes their songwriting creativity to the limit. The line-up nails the newfound songwriting versatility through tight, explosive performances, topped by the raw intensity and charismatic vocals of Vern Metztli-Moon, who channels deeply personal, trauma-informed reflections of her Native American heritage, with vigor and rage.

#5. Retromorphosis // Psalmus Mortis – Carrying on the timeless legacy of legendary Swedish tech death wrecking crew Spawn of Possession, Retromorphosis emerged featuring the bulk of the SoP line-up and a rejuvenated sound, both familiar and energized enough to craft a new chapter of tech death excellence. Herein lies the key to the album’s success. SoP was such a special and unique entity in the tech death field. Retromorphosis pulls the signature songwriting components and twists and contorts them into their own slick interpretation, without simply rehashing past glories. Psalmus Mortis proved to have significant staying power since dropping early in the year, even amidst a pretty stacked year for quality death and tech death albums. Retromorphosis decorate their knotty, fluid and aggressive compositions with tasteful synth work, symphonic flourishes and bedazzling solos, whether charting smartly progressive, labyrinthine terrain (“The Tree,” “Machine”), and thrashy, warped tech death (“Aunt Christie’s Will,” “Vanished,” “Retromorphosis”).

#4. Terror Corpse // Ash Eclipses Flesh – After already delivering a killer grind opus earlier in the year, Terror Corpse got the creative juices flowing again in dropping a full-length debut of immense power and old school grit. Featuring a power-packed lineup featuring past and present members of acts including Malignant Altar, Oceans of Slumber, Necrofier, and Insect Warfare, Terror Corpse comes seasoned with death metal wisdom and experience. Despite a lack of innovation, Terror Corpse winds back the clock and transcends the typical old school death metal hordes. Injecting venomous strains of grind, death-doom, sinister atmospheres, and gut-churning brutality into beefy, riff-driven songs that fondly recall death metal’s glory days, Terror Corpse forge ahead into the here and now with their own character and inspired songwriting. Topped by a bevy of instantly gratifying, oozing riffs and Dobber Beverly’s elite drumming, Ash Eclipses Flesh is a gripping old school death experience.

#3. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs For Spiders – The return of Dax Riggs, and by extension the most unexpected re-emergence of the legendary Acid Bath, were surely two of the most heartwarming music moments of 2025. As a longtime devotee of both Dax and Acid Bath, I had begun worrying that Dax’s music-making days had passed as he slunk into the background and essentially dropped off the radar for the best part of fifteen years. While holding out slim hope Acid Bath will decide to cross our shores, I am stoked Dax and crew are getting the long-overdue credit and exposure they deserve. Though not strictly metal, Dax’s comeback album, and first since 2010’s Say Goodnight to the World, 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.

#2. Messa // The Spin – It would be an oversimplification to describe Messa’s fourth LP as a streamlined version of the enigmatic Italian band’s doom-centric formula. Each album has impressed in its own unique way, adding intoxicating twists and charm to continually evolve and refresh their sound. The Spin carries over elements of their past works and character-defining idiosyncrasies, yet feels like Messa’s most laser-focused, accessible, and direct album to date, and also one of their best. While I’ve enjoyed each of the band’s prior works, The Spin is the band’s most efficient and instantly gratifying, and addictive album. Easily Messa’s shortest opus, The Spin, uncorks killer tune after tune. Sumptuous melodies and rich textures color blockbuster doom bangers (“At Races,” “Fire on the Roof”), residing alongside atmospheric, jazz-dappled charmers (“The Dress”), bluesy, emotive slow burners (“Immolation”), and brooding, psych-tinged doom (“Thicker Blood”).

#1. Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria – Weirdly enough, my number one picks often don’t materialize as obviously as one might expect. This has largely been a trend throughout my tenure here at Angry Metal Guy. In all honesty, any of the top three could have been interchangeable in the top spot, but I reserved top honors for the spectacular second LP from Atlanta band Tómarúm. All the more surprising due to sleeping on their well-received debut, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria smacked me upside the cranium with an explosion of creativity and ambitious songcraft, encompassing elements of progressive black, melodic death, and tech death bombast. It’s an overly ambitious, sometimes slightly messy masterwork. Yet the eye-watering 68 minutes largely warrant its exhaustive length. Sure, shrewd editing here and there may have tightened things up. However, the whole experience is so consistently gripping and superbly written and performed that minor quibbles are squashed well below the surface. This fully loaded, immersive masterwork sparkles and scorches through tremendously crafted, multi-faceted compositions, including standout epics, “Shallow Ecstasy,” “Shed This Erroneous Skin,” and “Silver, Ashen Tears,” nestled harmoniously against the blunt force discordance of ‘Blood Mirage,” and compact progressive fireworks of closer “Becoming the Stone Icon (Obsidian Reprise).”

Honorable Mentions:

• Sigh // I Saw the World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV – Skepticism of the dangerous game of the re-record was swept aside in a stunning reimagining of their 2007 classic.
• Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell – The album title says it all. Delightfully scabby, grooving old school death, seasoned with quirky Voivodisms.
• Igorrr // Amen – When seeking that taste of batshit crazy experimentation and avant-garde lunacy, Amen proved a reliable tonic. A challenging, though freakishly creative and addicting listen.
• Blood Vulture // Die Close – A grungy, Gothy slab of doom designed by talented Two Minutes to Late Night host Jordan Olds (aka Gwarsenio Hall). The future appears bright, judging by this highly addictive debut, which garnered lots of rotation throughout the year.
• Vittra // Intense Indifference – Hugely impressive melodic death platter from Swedish up-and-comers Vittra. Drawing inspiration from their homeland’s classic melodeath past, Vittra injects oodles of thrashy energy, inspired axework, and hooky songcraft, bringing a fresh edge to a retro sound.
• Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – Perhaps a little late on this one, however, after spending considerable time with Dormant Ordeal’s latest opus, the hype and critical praise are indeed justified—a fine example of brutal, crushing Polish blackened death.
• Species // Changelings – Admittedly, like various other overlooked gems, I didn’t spend as much time as I’d like with Changelings. But catching up has been a blast. Species brought the weird on this wacky, proggy technical thrash thrill ride, not to be missed.

Disappointment o’ the Year:

Sadly, we lost a number of metal legends in 2025, headlined by three individual legends that had a profound impact on me over the years. There will never be a larger-than-life frontman/metal icon like Ozzy Osbourne. While his demise was not unexpected, it left a huge void and an incredible legacy never to be matched. At the Gates and all-around iconic Swedish vocalist Tomas Lindberg sadly passed away following a horrible illness, while former Mastodon guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds tragically passed in a motor vehicle accident. Rest in Peace legends….

Non-Heavy Picks (snapshot):

• Aesop Rock (Black Hole Superette & I Heard It’s a Mess There Too), clipping., Bon Iver, Miguel.

Song o’ the Year:

Messa – “Fire on the Roof” – Narrowing down a definitive song o’ the year candidate is often a futile task. Twenty-twenty-five was no exception. Rather than overthink or analyze the situation, I locked in one of the year’s most addictive, replayable gems from Messa’s stunning fourth LP, The Spin.



Dear Hollow

Welcome to the end of 2025! We at AMG hope the year has been kind to you—that your lives are filled with love, your hearts with joy, and our world with peace. I hope that you have found your people and have those you can lean on. If we have ever given you a voice, a platform, or just love and support when you need it, then we have done our jobs.

It feels redundant to say that this year has been a roller coaster, but 2025 pulled no punches. In May, the Hollow household welcomed a second kiddo, a boy, into the fold. He is a supremely easy, endlessly happy little guy, but the stresses of parenthood—and especially of two kids—are a daily lesson of “bend, don’t break.” Our daughter is now four, and learns new things and says sassy things day in and day out, enjoying gymnastics and dancing, and singing around the house for fun.

My reviewing has remained steady this year, if not a little less than the usual. Between parenting two kids, working as a high school English teacher to increasingly apathetic kids, working on a noir crime novel that has paid dividends in complexity (and all the noir jazz my ears can handle),1 continuing to unpack my upbringing and trauma and how they all have affected my views on family, relationships, and self-love, you can imagine how wild each day has been. But I’ve somehow managed it, and the end of the year is here to celebrate it.

Special shout-outs to those who have been instrumental in my journey this year: the ineffable and tireless dream team of Steel Druhm and Angry Metal Guy, the genre-confusing Dolphin Whisperer, my fellow Whitechapel apologists Iceberg and Alekhines Gun, and those who have been supportive all year (Thus Spoke, Killjoy, and Mystikus Hugebeard). Couldn’t have done it without y’all.

To the metal!

#ish. Kalaveraztekah // Nikan Axkan – Subject of a rollicking Rodeö, Mexico’s Kalaveraztekah’s balance of cosmic Aztec atmosphere and cutthroat death metal is sublime. Riffs for days balanced by an experimental madness that conjures cosmic destruction and rebirth, Nikan Axkan recalls the antics of Hell:on, folk influence only sharpens its attack and injects an atmosphere of foreboding. Refusing both gimmick and total immersion, Nikan Axkan is riffy, fun, and evocative, made for a mosh-pit and a soundtrack for the destruction of the Five Suns.

#10. La Torture des Ténèbres // Episode VIII – Revenge of Unfailing Valor – If you’re like MalteBrigge, you’ll probably end up with tinnitus and a sprained shoulder once Episode VIII kicks in, but Ottawa one-woman raw black metal/noise outfit La Torture des Ténèbres returns to the bleak space-faring atompunk of its 2016 debuts alongsdie the dystopic rage that pervades more recent efforts – moments of peace adding dimension and texture. La Torture des Ténèbres is about as ambitious as raw black metal can get.