#proscription — Public Fediverse posts

Roman politics getting spicy

Roman politics getting spicy

https://piefed.social/c/roughromanmemes/p/2034285/roman-politics-getting-spicy

Roman politics getting spicy

Roman politics getting spicy

https://piefed.social/c/roughromanmemes/p/2034285/roman-politics-getting-spicy

Roman politics getting spicy

https://piefed.social/c/roughromanmemes/p/2034285/roman-politics-getting-spicy

I think we can confidently expect the further proscription of many groups if the High Court rules than this action with PalestineAction was in fact lawful. That is predicted by the current increasingly authoritarian maladministration we suffer under from London.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/28/what-is-the-latest-palestine-action-court-case-and-what-is-at-stake

#PalestineAction #Proscription #Authoritarian #Labour #Westminster #Mahmood #Starmer

#PalestineAction saga shows #dystopian #doublethink now Labour policy

It’s cliché to bring up #Orwell’s #1984 in reference to govts

In latest twist of #Labour’s #proscription of #Palestine Action as a terror group, there is 1 concept it introduced that is more than fiction: doublethink is now UK Govt policy

High Court ruled Home Secretary made “significant” error in proscribing Palestine Action; , The move is “disproportionate” & unlawful

https://www.thenational.scot/news/25854074.palestine-action-saga-shows-dystopian-doublethink-now-labour-policy/

#ToxicLabour #Starmer

“The jury were right to acquit the Palestine Action defendants. Here's why”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“Jurors bravely set aside social conditioning, the natural instinct we all share to defer to authority, and expectations fomented by establishment media. Instead they considered the actual evidence”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/the-jury-were-right-to-acquit-the

#Press #SocialMedia #UK #PalAction #UKPolitics #Elbit #Filton6 #Proscription #Acquittal #Charges #Terrorism

“‘Very Significant’ – Scottish Court Approves Judicial Review of Palestine Action Ban”

by Palestine Chronicle Staff

@[email protected]
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@[email protected]
@uk_politics

“Palestine Action co-founder Huda #Ammori said the decision ‘is very significant and marks the first time a proscription of a group has been separately legally challenged in Scotland. It could lead to a constitutional crisis’.”

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/very-significant-scottish-court-approves-judicial-review-of-palestine-action-ban/

#Press #UK #Scotland #PalestineAction #Proscription #JusicialReview #Murray

“Barrister’s Powerful Speech At Filton Trial”

by Jonathan Cook in Savage Minds on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“#Starmer and the media need convictions to justify #PalestineAction’s proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv #Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Filton24 #Trial #Jury #Proscription #Labour #Dictatorship #PoliceState #Terrorism

“Barrister’s Powerful Speech At Filton Trial”

by Jonathan Cook in Savage Minds on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“#Starmer and the media need convictions to justify #PalestineAction’s proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv #Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Filton24 #Trial #Jury #Proscription #Labour #Dictatorship #PoliceState #Terrorism

“Barrister’s Powerful Speech At Filton Trial”

by Jonathan Cook in Savage Minds on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“#Starmer and the media need convictions to justify #PalestineAction’s proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv #Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Filton24 #Trial #Jury #Proscription #Labour #Dictatorship #PoliceState #Terrorism

“Barrister’s Powerful Speech At Filton Trial”

by Jonathan Cook in Savage Minds on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“#Starmer and the media need convictions to justify #PalestineAction’s proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv #Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Filton24 #Trial #Jury #Proscription #Labour #Dictatorship #PoliceState #Terrorism

“Barrister’s Powerful Speech At Filton Trial”

by Jonathan Cook in Savage Minds on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews

“#Starmer and the media need convictions to justify #PalestineAction’s proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv #Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Filton24 #Trial #Jury #Proscription #Labour #Dictatorship #PoliceState #Terrorism

“Barrister's powerful speech at #FiltonTrial reminds jury of its right to defy judge”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]

“#Starmer and the #media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Barrister #Speech #Menon #PalestineAction #Proscription #Terrorism #AbuseOfPower #VichyMedia

“Barrister's powerful speech at #FiltonTrial reminds jury of its right to defy judge”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]

“#Starmer and the #media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Barrister #Speech #Menon #PalestineAction #Proscription #Terrorism #AbuseOfPower #VichyMedia

“Barrister's powerful speech at #FiltonTrial reminds jury of its right to defy judge”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]

“#Starmer and the #media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Barrister #Speech #Menon #PalestineAction #Proscription #Terrorism #AbuseOfPower #VichyMedia

“Barrister's powerful speech at #FiltonTrial reminds jury of its right to defy judge”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]

“#Starmer and the #media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Barrister #Speech #Menon #PalestineAction #Proscription #Terrorism #AbuseOfPower #VichyMedia

“Barrister's powerful speech at #FiltonTrial reminds jury of its right to defy judge”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]

“#Starmer and the #media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/barristers-powerful-speech-at-filton

#Press #UK #Barrister #Speech #Menon #PalestineAction #Proscription #Terrorism #AbuseOfPower #VichyMedia

“A Step Towards Sanity”

by Craig Murray in Craig’s Substack on Substack

@uk_politics
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“To my great surprise, the video recording of yesterday’s Court of Session hearing on the a judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action is still active on the court’s website & you can watch it. I do not know how long this will last”

https://open.substack.com/pub/craigmurrayorg/p/a-step-towards-sanity

#Press #UK #Scotland #Murray #PalestineAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #Hearing #Video #HumanRights

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

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

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

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

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

Grymm

#10. Venomous Echoes // Dysmor
#9. Blut Aus Nord // Ethereal Horizons
#8. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
#7. Structure // Heritage
#6. Lorna Shore // I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me
#5. Sigh // I Saw The World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV
#4. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
#3. Am I In Trouble? // Spectrum
#2. Dax Riggs // 7 Songs for Spiders
#1. Paradise Lost // Ascension – I fully expected Paradise Lost to come out with quality music, which has been mostly par for the course in their storied almost-40-year career, and no one could blame them if they decided to coast along on their legendary sound. Instead, Ascension sees them giving a masterclass in songcraft and atmosphere, showing everyone, everywhere, how it’s done. With Black Sabbath now officially put to rest, Anathema long gone, and whatever the fuck is happening within My Dying Bride these days, somebody has to fly the British Doom flag high and proud, and Paradise Lost have done a bang-up job of doing so.

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

Disappointment(s) o’ the Year:

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

Song o’ the Year:

• Paradise Lost // “Salvation”

El Cuervo

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Décryptal – Simulacre
• An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City
• Puteraeon – Mountains of Madness
• Hasard – Abgnose

Song o’ the Year:

• Ambush – “Maskirovka”



GardensTale

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Hangover in Minsk // Party is Over
• 1914 // Viribus Unitis
• Bianca // Bianca
• Fange // Purulences
• An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City
• Blindfolded // What Seeps Through Threads

Song o’ the Year:

• Moron Police – “Giving up the Ghost”



Non-metal Albums of the Year:

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

Mark Z.

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

Honorable Mention:

• Blasphamagoatachrist // Bestial Abominator

Song (Title) o’ the Year:

• Omegavortex – “Dystopian Worldrape”

Song o’ the Year:

• Fugitive – “Spheres of Virulence”



Carcharodon

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

Honorable Mentions:

• An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City
• Gorycz // Zasypia
• Psychonaut // World Maker
• Wardruna // Birna

Songs o’ the Year:

• Messa – “Fire on the Roof”



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

Mysticus Hugebeard

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Night Flight Orchestra // Give Us The Moon
• Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine

Songs o’ the Year:

• Disarmonia Mundi – “Outcast”

The Dormant Stranger by Disarmonia Mundi

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

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

• Thumos – “The Phædo”

The Trial of Socrates by Thumos

Disappointment(s) o’ the year:

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

Samguineous Maximus

#ish. Imperial Triumphant // Goldstar
#10. Primitive Man // Observance
#9. Motherless // Do You Feel Safe?
#8. Deafheaven // Lonely People with Power
#7. Weeping Sores // The Convalescence Agonies
#6. Between the Buried and Me // The Blue Nowhere
#5. Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss
#4. 1914 // Viribus Unitis
#3. Crippling Alcoholism // Camgirl
#2. Crippling Alcoholism // Bible Songs II
#1. Yellow Eyes // Confusion Gate – Yellow Eyes are one of the best black metal bands in the game, and Confusion Gate is their most impressive work to date. It sees the band return to a more traditional atmospheric sound, but with the lessons learned from their explorations of dissonance and ambience. The result is a kaleidoscopic blend of gorgeous melodies, haunting riffs, and a pervasive sense of pathos that only the best art can achieve. Confusion Gate feels like communing with nature from the top of a wintry peak, embodying both impossible grandeur and awesome terror. This is a record that bypasses the analytical reviewer’s brain and just hits me right in the feeling. It offers a unique catharsis in a year where I truly needed it.

Honorable Mentions

• Flummox // Southern Progress
• Hexrot // Formless Ruin of Oblivion
• Ava Mendoza/Gabby fluke-Mogal/Carolina Pérez // Mama Killa
• Strigiform // Aconite

Song o’ the Year:

• Crippling Alcoholism – “Ladies Night”



Spicie Forrest

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Proscription // Desolate Divine
• Apocalypse Orchestra // A Plague upon Thee
• Messa // The Spin
• Bloodywood // Nu Delhi
• Pedestal for Leviathan // Enter: Vampyric Manifestation

Song o’ the Year:

• Yellowcard – “honestly i”

Grin Reaper

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Walg // V
• Moron Police // Pachinko
• Defigurement // Endbryo
• Ültra Raptör // Fossilized
• Igorrr // Amen

Songs o’ the Year:

• Aephanemer – “Le Cimetière Marin”

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

Andy-War-Hall

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Fell Omen // Caelid Dog Summer
• Ophelion // The Jaunt
• Coroner // Dissonance Theory
• Starscourge // Conqueror of the Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed

Song o’ the Year:

• Fell Omen – “The Fire is Still Warm”



Lavender Larcenist

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Shadow of Intent // Imperium Delirium
• Pupil Slicer // Fleshwork
• 1914 // Viribus Unitis

Song o’ the Year:

• Crippling Alcoholism – “bedrot”

Creeping Ivy

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

Honorable Mentions:

• Am I in Trouble? // Spectrum
• Blut Aus Nord // Ethereal Horizons
• In Mourning // The Immortal
• Oromet // The Sinking Isle
• Wyatt E. // Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1

Song o’ the Year:

• Phantom Spell – “The Autumn Citadel”



Baguette of Bodom

#ish. In the Woods… // Otra
#10. Species // Changelings
#9. Dragon Skull // Chaos Fire Vengeance
#8. A-Z // A2Z²
#7. Apocalypse Orchestra // A Plague upon Thee
#6. Amorphis // Borderland
#5. Dolmen Gate // Echoes of Ancient Tales
#4. Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail
#3. Amalekim // Shir Hashirim
#2. Suotana // Ounas II
#1. Buried Realm // The Dormant Darkness – Melodic tech death? Symphonic power metal? Who knows! Much like my 2025 in general, The Dormant Darkness has a bit of everything in one gigantic clusterfuck. The great news is, neither I nor the album crumbled under all that weight. In a year full of odd twists and turns, my list became more varied and unusual than ever. Buried Realm took this variety and gave me everything I like about metal in one dense package: blazing speeds, soaring guitars, majestic vocals, and relentless fury. It’s also inexplicably well-produced for how many layers there are to deal with. While 2025 was not a particularly star-studded release year—especially compared to most of the 2020s so far—it threw plenty of fun curveballs at me, and The Dormant Darkness exemplifies this with its Xothian fusion of metal subgenres in one big Ophidian I blender ov shred. I would also like to request several Christian Älvestam features on every album, please.

Honorable Mentions:

• Victim of Fire // The Old Lie
• Dawn of Solace // Affliction Vortex
• Dynazty // Game of Faces
• Coroner // Dissonance Theory
• Hooded Menace // Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration

Song o’ the Year:

• Dragon Skull – “Blood and Souls”

Chaos Fire Vengeance by Dragon Skull

By now you have all grown sick of #aoty #aoty2025 lists, right? Bear with us, we have one more for you to suffer through! 😁 Here are the 10 #metal releases that hit us the hardest, in alphabetical order. This wasn’t exactly easy as 2025 was full of new high quality material.

#DeathKommander
Never To Grow Old

#gaahlswyrd
Braiding The Stories

#gorekaust
Fleshcross

#gravehex
Vermian Death

#gruesome
Silent Echoes

#inhumancondition
Mind Trap

#Malthusian
The Summoning Bell

#proscription
Desolate Divine

#sijjin
Helljjin Combat

#teitanblood
From the Visceral Abyss

Video: “Since our governments have refused to halt this genocide, we must!”

by Chris Hedges in the Chris Hedges Channel on YT

“We must demand that the courageous hunger strikers with #PalestineAction be released from jail on bail, and that we repeal the acts and laws that criminalize dissidence”

https://youtu.be/K1A5beQ8J8Y?si=VWXAHojIkvfqOzWJ

#UK #PalAction #Proscription #HungerStrike #Repeal #TerrorismAct2000 #Repression #Authoritarianism #Labour #Starmer #FuckStarmer

“British hunger strikers learn prison lessons from Palestine”

by Asa Winstanley in Palestine Is Still The Issue on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“The experience of these hunger strikers mirrors some of what the Palestinians are going through: ‘It’s like they’re living the experience of a Palestinian’.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/asawinstanley/p/british-hunger-strikers-learn-prison

#Press #UK #PalAction #Proscription #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AbuseOfPower #Dictatorship #Labour #StitchUp #ZionistLobby #DegradingConditions

“British hunger strikers learn prison lessons from Palestine”

by Asa Winstanley in Palestine Is Still The Issue on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“The experience of these hunger strikers mirrors some of what the Palestinians are going through: ‘It’s like they’re living the experience of a Palestinian’.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/asawinstanley/p/british-hunger-strikers-learn-prison

#Press #UK #PalAction #Proscription #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AbuseOfPower #Dictatorship #Labour #StitchUp #ZionistLobby #DegradingConditions

“British hunger strikers learn prison lessons from Palestine”

by Asa Winstanley in Palestine Is Still The Issue on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“The experience of these hunger strikers mirrors some of what the Palestinians are going through: ‘It’s like they’re living the experience of a Palestinian’.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/asawinstanley/p/british-hunger-strikers-learn-prison

#Press #UK #PalAction #Proscription #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AbuseOfPower #Dictatorship #Labour #StitchUp #ZionistLobby #DegradingConditions

“British hunger strikers learn prison lessons from Palestine”

by Asa Winstanley in Palestine Is Still The Issue on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“The experience of these hunger strikers mirrors some of what the Palestinians are going through: ‘It’s like they’re living the experience of a Palestinian’.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/asawinstanley/p/british-hunger-strikers-learn-prison

#Press #UK #PalAction #Proscription #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AbuseOfPower #Dictatorship #Labour #StitchUp #ZionistLobby #DegradingConditions

“British hunger strikers learn prison lessons from Palestine”

by Asa Winstanley in Palestine Is Still The Issue on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@[email protected]

“The experience of these hunger strikers mirrors some of what the Palestinians are going through: ‘It’s like they’re living the experience of a Palestinian’.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/asawinstanley/p/british-hunger-strikers-learn-prison

#Press #UK #PalAction #Proscription #PoliticalPrisoners #HungerStrike #AbuseOfPower #Dictatorship #Labour #StitchUp #ZionistLobby #DegradingConditions

@PabloMartini

Anything’s possible! Two sources of pressure Herr #Stürmer finds it impossible to say “No!” to: Trump and the #Zionist #Lobby!

@uk_politics @UKLabour

#UK #PalAction #Proscription #Labour

“Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews @AlJazeera

“Having a ruling from a panel of three judges is a desperate attempt to create a veneer of judicial authority in support of the actions of Keir Starmer's outlaw government”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/review-judge-pulled-from-palestine

#Press #UK #Labour #Starmer #PalAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #StitchUp

“Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews @AlJazeera

“Having a ruling from a panel of three judges is a desperate attempt to create a veneer of judicial authority in support of the actions of Keir Starmer's outlaw government”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/review-judge-pulled-from-palestine

#Press #UK #Labour #Starmer #PalAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #StitchUp

“Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews @AlJazeera

“Having a ruling from a panel of three judges is a desperate attempt to create a veneer of judicial authority in support of the actions of Keir Starmer's outlaw government”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/review-judge-pulled-from-palestine

#Press #UK #Labour #Starmer #PalAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #StitchUp

“Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews @AlJazeera

“Having a ruling from a panel of three judges is a desperate attempt to create a veneer of judicial authority in support of the actions of Keir Starmer's outlaw government”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/review-judge-pulled-from-palestine

#Press #UK #Labour #Starmer #PalAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #StitchUp

“Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up”

by Jonathan Cook on Substack

@[email protected]
@[email protected] @[email protected]
@BBC5Live
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews @AlJazeera

“Having a ruling from a panel of three judges is a desperate attempt to create a veneer of judicial authority in support of the actions of Keir Starmer's outlaw government”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathancook/p/review-judge-pulled-from-palestine

#Press #UK #Labour #Starmer #PalAction #Proscription #JudicialReview #StitchUp

Bid to overturn #PalestineAction ban through #Scottish courts launched

It is a maxim in Scots law that the law cannot be #absurd. To claim that #Palestine Action is a #terrorist organisation is plainly absurd

This #proscription is #politically motivated in support of a #genocide and it is poisoning Scottish civil society. Entirely #peaceful #protestors are being #arrested and charged as #terrorists

https://www.thenational.scot/news/25532647.bid-overturn-palestine-action-ban-scottish-courts-launched/

#Gaza #Scotland #Indy2 #Freedom #FreeSpeech #RedReform #ToxicLabour

Proscription – Desolate Divine Review

By Dear Hollow

Last we met Finland’s Proscription, an overwhelming amount of promise was almost as intense as their blackened death attack. While rerecorded songs from their 2017 demo such as “I, the Burning Son” and “Blessed Feast of Black Seth” singlehandedly tamed the experience with jarring simplicity and excessive repetition killing momentum, tracks like “Conduit” and “To Reveal the Word Without Words” were elite blackened death. The promise was insane, causing a bigger stir in the underground than the music itself. While Conduit was solid, Desolate Divine promises even bigger and better – and delivers.

Proscription in a way, feels like a blackened death metal underdog story. The band’s constituents are assembled from the fringes of Finnish black/death, most prominent likely being formidable vocalist/guitarist Christbutcher of Maveth, Cryptborn, and Excommunion fame, although caliber from Brutal Torment, Tramalizer, and Ominous offer their relentless services. This background in more brutal stylistic tendencies pairs neatly with the mountain of sound that Proscription offers. Unlike its predecessor, which dwelt in hints of insanity and riffy mid-tempo crunch, Desolate Divine is a streamlined and no-holds-barred brutalizer of an album, bordering on war metal. Paired with a uniquely blackened death obscurity that appears in haunting leads and hints of atmosphere, Proscription offers a winning formula that is slightly held back by its brickwalled production but ultimately improves upon its predecessor in every way.

If it’s intensity you want, Proscription has it in droves. Haunting leads and blackened tremolo are often the only tether to sanity, their only sense of tangible in their blasting of Behemoth-through-the-war-metal-machine. Bottom-heavy beatdowns are aplenty, with an old school riffy death metal template a la Morbid Angel or Bolt Thrower with the insanity of blastbeats and panicked rhythms (“Bleed the Whore Again,” “Behold a Phosphorescent Dawn”), while overlapping leads, flaying technicality, and wild solos cut through tremolos both down-tuned and blackened (“Gleam of the Morning Star,” “Entreaty of the Very End”). Centerpiece “The Midnight God” (a previously released track in a 2023 split with Sulphurous) and closer “The Great Deceiver” (also from a previously released 2023 demo) offer nearly perfect overlapping of relentless beatdown, blackened grime, and riff – both expertly placed throughout the album. It’s refreshing that previously released material is a highlight rather than a hitch.

Desolate Divine is a bit of a tale of two halves. Proscription goes off the rails in the first half, forsaking every act of subtlety for sheer violence, while the second half is a much more ominous affair. Don’t get me wrong, these tracks will rip you a new one, but at their core is a much more plodding and stable approach, focusing on an almost marching rhythm throughout, making their more obscure and haunting qualities that much more impactful and downright epic when the technical insanity and rhythmic heft collide (“Heave Ho Ye Igneous Leviathan,” title track). Even synth makes appearances in haunting, spacious overtones in this second act (“Behold a Phosphorescent Dawn,” “Not But Dust”), capitalizing on the more haunting attack.

Desolate Divine is dense and unforgiving and certainly imperfect. The brickwalled production and the jarringly start-stop songwriting (not uncommon for other acts like Belphegor or Adversarial) make it difficult to uncover the treasures amid the muck; the central melody of “Behold a Phosphorescent Dawn” sounds too much like Inspector Gadget, and ambient interlude “Not But Dust” feels out of place. However, it’s a step up from Conduit in that its previously released material is a highlight, and there are no bad songs aboard this uncompromising album. It seamlessly blends deathened viscera and blackened flaying in ways that few else can, with stunning brand-setting performances across the board from largely unrecognized Finnish black/death veterans. The potential on Desolate Divine is almost as suffocating as the blackened death metal Proscription wields.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dark Descent Records
Websites: proscription.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/proscriptionhorde
Releases Worldwide: August 29th, 2025

#2025 #35 #Adversarial #Aug25 #Behemoth #Belphegor #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BoltThrower #BrutalTorment #Cryptborn #DarkDescentRecords #DeathMetal #DesolateDivine #Excommunion #FinnishMetal #Maveth #MorbidAngel #Ominous #Proscription #Review #Reviews #Sulphurous #Tramalizer