#pissgrave — Public Fediverse posts

Before I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox

A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke

Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:

“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.

“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.

“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.

“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?

“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.

“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.

“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.

“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.

“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?

“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.

“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.

“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.

Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:

“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”

“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing

“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.

“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.

“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”

“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.

“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.

“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!

“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.

“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.

“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!

“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.

“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!

“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.

“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!

Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:

“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.

“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.

“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.

“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.

“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.

“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.

“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.

“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!

“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.

“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.

Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:

“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.

Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:

“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.

“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.

“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.

“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.

“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.

“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2

“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.

“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.

“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.

“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.

“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.

“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?

“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.

Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3

“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.

“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.

“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.

“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.

“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.

“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.

“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.

“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.

“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.

“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.

Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”



Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”



Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”



Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”



Tyme

I’ve spent much of my 2025 thinking about privilege. Not in the sense that the media has conditioned me, or us, to think about it, but in a way that I’ve employed to shift some of the mundane aspects of life onto their respective heads. For instance, it’s a privilege to look in my closet and have to decide what to wear each day. It’s a privilege to look in my kitchen pantry to figure out what I’ll eat for breakfast or, better yet, which coffee cup I’ll drink from. I could go on, but there’s a word limit to these intros. Suffice to say, I really tried to dwell on my blessings rather than my challenges this year.

And despite the blessings of my professional life, which bestowed upon me the incredible privilege of being really fucking busy for the last “whatever” number of months, I’ve been equally, yet much less facetiously, blessed in my personal endeavors as well. For, in addition to having a bountiful roof over my head, a vehicle to get me back and forth to my extremely privileged job, a dog I can honestly say I will have NO idea how to say goodbye to if I don’t go first, and a wife that, despite the ups and downs of a normal, healthy marriage, continues to love me, I have the distinct privilege of contributing my trve opinions on all things musically heavy, or adjacently heavy, here on the best heavy metal blog in the world! And now comes the part where I give thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to everyone who reads this blog every day. Without you, none of this would be worth doing. At least for me, who read, lurked, and commented for years before working up the courage to actually apply for this subservient existence. Thank you to this newest crop of freshly demoted n00bs and to my list mate Killjoy and the rest of the Freezer Freaks Crew—Alekhines Gun, Owlswald, and Clarkkent1—who, through perseverance and a buttload of patience, managed to survive nearly two years on ice to land in the crosshairs of the commentariat’s adverse, and always wrong, opinions.2,3 Thanks as well, to ALL the senior staff who are way nicer than they’d have you believe,4 except Grier, who’s even nicer than everyone else. And finally, the editors, the man himself, Dr. AMG, for seeing enough in me to bring me over, and Steel, who runs the tightest, most compassionate ship I’ve ever had the privilege of sailing on. Thanks, boss!

Now! To the LIST!!!

#ish. Antinoë // The Fold – When I snagged this late-year gem back in November, I had no idea it would have me shuffling my list. With a little more time, I’m sure it would have moved up the ladder, but as it stands, Antinoë grabbed my (ish) spot easily. With little to no instrumentation beyond her piano, Teresa Marraco crafted something so beautiful in its basic-ness that I was entranced. Her delicate melodies evoke vibes that are as much Darkher or Tori Amos5 as they are Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, and I am definitely here for it.

#10. King Witch // III – In a year when Messa released a new album as well, the fact that King Witch is sitting on my year-end proper list and not Sara Bianchin and company speaks volumes about the job Laura Donnelly, Jamie Gilchrist, and Rory Lee did on III. Whether crooning over wispy acoustics or belting out doomily powerful tones over rock-heavy riffs, Donnelly is the star of the show, and her performance had me swooning. From the minute I first heard “Suffer in Life” with its swing-heavy riffs and killer vocals, I was happy to take King Witch’s III for a spin over and over, and it’s been part of my regular rotation since summer.

#9. Imperishable // Revelation in Purity – As the year wore on, I became increasingly sure that I may have underrated Imperishable’s Revelation in Purity. In fact, I found myself returning to it several times, forgoing subsequent spins of albums I’d rated higher. With their Nile and Olkoth pedigree, Imperishable’s expert blend of blackened death metal hit an overtly swirling sweet spot for me. The songwriting on Revelation in Purity, while not groundbreaking, is expertly executed, rendering its quality undeniable. And when you toss in those very Alice in Chains-like grunge passages, akin to a cherry on top, it was easy for me to put Revelation in Purity on my year-end list.

#8. Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine – Mutagenic Host’s The Diseased Machine was the first album I successfully coveted and secured from the sump pit alllll the way back in January of this year. As a freshly demoted staff member at the time, I was overly excited at the opportunity to take it on, and the album surely didn’t disappoint. Mutagenic Host does death metal the way I like it: low-brow, Neanderthalic, and brutally chuggy. It’s a tenuous thing to run across something you deem so good so early in the year, but The Diseased Machine has definitely stood the test of Tyme and proved worth every point of the quarter-pounder I placed on it.

#7. Igorrr // Amen – My fancy with Igorrr has always been somewhat of a passing one. I was nowhere near the listener who would’ve been part of the band’s early target audience (Mousissure, Nostril). Still, I found more common ground with 2017’s Savage Sinusoid and even more with 2020’s Spirituality and Distortion. But when those first electronic beats of Amen’s opening track, “Daemoni,” poured out of my speakers for the first time, I was completely plugged in to Igorrr’s chaotically beautiful brand of metal madness. Amen’s surprisingly accessible break-cored, trip-hopped blackened death ‘baroque’ it’s big boot off in my ass, and I’ve been relishing and wallowing in its avant-garde pain ever since.

#6. Cave Sermon // Fragile Wings – Cave Sermon’s Divine Laughter was something I’d definitely missed out on in 2024. When Thus Spoke covered Cave Sermon’s rapid follow-up, Fragile Wings, in April, however, I vowed I wouldn’t sleep on Charlie Park’s solo black metal project this time around. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t. Words like ‘wistful,’ ‘exuberant,’ and ‘playful’ were tossed about in Thus’s excellent write-up and really homed in on what made listening to Fragile Wings such a connective experience for me. Imbued as Fragile Wings is with upbeat sadness, Cave Sermon proved that I can get on board with post metal, and to be honest, any metal that sounds this good is worth the time spent. And seriously, what is that cover?!6

#5. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl – Inspired by a subreddit I’m glad I never stumbled across, Crippling Alcoholism’s provocative moniker steels those who’d approach the band’s output with a certain sense of visceral anticipation before hearing even one note. My love for the disturbingly creepy With Love from a Padded Room led me to the pink, candy-wrapped murderpop of Camgirl with nary a moment’s hesitation. I gladly signed on to plumb the depths of weirdness I knew would exist, but could not have anticipated the absolute fathomless darkness lurking within Camgirl’s saccharine sweetness, especially as revealed with subsequent spins. A disturbing diatribe on hopelessness, disappointment, loneliness, and sex in the digital age, Camgirl wraps its message in a deceivingly poppy form of electronica that, when all is said and done, will have you wondering what the fuck just happened. I love it.

#4. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders – Dax Riggs may be one of the more underrated artists of the last thirty years, and while I know I’m not the only one who rejoiced in the recent resurgence and subsequent touring schedule of one of the ’90s best sludge acts, Acid Bath, I also realized a new album will probably never materialize, at least not under that moniker. Instead, the universe graced us with 7 Songs for Spiders, Dax’s first solo effort in nearly 15 years. Filled with simplistically haunting melodies sung in Riggs’s inimitable style, 7 Songs for Spiders strummed every one of my fuzzed-out, laid-back heart strings and has remained consistently satisfying since its January release.

#3. Maud the Moth // The Distaff – I stumbled across Maud the Moth in 2023 while exploring the ever-expanding milieu of performers associated with my favorite artist Darkher. Searching Amaya López-Carromoero’s back catalog, I dove into 2015’s The Inner Wastelands and 2020’s Orphnē, emerging a fan of Maud the Moth’s quirky neo-classical piano-led operatics. When The Distaff popped up in the sump, I was glad to see Dolphin Whisperer snag it, knowing his words would do the album eloquent justice. Soaring in scope and execution, Maud the Moth proffers her most complex yet beautiful release to date. Filled with classically executed vocal acrobatics and massive amounts of intricate instrumentation, The Distaff is less a thing just to be listened to, as it is a thing to be wholly experienced. As immersive a piece of music as I’ve heard all year.

#2. Structure // Heritage – M-A-S-S-I-V-E is the word that best describes Structure’s Heritage, which is to say it’s big, sad, and “heavy as fook!”7 Every time I threw this beast on, and the album opener began crawling forth, it conjured the same cinematic image in my mind’s eye. A lone, bloodied warrior, fists clenched, head bowed, wind-swept and rain-soaked hair hanging down, muscles taut and twitching in furious sadness, standing in a field full of his fallen brethren as a lightning-laced deluge washed the blood of dead soldiers into the hungry ground. Then, slowly, he casts his gaze skyward, anguished tears streaming, contemplating his sole survivor existence, and screaming at the thunder-filled heavens “Will I deserve to live on?” Every time, that’s what I see when I listen to “Will I Deserve It,” and every time I break out in goose bumps with a lumpy throat and welling eyes. Heritage came as close to being my number one as to make the two offerings at the top of my 2025 list nearly interchangeable.

#1. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail – I know I underrated Dormant Ordeal’s fourth album, Tooth and Nail, for, despite giving it the 4.0 treatment, the sheer excellence of this record has only improved over time. April was THE month for me this year, yielding my two favorite metal releases and leaving Poland’s metal map deeply staked with a big, black-and-gold Dormant Ordeal flag. In true, warrior-like fashion, Maciej Nieścioruk and Maciej Proficz soldiered on without sole founding member Radek Kowal, which opened the door for Chase Westmoreland to waltz in and give my favorite drum performance of the year. From the brutally effective “Halo of Bones” to the excellent, Dylan Thomas-inspired “Against the Dying of the Light,” there wasn’t an album I returned to more this year than Tooth and Nail, its visceral riffs and razor-sharp edges leaving long-lasting scars. But in a good way, you know? It’s with profound pleasure that I dutifully crown Dormant Ordeal’s Tooth and Nail my album of the year.

Honorable Mentions

• Cryptopsy // An Insatiable Violence – This thing is an ass kicker. Full of satisfying death metal brutality and, like it or not, my favorite since the classic None So Vile.
• Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness – Thirty-one minutes of absolutely insane death metal that will melt your ears into maggot-infested pus. Soooooo good.
• Messa // The Spin – It’s Messa, fool! ‘Nuff said. There was no way I was getting out of 2025’s Listurnalia without mentioning the new album from one of my favorite doom bands.
• Depravity // Bestial Possession – This thing blew my socks off and, had I gotten more time to spend with it, might have threatened to rattle the cage of my list order for sure. Death metal done right.
• Diabolizer // Murderous Revelations – I had been in a death metal drought when I picked up Murderous Revelations; its traditional, no-frills approach hitting me hard. This one came so close to listing for me, I could smell its charred, crispy, burnt ends.
• Lipoma // No Cure for the Sick – Gurgly gore vocals over a circus parade of melodic death metal riffs. What’s not to like? I had tons of fun with this thing.
• Puteraeon // Mountains of Madness – Puteraeon was a band that had never been on my radar. Mountains of Madness’s mature aesthetic, great storyline, and engagingly crafted melodicism took me entirely by surprise.

Song o’ the Year:

‘Twas a mother-fookin’ toss up between my top 2 albums. I flipped a coin, so close was the race. (Heads) Structure // (Tails) Dormant Ordeal.

WINNER(?):

Structure – “Will I Deserve It” – Satisfyingly goose-bumpy!8

Killjoy

The fact that I’m writing this list feels nothing short of surreal. When I became a regular reader of this blog in 2019, I had a strong interest in metal but a knowledge of only a handful of its subgenres. I did not expect to make it this far when I auditioned, but somehow I became a member of the Freezer Crew. Although we were initially forced to huddle together for warmth to survive the n00b trials, as time went on, I developed a deep respect for all of my Crewmates. Their camaraderie and encouragement were great motivation for me to keep writing this year, even when it was tough. We were even allowed to organize a special edition Rodeö! I’m so proud to associate with them.

On a more somber note, I was sad to see many of the longtime writers who helped me fall in love with this site slip into the abyss we sometimes call “non-suspicious sabbatical.” While I will miss reading their eloquent words, their legacy and contributions will always influence and inspire me.

And now for some thank yous. I’m grateful to AMG Himself for creating the site and allowing me to run rampant with my questionable opinions. A gorilla-sized thanks to Steel Druhm for keeping day-to-day operations running and being the kindest, cruelest taskmaster I could hope for. Thank you to my list mate, Tyme, for making my musical tastes seem better by association. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife for being so supportive of my new hobby.

I’m excited for what awaits in 2026 (which hopefully includes more power metal than I managed to review in 2025)!

#ish. Kauan // Wayhome – Kauan has demonstrated time and again that their ability to compose evocative soundscapes is unmatched in the post-rock sphere. Wayhome draws a little bit from different eras in Kauan’s fruitful career to form a richer, warmer experience. Each individual instrument—acoustic and electric guitars, strings, voice—is a crucial brush stroke in a breathtaking panorama. This is some of the most enchanting music I’ve ever heard.

#10. Anfauglir // Akallabêth – When I first grabbed Akallabêth for review, I was blissfully unaware of the 72-minute runtime (but probably should have had an inkling). After spending some time with it, I became blissfully aware of how awesome it is. Based on the chapter of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion chronicling the 3,000-year rise and fall of the island of Númenor, Akallabêth is as epic in sound as it is in scope. Mrs. Killjoy was more interested in the concept than the music, but it still made for some fun conversations. While the long runtime makes it a bit harder to revisit than the other entries on this list, this is my idea of a great symphonic black metal album.

#9. In Mourning // The Immortal – Progressive death metal comes in all shapes and sizes, and I tend to be drawn to the more emotive flavors. When Disillusion released Ayam a few years ago, it took me a while to understand the hype. In a similar manner, it took longer than it probably should have for me to appreciate The Immortal. I don’t know why this was, but in both cases I’m glad I stuck with them. In Mourning’s signature combination of earnest melodies and energetic riffs is now embedded in my mind and heart.

#8. Asira // As Ink in Water – Due to journalistic circumstances that I won’t discuss with fans, I was fortunate enough to obtain this promo earlier than I normally would have. Good thing, too, because As Ink in Water turned out to be a grower for me. The vocals proved much less popular in the comments than I anticipated, but they are the biggest reason why this record resonates with me. The buttery-smooth guitar and bass lines are another big factor. The fact that As Ink in Water was released during the tail end of 2025 might mean it appears on fewer top ten lists, but it should not be missed.

#7. Judicator // Concord – I don’t have a long history with Judicator. I am part of the seemingly small minority that prefers the post-Cordisco era, although I admit that I need to spend more time with their earlier work. Concord sees Judicator returning to their heavy/power metal roots after an experimental foray into progressive territory (which I also loved!). Other than brief saxophone and fiddle segments, there aren’t any fancy frills this time, only lots of guitar hooks and infectious choruses. And, in this case, that’s more than enough to make me happy.

#6. Valhalore // Beyond the Stars – I don’t normally see the point in quibbling about scores, however, I feel that Beyond the Stars was soundly underrated. It’s a distillation of everything I love about peak Eluveitie and Æther Realm. The folk instrumentation blends perfectly with the fast-paced melodic death metal elements. The interludes cleverly foreshadow and ease the listener into the subsequent songs. I also love the tender vocal performance by Anna Murphy towards the end. Beyond the Stars is a fun and emotional journey from start to finish.

#5. Gloombound // Dreaming Delusion – I’m always down to sample funeral doom, but it takes a very special kind to keep me coming back. Gloombound expertly walks the difficult balance between atmospheric and stimulating music. The overall sound is that of a soul trying to escape imprisonment, whether physical, emotional, or mental. Dreaming Delusion makes me feel different emotions every time I listen, but chief among them is a crushing awe.

#4. Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth – I love uplifting, feel-good metal (this should not come as a surprise by now). So, it was almost inevitable that I would love the nostalgic keyboards and guitar solos of Heather & Hearth. But, for some reason, it took AMG’s landmark blog post about the evils of Spotify for me to really pay attention to Phantom Spell. I’m grateful I did, because I might have missed out on one of the most addictive pieces of progressive rock I’ve ever heard.

#3. Halocraft // The Sky Will Remember – Halocraft quickly became one of my favorite bands since I discovered them early this year. Their purposeful yet dreamy brand of post-rock is practically custom-made for me. This year, they expanded their creative limits by writing two very different records. I’m partial to The Sky Will Remember, but don’t miss out on its companion, To Leave a Single Wolf Alive, for a gloomier vibe. Their prior albums are really good too, and I listen to them just as often.

#2. An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City – “If not 4.5, then why 4.5 shaped?”, one of you rabble-rousers quipped about my review of The Sleeping City. The truth is, the more time I spend with it, the more I wonder if maybe I did underrate it. I’ve somehow grown to love The Sleeping City even more in the months since I awarded it a 4.0. Sure, the production leaves much to be desired, but there aren’t any other notable qualities that I would consider faults. It won’t appeal to the exact same audience as the legendary Woe, but I have plenty of room in my heart for both (and likely whatever An Abstract Illusion devises next). It was such an honor to write about this wondrous record.

#1. Black Narcissus // There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten – When I plucked There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten from the promo pit, I was a little skeptical about music made with only bass and drums. It turns out, though, that this minimalist approach—along with excellent songwriting, of course—was the key to unlocking a new realm of possibility within the post-rock genre. The bass blooms unfettered in this distraction-free biome, and the drum tone is crisp and refreshing. The two instruments intertwine to engender a spirit of companionship and exploration. There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart, and I am grateful to Black Narcissus for sharing this gift.

Honorable Mentions:

• Crimson Shadows // Whispers of War – As a parent of two children under age five, I am not often in the mood to be overstimulated by the media I consume. However, Whispers of War is so fun that I have to make an exception. The addition of melodic death metal feels like such a natural progression to the signature DragonForce style that conquered my naive teenage heart circa Guitar Hero III.
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 – My very first score safety violation! After spending more time with it, I can understand how some might see this as incomplete or underdeveloped, though I’m willing to give Wyatt E. the benefit of the doubt while I wait for Part 2.
• Bergfried // Romantik III – I’m a sucker for a good rock opera. Romantik III is undeniably rough around the edges, but not in a way that rubs off any of its charm. To the contrary, in my opinion.
• Moron Police // Pachinko – Talk about a late-year list disruptor! Pachinko is a wild and addictive whirlwind of prog/pop rock that I know for a fact I’ll still be spinning next year.
• Braia // Vertentes de lá e cá – Vibrant folk rock with a huge array of instruments and musical influences. This didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves.
• Aganoor // Doomerism – Okay, maaaaybe I overrated this by half a point. But it’s still really solid psychedelic stoner doom with catchy riffs and lush instrumental breaks.
• Ancient Bards // Artifex – Am I only including this one for sentimental reasons? Probably. But it does contain some of my favorite songs of the year (“My Prima Nox,” “Soulbound Symphony,” “My Blood and Blade”) that I still revisit regularly.

Song o’ the Year:

Judicator – “Concord”